Explore the World with Mother

Image Gallery The Masai Mara, located on the northern edge of the Serengeti, is the greatest wildlife spectacular in Africa, with its vast, open area, so rich in game.

Hang on to your hats, folks, Mother Earth News' Tour Program is bristlin' with good news! First, the Health and Nutrition Tour to the U.S.S.R. next May 27 through June 16 (see Mother Earth News, No.s 53 and 54) sponsored by this magazine and the Citizen Exchange Corps has already overflowed the limits we had originally set. However, if you still want to discover the secrets of the Caucasus' marvelous centenarians, we have made arrangements to open up the tour to a larger group. But those of you who want to come along will have to get your $50 deposits in the mail right away!

And, because the response to the first tour was so darn inspirational, we got together with a fine group of people, Nature Expeditions International (NEI), and came up with three more fabulous trips designed to increase our understanding (and appreciation) of this grand old spaceship Earth. In fact, these tours are such exciting learning experiences that you can get college credit for any of Mother Earth News' foreign expeditions, including the trip to the U.S.S.R!

Here's a brief outline of just some of the things our new trips will include:

THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON: From July 5 through July 27, 1979 Mother Earth News' Tours, in cooperation with NEI, will study the peoples and cultures (past and present) of the Andes and the Upper Amazon.

Our trip will begin in the former capital of the Inca Empire — Quito, Ecuador — which is chock-full of intriguing museums, markets, plazas, charming narrow streets and colonial architecture.

From there we'll journey to Cuenca in the southern Andes, a center of rug weaving, panama hats and woodworking. While in the Andes we'll also take excursions to Ingapirca (the main Inca ruin in Ecuador) and to the Otavalo/Ibarra regions, which are well-known for their Indian rugs, baskets, leather goods, shawls, embroidery and handwoven tweeds.

In Pizarro's "City of the Kings" — Lima, Peru — the many rich museums will prepare us for our next sensational stops on the trip. Because, once we leave Lima, a spectacular flight over the Andes will take us to Cuzco, the oldest inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere, where we'll investigate Tombomachay (the ritual baths of the Incas), the Kenko Ruins and the colossal pre-Inca fortress of Sacsayhuman, mysteriously fashioned of polished stone blocks which weigh up to 300 tons each.