Tag Archives: remote

a couple kayaks through the ice in Alaska

An Alaska Anniversary Trip During Covid

Leave a reply
a couple kayaks through the ice in Alaska
Kayaking, a bucket-list activity for Janette
couple fishing off back of boat in Alaska
Fishing at Whale Pass
couple on boat dock in alaska posing with fish from fishing trip
Our catch at Whale Pass
Covid testing tent at Petersburg airport Alaska
Covid testing tent at Petersburg airport
Coronavirus safety signs at Petersburg airport Alaska
Signage at Petersburg airport
traveler couple wearing masks in a float plane in Alaska
Wearing masks in the float plane
aerial view from airplane when Landing at Tutka Bay Lodge Alaska
Landing at Tutka Bay Lodge
a couple poses in the woods by a waterfall in Alaska
A waterfall hike
couuple in masks with luggage at airport
Before (leaving Houston)
couple posing on a boat in front of a glacier in Alaska
After (boating to a glacier)

 

 

This traveler got this trip by starting with this questionnaire.  For a safe, smart, extraordinary trip, go to The WOW List, find the best destination specialist for you, then click his/her CONTACT button to reach Wendy’s questionnaire.

 

What do you do when you planned a 25th anniversary trip for May of 2020, and then a global pandemic hits? You postpone it and, when the remote Alaskan lodges you’ve got your heart set on begin to reopen, and the state starts to admit travelers with proof of a negative Covid test, you finalize the date, call in the experts, get your Covid test, and go. That’s what frequent WOW List travelers Janette and James Gill of Houston did. They made their special milestone trip in July, capitalizing on Alaska’s prime time for weather and wildlife viewing.

You might remember that we spoke to Mrs. Gill back in March, at the start of the pandemic. At that time, she was visiting her daughter, who was studying abroad in Rome. The family was supposed to take a trip through Italy, but as the country’s caseload soared and Lombardy went on lockdown, they had to divert their itinerary. A few months later, the coronavirus forced them to change their plans once again—and yet they still had a great time on their anniversary trip and can’t wait to return to Alaska. We called Mrs. Gill shortly after they got home from their adventure, to find out all about it.

First, a note: While we at WendyPerrin.com do not encourage travel at this time, we believe it is possible to travel responsibly during this pandemic. We have done so ourselves—and we trust our community of global citizens to make smart choices for themselves and the people they’ll encounter. While most travelers want to wait until there is a vaccine for their next trip, some have asked us to help them travel safely and responsibly now—and we are happy to provide the intel and support they seek. We answer their questions every day at Ask Wendy. And we request their post-trip feedback as part of our effort to provide you with a realistic and useful view of the travel landscape right now. Thank you to the Gill family for talking to us about their trip and sharing information we know will be useful to other travelers.

Why did you choose Alaska?

We’d been there before and loved the open spaces, and the wildlife is amazing. The lodges are just so unique. We had stayed in the Winter Lake Lodge and this time we wanted to try its sister property, Tutka Bay Lodge.

Judith reached out to me a month or two into the pandemic to gauge how I was feeling. I said if the plane is flying and the resort is open and we’re not sick, we’re going—just because this is an expensive trip and something we’d been looking forward to all year.

What was the process of getting into Alaska, with the testing requirements?

Judith made sure I understood what was required. She let us know that we had to have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of travel. She sent me information on where I could go in Houston for the Covid test and walked me through the worst-case scenario if we didn’t get our results. This is the exact reason why we use travel specialists from WendyPerrin.com—for situations like this.

It ended up not being a problem because I was able to find someone [in Houston] to give a nasal swab test and results within two days, so we got the results during our Seattle stopover en route to Alaska. We were proceeding as if we were negative—and we were.

The Alaskans are very serious that no one who comes into their state is positive: They had Covid testing at several airports we went to. As long as the flight didn’t come from out of state, we didn’t have to keep showing the test, but we did carry the negative test with us.

You stayed in two lodges. Can you tell us about them?

We flew from Seattle to Ketchikan and took a float plane into the Lodge at Whale Pass, an amazing remote upscale adventure lodge. Mainly the focus there for us was fishing. We wanted to get remote because I love remote Alaska, away from cruise-ship passengers. Judith recommended it for the food too.

Only one other family was there when we were, and for dining we sat spaced out, but we had just gotten our negative test results and the other family obviously had too, so our masks came off the minute we arrived. We fished, went to see the beautiful glacier, and kayaked through the icebergs because that was on my bucket list. The lodge owners’ son was our boat captain, and they were both there. It’s a very cozy, family-run business. We stayed for three nights, and except for meals we were outside the entire time.

What was the second lodge and what activities were you able to do there?

Tutka Bay Lodge in Homer. To get there, we took Alaska Airlines to Anchorage. We had to spend one night in Anchorage, so we had made a reservation for dinner at one of our favorite places we’d been to before. Everyone around town had masks on; of course, we didn’t while we were eating. And then we had an early morning float plane out to Tutka.

We arrived fairly early in the morning. The weather was beautiful, the lodge was everything I imagined it would be, and I can’t wait to go back. They wore masks inside the common area, and there was another family that was leaving as we were arriving, so we were the only family there.

After lunch we hiked with a guide around the beautiful property and then went on a boat ride. The captain wore a mask, and we sat in the back in the open air so we didn’t wear any. Then we hiked, and that night we had a fantastic meal outside. The next morning, at about 6 a.m., we headed out on a bear-viewing adventure. We saw seven bears, a mom with her cubs, a red fox, and a couple of eagles in their nests with babies inside. It was just a fantastic day.

But that was the day you got the news about the restaurant you’d dined at in Anchorage, right?

We got back to Homer at about 2:30 in the afternoon and there was somebody waiting for us. They said, There’s some bad news: There’s an issue with the restaurant you dined at Sunday night: It has shut down because an employee has tested positive. They didn’t yet know which employee or whether that employee was even working when we were there. But the lodge made the safety decision that we would not be returning.

Kirsten, the owner of the lodge, got on the phone with us, and since they were unable to find a rental car for us, she very graciously offered to lend us her vehicle for the four-and-a-half-hour drive from Homer back to Anchorage. They packed all our stuff for us, along with lunch and snacks for the car, and brought it over by boat.

How did you feel?

I was very disappointed but, when you travel in a pandemic, you take that risk that things may change. Alaska is very clear about what happens if you get Covid while traveling: You have to quarantine on your own dime. It turned out, though, that the employee who had tested positive was a dishwasher who wasn’t even working on the day that we were there. So, rather than stay in Anchorage, we opted to head on home.

Tutka Bay Lodge very graciously offered to let us come back later for the unused portion of our stay, and Judith credited us back for the unused portion of the chartered flight that we didn’t use on the return to Anchorage.

[Editor’s note: To be clear, Mr. and Mrs. Gill were not exposed to the virus at the restaurant. They returned home more than two weeks ago and did not get sick.]

Despite the restaurant scare, was the trip worth it?

Absolutely, just for being able to be out in the fresh air and do all the activities we had planned. Everything other than sleeping and eating, you’re outdoors—and some of the meals were outside too. I felt a lot more comfortable being outdoors, but also I’m one who is going to live my life. I’m not going to live in fear.

 

We can help you figure out how to safely plan your own trip and direct you to the right travel specialist for your needs. Write to us at Ask Wendy.

Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.

Fogo Island Inn at sunset.

6 Otherworldly Escapes That Feel More Remote Than They Are

Leave a reply

If you’re like me, you crave that feeling of being cut off from the world, and you’ll travel far to get it, whether that means trekking to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights or sailing to secret atolls in French Polynesia.  The good news: There are places I’ve found that give you that remote feeling but don’t require venturing to the ends of the earth via five inconvenient flights, two ferries, and a dogsled. These places let you lose yourself in vast landscapes and give you the space, scenery, seclusion—and sometimes even silence—that, to my mind, make a trip extraordinary.

East Brother Light Station, San Francisco Bay

East Brother Light Station San Francisco Bay California

East Brother Light Station is on an island in San Francisco Bay, only 12 miles from downtown. Photo: Tim Baker

Tens of thousands of cars drive past it every day on a bridge a couple of miles away, yet nobody knows it’s there. It’s an historic-landmark lighthouse inn known as East Brother Light Station, on a tiny island in the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay. It’s just a 30-minute drive from downtown San Francisco, plus a short boat ride, yet it feels like a world away.  There’s little on the island besides the 144-year-old active lighthouse, the bed-and-breakfast inn, and a historic foghorn. And, besides the baby seagulls nesting on the rocky islet next door, the occasional yacht or fishing boat passing by, and the San Francisco skyline in the distance, there’s not all that much to see. But there’s also almost nobody to see you—and that makes it a rare escape.

Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland

Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland

Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland. Photo: Tim Baker

Fogo Island, off the north coast of Newfoundland, feels like the edge of the world.  When you wake up at the Fogo Island Inn, look out your window, and see nothing but immense ocean—sometimes with icebergs floating past like sculptures on the sea—you realize that the closest landfall in that direction is probably Greenland. Then you remember that you’re really just in Canada, about a two-hour drive and ferry ride from Gander (or you can fly your own plane from Gander, as we did. There are flights to Gander from many U.S. hubs via Toronto or Halifax.)

a hotel room at Fogo Island Inn Newfoundland

At Fogo Island Inn, rooms face the North Atlantic. You can see forever, but nobody can see you. Photo: Tim Baker

Fogo Island is unlike any place you’ve ever been because the people have a unique, soulful culture and a deep-rooted sense of hospitality, and because the Inn connects you with both. It captures the soul of its community, quite literally: The structure was built by the locals, as was nearly everything inside it—from the furniture handcrafted by the island’s traditional boat builders to the bedding woven by local quiltmakers to the hook mats whose images tell the story of the island and its people. Guests are welcomed into people’s homes and art studios and woven into the fabric of the community as if they were long lost relatives. Three nights on Fogo Island may well restore your soul more than three nights just about anywhere else. It will certainly leave you with more new friends.

Transparency disclosure: Yes, the Fogo Island Inn is an advertiser. But I visited and fell in love with the Inn and its people, community, and concept long before this website was conceived.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, France (in North America)

Saint-Pierre et Miquelon L'Ile Aux Marins

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s Ile Aux Marins (Sailor’s Island). Photo: Tim Baker

Did you know there’s a piece of France in North America?  Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the last remaining part of the French colonial empire in North America that remains under French control. It’s a windswept archipelago of eight islands that lies off Canada’s east coast, about 16 miles south of Newfoundland. So, when we were en route to Fogo Island (see above), we couldn’t resist making a little detour and checking out SPM.

Saint-Pierre et Miquelon L'Ile Aux Marins

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s Ile Aux Marins (Sailor’s Island). Photo: Tim Baker

Long story short, don’t go expecting fabulous French food, shopping, or culture. Go to discover an isolated oddity with a unique heritage, a guillotine, and a Basque festival. The easiest way to get there is to fly from Montreal, Halifax, or St. John’s (Newfoundland’s fun and charming capital city that is worth an even longer detour).

Sonora Resort, British Columbia

aerial view of Sonora Resort in the Discovery Islands, British Columbia

Sonora Resort in the Discovery Islands, British Columbia. Photo: Tim Baker

A fishing lodge set on its own island in western Canada’s Discovery Islands, Sonora Resort feels much farther away than just a 50-minute helicopter or sea plane flight from Vancouver International Airport. Or you can take a 2.5-hour sea plane flight from Seattle.  The air and water are crystal clear, the scenery magnificent, the wildlife abundant, and the fishing opportunities world-class. You can even take a day trip, as we did, to go snorkeling with salmon. For more photos, see My Extreme Week in Canada.

Qasr al Sarab, Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Qasr al Sarab desert oasis

Qasr al Sarab, Abu Dhabi. Photo: Tim Baker

It may be all the way in Abu Dhabi, but logistically it’s much easier to get to than the similarly spectacular desert landscapes I’ve seen elsewhere in the world—say, in Morocco or Jordan.  Qasr al Sarab is just a three-hour drive, on great roads, from Dubai International Airport (a huge hub that is easy to reach via non-stop flights). But it feels like another planet.  Sand dunes stretch as far as your eye can see in every direction—and the way those dunes change color, as the light shifts throughout the day, is mesmerizing.

Abu Dhabi Qasr al Sarab camel caravan

Qasr al Sarab camel caravan, Abu Dhabi. Photo: Tim Baker

If getting lost in the dunes isn’t adventure enough for you, there’s always camel riding, sandboarding, dune bashing…. So, the next time you’ve got a layover in Dubai, make it three or four nights and head to the desert for something completely different than wherever you just came from.

Abu Dhabi Qasr al Sarab dune bashing

Dune bashing at Qasr al Sarab, Abu Dhabi. Photo: Tim Baker

Your private balcony on a cruise ship

Wendy Perrin on Allure of the Seas cruise ship balcony

Yours truly aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas in the Caribbean. Photo: Tim Baker

In some ways, a cruise ship is like an island, only one that floats past new scenery every day. As long as you have your own private veranda where you can see forever but nobody can see you, you can enjoy that remote feeling as you ply the water toward a new port every day. Not only do you get vast landscape all to yourself, but you get ever-changing views.  Even if you don’t have a balcony, you can get that remote feeling by staking out a secluded spot on deck. It’s true: No matter how crowded a ship, you can always find a hiding place on deck where nobody else is. Even on Royal Caribbean’s 6,500-passenger Allure of the Seas—the world’s second largest cruise ship—I found this public hiding place. Here’s what else I did on that ship.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Wendy in Arctic Alaska with a satellite phone

Why You Need a Satellite Phone

2 Replies

Question:

Hi Wendy,

My husband travels to Canada and Alaska often and I would like to get him a satellite phone for safety.  Have you ever reviewed them?

Thanks,

—Sharon

Answer:

A satellite phone or messaging device can be a lifesaver in remote regions where there are no cellular networks. They can also be a lifesaver in emergency or disaster situations where cellular networks crash or become overloaded.

Sharon, while I’ve carried a satellite phone with me to remote corners of the globe—including Arctic Alaska—mercifully I’ve been spared any emergencies and thus am hardly an expert on which device is best. So I’ve reached out to just such an expert for you.  Dan Richards is the CEO and founder of Global Rescue, which provides worldwide emergency-evacuation and medical-assistance services.  In fact, last week his team rescued John All, the American climber who fell into the Himalayan crevasse in Nepal. All was carrying a DeLorme inReach satellite messenger device, which allows two-way text messaging by satellite anywhere in the world, and that’s how Global Rescue coached him on how to survive until the rescue helicopter arrived.

Here’s Richards’ advice for you:

“An Iridium satellite phone is a great choice. It offers voice capabilities and, with a reliably clear signal, nothing is left to interpretation. The Iridium has an emergency button so you can input emergency phone and email contacts. The Iridium also offers SMS text and email capabilities. The Iridium Extreme is the top of the line and offers GPS and tracking services. You can expect to spend in the range of $500-$1,500 on a satellite phone.  Many vendors also rent satellite phones for about $75 per week plus airtime.

A less expensive alternative to consider is a satellite messaging device. There is no voice option, but you get 160-character two-way text messaging anywhere in the world.

Since satellite phones rely on line-of-sight with their satellites to establish a connection, they work best in open areas with a clear view of the sky.  Using them indoors, in vehicles, and even in a city surrounded by tall building and wires may hinder your signal.”

Richards adds that satellite phone use is restricted or even illegal in certain countries—including India, Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Poland, and Hungary—so it’s wise to confirm coverage with your provider before purchasing or renting a phone and to research possible restrictions imposed by the countries you’ll be visiting.