I received something in the mail from La Sabranenque today, which I must have requested awhile back. I’m very interested in vacations that have a restoration or preservation component to them (although I’ve yet to try anything like this myself) so find that I’m often drawn to reading about these hands-on vacation programs (like the Forest Service one I mentioned the other day). Maybe it all goes back to those camping trips I took as a young Girl Scout, when we were always building something or frolicking in the woods searching for firewood. I like to be active when I travel…most of the time. La Sabranenque offers a variety of weeklong sessions in France and Italy that keep visitors moving while still enjoying a relaxing, vacation-like atmosphere. Some weeks are purely volunteer driven, and others combine volunteer work with hike and tour options. The two locations are in Provence, at St. Victor la Coste, France and in the southern Italian town of Altamura. All activities, housing and home-cooked meals are included. Yum. They have some off-season sessions that I might actually consider doing if my itinerary and budget allow. I’m off to investigate this further…
Tijuana, Mexico: Los Ninos
It’s hard for me to believe that it has been ten years since
I participated in this immersion program in Mexico. It was my senior year of college, and we spent ten days after
Christmas volunteering in villages and at orphanages in areas of Tijuana and Tecate, Mexico. We painted, sang and
played with the children, listened to local politicians and businessmen explain their struggles and accomplishments in
trying to build a better life for future generations. Our group worked with Los Ninos, a community development organization based in Chula Vista,
CA that collaborates with these Mexican communities to improve their quality of life. It was an amazing service
opportunity, opening my eyes to the incredible stories of these people and their close-knit communities. The tour we
took of the US/Mexican border was a particularly moving moment, as was every second spent with the children. It was an
incredible learning experience too, one that I think back to often. I had hoped to make a "reunion" visit
this year, and still might be able to do something late summer or in the fall…we shall see. But at this very moment
my thoughts go to another group of students from my alma mater, Loyola College in Maryland, who are currently
participating in the exact same program. I’m thinking of them and hope they too experience the beauty of what we call
Project Mexico. Los Ninos works
mostly with university groups on student immersion programs, but there are ways that individuals and families can
volunteer too — just contact them through their website to learn more.
Lonely Planet Blue List Review
I
got my hands on a copy of another book out from Lonely Planet, the guidebook
publisher who has lately been churning out all manner of new titles related to travel. Now, I have to say up front that
I am biased. I LOVE Lonely Planet. I love everything about the company (well, except for Tony Wheeler’s Web
site), and was gleeful about my own fortune in doing a podcast months ago with Don
George, one of my travel writer heroes.
Well, one of the newest titles out from LP is a kind of
encyclopedia of opportunity, a sprawling tome of life-experiences that will make your head whirl and will have you
reaching for your credit card to book the next flight out of dodge.
The idea behind Bluelist is simple, and certainly well-known
to anyone who has been on the road for a while. As LP puts it, “to Bluelist something is the travel equivalent of
‘you should see my guy, he’s the best’. It’s the act of recommending a travel experience. Any travel experience.”
In this case, these experiences and places are suggested for you by the editors and writers at LP…who should
know.
And so the book is loaded with page after elegant page of tips, suggestions and recommendations from
nooks and cities all over the world. It’s good, and the kind of book you’d keep on your coffee table and
thumb through while half-watching a football game or something.
Now, if I have anything negative to say
it’s that some of the entries are sparse and much of the book lacks depth…at least the kind of depth you
expect from Lonely Planet. Now that may be the point, but when you read about a great trip like Overland Track in
Tasmania, you want o know more. I suppose they
expect that you will go to the (impressive) Bluelist Web site, or will Google the place on your own. Anyway,
that’s my gripe. Otherwise ,it’s a nice addition to the LP oeuvre.
Movies that Inspire You to Travel
It has occurred to me more times than I can count that I see some film and then get a very serious urge to
travel. The last time this happened was a mere week ago when I went and saw King Kong. Was the movie any good, you ask?
Yeah, it was OK. Kinda had to suspend your disbelief in a few places, but otherwise it was fine. But the scenery in
certain places in the film was breath-taking. I must say I think Peter Jackson has done more for tourism in New Zealand
than anyone since Edmund Hillary.
Then, of course, I go to some favorite Woody Allen films, which never fail
to inspire me to get to know parts of New York better. I can ‘t tell you how many times I’ve seen a film like Manhattan
or Annie Hall and said to myself: Why don’t I get myself uptown more often!? Being the downtown guy that I am.
Well, Woody gets some props in this Movie/Travel Guide out by
Budget Travel. he gets it, though, for his newest movie Match Point, which I understand is quite good, and even if
it wasn’t I’d see it. So check out the list here. It takes ten of the big and small movies fro the last year or so and
examines how they get you fired up about hitting the road. Another one I agree with big-time here is Grizzly Man. The
scenes of Alaska in the film, bears and all, were enough to make you want to go up and do your own Grizzly documentary.
Of course, you’d be smart and keep your distance from the wild bears, which is ,sadly, more than I can say for the
protagonist of the film, Timothy Treadwell…who we blogged
about several times. He was, you might recall, eaten by a bear. That would suck.
I haven’t seen a bunch
of th eother films mentioned here. Narnia is on the list and I’ll probably miss that one…but I was wondering if it
will make people spend more time in the closet…speaking of which, Brokeback Mountain is also on the list.
USDA Forest Service: Passport in Time Program
For
over 15 years the US Forest Service has operated an archeology and historic preservation program that enlists the help
of any able and interested volunteers. I signed up for the PIT Traveler
newsletter a few years ago, with the hopes that I would participate in one of these projects, but I’ve been unable to
do so yet. The latest issue arrived in my mailbox in late Fall, packed full with programs seeking volunteers through
May 2006. PIT recently announced that to cut costs they will not mail the newsletter anymore, but interested history
buffs looking to sign up for one of these volunteer vacations simply needs to visit the Passport in Time website to get
information on current projects with openings. If you decide last minute
that you’d like to help, be sure to check their late- breaking project page as well.
Volunteers work with Forest Service archeologists and historians on structure restorations, artifact curation,
excavation and survey projects at national forests throughout the country. Some programs include lodging in on-site
cabins but others require camping and/or your own transportation to the site. There is no cost to apply or attend,
except for these transportation and lodging expenses. Most projects do not require a specific skills set, although
there are certain cases where they need folks with carpentry, drafting or computer expertise.