NEW IDEAS FOR 2020!
ARGENTINA – Estancia life!
Horses, cattle, wine and dancing!!
Cordoba’s Estancia Los Potreros is a firm favourite of mine, a working cattle ranch rich in rural tradition with fantastic wine and scenery – not to mention the gauchos!
Learn the fast and addictive game of polo with an introduction week in March or October featuring morning classes and practice chukkas with a local professional player, and rides across the ranch in the afternoon. The week is topped off with a mini tournament – fiercely fought but always fun!
5-8 March 2020 sees the annual National Grape Harvest Festival in Mendoza, Argentina’s premier wine region, with processions, banquets and plenty of wine beneath the spectacular Andes backdrop.
In early September you can soak up rural flavour at the local agricultural show in Jesus Maria, about an hour from the estancia. Enjoy gaucho cattle cutting and ‘best of breed’ competitions, livestock sales and stalls selling gaucho essentials, from ponchos to beautiful worked rawhide leather. ‘Strictly’ fans might like to time their trip to take in the International Tango Festival from 13 – 26 August 2020 in Buenos Aires!
Ask me about planning a holiday here.
RUSSIA
Trans- Siberian Express
The Trans-Siberian Express is still the most brilliant way to see Russia’s Siberian region. Break your journey as you wish (Ekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk) along the way, and after a few days’ exploration, continue on east or southwards through Mongolia and on to Beijing.
JAPAN – new attraction
The Mt. Fuji World Heritage Centre recently opened at the foot of the iconic mountain and is an excellent place to learn all about the fabled peak’s history. Designed by world-famous Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the exhibitions spiral up five floors and end with a breathtaking panoramic view of Mt. Fuji itself.
Cutting edge Tokyo, ‘Hell’s Valley’ Snow Monkeys, Gassho-Zukuri farm-houses in snow-clad alpine villages, 750-year old Cedar forests, heated loo seats (yes, really!), zip fast Shinkansen bullet trains, chanting monks and Buddhist temple lodgings, Ramen Noodle street stalls, snow-topped volcanoes, ‘son et lumiere’ over a Japanese garden in the shadow of castle ramparts, bubbling hot springs and Saki, Ground Zero at Hiroshima and a meeting with a traditional Geisha in the secretive world of Kyoto’s private tea houses … just some of the memories I brought back from my trip to Japan.
Call me if you want to know more, and see my full trip report and photos.
MONGOLIA MUST-SEE FESTIVAL
A celebration of the Golden Eagle
For a truly memorable adventure this autumn I suggest a 15 day trip to Mongolia taking in the annual Golden Eagle festival in Bayan-Ölgii aimag.
Held on the first weekend in October, it’s a wonderful spectacle with competitions and displays showcasing the skills of both birds and trainers. A smaller event, the Altai Kazakh Eagle Festival, is also held each year in the last week of September.
Call me if you’d like to chat through possibilities in this extraordinary land.
