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Show a 111 . ii u ii m i (f Sunday, March 10, 1996, THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, Page C9 Visitors march back in time at Waterloo Baby Boomers finding tours to the semi-wil- d aren't always cheap By EPPO MAERTENS Associated Press Writer ,T WATERLOO, Belgium Ease away from the balcony's edge and colorfully uniformed cavalrymen seem to charge at you from all sides, sabers flashing and lance pennons flapping. More lights go on and you become part of a vast illuminated landscape: foot soldiers grimly facing death, horses shrieking in terror, cannons belching flame. And over it all swirls the pervasive smoke of battle. Stretching all around you is a mammoth painting 110 yards long and four yards high depicting the Battle of Waterloo, where Wellington gave Napoleon his final defeat. A visit to the Waterloo Panorama is a march back in time in more ways than one. There is the view of the great battle that played out 1 80 years ago. And the painting itself is decidedly dated in the age of video, virtual reality and multimedia computers. The panorama stands near the center of the battlefield 1 1 miles south of Brussels where Napoleon lost it all on June 18, 1815. Lion's Nearby is the 150-foMound, which overlooks the rolling farmland where British, Dutch, Belgian and Prussian troops defeated the Frenchmen of Napoleon's Grande Armee. Wellington called the see-sabattle "a near run thing" for the French emperor's foes. Urban development has been banned since 1914 so the 3,750 acres of farms and woods where the battle was fought remain very rural and pretty. Eighty farmers work rolling fields divided by twisting country lanes. The panorama offers a tattered contrast. Cedric de Crayencour, director of the privately owned exhibit, estimates urgently needed repairs would cost tens of thousands of dollars. But the attraction lost the equivalent of $26,700 last year, when the number of visitors willing to pay the $3.80 admission fell 10 percent to 150,000. Yet, the panorama has a unique charm. ot g, day-lon- ft r i turies when fold-u- p panoramas toured Europe to educate isolated communities about exotic events, often great battles or scenes of life in the big city. "The Waterloo Panorama is SO rJJ O Brussels FRANCE km V-evr- free-lovin- 4s one of the last in Europe," de Crayencour says. It was built in 1912 as a temporary structure to hold the painting by Louis Dumoulin. But it was never replaced by a permanent one, and its fading popularity is matched by haphazard By GERRY VOLGENAU 9 Npwsnaners Everglades National Park was created in 1947 to protect its threatened ecological system, a subtropical zone where animals and plants of the tropics live with those of the temperate side-by-si- zone. The Everglades, regardta as unique subtropical wetlands, has been designated an International Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. Over the years, scientists have learned that it is a delicate place that has often been treated indelicately by bird poachers, developers and politicians who put in roads, canals and dikes. The num C 994 Hon ed, yet it is appealing as a legacy of the days when fold-u- p panoramas toured Europe to educate isolated communities about exotic events, often great battles or scenes of life in the big city. The water control has often exacerbated weather extremes. In times of drought, such as five years ago, water was diverted to nourish croplands and slake the cities. thirst of Meanwhile, alligators tried to survive in puddles. In recent months, Florida had too much rain and an excess of water passed into the Everglades. ever-growi- sun-bak- As a result, for scores of miles north of the park, hundreds of white-taile- d deer were killed, bird nests were wiped out and other habitat ruined. Federal, state and local governments continually try to improve the situation, trying to balance human and wetland needs. On Feb. 20, Vice President Al Gore proposed an administration program to double spending to about $1.5 billion to restore the Everglades. Expenditures would be funded, in part, by cutting subsidies to Florida sugar growers. Part of the money would be used to buy 126,000 acres of land to try to restore some of the Everglades marshlands. maybe mountain biking and raft- ing, or maybe Wiggins' list, one Mortis Beehive -- Trusted Travel Partner V LLC L Never GefeOld. It Since 1968 (Contemporary Books, a parody ot Lets uo can provide some comic Thousand travel with Webb because their friends recommend us. 1 or Call us at and ajoin. Europe with us ogam Visit Eoch time youll find history Krture. romance and always somerhinj brand new 278-310- In the England chapter, author nns Harris save ni me rooa. Unless you count 'squishy,' British ood cannot be easily summed up in single word like that ot Italy ( pas- Si') France ('slugs'), or Poland 'no')." A handy tip for tourists in Ger many: "... the (Berlin) wall's sections ic enner gone or ceraiiea an now. miu uuu piu you can i jum wuk sledgehammer at it now any more Van vou would knock a souvenir big e off the statue of David in Flo-ncwhich we wouldn't dare since there's only one left, id, anyway, it would be much easi-t- o snag any of his five fingers." "Be Bold! Be Stupid! Be Ameri-n!- " tips help tourists to do just that: lyou ever run into a French person tg commands to y fc "J Ml - - - If you find eompanum Branson touror a price taell Mat u. . .gu 9 Otmt thaw. Perfect nrimf VMtker. 12 mk Hon arMififrtME Ml Aorll April 15-2- Naavoo (2 (U71). BupJbd. St. LmIs, Brmason (9 Dyi) Eureka Sprtnfi Mnltll:aMBt.Ials(DiBMCTriM).e9taBmMm(Sikoi. 11 Mots) Bream hort'a 9emt: 9 ihoaa, 10 ibH, lott f extra May 19-119-2- Coll and ask us what is different about our Branson tours, T Ml Calgary d, itmsmssmmmswmsmssm ? Cjj M packages rJude 6 rarrt hotel (irsss and taxes. feW la , al hotel service charg person, based on double occupancy. Al pacta? ate land U.ft.. Victoria. Banff, Watartoa. illaclef Park ft Mora Temptae (naHenel). Eseellaat BMala ft todglac tampene. 3 UM :.t ' fit'. ' EUROPE EXPRESS oituw packet JOIN US FOR OUR 20TH CORMCUTTVK HSU. CUMORAH TOUR LOS Chorea history float IaiBeaeen to Sharon. VT. Ptoa...lflaara Falls. Hannlhal. Chicago. 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Ml: )U' i Sep. lS-- nuMDttnasam Oct Oct DON'T FORGET ABOUT 0U31 13-3- 0 33-3- lUim 7 'fUNTPa tantattoriniatiiountaanlna lor lor "Don't Go Europe" provides my handy tips, such as if you order Juropean steak rare, you're likely et it "alive 'n' mooing with a side jcr of hatchet" jLm. ' CtutouJ 4.1519.1 ) otvavnidbtraatar EaanMMhknaiiainnmV4aalMt) rot Ybu ottntiatncavad leD mS II ncavoj Pi GUARANTEE h Wrrmg tnity on Mnrris-Bgehiv- e TRAVEL by fMnrnrpm.aoaa iltiM Orem 218 North Stat LLC Provo 2520 North University Spanish Fork 1070 North Main . of which cuts to the " heart of adven- - t ture travel, whether it's a Grand " Canyon raft trip or a trek through the Andes: that people would real- ize that all these adveniures J require something of the consumer! y beyond an adventurous spirit ahd a rrcdir card. "As a traveler," says Wigging 'there's a resoonsibilitv. You have ', a responsibility not only to pre-,J- I qualify yourself, but while you're '! on the trip to accept the spontane-- ,' j. and the ity and the unknowns fact that it could rain for six days' and make the most of them. :.' "Some people are just totally ' unaccepting of the realities ,of jl Grand but the wilderness, Canyon is beautiful when it's raining1 You've got waterfalls coming down everywhere. People need Jo understand and accept that before they do a trip." Most of all particularly when examine choose to radically they foreign cultures and countrysides they have to understand what j they're buying. Life in the semi wild can have its quirks, but experienced tour companies and outfitters generally are upfront with what they can and can't guarantee. Some of these trips are designed for people with zero body fat and the lungs of a'. marathon runner. Most simply aren't that physically tough; in " fact, that's one of the most misun- - ,L derstood elements of exotic or ' adventure travel. '"Adventure travel,' to many ,7, people, connotes 'rigors,'" says Sano. "There are people who like to do that, but Bhutan doesn't u mean you have to put on a 50- pound backpack." m one-stro- A 'n horseback riding 11 and canoeing." ( since And, the movie "City " Slickers," cattle ti ;.J drives. , There are oth- ' er things on " wish Socwt If you're a traveler who's tired of reading travel guides, "Don't Go Europe" one will do not just mountain " but biking Travel 15-d- ay sticking tttr er y Wiggins, says "where some- - ' tye""?. in theirwarn lime inai iney to explore and do more active trips, more exotic trips." Chris Bensley, marketing director, Overseas Adventure prefer to use the words 'special interest travel,' " says Jim Sano, of president Geographic Expeditions. And who is That's going? right. "The Baby Boomers," says Chris Bensley, sales and marketing director for Overseas Adventure Travel, "have done so much traveling in their lifetime that they want to explore and do more active trips, more exotic trips." "Their idea of a vacation," Sano says of the turning-5- 0 segment of this group "is not exactly what their parents' was. Or is." Sano's company, based in San Francisco, offers 14 variations on trips to Bhutan, a Himalayan neighbor to the better-know- n Nepal and Tibet. Nine trips to Machu Picchu. Twelve to Antarctica. For $26,000, he'll put you on the South Pole. Sano says his business has doubled in the last four years. Mountain TravelSobek will send you to Timbuktu. Butterfield & Robinson will take you biking to China's Great Wall, but not until '97. Wings of the World Inc. will show you 10 memorable days in Cuba. Wilderness Travel will lead you to the wonders and mysteries of Chachapoyas. Overseas Adventure Travel will guide you into the Moroccan Sahara and on to Carthage. Abercrombie & Kent will accompany you on a African golf safari (a ball in Victoria Falls is a penalty, but watch that drop). Evidently, business in this segment is up all over. Bensley says volume at his company was up 50 percent last year alone, despite a generally stagnant economy. Other companies report good numbers as well. No, not everyone born in 1946 is rushing to climb Mt. Everest. For every traveler willing or finan- - AP Photo fun at travel Thanks tor to Europe By KIMBERLY WILLIAMS Knight-RiddNewspapers cuany i The water is the lifeblood of the Everglades. But roads, dikes and canals have interfered with and controlled the flow. Fertilizers from croplands washed into the Everglades, creating miles of cattails that pushed out the native saw grass, making it uninhabitable for most wildlife. ber of wading birds, for example, has decreased by 93 percent since the turn of the century. The Florida panther and the manatee are still on the endangered species list. To be sure, the park has seen successes over the years. The brown pelican, the bald eagle and the American alligator have all from recovered endangered species status. But the park's present situation is dicey, at best. sometimes The Everglades, known as "the sea of grass," begins far to the north at Lake Okeechobee with a thin layer of water that spreads 50 to 75 miles wide and sweeps to the end of the Florida peninsula. ( done so attendance don't close the upkeep. The cloth above the painting panorama down, the fire departand visitor's balcony is stained ment might. It recently found no and discolored from decades of satisfactory sprinkler system or illuminated exit signs. De dampness and dust. A case glass showing Crayencour doesn't know what it will cost to meet the stanNapoleonic-er- a bayonets and uniforms is cracked. dards, only that it will be expenThe broken arm of a mansive. But closing is not an option, he nequin in a Prussian uniform hangs only by a thumb stuck in a says. "Thousands of people come button hole. to see the panorama every year." On a recent day, two dozen or A private company, Devimo, bought the panorama in 1993 so tourists braved freezing temfrom the Belgian government for peratures to take in the sprawling the equivalent of $1.2 million. It painting. Most said they were is still studying how to make the pleased even though the sound exhibit profitable. system was not working. De Crayencour cuts corners "I'm really glad I got the where he can. The panorama is no chance to see it," said a Dutch longer heated in winter, which woman, who declined to give her means gift shop staff wear over- name. "I think it would be a real shame if they would close it." coats at work. A recent inspection of the "It's very impressive," a visitor remarked. painting estimated it would cost Japanese $1 .6 million to repair damage and "Napoleon, and the way he restore it. shaped modern Europe, should be If the repair bill and falling remembered." It may be naive, but it is also a legacy of the 18th and 19th cen- - hip-pia- "The visitor looks over the Waterloo Panorama in Waterloo, Belgium. The panorama depicts the 1815 battle where Napoleon made his last stand. In an age of video, the panorama is decidedly dat- A experience with a gorilla in Rwanda, there are dozens better suited to take on more conventional travel adventures. These, too, have grown in popularity as providers adjust to an demographic aging yet travel-wis- e that wants something more chal- - j ' lenging than a "Sound of Music" so long bus tour out of Salzburg as the wine is properly decanted. Dan Wiggins' Boulder, Colo.- -' based American Wilderness Expe- -' rience is in its 25th year of match-- ,' , ' ing travelers with mostly domestic' rivers, pack rides and hiking trails., "And I think there's more and ' more interest in combination Newspapers No, not all Baby Boomers took their degrees and backpacks and beads and guitars and Eurailpasses and parents' money across the n Atlantic and, in a last gasp of freedom, sampled the pleasures of swinging London and g sparkling Paris and Amsterdam. Some of them went to war. Most of them went right to work. But eventually, lots went to Europe. Now they're going to Bhutan. The business of "adventure travel" has been building throughout this decade, but no subspecies adventures," of the animal has grown like Baby Boomers the segment best described have much as ... as life- - Alligators safe, but Everglades endangered Kninht-Ririrt- ar daily able to have an intimatej By ALAN SOLOMON Knight-Ridd- ataonraaMnnaLto Shpiot 225-760- 0 370-400- 0 798 - 7371 ' Opwi Se4urriey 10 to 4 |