TRAVEL NOTES Winter Cruises
As I write these words a gusty wind is driving rain against the windows, the sky Is grey, the streets are wet and glistening. At such momenta—and in winter, alas ! they are many—one sighs for the blue seas of the South, with white coral gleaming in the sun. Yet, to those with leisure these things are far from being unattainable, nor am they unduly costly. That is why winter cruising is becoming more and more popular in this country. It is one of our National characteristics that we grumble, but endure. Wo tell one another (between fits of coughing) that the English climate, in winter, is murderous, but our apathy usually remains and nothing much is done about it. When people make these com- plaints to me I suggest a winter cruise, only to be met by glances of amazement : these people, it seems, can never afford such luxuries. But when one questions them it is soon plain that they do not know what such a cruise would cost, nor do many of them realise that they spend almost the same amount of money each winter on medical attendance, made necessary by the English climate. More- over, there are long cruises and short cruises ; they do not all cost four hundred guineas. The fact is that a well-chosen winter cruise is an investment in health— and that is by no means all, for your money is buying the last word in comfort and luxury. Well-trained servants anticipate your lightest wish, the cuisine is the best obtainable, and for the rest—well, perhaps the best method is to examine a typical instance. On January 20th the Arandora Star' leaves Southampton for Madeira, Trinidad, Cristobal, Balboa, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Pedro, Kingston, Havana, Miami (Palm Beach), Nassau, Barbados and Teneriffe, returning to Southampton on April 7th. Imagine what this means. It is far more than a cruise to Honolulu ; it is a visit, under luxurious conditions, to many of the most alluring spots in the world. It follows the keels of our great sea captains—Columbus, Drake, and Raleigh ; of Morgan, the buccaneer, and of Captain Kidd. It wakes memories of Captain James Cook, the first English- man to set foot in Hawaii, later to be mur- dered by the natives who, a few weeks earlier, had treated him with friendliness. It means the Spanish Main, the islands where mutinous pirates marooned their masters and trimied their stolen treasure. It means San Francisco and the Golden late, the exquisite beauty of the Yosemite National Park, and the New World where Columbus first landed. The voyage lasts seventy-seven days and costs from 165 guineas. If this is not value for money I 41n not know what is. There is the ' Voltaire' cruise, which leaves Southamp- ton on February 6th for Madeira, Bar- bados, Curacao, Panama, Vera Cruz (for Mexico City), Miami and Bermuda, re- turning to Southampton on March 24th, a cruise of forty-seven days costing from eighty guineas. There is the ' Atlantis' cruise sailing from Southampton on January 23rd to the West Indies and Spanish Main—fifty-six days from 110 guineas. The Cunard White Star Line Lave a very. attractive list to offer the traveller. It includes voyages to suit every tree, from a World Cruise by the Franconia' visiting 32 different ports; and covering:41,000 miles in 144 days, to shorter but delightful cruises to the ltivieras of the New World. Still another luxurious cruise is. to bo made by the famous ' Empress of Britain,' sailing on January 23rd. This voyage takes four months, visiting Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Suez Canal, India, Ceylon, Malaya, Siam, Java, Bali, Philippine Islands, Hong- Kong, .China, Japan, Hawaiian Islands, California, Panama Canal to New York, returning to Southampton on May 22nd. The faro, including shore excursions, is
(Continued on next page) (Continued from previous page) from 438 guineas. Very enjoyable holidays at sea are offered by the Nederland Line. Round voyages from Southampton to Java by way of Egypt, Ceylon, Sumatra, and the Straits. First Class fare, including 13 days' hotel accommodation in Java, is £150, with shore arrangements for travel and sight-seeing at a small extra cost. This company also offers shorter sea voyages to Gibraltar, Algeria, Villefranche Nice) and Genoa. Those who plan to visit Madeira this winter have plenty of good services at their disposal. The Royal Mail Line runs a fortnightly service from Southampton ; the Union Castle Line steamships have sailings every Friday from the same port. This company has special tours for Christ- mas and New Year. First Cass return fare is £20. The Yeoward Line offer round _ voyages from Liverpool,. while Messrs. Lampert and Holt are doing a fortnightly service to Madeira, and guarantee return accommodation.
The hotels at Madeira are excellent. The Savoy has just been redecorated and modernised. This hotel is set in very beautiful gardens. There is accommoda- tion- for 200 guests ; it has - two large ballrooms, a private orchestra, and its own bathing Lido. The Savoy makes a 30 per cent. reduction for children between the ages of five and twelve.
Winter Sport in. Finland
Winter Sports have been popular in Finland for many years, and the Finnish people, of course, are famous for their prowess, but facilities for foreigners have not until now been adequate. The open- ing, last August, of the modern Hotel Pohjanhovi on the Arctic Circle provides opportunity of a unique experience for persons who are seeking a new field for winter sport. This hotel, which is open all the year round, is in the Rovaniemi airs; trict, the business centre of Lapland and a junction of all routes to the North. The snow here is very gacd for ski-ng from the end of November to the end of April.- The beet ski-Mg season, however, is during the months, February, March, and April, when the snow is firmest. Rovaniemi has plenty of good hills for the ski-runner, who can here enjoy the unusual sights of large reindeer herds, and the Northern Lights. There are three ski-jumps, the newest of which is the highest in Finland and one of the highest in Scandinavia. Jiimps of 70 to 80 metres are possible. • The out= standing event in this region is the CIU1108- vaara Winter Sports Meeting, held on Lady Day in March. Many thousands of sports- men attend this meeting. In 'addition to its ordinary attractions Rovaniemi offers drives in sledges drawn by reindeer, and reindeer-joring. The -Ounasvaara Ski Club is planning to build sports huts in the neighbouring hills where enthusiasts may eat their sandwiches around a roaring fire. Interested readers should communicate with the Finnish Travel Bureau, 7 Victoria Street, London, S.W. 1.
Of late years there has been an unpre- cedented boom in the German resorts. The Fourth Olympic Winter Games will be held this year at Garmisch-Parten- kirchen, where, between February 6th and 16th experts in every form of Winter. Sport. will meet in friendly rivalry. Other notable German centres are at Oberam-
mergau, where there is a toboggan run on the Kolbon and good ski-ing ; Titisee, ski-ing grounds with jump, ice yachting, and motor- cycle and automobile races on the lake ; Freudenstadt, which claims the highest yearly average of fine weather in the German resorts. Sport- here consists of a coasting run, sleighing, ski-jumps, Winter Sports Festivals, competitions and coasting races.
Norway, . too, is gaining popularity amongst English enthusiasts. Winter sports can be enjoyed all the year round in this country, but only since the completion of the Bergen Railway has the vast plateau of the interior," nearly five thousand feet above sea level, and extending for hundreds of miles, become accessible to visitors. Owing to the high altitude, the hotel at Finse does not open for winter sports until February 20th. The season lasts until the end of May. At several other centres the season starts in December and lasts until the end of April. The great ski-jumping competitions at Holmenkollon, near Oslo, are held towards the end of February, when similar competitions are carried on at Konnerudkollen, near Drammen, at Lille- hammer, at Fedor, in the Gudbrandsdal, at Voss, near Bergen, and at Graakallen, in the Trondheim district. The best centres are at Bergen, Oslo, Dombaas, Gausdal, Geilo, Gola, Holmenkollen, Landaasen, Lillehammer, Opdal, Stalheim, Ustsoset, and Finse, but there are many others. Hotels are good, and every facility i3 given the. sports enthusiast. Full particulars are obtainable from the Norwegian State Railways, Norway House, Cockspur Street, London, S.W. 1, or from any of the usual Tourist Agencies. Canada is another country where facilities for winter sports have greatly improved during recent years. The visitor will there find a keen apprecia- tion of every form of winter sport, and he will be invited to participate rather than merely to watch others. Ice hockey, ieo yachting, skating, ski-ing, tobogganing, are all popular, and the long, rolling hills about Montreal and Ottawa, the steep slopes of the Rockies, and the many excellent rinks for hockey, skating, and curling, provide endless amusement. A feature of Canadian winter sport is snowshoe running, and Mara- thon snow-shoeing has recently been intro- duced. Dog-team racing is another unusual sport in this country. Indian golf has been introduced at the Chateau Frontenac, in Quebec, and has proved as fascinating as it is novel. In this new game one shoots an arrow from a bow instead of hitting a ball with a club, the object being to hit the bulls- eye of the target in as few shots as possible. The game is played on skis. or snowshoes over a " nine-hole " course upon the Plains of Abraham. A skilful player can make the round with pretty much the same score as a golfer on a nine-hole course. The old city . of Quebec is one of the favourite Canadian sports centres, and the quaint French- Canadian atmosphere will appeal to most English visitors. Other popular centres are Montreal, Ottawa, and Banff, the capital of the Rocky Mountain Park. Ottawa pose- _ asses the largest ski club on the continent.
Indian State Railways Magasine In the Travel Notes published last month I stated in error that the price of the October issue of this illustrated Magazine was ikl. This should have been Is. 2d.
Egypt and the Sudan The 1937 edition' Of this annual publica- tion by the Tourist Development Associa- tion of Egypt has just been issued. It illustrates the attractions of modern and ancient Egypt which ,await the ,yisitor dui.* the Winter; inorit ' There era'Wellt • illlystrated adtples Alexindria, Cairo,
Port Said andKtiOis-of intafrest.
litteinationni SPorta,"Mixtoring
m Egypt are other features. Of particular note in this year's issue is the article" "Away from the. „Beaten Track," by H. E.' Ahmed Seddik Bey,.c.p.E., Director of the Egyptian State Tourists Departoent, This ififer$5ativt; publfcatfon 7.sidllrhe flefiegrVtii"- and._ post free on reqntst - to tko. rapt -Travel- Mart-nation. Ifttreauri,--29s-ARt Street, London, S.W.I.
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