In my Mexico News feed I found something I would like to share with you. Being a yoga fan and recently getting interested in Meetup groups, this article touched a soft spot… The Border Meetup Group organised a yoga social event along the rusty fence dividing the beaches of Tijuana and San Diego, along the US-Mexico border.

Two groups of people rolled out their mats and practiced yoga facing each other from the opposite sides of the gate, greeting at the end through the bars. Nice finding ‘la linea’ in news unrelated to coyotes or drug smuggling…

(photo by: Guillermo Arias/Associated Press)

Now think: fresh water supply, sewage, mangroves destruction, helicopters…

Happy holiday!!!!!

Most travellers ask me about what to bring when they go on tour, and some of them are concerned about taking something to leave at destination, especially if they are visiting a local community, or if they have chosen a homestay formula.

Bringing a present for the people who will be hosting you is always thoughtful, but too many times I hear people saying that they also fill their luggage with ’something for the kids’, meaning that they walk around with bags of sweets, pens or small toys which they give away to the children on the streets. Even worse, when the bag of sweets is empty there is some money coming out of their pockets.

Unfortunately these ‘nice thoughts’ become incentives for hoards of kids to run after tourists for presents and coins, sometimes in a very insistent way, and often encouraged by their parents, who let them skip school for a begging session in the street.

To people who really want to help by bringing extra goods on holiday, we strongly recommend a visit to stuffyourrucksack.com, a website listing organisations that deserve support and need ’stuff’. There are schools needing books or stationary, orphanages needing clothes and toys, all things that you can stuff in your rucksack and deliver personally at destination.

If you have been somewhere and got in touch with a NGO or a local charity that you would love to help, you can provide fellow travellers with some information about ‘what stuff is needed and where’.

I have come across this site only a few days ago, and I find it the perfect example of a useful online travel community. Well done to Kate Humble for this great idea!

gloCaltravel has been shortlisted for the 2008 Travelmole UK Web Awards as Best Responsible Tourism site

This is great news, and is giving us a boost of energy while we are working to expand our catalogue to include other countries in Central America, and in translating our portal dedicated to Mexico in Spanish.

More extra features will be coming soon, including a new interactive map and extra geo-coded info in our destinations section… stay tuned!