Visit exotic lands, help scientists understand the world better and get a tax break on the whole adventure -- what more could you ask from a vacation? For the 23rd year, the University of California's Research Expeditions Program invites the public to take part in UC field research at sites around the globe. Half of this year's two dozen projects are new, including excavating the gardens of Horace's Italian villa, tracking gray whales off Vancouver Island, studying small mammals and their prey in the Chilean Andes, and searching near the Sea of Japan for artifacts of ancient maritime cultures. In all UREP expeditions, volunteers join university researchers and provide support for the work by paying the cost of their own meals, lodging, ground transportation and research equipment. The contributions qualify as tax-deductible charitable donations. The 1999 expeditions begin in late March, with a study of the wildflowers of coastal California -- also new -- and conclude with the villa excavation in September. Each project lasts one to three weeks. The contribution to participate varies by project and ranges from $695 up. Accommodations are often basic, but not always: While the expeditioners studying pelicans on the Baja Peninsula will stay in palm-covered shelters and tents, those excavating a Moche ceremonial site in Peru will live at a small beach hotel. Special experience is rarely needed to join an expedition. Most researchers ask merely that volunteers be interested in the research subject. Two projects this year do call for strong swimming skills: A Monterey Bay study of invasive mollusks is limited to advanced SCUBA divers experienced in cold-water conditions, while a study of coral reefs of St. Croix needs experienced snorkelers. The lure of a UREP trip is the depth of involvement with a place or people, says one UREP veteran, retired options trader Patricia Dodson. "In Bolivia, on one of several UREP trips I spent studying Carnival around the world, I was assigned to document costume making," Dodson says. "My job was to photograph the workshops and interview the artists about the costumes -- who buys them, how much they cost, what that income means to the local community, are they used more than one year, and that kind of thing. Instead of just watching a parade, I was able to talk to the people that were making the parade. "Working on a UREP project is so much richer an experience than being a normal tourist. And the directors give so much of themselves and they're so informed about their subject, it's like a college course in two weeks." Sign-up deadlines vary by project. For an expeditions catalog or more information, visit the UREP web site at http://urep.ucdavis.edu or telephone the UREP office (which recently moved from the Berkeley campus to the Davis campus of the University of California) at (530) 752-0692.