Not a seal in sight - What the Saturday papers say
March 26, 2006While Canada is in the news for what tourism industry officials may consider the wrong reasons as the country's controversial seal hunt gets under way, on the other side of the country untracked powder snow is the prey. Nicholas Roe of The Times goes heli-skiing in the Canadian Rockies and Alf Alderson of The Guardian finds a safer way to enjoy the skiers' "holy grail" in British Columbia's Selkirk mountains.
Two skis good, two legs better, perhaps. The Times swaps shoes for boots and goes walking. Stephanie Debere climbs Corsica’s GR20 - "Western Europe’s toughest hiking route", while at home in the UK, Philip Marsden hikes the West Mendip Way. For spiritual brownie points, nothing beats walking the pilgrims' path to Santiago. Barbara Catchpole writes that the "route stretches for 500 miles from the northern end of the Pyrenees on the French/Spanish border across the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela in the western reaches of Galicia". The route has changed little in 500 years.
The Italian city of Rome is no slouch when it comes to religion. Really. David Willey, the BBC's correspondent over the past 40 years, reveals some of the city's secrets in The Independent. In short, do not do as the tourists do.
Two Spanish cities - Madrid and Seville - round out the city-break coverage in today's papers. Iain Mayhew in The Mirror enjoys a rummage in El Rastro, "Spain's largest and most colourful flea market". Among other things, Madrilenos come here "looking for long lost friends - the leather jacket they foolishly left on the seat of their car last week. Or the handbag that disappeared off the back of a tapas bar stool". The market indeed sounds like "a glorious den of thieves, vagabonds and banterers". Meanwhile, The Guardian unpeels Seville (fantastic headline that). Robert Elms says "if you have ever hankered after Hemingway, Don Juan and Carmen, ever wanted to wander citrus-perfumed squares in your finery, or roll through dappled parks in grand carriages while the rapid rattle of maracas hangs in the hot, still air, then Sevilla is the city for you".
From the old world to the new ... Sarah Barrell, partner and baby bump (of about six months) flies to Palm Springs for The Independent. Barrell is in search of an indulgent spa holiday to soothe the stretchmarks and rejuvenate tired legs. She finds it, and enjoys some pampering before the Pampers. Dad-to-be is not forgotten either. "Pregnancy can be a quietly angst-ridden time for dads-to-be," said one masseuse.
There's more to America than playgrounds for millionaires of course. Some playgrounds are created by millionaires for ordinary folk. One multi-millionairess with the common touch is Dolly Parton. The Mirror's David Edwards visits her theme park, Dollywood, "a sort of hill-billy version of Alton Towers". Dollywood lies in the foothills of Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains, and attracts two million tourists a year. And this little titbit on another national treasure rounds out the Americana angle: Graceland, Elvis Presley's Memphis home, will shortly be made a US National Historic Landmark along with Pearl Harbor, the White House and Mt Vernon.
Staying with the uber-rich, Lisa Grainger of The Telegraph reports that the fabulously wealthy Getty and Oppenheimer families have bought huge areas of wilderness in South Africa and are opening their private homes to holidaymakers.
If that's all a bit touristy and pedestrian for you, there are the usual plethora of articles on "far-flung places". This week, intrepid travel reporters journey to South Africa (Christina Patterson (The Independent) boards South Africa's Blue Train for some easy luxury), the Philippines (Carl Thompson (The Independent) goes in search of the hill tribes of the second-largest island in the Philippines) and Tobago (Mimi Spencer (The Guardian) snoops around at the Blue Haven, the resort that once played host to royaly, Hollywood's brightest stars, and The Beatles).
Finally, it might be too late for tomorrow, but The Guardian has rounded up five great ideas for Mother's Day from a quick trip to Lille, afternoon tea at The Lanesborough or a spa break. Brownie points indeed.
© Cheapflights Ltd Oonagh Shiel
