Ha! Now this is funny. As you surely know, I love to whine and complain about things I don’t like, including banal, regurgitative, one-upsman, and/or... »
Latin America
Tourism Dollars and Sustainable Land Use vs. Loss of Culture at the Gocta Falls
This Slate story and the accompanying video are pretty interesting. They tell of a remote village in Peru whose people had been living in the shadow of a huge waterfall that no on else in the world knew about. Once it was “discovered” in 2005, tourism has become popular and the village has changed... »
The Around the World Dream Becomes a Reality (Soon)
Now this is exciting. We have a big new project that is going to keep us super busy (along with our paying jobs, volunteer activities, family obligations, soccer on the weekends, drinking red wine, and avoiding Facebook): Planning a year-long, around-the-world trip! Sadly, this trip is not for us, but it is for someone very... »
This Week’s New York Times: Homestay in Guatemala and a Low Opinion for Slum Tourism
Whenever we travel, we don’t feel like writing about travel – ironic, no? So, since we just got back from a nice road trip in Chile, we’ll leave you with the following two articles from this week’s New York Times: 1. An opinion column on the nastiness of slum tourism. We’ve written about this before but... »
Travelers to Mexico Can Breathe Easy
Good news, Captain. If you’re traveling to the “D.F.” or as many Mexicans call it, ”Mexico,” (meaning Mexico City; and yes, it’s confusing when you’re in Monterrey, Mexico and someone asks if you’ve been to “Mexico” - like, duh, yeah?), you will not be as overwhelmed by the poor air quality as you would have been... »
What is a Trip of a Lifetime? If Yours Includes a 10-day Adventure in the Galapagos Islands, Check This Out
“Trip of a Lifetime” – what does this phrase mean to you? We’ve never given it much thought but only because we hope and plan to travel so much to many unique and fun places that we hope all our travels would be considered a trip of a lifetime. Does it mean: Your one chance to... »
The Best Eco-Friendly Beach Destinations
With a record snowfall already in our little corner of the world and more than a month of winter to go, we can think only of the sun’s rays beating down on our bathing suited bodies. (Yes, a few more weeks on the elliptical will help that fantasy be a little more appealing.) Here... »
Building from Scratch the Best Eco-Tourism Project in the History of the Universe
After a particularly inspiring trip to Chile this holiday season, we are embarking on a plan to fulfill a long-awaiting dream of opening and operating our own ecotourism facility and program. Yes, unless we get financial backing (dream on, sistah), this plan and its implementation may be many years in the making. But, we... »
Galapagos: People or Eco-System and Do We Have to Choose?
Simon Romero of the New York Times writes about the Galapagos Islands’ problem of overpopulation and increased immigration, a trend that is affecting the islands’ eco-system and contributing to the decision to place the islands on the United Nations’ list of endangered heritage sites in 2007. Increased tourism over the past two decades has also... »
Lodging in Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Ironic, isn’t it, that this site is about travel and then when we actually do travel, we have a hard time figuring out what to write about? Thus the silence lately. We just need to dive in, right? We recently got back from Zihuatanejo, Mexico and had a wonderful time. One of the reasons we... »
Cultural Tourism in Argentina Heating Up
Is it finally time to head down to Buenos Aires like you know you’ve been wanting to do for years now? Sure, buy a leather jacket, eat some steak, but don’t think you’re going to find your own Maria Belen right away, alright? Let’s not go overboard on the whole cultural tourism thing, people. »
