This will help us immensely in spreading the gloCaltravel philosophy and in raising awareness about the impact of our travel choices on the local destinations, their environment and economy.

Justin Francis, founder of Responsibletravel, announced that there are 13 categories this year including, for the first time, Best Responsible Cruise Operator. He said: ‘the cruise and ferry industry has received a great deal of attention recently concerning its impact on local environments and our aim is to encourage and reward positive and innovative changes’.

As I have commented on responsibletravel’s blog and Planeta’s Forum, I think the inclusion of this category in an award that ‘celebrates the future of travelling in a sensitive, sustainable way - that benefits local people and destinations’ is totally inappropriate. Even though some cruise operators are planning to improve their energy efficiency and waste management, the industry is still one of the most unsustainable examples of tourism, both for its heavy impact on the environment and for its all inclusive formula.

Francis said that if there is not a credible ‘winner’ they will not make an Award in this category, which would make a statement in its own right. I am wondering what sort of credible winner they are looking for.

There has been a 30% increase of cruise holidays in the past year and I don’t think this growth should be encouraged any further. I am not against rewarding positive changes, but including this industry in a responsible tourism award might sound a bit like legitimating green-washing.

I am not sure also about the category ‘Best in a marine environment’ (awarding an organisation related to a beach or other marine environment, such as turtle conservation or a marine eco-tourism trip) being sponsored by Royal Caribbean…

The future green island is Salt Cay, once the center of the Bermudan salt industry. It is recommended as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and occupies a surface of 2.5 mile, which makes it one of the smallest of the 9 inhabited islands. I was curious about knowing more about the whole archipelago, so here follows a brief overview of the development on the main islands, according to the Turks and Caicos tourism website (with some personal considerations):

1 - Providenciales (38 square miles) is the most developed island and the international flights hub. It offers superb beaches and all modern conveniences, including luxurious hotels, villas and condos, numerous restaurants, spas and shopping facilities, and a championship caliber golf course (please note that the islands have limited natural fresh water resources and private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking, which makes you wonder about the sustainability of such a golf course).

2 - Grand Turk (6 square miles) is the capital island of the Turks and Caicos, its historical heartbeat, and home to a state of the art luxury cruise ship center (about the sustainability of the cruise ship industry I would recommend reading Chapter 8 of Leo Hickman, The Final Call)

3 - North Caicos (41 square miles) has undergone a development transformation, with several luxury resort properties underway. It is evolving as a ‘getaway’ from the more developed Providenciales and boasts the largest flock of Pink Flamingos in the islands (they surely must be thrilled about the island’s transformation!)

4 - South Caicos (8.5 square miles) is the fishing capital of the islands and attracts visitors for its fishing, birdlife, history, fresh seafood dishes and diving. (we can only hope that there are some fishing and diving regulations…)

5 - The largest of the islands, Middle Caicos is 48 square miles of natural beauty. Frigate Bird colony resides on south side of the island and you will also find Flamingos, Egrets, Sand Pipers. A large blue hole just offshore in shallow water features an abundant variety of marine life. The island’s Northwest Point is a combination of beautiful inlets, marshes, mangroves and in land ponds, which serve as a haven for bird life. (This sounds to me like a perfect green island! Any sustainable development plan for this one?)

6 - Parrot Cay is a thousand acre island hosting the ultra luxurious and very private vacation hideaway Parrot Cay Resort and Spa, called by some the world’s most exclusive resort. Movie stars enjoy the solitude and anonymity (bless them!)

7 - Pine Cay had no permanent population until The Meridan Club was built here in the 1970s. It is a privately owned island and the club presents itself as ‘an environmentally sensitive resort. From their website: ‘Barefoot informality, sensitivity to the natural environment and a commitment to strictly regulate development compliment an alluring tropical setting’.

8 - Ambergris Cay was uninhabited for nearly five centuries. Now approximately 100 estate sites from one to ten acres are offered through the Turks and Caicos Sporting Club development. Also here, they say an environmentally sensitive and sustainable development plan is being strictly adhered to. Amenities will include a small five-star hotel and spa, yacht club, comprehensive concierge services and extensive security. Access is limited to a deep water marina and a runway suitable for corporate jets.

There are also two cayes once inhabited which are now under development: West Caicos will become the future home of the most exclusive Ritz Carlton community in the world, and Dellis Cay is currently under contract to the O Property Collection for the development of a multi-use property which will be run by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

With this broader picture in mind, I feel the government should show a more serious commitment in the preservation of this environmentally sensitive archipelago, a part of which was designated a Ramsar site in 1990 (the Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, vital for the preservation of the coasts from hurricanes and of the aquatic and bird life), and yet it seems that nothing can stop development, with international hotel groups buying whole cayes and making them off-limits by the locals but accessible to corporate jets.

The islands are presently a British overseas territory and their economy is based on tourism, fishing, and (suprise!) offshore financial services. By a nation that is so proud in lining up amongst the world leading countries in the fight against environmental exploitation and for a more equitable distribution of the wealth you would expect some more radical initiatives than ‘the dedication of a wee island to sustainable development’.

Resources:

Article on Travelmole Newswire
Turks and Caicos islands on Wikipedia
Turks and Caicos tourism website

The Mayoral family are amongst the pioneers of whale watching in the whole Baja Peninsula and started running whale trips in the San Ignacio lagoon in the the mid/early-seventies.

Don Pachico is an ecological defender who in the 90s fought against a big salt extraction development project near San Ignacio lagoon to protect the gray whale’s breeding environment. His whale watching tours are ‘harass-free’ and focused on conservation.

Watch the NCB video

The last calves are now ready to leave San Ignacio lagoon for their for the northbound migration. This is the last chance to see them, and the best time to start planning an amazing encounter with the friendly gray whale for the next season.

We are now at the end of our this long journey which lasted over 6 months - and as it always happens when you are doing something you like – I can not believe it is already March and that I am on my way back to Europe.

We have been travelling quite a few miles through Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, visiting new destinations, discovering interesting lodging options, and getting in touch with local guides and small ecotourism operators to offer our customers a wider choice of options for planning their eco-holidays in Mexico and (soon) in other Central American countries.

I’d like to think I have a decent knowledge of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, and feel confident I can give good advice to customers looking to travel in these countries. I am also pleased that we could spend a reasonable amount of time in Honduras, being the only ‘new territory’ in our trip, which turned out to be a very pleasant discovery.

Our initial travel plan also included a trip to Nicaragua and maybe Panama, but while on the road we decided to travel at a much slower pace. This allowed us to get to know the locals and experience the different regions’ culture, food and rhythms.

I still can not believe the number of people we have met in these past months who were visiting 4 or 5 countries in 3 weeks, spending most of their time on buses and planes. Not to mention some travel companies who recruit as ‘tour leaders’ people who have been to a country ‘at least twice’ (maybe for a week each time?)

I would recommend to anyone to take a longer time off work whenever possible, travel less miles and gain a richer experience from every destination.

On that note, I will be doing my best to promote the ‘Travel Slow’ philosophy with all my clients (read more about it on Planeta.com), making it one of our aims for 2008. I will also continue following the ‘Do not swim with the dolphins’ campaign as well as looking further into government regulations on tourist development in environmentally sensitive areas (a post will be coming out soon on that so please continue to follow or subscribe to our blog if this interests you)

All this, together with the development of the new gloCal websites dedicated to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras should keep us busy for a while…

Vittorio, one of the local guides I work with, told me about his intentions of including these 2 villages in a new itinerary focused on nature and community tourism, and I immediately expressed my enthusiasm about pioneering this route with him.

Both villages are on the shore of amazing lagoons, which you can explore by boat. As the route is definitely off the beaten tracks, we did not meet other tourists and our two canoes were the only ones in the lagoon. By listening to the splashing of the oar in the water, the only sound breaking an astonishing silence, and seeing our local guide wearing his traditional white tunic and long loose hair I really felt like I was transported back in time.

One of the tour highlights was the meeting with Don Antonio in his temple in Naha. He is the spiritual heir of Chan K’in Viejo, the last religious leader of the Lacandones who died in 1996. Although I had to sit a few meters away from the ‘men only area’ - where he keeps his clay gods - and stand the sarcastic smile of victory of the men in our group, I was really hanging off his lips while he was telling us about his ancestors’ believes and their visions of the world, so incredibly simple and at the same time so powerful. He also showed us how he prepares the Balche` - the traditional drink used during the religious rites – and the way he burns the copal while getting in touch with the gods with songs and prayers.

It is difficult to express Don Antonio’s incredible charisma and vitality with words… I still can not believe his age (84 or 86…he was not sure himself), since he is walking straight and fast, and does not have a single grey hair.

Longevity is not unusual amongst the Lacandones; Chan K’in Viejo lived for more than a century, and two of his wives are still up and about in the village of Naha. (Well, one of them is still quite young, as when they married she was in her 30ies and he was almost 80!)

The older wife is a small lady who at the age of 80-something welcomed us while running around the kitchen trying to kick the dog out. She also had a good laugh when she finally managed to ‘whip’ him with the kitchen towel. I felt quite weird at the idea that the woman who was cooking us breakfast was the same one I had seen the night before on a 1950s black and white video documentary. She was filmed together with her husband and other members of the community by the archaeologist Franz Blom and his wife, the photographer Gertrude Blom, at the time of their expeditions of the Lacandon jungle and of their first contacts with the local Mayan population.

While she was cooking our eggs on banana leaves on an old open fire stove, wearing toucan’s feathers in her braids her grandchildren were ready to drive off to the fields on their shiny SUVs, thanks to the many government subsidies… another controversial topic we will probably go on about soon…

We always suggest travellers to visit the Na Bolom Museum in San Cristobal before heading to the jungle, to get some information about the region they are going to visit. However, if you do not have the chance to go to the museum, you can read a brief excerpt of the jungle’s history below.

Since the end of the 18th Century, the Lacandon Maya have lived in the Lacandon rain forest. Until the 1920’s the forest was virtually impenetrable, allowing their culture, whose very heart and spiritual life is based on the rain forest and everything that exists within it, to develop in near isolation.

But today the rain forest is changing and so are the Lacandones - at times because they have to, at times because they want to.

In the 1950’s the Mexican government realized that the Lacandon rain forest offered many valuable natural resources, and in order to establish better political and social control, they began building roads into the forest. For example, the road to the ruins of Bonampak was just completed in 1997.

Roads have made the rain forest more accessible to tourists, the military, anthropologists, journalists and missionaries, who bring with them new ideas and ideologies. These views affect the traditional social, economic, and religious structures of the Lacandones.

From the 1950’s the government opened the forest to colonization as a solution to land scarcity in the highlands of Chiapas and as a result other indigenous groups (Choles, Tzeltales and Tzotziles) have settled there with more and more arriving each day.

To support their families they farm using methods which are not suited to rain forest soil and some are working the land which by government decree belongs to the Lacandones. This has created tension between the various indigenous groups.

With intensive logging, slash and burn farming and cattle ranching, over 80% of the Lacandon forest has been destroyed. In efforts to preserve what remains, the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve - in which the community of Lacanja-Chansayab is located - was established in 1978.

Today also the people of Naha are exploring the possibility of developing an ecological reserve.

For the Lacandones the repercussions of deforestation are very serious, as the basis of their existence, culture and spirituality lies in the forest. Their spiritual leader - Chan Kin Viejo from Naha - died in 1996. He was the keeper of the Lacandon ancient traditions, a vital part of which was lost upon his death. Some of his sons remember the stories told by their father, and continue practicing some of the traditions.

All these changes have led the Lacandones to think of ways to balance their ancient traditions with the influences from outside. Change is within any culture and we ourselves are a product of change. We accept and reject change on a daily basis. The same is true for the Lacandones. Where the changes will lead them is uncertain, but the richness of their culture is not lost.

We were talking about where we come from, being Scotland for me, and it was quickly apparent she had no idea Scotland existed let alone where it was.

I could understand this, it’s a small country after all and I have had similar discussions with people even in Europe, so I continued to say it was a part of the United Kingdom, just north of England. Nothing.

Ok, it is near France. Nothing. It’s in Europe (kind of). And this is when the penny dropped. This lady had no idea, absolutely no idea where and what Europe was.

It transpired not only was she unaware of Europe, she pretty much had no idea of where other countries and continents were like China or Russia or Africa.

On top of this; she thought that all of the countries out there were effectively governed by the US and George Bush. Although she may not be completely off the mark on that one, she was quite surprised, and I think pleased, to hear that we all have our own governments.

I opened up a map of the world on my laptop; showing her where Mexico was then the US, South America, across the ocean to Europe, then Africa, Asia and Australia.

It was quite something seeing someone amazed by the world in which we live in. I never expected her to have a vast knowledge of the world, but to not be aware that a land exists across an ocean was one that caught me by surprise.

It’s one of those conversations that reinforces just how far we have to come in terms of education in the world. Maybe an organisation whose purpose is to install a world map in every town would be a good idea. The ideal of everyone getting an education is far off, so something small may be a good step.

Mind you; if you read the following, which many of you will already be aware of, I probably shouldn’t be so surprised by a lack of geographical knowledge in the world. Study: Geography Greek to young Americans

The best part of the above link is the following line: “On the positive side, the study noted, seven in 10 young Americans correctly located China on a map”. Now this would have been quite amusing if it was sarcasm. Well done to those two thirds.

Although at gloCal we promote several whale watching tours and cruises around Baja California, my favourite spot is the San Ignacio Lagoon; a splendid sanctuary with eco-tourism camps and operators who organize amazing encounters with the largest mammals on earth.

For me, San Ignacio is a much nicer base for whale watching than Guerrero Negro; which is more of a place to get a refill of petrol and cash (and for some great meals at Malarrimo’s restaurant).

The San Ignacio Lagoon offers a charming camping area on the beach, and after your trip you can stop at the village, visit the beautiful mission, and maybe stay an extra few days for a trip to the rock painting in the Sierra de San Francisco…

But let’s get back to the whales!  We receive many requests for whale watching tours, almost all year long, and we have realized most people don’t know much about whale migrations and the mating season.  They always ask which is the best time to book and to join a whale watching trip, so I thought it would be useful posting some information about what’s going on in the San Ignacio Lagoon during the winter months.

Gray whales begin their southbound migration towards Southern California around November, and at the end of the month you see the arrival of the first whales in the lagoon, although they do not stop and proceed further south. Migratory birds start arriving to the lagoon’s shores.

The majority of the whales begin arriving in December. Pregnant cows are checking out the area while adult males enter the lagoon and display courtship behavior.

30% of the season’s calves are already born by the end of January, which is a great time to experience both the explosive courtship behavior for which gray whales are known and the gentle interactions between new mothers and calves. Bird watching is also spectacular in this period.

Mating activity of the males and non-birthing females reaches a crescendo in February. This is the time when ‘friendly’ encounters are most commonly experienced and when the highest population of gray whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon is typically recorded. There is often so much activity that is it hard to decide where to look! Many resident and migratory birds are now nesting and you will see eggs hatch into chicks before the end of the month.

March is the time when male whales, exhausted and satiated from mating, and juvenile whales (yearlings and sub-adults) begin the northbound migration to their cold water summer feeding areas. Cows with calves seem to relax and the newborn calves gain strength and awareness, making them more willing to play. March offers the highest chances of an encounter with a cow/calf pair. Additionally, the weather is typically warmer, sunnier, and somewhat less breezy. Migratory birds begin their northbound migration and resident juvenile chicks are taking their first flying lessons.

April brings wonderful weather and the lagoon is left with just a couple of dozen cows and newborn calves. The remaining calves are now ready for the northbound migration. While all of the major activity is over, the month provides good bird watching with young birds now able to catching their own food, and a special late spring atmosphere.

Without trying to come across too pessimistic or cynical about life; you can never be sure whether you will even make retirement age let alone be fit enough to enjoy the kind of trips you think about when you are young and able bodied. By the way; I attach no specific age to ‘young’.

The trip that was being discussed was one to the Northern Territories in Australia. Now, having been there and enjoyed it immensely, I can hardly think of a worst place to be if your health is not in good shape. It’s extremely hot and humid and the fun aspect is going trekking and exploring in the National Parks. I was shattered doing that at 25 let alone 65+.

If you have a trip in mind, do it. Don’t wait and put things off to some magical point in the future. Life is just not set up to be as certain as that. And don’t give me any nonsense about kids and responsibilities; traveling is a great education for kids, in my opinion it far surpasses what they will learn in school, and your job/career is simply not good enough to stop you doing what you want in life. Just my view, obviously.

Oh; if you are retired and want to go traveling, get stuck in.

(photo taken from the BBC Website)