Travel Centre

Archive for August, 2010

Dynamism and physical activity are the fundamental requirements of a true sporting holiday. Sport lovers are often demanding of an active holiday with plenty of physical activity and well-being for the body and the mind.

Doing physical activity also on holiday is the special mission of the Hotels for sport enthusiasts. From triathlon to bicycle racing, these hotels propose the active holiday and make sure that every sports need is satisfied.

The hotels on the Adriatic Riviera offer four ways of practicing sport while on holiday:

- Cycling holiday
- MTB holiday
- Triathlon holiday (Cycling + Swimming + Racing)
- Holiday in the swimming-pool (swimming)

The Hotels for sport enthusiasts offer targeted services for each type of holiday.

Hotels for riders and bike services for road racing holidays and mountain bike holidays: technical equipment, specialized guides, cycling-tourism tracks, and participation in the various cycling races organized locally.

These are the bike facilities:

- bicycle storeroom
- Pre and post-training buffet
- A minibus
- Cycling itineraries (maps of the itineraries in the inland area) selected and divided according to level of difficulty.
- Technical assistance – Tailor-made bicycle hire
- Fitness and massages
- Laundry service.

For the triathlon enthusiasts, there are special cycling/swimming/racing tracks to train every body part and experience the adrenalin of sport at 360°.

The service for triathlon are:

- bicycle facilities
- bicycle guides
- swimming facilities
- running facilities

The hills over Riccione, for example, are particularly suitable for cycling and the Province of Rimini can provide cycling-tourism maps that will guide bike lovers.

For those who feel like “fishes”, Riccione offers the opportunity of swimming in the heated swimming-pool with swimming instructors.

The swimming services are:

- Large pool:
- Olympic-sized pool
- Packed lunch
- Assistance (for example advanced swimming lessons)
- Towels and bathrobes
- Special agreements

In addition to all this, relax treatments, from massage to sauna, are the best way to relax the muscles after the tiring but enjoyable sports activities.

The Adriatic Riviera and the Hotels in Riccione are the ideal dimension for sports people who, while on holiday, want not only to enjoy the inland, the food, the beaches and the entertainment offered by the local area, but also and, first of all, want to keep in shape through the many chances of doing sport.

To live a special sportive holiday the Sport Hotel in Italy and especially in Riccione propose a lot of event during the evening to relax an to be ready for the next sport activity.

This kind of holiday is very diffused in Italy and every year a lot of cycling lovers choose a bike holiday to live between sport and nature.

Italian Regions offer a lot of bike itineraries, from the mountain to the sea and during their journey the guest could participate to important cycling races in Italy. The Nove Colli for example is one of the most famous race that gives fame to Marco Pantani.

Italy and Italian bike hotel could offer an complete sport holiday full of activity, history and emotion.

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Just because you have a dog doesn’t mean you have to stay home all the time. If you plan ahead and take a little care, it is easy and fun to travel with your dog.

Here are some tips to make the trip easier on both you and your pet:

1. Get your dog used to riding in the car by taking him on short trips. Go to fun places like the dog park, the fast food drive through (where you can feed him bits of meat from your burger), or to visit friends. You want him to think that trips in the car are fun. You don’t want your dog to think that all car trips end up at the vet’s office.

2. If your dog tends to get carsick, don’t feed him the morning of the trip. Having your dog travel with an empty stomach will help to prevent any car sickness.

3. Bring plenty of water and a water dish along. You will need to give your dog periodic drinks of water when you stop for a rest. It will be easier to get your dog to drink if it is familiar water from home. Water in different places often smells or tastes differently, and your dog may not want to drink it.

4. Be sure to pack your dog’s food, treats, favorite bed, toys, and leash.

5. If your dog uses a crate, bring that along too. If you don’t have a large vehicle, you can buy crates that fold up. When you get to your destination, you can put your dog in his crate while you go somewhere that you can’t bring him along.

6. How should your dog travel in the car? Some dogs like to sit or lay on the seat, so bring a blanket to protect the upholstery. Other dogs may need to be kept in a crate in the car. Be sure the crate can’t slide around and scare the dog while you’re driving. You can also purchase dog seat belts to keep your dog safe while sitting in the car.

7. Make a stop every few hours to walk your dog and give him some water. Some dogs are frightened by the noisy trucks driving by, so try to walk in a quiet area. Be a good citizen and bring plastic bags along to pick up the mess.

8. If your dog is anxious about staying in a hotel or strange house at your destination, he might not eat or drink. You don’t want him to get dehydrated, so be sure to get him to drink, at least. You can mix chicken broth or gravy into the dog’s water. That will usually get him to lap it right up. You can mix chicken broth or gravy into the food too.

The first trip will be the hardest, because your dog will not realize that you are coming back. With the first trip behind you, if you have taken the time to make sure it is pleasant for your dog, future traveling with your dog should be a breeze.

There are approximately 3,000 Peru holidays and festivals celebrated each year. Peru celebrates the widely known holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Christmas and New Year, but most of the celebrations are for a particular saint. Most of these saints are a combination of Catholic and Andean religious traditions.

The typical work-week in Peru lasts for six days, which is probably one of the reasons why there are so many holidays. Many Peruvians get the day off on holiday, called feriado, which is usually spent drinking one of Peru’s top beers: cristal, cusqueña or pilsen.

Most Peruvians love to drink. They’ll treat personal celebrations and events with as much fervor as national holidays. Drinks are passed around on birthdays, family and friend gatherings, baptisms, sporting events, weddings, baby showers and even at funerals! It is very common to find fiestas throughout Peru, accompanied by not only drinks, but traditional and modern dances.

When planning a vacation to Peru you may wish to include Peru holidays in your itinerary. There are Peru holidays and festivals throughout the year, with those in June and July in Cuzco being the most popular with tourists.

January

Of course New Year is celebrated in Peru, especially as it is one of the Peru holidays that provides an excellent opportunity to drink. The party starts on December 31st with rounds of beer and lots of food. At the stroke of midnight there is champagne and a toast, accompanied by hugs and goodwill. Twelve grapes are eaten by each person, one for each month of the year, with a secret wish. Then the fireworks start and the beer drinking begins anew for most of January 1st.

February

For eighteen days Puno celebrates the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria. Hundreds of groups of musicians and dancers accompany huge amounts of food and fireworks on February 2nd when a procession carries the virgin image through the city. The dance of the demons has dancers wearing devil masks make offerings to Pachamama, the Earth Goddess. For the farewell the dancers are followed into the cemetery to pay homage to the dead.

Carnival is a National holiday celebrated for the entire month of February. This is when people get wet, really wet. People arm themselves with squirt guns, water balloons and buckets of water with the goal to get as many people wet as possible. In most places it is illegal to celebrate carnival on weekdays as people going to work would complain to the government about getting soaked. Cajamarca is especially enthusiastic about carnival, organizing several activities for Peru holidays during two weeks in February.

Lunahuana hosts the International Festival of Adventure Sports. People from all over the world come to see and participate in kayaking, rock wall climbing, paragliding and other adventure or outdoor sports. The festival’s dates change, but it is always held in February.

March – April

In March or April Peru holidays center around Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which generally begins on the Thursday before Easter Sunday and continues through Easter. Traditionally, drinking is shunned during Semana Santa except for wine, and meat should not be eaten except for fish. Several stores will not sell alcohol on these four days, but many Peruvians still find a way to drink, especially on Saturday and Easter Sunday. There are Holy Week processions in most Peruvian cities starting from the Plaza de Armas or Main Square. Ayacucho hosts the most famous Semana Santa celebrations which start on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In Ayacucho it is traditionally believed that Christ is dead during the week until Easter Sunday, therefore sin does not exist during that time.

Cuzco celebrates the Lord of the Earthquakes on Easter Monday which blends Christian and Andean traditions. The Procession is to pay homage to Taitacha Temblores, as it is believed that an oil painting of Christ stopped an earthquake in the year 1650.

May

On the 1st of May el Dia de los Trabajadores (Labor Day) is celebrated Nationally by taking the day off from work and drinking. From the 2nd to the 4th Puno holds the Alarcitas Handicrafts Fair Dia de Santa Cruz. At this time hundreds of sellers gather together to sell thousands of handmade items like alpaca wool sweaters, jewelry, paintings, tapestries, wood crafts and scores of imaginative items from Peru and Bolivia.

June

This month is when Peru holidays really start to pick up. Corpus Christi is a national holiday which has basically been taken over by Cuzco. Hundreds of people crowd around the Plaza de Armas to see several Processions including the Processions of the Saints and of the Virgins accompanied by dancers in various traditional dress.

Inti Raymi celebrates the Inca Sun God on June 24th. Beginning early in the day at Koricancha (the Temple of the Sun) and the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco city, the celebration then moves to the Incan Sacsayhuaman structure at about noon. Thousands of people gather to see the recreation of an ancient Inca celebration of dances and worship to the Sun God in which two llamas are sacrificed.

July

In the town of Paucartambo, just a few hours from Cuzco, La Virgen del Carmen is celebrated for five days, with it’s main day being July 16th. Traditional dances, costumes and homage to the dead are observed.

July 28th to the 29th marks Peru’s Independence Day which calls for more drinking and fireworks across the country. The large water fountain at the Plaza de Armas in Lima is filled by the Municipality with 2,000 liters of the alcoholic drink Pisco for everyone to enjoy for free.

Cuzco is especially crowded during most of June and July to celebrate. There are several Peru holidays in Cuzco with processions, artisans lay out their handicrafts, street vendors sell a huge assortment of food and bands make live performances. During these times Cuzco gets so crowded that it can be difficult to walk just a couple of blocks.

August

In the seventeenth-century a Lima resident named Isabel Flores de Oliva earned fame for caring for the sick and shunning sin. Those searching for a miracle visit her shrine in downtown Lima. Her festival, El Dia de Santa Rosa de Lima, is celebrated on August 30th throughout the country, especially in Santa Rosa de Quives in the department of Lima.

September

From the 22nd to the 25th Juliaca celebrates Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in honor of the town’s Saint Patroness in which fairs, dances and folk acts are held.

Trujillo organizes the International Spring Festival in the 4th week of September. Once again, there are drinking, folk shows and dancing, but this time there are visits from American and European beauty queens. Bullfighting and the Peruvian Stepping Horses contests are also held.

October

On October 8, 1879 a naval battle was fought between Peru and Chili. This National holiday is remembered as the Combate Naval de Angamos.

From the 18th to the 28th is El Señor de los Milagros (The Lord of Miracles), the most important of all the Peru holidays in October. This is largely a procession in honor of a slave from Angola who drew the image of a black Christ in Pachacamilla near Lima. Although there had been several attempts to erase it, the image stubbornly stayed on the wall. Tens of thousands participate in the procession every year. Believers carry two tons of remains that bore the painting and walk for twenty-four hours starting from the church Las Nazarenas, through downtown Lima, and finally to the church La Marced in Barrios Altos. Bullfighting season also starts in October to commemorate The Lord of Miracles.

La Noche de Las Brujas, or Halloween, is loosely celebrated on October 31st. Some attention is paid to trick-or-treating for the children.

November

All Saints Day is celebrated on the first, with All Souls Day following on t
he second. Peruvians may attend mass and visit cemeteries in memory of the dead, especially loved ones.

Puno, the folkloric center of Peru, has many Peru holidays. It’s founding is celebrated on the 4th and 5th called Puno Days. There are military parades, drinking and dancing. A procession of masked dancers celebrate the Inca legend of when Manco Capac, the first king of Cuzco, and his sister and wife Mama Occlo, rose out of Lake Titicaca.

December

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th is celebrated by two of the things that Peruvians love most – great food and lots of beer. Christmas celebrations begin on the 24th when the drinking starts. At midnight the official party begins, sometimes gifts will be exchanged, but there will always be a round of champagne.

Ask me which Pacific island has the most to offer hikers and I’ll probably answer Easter Island. Here on an island 11 km wide and 23 km long you’ll find nearly a thousand ancient Polynesian statues strewn along a powerfully beautiful coastline or littering the slopes of an extinct volcano.

The legends of Easter Island have been recounted many times. What’s less known is that the island’s assorted wonders are easily accessible on foot from the comfort of the only settlement, Hanga Roa. Before setting out see the sights, however, visit the excellent archaeological museum next to Ahu Tahai on the north side of town (the term “ahu” refers to an ancient stone platform). Aside from the exhibits, the museum has maps which can help you plan your trip.

The first morning after arrival, I suggest you climb Easter Island’s most spectacular volcano, Rano Kau, where Orongo, a major archaeological site, sits on the crater’s rim. But rather than marching straight up the main road to the crater, look for the unmarked shortcut trail off a driveway to the right just past the forestry station south of town. It takes under two hours to cover the six km from Hanga Roa to Orongo, but bring along a picnic lunch and make a day of it. (If climbing a 316-meter hill sounds daunting, you can take a taxi to the summit for around US$6 and easily walk back later in the day.) Once on top, you’ll find hiking down into the colourful crater presents no difficulty. It may also look easy to go right around the crater rim, but only do so if you’re a very experienced hiker and have a companion along as shear 250-meter cliffs drop into the sea from the ridge.

Another day, rise early and take a taxi to lovely Anakena Beach at the end of the paved road on the north side of the island (you should pay under US$10 for the 20 km). A few of the famous Easter Island statues have been restored at Anakena and you could go for a swim, although the main reason you’ve come is the chance to trek back to Hanga Roa around the road-free northwest corner of the island. You’ll pass numerous abandoned statues lying facedown where they fell, and the only living creatures you’re unlikely to encounter are the small brown hawks which will watch you intently from perches on nearby rocks. If you keep moving, you’ll arrive back in town in five or six hours (but take adequate food, water, and sunscreen). This is probably the finest coastal walk in the South Pacific.

Almost as good is the hike along the south coast, although you’re bound to run into other tourists here as a paved highway follows the shore. Begin early and catch a taxi to Rano Raraku, the stone quarry where all of the island’s statues were born. This is easily the island’s most spectacular sight with 397 statues in various stages of completion lying scattered around the crater. And each day large tour groups come to Rano Raraku to sightsee and have lunch. However, if you arrive before 9 am, you’ll have the site to yourself for a few hours. When you see the first tour buses headed your way, hike down to Ahu Tongariki on the coast, where 15 massive statues were reerected in 1994. From here, just start walking back toward Hanga Roa (20 km) along the south coast. You’ll pass many fallen statues and enjoy some superb scenery. Whenever you get tired, simply go up onto the highway and stick out your thumb and you’ll be back in town in a jiffy.

An outstanding 13-km walk begins at the museum and follows the west coast five km north to Ahu Tepeu. As elsewhere, keep your eyes pealed for banana trees growing out of the barren rocks as these often indicate caves you can explore. Inland from Ahu Tepeu is one of the island’s most photographed sites, Ahu Akivi, with seven statues restored in 1960. From here an interior farm road runs straight back to town (study the maps at the museum carefully, as you’ll go far out of your way if you choose the wrong road here).

A shorter hike takes you up Puna Pau, a smaller crater which provided stone for the red topknots that originally crowned the island’s statues. There’s a great view of Hanga Roa from the three crosses on an adjacent hill and you can easily do it all in half a day. A different walk takes you right around the 3,353-meter airport runway, which crosses the island just south of town. Near the east end of the runway is Ahu Vinapu with perfectly fitted monolithic stonework bearing an uncanny resemblance to similar constructions in Peru.

Easter Island’s moderate climate and scant vegetation make for easy cross country hiking, and you won’t find yourself blocked by fences and private property signs very often. You could also tour the island by mountain bike, available from several locations at US$10 a day. If you surf or scuba dive, there are many opportunities here. A minimum of five days are needed to see the main sights of Easter Island, and two weeks would be far better. The variety of things to see and do will surprise you, and you’ll be blessed with some unforgettable memories.