TOURS, ETC. : ITALIAN WALKING TREK FOLLOWS FOOTSTEPS OF ROMANTIC POETS.Byline: Daily News The five remote Italian villages known as the Cinque Terre Cin·que Ter·re A group of five villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore) of northwest Italy on the Ligurian Sea south of Genoa. Built into the sheer rocky coast, they are famed for their rugged scenery. are the destinations of participants on a Country Walkers' tour that traces the footsteps of such poets as Byron, Shelley and Petrarch. The seven-day tour takes walkers to the villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, which are strung together by railway and coastal footpath only, as well as by boat across the Gulf of Poets to Lerici. Walkers travel four to 10 miles a day. The price of $1,875 per person, double occupancy, includes accommodations, all meals except lunches and one dinner and a guide. Air fare is not included. Information: (800) 464-9255. Channel Islands: Birds and wildflowers on four of the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura will be the focus of a cruise April 18-21 sponsored by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 26 ha (65 acre) garden, containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. It is located in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara, California, USA. The purpose of the Garden is to display California native plants in natural settings. and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is the oldest museum in Santa Barbara, California, founded in 1916. The museum is located in Mission Canyon, immediately behind the Santa Barbara Mission. . Naturalists will be on board for the cruise, which departs from Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and visits San Miguel San Miguel (sän mēgĕl`), city (1993 pop. 118,214), E El Salvador, at the foot of San Miguel volcano (6,996 ft/2,132 m). It has textile, rope, and dairy-products industries. The region produces cotton, henequen, and vegetable oil. , Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, city, Argentina Santa Rosa, city (1991 pop. 80,629), capital of La Pampa prov., central Argentina. It is a modern city and road junction surrounded by a rich agricultural and cattle-raising area. , Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands. Cost is $550 per person, double occupancy, and includes boat accommodations and all meals. Information: (805) 682-4711, Ext. 315. France by barge: Two tours combine biking, ballooning and a barge trip through the canals of France in July and August. From July 23-Aug. 1, the Chanterelle chanterelle Highly prized, fragrant, edible mushroom (Cantharellus cibarius, order Polyporales), rich yellow in colour, found in woods in summer and autumn. Its similarity to the poisonous jack-o-lantern (Clitocybe illudens, order Agaricales), an orange-yellow fungus of hotel barge will traverse the waterways of the upper Loire region. The tour price of $2,695 per person, double occupancy, includes three days of cycling in Fontainebleu prior to the barge trip. The Ambercrombie cruises the waterways of Northern Burgundy Aug. 9-15. Cycling and ballooning (the latter depending on weather) will be available. Cost is $2,590 per person, double occupancy. Prices include all meals, accommodations and beverages; bike rentals are available. Balloon trips are extra and air fare to France is not included. Information: (503) 223-2402. New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. by train: A train trip through New Zealand's Southern Alps is part of a 12-day tour sponsored by the New Zealand Tourism Board and Travel Arrangements Ltd. during the country's annual Rail Heritage Week May 6-17. A trip to the foot of Mount Ruapehu, sightseeing at Rotorua, an inter-island ferry trip through the Marlborough Sounds and a visit to Christchurch are also featured. Cost is $2,300 per person, double occupancy, and includes round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, nine nights' accommodations, some meals, all transfers, and all transportation (including aboard steam- and diesel-engine powered trains). Information: (800) 392-8213. Anasazi excavations: Interested in archeology? Crow Canyon Archaelogical Center in Cortez, Colo., offers weeklong digs that allow participants to help professional archeologists excavate prehistoric Anasazi Indian sites and analyze artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. . The trips, offered weekly from May 25 to Sept. 21, include a day spent learning how to handle artifacts and two days in the field. Participants can choose to return to the dig site on the last day or take a guided tour of Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde National Park (mā'sə vûrd`, vûr`dē), 52,122 acres (21,109 hectares), SW Colorado; est. 1906. It includes the most notable and best-preserved cliff dwellings (see cliff dwellers) and relics in the United States, . Cost is $775 for adults, $750 for seniors and $595 for high school and college students; it includes shared accommodations in Navajo-style hogans or log cabins and meals. Transportation to Colorado is not included. Information: (800) 422-8975. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Five Italian villages strung together only by railway and a coastal footpath are the destinations of a Country Walkers tour. Country Walkers |
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