Join the Great Turtle Race of 2007

by Justin Glow on

Leatherback sea turtles are some of the largest reptiles around, second only to crocodiles. They’re also an endangered species. The obvious thing to do is race them, right?

A handful of sponsors, including Yahoo! and Travelocity, have joined together to organize the Great Turtle Race of 2007. Eleven leatherback sea turtles will be outfitted with satellite tags and tracked from Costa Rica to their feeding grounds at the Galápagos Islands — a trip that is expected to take around 14 days. Here’s where you come in. Log into the site and choose your favorite turtle; each is given their own name (I picked Genevieve) and trading card complete with a biography and a range of statistics. Once you choose a turtle, you’ll be notified via email as to its progress as it makes its way to the Galápagos Islands.

The Race was organized to benefit something, no doubt, but the website is pretty sparse on details. The ‘donate’ button takes you to Network For Good, but their website only tells you who you’re donating your money too, not what it goes to benefit. After a lot of digging, I finally came across a report on Leatherback Trust Inc — the company soliciting donations — whose mission simply states (in all caps!), “TO SAVE THE LEATHERBACK TURTLE AND OTHER SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEANS.”

The race is less than a week away, yet much of the site seems to be unfinished. This is surprising, since it’s branded with a “Powered by Yahoo!” badge. Not too flattering. Even so, it’s an interesting way to generate interest in the leatherback turtle. For more information, head to GreatTurtleRace.com, or check out a video after the jump:


Photo of the Day (2/28/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Being two days away from my upcoming island vacation it’s easy to guess why I chose this picture. Clear blue water, soft sandy shore and shoes off to explore make this photo taken at Costa Rica’s Cahuita National Park a real prize. Uploaded into the Gadling Flickr pool by Philip Peter, his notes indicate it was summer 2004 and that he used a compact analog Minolta, negative film and manually scanned. End result equals a pretty nice shot.

Costa Rican Thugs Attack Tourist Bus, Die

by Justin Glow on

The next time you have wild thoughts of jumping a bus full of senior citizens, better think twice. A group of Costa Rican thugs had the bright idea of hijacking a bus-load of elderly cruise ship passengers who had disembarked to do some sightseeing around the country. Unfortunately for the thugs, the tourists fought back, chaising two of the three gun-toting assailants off the bus and killing a third. One of the heroes, a retired US servicemen, put the attacker in a headlock and “broke his clavicle,” killing him.

Jesus, if I was on that bus I probably would have just sat back, cried, wet my pants, then thanked the old man for saving my life. How do you even break someone’s clavicle? What is a clavicle? Further, how do you go onto a bus with a gun, get attacked by old people, and run off? These guys must have been the worst criminals ever. Either the gun was made of plastic, wasn’t loaded, or they were to scared to use it. Either way, senior citizens 1, Costa Rican thugs 0.

Megan Lyles Travel Writer

by Adrienne Wilson on

When really good travel blogs manage to remain secret to me, I get bummed wishing someone had called me sooner to say, “Hey, Adrienne you need to peep this right now!” No personal calls were ever received which leads me to wonder how many folks even know about the travel writing goodness of Megan Lyles? It really makes no huge difference that I didn’t follow Megan and her fiancé/photographer, Michael Simon, while they were blogging on the road. It just means I have a ton of catching up to do.

Back in the summer of 2005 Megan and Michael took off on a one-year long bus trip from Manhattan to the tip of South America. The trip has since been wrapped up and Megan and Michael are back in Manhattan, but the site is still up and there for your viewing pleasure. And I do mean it is a pleasure to check out. I read through some of the Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay stops not wanting to stop, but catching up is going to take a while. Before I departed I clicked on just one more plug while they were in North Carolina attending the Vans Warped tour. All I can say is Megan, where ever you are – I can totally relate.

Plans for New Year’s Eve

by Adrienne Wilson on

Like many I am still searching for the perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve. I’ve never been huge NYE celebrating type of person so it’s no biggie if I don’t find some spectacular fireworks display, but at the same time it’s always kind of nice. Last year I stayed nestled inside my apartment and the previous year I believe I was sitting on a beach in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica wishing I were somewhere else (long story). Well the Miami Herald offers a small sampling of what’s available across the states and even as far down and out as Australia, Italy and Costa Rica. Go figure. Nothing listed for Chicago so I’ll be moving onto the next list, but for those partying domestically in Key West, NYC, ATL or even Alabama check out their notes.