Wanderlust Issue 129

Wanderlust Issue 129 (July/August 2012) MAYA WORLD: Mexico, Guatemala & Honduras • Papua New Guinea • Kalahari • Peak District • Lofoten Islands • Pocket guides: Loch Ness, Venice & Lake Nakuru, Kenya

TRAVEL I ADVENTURE I CULTURE The travel magazine that takes you further

July/August 2012 www.wanderlust.co.uk

£3.60

Maya Magic

WI N

AN IN CR HOTEDIBLE ASSP O IG OR £ NMENT 3,000 See p a ge 114

End-of-the-world adventures in Mexico, Guatemala & Honduras

Papua New Guinea Tropical trekking with the Pacific’s lost tribes

Kalahari Bushmen, big skies , bigger lions

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Plus

Peak District Bangkok Lofoten Islands Venice

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Contents JULY/AUGUST 2012 • ISSUE 129

360°

From the road

6 | World in pictures Inspirational shots of starlings in Aberystwyth, Italy by night and high spirits in Ladakh 12 | Shortcuts All the world’s travel news 14 | Go now! A quartet of summer escapes 16 | 10 things to do for free in... Bangkok. The best of the bargains in the Thai capital 18 | Departures Two-wheeled adventures 20 | Hilary Bradt talks... Olympic anticipation

35 | Snapshots Your adventures caught on camera... and making us jealous!

36 | Letters etc... Emails, blogs, photos and

chat from readers around the world. This issue: comments on our controversial Palestine article, going solo, getting around Kosovo, Uganda’s gorillas, visiting Burma and the cats of Istanbul

38 | Just Back From… Top tips from your latest

trips: explore Turkmenistan, Istanbul, Portugal and Central America with advice from myWanderlust

Loch Ness p137 + WIN a trip to Scotland p139

Cover feature

© ©

64

Peak District Mexico p88

86

THE MAYA WORLD

Features

©©©

Honduras p104

22 | Papua New Guinea

Steamy jungle, intriguing tribes, brilliant birdlife: this is travel’s wildest frontier. We explore ahead of the Travel Photo of the Year 2012 launch – which could see you win a trip there (see p114)

Guatemala p96

42 | Kalahari

Experience Botswana’s endless wilderness – on a rustic horse-trek or in the lap of luxury

54 | Lofoten Islands, Norway

Fjords, whales, Viking legends – William Gray island-hops north Norway by car

64 | British Escape: Peak District

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Mass Trespass, Phoebe Smith relishes the right to roam in awesome Edale

84 | The Maya World

21 December 2012 sees the end of a 5,000-year Maya calendar. To start the celebrations early, we’ve uncovered some of the best bits of the Maya World: explore remote ruins in the rainforests of Mexico (p88), meet the original chocoholics of Guatemala (p96) and encounter off-beat culture in Honduras (p104)

12 VEL TRA OF 20 O T PHO YEAR THE

IMN N W MISSIOEA O C IN O T U O G

A PH PUA NEW TO PA SEE P114

THE FUTURE Like this map?

MAPPING To buy a similar wall map, COMPANY visit www.futuremaps.co.uk 004-005_Contents_SO.indd 4

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Navigator

The bits

Arrivals

75 | How to... bellydance, travel by motorbike,

spot a vampire bat and find Sardinia’s very best beaches 77| Gear What to pack for summer travels 78 | Health Dr Jane investigates natural remedies and their prescribed alternatives 80 | Photo tips From bungy-jumps to river rafting, top tips to capture all the action 82 | Q&A Your questions answered. This issue: Borneo, malaria pills, Dubai and Bhutan

©

POCKE T GUID ES

Pocket Guides

122 | Books Travel as a state of mind: the many

philosophies of the road gets a round up 124 | Guides With the Olympics arriving, we rummage through the best new local guides 125 | World music Anoushka Shankar 126 | World diary Filling your summer calendar 127 | What’s on: events Festivals, exhibitions, talks and an exclusive Wanderlust reader event 128 | What’s on: screen Meet this summer’s real superhero batmen: table-tennis playing OAPs

of the guide book you

133 LAKE

133 | Lake Nakuru, Kenya Fine flocks of flamingos, and plenty more besides...

really need

NAKURU

P 133 Trave P 135 First l Icon Lake Naku ru Kenya P 137 Short24 hours Venic ’s nation al park is break Loch e Getting the pretty in most out Ness This pink of mess patch of ing about Scotland in boats puts in a monster performan ce

137 LOCH

See31

NESS

p1

135 VENICE

135 | Venice, Italy Navigate this magical city and discover the most romantic trip to take after dark 137 | Loch Ness, Scotland Forget finding Nessie – explore the less-visited south shore of Scotland’s largest loch

54

© ©

Lofoten Islands, Norway

© WIN a trip to Vietnam p71

Venice p135

© © ©

22 Papua New Guinea

Lake Nakuru p133 Bangkok p16

©

©

42 Kalahari, Botswana

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italy

Matera by night Photographer Sophie Goldsworthy “The town of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, is a place full of history. Originally a troglodyte settlement, many of the houses at its heart are dug into the rock it stands on. We spent an easy day, cameras in hand, getting lost among the photogenic pathways and steps of the old town, before stopping off at a vantage point on the way back to our base in Giovinazzo for a few last pictures as night fell. Magical in the daylight, Matera seems like something out of a fairytale as the lights come on, with car trails looping around its base, and the streetlamps leading your gaze to that uppermost spire.�

Sophie is the author of The Rough Guide to Digital Photography, and gives photo advice in the new issue of Take Better Travel Photos. Go to www.takebettertravelphotos.co.uk for more info.

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World in pictures | News | Go now | Things to do for free | Departures

360 1

I I I

Places jostling for our attention this month

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Papua New Guinea 1

1

I I I

wildest frontier: a steamy Pacific I Travel’s 1 outpost I 1of tribal intrigue and brilliant birds

I

Fly UK-Singapore-Port Moresby; flight time is around 23 hours 1 1

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Jun-Sept: drier, less humid

Showtime Huli Wigmen paint their faces and pierce their nostrils with quills for traditional singsings

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welcome to wonderland Soul-sapping humidity, huge crocs, polygamous tribes, 820 languages to learn – travel in Papua New Guinea is tough, surreal but always extraordinary Words & pictures Mark Stratton 022-030_Papua New Guinea_SO.indd 23

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Snapshots | Letters etc | Experiences | Just Back From…

From The Road Letters, tips, photos & exploits from you, our endlessly adventurous readers

“Standing on top of Table Mountain, Cape Town.”

Daniel Musikant

“A superb early morning climb up Sigiriya, Sri Lanka.”

Andira Palmer

Snapshots

Been somewhere nice?

Send us your snapshots to FromTheRoad@ wanderlust.co.uk “At Dhammayangyi Temple, Bagan, Burma.” Peter Hoyle “Our children learning about volcanoes at Fire Lake, São Miguel, Azores.” Sarah Bennett

“Spending my birthday at the top of the world in Nepal.”

Tanya Rome

“Meditating at India’s famous Taj Mahal.”

Georgina Wray

“Driving from the UK to Austria in a Batmobile, with Batman and The Joker!” Gwen Pearson

Wanderlust July/August 2012 | 35

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Letters etc

Online at www.wanderlust.co.uk/mywanderlust

8 Email letters & photos to fromtheroad@wanderlust.co.uk * Mail Wanderlust, 1 Leworth Place, Windsor SL4 1EB Twitter @wanderlustmag Facebook www.facebook.com/wanderlusttravelmagazine

Win KEEN gear!

We want you tales and letterr photos, s– fromtheroademail wanderlust.c @ o.

See page 39 fouk r prize details

“We saw amazing sights on our recent trip to Burma, particularly Inle Lake.” Stuart McKay

*

Our guide of the year

>

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Nepal. We were fortunate to find a guide, Mukunda, through a friend.

Having an experienced guide was invaluable when, as frequently happens in Nepal,

plans are disrupted. Mukunda was worth every penny for the help he gave, and will be our nomination for next year’s World Guide of the Year award.

Mukunda is involved in a number of charities, and has persuaded a friend to start a charity. The Nepal Schools

Trust, based in Scotland, has provided buildings, clean water and equipment for schools.

We took a laptop to a school.

The joy on the faces of the staff and children was overwhelming.

Many of them had not even seen a computer – now they can use one regularly.

Winning letter The best way to see Victoria Falls

*

I enjoyed your feature on Victoria Falls (April 2012 issue).

I was told, as the article also says, that the best views of the cascades are from Zimbabwe.

However, I didn’t want to give Robert Mugabe any of my dollars, so instead I spent them on a microlight flight over the Falls, leaving from the Zambia side. This trip went into

Zimbabwean airspace but, of course, I didn’t need to buy a visa.

Hovering around might not be everybody’s idea of fun but the views from above – including of a family of elephants crossing the Zambezi River just above Victoria Falls – were absolutely unbeatable.

Nick White, London

Nepal is a varied and beautiful country, with wonderful people who have a great sense of community. There is optimism but if you visit, be aware of problems and contribute as you see fit to help the local people.

Paul Hamilton, by email Glad you had a good trip, Paul.

And do nominate Mukunda – voting has closed for the 2012 World Guide Awards, but you can nominate guides for 2013 later this year; see www. worldguideawards.co.uk – Ed

*

Political Palestine

What’s happening to my favourite travel magazine?

In the April issue we had an

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the road to middle earth Norway’s Lofoten Islands are a spellbinding mix of fjords, whales and Viking legend – and the drive there’s not bad either…

Words & Pictures William Gray

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Lofotens, Norway 1

1

Circle in all its fjord-carved, I The Arctic 1 island-scattered, peak-dotted glory I 1 I I 1 Fly UK-Evenes via Oslo ( 4hrs); hire a car I 1 May-Sept, for activites & midnight sun; Oct-Apr for northern lights I

Š

Splendid isolation The crinkle-cut coastline of the Lofotens viewed from Hadselsund, on Austvagoya Island

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1

1

I I I

The Peak District I Walk,1 cycle, climb and cavern-delve inI the UK’s 1 first national park

©

I

Edale is 40-50 mins by train from Manchester and Sheffield 1 1

Year-round, but weather is changeable

Great British Escape

EDALE THE PEAK DISTRICT

80 years ago, Derbyshire’s hills were a battleground for walkers’ access rights.

Phoebe Smith relishes her right to roam

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Peak District

Peak District Footnotes

Macclesfield •

• Sheffield

pe N ak at d io i na st lP r ar i c t k

• Edale

• Stoke-on-Trent

Top 5 Places to Stay

Top 5 things to See & Do

1

For the ultimate in landscapes and luxury, Losehill Hotel & Spa (Losehill Lane, Edale Rd, Hope; 01433 621219, www. losehillhouse.co.uk; doubles from £170) offers beds, a heated pool, hot tub and sauna for post-walk pampering.

2

For a lower-key treat, try awardwinning five-star B&B Underleigh House (Losehill Lane, Edale Rd, Hope; 01433 621372, www.underleighhouse. co.uk; doubles from £90).

3

For self-catering, head to Ollerbrook Cottages (Middle Ollerbrook House, Ollerbrook, Edale; 01433 670083, www. ollerbrook-cottages.co.uk; from £490 per week [shorter breaks available]), three five-star cottages nestled at the foot of Kinder Scout.

1

4

2

For a budget option without canvas there’s YHA Edale (Rowland Cote, Nether Booth; 0845 371 9514, yha.org.uk; from £16 pppn [£3 discount for YHA members]), which has its own climbing wall and walking paths from the doorstep.

5

Pitch up at Fieldhead Campsite (below; Moorland Centre, Edale; 01433 670386, www.fieldhead-campsite. co.uk; from £5 pppn plus £3 for parking) to base yourself in the heart of the village.

If it’s full, try Upper Booth Farm (on the Pennine Way, Upper Booth; 01433 670250, www.upperboothcamping.co. uk; from £5 pppn plus £3 per car).

Check out what lies beneath the ground you’ve been walking on in Peak Cavern (Castleton; 01433 620285, peakcavern.co.uk; £8.75), aka the Devil’s Arse! Combine it with Speedwell Cavern (£9.25; Peak/Speedwell joint ticket £15), for a boat tour to a subterranean lake.

Hire a bike from Fairholmes Car Park (Derwent; 01433 651261, www.tinyurl. com/peakbikes; from £15.50 a day; Feb-Nov) to cycle around Ladybower Reservoir, famous for being where pilots prepared for the WW2 Dambusters raids.

3

Explore Peveril Castle (Market Place, Castleton; 01433 620613, www. english-heritage.org.uk; £4.50), one of England’s earliest Norman fortresses.

4

Go climber-spotting on Stanage Edge in Hathersage (stanageedge.co.uk; free), a gritstone ridge where many of Britain’s best clamber. Pose like Keira Knightley (this ridge features in 2005’s Pride & Prejudice) or hire a local guide such as Will Legon (07791 860163, www. will4adventure.com; from £99), who will not only teach you the ropes but – for a bit extra – can cure your fear of heights!

When to go You can walk year-round, but in snow the mountains and paths can be slippy. In winter, care will be needed on the higher peaks and around big drops; an ice axe and crampons (and the ability to use them safely) may be required.

Check the weather forecast at www.mwis.org.uk.

Getting there & around You can drive to Edale very easily (it takes about 45-50 minutes from Manchester or Sheffield). There is a pay and display car park in the village, but space is limited so taking the train into the valley is a good option.

Frequent services to Manchester and Sheffield run from all over the UK; from these cities you can catch a Northern Rail train to Edale on the Hope Valley Line (08457 484950, www.nationalrail.co.uk; from £6.40 single). Trains are every 1-2 hours.

The whole area is well served by bus (0871 200 2233, www.traveline. info). Services run into the different valleys, meaning a car-free week here is perfectly possible.

Accommodation Numerous options from campsites to hotels – see left for our top 5, and www.edale-valley. co.uk for more B&B options. Book ahead in school holidays.

Further info The Moorland Visitor Centre in Edale is a great resource for walking and tourist information (Fieldhead, Edale; 01433 670207, www.peakdistrict.gov.uk).

For advance bookings and upcoming events, contact the official tourist board of the Peak District & Derbyshire (0845 833 0970, www.visitpeakdistrict.com). ■ xxxxxxx

• Manchester

Try a local classic at the Bakewell Tart Shop and Coffee House (Matlock St, Bakewell; 01629 814692; www. bakewelltartshop.co.uk) – a 30-minute drive from Edale, but worth the effort!

Phoebe Smith

5

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PHOTOGRAPH YOURSELF If you get the right angle and are prepared to risk your camera, it’s possible to take some dramatic shots of yourself in action. For this image (taken a while back, in hairier times) I had a camera strapped to my wrists and a fixed 24mm lens focused and taped. I used a fairly small aperture for depth of field, and a relatively fast speed. I shot a whole roll of film on the way down, using a motor-drive; this is the best of the bunch as it shows the bridge perfectly.

Nikon F4, 400 ASA film, 24mm lens, exposure not noted

Camera, action!

Bungy-jumping mountain-biking, river-rafting – all great fun, but how can you capture the moment? Steve Davey offers his top tips simple holiday isn’t enough these days. We don’t just want to visit far-flung exotic locations, we want to go there and throw ourselves off a 100m-high bridge or into a fast-flowing river.

But amid all the whiteknuckle excitement, what do you do with your camera? And how do you come back with pictures that will quicken your pulse for all the right reasons?

A

The secret lies in planning, and judicious use of equipment.

You also have to be realistic: it’s pretty hard to get good shots of yourself taking part in an adrenalin sport. Most of the time you’ll get better shots if you photograph someone else, and then have them snap your actions in return.

You do want to get in close – and that can be a risk. Make sure that your camera is protected against water spray, flying gravel or whatever else

might get thrown at it. If you are close to water then consider a waterproof housing. Some of the cheapest are for compact cameras, so if you’re taking your camera white-water rafting, pick up a cheaper compact – it will be less of an issue if it doesn’t make it.

There are also times when you want to photograph remotely. A wireless release can trigger your camera from a distance. If you are taking a camera on a bike or on some

other adventure where your hands are busy then a headmounted video camera is a good idea (though be prepared for a lot of editing). Catching a single still moment will be all but impossible.

If you are going to shoot yourself in motion, consider using a slow shutter speed to get a panning effect. Include a part of yourself or your vehicle in the composition to give a non-blurred reference point, to accentuate the feeling of speed.

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Navigator Photo tips

take a pic like this 1 Steve’s gallery, plus handy hints

2

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3

2

4

Freeze the moment Use a fast shutter speed to freeze people in abstract positions.

Select a speed of 1/1,000 or greater (depending on the movement) and take several shots using a motor-drive setting.

Shoot when your subject is in the air for the most striking effect – such as with these Gloucestershire cheese-rollers!

Nikon D3x @ ISO 1250, 300mm lens, 1/1,250 sec, f5.6

Anticipate the action Don’t run around following the action – try to anticipate it.

Find an appropriate vantage point, prepare and wait. You will miss some shots, but will be able to create better images of the ones that you are in a position to capture.

Nikon F5, 100 ASA film, exposure not noted

Protect your gear Adrenalin sports involve some danger – for you and your camera.

If near water, invest in a raincover or an underwater housing. These can affect the camera’s handling but keep it dry. Reaching buttons is hard, so use an automatic mode if possible. If doing something really risky, use an older, cheaper camera.

Nikon D70 @ ISO 200, 17mm lens (25mm equivalent), 1/1,000 sec, f5.6,

highlight motion Subjects will look stationary if you ‘freeze’ them with a fast shutter speed. Instead, try panning: use a slow shutter speed and move the camera with the subject. This will create a background blur, but the subject will be relatively sharp.

Experiment with shutter speeds: 1/15 sec is a good place to start.

Nikon D2x @ ISO 100, 35 mm lens (25mm equivalent), 1/13 sec, f22

4

3

The Big 3

Key rules of shooting action shots

1

If you only remember one thing…

Sometimes you’ll have to sit out the action in order to get the best pictures of it – it’s hard to take great shots when you are hurtling around on a bike!

2

Tech tip If you (and your camera) are moving then use a slow shutter speed for a panning effect.

Include a stationary object in the frame to give a non-blurred reference point and heighten the impression of speed.

3

One for the kitbag With a remote wireless release you can fire your camera from up to 30m away, perfect for when you want to artfully place the camera and snap your subject from safety.

Steve leads a range of travel photography tours, with land arrangements by Intrepid Travel. www.bettertravelphotography.com Read more of Steve’s tips in our sister publication, Take Better Travel Photos www.TakeBetterTravelPhotos.co.uk

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Central America 1

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historic, volcanic and natural I Incredible 1 diversity I 1 in an affordable and accessible area

I

Fly UK-Cancún (Mexico) – the most direct regional gateway; flight time 11 hrs 1 1

©

Nov-Apr: dry season

Stairway to heaven The El Castillo pyramid, part of the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, sits in Mexico’s Yucatán

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THE

MAYA WORLD On 21 December, a 5,000-year-old Maya calendar comes to an end.

So seize the moment and discover the incredible ruins, jungle, people and food of Central America with our 25-page special ||||| An introduction to the ‘end of the world’ Hugh Thomson p 86 ||||| Roaming Chiapas by Dan Linstead p 88 ||||| The original chocoholics by Claire Boobbyer p 96 ||||| Bananas about Honduras by Graeme Green p 104 ||||| Highlights & trip planning p 114 Wanderlust July/August 2012 | 85

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Honduras 1

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Maya culture, iridescent birds, I Offbeat 1 great and a tutti frutti culture 1 I diving

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Fly UK-San Pedro Sula, via Miami; flight time from 13 hours 1 1

Š

Dec-May: dry season

HEAD HUNTING IN HONDURAS

Only a handful of Brits make it to Honduras each year – which leaves its mixed-up culture, profuse forests and Maya ruins all the emptier for those that do...

Words Graeme Green

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Maya World

A

strange sound came from the jungle. Among the ambient croaks and whistles that filled the trees, I had managed – with the help of my local guide, Saul – to pick out the sounds of toucans and parrots, and to spot a scarlet macaw, Honduras’s national bird. But this odd trilling sound, like an alien sound effect, was new to me.

Saul smiled; it was the unique call of the Montezuma oropendola, a bird often heard in Honduras but not so easily seen.

I wasn’t here to bird-watch (or bird-hear) though, but to visit the Maya complex of Copán, set within this lush jungle. We blinked into sunlight and the grey, stone pyramid complex was in front of us.

Built by the Chortí Maya, Copán was a major centre for artistic, intellectual and economic achievements from AD300 to 900.

“Copán is the most important archaeological site in Honduras, but not the only one. There are around 4,000,” Saul explained.

The ancient buildings are decorated with statues of gods and kings, serpents and jaguars. One pyramid features a giant Hieroglyphic Stairway; the stonework is still in good condition – not that that makes the symbols easy to understand. “It’s very difficult to interpret Maya art,” Saul said.

“Little is known. The Spanish burnt whole encyclopedias of Mayan. Most of it’s filed under GOK – God Only Knows.”

Many more will guess at their meaning in 2012. Copán isn’t just Honduras’s most prominent Maya site, but one of the most important in the region, and locals are gearing up for an increase in visitors here before (and hopefully after) the prophesied ‘end of the world’ in December 2012.

Big headed The Old Man atop Temple 11 looks out over Copán

Country of many cultures Honduras is already the second most-visited country in Central America, after Costa Rica. But most of those visitors are from the US, and focused around the Bay Islands where cruise ships stop at resort-heavy

• Miami • Pico Bonito NP HONDURAS • Copán • Celaque NP ■ TEGUCIGALPA

Corbis

NICARAGUA

Roatán. There were only 10,200 British visitors in 2011 (0.58% of the total) and Honduras remains one of the lesser known countries in Central America.

In a way, that might be a good thing: El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama all stick out in collective memory partly because of the violence – civil wars, revolutions – in their recent histories. Honduras had dictators and torturing tyrants in the 20th century too, but has managed to avoid the same international stigma.

The turbulent politics haven’t disappeared. In 2009, the coup d’etat and expulsion of President Zelaya saw Honduras being excluded from the Organisation of American States (OAS) until 2011. Problems with human rights before the coup are reported to have got worse. The instability doesn’t help the country; it’s cheap to travel here partly because it’s so poor.

But there’s a more simple problem: many people wouldn’t be able to find Honduras on a map, far less say what there is to see and do here. And there is plenty: the cloudforests and peaks of Celaque National Park; the Bay Islands, with their cheap scuba diving and whale sharks; the beach resorts and party towns of the north coast; the remote rainforests and river systems of La Moskitia.

The inhabitants are equally diverse.

The influx of Spanish and other cultures – French, English, African, Mexican – alongside indigenous groups, has created a country that is ‘tutti frutti’, Saul told me.

“Don’t be surprised to see a million different faces in this country.”

As well as Maya heritage, Honduras is the home of the Lenca, the ‘first people’ of Honduras and the country’s largest indigenous group who dominated before the arrival of the Maya. The Garífuna, descendants of Caribs, Arawaks and West Africans, live in the northern beach communities. That diversity brings occasional disagreements, usually over economics or land rights. But when it comes to living together, Hondurans are proud of their diversity.

They’re welcoming, too. I was surprised to read Honduras’s murder and crime rates are among the highest in the world; the country felt very safe to me. It’s prudent not to walk around the two main cities, San Pedro Sula and capital Tegucigalpa. But my experience was of people strikingly open, friendly and, in remote parts with few tourists, curious.

More than Maya After a night in Copán Ruínas, a cobbled tourist town close to the archeological sites, I set out to explore the main Lenca region, accompanied by Max, one of the originators > Wanderlust July/August 2012 | 105

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