The Washington Post - 20.10.2019

F2 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 , 2019

source of information on safe

drinking water is the Centers for

Disease Control and

Prevention’s country health

database. Look for the Travelers’

Health section and search by

destination. You’ll find all sorts

of useful tips, including whether

the local tap water is safe.

For example, consider

Ta nzania. The CDC recommends

avoiding tap or well water, ice

made with tap or well water,

drinks made with tap or well

water (such as reconstituted

juice), and unpasteurized milk.

Fred Gaines, a retired

engineer who spent more than

45 years working in the

sanitation and wastewater

business, says it’s impossible to

be too careful.

“When you’re traveling, use

extreme caution,” he says. “Even

water that is considered safe to

drink may contain

microorganisms that might

disagree with travelers

accustomed to the water

distributed in their community.”

In other words, you could get

the green light to drink the

water and still get sick.

So what to do? Experts say

you should err on the side of

caution.

If you’re traveling outside the

safe zones, assume the water is

undrinkable. Consume only

bottled water, which is generally

manufactured under sanitary

conditions. Brush your teeth

using bottled water, too.

And consider the source of

the water even if it’s in a bottle.

One of my readers always grabs

several Fiji waters at the airport,

because he knows they’re safe.

Ice is a common “gotcha” for

American tourists. We love ice

in our drinks, but restaurants

don’t always use bottled water

to make it. I’ve heard many

stories of visitors pouring

bottled water into a glass with

ice cubes, only to realize too late

that the ice was made from tap

water.

“Ice is often overlooked by

travelers,” s ays Joe Brown, a

water safety expert at the

Georgia Institute of Te chnology.

A related caution: Avoid raw

foods like salads and produce.

They’re usually washed in tap

water and may be

contaminated.

If you’re staying for a while,

consider bringing a personal

water filter such as the

LifeStraw (about $17) on your

next adventure, experts say.

These precautions aren’t

foolproof. On my last trip to

Africa, I stuck to bottled water

and carefully avoided raw food.

And then I got sick anyway.

How did it happen? I

reviewed every point of contact

with water. I only drank clean

water. I avoided any potentially

contaminated food. I even

brushed my teeth with bottled

water.

Then I realized I must have

ingested a small amount of

water in the shower. And that’s

all it took.

Elliott is a consumer advocate,

journalist and co-founder of the

advocacy group Tr avelers United.

Email him at [email protected].

Water standards

vary around the

world. About 71

percent of the

global population

uses a safely

managed

drinking water

service, according

to the World

Health

Organization. But

785 million people lack clean

drinking water, and at least 2

billion people rely on a drinking

water source contaminated with

feces.

But finding out whether the

water is potable at your

destination might be difficult,

and most tap water looks fine to

drink. So travelers have

developed strategies to cope

with uncertainty.

There’s no easy-to-use,

universally trusted reference

source for international

travelers concerned about water

safety. Keeping such a list is

impractical because water

quality can vary by country,

region or city. Generally

speaking, you can trust the

water in Australia, Japan, New

Zealand, North America and

Western Europe, experts say.

Everywhere else, you should

assume the water is unsafe until

you know for sure.

How can you determine

whether the water is safe to

drink? Evan Lorendo, a business

development consultant who

lives in Ta nzania, says you

should look around at a traffic

stop. If the street vendors are

selling bottled water to the

tourists, there’s probably an

issue with the drinking water.

“A lso look at the menus at

restaurants,” he adds. “If there’s

a mention of ice made from

bottled water, then you know

that it is an issue.”

Of course, there are more

scientific ways of determining

whether the water is safe to

drink. For example, you can buy

a drinking water test kit like

First Alert’s (about $17), which

identifies bacteria, lead,

pesticides, nitrates and nitrites,

and chlorine in the water. But

most commercially available

test kits don’t cover every

contaminant.

“Drinkable water should be

clear, odorless, and it shouldn’t

feel yucky on your hands after

washing them with soap,” says

Nikola Djordjevic, a physician

who co-founded the company

MedAlertHelp, a medical alert

service.

But he cautions that the sniff

test and common test kits are

not always enough to determine

whether the water is drinkable.

Other water safety experts agree

that when it comes to water

safety, a visual inspection is

insufficient.

“Obviously bad water is easy

to spot,” s ays Chris Davis, an

emergency medicine physician

at the UCHealth University of

Colorado Hospital. “But water

contaminated with the bacteria

that causes diarrhea often has

no odor, and the water can

appear clean.”

Davis says the most

comprehensive and accurate

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TRAVEL

For water safety abroad,

don’t rely on your eyes

The

Navigator

CHRISTOPHER

ELLIOTT

Spotted by Pat Kreamer of Chantilly, Va., in Pärnu, Estonia, in September.

Have you seen an amusing sign in your travels? Read on.

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property of The Washington Post, which may edit, publish, distribute or republish them in any

form. No purchase necessary.

PAT KREAMER

SIGN LANGUAGE

BY LAURA RANDALL

Offering alternatives to over­
crowded destinations.

Zion Canyon’s massive sand-
stone cliffs and slot canyons have
inspired people for millennia,
long before the area became
Utah’s first national park in the
early 1900s. Native American
cultures inhabited and farmed
the remote canyonlands dating
from about 7,000 B.C., archaeolo-
gists say. Mormon pioneers ar-
rived in the 1860s and gave the
area the biblical name for sanc-
tuary it bears today.
So many visitors want to wit-
ness its beauty that it is nearly
impossible to mention Zion
these days without using the
word “overcrowded.” The park
recorded more than 4.3 million
visits in 2018, according to the
National Park Service, making it
the fourth-most-visited national
park, behind Great Smoky
Mountains, Grand Canyon and
Rocky Mountain. A seasonal
shuttle bus system, in place since
2000, has helped alleviate con-
gestion along the park’s scenic
byways and at its entrance sta-
tions, but even stricter measures
are under consideration, such as
caps on visitor numbers and a
reservations system to enter the
park.
Park rangers suggest timing a
trip during the shoulder months
of October, November, March
and April, or rising early to beat
the crowds that flock to popular

hiking trails such as Angels

Landing and the Narrows. Bryce

Canyon National Park, about 80

miles northeast of Zion, is a

smaller and less crowded alter-

native, although its visitor num-

bers also h ave increased m arked-

ly in recent years. Home to the

world’s largest concentration of

the weathered rock formations

known as hoodoos, Bryce re-

ceived nearly 2.7 million visits

last year.

Location: Zion National Park

is near Springdale, Utah, about

300 miles southwest of Salt Lake

City.

Capitol Reef National Park

gets less attention than Utah’s

other national parks, in part

because of its remote south-

central locale and its relatively

new stature as a park (Congress

reclassified it from monument to

national park in 1971). Like Zion,

Capitol Reef offers spectacular

ribbon-colored rock formations,

jagged monoliths and gorge

hikes that should be on any

adventure traveler’s bucket list.

Unlike Zion, however, it also

provides plenty of solitude, espe-

cially for those willing to navi-

gate its unpaved roads and twist-

ing canyons. Capitol Reef logged

1.2 m illion v isits in 2018 — nearly

a quarter of Zion’s visitation

numbers — and at 245,000 acres,

it’s nearly 60 percent bigger than

Zion.

The park gets its unusual

name from the Waterpocket

Fold, a 100-mile-long ridge in the

earth’s crust where sheer cliffs

and white sandstone domes

(which reminded early settlers of

the U.S. Capitol building) formed

a “reef,” or barrier to travel.

Capitol Reef was also once

home to Native American tribes,

who left their mark in petro-

glyphs, and Mormon pioneers,

who established orchards that

continue to produce fruits such

as apples, peaches, pears and

apricots today. Between June

and October, visitors may stroll

through and sample the fruit or

fill a bag for a fee. (Hand-pickers

and ladders are provided; a fruit-

picking hotline provides up-to-

date information on harvests:

435 -425-3791.)

Another reason to add Capitol

Reef to any Utah itinerary: its

proximity to Scenic Byway 12,

one of the most photogenic and

geographically diverse roads in

the world. Pick it up near Bryce

Canyon and follow it north as it

winds across a stunning swath of

red-rock desert, green valleys,

alpine forests and endless multi-

hued plateaus. The road ends in

To rrey, a pleasant town of motels

and cafes known as the gateway

to Capitol Reef, where more

magnificent scenery awaits.

Location: Capitol Reef is near

To rrey, Utah, about 220 miles

south of Salt Lake City.

[email protected]

Randall is a writer based in Los

Angeles.

GO HERE, NOT THERE

Breathtaking vistas in Utah without Zion’s crowds

ALAMY STOCK PHOTOS

TOP: Hickman Natural Bridge is among the beauties at the

lesser-known Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey, Utah.

ABOVE: The Kolob Canyons and other attractions at Zion

National Park drew more than 4.3 million visitors last year.

On Mondays at 2 p.m., the
Travel section staff hosts Ta lk
About Travel, a n online forum for
reader questions and comments.
The following is an edited ex-
cerpt from a recent discussion.

Q: My husband and I want to go
to Japan next year in September
or October. We’re concerned that
prices will be artificially high
after the 2020 To kyo Olympics.
Do you know what flights/hotels
tend to be like in the host city
and nearby about one to two
months after the Olympics? For
what it’s worth, we only want to
spend about two days in To kyo
and are more interested in
seeing other parts of the
country.
A: Prices should actually drop;
post-Olympics is like a party
hangover. People tend to
quickly forget the host city
after the Games wrap up, and
they are desperate for visitors. I
would start looking around
now, but you don’t have to book
till closer to your dates.
— Andrea Sachs

Q: My daughter and I would like
to take a trip to Europe for the
first time next year. We’re
considering visiting two or three
countries for our first trip. She is
28, and I am in my mid-50s. I’m
considering a guided tour group
but don’t know where to start.
Are there any suggestions for
groups that are not focused on

senior citizens or millennials?

A: There are dozens of tour

operators that offer trips to

Europe. They come in all flavors

— small group, special interest,

luxury, etc. A good place to start

your research is the United States

To ur Operators Association. Some

operators to consider include

Ta uck, Globus or Cosmos,

Trafalgar, Intrepid, and Collette,

but there are so many others. And

if you’re only going to two or

three countries, especially if

they’re the well-traveled ones, you

could easily do it on your own, as

long as you enjoy planning.

— Carol Sotilli

Q: I’m planning a trip to

Hawaii for next spring where I

will fly in and out of Honolulu

from the contiguous United

States, but will also visit the

Big Island and Maui. Hawaiian

Airlines has dozens of daily

short-hop flights among the

islands. Is it really necessary to

book in advance? Do the prices

go up when you get closer to

the date?

A: In my experience, Hawaii’s

inter-island flights are like the

bus or train. You can make a last-

minute reservation and they

won’t ding the way they do on

the mainland. Plus, Southwest

Airlines now does inter-island

flights. — Christopher Elliott

Q: I’m planning a short getaway

to Puerto Rico. Is it worth the

hassle, time and cost to see the

bioluminescent bay on Vieques?

Any advice or tips on how to

book a good tour and where to

stay?

A: Vieques is amazing, but if

you are short on time, you can

experience the phenomena on

mainland Puerto Rico, in two

locations. I have kayaked in

Laguna Grande, and it was

magical. To ur groups pick up

from San Juan, so you don’t

have to deal with logistics or

driving at night. Puerto Rico’s

tourism website has some good

info. As for choosing a good

tour, they are all quite similar

but I prefer one with eco-cred.

You will also need to be flexible,

since the tour is very dependent

on weather, wind and

moonlight. — A.S.

Q: Are you allowed to use

Bluetooth headphones on an

airplane in flight?

A: Yes, as long as you are in

airplane mode and not using

cellular service. — A.S.

Expect Olympic cities’ prices to drop — afterward

ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Olympics.

Flight and hotel prices for the city may drop after the Games.