If you’re thinking the new MTV show Trippin’ brought to you by Cameron Diaz is going to be a reflection of her personal life, think again. Ms. Diaz has spent a good chunk of time globe-trotting with other celebs like Kid Rock, Eva Mendes, Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore and (coughs) Justin Timberlake to show MTV viewers just how awesome and rockin’ eco-traveling can be. The show which premiere’s Monday 10:30 PM ET/PT will have a 10-episode run showcasing fragile ecological places in Nepal, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Honduras, Tanzania and Yellowstone. The MTV junkie I have been notorious for being will surely check it out.
A Kinder Lodging
Outside has a nice piece on eco lodging and a list of the world’s ten best. Having done such great research they note that these eco lodges not only suggest that they cause no harm to the outdoors, but that they bring benefit to the whole community and economy. If anything they are unique. The Black Sheep Inn in Ecuador has dry composting toilets with little vegetable and flower gardens inside and it’s the teenie touches that provide splendor to these lodges. People enjoy the canyon views and the lodge loves the compliments about their restrooms. If you’re going to do it, then you should do it right and here is the list of places that make the list.
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Turtle Island, Fiji
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Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge, Trinidad
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Birch Pond Lodge, Alaska
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Wenhai Ecolodge, China
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Posada Amazonas, Peru
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Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki, New Zealand
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Tassia Lodge, Kenya
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Chumbe Island Coral Park, Tanzania
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Selva Bananito Lodge, Costa Rica
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Black Sheep Inn, Ecuador
Photo of the Day: (2/22/05)
Eric Baldauf’s pictures, the portraits especially, are great. This shot of kids hamming it up in Tanzania I thought was particularly good.
Are You a Mmbea?
Ever wanted to learn Swahili? Come on! What a great idea! How totally original is that? And not as bizarre as you might think. After all, Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, with more than 50 million speakers in East Africa and Central Africa, particularly in Tanzania and Kenya. So pehaps you’ve just dabbled with the idea. Here’s a site that will help you become familiar with this unfamiliar tongue. Called the internet living Swahili dictionary, the site is immensely popular among the Swahili-speaking cognocenti. There’s a dictionary, a learning guide…there is a lot here, so spend some time clicking around. You will find it a perfect way to chachawa (Hey, some Swahili speaker help me out here. Did I get this right?).
Kilimanjaro for a Cause
Fans of Ernest Hemingway unite! And do something good for the world.
Have you ever fantasized about sitting beneath a tree at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, pretending that your wounds are just too horrible, the gangrene is setting in and well, it’s time to ponder what your life was worth? OK, dump the scene from Snows of Kilimanjaro, but go to Tanzania anyway and climb for a cause.
Here is an engaged adventure with a heart.
In February, Travel Talk Radio will start an expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, and the group is inviting anyone to join and “slog for the cure” of neurofibromatotsis, a common neurological disorder. The cost of the trip is just $999 plus airfare if you raise at least $5000.
Wondering if you’re up for it? Well, although it is a very tall hill, lots of folks climb it every year. Heck even kids and grandmothers climb it all the time. There have been cases of altitude sickness, but most people should be just fine. And remember, it’s for a good cause.