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Adventure Canada
CONTACT: Rebecca Burgum
TEL: 905-271-4000 or 800-363-7566
E-MAIL: Rebecca@adventurecanada.com
WEB: www.adventurecanada.com
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Author Margaret Atwood Joins Adventure CanadaÂ’s 2009 Scotland Slowly
Mississauga, ON— Adventure Canada, award-winning specialists in small ship expeditions to some of Canada’s “blank spaces”, is offering two Celtic trips this spring; Celtic Quest: Spain to Scotland and Scotland Slowly with Margaret Atwood.
Celtic Quest: Spain to Scotland takes travelers to the far edges of Western to the far edges of Western Europe to delve into the history, culture, music, and landscape. On this journey, visitors will uncover the threads that unite the remaining Celtic corners of Spain, France, Ireland, England and Scotland. To shatter all the usual stereotypical images of Spain, travelers will experience Galicia with its gushing rivers and a coastline more reminiscent of Scotland than Spain. The most forgotten of the seven Celtic nations, the land is steeped with an age-old atmosphere, which travelers can share in cathedrals, castles, Dolmens and Hill-forts.
On Scotland Slowly travelers will visit Scotland's western and northern isles offer a rich supply of culture, heritage and natural history. In Medieval Times an already archaic society in the Hebrides evolved into the Lordship of the Isles, a sea-kingdom blending Gael and Viking under the powerful domination of Clan Donald. In the north, Orkney and Shetland were welded into a formidable Scandinavian earldom. Both island groups preserve some of the oldest monuments in Europe, dating back to the Stone Age, while today both exploit the latest computer technologies to place them at the forefront of modern developments. Kinship and community are two of the constants in this story; Gaelic-speaking clans retained their independence despite acknowledging the Lords of the Isles, while free Norse landholders battled the forces of feudalism in the Northern Isles
Author Margaret Atwood is joining Adventure Canada onboard the Scotland Slowly departure as a guest lecturer . Margaret Atwood is keen birder, ardent conservationist and one of CanadaÂ’s most celebrated writers. Throughout her thirty years of writing, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and several honorary degrees and currently serves as joint president of the Rare Bird Club. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and is perhaps best known for her novels. The Blind Assassin, won the 2000 Booker Prize, and in April 2003, her eleventh novel, the Man Booker Prize nominated Oryx and Crake was released to great acclaim. Her latest collection of short stories, Moral Disorder published in fall 2007 as was The Door, a book of poetry.
Passengers on both voyages will sail aboard the M/V Andrea, a handsome vessel that began her career as the popular Harald Jarl; cruising the Norwegian coastline and fjords where she developed quite a following over the years. Extensively renovated in 2003, the newly christened Andrea provides a welcome return to the intimacy and classic nautical sensibility often lacking in larger ships. Staterooms are attractively designed for comfort and convenience, fully air conditioned with modern bathrooms and thoughtful appointments. The vesselÂ’s international service staff has achieved high marks from passengers for their friendliness and professionalism. Other features include a forward Observation Deck and two passenger lounges.
Dates: Celtic Quest: Spain to Scotland May 11th-23rd, 2009. Scotland Slowly: May 23rd-June 2nd, 2009. Please call for current specials. For more information, call Adventure Canada at 1-800-363-7566 or go to www.adventurecanada.com
