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Get your bike out of the shed!

3/1/2006

Koga’s folding Founder-S

It is time to get the bike out again and leave the cosiness of the gas guzzler behind. You can warm up slowly too with the bike that gives your body and the environment a break. Among our favourites is a little electric bike and super stylish folding bicycles… Here’s more:

The Founder-S is a folding bike by koga miyata. It is stable and comfortable to ride, details we liked were the built-in spherical back light and luggage rack… All so stylish. Price £995

The Mezzo is a great looking folding bicycle, created by ex-Formula 1 engineer Jon Whyte. It is well balanced, which means comfortable ride and good control of the bike. Approx £500. Read More »

By Juliette Smith | Posted in Bikes | Comments (0)

Pamela Stephenson joins Boomer rush to sea

2/22/2006

Dropping out - Stephenson and Connolly

Actress Pamela Stephenson achieved her dream of sailing the world for a year, and now she doesn’t want to stop.

Stephenson, 56-year-old psychologist and former comedienne, who has three children with the Big Yin, Billy Connolly, said she was sick of being the “responsible one” and was desperate to escape her humdrum existence.

So she embarked on a mid-life adventure which saw her sail 19,000 nautical miles in ten months, visit uncharted islands and resist a hunky fisherman. But this was no primitive idyll. She travelled in a 112ft super-yacht with a crew of seven.

She has written a book on her travels, Treasure Islands, which she says has helped put her life in order: “I’ve survived. And I’ve never been so terrified.” You can buy the book on the next page. Read More »

By rooter | Posted in COMMUNITY, Islands | Comments (0)

Bahamas - green luxury

2/18/2006

All natural - except the PV

Tiamo is a solar-powered, eco-friendly resort consisting of a row of simple but elegent wooden cottages along a quiet strand of white beach on Andros island in the Bahamas.This is barefoot luxury at its most polished - as well as being kind to the environment.

Andros is one of the less well-known Bahamian islands. With an area of 2,300 square miles and home to only 8,000 people, it is one of the least explored places in the western hemisphere. However, what has made the island unsuitable for urban evolution makes it perfect for eco-tourism. (please click “more” for rest of review)

Black Seminoles in the Bahamas - buy it from Amazon Read More »

By Nick Rosen | Posted in Islands, Resorts, UK | Comments (0)

Intro to Eco-tourism

2/13/2006

Be good to the world

For the conscientious traveller, certain countries are better choices than others. The world’s most ethical travel destinations, selected for their support for ecotourism, environmental protection and social development are, in alphabetical order, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Peru, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Uruguay.

At first glance, ecological concerns and tourism appear unlikely bedfellows. But according to the World Wildlife Fund, the concept of ecotourism combines “the pleasures of discovering and understanding spectacular flora and fauna and peoples of traditional cultures with an opportunity to contribute to their protection.” (Please click “more” for rest of story).

Ethical Travel Guide: Your Passport to Exciting Alternative Holidays - buy it from Amazon US

Eco-Touring: The Ultimate Guide - buy it from Amazon UK - £14.99 Read More »

By Nick Rosen | Posted in COMMUNITY, UK | Comments (0)

Send us your favourite eco-resort

12/28/2005

More off-grid hideaways, please

Welcome to the Beta version of a new kind of travel web site, specialising in eco-destinations, and ethical ways of getting there.

We want to hear from YOU, dear readers, with any eco-friendly havens you can recommend to the rest of the Web. Of course we recognise that the system is imperfect. We will always cause some damage just by gettinginto a plane or a car. So we will be featuring companies that at least offset their carbon.

Anyway, that’s an ongoing debate. Most times, when people want to travel to clear their head and get a bit of peace of mind, the last thing you want to worry about is damaging the environment. We are here to give you the tools to holiday with a clear conscience.

Today, Suenos Tulum on Tulum Beach Mexico, 90 miles south of Cancun at the end of a stretch of shoreline on the Caribbean Sea known as the Maya Riviera. Read More »

By jasminejaconde | Posted in COMMUNITY, Hotels, Resorts, RoW | Comments (0)

Give your mind a vacation

12/11/2005

Shhh! I’m meditating

Lydia Polzer spent last Christmas on an intense 10-day retreat - Once you have heard her experiences, there’s still time to book yourself in for this year.

Ever since I lost my childlike excitement about everything sparkling, Christmas lost its, well, sparkle. So my relief was great when I found a low-impact, alternative to Christmas crackers and stockings last year on a hill near Sheringham in rural East Anglia. A 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat does add a new dimension to “Silent Night”. The Christmas period in noble silence sounded like music to my carol-worn ears. I added up the hours of meditation on the daily schedule of the retreat and felt a little intimidated when I got to eleven.

That’s a lot of silence.

By lilac | Posted in COMMUNITY, UK | Comments (5)

LOST - an eco-travel metaphor

11/21/2005

Lost, and don’t want to be found

“Lost” is “Baywatch” for the new millennium.

And just as Baywatch embodied the values of the 80s, so Lost incorporates our current set of values – all our secret hopes and fears. It must do – that’s why its successful.

So what does the success of Lost tell us about ourselves? Fans talk about the suspenseful story lines and the sexy actors (see the unofficial LOST site).

The great modern fear – death by aircraft, is too obvious to be mentioned. More subtly, the idea of being somewhere primitive but idyllic and making the most of it, is of course, close to the ethical travel life we espouse on this site, and which the success of Lost suggests must be a great hidden theme in our technologically driven advertising- saturated lives. “Lost on paradise isle and never wanting to be rescued” shouts the London Daily Express in one article about the series.

By rooter | Posted in COMMUNITY | Comments (1)

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