Unlimited blue in French Polynesia

Honeymoon cliches become reality in French Polynesia where detecting new shades of blue is an activity on itselve. Although there are enough cheaper and closer destinations where the sea is also a blueish and the lagoons are also undefinable transparent, Tahiti and its sister islands stay an ultimate honeymooners paradise. Avoid dissapointment and shattered dream by making the right decisions and staying in the right hotels and places. For experienced travelers there are only two options: the new Four Seasons in Bora Bora and yachting with Bora Bora Cruises or Humana Cruises.

The Four Seasons is ultra-new, stylish, luxurious and an example of how hotels in French Polynesia all have to be. (Almost) perfect service, huge overwater villa's with FREE (an alian word in French Polynesia) wifi everywhere, iPod docking stations, huge plasma's, somptious beds and of course the Bora Bora lagoon right in front of your doorstep... Or set sail with Humana Cruises in the quite unknown Tuamotu's. This is a divers paradise where the lagoon of Rangiora is a postcard perfect. Although Bora Bora is very commercial and not as perfect as one would think, it still stays on the toplist of many love birds and blue sea devotees. More fancier and slik is the T'a Moana yacht in Bora Bora. Upmarket cruising, fine dining and relaxing while French Polynesia passes by. But be willing to spend money or French Polynesia will leave a bitter aftertaste.

Kenya Revisited

The time is now to discover Kenya. The parks and the beaches are more empty, the rates are lower and the animals are still in milions and milions there. Kenya is by far the safari expert in Africa. This expertise is reflected in how people run the lodges and hotels and how friendly and welcoming the Kenians are. Despite the political issues, new lodges are still popping up around the country. Take the fantastic Saruni Samburu lodge for example, in the wild and more unknown north of the country. Open spaces, use of natural material, huge solar energy plant and a team that knows how to run a more upmarket lodge. Another exciting lodge is Joy's Camp on the former grounds where Joy Adamson used to live. The charismatic couple Lara and Jamie run this camp and they know that even in the wild, in hospitality it's all about details and taking good care of the smallest one. After the dust of the wide Kenian open, head for the Indian Ocean and stay at Kinondo Kwetu. A small secret, far away from the auwfull all-inclusive resorts along Diani Beach. The Swedish Anderson couple take care of their guest as if they are all close friends. The staff is so open and friendly you almost immeditately start planning a future trip to come back to Kenya and see more of this fantastic piece of Africa.

The Faroe Islands, forgotten by time

Although The Faroe Island (belonging to Denmark but located between Norway and Iceland) are trying hard to be the new Reykjavik, it seems like time passed this archipelo, floating in the Atlantic, by. Eighteen green islands with only 50.000 inhabitants and the double amount of sheep. Theatrical and dramatic weather, changing every five minutes ...from spooky haze surrounding the towerhigh cliffs to the sun fighting back through the clouds and spotlighting the cold sea or deep-greenish mountains. The water has the colour of Aquavit and the land is covered in green, soft and mostly wet carpet. People descent from Vikings and are friendly and very welcoming. It doesn't take long before you get invited into their homes to escape the ambitious winds and showery rains. Stay in the classy and very cosy Foroyar Hotel with a view on Tórshavn, the tiny capital. If you want to experience the town itself, choose for the funky Tórshavn Hotel smack in the middle of town and with views over the harbour. Another magical place in the Faroe Island is the village Gjógv, one of the most pitoresque places around the islands. Lodging at Guesthouse Gjáargarður is simple but perfect if you want to stay in this area. The local babe Jóna Ólavsdóttir Joensen who works at the guesthouse could be the Faroese interpretation of Scarlett Johansson.. Real scandinavian beauty but with a undefying, mysterious look. Just like the Faroese Islands itselves.

Undiscovered Northwest Argentina

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Northwest Argentina is South-America in a glass. Lush, green valleys, arid plains, snowcapped vulcano's, saltlakes,... When visiting this area there are two must-stays in the Salta Province: Bodega Colome near the town of Molinos and the House of Jasmines near Salta city. Colome is a wine estate owned by the excentric Swiss businessman Donald Hess who bought this estancia a couple of years ago and turned it very fast into a drinkable example of how ambitious new world wines can be. Here, at an altitude of 3002 meters, Hess experiments with high altitudes wines with lots of attitude and flavour. Bodega Colome is a dreamy estancia away from everything where gaucho's en Indo's rule the land. Perfect for the Latin America lover. If you want to discover this wonderful part of ARgentina and you live in Belgium, check out the expertise of the Latin-America Specialist Cosmic Travel. They know this continent inside out!

Lost islands in the Med

The ultimate way to discover Greece is to cruise from one small island to another.
Tussock Cruising sails to Greek, hidden drops in the Med with names like Kalymnos, Arki and Fourni... Extreme slow traveling with only the wind deciding which way to go and what to do (or not to do). Tussock Cruising is the only "Gulet" organisation who actually sails during a trip. Every day, sometimes the whole day long the sails are up and the only sound is the wind pushing the boat forward. This is by far the best way to relax, unwind and of course see and experience Greece (and Turkey) from a very unique and non-touristy side.

Swiss scores high in the sky

There's long haul flying and there's business class long haul flying...For those fortunate enough, flying business brings almost back the joy of traveling. Swiss International Air Lines is doing a good job on their Europe-South-America route. At least they give an option for those completely traumatised because of flying with Iberia. They have a Taste of Swisterland foodie programm on board which translates into decent, light and tastefull food and a good selection of wines. In 2009 they will introduce a 2 meter lie-flat bed and even more gadgets like iPod docking stations. Now it's just a matter of time untill the Swiss also realise that internet in the air is just a bear necessity.

The Oberoi Zahra, new style river cruising

Without a doubt the best way to experience Egypte is to cruise along the Nile. Even just being docked along the quay in Aswan gives a special oasis sensation, hectic noise of the bustle of the city included. The new style to cruise the Nile is boarding the ultra-luxurious Nilecruiser the Oberoi Zahra. Sleek, minimal, stylish (only too bad about the fake woods on the floor). Every room has floor-to-ceiling windows, even the bathrooms. She has dedicated private mooring places to avoid the hectic piers where all the other cruisers board. Of course the Zahra comes with a price but for those who can stand the sizzling heat of the Egyptian summermonths the Zahra offers a reasonable price. After all, Egypt is all about the desertheat and that special steamy atmosphere.

Nomads of the Seas, flyfishing in No-man's-land

Today my article about Nomads of the Seas got published in De Tijd, the financial newspaper in Belgium. A good reason to look back at this unique sailingtrip we did a good month ago. We cruised around the area of Puerto Montt in northern Patagonia on what is by any doubt one of the most high-tech ships in the world. Owner Andres Ergas made sure the hardware for this flyfishing expedition is top-end: 25 milion dollar boat, US Army zodiac of one milion, state-of-the-art helicopter,... Definately the ultimate way to discover this end of the world and most of all, to (learn how to) flyfish. Mister Ergas is quite ambitious and is planning more ultimate experience places all over Chile. From ultra-skiing in the Andes to going deep into the Atacama desert. Will be interesting to follow that. On the other hand, tourism and hospitality in South-America is growing so fast, that even a high-end project like Nomads is suffering from growing pains. My feeling is they have to make sure that the software, or the people running these operations, is as good as their hardware. I guess they still have some fine-tuning to do. Let's keep an eye on that!

Valparaiso, the creativity of a harbour city

What we sometimes miss in Antwerp is that special harbour-city feel. You know that the harbour is there, but it's far away from the citycenter and the hussle and bussle of the coming and going of the ships is missing. Here in Valparaiso, you look out of the window and you see the city below and a bit further the sea and it's busy harbour. You hear and even smell the port. In the hills of Valparaiso, especially in Cerro Alegre and Cerro Conception, life goes a lot slower than down in the city center. Narrow street, colorful houses, more and more restaurants and bars...Good addresses to sleep are the newly opened Zero Hotel and a bit further down the road Casa Higueras. The last one offers a bit more classe with a nicely designed swimmingpool and a good restaurant with fantastic terrace and view on the city and port. A good up-to-date guidebook to discover the city is the blog Corrugated City. Matt moved from England to South-Amerika and made it's way from Quito to Buenos Aires and finally ended here in Valparaiso.

Autumn in the Colchagua Valley in Chile

One of the most attractive things about Chile is it's diversity in landscapes, climate, atmosphere and overall feeling. We went from chilly and wet Patagonia to dry and hot Atacama and now it's the Colchagua Valley near Santiago de Chile that is getting under our skin. Why? Surely the place, the Clos Apalta vineyard and it's guesthouse or rather villa style hotel, which is the main reason why we like this area so much. The views over the vineyards with all the autumn colors are specaculair. The wine and the food here are great. The services comes with a big S. The owners are the Grand Marnier family and they brought European expertise to the rich and fertile vineyards of Chile. A great place for tasting and experiencing how Chile made it's way from a winecountry which was not that specaculair to a deserved spot on the A-list of good wine. When you visit Clos Apalta, make sure to have a chat with the Chilean winemaker Andrea Leon. She will explain about the fact that the vineyards are bio-dynamic and organic and how this contributes to the very good Clos Apalta wines.

Today my weekly travel pages moved from De Morgen Magazine, the weekend extra, to the newspaper De Morgen itself. The new travel section is called Vamos (very curious what the readers will think of it). It's a bit like ending a relationship, or saying goodbye to a good, old friend. I've been writing almost every week about travel for De Morgen Magazine since two years. I liked it. I still like it of course. Also the people who work for it are cool. They are dedicated and are honnest to their contributors as well to the readers. I will miss writing every week for DMM.

Just wrote an article about Slow Travel for De Morgen newspaper. I got inspired by the new book from Alastair Sawday about the same subject. What a great concept..Slowwwww. This is the way to travel. Not always easy as a travel journalist. Running from one place to another, sometimes not able to enjoy a place. Taking time to do nothing, enjoying the small things of life. Slowwww is the way to go.

Atacama desert style

Sizzling hot during the day, freezing cold at night. Not to forget one of the dryest places on earth. Handy for people like me who are used to the rain almost 8 months a year. A new wave of hotels opened their doors here near or in San Pedro de Atacama. The old institude Explora is pretending the new ones are not there and continues their "this is not a hotel but an experience" philosophy. Let's see how long they can hold on to it. Good options are Awasi for romance and privacy, Alto Atacama for unlimted views on the mountains and absolute silence at night and Tierra Atacama for good design, comfort and lot's of space. And of course there's still the desert waiting to be discovered... but at your own speed and only when you want it... don't let them treat you like you are on bootcamp! Atacama is also about relaxing and enjoying the space and silence...