Global Food

Food, it’s definitely a topic I can talk about for hours on end. I just love it! One of the highlights of travelling for me is trying different foods around the world. When I was in Thailand I couldn’t stop eating. The food was that good. There was no better way to start off the morning than with a whopping bowl of spicy noodle soup. I’m not sure about the seagull I devoured in Fiji though. It won’t be on my list of things to eat again in the future.

This blog topic led to a discussion in our office about the strangest foods we’ve eaten throughout our journeys around the globe. Meghan Graceffo is going to take over and share her experiences from South America.

Personally I feel a little left behind in the realm of bizarre food experiences, but the one strange food I did have is of high quality…BBQ cow heart. Yes that’s right, there I was, living in Peru, celebrating my 18th birthday with friends from school and next thing you know I have this skewer of what looks like normal meat on my plate. So I dig in for my first bite and upon declaring that I thought it was pretty delicious I was told I had just eaten cow heart. Clearly my next reaction was of disgust, but once I got over that, it became one of my favourite things to eat while I was there. One of my less favourable food memories is when I walked into the kitchen of the host family I was staying with just as the cook was heaving this giant obscure looking piece of something out of a pot. My curious mind got the best of me and I just had to know what it was, a question I definitely wish I hadn’t asked. Low and behold it was a huge cow tongue! Needless to say watching what took place in the kitchen put me off trying it despite hearing how good it was meant to be. Perhaps if I had eaten it without knowing it would have been just fine but I couldn’t seem to get the image from the kitchen out of my mind.

Our other co-worker Stephen got in on this discussion as well, but his stories are far beyond anything we could come up with. We’re going to give him his own blog entry cause we couldn’t do it justice. Stay tuned.

Until next time!
Meghan²

Happy Earth Day!

Spring is in the air and the birds are chirping outside our office. It's the first day of the year we can open the patio door and enjoy the fresh air. The sun is so bright we don't even need the lights on in the office. What a great time of year!

Trish Sare, the Director of BikeHike, has left for a 2-week adventure in Vietnam. She is hoping to be able to access e-mail a few times during the trip so she can blog about her experiences on our 12-day Paddle and Play Adventure. I can't wait to hear her stories. Vietnam is one of my absolute favourite countries. I travelled there in 2001 so I am curious to hear the changes it has gone through in the past 6 years. Hanoi is a vibrant, chaotic city, but incredible at the same time. I remember my friend and I sitting in our hotel leaning over a map of the city, trying to figure out the best way to get from our hotel to dinner with crossing as little roads as possible. It was a challenge to cross the street but after a few days in the city we had mastered the art. We realized the drivers are skilled in knowing how to go around pedestrians and wouldn't harm us. But hey, that's all part of the adventure.

Bye for now,

Meghan

Women-Only Wellness Tours: Finding Time For Me

One of the fastest growing travel trends today is All Women's Trips. Women are planning trips that are all about them. They are catering to themselves for a chance, whether it's to renew their mind, body and spirit, create and foster new friendships, inspire confidence or simply have some well-deserved self-discovery time. This trend has become a travel phenomenon, and is here to stay.

So in going with the theme of women only, we have created our first Women Only Wellness trip to Baja, Mexico! It's our Baja Bliss and it is entirely focused around health, rejuvenation and relaxation. Some of the trip highlights include daily yoga, Chi Gung and meditation classes, spa treatments, Mexican cooking classes, hiking and ocean kayaking. To start there is just one special departure, from December 7 to 14, 2008. You can find details on on our website at http://www.bikehike.com/mexico/mexico_trip01.html Be sure to continue to check our trips as we are in the works of creating more women only trips to suite the needs of you women who are looking to take care of yourselves.

Namaste,
Trish Sare

Costa Rica, Ultimate Adventure Medley, Trip Journal from a BikeHike Junkie

Mike Oswald of Wisconsin, US is one of our very dedicated travellers and has put together 2 fabulous accounts of his recent BikeHike Adventures. He has traveled with us to Costa Rica on our Ultimate Adventure Medley and to Turkey on our Turkish Delight. I had the pleasure of meeting and venturing with him on the Turkey trip. He's been kind enough to share his journals with us, here's Costa Rica and Turkey is coming soon.

Coast to Coast in 2006
In November of 2006 Bikehike.com's Costa Rican Ultimate Adventure Medley tour took me from San Jose to the mouth of the Pacuare River to the Nicoya Peninsula in 17 days.
I was able to get a firsthand look at the culture, geography, and climate of much of Costa Rica by mountain biking through the Orosi Valley, rafting the Pacuare River, Hiking up Mount Arenal, biking down the Nicoya Peninsula, and finally Sea Kayaking, Surfing, and Snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean. The places I saw, people I met, and adventures I took will undoubtedly be some of the most amazing experiences of my entire life.

Read More at http://www.tripdiary.com/mikey3769/CostaRica For The Ultimate Adventure Medley

Walking and Reading: A New Adventure Sport

How many of you out there are able to say you can walk and read at the same time? I consider it an adventure sport, especially when walking to work on the busy streets of Vancouver. It's best to practice on side streets first, but really it is not that hard once you get used to it. When I pass others walking and reading they always give a nod and a wink, while non reader/walkers look at me like I am living life on the edge. I find small paperback books work better for this activity, but if you want extra exercise, you could always upgrade to a hardcover book adding extra weight to your walk.

But no, seriously, this is when I get the majority of my reading done. Sure, I take the chance to look up every so often as you never know what you might miss going on in the world- like the three bald eagles I saw soaring less than 20 feet above my head steps away from our office a few weeks ago.

I tend to read a wide range of books, but some of my favourite reads are to do with travel and world cultures. I also enjoy leafing through a guidebook every now and then when dreaming about my next trip. One of my favourite authors is Wade Davis, a National Geographic Explorer- in- Residence from British Columbia. His latest book is titled 'Light at the Edge of the World" A Journey through the realm of Vanishing Cultures", and is an interesting read. If you can find the coffee table version of the book, even better.

If you have any reading suggestions related to travel, we would love to hear your thoughts. In all of our pre-departure packages, we include reading suggestions that are related to that country and are always looking to update this.

Cheers,

Meg

Sustaining Tourism’s Guide to Being a Responsible Traveller

Be considerate - of the communities and environment you visit.

Don't litter. Try to carry your own shopping bag to avoid contributing to the plastic problem in many countries of the world.

Try to avoid excessive waste and the use of plastic bottles (in many countries there is no way of disposing of these, therefore creating plastic mountains due to tourism).

Reduce energy consumption. Unplug your mobile phone charger, turn off the lights...

Conserve water. Take shorter showers... the average hotel guest uses over 300 litres of water per night! In a luxury hotel it is approx. 1800 litres!

Always ask before taking photographs. If someone says no, respect their wishes.

Educate yourself about the place you are visiting and the people.

Respect cultural differences - and learn from it! People in different places do things differently - don't try to change them - enjoy them.

Dress respectively. Cover up away from the beach. Cover your head in religious places. Notice local dress codes and adhere to them.

Do not purchase or eat endangered species (e.g. turtle egg soup, crocodile handbags)

Support the local economy. Buy locally made souvenirs, eat at local restaurants - enjoy the local culture!

Do not give pens, candy or other gifts to local children - it fosters a begging economy. If you wish to donate, contact a local school or tour operator who can ensure the gifts are distributed fairly and properly.

Do not support the illegal drug trade or the sex trade.

Take public transit. Or if you must rent a car - why not a hybrid or electric one if available?

Support a local charity or organisation that works towards responsible

Before you go, ask your travel provider (tour operator, travel agent) about the company's environmental and responsible tourism policies - support those who support responsible tourism.

Ask your accommodation provider (hotel, guest house, lodge) about their sustainability practices - do they compost? Recycle?
Do they have fair labour laws? Do they have an environmental policy?

Support responsible tourism organisations - those operators who publicly are aiming to make tourism more responsible.

Support local organisations – either in the place you visit or where you live


© 2008 www.sustainabletourism.net