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CNN Live Saturday

Adventurers Will Enjoy Panama, Mexico

Aired January 10, 2004 - 12:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: If you risk frostbite today just walking to your mailbox you need some ideas from our getaways guest. Well, it's time to talk about some warm weather destinations and some cool things to do.
Charles Graeber is a contributor to "National Geographic Adventure" magazine. And he's in a very frigid New York.

Good to see you, Charles.

CHARLES GRAEBER, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ADVENTURE": Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're all look at some hot getaways. You most recently went to Panama. What will we find there?

GRAEBER: That's right. I went down with my father. Panama is an interesting place. Never been before. It's a bit of diamond in the rough. Less famous than its neighbor Costa Rica. The tourist infrastructure hasn't caught up with the natural beauty, and so as a result, it's a really exciting place to explore.

My dad and I went down, rented some motorcycles, tooled around, went do to the Boca Sotura (ph) and did some scuba diving. But what I really focused on in the story and in the trip was some whitewater rafting.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

GRAEBER: Which was a lot more than we bargained for.

WHITFIELD: So this is not place where you just get a chill. You really need to be athletic to really maximize your experience there.

GRAEBER: Well, I don't know. You can chill if you want to. It's always nice to just pop down to the beach. And Panama's got beaches on both sides.

It's a really skinny country. The distance between one ocean and another is only about 30 miles. That's the reason it has a canal. It's also the reason why it's got such great whitewater.

It's also got a mountain range right in the middle between those two oceans. So when the rivers come down from the mountains to the ocean they go awfully quickly. WHITFIELD: OK. And perhaps -- Perhaps the eco tour that you're looking for out there, maybe St. John's would be a great place. Not usually the place that you think of eco tours.

GRAEBER: That's right. Usually when you think of St. John's -- when I think of St. John's, I think of a pretty cush vacation. You know, you pop down a credit card; you get a fat hotel room; you lay on the beach and that's all you do, which sounds great to tell you the truth. But there are other things you can do on St. John's.

The southeast corner of the island is all national parkland. The only structures there are these -- are 11 bungalows that are eco cabins. It's basically permanent campsites, which sounds rugged. They are eco friendly, but they're extremely cushy: fresh linens, showers, that sort of business.

WHITFIELD: OK. And you -- Sorry. And sometimes on vacation, driving doesn't seem like the most relaxing thing to do, but your magazine is suggesting that perhaps a drive to Mexico would be the perfect answer. Why?

GRAEBER: Well, if you're on the West Coast, certainly very relaxing. We had a writer go down to Baja.

I mean, the best thing about Mexico, or one of the good things about Mexico is that it's fun. It's warm, certainly a lot warmer than New York right now. And it's close. So it's sort of an evergreen story.

We suggested a number of places where you can go bike, hike, paddle around, check out critters, whatever you're in to.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Charles Graeber, thanks very much. Some great ideas there at the "National Geographic Adventure" magazine. And I'd say it's time to start planning a destination in a warm place. Good idea.

GRAEBER: Absolutely.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 10, 2004 - 12:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: If you risk frostbite today just walking to your mailbox you need some ideas from our getaways guest. Well, it's time to talk about some warm weather destinations and some cool things to do.
Charles Graeber is a contributor to "National Geographic Adventure" magazine. And he's in a very frigid New York.

Good to see you, Charles.

CHARLES GRAEBER, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ADVENTURE": Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're all look at some hot getaways. You most recently went to Panama. What will we find there?

GRAEBER: That's right. I went down with my father. Panama is an interesting place. Never been before. It's a bit of diamond in the rough. Less famous than its neighbor Costa Rica. The tourist infrastructure hasn't caught up with the natural beauty, and so as a result, it's a really exciting place to explore.

My dad and I went down, rented some motorcycles, tooled around, went do to the Boca Sotura (ph) and did some scuba diving. But what I really focused on in the story and in the trip was some whitewater rafting.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

GRAEBER: Which was a lot more than we bargained for.

WHITFIELD: So this is not place where you just get a chill. You really need to be athletic to really maximize your experience there.

GRAEBER: Well, I don't know. You can chill if you want to. It's always nice to just pop down to the beach. And Panama's got beaches on both sides.

It's a really skinny country. The distance between one ocean and another is only about 30 miles. That's the reason it has a canal. It's also the reason why it's got such great whitewater.

It's also got a mountain range right in the middle between those two oceans. So when the rivers come down from the mountains to the ocean they go awfully quickly. WHITFIELD: OK. And perhaps -- Perhaps the eco tour that you're looking for out there, maybe St. John's would be a great place. Not usually the place that you think of eco tours.

GRAEBER: That's right. Usually when you think of St. John's -- when I think of St. John's, I think of a pretty cush vacation. You know, you pop down a credit card; you get a fat hotel room; you lay on the beach and that's all you do, which sounds great to tell you the truth. But there are other things you can do on St. John's.

The southeast corner of the island is all national parkland. The only structures there are these -- are 11 bungalows that are eco cabins. It's basically permanent campsites, which sounds rugged. They are eco friendly, but they're extremely cushy: fresh linens, showers, that sort of business.

WHITFIELD: OK. And you -- Sorry. And sometimes on vacation, driving doesn't seem like the most relaxing thing to do, but your magazine is suggesting that perhaps a drive to Mexico would be the perfect answer. Why?

GRAEBER: Well, if you're on the West Coast, certainly very relaxing. We had a writer go down to Baja.

I mean, the best thing about Mexico, or one of the good things about Mexico is that it's fun. It's warm, certainly a lot warmer than New York right now. And it's close. So it's sort of an evergreen story.

We suggested a number of places where you can go bike, hike, paddle around, check out critters, whatever you're in to.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Charles Graeber, thanks very much. Some great ideas there at the "National Geographic Adventure" magazine. And I'd say it's time to start planning a destination in a warm place. Good idea.

GRAEBER: Absolutely.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com