Festival at 15000' and Travel Expectations

Two interesting articles in this weekend's NY Times.  The first is on the Qoyllur Rit’i — the Snow Star Festival, held outside of Cusco, Peru. Elevation 15000.' Part Catholic, part earth-based spirituality. Dancing, commemorations, candle-lighting, arts, crafts, sheer beauty, and fervor. Sounds like my kind of festival, though the elevation gives me considerable pause.  http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/celebrating-the-snow-star-festival-in-the-peruvian-andes.html?nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20120512 

The second article focuses on a mother-daughter spring break vacation to south Florida. Wrong place to stay, no clear expectations on what to do and when, costly, and anything but connecting one-on-one. Points to doing your own research on lodging, talking with your traveling companion (even if family) before you go re expectations and objectives, and taking recommendations from friends with a grain of salt.  Makes for a good read and food for thought - especially when traveling with teens and 20-somethings!
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/a-mother-daughter-spring-break-on-fisher-island-florida.html?nl=travel&emc=edit_tl_20120512

Photography Tours

I'm generally not one to take organized tours. Whether I travel alone or with my family, I usually do all of the trip planning (with their input of course!), finding hotels, making air and car rental reservations, etc. But there is one exception - and that's the photography tour. I've been on four such out-of-the-country tours over the years.

•  Nevada Wier - Bhutan
•  Daniel Milnor/Adam Weintraub - Peru
•  Douglas Beasley - Guatemala
•  Deriusz Klemens - India

Could I have done these on my own?  Well, in three cases, probably. Bhutan is the exception (while independent travel is theoretically possible, the governmental requirements are such that practically everyone visits as part of a tour group). But by traveling with a group of photographers, led by a professional photographer (with local logistical assistance), you gain so much.  First, you get to hang out with the pros and with like-minded photographers and travelers. Second, the leaders know what time of day to be where and often the local assistants can arrange special access, etc.  Third, you live and breathe photography (and travel) for the length of the tour. Fourth, the interaction with the rest of the group actually improves your photography as well.  Many of my best photographs have come from these tours.  Now, admittedly, its really hard to go too-wrong in Bhutan, Peru, Guatemala and India - especially India.

What to look for in a photo tour:
1. Do you like the photographic style of the group leader? Always check the photographer's website and ask yourself: "Do I like their work? Can I learn something from their style?"

2. Are spouses or partners encouraged?  (In only one of the 4 tours above were some spouses along - and it was a definite drawback in that they had only passing interest in photography. They also made, in my opinion, wind-down and meal times less interesting, less focused on photography.)

3. How big a group? Photo tours can have anywhere from 2-48 members from what I can tell.  Again, in the case of the four I've been on, the participant numbers (sans instructors) were 2, 5, 6 and 18. The three smaller groups were definitely more interactive than the larger group, though I will give the leader of that group credit for really interacting with everyone, especially the photographers in the group (this was also the tour with a number of spouses along). I'm still in touch with folks in the 2, 5 and 6 person groups; not the 18 person group, other than the instructor. 

4. Am I getting value for the money?  When I booked the India tour (Rajasthan including the Pushkar Camel Fair), I had the choice of about 1/2 dozen photography tours offered by different photographers with tours ranging from $4K to $8K. I knew where in India I wanted to go and tried to match it as closely as possible. And my real desire was to spend a 5-7 days in Pushkar, which narrowed the choice down to 2! I also wanted to stay in local-style hotels and guest houses than 4* and 5* accommodations.

These are all considerations in matching your interests, your preferences and your wallet to the right tour.  And, in reality, I think its hard to go too wrong when you're traveling with photographers who are also travelers!

Church and State: Holy Week in Cusco

My first photography book for general circulation and sale is now available from Blurb.  "Church and State: Holy Week in Cusco" documents the religious processions and events on Holy Week in Cusco, Peru, as well as the strong governmental and military presence that is integral to the observances.  The link below takes you to the Blurb site and includes a preview of the book. 

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1318592

Peru Travel Narrative and Photographs

Just posted my travel narrative and photographs from Peru - Cusco during Semana Santa (Holy Week), the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.   http://realtravel.com/u-88521-ever_onward

Travel Observations

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Peru, attending a photo book workshop (more on that later) and visiting the Sacred Valley, including Machu Picchu.  In the course of the trip, I made several observations which I think are worth passing on.

1. When reclining your seat on an airplane, do so SLOOOOWLY and only as far as you need to.  The person in the seat behind you will be appreciative!  This applies in Business/First class as well.  I experience the guy in front of me reclining his seat as fast and as far as he could at the first possibly moment in flight and then forcing it back even more by pressing his feet against the bulkhead and then bouncing in the seat.  I would almost have rather been in an exit row in coach than in the domestic first class seat.  (Note: "almost" is the operative word here.)

2. Always carry an extra pair of socks in your carry-on bag in case you beat your luggage to your destination.  It was easy to get toothpaste and a tooth brush; not so easy to get a pair of socks during the 30 hour delay in getting my checked bag in Cusco.

3. After an all day and all night flight, avoid a 5-hour layover before your final connecting flight.  'Nuff said.

4. Airport security varies WIDELY among airports.  I went through security screening at Seattle-Tacoma, Lima, Cusco, Lima and Miami on this trip.  Shoes off at SeaTac and Miami, thorough carry-on baggage search in Cusco and Lima, body pat-down on the return flight from Lima.  Never took more than 5 minutes to get to the front of the security line. 

5. American Airlines serves the BEST ice cream sundies in its business class cabin!

6.  The Alaskan Airlines digiEPlayers are an interesting feature - a dozen or so movies, television programs, music, etc.  I kind of prefer the seatback systems that the major airlines use on their trans-continental and international flights, but its a reasonable alternative.  And certainly beats the lack of personal video entertainment systems on the American Airlines 757 fleet.  As soon as they've scrapped their MD-80 fleet, they need to purge their domestic-type 757s.  And, believe it or not, TACA airlines actually had in-flight entertainment on their Airbus 320 planes on the 70 minute flight between Lima and Cusco.  Nice planes too.

7. The check-in agents at American are great; not so great at Alaska suprisingly.  On board, its the opposite - Alaskan flight attendants are THE best, while it was more of a mixed bag at American. 

8. All 8 flight segments were on-time and I made it safely back home.  That's really all I can ask. 

9.  If you want to go to Machu Picchu by train, do so quickly.  The line just re-opened after a two month closure due to floods, mudslides, etc.  The trackbed still looks precarious and its hard to imagine that the tracks can survive another round of torential rains like they experienced earlier this year. 

10.  In spite of delay luggage and other minor inconveniences, the trip was definitely worth it - as are nearly all trips!  So, Journey On!