Behind The Scenes Adventures are specialty trips--small groups of friendly people with common interests in traditional festivals and celebrations, ethnic textiles and indigenous costume, archaeology, cultural history, art and architecture.

If you love going "behind the scenes" to meet the people and experience exotic destinations, savory local cuisine, flamboyant festivals, gorgeous scenery and remote villages where the people still make all their own exquisite textiles, then BTSA is for YOU! Learn More!

Festivals and Crafts of Oaxaca, Mexico

 August 9 through 21, 2008

Join us for a FABULOUS DISCOVERY TOUR!                   

With Chloe Sayer, the foremost expert on Mexican textiles and costume, our small group will travel around southern Mexico--to the Isthmus area and to villages near Oaxaca City -- to visit weavers at work, meet renowned ceramic artists and woodcarvers, tour a cochineal (dye insect) farm, and learn how to dye with cochineal at a private workshop in the weaving town of Teotitlan del Valle. Highlights of our itinerary are two important mid-August Assumption festivals, called velas, that we attend in the towns of Juchitan and Tehuantepec. There we see the fabulous costumes and dancing and also also visit the workshops of the embroiderers who create stunning huipiles (traditional blouses), the specialty of the area. At the end of the trip, we relax back in Oaxaca City and enjoy the charms of the shady plazas, the superb restaurants and the fascinating markets and shops. Chloe and Cynthia accompany the entire trip and share their enthusiasm and expertise with you!

TOUR PRICE: $2695. Includes ALL accommodations (13 nights hotel), ALL meals, ALL transportation in Mexico, all entries and tickets to events/sites on itinerary. Airfare from U.S. not included. Cooking class is optional; check for price.

Our exciting trips to Mali include a two-day dye workshop with a famous textile designer, the mysterious Dogon country, a mudcloth-painting class, traditional music venues, the fascinating archaeological site of Jenne-Jeno, and many other unique artistic and cultural experiences.

                                                 We visit three UNESCO World Heritage sites. Cynthia and local guides                                                    accompany the group, so you meet many hospitable folks!

Travel with the Experts! Cynthia LeCount Samake, Andean textile expert, accompanies the group on this popular adventure with a small group of textile fanatics! We relax in Lima, then fly north to Trujillo to meet Arabel Fernandez and visit several fascinating archaeological sites--the pyramids of Sipan, Huaca del Sol, and the Brunig Museum.  Then we fly over the Andes to Cuzco where we visit highland textile villages to meet the knitters and the weavers--and learn to dye alpaca yarns with natural dyes. We also witness the spectacular Lord of the Earthquakes procession in Cuzco.

Then we spend two days at mystical Machu Picchu, before flying back to Lima for an experience sampling the local haute cuisine, especially that of Gaston Acurio, Lima's most famous and popular chef. Next day, we fly home. We travel by commercial jet and private van; all of our hotels are safe and charming and the food is delicious.

 Price: $2795 Includes all meals except two dinners, all accommodations (15 nights hotel; double rooms), the Lima-Cuzco RT flight, the Lima-Trujillo RT flight, all ground transportation, expert local guides, entrances to museums and sites, and one day entrance/bus to Machu Picchu.

Single supplement $350.

Airfare from US and departure taxes not included.

Price: $2795

This is a fantastic journey to Turkey! Make a scarf in our block printing workshop, watch carpert weavers at work, choose yarns in the market and learn to make some delicious traditional Turkish dishes in our wonderful cooking classes. See exciting historic Roman sites in Cappadocia and UNESCO World Heritage sites at Ephesus and more. Shop for hand-painted ceramics, a magic carpet and a sparkling                                                    belly dance costume  in the bustling Istanbul bazaars!

Sail on the beautiful ms.Statendam from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, through  the Panama Canal and on to Lima, Peru, (and many other interesting port calls) with Cynthia LeCount, author of "Andean Folk Knitting," and knitting author and expert, Nancy Thomas. Ship-board lectures and knitting classes allow you to learn about the traditional mola blouses of the Kuna people of Panama, try your hand at some unusual Andean textile techniques--and more!

See www.craftcruises.com for Knautical Knitters' Inca Discovery--Fort Lauderdale to Callao (Lima), Peru,

"South America via Panama Canal" cruise.

Post-Cruise LAND EXTENSION in Peru- Machu Picchu and more!

November 23 - 29, 2008

With 'Behind the Scenes Adventures' and Cynthia LeCount, fly over the Andes to charming Cuzco, capital of the Inka Empire. Thrill to mystical, magical Machu Picchu, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Meet knitters and weavers in their typical highland villages.Spend a day at Lima's famous art and textile museums, eat delectable meals in famous gourmet restaurants serving traditional and fusion cuisine.

E-mail or call for details. Cost: $1995

Weaving Along the Mekong:Temples & Textiles of Laos

Dates TBA

Join Cynthia LeCount, textile author and expert, on this fantastic trip to Laos. See silk & cotton weavers in Vientiane and Champasak, stunning golden Buddhist temples, the Tad Lo waterfall resort, peaceful Luang Prabang, and ancient Royal Captial and UNESCO World Heritage site, the Khmer temple Wat Phu and wild conservation areas.

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