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Ian Wright is coming to town!
G.A.P Adventures, Outpost Magazine & Mountain Equipment Coop present:
The Ian Wright Live National Tour
G.A.P Slide Shows & Lectures
Toronto:
At 6:30 pm
TravelCuts
408 King St. W.
416 977 1221
April 13th
Europe Multi-active
May 4th
Southern Africa
Vancouver:
At 7:00 pm
Adventure Travel Company
1516 Duranleau St.
RSVP: 604-659-3350 or vancouver@
atcadventure.com
March 16th
G.A.P Worldwide Presentation
March 30th
G.A.P Costa Rica
April 6th
North America
Great Adventure People TV Series
Every Tuesday @ 9am and 2pm EST on CTV Travel
Live vicariously through our travellers, as we document their joys and challenges to show you what travelling is like with G.A.P Adventures! Follow our small groups of adventurers on trips to Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos and Patagonia.
William Jans: Solo in South America
Join photographer and G.A.P Adventures traveller William Jans for his latest tales of absurd adventures. Stops include Carnival in Rio, Mining in Bolivia, Trekking to Machu Picchu, and visits to the Amazon and Galapagos. William's LIVE shows are filled with surprises and interactivity... come play along.
Thursday April 7
Ridge Theatre (3131 Arbutus St.)
Vancouver
7:15 doors, 8:00 show
Thursday May 5
Ridge Theatre
Vancouver
7:15 doors, 8:00 show
Ticket and show info @ wrjphoto.com
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10% off any
Lonely Planet
Travel Phrasebook
 My name is Michelle and I arrived back to New Zealand two weeks ago after travelling with GAP and our tourleader on the Mayan Adventure. I wanted to say thanks to you and her for a great trip. She was an excellent leader who did absolutely everything that she could to make the trip as stress free and enjoyable as possible. We were a group of women that were inclined to change our minds and ask a lot of questions, no matter what our tourleader kept a smile on her face and helped us where ever she could. She is a great credit to your company.
- Michelle from New Zealand |
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 Will you be the winner? In this week’s bridging the gap we prove that it pays to read – we have a surprise giveaway, and it could be you... or invite your friends and they can win! Join us as we sail among the Greek Islands, turn our bow to the Amazon, and take flights (of fancy) in our favourite armchair.
Oh, and we also report on how we managed to bring smiles to a great number of Peruvians through the Inka Porter Project this year. (Admittedly, it’s not hard to get Peruvians to smile. Okay, we made them grin!)
Que le vaya bien
Carl Michener, Editor, bridging the gap
Glory of Greece
When you think of Greece, I’ll bet you think of colosseums and ancient Greek ruins, olive groves, roasted lamb and men with dark hair and big moustaches. And you would be right. The hills hide ancient ruins, much of Greece is pastoral, and the men have a certain je ne sais quoi. All true. But few realize that Greece is first and foremost a seafaring nation. The nautical legacy dates back to at least 1350 BC, the date of the world's oldest known shipwreck, sitting off the Turkish coast outside the village of Kas.
Greece is embraced by the Mediterranean on three sides, with the Ionian Sea on the western flank, the Aegean on the east and the Sea of Myrto to the south. In all, the coastline covers 15,000 kilometres and never was there a more fecund, idyllic body of water. The bright blue belies a bountiful breeding ground for squid, octopus, sea breem, cod, plaice and red mullet, most of which are traditionally prepared on a charcoal grill. Restauranteurs will often grab a fish out of the ice chest for your inspection prior to cooking.
The Mediterranean is a mild place: moist winters are followed by dry, hot summers. In the winter, the waters of the Med stays quite a bit warmer than the surrounding air; because of its isolation from the Atlantic, this sea never gets super cold. In summer it’s downright hot, which is why buildings on the Aegean’s Dodecanese and Cycladic islands are whitewashed – to deflect the heat. The fact that this makes them look all the more picturesque is just a happy coincidence!
Around mid-May the Azores High gradually becomes more dominant and the Euro-Asian High loses its influence, resulting in very stable weather. July and August peak in high temperatures and sun hours – and it’s very often sunny. The dry climate of the Aegean makes for very wonderful vacationing, as well as ideal growing conditions, which in combination with a chalky but fertile soil, have historically allowed Greek islanders to be self-sufficient in terms of food, one of the keys to their longstanding habitation of the islands.
There are many ancient Greek and Phoenician ruins among the towering cliffs, including several entire towns such as Akrotiri, which was entirely preserved and buried under the ash of a volcano on the island of Santorini. If cruising the aquamarine waters of the Aegean aboard a sailing yacht sounds good to you, join us on one of our adventures listed below.
Armchair Travel
Back by popular demand, the armchair awaits. This time around, we’re leaving it entirely up to one of our readers, Teresa Paul, whose email-end motto is: trust/dream/hope/believe/risk/love/
faith/courage/peace. Isn’t that lovely?
Take it away, Teresa:
"In the current newsletter there was a request for good travel books and videos so here are a couple that I fancy at the moment.
I have been reading The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater. It is a good read for anyone interested in the south of France.
Also, The Best American Travel Writing edited by Pico Iyer is entertaining and fun, full of short stories and articles from various people and locations.
And I am also into A Thousand Days In Venice by Marlena de Blasi. A little obsessed with that region of the world at the moment. So, maybe that helps and maybe not, but it's been good reading for me."
Send us word of your favourite books, movies and more, and we’ll recommend them to fellow travellers.
Win a Greek Islands Sailing Adventure!
"To easily lower the jib, attach a lightweight downhaul to the jib halyard. Run the downhaul through a block to the cockpit."
If this is all Greek to you, don’t worry. On our Greek Islands Adventures, you are not asked to do the sailing yourself – you can sit back and enjoy the ride – unless, of course, you want to jump in and help out. These yacht adventures are the ultimate introduction to what many consider the world’s most beautiful islands. Each island is different, but all have certain things in common: beautiful beaches, crystal clear blue water, stunning vistas and friendly people.
The nice thing about our sailing adventures is that you can take them either direction, and link one or more sailings together to form a one, two or three week vacation. Depending on the weather and the captain, the islands visited will change from trip to trip. And with a maximum of eight like-minded travellers, you’re sure to have space to yourself on and off the yacht.
Click here to see all our great Greek sailing adventures!
Click here for a chance to win a Greek Islands Adventure! Enter your vital statistics and you’re away to the races... er, the islands. Forward to a friend to give them a chance to win as well, while also increasing your own chances of winning. Contest ends April 7th.
Bow to the Amazon
It’s the end of the season in the Antarctic, and our last departure is away aboard the M/S Explorer to the land of ice and penguins. Soon she will point her bows towards the Amazon, for the next leg of her schedule for the year... then up to the Canadian Arctic and the North Atlantic during the Canadian summer.
We’ve done well in our first season!
"When we bought the ship in June we had just 5 months to sell our first season - by far the biggest project we've ever taken on. As it stands right now we managed to sell 1140 of 1200 beds available for the full Antarctic Season, making the M/S Explorer one of the biggest successes we've ever had - it has been truly overwhelming. When you see the records we have already set in one short season, I can only thank my team for pulling it all together and allowing me to sleep at night again!"
– Bruce Poon Tip, CEO, G.A.P Adventures
Take advantage of our 20% off the Amazon Adventure cruises
Postcards from the Edge: When Things Go Very Wrong – I
In this edition of bridging the gap we’re trying a serial. Here is the first of two parts of a kayaking adventure/mishap story penned by one of our travellers.
They say an adventure starts when something goes wrong. My adventure started when I capsized on the 5th day of a 120-kilometer kayaking trip around the remote northern tip of Vancouver Island, on Canada’s West Coast. It was to have been my last day. My companions had opted to extend their trip by visiting some offshore islands and continue by a different route. I had chosen to paddle on and finish the last 33 kilometers alone.
My gear was packed in the kayak and I started paddling at 6:00 a.m. At first I was pleased to have the wind and waves behind me, pushing me forward. But the waves grew in size all morning. In my eagerness to end the trip I pressed on. I could handle the waves but had not counted the wash from a passing boat. The first wave easily overpowered me and lifted my stern sideways. I broached on the next wave, failed to brace, and ended upside down with my legs trapped in the kayak, groping to release my legs from the rubber kayak skirt that imprisoned me. This skirt had started to come apart early in the trip and had become tricky to release. I held my breath, riding up and down in my watery upside-down world. To this point I had a feeling of detachment. It felt rather dream-like. Then my logical mind must have clicked in and the words “This is serious” came to me. Spurred to action I grabbed the fabric of the skirt and yanked - putting a big rip in the skirt but freeing my legs and allowing me to swim out of the kayak and breathe.
The waves were far too big to attempt to reenter the kayak. I held onto the kayak and kicked my way to shore arriving in a cleft between two cliffs. After putting on some dry clothes and eating I began to assess my situation. It was not good. As I looked far out to sea I could see that the wind and waves were even higher. I could watch distant fish boats heading into the waves. Their bows diving into the troughs, slamming into oncoming waves, with spray erupting into the air and being blown back over the wheelhouses and even the sterns of the smaller boats. Clearly I was not kayaking anywhere. I was trapped. With a damaged skirt water would pour into the cockpit and I would capsize again. The paddling portion of this trip was over unless the seas became almost flat - something that had not happened since the start of this trip.
And then there was the incoming tide to consider. This was a last minute trip for me and I had not brought tide tables. Looking at the rocks behind me it was evident that my small rocky sanctuary was often flooded at high tide. Never had I watched a tide change with more interest than that evening. I studied it as it advanced towards me, foot-by-foot, and inch-by-inch, hoping a small narrow space might be left between one cliff and a log - sufficient to partially pitch my tent. When the tide finally turned it was a mere 6 inches from the spot I had claimed for my tent. Twelve hours later, in the morning, I knew there would be another high tide. How high would that tide be?
(to be continued…)
by Glen Stedham, Canada
Kayak with the Orcas
All kayak trips
Where in the World?
Caroline Estman of Unley, South Oz, was the first to guess correctly and to give a very detailed response of where last newsletter’s photos were taken:
"First photo is of the Amalfi Coast - in fact looking possibly from Positano or Praino to the east – you can see the town of Amalfi in the middle distance with its trademark grey wall with arches and a tower at the eastern end of the town on the far edge of the bay.
The second photo is of a fishing boat on the East African coast - there is a reef in the middle distance so it could be the reef off Mombasa - the blue water colour is very clearly Indian ocean! Otherwise it could be off Kilifi or Malindi or even Nyali Beach. These boats with the pole stablizers extending each side for stability, are typical of the area. Lamu or Watamu are other possibilities. The reef actually stretches from Zanzibar in the south to Lamu in the north!"
Nice going, Caroline!
Zanzibar
Amalfi Coast
For your chance to win a World music CD and a G.A.P discount voucher, guess where both of these photos were taken. Don’t forget to include your mailing address along with your submission, or we’ll assume you’re homeless.
Last Minute Departures – 20% off
The world is your oyster, and oysters are on sale!
This promotion is valid for new bookings only, and is not valid in conjunction with any other offer. To qualify for the discount, please quote Promo # LM030405. Bookings must be made online at www.gapadventures.com or through your travel agent. A listing of preferred travel agents can be found on our website.
10% off ALL Explorer Expedition Cruises (Arctic, Europe, Antarctica) booked before the end of March!
20% off Amazon Expedition Cruising
10 Amazon Expedition Cruises all dates
South America
Inland and Amazon May 7th to 22nd
Planeterra Peru April 3rd to 15th
Inca Empire (La Paz to Lima) April 30th to May 14th
The Ecuador Experience March 31st to April 17th
Peru Uncovered April 17th to 25th
Central America
Cycle Cuba March 27th to April 3rd
Colonial Mexico April 9th to 23rd
Inka Porter Project: Providing Work Opportunities for Local People in Peru
In January, G.A.P Adventures and the Inka Porter Project (IPP), a Peruvian non-profit organization worked together to develop and offer training courses to 86 people from four local communities just outside of Cuzco to work as Porters and Cooks on the Inca Trail in Peru.
Our 2-day Porter Training Course was developed as a way to provide job skills training and to educate community members about relevant social and environmental issues. Participants were divided into small groups of 10 – 15 people to take part in various workshops. The workshops included how to set up tents, how to care for and maintain camping equipment, how to carry camping equipment and special techniques to use in order to avoid future back problems. Other topics included first aid training, a basic English language course, training on proper disposal of organic & inorganic waste, responsible tourism, cultural heritage and trust building exercises. Participants were also given a copy of the Porter Law which was reviewed and discussed.
A 3-day training course for Cooks was also offered to teach participants how to prepare food for our travellers on the Inca Trail and on the importance of food presentation and hygiene. Our cooks were then provided the opportunity to cook and serve food for all porters, guides, teachers, and G.A.P Cuzco office staff during our 2-day Porter Training Course.
Based on the success of our initial training workshops, we will be holding a second Porter Training Course in March for 40 more people from the Ccaccaccollo community who are also interested in working for G.A.P Adventures on the Inca Trail.
G.A.P Adventures also supports the Inka Porter Project through our non-profit organization, the Planeterra Foundation. With money raised from donations from travellers and fundraising efforts in Toronto, our annual donation this year will be put towards offering more first aid courses for porters in other rural communities.
To visit the Inka Porter Project and one of our porter communities, come travel with me on the Planeterra Peru tour. Proceeds from this tour will be donated to the community projects we support through the Planeterra Foundation. For more information about Planeterra and the projects we support, please visit www.planeterra.org.
Danielle Weiss
Sustainable Travel Coordinator
Danielle@gap.ca
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I recently went on a GAP tour - the inca trail from April 27 to May 11. My tour leader was Jeff Kennedy. I can not express how INCREDIBLE he was!! Not only was he a fun person to be around, he made the trip itself interesting and I learned a great deal about Peru and the people of Peru. Jeff went from a great leader to an outstanding leader very quickly, however. I had some trouble with the trail and Jeff immediately took my health into his own hands without a thought. He was gracious and made me feel at ease, difficult because of the disappointment that came with what I thought to be as failure. When at the hospital, he acted as a translator - and even insisted that I take notes to pass along to my doctor at home, and receipts so that I might be reimbursed for expenses. Because of his clear thinking even in the midst of a possible emergency, my doctors here have been able to use the info gathered with his help, and therefore are better able to treat me. I can not express how deeply grateful and thrilled that Jeff was my tour leader. If there were an award, a medal, anything at all, I would gladly recommend him to be a recipient. I can only say that when I describe my experiences with friends and family, I will encourage them to use GAP because of Jeffs impeccable performance. If all your leaders are as wonderful as he is, your program will only grow in popularity and prestige. - Rebecca Durbin
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