Ecoventura, also known as Galapagos Network, has renovated its 20-passenger yacht M/Y ERIC to hybrid energy. The renovation to green includes installation of 40 solar panels and two wind turbines on the upper deck and replacing canvas awnings with a hard fiberglass top for structural support. The goal is for the solar panels and wind powered generators to provide enough power to support approximately 17 percent of the energy formerly produced by two carbon fuel-based generators. This project was financed through a partnership with Toyota, a supporter of the World Wildlife Fund. They plan a similar renovation for their other three vessels.
“It is the hope that other cruise and tour companies will see the successful results and follow suit,” says Santiago Dunn, president and owner of Ecoventura.

In 2007, UNESCO put the Galapagos on its World Heritage sites risk list, citing alien species and pollution from tourists and immigrants as key issues. 

Toyota has supported and/or funded many projects and programs in the Galapagos Islands. These include a redesign of the main fuel-handling facility on Baltra, renewable-energy teacher education workshops, oil and municipal recycling programs and support of the World Wildlife Fund.

Ecoventura is a family-owned cruise company based in Guayaquil, Ecuador, that has a fleet of three expedition 20-passenger motor yachts with 10 double cabins. The company also operates the Sky Dancer, a 16-passenger dedicated dive live-aboard offering Galapagos dive trips.

             Shirley Linde, Editor  www.smallshipcruises.com

There is a battle going on. Years ago when I visited Tamarindo it was starting. Foreign-owned condos and large all-inclusive resorts conveniently located near the northern international airport at Liberia are taking over a place where massive leather-back turtles are finding less and less peace and quiet to do their nesting. A place where alerts for bacteria in swimming areas due to lack of infrastructure for hotels is a problem. Jacó, also on the Pacific coast in the middle of the country is experiencing a lot of the same. The awful picture of the condos going up all in a row amid the trees right on the water is an example. Costa Ricans didn’t create this mess. Costa Rican development while some may say has happened in a haphazard and unplanned way, has at least taken surroundings into account. Buildings in Dominical for example, are set back behind the natural vegation, making the beach framed by a wild backdrop of palms. 

When we were there last year we were sad to see the changes.  On the one hand, prosperity has come to the region. There are work opportunities for a lot of people. But unfortunately, prosperity has taken its toll in other ways and it could have been designed in a much more sustainable way.

The lodges we love to celebrate and recommend to our clients are examples of sustainability that not only have taken into account the impact building a hotel has on the natural environment, but also the daily operations, the electricity usage, the water usage - especially important in drier zones which Tamarindo is having to deal with now, and the waste production.

Another important factor to think about is who is benefitting from large-scale developments? Are the staff members Costa Rican? Is there any other benefit they are receiving besides some (low-paying) jobs?  If a lodge is contributing to its local economy it should be purchasing products including food and building materials locally. Many of the lodges we recommend to our clients such as Harmony Hotel, Finca Rosa Blanca and Lapa Rios support one or more local schools in addition to major contributions to biodiversity conservation.  

Over the years of living and traveling in Costa Rica, we have discovered alternative places that our clients love because they are places that are still in balance, where wildlife flourishes and the people touch your hearts.  We like to support those making efforts to maintain Costa Rica’s natural beauty so that we can continue to travel there knowing our travel choices are making positive impacts.

See more on the Star Tribune’s The Price of Paradise.

Agriculture in Costa Rica has been the recipient of negative news recently, specifically in relation to its pineapple export. We thought this would be a good time to highlight a positive story on organic farming that recently appeared in Natureair’s in flight magazine,  Nature Landings.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the farmers of Costa Rica began to search for organic methods of planting and harvesting crops with the intent of benefiting from the fruits of the land without using chemicals and other harmful practices that could damage their harvest.

This is how organic agriculture began to take force, and slowly but surely it has today become a viable and productive alternative to traditional agriculture, one that aims to position itself as a means of producing quality and healthy produce that is economically feasible, respects nature and is a great ally to conservation efforts. 

According to data derived from “The Costa Rican Organic Agriculture Movement,” the internal demand for organic produce increases about 20% every year, which demonstrates that efforts dedicated to promoting this type of production are bearing fruit. Furthermore, Costa Rican organic production is recognized both nationally and internationally.

In Costa Rica some 9,000 hectares are dedicated to the organic cultivation of approximately 30 different products.

Read more on Nature Air’s blog.

I didn’t move to Korea for hiking. In fact, I don’t think I even knew there were mountains. I was going for the fascinating culture, the challenge of living life in a completely new place, different language and of course for the teaching English experience.

My second week in Seoul I was made aware of Adventure Korea and that’s when my new hiking adventures began. Every other weekend I would join other English teachers from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK on trips through the different mountain ranges and islands on the peninsula.

Hiking is a major past-time in South Korea with the older generations, and sometimes it can be really busy, with line-ups even. There are no switch-backs in these mountains, the trails go straight up, with ropes and scrambling needed in some areas. In a few cases there are even metal stairs bolted into the rock.

On some occasions we would hike up to buddhist temples and shrines - many temples were forced out of the city and into the mountains years ago, which makes for an inspiring and interesting experience of its own.

Ridge hiking in Korea is not so well known as Valere Tjolle points out in his article on TravelMole. But it is definitely worthy of praise and of becoming better known in the world. It’s the only time in my life where I have been surrounded on all sides, as I walked for hours, by continuous mountain views as far as I could see. I have climbed mountains in the Rockies, and no one could dispute that they are spectacular, but this is different.

Looking down to the right as the edge drops off, or over to the left where a few feet away it drops again, you feel like you are walking the border of the earth. Something truly special I feel priviledged to have witnessed.

Read the article on TravelMole’s VISION on Sustainable Tourism Korea Aims to Attract 7.5 Million Visitors in 2009.