Intelligent Travel

Naked Men!

Now that we have your attention, some eyebrow-lifting news that we feel merits a bit of, well, exposure: Travelodge recently released a new report on the rise in male hotel guests sleepwalking in their birthday suits.

The budget chain's annual "sleepwalker audit" revealed a seven-fold increase in the number of sleepwalking guests at 310 hotels in the UK. Men in the buff accounted for a whopping 95 percent of the sleepwalkers. One unfortunate gentleman guest even managed to get himself locked out of the hotel and later arrested. To deal with the growing predicament, Travelodge has asked its receptionists to keep an extra stock of towels behind the desk in order "to preserve a nude sleepwalker's dignity."

IT doesn't mean to poke fun at sleepwalking—a serious disorder by all accounts—but still, we can't help but giggle at the thought of an unsuspecting hotel receptionist being asked for a copy of the newspaper by some naked, clueless bloke mid-snooze.

The Future of Travel

Lately, it seems everyone has been thinking about what travel will be like in the future. The lovable blokes behind the book (and phenomenon) Freakonomics posed the question about how things would look ten years from now to a series of industry bigwigs on their New York Times blog, and got some interesting responses:

• Brookings fellow Clifford Winston proposed charging airlines fees for every flight that is delayed, and suggested a "satellite-based air traffic control system that, among other things, would give pilots the freedom to choose the most efficient routing."

• Gary Topping, CEO of Topping Travel, foresaw the end of First Class, a renewed focus on happy airline employees (phew!), and the fabulous suggestion that "baggage will be electronically tagged, never to be lost again."

• Josh Marks, founder of MAXjet, spoke of increasing specialization for airlines based on traveler's spending preferences (evoking a 'there's room in the market for both Wal-Mart and Saks' theory); and warned that GPS and "data communications between aircraft and controllers must replace the antiquated radar-and-radio infrastructure that we have now outgrown."

Meanwhile over at Forbes, which just put out their very cool Future package, reporter Elizabeth Eaves makes some interesting predictions. Here's a quick sample:

Library Ghouls

In our continuing coverage of all things mystic, spooky, and supernatural, we wanted to share a finding from our all-star researcher Marilyn Terrell. She uncovered a list of international libraries where spooks can be found in between the stacks.

Morelia Public Library, Michoacán, Mexico. Library staff say that a “nun in blue” has haunted the 16th-century premises for many years. Director Rigoberto Cornejo said in Monterrey’s El Norte newspaper, “When I leave the building, I feel the sensation of someone following me. In fact, I can even hear the footsteps.”

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. This massive structure dates from 1856 and hosts many specters. The ghost of a female librarian named Grace keeps an eye on the children’s books in the Arts Collection, and a mustachioed gentleman protects the music stacks and piano. Poltergeist phenomena have been reported in the newspaper room. Glowing balls of light appear on the stairs. Security guards witness many of these antics after the library is closed.

 

Striking "Gold" in the Cresent City

Today's postcard from contributing editor Andrew Nelson leaves us longing for something shiny:

New Orleans' onetime U.S. Mint (400 Esplanade; 800 568 6968) has struck gold again, only this time it's a special exhibit devoted to the precious metal. "Gold," which opened this month, marks the Mint's grand reopening, having been closed since Hurricane Katrina peeled back the building's copper roof, allowing rain to damage the interior. Located in the French Quarter, the Mint was built under President Andrew Jackson. It operated until 1909, and later became part of Louisiana's State Museum. The exhibit documents the use of the metal and its place in the human psyche. Objects include jewelery from Cartier and Tiffany's and the gold cigar box of King Farouk of Egypt.

"The coolest artifact for me is the Eureka Bar," says director of exhibits Sam Rykels. "It's an 88-pound gold bar, but looks like an oversize brick. It's the last bar from the California gold rush. It was lost in a shipwreck and recovered recently."

Photo: The Louisiana State Museum

Welcome to Dot Earth

Returning to the Wanderlust in 1980 on a dhoni 'manned' by boys. 

We were very pleased to see that last week, the editors over at the New York Times added another great blog to their mix: Dot Earth, which will focus on sustainability and climate change and is written by science reporter Andrew C. Revkin. In his introductory slide show, Revkin describes how much of his reporting has been informed by his varied travels, so we decided to ask him to delve a bit deeper about the place where travel and sustainability collide.

Before you became a reporter, you sailed around the world. Can you tell us a bit about that experience and how it led you to do what you're doing now?

As a senior about to graduate Brown University with a biology bachelor's degree (I had visions of being a marine biologist, thanks to Jacques Cousteau), I won a fellowship allowing me to pursue a proposal to study "man's relationship to the sea" in some isolated villages on islands—Fetuna, Raiatea, and a couple of places in the Tuamotus, in French Polynesia.

After a few months, I headed to New Zealand for a big international science conference and while in Auckland saw a sign that said simply: "Crew Wanted, Yacht Wanderlust, headed to Mediterranean. Inquire Marsden Wharf." I'd grown up in Rhode Island sailing, but not bluewater cruising. Nevertheless, that was hard to pass up. I sent a letter back to the fellowship committee at my school and said I was going to study man's relationship to the sea in a more intimate way. . .

I was on the boat for 17 months, 15,000 miles, and about 15 countries as we sailed around Australia, through Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea, and around the Mediterranean. I saw the splendor of untouched reefs, the troubles created by poverty and pollution, we almost sank twice, and all of that prompted me to take a lot of photographs and return planning to be a writer, not a scientist.

IT's Directorial Debut

Here at National Geographic Traveler, going to lunch at the cafeteria can mean sitting next to a filmmaker just back from the Serengeti who's more than willing to regale us with their travel tales. But, while we're always up for a good story, we can get a little bit jealous from time to time. That's why we were pleased to see that the NG website now features a new Wildlife Filmmaker program, which lets us act on our directorial ambitions. You can edit clips and add music, sound effects, and captions to make short documentary films. As a result, we may have spent a little too much time "working" on our films this morning...

Send us your own filmmaker efforts and we'll have our readers vote on which one ranks best!

Tour Guide: Ghosts

Do you believe in ghosts? Whether you do or not, around this time of year we like to give ghosts the benefit of the doubt. Here are some tours that will leave the hair standing on your neck this Halloween.

Alexandria, Virginia: Check out Old Town Alexandria to catch a glimpse of the spirit of Robert E. Lee in his boyhood home, or the 19th-century bride who burned to death just days before her wedding at the House in the Country building on North Fairfax Street. The colonial city’s Ghost & Graveyard Tours take place all year, but they also give special Halloween tours “with a twist” on October 26, 27, 28, and 31.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Watch out for the specters of Civil War soldiers at one of the nation’s most haunted battlefields. “Sleepy Hollow of Gettysburg” tours are operated by the sixth-generation granddaughter of the owner of the battle site of Pickett’s Charge. Or, get free use of electronic ghost finders on a tour through Gettysburg.

Creepy Sleeping

Personally, we prefer to get a little shut-eye when we stay at any hotel. But some hotels just beg to be haunted. If you're planning  to stay at any of these ghastly quarters, you won't even need your own ghost stories. To these ghosts, it doesn't matter if it's Halloween.

Construction of the Victorian-style Ocean Edge Resort began in 1907, when banker Samuel Nickerson decided to replace the site’s original home, which had burned down a year earlier. Nickerson completed the Cape Cod mansion—which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places-- in 1912 for his son Roland, who died before the new house was completed. But his wife, Addie, seems to have loved the place so much, she can still be seen roaming the halls today (she is said to be looking for her husband). About two hours away is the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem (also haunted - but then again, what house in Salem isn't?), which hosts an annual Halloween Costume Ball.

New Mexico: An old Sante Fe Trail outpost (which is linked to Jesse James and Billy the Kid), the St. James Hotel reportedly still sees visitors from the Wild West. One Trip Advisor traveler attests to hearing a scream at 3 a.m., and to seeing a ghost vortex through a camera lense. Even if you can't find any ghosts, every few months the hotel hosts "Murder Mystery Weekends," a two-night event where guests become Annie Oakley or Doc Holliday and try to solve their own murder mystery.

VW Luxury

The Danbury family in the U.K. just can’t get out of the ‘70s. But we think that’s great, because they have taken regular VW campervans and turned them into something a bit more luxurious.

Take the Danbury “Rio.” It has a modern water-cooled engine, full-length kitchen unit furniture, 40-liter fridge, table, wardrobe, double bed, and optional roof bed. It’s a bit cozier than an RV, but it has just about all the luxuries. Prices for the Type 2 “Rio” start at $40,000.

If you don’t want to buy your own personalized “Rio,” you can rent one from other U.K. companies such as O’Connors Campers (from around $500), which has a fleet of 11 VW campervans. Or, rent one from Seven Degrees West (from around $500) which, with the help of Carbon Footprint, will offset the van’s carbon emissions by planting a tree for every trip taken in one of its vehicles. This means that anyone wanting to relive their hippie days can do so, all the while knowing they're having fun and staying green.

Thanks to GetOutdoors, for the post!

Bonaire’s Winds of Change

Oft-overlooked Bonaire, a tiny “flapjack flat” island ringed by coral reefs in the Dutch Caribbean, revealed plans earlier this year to climb aboard the eco-mania bandwagon and become a carbon-neutral island. And they're not just blowing hot air: The substance behind Bonaire’s claims stem from a new wind/diesel project designed to provide the entire island with wind-powered electricity by the end of 2008.

The project is a collaboration of Bonaire’s local energy company and EcoPower Bonaire BV. Construction of a new wind turbine is already underway and will be installed on Bonaire's southeast coast, an area with favorable climate conditions where a defunct turbine currently stands.

Inside Lincoln's Cottage

Last week, IT got a sneak peek at the country's newest National Monument, Lincoln's Cottage, which is in the midst of a $15 million restoration funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Just three miles north of the White House, it was the summer residence for Lincoln and his family, and, historians surmise, the place where he first penned the Emancipation Proclamation.

The site consists of two buildings: the 34-room Cottage, where Lincoln resided, and the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center, which will feature a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation at the opening of the museum. It is the first "green" renovation project that NTHP has undertaken, with a Silver LEED certification pending, and while it is still very much underway (we had to interrupt the workmen sanding the floors during our tour), the folks at the Trust promise that the restoration will be complete this February for its President's Day opening (naturally). It's sure to become a mecca for Lincoln admirers worldwide.

Voodoo Music

If you’re in New Orleans this weekend, I’m jealous. The Voodoo Music Experience has taken over City Park, and this year’s offerings will definitely please NOLA’s music gods.

The Voodoo concert centers around three themes. Big-name bands like Rage Against the Machine, Fall Out Boy, and Smashing Pumpkins pull in crowds at the stages dubbed “Le Ritual.” The area called "Le Flambeau" pays tribute to the R&B and jazz that nourished NOLA’s roots. Catch local singers and brass bands that hearken back to the sounds of generations past, and listen for new, up-and-coming artists that are keeping the Big Easy on the musical map. In the third area, "Le Carnival," you’re in for a wild time. This bohemian paradise is all about showcasing creativity, New Orleans-style. Expect over-the-top performance art that hints at the famed mayhem of Mardi Gras.

For a complete New Orleans experience, look for vendors offering delicious bayou cuisine and booths full of wares from local artists. The Voodoo Music Experience kicks off Friday, October 26, and spans three straight days of music and revelry before winding down Sunday night. Tickets range from $40 per day or $115 for a three-day pass.

Photo: Voodoo Music Experience

Can You Find Me Now?

Using GPS (global positioning system) to find where you're going has become almost commonplace: more and more cars are rolling off the assembly line equipped with navigational devices and about half of cell phones now feature the system. But increasingly, GPS is not only being used to help you know where you're going, but where your friends are going as well. The International Herald Tribune just wrote a piece about GPS phone systems Loopt (which works on Sprint and Boost mobile phones) and Buddy Beacon (which works with Helio phones). Both use the technology to help you keep tabs on your friends, and raise new questions as well:

Such services point to a new truth of modern life: If GPS made it harder to get lost, new cell phone services are now making it harder to hide.

"There are massive changes going on in society, particularly among young people who feel comfortable sharing information in a digital society," said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, based in San Francisco.

"We don't know what the implications are," he added. "We seem to be getting into a period where people are closely watching each other, and there are privacy risks we haven't begun to grapple with."

IT is intrigued by the idea that finding your friends could be so easy, and its certainly nice to know when an acquaintance has come to town. But we also rather like the idea of being completely off the map. Let us know what you think.

Image: Loopt

Harvest Boon

IT has gone crazy for apples this year. We visited six orchards outside the Washington Beltway and made apple butter, apple pie, apple crisp, and applesauce (yum!). Apple season is almost over, but many farms and orchards harvest other seasonal treats (like pumpkins, honey, and Christmas trees). This year’s bout of warm weather has extended the harvest season, but please call the orchards ahead of time to make sure their fruits and vegetables are still available.

Hartland Orchard: Granny Smith, Stayman, and Gala, oh my! These are just a few varieties of apples you will find at this Markham, Virginia, orchard. Visitors can get fresh honey, cider (made fresh on the farm), and pumpkins until the apple-picking season ends November 4. The orchard also has free hayrides, and will begin its cut-your-own Christmas tree season right after Thanksgiving (3064 Hartland Lane Markham, Va. +1 540 364 2316).

Baugher’s: For more than 100 years, this orchard has been delivering the freshest fruits and vegetables to Maryland. Tomatoes, pears, pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn are available for sale in their market through November. Stop by their restaurant (located at 289 W. Main Street) or bakery for homemade apple butter, jams, fruit pies, and ice cream (1236 Baugher Road, Westminster, Md.; +1 410 848 5541).

Into the Wild: Tourist Attraction?

Photo: Marc Paterson

Chris McCandless, the 24-year-old vagabond who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness alone with a ten-pound bag of rice in 1992, never made it out of the wild, but the abandoned bus where he died of starvation just might—that is, if some Alaskans have their way.

The Toronto Star has the scoop: Alaskans are now bracing themselves for an influx of “McCandless pilgrims" (such as Marc Paterson, pictured) inspired by the release of the Sean Penn-directed film, Into the Wild, to trek the Stampede Trail, seeking out the infamous city bus where McCandless perished. Local residents in Healy, Alaska, are brainstorming ways to deal with the “unwanted tourist attraction.”

Among the suggestions is airlifting the bus from its site, either to the start of the trail where it would be more accessible or nearby to a park in Fairbanks. The Star explains:

About 100 visitors, mostly young men, make the trip to Healy (population 1,000) each year. Many making it into the bus shoot videos for posting on YouTube and snap photos for Facebook, often imitating the iconic pose of the skeleton-like McCandless in Krakauer's book, which showed the young man grinning as he leaned against the bus, days before his death.

The McCandless pilgrims carve their names into the rusted sides of the bus. Paterson signed his just beside the door. And they leave messages in aged notebooks; [Jon] Krakauer, McCandless' mother and Penn have all left notes.

New Orleans' Haus Party

Perhaps we've got beer on the brain this week, but our ever-wandering contributing editor Andrew Nelson reports that one haven for stein-guzzlers in New Orleans may be in jeopardy:

Hurricane Katrina destroyed many historic structures in New Orleans, but the latest storm brewing in the city is over a new hospital that's threatening yet another classic landmark. For eight decades the Deutsches Haus (200 South Galvez St.; +1 504 522 8014) has been the site of many an Oktoberfest in its classic beer garden—a tradition in the Crescent City that's been going on at least as long as the Mardi Gras celebrations. "The beer gardens were big in New Orleans when German immigrants first arrived here in the 1830s," says Alecia Long, a historian with Louisiana State University (LSU). "The Deutsches Haus is the last survivor of a very nice, family-oriented custom."

The Haus, which has been at its current site in the Mid-City neighborhood since 1928 and underwent a painstaking restoration after Katrina, is now being threatened by demolition by a new LSU and Veterans Administration medical complex. The 475 members of the Haus are working to ensure the city's German culture is protected; they aren't opposed to the complex, but hope a compromise can be found before another piece of authentic New Orleans vanishes in the winds of change. Visitors should hurry. The last weekend of the Oktoberfest is this Friday and Saturday night (October 26-27th).

Check out here for more on New Orleans culinary comeback from Katrina, and here for more great places to see when you're in town.

Photos: Courtesy of the Deutsches Haus

Tour Cities With a Local, for Free

IT was recently browsing National Geographic Traveler's free cities index, with hundreds of listings on how to spend your down time without spending a dime. What we were surprised to discover, is that many cities—and the more expensive ones at that—offer free tours by local guides.

Want to see Pacific Heights' mansions? The Coit Tower murals? How about "bawdy and naughty" sites? San Francisco's City Guides offers a wealth of themed tours—more than 70—that encompass the city's rich cultural history.

Chicago's Greeter Program features local experts on more than 25 neighborhoods as well as themed tours including antiques, literature, the Chicago Fire, farmers markets, Ukranian American heritage— there's something for everyone.

If you've just got to know why Benjamin Franklin electrocuted a turkey, try Washington DC By Foot. Guides in blue T-shirts offer quirky monument tours rain or shine, six days a week.

New York's Big Apple Greeters welcome visitors in 22 languages and observe a strict "no tipping" policy. While they don't give formal tours, they'll show you the ropes on the subway and give you inside tips on where to eat and their favorite sites around the neighborhood. And every Friday at 12:30 p.m., urban historian Justin Ferate gives an acclaimed, 90-minute walking tour of Grand Central Station, for the grand price of: zero dollars.

Now that's what IT calls a bargain!

Save the Turtles, Save the World

Become your own hero on your next Fijian vacation. Or become an artist. Or become both! (You don't even have to drink any kava to do it.)

Turtle Island, located in the Yasawa Group in Fiji (known for being the film location for Blue Lagoon), has a Turtle Release program, in which it buys green and hawksbill turtles from local fishermen. The turtles are auctioned off to Turtle Island resort guests, who then get to paint their names on the turtles’ shell. The turtles are then released back into the ocean. The paint is permanent, but non-toxic, which means that it won’t hurt the turtles. But it will make them useless to trophy hunters, who want turtles for their shells.

Thanks to Kim Lisagor and Heather Hansen, who blogged about Turtle Island on EndangeredPlaces. Both eco-savvy women were part of our 522-member team of sustainable tourism experts that we consulted for our upcoming "Places Rated: Islands" story in the November/December 2007 issue. Also be sure to check out Kim and Heather's upcoming book, Disappearing Destinations (2008), which highlights 37 of the world's most endangered places.

Ancient Egypt Arrives in London

The city of London was met with an unusual sight a few weeks ago when a 25-foot statue of Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead, made a trip down the Thames on the back of a cargo ship. The fiberglass statue’s journey ended in Trafalgar Square, where it rested for three days before being transferred to different locations throughout the city.

Anubis’s appearance is a precursor to the November 15th opening of the Tutankhamun and The Golden Age Of The Pharaohs exhibition, which will be housed in London’s O2 bubble (formerly the Millenium Dome). Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the exhibition will showcase over 130 artifacts found in the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun, allowing visitors to marvel at treasures such as the golden diadem worn by the king, or the gold coffinettes that once cradled his internal organs. Over 300,000 tickets have already been sold or reserved for the exhibition, which just completed a three-year tour around the U.S.

Anubis—believed by the Ancient Egyptians to have escorted the dead to the underworld—was “protecting the Tutankhamun exhibition as it [left] America . . . for the U.K.," Visit London spokesman Ken Kelling told the Associated Press.

Photo: Pomphorhynchus via Flickr

Blue-Collar Brunch

As a recently transplanted Iowan, I couldn’t help but get a bit homesick when I noticed my favorite greasy spoon was featured in the Washington Post’s “At the Diners” series, a part of their Campaign Trail blog.

The Waveland Café, in Des Moines, Iowa, is a diner so unpretentiously authentic it can almost dare to make a lifelong Iowan feel out of place. As a playground for political and media types leading up to the influential Iowa Caucuses, the café serves coffee and hash browns with a side of local politics.

With aptly-chosen words, Des Moines local dining critic D.V. Wagman sums up Waveland:

Endearingly tacky, wholeheartedly unhealthy, and often overly crowded, it is nevertheless one of the most delightful places in Des Moines. Personified, it would be a bizarre genetic mixture of mouthy Roseanne Barr combined with cartoonist R. Crumb's Keep On Truckin' guy.

Sustain and Entertain

Travel isn't just about taking in museums and historic sites, it's as much about mixing it up with the locals in their natural habitat. So what does that often entail? Nightlife. But it's hard to be thinking "green" when you're a few drinks in (which might explain the popularity of phrases like "trashed" or "wasted," no?). Thankfully, there is a nightclub that's already thought things through. Writer Matt Bloom reports from San Francisco that the new club Temple is working not only to sustain the party, but the planet:

A trip to San Francisco calls for two things: eating and drinking. Throw some hot sounds and a dance floor in the mix, and you've got the Zen Compound, where for the last two months, hungry ravers have been gathering for late-night eats and beats. It's a tough title to claim in a town that outlawed plastic bags, but the SoMa compound, comprised of Prana Restaurant and Temple nightclub, might be the most progressive testing ground for renewable energy in the city. For starters, the facility holds no-waste events: They don't use plastic (except water bottles), the cups are made of corn, every food scrap (and napkin) is composted, and every bottle is recycled. The Pan-Asian cuisine at Prana is almost exclusively local and organic. And the light displays, powered by energy-efficient LED and CFL bulbs, are projected to save the club thousands of dollars in resources each year.

Microbrew Pilgrimage

And now a word from Traveler's production manager and resident beer connoisseur, David Burneston, who's just back from the 16th annual Great Eastern Invitational Microbrewery Festival, hosted by Stoudts Brewing Company in Adamstown, Pennsylvania:

"Every year Stoudts invites a dozen or so other microbreweries to come together and show off their craft beers to a bunch of beer geeks. This has become an annual event for me, my brother-in-law John, his two brothers Jeff and Jerry, and our longtime friend Al. We’ve been going to the festival for ten years now, sampling some of the best beers I’ve ever tasted. And now a second generation has joined us: John’s son Paul, whom we quickly introduced to the art of tasting—not just drinking. We do drink our share though.

With taste glass in hand and a list of breweries ranging from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery of Milton, Delaware, to Magic Hat Brewing Co. of S. Burlington, Vermont, we ambled through the hall trying the stouts, lagers, bocks, IPAs (India Pale Ales), and pilsners, with names like Belgian Freeze, Loose Cannon, Circus Boy, Mai-Bock, and HopDevil. The brews tasted even better paired with the dinner served at the fest—'The Best of the Wurst'—which featured authentic German sausages, cabbage, sauerkraut, potato salad, and homemade beer bread."

We were intrigued by the idea of beer bread, so we made a call to Stoudts to learn a bit more. Ed Stoudt’s daughter, Carey Matson, was happy to share her knowledge:

A Nightclub with a Worldview

Our intrepid contributing editor Andrew Nelson is just back from a trip to Turkey, and he sends us this report from the 360 Istanbul Restaurant, a nightclub with its own worldview.

With jaw-dropping vistas of two continents, the Golden Horn and enormous, illuminated mosques, the club/restaurant 360 Istanbul (Istiklal Caddesi Misir Apt. No. 311 K. 8; 0212 251-1042-43) makes a good place to end your day in Turkeys' largest, most cosmopolitan city.

No Farang, No Job

This homemade sign on one of the ubiquitous tuk-tuks in Thailand says it all: Farang (foreigners) are a precious commodity in traffic-choked Bangkok and throughout the land of smiles. Tuk-tuk drivers depend on tourism for their livelihoods—sightseers willing to shell out a relative fortune for the ride of a lifetime. But with more than 11 million visitors each year, can the country afford to have people breeze in and out, leaving a thick trail of exhaust in their wake?

The government has been making an effort to curb pollution and increase awareness about global warming with events like Bangkok Car Free Day. But seeing this sign got me thinking about the trade-offs of travel. How can we live up to the responsibility that this sentiment places on our shoulders?

Please send us your reactions, similar travel dilemmas, or thought-provoking photos about the tenuous relationship visitors often have with their destinations.

Introducing: Tour Guide

Introducing "Tour Guide": IT's picks for great ways to get away. Check back in every Tuesday for new posts!

We here at Traveler love to go off the beaten track to obtain a true sense of place, but we also know that traveling can take its toll on the environment. So of course we're thrilled to find that more and more tour companies are offsetting their carbon footprints, donating to conservations efforts, and overall, becoming more eco-conscious. From Madagascar to Mexico, here are some eco-adventures that make us travel happy.

The Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance (MEA), which offers trekking tours into Mexico’s 300,000-acre El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, recently joined with Trees, Water & People (TWP) to offset all of its itineraries. MEA calculates the carbon footprint for each itinerary and then makes a corresponding financial contribution to TWP, who then re-invests the money into reforestation projects, solar heaters, or fuel-efficient stoves.

CC Africa provides refuge to nearly 90 black rhinos near five of its lodges. The conservation group has raised over 5.5 million dollars in the past 15 years to fund animal conservation projects, as well as to community development projects (they have built more than 120 schools and trained 250 teachers and 4,500 students in environmental awareness) in six African countries.

Mobile Music

Here's a new gadget that will get your wheels spinning: Cy.fi, the world’s first wireless bike speakers.

There are two parts to the device: the transmitter and the speakers. The cy.fi transmitter attaches to an iPod. The iPod stays in the cyclist’s pocket and transmits a signal to the speakers, which are attached to the handlebars. Unlike headphones, the cy.fi won't obscure important traffic noises, and cyclists will never have to reach into their pockets to skip songs (the controls are all on the speaker dock). Granted, it also means that your guilty-pleasure music can be heard by everyone (come on, we know you’ve got “Ice, Ice, Baby” on there).

These speakers came into being after Global Icons CEO Jeff Lotman--both a biking and music enthusiast--wanted to provide a solution to the dangers of biking with headphones. According to the company, the cy.fi’s Kleer audio transmission means the speakers’ transmission is “100% lossless” and claims to be ten times more energy efficient than Bluetooth.

Why we think it’s cool: If you are cycling with several people who also have cy.fi, one iPod can transmit signals to all of them (up to four). If you're on a scenic bike tour of Umbria, everyone in your party would be able to listen to a walking tour podcast of Rome or Venice to prepare for the next day's adventure. So, instead of annoying passersby with Nsync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye” ('cause we know you've got that, too), put the speakers to good use. Or at least play good music. The cy.fi will cost $149.95 and will be available in 2008.

 

Explora New Place

The tour outfitter explora has crafted a series of remote yet luxurious lodges in Chile's inspired places that get IT feeling dreamy: you can sleep among the Atacama oases or alongside a placid lake in Patagonia. This December, they'll add another to their roster when they open a property on Easter Island.

The newest lodge will be the Posada de Mike Rapu (named for the company’s co-owner), and is the first LEED-certified hotel in South America. (This of course is a tad ironic, seeing as how Easter Island is located 2,360 miles from the continent, but it's a start.) The lodge’s eco-friendly design and architectural attributes include passive energy designs, thermal retention for energy storage, low-flow water fixtures, renewable building materials, and a commitment to being a low-waste resort.

A Vegetarian in Paris

Ahh, the sweet luxury of traipsing around Paris on holiday. Hobbling along lovely cobblestone roads, gaping at Gothic cathedrals, taking romantic strolls along the Seine … and indulging in famously divine Parisian cuisine is reason enough to go, n’est-ce pas?

Perhaps — unless, of course, you’re a vegetarian, considered by many the lowliest target of French disdain. Sure, crepes, quiche, and good ol’ baguettes and cheese are ubiquitous. Even so, some meals demand a palate a bit more refined, which is where a vegetarian’s trouble lies.

But amid Paris’s go-meaty-or-go-home mantra, a few veggie-friendly havens are serving tasty (and yes, leafy) meals in charmingly authentic Parisian kitchens.

Eco-Libya?

Last month, officials in Cyrene, Libya, unveiled a surprise PR blitz riddled with buzzwords like “sustainable” and “eco-tourism,” declaring the dawn of a new age for the formerly reclusive Mediterranean nation—one that’s apparently swathed in green.

The $3 billion project, dubbed the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area, is an effort to “show the world that Libya has turned a corner—that they can fit into the modern world,” Cambridge University Professor George Joffe told the International Herald Tribune. The carbon-netural development zone would become the world’s first eco-region, and the ambitious plans include a national park, eco-friendly hotels, bio-fueled public transportation, organic farms, and the restoration of ancient ruins—currently in danger of dilapidation—on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Sustainable Chefs

It used to be that eating organic was the ticket to healthy living. But chemical-free doesn't necessarily connote freshness and quality, and there is an increasing demand to both purchase and consume produce that are not only organic but has also been carefully tended to. As Jen L. Karetnick points out in an article she wrote for Wine News last year:

"Chefs are no longer content to merely have exclusive sources for organic vegetables. They now want to be involved in growing, raising or grooming all of their ingredients, ensuring that every item is picked, caught or slaughtered during the right season, in the best possible provenance and under the most favorable or humane conditions."

Take D.C.-based chef Robert Weland—executive chef of the Hotel Monaco'™s Poste Moderne Brasserie—whose concern for food is evident in all facets of his chef duties. The produce he uses comes from the garden he grows on the patio outside the restaurant, the meat he buys is responsibly raised, and the fish and shellfish he purchases have been ethically caught by a retired marine biologist. Weland has even composed a comprehensive training manual for his staff that sheds light on everything from old wives'€™ cooking tales to the history of botanicals. 

Home (Away From) Home on the Range

A beach-and-theme-park vacation is much too tame for resident family travel expert Norie Quintos. This year, for part of her summer vacation with her two sons, she headed out to Wyoming:

What parent hasn’t read the Dangerous Book for Boys? Okay, I haven’t, but I’ve read all about it. Here’s the gist: What our overprotected, over-teched, overscheduled suburban sons really need to blossom is the freedom to climb trees and get muddy and learn Morse code. Well, I’ve believed and lived it all along, and the kids and I recently returned from a vacation that hits the spirit if not the actual suggestions on the book’s list.

We squished our toes in the mud of a creek.
We fed leftovers to a black lab named Twister.
We threw tomahawks.
We played cards.
We heard cowboy poetry.
We canoed in a lake with loons.
We fell asleep to the howls of a coyote.
We threw lassos.
We read by the light of a lantern.
We searched for signs of bear.
We whittled.
We absorbed U.S. history by listening to a cowboy tell tales of Butch Cassidy, Wyatt Earp, and the Donner Party around a campfire at night.
We traveled by covered wagon.

Tour of Tours: Volunteering Abroad

Ever wanted to give back to the places you visit? Global Vision International, a U.K.-based volunteer group, organizes volunteer projects and expeditions that allow travel do-gooders to do just that.

Volunteers can work with velvet monkeys or needy children, research endangered species in Ecuador, or scuba dive in the Seychelles. With over 150 projects to choose from, even the pickiest of travelers will find at least one adventure that suits their needs.

GVI prides itself in its economic, social, and environmental responsibility. It uses local resources whenever possible, a percentage of participants’ fees go directly to the expedition or project, and GVI has even set up a Charitable Trust to fund future projects. Trips last anywhere from a few days (such as learning essential wilderness survival tips in the U.K.) to a year (such as training as a safari guide in South Africa).

While GVI isn’t exactly a traditional “tour operator,” this organization still gets a big plus in our books for giving travelers the opportunity to (literally) get hands-on experience with local cultures.

Photo: GVI, http://www.gvi.co.uk/

New Orleans' Culinary Comeback

Here at IT we like to talk about food, about places that are up and coming, long established, or are just hitting their stride. But what about restaurants that get knocked off their feet suddenly -- what does it take for them to rebuild and what is the impact on the community? We're thinking about New Orleans. Jazz and Mardi Gras aside, it's Nola's unique cuisine that always tickled our tastebuds. Is the city's legendary culinary culture making a comeback?

Thankfully, our questions were answered when we heard about a traveling exhibit by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Originally commissioned for the 2006 James Beard Awards in New York, "