November/December 2011 Newsletter from Quivertree Family Expeditions!

Dear fellow traveling families,

Thanks for reading our newsletter! This is a very exciting time for Quivertree. For December we have families scheduled to travel to South Africa, Guatemala, Italy, India and other destinations. And there is still time to organize your December trip! And kudos to Gideon and Quivertree - his blog of his family trip to Myanmar (Burma) has been officially recognized by Tripadvisor as the premier reference for anyone considering a visit there. This is outstanding recognition for his most informative and entertaining trip report.

TripAdvisor: Please read this if you are planning to visit Myanmar

Myanmar has just been voted #2 on Lonely Planet's list of top ten countries to visit in 2012 and we are putting together some unforgettable trips there. Contact us for more details!

As a reader, you will get the chance to preview upcoming specials before they are posted to our website. If there is anything that interests you, please let us know. In addition, we update our Facebook page daily, so check it out to keep current with all news Quivertree and Family Travel related, see our latest photos, and join us in our online surveys.

This month we have some terrific reading for you! We have a trip report from Israel and Gideon's Guatemalan reflections after his recent trip.

Gideon's Guatemalan reflections

Guatemala celebrates the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012. The ancient Mayans were one of the greatest civilizations that the world has ever known, creating mighty cities in the jungles of Central America. Amazingly, they did this without the use of the wheel, or the use of any metal. They also created the most scientifically exact calendar that the world has known. This calendar runs in cycles of 26,000 years, and the current cycle is completed in December 2012, supposedly heralding a new and better age than we have ever known. (Some headline seekers claim that the calendar signifies the end of the world, but having just returned from Guatemala, I can assure you that native Mayans do not believe this themselves).

GideonGuatemala1

2012 is going to be an awesome year to visit Guatemala. Shamans will be conducting rituals across the country and the overwhelmingly Mayan population will be celebrating throughout the year.

I've just returned from a trip to Guatemala. It is an amazing country to visit. For me, just wandering around old Antigua is a wonderful experience - the locals wear the most colorful dress you can imagine, and the town itself is fascinating, retaining the atmosphere of an 18th century Spanish colonial settlement. The green highlands are full of adventure - from whitewater rafting to tubing in massive caves, from horse riding up volcanoes to hiking through coffee plantations, this region offers families nonstop adventure.

GideonGuatemala2

But my favorite place in all of Guatemala is the Peten region. This is in the steamy hot lowlands, where ancient temples peek out of the jungle. Tikal is the greatest ancient Mayan city in the world and a visit here is unforgettable. On the one hand you have these incredible pyramids soaring skywards, while on the other hand you have a real safari experience - spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree, howler monkeys screeching away, coatamundis wandering around (these are like large raccoons) and in the sky, parrots and toucans chattering away. I even had a huge tarantula spider cross the path right in front of me. Personally, I can think of no better adventure than climbing up an ancient pyramid in the middle of the jungle surrounded by all this prolific animal and bird life. For kids and parents alike, it's like Indiana Jones come true.

GideonGuatemala3

I can't think of a better country to visit in 2012 than Guatemala. Contact us for more details.

Israel trip report by Pierre and Felice who traveled with their grandson Daniel in June

Thank you for a trip that had unforgettable experiences for each of us three. Most important, for our grandson,was the immersion in the sights and sounds of the land, leading to his increasing identification with it. Of course he may not put it that way himself. What he actually said were the high spots were things like his total inability to sink into the Dead Sea however hard he tried, the experience of being up on top of Masada (usual walk up time 50 minutes, last month's record 12 minutes 22 seconds), the "best burger he has ever had", and the weapons on all the young soldiers seen (Israeli soldiers are required to have their weapons with them always, including home, to aid in rapid call-up and deployment. No 2^nd Amendment "right to bear arms" over there. It's a duty). Our guide was encyclopedic in his knowledge, patient in his explanations and firm but gentle in his marshalling of us. Everything - hotels, visits, scheduling - all went exactly accordingly to plan, from the first pick-up in the crush of arrival to the last good-bye at Ben Gurion Airport. When it appeared that some hitch might be cropping up, the staff in your local office were there immediately (including once at 10 PM) to resolve it without any further ado. I have strongly recommended your tour to our son and his family in New York, and I also gladly do so to anybody else who is considering a visit to Israel.

Notes, tips and observations

To all our foodies out there, here are 12 vegetarian dishes worth scouring the globe for.

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-11/12-mouth-watering-vegetarian-dishes-worth-traveling-for.html

It's time to look ahead to 2012 (yes, already!). National Geographic's Top Destinations for 2012 include a number of our favorites, including Peru, Colombia and Guatemala.

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-2012/#/botw-main-gallery-iceland_41325_600x450.jpg.

And here at Quivertree, we recently posted our favorite family travel tips. Here's the link

http://quivertreeworld.com/pdf/Quivertree-Top10-TravelTips.pdf

And finally a few photos that represent the surprises and joys of traveling. Third one is from Angkor Wat. Wat are they thinking?

China escalator