Above (top to bottom): Meteora; Swiss
Alps; Machi Picchu. |
2008 Trip Brochure
Now Available
Walking Softly’s 2008 Trip Brochure is in the mail. New for 2008 is a hiking
trip to Northern Greece that
will feature hikes in the Pindos Mountains (near the Albanian border) and
the Meteora area in central Greece. A highlight of the trip will be the
chance to climb Mount Olympus. The trip concludes with an evening spent on
the shores of the Aegean Sea! At the end of June 2008, Walking Softly will
return to the Swiss Alps
with a week-long hiking trip guided by Steve and Jo Zimmermann, our very
popular Dolomites trip leaders! Steve and Jo led the Swiss Alps trip four
times previously for Walking Softly. There are also hiking trips to
Bulgaria, the
Maritime Alps, the
Dolomites, the
Pyrenees and
Hokkaido (Japan). In February
and March 2008, two Walking Softly groups will depart for
Patagonia for two weeks of
hiking amidst the legendary landscapes at the tip of South America. And
looking ahead, a hiking trip to the North and South Islands of
New Zealand is on the books
for February 2009! Four trips with a cultural heritage focus will depart in
2008: a trip to the Netherlands
featuring the art of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Gogh; a trip to
Prague, Budapest and
Krakow; a trip to Peru
and Bolivia featuring Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca; and a
Japan Heritage trip
timed for you to participate in momijigari (autumn leaf viewing) at the
height of the spectacle! |
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Lending a Helping
Hand in Bulgaria
Since 2002, Walking Softly groups have been traveling in Bulgaria and
enjoying this beautiful Balkan country and its wonderful people. As a way to
“give back,” Walking Softly Adventures recently donated funds to the Arete
Youth Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to assist women and
minority youth in the Balkans by providing leadership training seminars and
educational scholarships. These funds allowed us to sponsor a Bulgarian girl
to attend one of Arete’s Youth Leadership Camps in the summer of 2007. A few
weeks ago, we received in the mail a thank you package that included a piece
of artwork and a photograph from the 2007 camp participants. We’re happy
that we have the chance to become involved in creating opportunities for
Bulgarian youth as their country moves forward as a new member of the
European Union. And we’re thankful to you, our clients, because you are the
ones who make that involvement possible! |
Top to bottom: Climbing Tarumae-san; Picnic on
Meakan-dake; Lake Mashu; Rausu-dake summit. |
Hokkaido Trails
Exploratory Trip Concludes with Ascent of Rausu-dake
John Osaki, Japanese mountain guide Tom Takano, and eight Walking Softly
adventurers recently concluded a successful exploratory trip on Japan’s
northern island of Hokkaido—Walking Softly’s first hiking trip outside of
Europe. John recalls some of the highlights: “We set off on our first hike
up the Tarumae volcano in Shikotsu-Toya National Park on September 7.
Despite the weather forecast, luck was with us, and we scaled Tarumae-san
enjoying views all the way with nary a drop of rain! We all reveled in the
autumn-tinted high country of magnificent Daisetsuzan National Park under
blue skies. In Akan National Park we opened our bento bako (lunch
boxes) in the sunshine on the summit of the rumbling and steaming
Meakan-dake volcano with views of Lake Akan in the distance. The next day,
from a trail lined by dwarf bamboo, we gazed upon Lake Mashu, a “crater
lake” that has a reputation for being the loveliest lake in Japan! We
concluded our hiking with a challenging ascent of Rausu-dake, the highest
point on the Shiretoko Peninsula. Everyone in the group succeeded in setting
foot upon Rausu-dake’s rocky, windswept summit! Our journey through Hokkaido
was a more than a hiking adventure! We sampled scallops from the Sea of
Okhotsk and corn-on-the-cob (there’s lots of corn on Hokkaido) grilled over
an open fire at a roadside stand—delicious! In the evenings, fabulous,
traditional-style Japanese teishoku dinners prepared with local
ingredients made sure we were well-fueled for our adventures the following
day. And after a day of hiking, nothing was more relaxing than a long soak
in an outdoor onsen (hot spring).” Walking Softly's
Hokkaido Trails trip for 2008
departs on August 29. |
Above: Autumn tints the high meadows on the
Daisetsuzan Plateau, Hokkaido. |
Walking Softly Out
and About (Come Say Hello!)
On November 7, 2007 at 7:00
PM, John and Amy Osaki will be presenting a slide show featuring images from
our Hokkaido Trails Exploratory trip at the Mazamas Clubhouse, 527 SE 43rd
Avenue, Portland, OR. (Admission is free to Mazamas members and non-members,
but a $1 voluntary donation to the Mazamas is suggested.) If you’re in the
Portland area, come on down! We’d love to see you! For those of you in the
Seattle area, we’ll present the same show at Wide World Books & Maps (4411
Wallingford Av N, Seattle) at 7:00 PM on
November 13, 2007. On
February 9 and 10, 2008
(Saturday and Sunday), Walking Softly will have a booth at the Los Angeles
Times Travel and Adventure Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. Show
hours are 10-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. We’ll also be presenting a
“Destination Workshop” at 12:30 PM on Saturday, February 9. If you’re in the
Los Angeles area, we’ll hope to see you there! |
Osikova Kashta and two neighboring properties
under construction in Kovachevitsa, Bulgaria. |
Calendar Note:
Annual Reunion Planned for April 2008
We are planning our annual Walking Softly alumni reunion dinner for April
2008 in Portland. Tentative dates are for dinner on Saturday, April 12
followed by a hike on Sunday, April 13. Invitations will be sent to all
Walking Softly alumni by mid-December.
Osikova Kashta is Getting a Roof!
Some of you may know that Amy and John Osaki (along with Portland
partners—and Walking Softly clients—Connie Tyson and Gary Schaub) are
building a traditional-style inn in the Bulgarian mountain village of
Kovachevitsa. The roof of the kashta (the Bulgarian word for a
traditional house) is now under construction. Upon completion, the
four-bedroom inn (each room with a private bath) will be available for
rental. We look forward to welcoming you to Kovachevitsa! Dobre doshli! |
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© Walking
Softly Adventures, Inc., PO Box 86250, Portland, OR 97286
503-788-9017, Toll free 1-888-743-0723, info@walkingsoftly.com |
