ekoVenture Blog

Guest article by David Duchen

As many people know, the Global Positioning System (GPS) provides real-time information about an individual’s location anywhere in the world, and this point-and-click tracking ability is increasingly becoming “the norm” in our everyday experiences. Not sure where the best pizza place is in New York? Just login to your favorite social network via your mobile device (which of course, also serves as a handheld GPS), and you’ll be biting in to a fresh slice of thin crust before you can say “The Big Apple”. Lost in Sydney and trying to find the Opera House? No need for a taxi, your ever-useful GPS navigation system will show you the distance from your exact location, and it just might list the transportation options for arriving just before the first opera begins.

As GPS systems have exploded in popularity over the past several years, brand names like Garmin, Magellan and eTrex have become part of our lexicon, and it seems that their presence is going to continue its growth. An enormous influence on the growth of GPS popularity has been its integration with mobile phones, MP3 players and essentially any other device that uses batteries. So what’s the big deal about knowing exactly where you are on the map? Who cares if the there are 17 Starbucks within 6 blocks of your current location? When travel’s concerned, the most important aspect isn’t the location of where you are, it’s where the things and places that are near your current location, and this is why GPS and GPS accessories are changing the world of travel as it currently exists.

Let’s put this whole “travel to new places” idea in perspective. When historic explorers searched for new lands, they used old, usually tattered maps that provided only educated guesses about the locations of landmarks. Now, when you strap on your backpack and head to Buenos Aires, you can use your mobile phone to find the best empanada stand in town. After you’ve finished filling yourself with the local cuisine, just enter the name of your hotel back in to your handheld GPS and voula, you’re back in the lobby.

So maybe the most exciting part about GPS is that it opens avenues of exploration that we’ve never before considered. Maybe we love GPS because now when we visit a new location, we get to map out our own personal experience. Rather than flipping through an overly promoted tourist pamphlet when looking for things to do, you can plug in to the world’s Global Positioning System and set your own, authentically wonderful itinerary to follow ‘til your heart’s content. You’ll witness things you’ve never seen, you’ll taste food that you didn’t know existed, and of course, when you’re fully satisfied and ready to head back home, the world of GPS navigation will lead you right back to the airport.

It is December 7, 2009. If you, like me, have not yet started shopping for the travel enthusiast in your life (or anyone else), here are a few suggestions I’ve culled together. Some are popular this year, so you might have seen them listed elsewhere. Others might take a little time and planning, but hey – you’ve got 2.5 weeks. All are, naturally, awesome. In no particular order:

For adventure travelers: Gorillapod (and Gorillatorch)
Maybe I live under a rock, but I hadn’t heard of this flexible tripod until a friend mentioned wanting to purchase it for her boyfriend, a budding photographer—I think she started the trend. It’s compatible with point and shoot cameras as well as DSLRs, and there’s no questioning its functionality. This seems to be THE gift to give this year. Buy at joby.com.

For the semi-adventure traveler who really just doesn’t want to be cold: J. Crew Sherpa Puffer Jacket
Amenities: Goosedown. Poly shell. Detachable hood. Standing collar. Zip front with snap closure. Chevron channel quilting. Long sleeves. Pockets lined with polar fleece. Interior drawstring. Fully lined in sherpa. I’m wearing it right now! (Select colors on sale—check in-store, the dove grey is marked down to $99.) Buy at jcrew.com.

For the literati: The Cities Book
I never thought people actually liked coffee table books, but I’ve found myself intrigued by one as of late—Lonely Planet’s The Cities Book. Beautiful photography and tons of information. Buy at Amazon.com.

For the artistic soul: Art! (Make or buy)
My greatest achievement in life has been an arrangement I dubbed “the map wall.” In my first apartment, I had a bunch of framed maps and real and fake antique prints. I’d pick these up in Europe, here, online, wherever. The maps were actually Cavallini wrapping paper. The sheets are large, and look amazing (and expensive) framed. Once you buy the paper or a print, framing can be done pretty quickly if it’s just the frame and plexiglass. (Another idea I like is commissioning a photographer for an image of a loved one’s favorite place or view. I might do that this year, so it’s a good thing my mom doesn’t actually read my blog posts.) Buy at www.cavallini.com/wrap.html.

For actual art constructed by artists, I’d recommend stopping by SFMOMA’s Artists Gallery. For the holidays, select artists are selling miniatures for $95 or less. I picked up a stellar photo by Don Ross of 500 Club, near where I used to live (see my previous post about seeing the beauty in your own familiar surroundings). His other mounted photos were also taken, I believe, in and around San Francisco. See http://www.sfmoma.org/pages/artists_gallery.

For a very lucky person: a trip
This One Day Surf Clinic, held in various locales on the Pacific Coast of Northern California, is perfect for kids, and there are many, many more trips on ekoVenture.com to be found for all ages!

For many professionals, a vacation is a welcome, and often much-needed, break from the stress of work. Yet, a growing number of people are choosing to forego a relaxing getaway in lieu of spending their precious down time helping faraway communities in need. This growing trend, known as ‘volunteer vacations’ or ‘voluntourism’, refers to a wide range of travel options – from helping to protect habitats in Australia to trail building on the Appalachian Trail in the Eastern United States.

Voluntourism is an attractive option for many travelers as it provides the chance to aid those in need while exploring new places they might not otherwise encounter. Many American colleges have been providing just such opportunities for years now, offering “alternative spring breaks” and other service trips during school holidays. My hometown of New Orleans has been on the receiving end of this kind of travel altruism since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the town in 2005. People from around the world have generously helped rebuild the city, and in turn have (hopefully) experienced the warmth, creativity, and general (and personally much beloved) eccentricity of New Orleans.

Despite the community service involved, volunteer trips still cost participants and can vary widely in terms of price. Typically, these trips do not include airfare and the actual program fee can range from as little as $50 to as much as thousands of dollars. Cheaper options might offer basic accommodations, such as tents, while ones with higher fees generally offer additional amenities and services, including pre-trip planning materials, meals, and an on-site volunteer coordinator. Certain programs with higher fees also donate a portion of the fee to the community being served on the trip.

A wide range of voluntourism options have sprung up with this growing trend. Many trips offer opportunities to both volunteer as well as see the sights – a great option for conscientious travelers who are still interested in visiting a locale’s top attractions. This 12-day trip to India from Relief Workers International, for example, features plenty of community service projects in addition to sightseeing excursions. If you’re interested in this type of experience, click here for a list of options.

While many voluntourism organizations provide top-notch opportunities, there are some that have been criticized for exploiting communities in order to cater to the volunteer. Be sure to carefully research any tour supplier before booking a volunteer trip.

Don’t have any more vacation days left this year but still want to help a community in need? charity: water, a great organization that provides clean drinking water to people in need, is selling Christmas gifts to support their projects.

In a time of free information sharing paired with economic strife, travelers need a way to make sure they’re getting the most for their money. One way to do this is through reviews. Customer reviews of services, consumer reviews of products, and traveler reviews of places and experiences are becoming more prominent in every area of cyberspace. Generally, there are two schools of thought in regard to reviews: either consumers trust them more than recommendations from friends (some sources say over 60% of consumers feel this way) or consumers think reviews are untrustworthy and come from paid sources. When it comes to travel, personal experiences and recommendations hold special weight - most people use multiple sites and spend over three weeks to plan and purchase a vacation making reliable information all the more important.

Earth.org is a site that takes each of these trends into account. This collaboratively written travel guide has a nonprofit approach, making the information free from paid sources and outside motivations. The concept behind Earth.org employs wikis and free information sharing about destinations, travel, and things to do. The idea is to create a reliable resource for travelers and explorers to use as a research tool. Earth.org has truly implemented a unique idea – one that will benefit a community of travelers. We all know that if there is one thing a journeyer likes to do, it is write, blog, and share their experiences. Earth.org relies on this ideal, and has successfully provided content on obscure and unique destinations around the world.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this concept is Earth.org’s dedication to environmental, social and cultural projects around the world. Being a company that also believes in responsible business practices, ekoVenture understands the importance of giving back, especially to countries and people affected by travel and tourism. Earth.org is dedicated to giving 50% of their net profits to this end, while employing international volunteers that contribute to the overall collaborative efforts. This social experiment only has interest in the traveler, the explorer, and the sightseer making it a truly revolutionary space.

Stop the presses--important San Francisco news. According to the Chronicle, the Golden Gate Bridge might be on its way to becoming an even bigger tourist draw, as well as a $9 million boon to SF's struggling economy. Using Sydney's Harbour Bridge as inspiration, the new plan would make the bridge more interactive with tours of the understructure, elevator rides, and even cable climbs.

Sydney's successful BridgeClimb celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. I'm curious, Australian readers, how has the addition of, essentially, a tourist attraction changed the dynamic and character of the bridge, and Sydney at large? San Franciscans, what do you think?:

a. I'll be there, with flowers in my hair.
b. I'm just glad that they're not raising the bridge toll...again.
c. Corporate sellouts. Hiss.
d. I want to go to Australia.

Article available here.

My love for travel author Bill Bryson is well-documented. I don't know why I'm so attached to funny travel books, but I am -- maybe because I mentally compose my own culturally-relevant vignettes when I travel (or more specifically, when I'm trying to form an orderly line in an Italian airport and everyone around me is inching closer and closer, closing in on my personal space like sharks in seal season). I'm reading a new one now by Pete McCarthy, aptly called McCarthy's Bar. So far I've read, oh, approximately a sixth of the back cover, but I do know that the author, while traversing Western Ireland, faithfully follows this rule: "Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name on It." This seems like a good rule to me, except for the fact that, according to Google, there is only one bar with my last name, located in Canada. That's not much of a pub crawl. However, and I hope I'm not spoiling things for myself, I have a hunch that these bars are going to lead him on a path of discovery as he uncovers the charm and character of the land of his descendants.

Oftentimes we get so wrapped up in wanting to find new, exotic places that we forget the comforts of the old or more familiar (I hope at least some of you are thinking of the episode of 30 Rock in which Jerry Seinfeld talks about being on vacation with his family in a European country only rich people know about). This applies on both the micro- and macro-scale. I always discount my hometown of Monterey until I'm running along the shores of Asilomar or the winding path of the recreational trail. Or, being in Mexico a few years ago in my father's hometown, I really wished I'd paid more attention in Spanish class so I could better communicate with my cousins as they took me from clubs to cafes. This Thanksgiving week, as most of you travel home for the holidays, I urge everyone to consider your own homes as destination spotlights.

For quite awhile now, I’ve heard of a famous hostel just north of San Francisco. Various sources have written about it, one of my roommates raved about it, and the travel community at large seems to have nothing but amazing things to say about the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel in Pescadero off coastal Highway One. This got me to thinking… what a perfect solution to the economic downturn. Most hostels offer private rooms for half the price of a B&B and some of them (like Pigeon Point) are just as nice, if you don't mind a little sharing. A weekend getaway is a good solution to a vacation and hostels can provide a cheap alternative to hotels and B&B’s, especially along the coast.

Pigeon Point Hostel is located within the historic lighthouse keeper’s quarters, high above a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As one of the tallest lighthouses in the world, this spectacular location has a cliffside hot tub with panoramic ocean views. This is also an ideal location for visiting the nearby tide pools, beaches, and elephant seals that litter the coast in both directions, along with the redwood forests inland.

I know the hostel culture isn’t as prevalent in the US as it is elsewhere, proven by the fact that when I googled around for best hostels in the US, I yielded very few results and no Top 10 lists. Honestly, I hadn’t really considered the idea of staying in a hostel a mere hour from my current residence until I heard of Pigeon Point. Overall, I think it’s a nice escape and a unique idea – great for a little weekend away. Good hostels aren’t limited to Northern California, either. I found a few in various locations that received stellar reviews overall, such as the Hotel QT in New York City and the Hostel Seattle in Seattle, Washington. It doesn’t take much to take a hostel vacation… just a phone call.

I'm having a bit of an Eat, Pray, Love moment. Actually, one of two, the other being the fact that my idea for a parody book has been usurped and published (and looks like comedic gold). Now, I am unashamed to admit that I have not read the book, despite once having had a woman follow me around Borders trying to get me to buy it (her publisher, maybe?). Anyway, I was talking to one of my friends the other week about wanting to do yoga in some exotic place, like India. Lengthy pause over the line, followed by "You do know that is a third of the plot to Eat, Pray, Love, right?" (I didn't). (OK, are we starting to get the impression that maybe some of my ideas aren't actually all that original?) This got me thinking -- why should I feel the need to go someplace else to delve into my own spiritual practice?

For me, I think the answer itself lies in my surroundings (and this is how you can tell that I have not mastered the control and meditative absorption for which yoga strives). My yoga studio in San Francisco is in the heart of the Mission district, located on a corner that serves as a hub for public transportation, hosts a significant homeless population, and is otherwise loud, kind of dirty, and very, very urban. Yet, by the time you climb the five flights of stairs, you're welcomed into a sanctuary of peace, respite, and utter calm far removed from the city outside. I adore this juxtaposition and the incongruity it creates. In Palo Alto, where I lived for many years, yoga studios have the same components but lack the soul. Instead of floor to ceiling windows gazing out upon a cityscape, you're surrounded by mirrors that scrutinize your every pose. I interpret yoga's goal of mindful awareness as not the act of striving for perfection in your practice, but becoming instead an intelligent thinker, a person conscious of everything around him or her, environment included. I'm attached to the Mission in no small part because of this studio, and I can certainly see how doing yoga in a foreign (or our own) country could create a strong bond with the place. If you're embarking on a similar quest and in search of the appropriate destination, here are my suggestions:

For immediate gratification (or a very generous Christmas gift): Yoga and Wellness in the Caribbean: Christmas - New Year Holiday 2009

The Holy Grail of yoga-abroad trips: Yoga & Meditation Package: 18-Day India Tour

Lastly, if you are me, then you would love: Yoga and Digital Photography One Week Program

I've been learning a lot about Turkey these days, and this country, steeped in history, contains something for everyone. There are biblical tours of Anatolia, horseback riding adventures in Cappadocia, and balloon tours of Western Turkey, as well as customizable trips of any length, to virtually any destination. I, however, am most intrigued by the gorgeous hot springs of Pamukkale.

Like Gob Bluth, I hear the jury's still out on science, but in brief, here's what's going on within the terraces of this UNESCO World Heritage Site: The water from the hot springs (95-212 degrees F) is full of calcium carbonate. When the carbon dioxide contained therein escapes (think opening a can of soda), the calcium carbonate is left behind in a soft, gooey form that hardens into the rock, travertine, that forms the terraces (fun fact: the Colosseum is mostly built from mined travertine, as is the Getty in LA). Enterprising early tourists have been making their way to Pamukkale for thousands of years. I can just picture the present-day crowds that must gather in the region during Turkey's searing summers.

In case Turkey seems a little far, check out Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, a bit closer to home.

Building 1801: The haunted army hospital in the Presidio, San Francisco.

I recently discovered that the site of the Zodiac killer’s last confirmed victim is in an area fairly close to my current residence in San Francisco. The unknown serial killer terrorized the city in the late 1960’s and claimed his last known victim on the corner of Washington and Cherry in Presidio Heights. In the spirit of Halloween (and because of my own morbid curiosity), I drove to the intersection on a foggy, moonlit night. Although nothing suspicious could be found in this sleepy area of the city, I began to research other haunted locations as autumn descended on the city. Constantly shrouded in fog and full of unique nooks and crannies, there is no greater location to spend a spooky fall night.

Although San Francisco is littered with ghostly abandoned buildings, old churches, and sprawling graveyards, there are a few notable spooky locations worth visiting (aside from Alcatraz). Along the eastern shore of the city, Point Lobos houses the remnants of the Sutro Baths, a once grand locale from the gilded era of San Francisco. Built by Adolf Sutro, a German-born engineering immigrant who became incessantly wealthy by designing a much safer way to mine for silver, the baths were popular until they burned to the ground in 1966 under suspicious circumstances. Nothing is left of this unique landmark except for a low stone wall and some twisted steel supports. In order to get the full effect of this haunted landmark, bring a candle and light it at the end of the underground tunnel ruins. The ghosts that haunt this area will throw it in the water on especially foggy evenings.

From here, head to the abandoned Army Hospital on Park Presidio. This dilapidated building, complete with boarded windows, chain link fences, and overgrown trees, has an eerie feeling as soon as you approach it. The large complex contains old medical equipment left to rust and surgical tables that still have IV tubes surrounding them. It is said that deceased soldiers haunt the halls and white orbs show up in photographs taken here. Be wary of this location, though, as police regularly patrol the area and pass out hefty fines for trespassing.

Another spooky location to visit is the Cameron House on Sacramento Street in Chinatown. This location, now converted to a church, once housed Chinese immigrants seeking refuge from prostitution. As the story goes, Lady Cameron, the owner of the house, sealed off the basement in order to conceal the women from police. Only a small entrance led to and from the basement. One fateful day, Cameron House caught fire killing everyone contained in the locked basement. It is unclear whether the fire was accidental or set by angry locals. Charms adorn the sealed doors to the basement, said to keep the spirits from escaping.

This All Hallows Eve, wander through the streets of your hometown and think about the history, the haunts and the happenings around every corner.