EFTA01699268

,althfifr abete422( ./aezt,a0d 1 -aevn-e-iy -I (1677 -1-4-4: ra /-ez-/ , gym.. --izzet 74 ,V6ti 42, pa 7,-* Zeal girl& d'infizaze, 4 eST wz, ,a-le ,ad/vi ll ,7.7„c, / P.033,WIMMINWAriazdf; EFTA01699268 CAom LtIvto Sac eNvIustoti N OM O To Arkwom TA,O1scldviq 70-.sk Fame, Raw:kJ (3umcuk 0 t_ vLAAA; ot airotis Eckciow 4-60\ AA, auedistivtg za,v14 33201 oc3; (W4AvIsti lvakvio_ NveLl tiu k)oz\v‘viicov) M53? To Likikovv, 0- ft" Cockm rP1tcose. \vmh\-ieri tt nz hiettAiolkiffAi hMAA&RA- oz18.0, m, caLmob ickma Oasts \\A VCA5L koa-ouuktd aAkwa . Aiv): (\ 5\5) u SCA:A\ 1 VIAL VIVetiViS ‘4 oh me. G2 \v, SeipirQmibvv )c01`91 Sca' Koloaxvte vkov,cs akuct oti- oss lase ov) ries 50-5-1 k N4outal esteotatkme TuAt. Doo) treicvas ouAck 1 Aamks EFTA01699269 Bloomberg Eiosinessweek August 5. 2019 1 VICTORIA'S SECRET B U S N E A modeling agency linked to Jeffrey S Epstein is just one of the chain's worries Time isn't being kind to Victoria's Secret. The financier was charged with several counts of se lingerie retailer has a problem with the past and a misconduct in Florida. He pleaded guilty to problem with the future-and that leaves the pres- charge and spent just 13 months in prison v ent in a muddle of controversy. work-release privileges. That penalty was wic Jeffrey Epstein is supposed to be history at the derided as exceedingly lenient and, after sex I company—and at its parent, L Brands Inc., for that ficking charges against Epstein were resurrecte matter—but he's that skeleton that keeps rattling July, fresh outrage over the 2007 plea deal le( around the closet to remind everyone he was once the resignation of U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Aco an all-too-lively part of the business. Epstein had a who'd been the U.S. attorney in Miami in charg two-decade-long reign as close confidant, financial the prosecution. Epstein now sits in a Manhat manager, and right hand to the corporation's chief jail awaiting trial—and perhaps more revelation executive officer, Leslie Wexner. He even had the salacious secrets. On July 23 he was found inju CEO's power of attorney at one time. in his cell and put on suicide watch. Although he wasn't an employee at Victoria's L Brands' efforts to distance itself from Epsi Secret, Epstein also influenced the way the lin- may not have been all that clean a break. Epstei genie company operated, associating with the one point had a $1 million investment in MC2 Mr division's chief marketing officer, Ed Razek. In Management, according to a sworn deposition I 2005, for example, Razek was a guest at Epstein's former company bookkeeper. MC2 is owned byk Manhattan mansion, welcomed by young women Luc Brunel, a Frenchman who's alleged in a civil I who said they were working as models for Epstein. suit to have brought girls as young as 12 to the I Razek told fellow guest William Mook, head of Mok for sexual purposes and provided them to Epsi Industries LLC in Columbus, Ohio, that Victoria's and other friends. Brunel even visited Epstein w Secret used Epstein models and that his girls were he was first imprisoned in 2008. Victoria's Se( in "the major league," according to Mook. continued to work with MO-represented mot Edited by James E. Elks and Epstein's relationship with Wexner and L Brands after Wexner severed ties with Epstein. At least tt Dirnitra Kessenides officially ended in 2007, a year and a half after the MO models walked in its 2015 fashion show, EFTA01699270 Bloomberg Busies*** August 5.2019 ■ BUSINESS the agency's models were at auditions in 2017 and women in suggestive poses often had the look of 2018. They've also posed for its catalogs and web- soft porn. And Abercrombie & Fitch's now-defunct for • Victoria's Secret site. In a 2014 letter to Brunel, his business part- "magalog," A&F Quarterly, was notorious U.S. market share in such as women's urslerwear ner, MC2 President Jeff Fuller cited worries by Saks, including nude models and racy content Nordstrom, Macy's, and other clients about Brunel's its 2003 discussion on the pleasures of group sex. 36% friendship with Epstein. There was no mention of But few retailers have fused themselves to the concern on the part of Victoria's Secret. notion of sexiness more than Victoria's Secret, MC2 didn't respond to a request for comment. which has spent countless hours making sure the az A representative of L Brands declined to com- outside world gets that message. Wexner has never ment beyond statements already issued. L Brands shown a lot of personal interest in the models for his has hired an external law firm to probe any ties brand, according to a former executive. That task ze between the company and Epstein. falls to Razek, who's worked for Wexner since the Epstein is the ghost of Victoria's Secret's past. 198os and is part of his inner circle. The 71-year-old But the company has more to worry about than marketing chief and his team decide which models ze history. Its business model is increasingly at odds earn angel wings. GQ has called him one of the most with society's changing definition of beauty and the important people in the modeling industry. 2010 2018 #MeToo movement, both of which have encour- Between tapings of the 2011 fashion show, for aged a very different vision of how to portray instance, the Victoria's Secret angels would crowd women and their bodies. This isn't just an exercise around Razek as if he were a coach giving a locker in political correctness: Since 2015, Wexner's lin- room pep talk before the big game. In a speech gerie empire has lost $20 billion in market value, that year to his accPmbled models, which included • Victoria's Secret total raising the question of whether a male-dominated Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio, Razek said selling square footage company that trumpets women as lingerie-clad their job is the "most impossible job in the world, 72m "angels" may be out of step with today's consumer. literally in the history of the world. In the history The chain's founder, Roy Raymond, came up of the world, as of this show, only 165 women have 2018 with the idea of a women's lingerie store aimed at ever been in this show," he said to the dozens of men after an unfulfilling experience at a depart- women present. "There have only been 140 pairs of ment store buying his wife some lingerie in the wings in the entire history of this show. That means 1970s. He felt there should be a place where men each of you, every one of you, because there are 64 would be comfortable shopping for women's 7 billion people on the planet. Each of you is one underwear. He opened the first Victoria's Secret in in 45 million human beings. Let's start with that" 1977. Wexner, already owner of retailers Limited, But like fashion, times change. Abercrombie 2011 ao Lane Bryant, and Express, bought the company for in late 2014 parted ways with longtime CEO Mike Si million in 1982. Through savvy marketing under Jeffries, who once famously told Salon magazine Sales 5740 5860 per s4 ft Wexner, the brand sold directly to women who that his chain refused to carry women's clothing I p wanted to look sexy in pushup bras and panties. larger than a size 10 "because good-looking people As the brand grew, it still provided plenty of eye attract other good-looking people, and we want to 3 candy for men—especially in its glittery annual fash- market to cool, good-looking people. We don't mar- ion show, which became a marketing coup and a ket to anyone other than that:' The chain has also much-anticipated event for the men who flocked dropped its highly sexualized marketing. American to it. The first—staged at New York's Plaza Hotel in Apparel founder Dov Charney was ousted in 2014 1995, the same year real estate developer Donald after allegations of sexual harassment, and the I Trump was forced to sell the legendary hostelry company later filed for bankruptcy. I to avoid bankruptcy-included model Stephanie Likewise, fashion companies are increasingly Seymour gliding down the catwalk. Models wore embracing a broader definition of beauty. Younger 5 white and black bras and underwear, but not the designers such as Christian Siriano and Becca large white angel wings that models in subse- McCharen-Tran have added plus-size fashions and quent shows would make famous. Over the years models to their shows. But Victoria's Secret hasn't the extravaganza grew with more lights and pop strayed much from its uniformly tall, thin angels. stars. Supermodels such as Gisele Biindchen and Last November, Razek told Vogue that, after consid- Tyra Banks graced the stage. As such, it cast a sex- eration, he'd decided not to use transgender models § infused spotlight on a utilitarian product our grand- in his shows. "Well, why not? Because the show is a mothers used to purchase from the Sears catalog. fantasy," he said, sparking some outraged celebrities Plenty of clothing retailers have used sex to and customers to call for his resignation. sell. American Apparel's ads of pouty-faced young Some in the industry say such tone-deafness ► EFTA01699271 ■ BUSINESS Bloomberg BusInessweek August 5, 2019 ill may be a result of the 2016 departure of Victoria's of branding to overcome. "There's been very Secret's longtime CEO, Sharen Jester Turney, who'd interesting growth in consumers embracing this guided the brand for a decade while managing to more holistic body-image view, but it's probably too convince many consumers that its celebration of far of a step away from what the DNA of Victoria's the feminine body was a form of female empow- Secret is," says Alex Arnold, a managing direc- erment. Turney left because she didn't agree with tor of the consumer practice at investment bank the direction Wexner wanted to take the business, Odeon Capital Group LLC. "It would be a whole- according to a person familiar with their conver- sale repositioning of the company." -KimBhasin, sations. "With her gone, the men really just took Jordyn Holman, Sophie Alexander, and Anders Melin over," says one former executive. "And these were men who had one ideal of women, and it's not THE BOTTOM LINE Victoria's Secret long prospered by promoting its sexy lingerie. But changing norms about women based in reality:' and beauty could put that growth at risk. Jan Singer, who replaced Turney, left last year soon after Razek made comments some plus-size models and the transgender community found demeaning. Singer was replaced by a man, leaving L Brands with only two women among the 10 listed executive officers and brand leaders. At the urging of Selling the Rainforest activist investor Barington Capital Group, L Brands this spring added two more women to its board. Door-to-Door The failure to embrace changing norms about women and beauty may already be having an • By acquiring Avon, Brazil's Natura plans to turn impact on Victoria's Secret's results. After rising its army of direct salespeople into online influencers steadily since 2010, sales fell to $7.4 billion in fis- cal 2017—the first drop in seven years—and edged slightly lower again last year. Sales at stores open On a pleasant Tuesday in May, dozens of beauty for more than 12 months, a closely watched met- influencers gathered at the New York Botanical ric in retailing, also slipped in 2018, with operating Garden in the Bronx for a vegan lunch and a panel income at the unit tumbling 45%, to $512.4 million. on sustainability in cosmetics. As they sipped pas- Those poor results have led L Brands to tighten sion fruit caipirinhas, the young women snapped its purse strings, resulting in the shuttering of photos of lotions and soaps featuring exotic ingre- dozens of underperforming locations. L Brands dients such as murumuru and priprioca. "Inother announced in February plans to dose about 53 They're the types of products that made host markets, Victoria's Secrets in North America this year, more Natura Cosmeticos SA a beauty giant in Brazil— yousee the than three times the 15 it's historically closed in an and that the so-year-old company wants to bring movement of average year. "Given the decline in performance at to the rest of the world. With its agreement in May beauty going Victoria's Secret, we have substantially pulled back to buy Avon Products Inc., Natura is accelerating its into wellness. on capital investment in that business," L Brands global ambitions and betting its brand of natural, InBrazilit executives said in prepared commentary in May ethically sourced cosmetics will appeal to millen- started the after reporting a further 5% drop in same-store nial and Generation 2 consumers who increasingly other way sales in 2019's first quarter. want sustainable goods. Another notable change: In May, Victoria's around" The company wants to attract social media Secret pulled its fashion show from network tele- enthusiasts such as Ava Lee a New Yorker who was vision after 23 years. Ratings bottomed out in 2018, at the Bronx event. "I love that all Natura Brasil with only 3.3 million viewers, down from the pre- products are clean and sustainable," says Lee— vious all-time low of 5 million the year prior. The @glowwithava on Instagram—who often posts pho- annual show is expected to move to streaming. tos of cosmetics for her almost 24,000 followers. There may be limits to just how much Victoria's "It's hard to come by products that smell this good Secret can change its messaging:American Engle and at the same time are very gentle on the skin Outfitters Ink's rival Aerie line has found a base of and don't cause irritations:. passionate customers who are younger and more Natura's $2 billion purchase of Avon—the very diverse and are calling for brands to have body- company it had long emulated with its door-to- inclusive messages. That's helped Aerie log 18 con- door direct-selling model—will make it the world's secutive quarters of double-digit same-store sales. fourth-biggest cosmetics company and among the One advantage is that Aerie doesn't have 40 years largest focused on natural products. About 80% EFTA01699272 Bloomberg Businessweek August s, 2019 ■ BUSINESS • of its products are vegan. The challenge will be the direct-sales model, which Natura says it can staying loyal to its sustainable roots as it rapidly modernize and diversify. Marques plans to turn the grows. Executive Chairman Roberto de Oliveira combined companies' army of 6 million direct sell- Marques says the "value propositions that are the ers into social media sellers and influencers—who very essence of Natura" are appealing to consumers, increasingly drive millennials' cosmetics purchases. particularly millennials, who look for "authenticity" Natura is also giving door-to-door associates pay- in products and the companies that make them. ment machines and helping them open web stores. Purpose-driven brands resonate more with young "This powerful sales network that gets into consum- consumers, according to researcher Euromonito r ers' homes already existed of line, and now it's con- International. About 60% of millennials responding verting itself into an online network," Marques says. to a lifestyle survey said they felt they could make That's in line with industry trends. Elton a difference in the world through their choices and Morimitsu, a Euromonitor analyst, says several actions, compared with about 45% of baby boomers. brands are "abandoning the use of influencers with Founded in 1969 as a store in Sao Paulo, Natura millions of followers;' he says. "They're betting soon moved to direct sales, adding 2,000 consul- tants over the next decade. Novelties, such as offer- ing product refills in the 1980s and a line of soaps and creams that could be used by both new moms and babies in the 1990s, fed steady sales growth in a country obsessed with good looks. But though Brazilians are leaders in plastic surgery and popu- larized the infamous Brazilian wax, the national con- cept of beauty is more natural—think of model Gisele , Bfindchen, with her signature loose hair. "Natura's broader portfolio, more focused on wellness as opposed to only beauty, puts it in a unique position to expand abroad;' says David Marcotte, a retail analyst with Rantar Consulting. "In other markets, you see the movement of beauty going into wellness. In Brazil it started the other way around. That's the grounding for their success!' Natura gets 30% of its revenue outside Brazil. The company began widening its scope in the past • Number of direct- decade, buying a controlling stake in Australian lux- instead on microinfluencers with several thousands sales associates Nature ury skin-care brand Aesop in 2013 and British soap of followers, because the conversion rate into sales will have after Its purchase of Avon maker the Body Shop in 2017. It's taken steps to bring that the brand will have will be much higher!' its sustainable ethos to those brands. Natura brought Natura doesn't sell only through its consultants; the Body Shop's marketing back to the cruelty-free it's made several brands available in drugstores, 6m cause that jump-started the brand in the 19705. It's cut deals to sell others at big retailers, and opened also taken the fair-trade model it uses to procure its 52 proprietary stores, mostly in Brazil, to showcase ingredients from the Amazon and expanded it to the its goods. It also has its own virtual store and is using African communities that provide moringa oil to the the network of Body Shop franchisees in Southeast Body Shop. At Aesop, packaging changes will reduce Asia to open Natura locations there. It has opened plastic consumption by 124 tons per year. two stores in the New York area, but has no plans It's unclear how much Natura will transform to expand quickly in the U.S., Marques says. Until Avon, whose sales plunged by half over the past that changes, American consumers need to rely on to years, to $5.25 billion, in fiscal 2018 amid com- online shopping and influencers such as Ana Kcira, petition from trendier brands. The company had whose @fashionstylefoodie on Instagram has about given up on the U.S., selling the last of its stake in 45,000 followers. She posted a photo of herself the American operations earlier this year, to focus spraying Natura's pataua oil, a hair strengthener, on international markets. But it's still struggled to on a friend's braid in Central Park—which generated adapt to changing consumer tastes. almost 700 likes. —Fabiola Mourn, with riffanyKary The Avon acquisition will give the Brazilian com- THE BOTTOM UNE Natures natural, ethically sourced cosmetics pany access to 27 new markets—including in China have been a hit at home h Brazil. It's aiming for *Mar success and Eastern Europe—as well as greatly expand globally. as younger consuners lean toward purpose-ddven brands EFTA01699273 EFTA01699274 TRAVEL Bloomberg Pursuits August 5, 201 elix Worn, chief of the Asmat village of Syuru; looked F intimidating in his grass skirt and fur headdress, bird feathers protruding from the side. A necklace of sharp animal teeth stretched across his bare, muscular chest, and his nose held a large curled ring. This ornament was made of seashell, but in the past it could have Asmat men from.the village of gyuru arrive . in canoesio oreat —and I Intimidate—visitors been carved from human bone. Twelve miles off the sparsely populated south coast of the Indonesian province of West Papua, Worn sat, unsmiling, for the fust time on the deck of a cruise ship. The 120-passenger Coral Adventurer was on an inaugural voyage to West Papua, which encompasses most of western New Guinea and other nearbyislands, and the ship's captain had invited Worn and a handful of other village elders onboard to calm any fears about intruding foreigners. He offered them a look around, hats with baseball logos, and tins of butter cookies to take home. travel has drawn particular interest among baby boomers "They want to have a peek at us and really want to see willing to pay fares that often top $1,000 a night for meaning- the ship;' says tour lecturer Kathryn Robinson, a retired ful soft adventure experiences in hard-to-reach destinations. anthropology professor at Australian National University In this growing niche of the cruise market, 39 expedition whose research focus includes Indonesia. "If you say no, ships are set to make their debut from now to 2024, accord- because that would make us feel uncomfortable, that doesn't ing to Cruise Industry News. Big cruise companies are dipping work.... Hospitality is a big thing in Indonesia." their toes into the lucrative arena. Royal Caribbean Cruises The chief already understood it—the symbiotic relationship Ltd. acquired four expedition ships (as well as five ultraluxury between locals and visitors. "We can keep our culture because ships) last year when it paid about $1 billion fora two-thirds people come to see it," he said through a translator, acknowl- stake in Silversea Cruises Ltd. "It probably increased their fleet edging the importance of the money the cruise line brings to capacity by 2% but increased their profit flow by 6%. The profit his village. "We would be very per ship is that much higher," happy to have more ships coin- . says Bloomberg Intelligence ingr As I walked away from our "It's like anywhere senior analyst Brian Egger. chat, the chief raised his chin, where people are performing Most of the new boats are looked ahead at nothing, and let out a long rhythmic call. their culture.It can be polar -class vessels bound for popular cold places such as The Asmat people once uncomfortable, but it can also Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland, were known as great warriors promot who used headhunting and e mutual recogn ition" and the Canadian High Arctic. But other cruises are sticking to cannibalism in their warfare, the tropics. As a result, some of cultural rituals that ended for good about 60 year ago with the most isolated people on Earth are seeing more visitors. the arrival of the Indonesian government. Photographer and Wom's village of Syuru, with its rustic houses and board- art collector Michael Rockefeller, one of Nelson's five sons, may walks crossing the swamp, will welcome four shiploads of have been a victim of cannibalism after his boat overturned cruisers this year, a number agreed upon by the government near an Asmat village in November 1964 according to the book and tribal representatives. Timing is important in the expe- Savage Harvest, by Carl Hoffman. His body was never found. dition business: The May itinerary of our round-trip cruise The culture lives on in part through performance—which from Darwin, Australia, was tweaked so we could beat a ship is how the government likes it, says Stuart Kirsch, a professor owned by French line Ponant SA by a day. of anthropology at the University of Michigan who specializes We arrived early in the morning after two sea days churn- in the Pacific region. "When you're not there, they're wearing ing north from Darwin. Passengers boarded the ship's two Rolling Stones T-shirts from the global used-clothing market, hop-on, hop-off tenders and passed mangroves along a brack- cutoff jeans, and worn-out flip-flops," Kirsch says. West Papua ish river on our way to the village. As we approached , dug- has an independence movement, he says, but "that's typically out canoes from several clans emerged from shore. Athletic scripted out of the tourist narrative:' men and young boys paddled from a standing position, most Add the navigational difficulties of swirling winds, shallow in grass skirts, their faces and bodies covered with war paint, seas, shiftingsands, and multiple reefs, and it's no wonder trav- which assures the warriors their,ancestors will protect them. elers seldom stop by. That our diesel-electric vessel was here, Men reached for the sides of our boats. Paddles thumped near the equator in the middle of hot nowhere, is a result of • against wood in unison with war cries. "They are perform- the expanding market for expedition cruises. Such small-ship ing themselves as violent people;' Robinson said. "They are i EFTA01699275 August 5,2019 Bloomberg Pursuits TRAVEL She's noticed that, since she first visited the Asmat a few years saying, 'This is who we are!" If they were trying to look scary, it, for ago, conditions seem to have improved. "The way I see they succeeded with me, especially as the flotilla increased of these people who are miles away from any of the circuits to dozens of canoes. capital, tourism is helping them to realize that they do have Onshore, men performed a traditional ceremony to launch something the world will buy, which is their culture," she says. a new canoe. It was a frenzy of hip-swinging dancing, raised "We might have anxieties about it. But all through Indonesia, spears and shields, chanting, yelping, and drumming. Women these gers people hope that tourism is going to bring income into in grass skirts, some topless, danced in support. Passen people are separa te from the exigen cies remote areas. These stood on the edge of the ceremony, the action only some- untouc hed has also got its negativ es!" of the world. Pristine and what diluted by some of the villagers holding cellphones. e the Asmat an oppor tunity to prac- The visits also provid They were taking pictures of us, as we were of them. And wear, sun hats, and tice their culture, Huma says. Elders traditionally teach youth what a sight we were in our "adventure" cus- the group's customs by performing ceremonies; paying sunglasses, slathered in sunscreen and bug spray. I hadn't so. Kids also see the outsid e world eyes tomers are an excuse to do thought of myself as a cultural attraction, but locking we both were and have an opportunity to practice English, "so they can go with a half-naked elderly woman, I realized out and seek employment and send money home;' he says. probing another world. I felt oin of place in this one. "It's like anywhere where people are performing their cul- Cruisers pulled out rupiah to purchase Asmat art, which uncom- . ture," says Kirsch, the Michigan professor. "It can be is sought by museums and collectors around the world te mutua l recogn ition. The m fortable, but it can also promo (Rockefeller was seeking pieces for the Metropolitan Museu and these encou nters can ) Asmat are well known for their art, of Art's collection of primitive works when he disappeared. style!' I stimulate appreciation for the artistic The art traditionally tells the stories of ancestors, but when for quite Agats, a larger town we visited nearby, has imported goods picked up a figurine for about Us-some works went a staple said for sale to locals. Among them are rice, which isn't a bit more—and asked about its symbolism, the shy artist e popula r, as well as electric of the Asmat diet but has becom it was just something he imagined. nes. Given the spotty signal, motorbikes, tea, sugar, and cellpho Oswald Huma, a tour agent from the island of Savu, west as and for playin g music. , the phones are mostly used as camer of Timor, was hired by Coral Expeditions, based in Cairns itin- Huma had spent months in his boat on the Arafura Sea Australia, to help map out our "Warriors and Wildlife" cing ask south of West Papua, sometimes in rough seas, convin erary. He said the most common question the villagers me the Coral Adven turer. leaders in remote villages to welco is, "Why do these people come to see us?" He struggles with the He also arranged for English speakers to meet us at each of the answer, usually replying that travelers want to buy four stops. Many are teachers, and some traveled far for the wood carvings. He doesn't want to mention the attraction of jobs as guides. a history of headhunting. ► e. In the village of Sangliat Dcl, on Yamdena Island in the Robinson says the interactions bring much-needed incom y. WEST PAPUA r T:\ Argun' & Andometal,* akor ay DONES1/9.-Mpik V 4 Triton Bay ii i Sangliat Dol Iria;saps*sae' EFTA01699276 $ Bloomberg Pursuits August 5,2019 Arctic Spring on the Galapagos on the Greenland and The Kimberley on ,..."423 1113027.a:&34- National Geographic Endurance Sliver Origin Purpose-built by Iceland on the the CoralAdventurer Scenic Eclipse Red cliffs, ancient Sailings in April tv Don %Iversea Cruises for This 'Discovery Yachtr rock art, towering Check out these other adventure cruises, Undblad Expeditions tripi to the Gahipagos debuting this summer waterfalls, and salt- priced per person, double occupancy. 126-guest ship bring you starting in July 2020. for Australian-owned water crocodiles all to Nonvays Svalbard SiWer Origin will pro- Scenic, has a sub- turn up on April- Antarctica on twth-engine choppers arthipaiago Just at the vide a posh floating marine and two heli- through-September Quark Expeditions' todrop you off for ight is starting to return base camp for visiting copters for exploring sails around Western Ultramarine heal-skiing —will explore and the polar bears Da reeffs finchesaexl glaciers and fiords, Australia remote Debuting in late 2020, Antarctica Prices are waking up. ti-day blue-footed boobies., plus other toys.11-dey northern coast. l0-day Ouark's.Polar ship— hot yet evell0510: sailing (rein'$t1600. Seven-daysailings from cruises Item $12,295; onuses from $7.024 complete with two • quarkexpeditlehscom sveditionstom $9459 avirseacon1 scenicusecom corelexpeditions.com 41 province °Maluku, the push.and pull of multiculture life voyage roughly 375 years ago. Coral Expeditions, a 35-year- was magnified. During a one-hour bus ride beforehand, our old company owned since 2O14 by Kallang Capital Holdings 1 guide said, "Visitors are rare, ask destroys the daily life." Pte. of Singapore, is known more for its cruises of Australia We were met by an enthusiastic crowd of costumed women ICirnberley region and the Great Barrier Reef. in embroidered white peasant blouses and sarongs. Some had When you commit to an expedition cruise to a remote arrived hours-earlier from nearby villages to greet us with a locale, you can expect long days at sea getting there. Wi-Fi dance in which they waved scarves and small towels. They wel- connections are sporadic, and there's no satellite TV. Lectures comed us as "sons and daughters of the village." are the main shipboard activity. A marine biologist prepared A smiling older woman grabbed my arm, and to the accom- us for the world's largest fish, whale sharks—who apparently paniment of druths and singing, the crowd danced past tin- didn't get the memo about our arrival. We looked for them roofed homes to a megalithic ceremonial stone boat in the without success in Triton Bay in the southwest corner of West village center. Shouting, shoving, even screaming ensued, and Papua. The passengers, mostly Australians over-6o, relaxed cruise passengers were hustled off to the side. onboard in modern cabins and lounge areas accented with Seating in the boat is based on status, but it can be con- African wood and Italian marble. Hot water flowed from tested. A man had taken a position someone else felt was his. showers, cappuccinos from coffee machines. Dinner was a Government officials moved the arguing men out of view so three-course affair, with Australian wines. a smaller group could perform a planned ceremony honor- It was sticky and hot when we explored the tidy dirt streets ing our ship "elders." of the Muslim village of Arguni (population 227), in the Fakfak The fight—with yelling and shoving—was the rawest experi- regional district. Women, their heads covered, and their ence of our cruise. But for the locals, there was a price to be grandchildren offered warm but cautious smiles. Most of the paid. A government official threatened to file a report, say- village's adults were as far away as Bali and Jakarta for work ing there would be consequences. Our ship withheld bags of or study. Although it was Ramadan, women had risen early school supplies, soccer balls, and clean sheets and towels for to prepare fish dishes and cakes made of tapioca. the health clinic, similar to gifts we'd delivered to other villages. "You are not tourists anymore, but part of our family;' The donations to'Sangliat Dol returned with us. "We don't King Hanafi Paus Paus told the crowd. Later, in his small know when we left the village if they would fight over a soc- house, where the front room is furnished with plastic patio cer ball," Huma said. "We don't want a bad thing to happen." chairs and the walls are decorated with photographs of his No one on the Coral Adventurer, not even the cap- forbears, the king said tourism is improving. Another ship tain, had sailed the West Papua itinerary before, a route had arrived five months ago. Ships have a "good effect," he designed to mimic a portion. of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman's said through a translator. "It protects the history, plus we get money. People leave for work, and now work comes to us." lenders ferry The king's two sons are in high school in the town of Fakfak pastengers to isolated beaches about 3O miles away. He goes there in his boat, then uses a along the coast car he keeps in town to get around. In all the villages, locals attempted a few words of English, and there was a warmth and sincerity to our encounters—even if most amounted to us staring at them and them staring at us. Ngilngof village, on Kai Kecil Island, provided the welcome that felt most linked with the outside world: Women in bright purplejackets and long gold skirts danced with delicate hand movements as a ritual leader in black raised a coconut, invok- ing ancestral protection for the island's natural resources. Meanwhile,on a 3-mile-long beach with soft, white sand, plas- tic chairs were s' et up under a tent you could rent for the after- noon. Snack bars sold cold beers and Diet Cokes. 0 EFTA01699277 EFTA01699278 Bloomberg Pursuits July 29, 2019 BIKES n Valentine's Day, Sharry Billings posted a night pizza runs, say, or weekend coffee meetups—and they 0 photograph on Instagram. Below the image of take periodic excursions to women-only destination events herself, her hair a red-caramel and her smile such as the Wild Gypsy Tour, which is organizing a festival in open, she wrote: "I love you so much I wanna Sturgis, S.D., in August, and the Dream Roll in Ashland, Ore. squeeze you!" The biggest crowd follows Babes Ride Out, a series of The object of her affection? "All the motorcycles I have events founded by Anya Violet and Ashmore Ellis in 2013. It owned and will own in the future," she explained. Alongside started with so women riders who gathered to camp out in the photo of her astride a Harley-Davidson, she wrote that Borrego Springs, Calif. They built fires, pitched tents, drank bikes "have changed my life, healed my soul, and brought me beer, and played games on Harleys, Husqvamas, and Hondas more love and friendships than I could have ever imagined r while soaking in nature and one another's company. Billings goes.by @sistermotherl3 on Instagram, but the These groups are tapping into an undercurrent of the main account she oversees is @thelitaslosangeles. The Litas motorcycle industry. As sales have faltered, dropping more is a group she joined three years ago as a way to connect with than 4o% from 2008 to 2010, then recovering somewhat by other women riders in her city. She's co-led the L.A. branch 2014 but never to previous levels, manufacturers including for two years. When she joined, it provided her with much- Harley-Davidson Inc. and BMW Motorrad have struggled to needed healing and Camaraderie after her kids grew up and create appeal beyond their core demographic of older white she got divorced. Billings had ridden as a teenager and into men. Their efforts include offering electric and less-expensive her 20s but took a hiatus later. "It was always in my heart," motorbikes and introducing exciting conceptual prototypes. she says. But when she was married with young children, "I Female riders offer enthusiasm and youth, and, yes, they're thought it was a little too dangerous?' spending money that brands crave. ' After the breakup in 2015, she found herself longing for The number of women who own motorcycles has almost escape. And adventure. "My prayer at the time was, 'God, I doubled since 2010, according to a 2018 study by the Motorcycle don't want to date: These men are not happening," Billings Industry Council. Today, 19% of owners are women, up from says, laughing. "The first thing that came to'my heart was the 10% in 2009 and 8% in the late 19905. And the number of female motorcycle I wanted. It was a Harley." riders gets higher as you go younger: 22% of Generation X While the industry on the whole dropped 40% from 2008 to 2010, the amount of women who own motorcycles has almost doubled She bought the bike, took the ride. Then she joined the riders are women, and 26% of millennial riders are women. Litas. "I'm very grateful to have found my heart again," What's more, the average woman who owns a motorcycle Billings says. spends $574 annually on maintenance, parts, service, and Founded in Utah byJessica Haggett half a decade ago, the accessories, while the average man who rides spends $497. Litas have expanded to include hundreds of branches around "We are riding a ton," says Joy Lewis, who started when the world (Litas Denver, Litas Lisbon, Litas Rome?, with she was 12. "I have a friend who put 20,000 miles on her bike members ranging from twentysomething singles to 6o-and in one year." Lewis's father, an Alaskan crab fisherman who 70-year-old retirees with EA-maids. They take regular rides, owned a Harley, got her hooked. ' e spend a lot of money often along wild back roads, including the Pine Mountain on our gear and our bikes, and a lot of things to go with them. Ridge route near Ojai, Calif., that Billings took with 32 other I think that's starting to be appreciated?' riders one Saturday in July. It's about riding with your own Andy Jefferson, a spokesman for Husqvarna, says one of style and pace but surrounded by like-minded friends. the brand's priorities must be to provide support for wom- "If you're learning to ride, you're going to kill yourself rid- en's motorcycling. "We were like everyone else—going after a ing with men—they ride like bats out of hell!" Billings says. piece of the pie;' he says. "But everyone was looking at men, "And women—I'm generalizing here—tend to be more careful. and there are all these other people-women-that nobody We are mothers, we are sisters, we feel obligated to stay alive." even really talks about in conversations about how to sell The Litas are singular but not uncommon. All across more bikes" The brand lacks figures for how many of its own- California, Oregon, and Utah, from Texas to New York, women- ers are women but is "working to change thatflefferson says. "That's part of the problem:' • . only motorcycle groups and riding events are springing up like wildflowers. They go by names such as the Miss-Fires Husqvarna honed in on women riders five years ago when (Brooldyn, N.Y.), the Chrome Divas (Austin), and Leather and it started sponsoring Babes in the Dirt, an offshoot of Babes Lace (Daytona Beach, Fla.). They do regular rides: Tuesday Ride Out that's more focused on off-road and dirt-bike riding. EFTA01699279 Rkiterilsuilor winftudYrire9)ri 1,101401n .Soeica4 kneWiti Oyissi Tour COLOR ADO MO NTA HAT CO IN MPANY - Ti Last year the company sp en of the three-day rally, len t $50,000 to $60,000 in support meeting. No ding 27 motorcycles an t only are companies ma ers to service the bikes an d nine staff- thatyou co king cute technical stuff d teach. uld wear to work—rather "We counted between So an pants with pink embroid th an some weird leather out] Husqvarnas; he sa d too girls out ther ery all ov er th e butt that you'd never ys. "The number is nor e (trying wear—they're making things we can means, but those are to huge by any Attendees ac tua lly.user o people we didn't have be jumps down to their brot fore. It alio ironic abbr at events for Babes Ride Out (or BRO, the hers and sisters and ki eviation they've adopted wouldlave got these pe ds. ) co ople without doing this! We never as far away as Sweden and South Am me to America from But more important, "w ' den since they could wa erica.-Some have rid- e want to get you to rid lk; some can't operate cycle," Jefferson adds. e a motor- preferrin a bike at all, "If you ride with Babes g always to be a passen • and go buy another bran and have fun rational ger and imbibe the inspi- d, great. atpxosphere. There's At BMW Motoriad, which We just want people riding' leather on-site— always plenty of denim and vice president for the Am on Ju ly I na m ed Tr udy bu t th e hi ps ter kind, not th ericas, the company is Hardy look. Local shops give clastes on basic e leather-daddy ing women-only even ts including the Sisters' sponsor- Some women get tattoos to commem bike maintenance. Motorcycle Ride. It's Ce orate the experience. also covering travel expe ntennial "People camp, and th er e ar e tra appearance fees for ns es and "The idea is ile rs, toO," Lewis says. brand reps such as El that you grab coffee an an architect who was speth Beard, during th d br eakfast, and then the first British woman e day everyone is out tid motorcycle around the *o to ride her happens ing. And then all the stu dd. The brand also send in the evenings with ba ff JoceliaSnow and Erin Si s nds.or karaoke and show lls, who holds a 242 mph pro racer rated"—feats of throttle control. • record, to-attend even land speed Earlier this year, a g6 ts at local dealerships. -y Harley-Davidson has ex panded its retail line in camp; she'd first ridde ear-old woman joined them at to include a host of riding recent years cle TS year n cross-county on her m jackets; helmets, boots, s ago:Last summer the otorcy- size.d ancl styled for wo an d glo ve s m ee tup an nu al Ca lif or nia desert men. It's perhaps the m of growth for the n6-ye ost critical field an East SAW 1,700 women ride in Yucca Valley; 500 attended ar-old Wisconsin brand, Coast campout in- the Ca sales steadily decline sin which has seen 700 att tslail Mountains in New ce 2014. The average age ended the most recent Ba York; owner is so. The avera of ge price of one is $15,800 a Harley "Maybe people think th bes in the Dirt in Lebec, Calif. tunny mifiennials will sp —more than tough an at women who ride are end on a car, let alone a d badass, which it prob pretty "Even just in the last fiv motorcycle. women rid ably true, but all in all e years the conversa er s co , shifted," says motorcy tion has so any label th me in all shapes, sizes, colors, and lifestyles, cle aficionado Lewis. at you wantto.give them do here in leather Kevlar "I'm sitting co-foun es not really work," paths as we speak, abou der Violet says, tan ho t to go into a 'type'...an nestly say that there is dwe like it that way!" 0 no EFTA01699280 Bloomberg Bustnessweek -Puy 15.2019 4 • AMLO's passion project is a 900-mile train to connect bead E When resorts and colonial-era towns C Mother One day last December, Mexican President Andrt Manuel Lopez Obrador donned a beaded necklac and bowed his head reverently before a fire pit, t ask Mother Earth for permission to build a railroa 0 Earth through the heart of Mayan territory. The line, which will stretch 1,460 kilometer (goo miles) across five Mexican states, may cart more than 8,000 passengers a day. It will serve som of the country's most popular tourist destination: N including seaside resorts Cancfm and Tulum, Mend and other colonial-era towns, and archaeologic sites like Chichen Itza. For AMLO, as Mexico's lead( is widely known, the Mayan Train is something c a passion project. Critics call it an expensive folly. Rusty railways dating to the iggos cover les than half of the proposed route, but they'll have t M be completely overhauled to handle modern rol ing stock. That's the easy part. To lay track alon the rest of the route, construction crews will hay to cut through miles of rainforest, home to jaguar: which are endangered in Mexico, and pumas. The most difficult part of the undertaking ma be finding investors to finance the project's cost as much as 160 billion pesos (about $7.9 billion C AMLO's government hasn't specified how it cam up with that number, nor has it commissioned study to prove there will be sufficient passenger an cargo volume to make the line commercially viabli The agency in charge of the endeavor, Fonatur, ha S described the Mayan Train as a "social" projec whose main goal is boosting the economy of th Yucatan Peninsula by way ofhotel construction an tourism. "What we're looking for is for the town along the train's routes to be profitable, and tha goes beyond how many tourists use the train;' say Aaron Rosado, the Yucatan liaison at Fonatur, th national fund for tourism promotion. The mediai Gives You household income across the five states is half tha of the capital, Mexico City. Chiapas, one of the state on the route, is the country's poorest, according t. A Building statistics agency Inegi. "It would be a huge mistake to plan this poorly, says Alexandra Zapata, adjunct director at Mexico' Permit Competitiveness Institute, IMCO, a think tank tha studies the impact of policy on the Mexican econ omy. "There's a profound difference between bei Ling on regional development and ending up witl Edited by an abandoned ghost project because it cost 10 time Style 101Ingsworth more than what was originally thought:' EFTA01699281 Juty 15.2019 Bloomberg Bus,nessweek ■ ECONOMICS AMLO's Mayan Train Project Fonatur opened bidding for engineering work on the Mayan Train in May. The tender elicited o Station • Cabkraut Biosphere Rosen. enough questions from interested yet confused par- / Existing rainy ties to fill a 253-page document. The session sched- uled to respond to those queries had to be delayed a month to allow Fonatur enough time to come up .Cancun Maus Izemel with answers. "Look, I'm not against the train," &Alfa Maim Vagadoli d Puerto Morelos says Eduardo Ramirez, president of the Mexican Chkhon0O-CL Playa del Carmen (./ Chamber of the Construction Industry. "But they Itza cowl Tulum need to prove this is economically feasible and that Ci Rape Carnikt Puerto it won't be a burden for future administrations. We can't keep absorbing governments' mistakes—it's always the Mexican people who end up paying." ......... Caribbean ns cArcega .ir Fonatur chief Rogelio Jimenez Pons told ')I sea Bloomberg in February that "a group of too of Palenpue Lopez Obrador's closest friends" has funded stud- Guatemala t00 but his agency Tenosat stecl ies that contain traffic projections, "can't share them just yet." The Mayan Train's current estimates put its running in early 2018, but today there's still no start per-kilometer cost at $5.2 million, on par with in sight and costs are running 92% over budget. France's Valence-Marseille route, the sixth-lowest date tag has grown to $66 million per kilometer, among 22 lines worldwide that IMCO studied. "It's Its price IMCO says, making it the third-most -expensive line not clear how they got to that number," Zapata study. "You'd think the Mexican government says. "But what is clear is that international expe- in its would learn from this, but apparently they're head- rience shows these projects—even when they're ing in the same direction;' Zapata says. perfectly planned—tend to end up costing as much Pefia Nieto's administration also studied the idea as 130% more." building a train in the southeast. It would have The only other passenger train that's being built of about five times smaller, but ultimately the in Mexico will connect the capital to the nearby been administration shelved the project when oil prices industrial town of Toluca. Started under former and the federal budget took a hit. President Enrique Pefia Nieto, it's been beset by fell AMLO's government is looking to fund 90% of problems, including lacking the right of way in Mayan Train through a so-called Fibra-a hybrid some parts. The line was supposed to be up and the AMLO (standing of a master limited partnership and a real estate center) at a ceremony investment trust. This is the same vehicle that was honoring Mother Earth cost of buildin g during the project's I used to fund part of the $13 billion launch a new airport for Mexico City, a project the presi- A Mayan Pt/remit' at ing a sell-off in the site of the ancient dent canceled late last year, trigger dty of Calakmul Mexican bonds, stocks, and the peso. Environmentalists have voiced concerns about the impact a project this size will have on the region's fragile ecosystem. The proposed route is home to an estimated 800 to 1,200 jaguars, an already endangered species, according to Panthera, a New York-based nonprofit focused on the conser- vation of wildcats. To allow the animals to roam freely, the govern- ment is considering building large overpasses along sections of the track, likely modeled on those built in Canada's Banff National Park for grizzly bears, beavers, and other big mammals. It's unclear if the current budget for the Mayan Train includes money for any overpasses; the Canadian structures cost as much as $2 million each, according to Mircea Hidalgo, a member of Panthera Mexico's scientific 10- EFTA01699282 Eltoornberg Buslnessweek July IS, 2019 ■ ECONOMICS A council. "It would be a tragedy if this destroys from adjacent towns. "The entire world recog- the natural heritage of the Mexican people, one of nizes Calakmul's importance. It's a Unesco World which is the jaguar," says Howard Quigley., jaguar Heritage Site," says Carlos Alcerreca, a biologist program director at Panthera. "It's just a matter of consulting with Fonatur on conservation practices. the government deciding to do it rightr "The project needs to find a way to mitigate the The train's route will include a stop near the impact, but it won't be easy." Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico's larg- Experts' warnings are unlikely to sway AMLO. est protected areas and home to 2,400-year-old "This is not just a whim or an imposition," the Mayan ruins. The area around the reserve has president told the crowd on that December day as few hotels and roads and isn't used to big crowds, smoke billowed from the earth. "It's an act of jus- mainly because it isn't easy to get to. In all of 2018 tice, because the southeast has been abandoned for it had only 43,000 visitors. Buildinghotels, restau- too long. It's their timer —Andrea Navarro rants, and other accommodations for a large influx THE BOTTOM LINE Where Lopez °header sees opportunity to of visitors may strain the area's precious resources, deveCop en overlooked resital his critics see a boondoggle that including water, which would have to be piped in risks upending a fragile ecosYstem. Can France Make Factories Cool? • Macron's government is hoping to encourage young French people onto the factory floor A 20-foot-tall blue rooster, appearing to crow as it estimates there are about 50,000 vacancies in man- strides forward, chest jutted out and wings folded ufacturing that, if filled, would create an additional back, is on a tour de France. The inflatable bird is 200,000 jobs. racing. to Go stages across the country, accompa- In other large European economies including nied by a team of 15 technicians, six trucks, and an Germany and the Netherlands, the problems are • Share of French manufacturing Airstream trailer. The mission: to restore pride in largely explained by record-low unemployment. In companies reporting the country's manufacturing industry. France, however, unemployment is almost 9%, yet tiring cillioulties Each daylong stage of the so-called French Fab 46% ofemployers in industry report recruitment dif- Tour includes workshops and games for school- ficulties, according to the French statistics agency children, conferences, aptitude tests, virtual-reality Insee. That's the highest level in almost 20 years. experiences, and speed-dating-style job interviews. Even when unemployment was at 7.2%, in 2008, President Emmanuel Macron's government is French manufacturers found it easier to hire than hoping the campaign will encourage the French today. "The main problem for our competitiveness back onto the factory floor. "We're in a sector that comes from the fact that we aren't able to recruit in is the very opposite of sexy," says julien Hue, chief industry. And we can't recruit in industry because its executive officer ofindustrial oil manufacturer Hafa. image is degraded," says Anges Pannier•Runacher, Bottlenecks in labor supply are one of the main one of the ministers in charge of the French Fab. constraints on growth in the European economy, In the Normandy town of Rouen, the giant 1/2001 4/2019 frustrating the European Central Bank. After slash- rooster struggled to compete for attention with ing interest rates and pumping billions into the ships visiting for the anneal Armada celebrations economy with quantitative easing, the ECB says the in June. Only a handful of people passed through onus is now on government s to do more to bring to look at the French Fab exhibits, while thousands people into the workforce and equip them with queued for hours only a few yards away to visit skills businesses need. The French government antique sailboats and modem warships. ► EFTA01699283 Oliver White, a guide from North Carolina, gets the money shot with a bonefish in the Marls, Bahamas EFTA01699284 is the worst of times I to be an angler. The fish are smaller, the crowds are bigger, and climate change is ruining every- thing. And yet, it's also the best of times: The lat- est gear makes the sport more effortless than ever, and no location is too remote to access with a rod and reeL For those who like to travel, today's base camps have begun to resemble world-class resorts with spa ser- vices, herb gardens, and wine tastings. The focus is still on catching fish, but booking a top-shelf angling vacation means having options. One day you might be heli- fishing for steelhead, • 1444proklii.41444-7.44Z.reiii, the next you're chas- ing them upriver in a 200-horsepower jet boat. The key to the top trips is your guide, an experi- enced hand who knows the area and will lead you to the perfect inlets, eddies, runs, and other secret spots. Here are 10 experts on their home turf—and the local fish that'll get you hooked. —DarrellHartman EFTA01699285 ,r517es HET I SH re -trI99 .; s do pa he gi eVa a bu e?.". can ayArtfe.3CaotaeL., tog a o than • Agway: 'Tit -wrecking ac inrelniaTiWP • Li'. - sl attonal b0 you sor ind o our,. y riet•P ‘1 li t „Vm to-e t t ng ."1,4siteioci d 9 5/071C,to ha 444.441" t$ .— availab .oOk .neWsrti , nti:3?" Ca S THE RESOR S8 810% •Reso sla d u Or ape, ue ,os U ions THEVERGLADES EFTA01699286 Schuster runs a 23-foot Parker your fly: says Hutcheson, who's • THE LODGE Ryabaga Camp out of Martha's fished stripers there as a guest. enjoys exclusive access to 50 miles Vineyard for of the wide. easy-flowing Ponoi. striped bass. 'When they go for it. it's for the kill" bluefish, and In September they typically share which guests of all skill levels can bonito the water with bonito, bluefish, and fish on toot or by boat. Unlike its lightning-fast false albacore, load- northerly neighbors, the Ponoi has ing the field for a Massachusetts two mini seasons, in early and late -grand slam." summer. The accommodations have recently been upgraded • THE INN The Hob Knob ($559 from canvas tents to duplex wood per night: hobnobtom), a Gothic cabins with en suite bathrooms. A Revival inn in historic Edgartown. major selling point is the variety of has the traditional down-home accessibility —that is. once you've white -columned porch but makes taken the weekly charter flight up its beds with sumptuous Versai from Helsinki and the two-hour linens. The full-service spa is a helicopter ride from Murmansk. major perk. • THE GUIDE Ryabaga's Max • THE GUIDE Abbie Schuster, Mamaev has spent two decades 29, represents the next generation on the Ponoi. "He is truly one of of northeastern saltwater guides. the world's greatest guides—so She only fly-fishes and has a strict resourceful, so industrious. I heard catch-and-release policy, uncon- he made his first pair of waders out ventional for a striper specialist. of a chemical warfare suit: White try to make it a full experience: she says. "And I believe it." says. That could mean a full day chasing schoolies in her 23-foot • THE PRICE From $7.49O Parker or a mixed program involv- per person for a weeklong stay: ing beach driving and a guided frontierstraveltom yoga session during slack tide. SKILL LEVEL: ■ THE PRICE $850 for a full- e DC> DO 61 day trip with Schuster; kismet outfitters.com SIZE FACTOR: e of grass—more like a reed than a piece of lumber-and SKILL LEVEL: it has a natural sensitivity that more modern materials Pe Pe RC> lack. Bamboo fans say that their rods cast more flu- idly, that their slight extra weight does more of the work, and that they're better at cushioning light lead- SIZE FACTOR: Pe PO RC> THEAMAZON ers. Where a graphite caster would talk about power The crazy -colored peacock bass is and efficiency, one who uses bamboo might invoke just one of many fascinating crea- terms such as "warmth" and "friendliness." There's also the matter of uniqueness. Part of the POHOIBPS tures in the Amazon Basin, but the violence with which this freshwater predator smacks a fly will take your character of every rod is imparted by the particular Moneyed anglers are going farther breath away. The capable guides at calm of bamboo from which it was made—its size, age, afield than ever to pursue Atlantic Ague Boa Amazon Lodge. located density, moisture content, whether or not it was heat- salmon, as commercial harvesting, on a clear-water tributary of the treated and if so, how—so that even among identical climate change, and other ills have same name. rarely have trouble rods by the same maker there can be discernible dif- reduced North American runs. finding them. An inexperienced ferences. And bamboo rods, like violins, are said to The new hot spot is Russia's Kola fly-caster can catch dozens of the evolve with use, so even if a rod doesn't have a person- Peninsula. whose 25 million acres smaller 'butterfly- variety in a day. of tundra and salmon rivers lie even using mandatory barbless ality the first time you string it up, it will after you've almost entirely within the Arctic single hooks: when the water's low fished with it for a few seasons. Circle. The southerly Ponoi River enough. meanwhile. sight-fishing Is this all beginning to sound a little mystical? Well, is so much better than everything for 15-pounders tests the skills of that's how they get under your skin. The late rod- else: according to globe-trotting anglers and guides alike. 'It's an maker Charlie Jenkins once told me that half of what guide Oliver White. Frontiers honest-to-God adventure: says his customers were buying was the image of the lone International Travel spokesperson Canter of Brookings Anglers. who's craftsman in his workshop with his glasses pulled Mollie Fitzgerald agrees: "They hosted trips here. "You hop on that down on his nose, hand-making their rod. That sounds catch in a week what many places charter from Manaus for the two- in Scotland or eastern Canada hour flight to the lodge. and a few mostly right to me. Of course, Charlie was too modest catch in an entire season"—on minutes in. it's nothing but jungle: to add that, in his case, the other half was one damned average. 28 fish per rod. Granted fine fly rod. 0 EFTA01699287 August 12,201! Bloomberg Pm-knits alternative in bad weather. There's also a rurn When a taimen strikes. "it sounds like someone the little patch of jungle you come back to distillery, an organic farm. and a 12,000-acre dropping a bowling ball in the river: says Dan each evening has a pool, air-conditioned nature reserve on the premises, Vermillion, co-owner of Montana's Sweetwater bungalows, daily laundry service, and no end of well-made caipirinhas. Travel Co. His Mongolian Taimen Camps, the • THE GUIDE "A true permit guide is a spe only foreign outfits with exclusive access to the a- cial breed of person," says Todd Cabin. Coped • THE PRICE From $6.400 per person for a Eg-Ur watershed. have spearheaded conserv Tree's head of operations. He recommends weeklong stay; sweetwatertravel.com tion efforts since pioneering this niche offering Scully Garbutt. a native Belizean guide. "He two decades ago. makes sure a client has a great day whether SKILL LEVEL: le DC> DC> they catch a fish or not: • THE PRICE From $6.830 per person for be DC> a weeklong stay: mongoliataimenfishing.com SIZE FACTOR: le • THE PRICE From $3,679 per person for DO eklong stay; copaltreelodge.com SKILL LEVEL: P000 MIIP. ale SKEINARIVER SIZE FACTOR: Pe D+ DO SKILL LEVEL: be SIZE FACTOR:Fe* PC>PCZ> Although fish populations near the U.S. bor- der have dwindled. hundreds of thousands PUHACORO of colorful salmonids still flood this massive river system in British Columbia every fall. The mountain hub of Smithers is a 90-minute flight Belize has hundreds of miles of white-sand THEMARTS from Vancouver. flats and the longest barrier reef in the This may be news to the snowbirds c Northern Hemisphere. It banned bottom trawl- Harbour Island and Eleuthera, but th • THE FISH Fortified by years at sea. steel- ing a decade ago. and efforts are underway to Bahamas offer some of the world's best sail head are as big as salmon and fight with the do the same with gill nets. water fishing. Typically you're casting ova leaping. hell-for-leather energy of a rain- sapphire-blue waters onto shallow san bow trout. Patience and casting capabil- • THE FISH The finicky permit is the "most flats in breezy. high-visibility conditio ity are a must. 'There are very few casual annoying fish in the world—that's why get- that require advanced skills. Luckily, t 64 steelheaders." says Justin Miller of the ting one becomes an addiction: says Schuster, dream-vacation surroundings make it easi Fly Shop. a California -based retailer and who's hosted saltwater trips here. Midday to shrug off a shutout. destination-fishing outfit. sun and winds of 5 to 10 knots will slightly improve your odds of hooking one of these • THE FISH The silvery bonefish is on eve • THE LODGE Frontier Steelhead Experience platter-shaped, scythe-finned fish. fly fisher's bucket list, and not just becau makes the most of the Bulkley River, whichsees it dwells in paradise. It launches like a rock about 40% of the Skeena's fall steelhead run. • THE LODGE Copal Tree Lodge is far enough when hooked. "They try to do all this snea Its guides steer rafts through tumbling can- below "Permit Alley" that clients get the nearby shit, pull you into the mangroves. smash t yons, race 200-horsepower jet boats upriver. flats and five brackish river systems largely to face into the ground to try to get the fly ou and can arrange heli-fishing days on the ultra- themselves. Placid lagoons nearby are a solid Hutcheson says. They're usually in t remote Upper Skeena. Home base is a baro- 5-pound range. nial post-and-beam lodge where there's a pastry chef and a masseuse on hand. Fish tacos at • THE LODGE Abaco Lodge is Copal Tree only outfitter on Great Abaco Islan • THE GUIDE Joel Gourley has been 1c4ge in Marls. a 300-square-mile stretch of pr Belize guiding on the Bulkley for 16 years. "He tine flats. Its on-site boat dock is a con knows every nook and cranny and nient luxury. technician when it comes to finding st head: says FSE owner Derek Botchford. • THE GUIDE Paul Pinder switched fr commercial fishing to guiding more t • THE PRICE From S7.600 per person 20 years ago."No one reads your abilit for a weeklong stay: bulkleysteelhead.com personality better," Van Zandt says. sets the standard for the other guides SKILL LEVEL: 00 ha. • THE PRICE From $6,150 per person SIZE FACTOR: re a weeklong stay. Shorter trips are evade including $3,595 per person for two- trips; abacolodge.com WATERSHED SKILL LEVEL: le Pe PO Landing a 50-inch trout on a dry fly has SIZE FACTOR: Pe DO DO the ring of a fish story, but not in Mongolia. ii EFTA01699288 REAL ESTATE Bloomberg Pursuits August I2 201 Meanwhile,Back at the Ranch Got a few mil? Swap your fishing camp for a compound with its own fishing holes. By Claire Ballentine LONE PINE RANCH RUBY RIVER ONE AND DONE Near Mendocino National Forest in Covelo, Calif, this $25 million estate Set in southwestern Montana's Ruby River Valley, this 400-ac includes 26,600 deeded acres across three large re property ranches. It comes includes an airy, minimalist 10O00-square-foot home created with more than 16 miles of frontage on the Eel River, one by Seattle of the state's architect George Suya ma and designed to maximize the Big largest—and least altered —watersheds to which salmon Sky views. and steelhead There's also an 18-hole putting green and a skeet and pistol migrate from the Pacific. Acquired by stockbroker Dean range. The Witter in 1942, $10.5 million estate includes access to both sides of the fabled the property contains a 1930s main home. along with plentifu Ruby River, l blacktail but there are also three constructed trout ponds, one of which deer. pigs. bears, and quails. Broker. Bill McDavid, 406542 is right .3762 outside the door. Broken Keith Lenard, 406542-3762 GRAYSTONES WESTLANDS Located above the Lehigh River Gorge in the Pocono s. Graystones This 4,600-acre estate in Meeker. Colo., two hours northwe Preserve in Albrightsville, Pa. comes with 3,800 deeded st of Aspen. acres and seven includes an owner's mansion, guest quarters, a tennis court, residential structures holding 31 bedrooms. The $11.9 and a four- million property hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. The pinnacle of the contains 3 miles of water stocked with large tiger, $46 mil- brown, rainbow, and lion property, though, is the private 5-mile stretch along both eastern brook trout and is within easy driving distance of forks of New York City the White River, where it's said 15-pound trout roam more than and Philadelphia. With state parks on three sides, 30 pools. whitetail deer, black runs, and channel confluences, For the last three decade bears. and turkeys roam the grounds. Broker. Keith Lenard, s, Westlands has 406542-3762 belonged to financier Henry Kravis. Broker. Brian Smith, 970879-5544 EFTA01699289 UNITED STATES, TRACKED* Ma POSTAL SERVICE®. * * * INSURED* PRIORITY' MAIL FLAT RATE ENVELOPE ONE RATE * ANY WEIGHT' 11111 .1111111 011,11 011 ,11 1,111 EPUF Oct 2018 OD:121/2x91/2 VISIT QS AT USF'S.COM® ORDER FREE SUPPLIES ONLINE lc only. r For Domeitl‘shloments, the maximum weight Is 70 lbs. For International shInntents maximum weight Isa lbs. EFTA01699290 it PRESS FIR Y TO SEAL a aehra. P POSTAGE PAID likETYON' NJ ,CN je. to AMOUNT 1004 UNITEDSTATES $7.35 II2304Elv0092-03 "mit POSTAL SERVICE. PRIORITY UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE* * MAIL * VISIT US AT USPS.COM• 050W Ff1 SuPPuIS Cain, FROM: PRIOR —l—reillI \ OPe SEP 09 2019 M 08 cl-t0 MallMIMS ea • Date of delivery specil TO: ti e.de,0-1 BuAtam. 4 • USPS TRACKINGTet inclubencrmany-majoi international destinations. Edotow vtook,k, awkal 6., 3324 • Limited international insurance. • Pick up available.* Ok -)3(ritm,stitvaikma Ave., NO • On4 lAn EXPECTED DELIVERY DAY: ‘,,,uA;1\-D,„ -De locz; 09/05/19 To sc le free • • deli Packag Ickup, USPS TRACKING NUMBER scan timer code. PO-h: Irluknom toukcia,„ Toslz FDt4t Label 228, Medi 201E FOR DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL USE [I Intl' 1 III 10 I e 9105 5 63 5372 9247 4422 03 PS00001000014 0D:121/2x 91/2 USPS.C0N(PICKUP I * Domestic Only. X For Domestic shipments. the maxImpm weight Is 70 lbs. Fos International Women& the maximum weigh: Is 4 lbs. . . *Cr EFTA01699291 ENVELOPE EMPTY EFTA01699292