Intelligent Travel

Preserving Paradise on the Isles of Scilly

Only about 2,000 people live on the Isles of Scilly, a group of small, rocky islands that lie off Land’s End in Cornwall, England. Despite being 28 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, the islands enjoy a mild climate in which palm trees flourish, and the Scillonians raise flowers and vegetables for the London market. The remote location has kept their islands idyllic, and in recent years they have attracted some 120,000 tourists annually. But with increasing tourism comes the challenge: how to keep these islands pristine when garbage has to be shipped to the mainland at considerable cost to the islanders?

The islanders requested help from the U.K.-based National Association for Areas of Outstanding Beauty and the Cornwall waste consultants at Rezolve and came up with an intensive recycling plan, which the British government helped to fund. 

Every family on the islands has been given a home compost system and reusable shopping bags. One of the hotels now crushes its own wine and beer bottles, which saves on shipping and produces a material that can be used in building projects. Visitors can help out by depositing their aluminum cans in blue bins around the islands.

Pike Place Perfection

Seattle's Pike Place Market celebrated its 100th Anniversary this August. While it takes a lifetime to explore all nine acres of this Pacific Northwest attraction, one of our Seattle staffers shares her list of must-sees (and must-eats) for the traveler who’s only got an hour or two:

Pike Place Fish (pictured): Look for a big crowd and follow the sound of rowdy fishmongers to get to the market’s most popular attraction. Since 1986, with the help of a now-famous business philosophy, these guys have set the standard for fish market operation. Order fresh Dungeness crab or wild coho salmon, and watch the fishmongers do what they do best—just be sure to watch out for low-flying fish. Can’t eat a 20-pound salmon fillet before you leave Seattle? No problem. The boys will put it on ice and ship it anywhere in the world.

Pigs on Parade: Make sure to visit Rachel (she’s a neighbor to the fishmongers), the market’s bronze piggy bank and Seattle’s original pig on parade. In 2001, the Market Foundation auctioned off 170 Pigs on Parade (each decorated by local artists) to raise money for the market’s social services. This year, in celebration of the market’s 100th anniversary and in the Chinese year of the pig, 100 more pigs can be seen all around Seattle.

Raising the Bar on Locally Brewed Beer

There’s no better way to get to know a place than to hang out at the local brewery. And IT recently came across one that’s making a concerted effort to save the planet. That, and the beer is pretty darn good. The Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, was modeled after the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. Its patio and vegetarian-friendly restaurant overlook the Ottauquechee River. In the winter, a woodstove makes the bar especially cozy.

Aside from boasting the state’s top selling selection of microbrews, the 17-year-old company has set up a great Web site explaining its commitment to eco-brewing.

Buy by Chapter

Nothing screams “seasoned traveler” louder than pulling a tattered guidebook out of your messenger bag. Even so, who hasn’t bemoaned shelling out $20 (at least) and dragging around an extra few pounds of wasted paper for a guidebook to South America when really you just needed the section on the Southern elephant seals that inhabit the islands off East Falkland?

Enter Lonely Planet’s new service, Pick & Mix. The Australian-based guidebook publisher is digitally chopping apart its books, giving consumers the chance to save paper (not to mention cash) by purchasing separate chapters as PDFs. So far, you can mix-and-match chapters from guidebooks on South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Starting at $2 a crack, the tree-saving stunt appeals to IT’s wallet and eco-conscience.

Turning On Toronto

As you know, IT loves its lights. So we proudly introduce you to Toronto's CN Tower, which now lights up in many colors and uses LED technology (Light Emitting Diodes), creating these lighting effects that use 10% less energy than the old lighting system. The new display was inaugurated on June 28 and has been treating Toronto residents and visitors to a different light show every night. Each lighting fixture can produce 16.7 million color combinations, all controlled digitally from a single computer console. The best part? The lighting effects are not stationary, but pulse and flow and zoom, as you can see in this YouTube video.  The LED bulbs are expected to last ten years, which means less maintenance and fewer bulbs used. Another plus? The lighting will be dimmed during spring and fall bird migration seasons—the CN Tower has been a longstanding participant in this volunteer-run program that encourages buildings to dim unnecessary exterior lighting to mitigate bird mortality during spring and fall bird migration.

P.S. IT's in love.

*Photo by Photosapience

It's Not Easy Bein' Green

Many luxury hotels and tour companies are facing a big problem: How can they continue to offer the services their customers desire (helicopter rides and fishing in twin-engine boats), while simultaneously erasing the carbon footprint luxury travel often leaves? Asking guests to make sacrifices in order to “save the planet” can mean losing such guests, as they turn elsewhere for their sumptuous needs. And vice versa: some eco-consious guests are shirking from certain companies, whose practices are potentially earth-damaging. Green travel can be a dilemma for both provider and customer; luckily, some companies are stepping in to help both sides.

Sustainable Travel International recently launched its “Travel Green” program, which allows participating hotels to sell emission offsets to guests. According to the WSJ, “each offset represents money paid to bankroll a project somewhere else that reduces 34 pounds of CO2 emissions – the amount estimated to be produced by the average one-night hotel stay.” The hotel pays STI $1 for each offset “mini green tag” and then sells the tag to hotel guests for the same price.  STI then reinvests 52.4 cents of each dollar to buy renewable-energy certificates or to fund projects in developing countries. The remaining 47.6 cents pays for educational and marketing material for the participating hotels.

Congrats, Java Green!

One of IT’s favorite lunch indulgences—the ultra eco-conscious café Java Green—recently nabbed top honors as best vegetarian restaurant in the Washington metro area in VegDC’s first annual contest. A round of celebratory green tea frappés all around, we say!

Just a quick jaunt from IT’s home base in downtown D.C., Java Green serves organic fare on an all-vegetarian and mostly vegan menu. Founded in 2003, the café buys wind power to offset its carbon footprint, brews only fair trade coffee and tea, and provides biodegradable flatware and carry-out bags (made from corn, sugar cane fiber, and potato starch) for those on the run. Plus, Java Green donates part of its profits to sustainability-focused nonprofits.

Parisian Markets

While checking out travel blogs on the Blog Carnival, IT came across this list of ten recommended street markets in Paris. The writer of The Paris Traveler blog, expat Lynn Rodriguez, picks a street market to suit almost every taste, from organic produce to flea markets to flowers to art; markets that specialize in fresh pastries, antiques, cheese; those that deal only in books; and even one for stamp and postcard collectors. The photos and descriptions are pretty enticing.

A related list from travel blog Gridskipper touts some of the best street food in Paris, and conveniently maps the locations of each, mostly on the Rue des Rosiers in the Marais. If you’re hungering for the perfect pastrami sandwich, Gridskipper recommends Sacha Finkelsztajn, a deli that's been serving "la gastronomie Yiddish" in its little yellow building since 1946.

And, plucking from our own archives, National Geographic Traveler published an interview in September 2006 with Susan Winkler, the author of the Paris Shopping Companion. She spoke mostly about local clothing and home furnishing shops, but she also raved about the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, the largest flea market in the world, where you can find "old trunks from Vuitton, Napoleonic objects, and other innumerable antiques."

And, as a side note: if you happen to be craving Parisian pleasures while in Washington, D.C., IT suggests visiting Bonaparte Bakery's food stall at the Dupont Circle farmer's market: "Their chocolate almond croissant is the best pastry I've tasted outside of Paris," says Emily, "in fact, they're so good, I eat one every Sunday. Sometimes I get a palmier too." Also try crespelle, a crepe-filled lasagna and many-flavored quiches.

Green Hotel Wish List

IT has a confession: All of this eco-travel research has just made us want to travel more. Lucky for Mother Earth, we can't afford it. So when it's pay day and time for a weekend getaway (or a week-long getaway to the Outback), we'll have to consult our ever-growing (and eco-friendly!) wish list.

Here are a few that have caught our eyes recently:

Mohonk Mountain House
Who would've thought that this secluded, green oasis existed just an hour and a half from the Big Apple? The Mohonk Mountain House isn't your average hotel. In fact, it's a 265-room castle built on Shawangunk Ridge overlooking Lake Mohonk. Since its unveiling in 1869, the hotel has continued its commitment to environmental initiatives. For instance, a geothermal heating and cooling system using the constant temperature of the earth is used to heat and cool the new 30,000-square-foot spa (plus it's emission- and noise-free.) The spa also has a green roof which helps insulate the building, reduces energy use and runoff, and provides a habitat for birds and butterflies, as well as a venue for yoga and meditation. The prices are a little steep (the lowest for single occupancy start at $275), but the beautiful setting, sleek accommodations and perks—like a solarium, culinary classes, and a nine-hole golf course—might have you saving your pennies.


Hotel Green
This itsy-bitsy Nantucket boutique hotel has paired both style and sustainability. Set in a historic 1847 building in Nantucket Town, the hotel has just ten uniquely decorated rooms. Shoe designer and hotel owner Vanessa Noel uses energy-efficient lightbulbs, all-natural bed linens, organic hemp towels, and chemical-free cleaning supplies. Plus guests can get organic wine at her in-house café.

Cool Beans

Currently en route from Texas to Saratoga Springs (with a stop at HQ), contributing writer Andrew Nelson sends us a dispatch from Dixie:

On the road, I'm always pleased by the psychic "right on" when I stumble across something authentic and tasty. I was on a roll, driving down Interstate 65 through L.A. (that's Lower Alabama to those who thought California) and pulled into Montgomery, the state capital, where I spotted Cool Beans, an independently owned coffee shop on downtown's Montgomery Street. The Wi-Fi was copious, as was the parking (25 cents gets you anywhere from 30 minute to an hour at the meter). The café served the usual assortment of organic fruit (purchased from local farms), large muffins, and hot coffee in medium and dark roasts. But what put the "cool" in Cool Beans was the baristas, who, when asked, cut and served a few slices of home-grown tomatoes at no charge along with the order for bagels, which were not the flat, too-chewy bagels one frequently encounters on the road. The local patrons were no less obliging, dispensing with travel advice, local lore, and dire warnings on Atlanta's traffic.

IT spoke to the owner, Shari Rossmann, and found out she's a native New Yorker, transplanted to Montgomery. That explains why she has the city's famous H&H Bagels flown in frozen and bakes them on the premises. Rossmann says she couldn't convince Starbucks to open a branch in downtown Montgomery, so in 2004,  she opened her own coffee shop. Since then, four Starbucks have sprouted up in Montgomery's suburbs, she says. But no matter: Cool Beans has live jazz on Fridays, fresh soup daily, whole grains, and a whole lot of character.

Manhattan's Old World Spa Treatment

Tired of expensive, trendy spa treatments and ready for some old world pampering? New York City’s Russian Turkish Baths has been providing an authentic escape on East 10th Street for well over 100 years. As IT discovered firsthand, this experience is not for the faint of heart. Check your inhibitions at the locker room, along with your clothing, and line up with people of all shapes and sizes for your bathrobe, slippers, towel, soap, and razor, all included with the $30 admission price, good for the entire day. 

The baths are coed (shorts or bathing suit required) with the exception of Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (women only) and Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (men only). While celebrities have been sighted here—Uma Thurman and Russell Simmons among them—the baths are a perfect place to disappear. Descend into a dimly-lit cluster of baths that include a cherry-wood Swedish steam room, eucalyptus or lavender-scented Turkish steam room, Russian sauna, and ice-cold pool.

World Hum's Seven Wonders

IT reported on the New Seven Wonders of the World contest months ago—at least that's our excuse for not covering the announcement of the winners on their clever declaration date: 07/07/07. We were a bit disappointed the Acropolis didn't win a spot among the seven, but cheered a little on the inside when we saw the Colosseum on the list—IT's predisposed to ancient, crumbling structures.

Thoughtful and enviably well-written, our fave blog World Hum deftly responded to the contest with their own list of wonders, which they chose specifically to demonstrate how the planet is shrinking and cultures are colliding. Their wonder list includes contemporary, not timeless, places, people, and phenomena such as the California roll, Dubai, a wildly eclectic and multilingual musician named Manu Chao, Google Earth, the long-awaited Northwest Passage (caused by melting ice!), and that place we all inhabit when we fly: "Airworld." You can enjoy the rest of their thought-provoking picks on their website, and unlike the New 7 Wonders Foundation, World Hum allows you to add your own suggestions for free. IT's suggestion? Emily's honest (and frightening) response to seeing the Doge's Palace in Venice for the first time: "Wow, this looks just like the Venetian in Las Vegas!"

Taking Tree-Hugging to New Heights

IT loves it when our favorite childhood activities are validated as adult-appropriate “sports,” so we were especially pumped to hear that tree climbing is quickly becoming the next great outdoor activity.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that these “tree people” are no longer just arborists collecting research in the leafy canopy; rock climbers, adventure seekers, and even nostalgic adults have all turned to tree climbing to get back to their fun-loving roots—literally.

Using harnesses, carabiners, ropes, and helmets, enthusiasts can tackle greater challenges than the average backyard oak tree. Although the Mount Everest of trees has yet to be declared, there are plenty of options for getting some serious height: California redwoods, for instance, can grow to be more than 360 feet tall.

Climbers subscribe to a Lorax lifestyle (our first and favorite environmentalist) and only use equipment that won’t harm the tree. Spikes are forbidden, as the punctures they leave can lead to a tree's death.

Trek Turkey

In honor of our Turkey trotting tendencies, IT takes you back to the untrammeled Anatolian lands with a 310-mile trek along its mountainous southern coast:

Designed and implemented in 1999 by founders Kate Clow and Terry Richardson, Trekking in Turkey is made up of two paths: the Lycian Way and the St. Paul Trail. The Lycian Way stretches from Fethiye to Antalya around part of the Mediterranean coast of ancient Lycia. The Lycians absorbed Greek culture, which is evident in their unique art style and structures, and were later conquered by the Romans. As you walk along the path, you'll pass Lycian graves and ruins as well as remote historical sites like a castle and harbor at Ucagiz or a lighthouse at Cape Gelidonia. The founders say the trail's highlights include "the ruins of hidden Lycian cities, the friendliness of the villagers, the quaint old houses in deserted corners, the deep forests and white rocks, and the blue Mediterranean."

Another trail, the St. Paul Trail, opened in 2004, follows the route walked by St. Paul on his first missionary journey in Asia Minor. It's a wilder route than the Lycian Way, starting at sea level and climbing to 7,218 feet. Highlights include the Aksu river crossing, Ucansu waterfalls, Lake Egirdir, and much more.