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Rundown for the Week of October 26, 2001

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A Kiss From Hershey by Judie Fein
The leaves are turning, the nip of fall is in the air, and that means it's cocoa time! It's also Halloween which means it's chocolate time. To honor both events, we have sent our dedicated reporter Judie Fein on a rugged, dangerous assignment. Judie has immersed herself, literally, in a chocolate spa.

Dr. Klaus Meyer-Arendt on Enclave Tourism
As we well know, some Americans sequester themselves within the exclusive walls of a resort and never rub elbows with the locals during their entire vacation. This week I talked about this isolationist-type of travel with a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of West Florida, Dr. Klaus Meyer-Arendt, and he started out by giving me a definition of enclave tourism...what it is, and what it means for the traveler...

Earthwatch
How does a working vacation sound? Not that appealing? You'd be surprised how popular one model of traveling the world with a purpose is becoming. Earthwatch allows you to join scientists in their research of animals and ecosystems. You pay to feed dolphins or mark the tracks of lemurs or count the trees in a rain forest. The researchers get your money and your labor and you are in return privy to some exotic wilderness locale. We sent our reporter Jeff Tyler traveled down to the remote marshland of Brazil called the Pantanal where he rolled up his shirt sleeves for a study of his own. Jeff wanted to know if Earthwatch really works...

Innertubing the Mayan Underworld by Bernice Notenboom
Here's a trip that takes you into a dark wilderness seldom visited by the average tourist. It's a trek is for explorers curious to engage with a past culture. Deep in the tropical jungles of Belize, the Mayan natives developed intricate folklore around the underworld of their huge caves, some of them divided into many rooms, with the sounds of dripping stalactites echoing from wall to wall. Reporter Bernice Notenboom hiked and drifted by innertube through a series of these caves, led by a Mayan guide. Bernice's trip takes a spooky, mysterious turn - perfect to get us in the mood for Halloween.

Question of the Week
Isolation or Involvement?

Deal of the Week
Holiday Airfare Deals

Travelers' Aid
Volunteer Vacations

Letters
We read your letters to us!