Years ago, in a part of the world that I had always thought of as snow-covered, and pristine, friends and I went trekking in Nepal.  At one point in the journey, a friend of mine took a trash bag and in less than 1/2 an hour had completely filled it – and this was in the mountains at 14,000 feet.  I also understand that the Everest Base Camp is also littered with empty oxygen bottles.  And, I’m ashamed to say, visitors  to that lovely country are the worst offenders.

To make matters even worse, the local children, seeing our complete disregard for the environment, imitate us.  Give one a candy bar (or, OK a toothbrush) and watch the child unwrap it, enjoy it, and throw the wrapper on the ground.

The group we were with though, packed everything in and packed everything out.  Every can, every container, every scrap of paper was brought back to Kathmandu to be disposed of.

At that time most travel companies could care less about the envionment.  Whether it be mounds of trash at the  Everest Base Camp , or cruise ships dumping their waste at sea, it was thought (and unfortunately still do) that the Earth and seas were big enough to indefinitely accept all that we throw at, or in, it.

Fortunely, things have been changing , although perhaps too slowly.  When you choose a travel company, choose one that respects the environment whether on land or at sea.  Even better, use companies that “give back”; that put time and money back into the country they’re visiting.  In this way, those countries that don’t have the resources  can help protect the lands that we visit.

One last note,  Be aware of some travel or cruise companies that advertise “Ecotourism” or “Green” etc., etc  are  not necessarily  “ecological” or “green”.  Investigate these companies as best you can.  Ask questions.  See what organizations they belong to.  Speak to your travel professional if you’re not sure.  Happy Eco-Safe  Traveling!

   Ice, blue, white, green, sparkling;  floating beside us or rising hundreds of feet into the air, extending hundreds of miles into the mountains.  Listen for the sound  of the icebergs calving from the face of these glaciers.  Seeing it “up close and personal” one can understand why, in the old movies, both crooks and police referred to diamonds as “ice”.  Extending along the west coast of Chile, giant glaciers slowly move across the land.  Listen closely and you can hear the “crackling” sound as they move.   A large cruise ship can’t get this close.  Only a specially-equiped small ship with a reinforced bow is able to get close enough for a better look. 

Get off the boat and look up, look up higher, look higher still.  Touch  the face of the glacier and realize that what is beneath your fingertips is 1000′s of years old.  Remember as kids, we used to look up at the clouds and imagine what the shapes looked like? (OK, I still do it).  Step back from the glacier face and use your imagination.  It’s an elephant.  No, it’s a giant rabbit.  No it’s a ………… ? 

This is Patagonia, a beautiful, desolate, wind-swept part of the world located at the southernmost point on the South American continent.  Why go there?  You’ll have to wait for another blog to find out.

They’re painted, aren’t they?  Boobies, I mean.  Specifically red and blue Boobies.  Someone must go out early in the morning  with a paintbrush and quick-drying waterproof paint just before we arrive.  These birds exist only in the Galapagos Islands, and on specific islands at that.  The colors, I’m told, comes from the fish and crustaceans that they eat.  Of course there are the Nazca Boobies as well, but they have “normal” colored feet, and are not nearly as interesting. 

The name of these birds supposedly comes from the Spanish, and doesn’t mean what you think it does.  It has something to do with the way these birds bob up and down.  Now we only got to see the blue ones and the Nazca ones.  The red ones are endangered but have just been reintroduced to one of the islands.  (I subscribe to the Galapagos News.  That’s how I know these things.) 

 I have so much more to tell you.  For me, it was the trip of a lifetime.  At the very top of my “Bucket List”.  M uch more yet to come.

You have to be thinking that I must be making up this story, but I’m not.  Stupid people like this really do exist.

There I was, in Mongolia, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, sitting on the dining room steps at our tourist camp, minding my own business when two women come out and one is complaining to the other:  “Why do they put these places in the middle of nowhere?  Where am I supposed to go shopping?”   Trust me, I’m quoting her as accurately as possible.  Once I’ve stopped laughing, I think:  Perhaps she accidentally got on the wrong tour because what part of the term “Gobi Desert”  in the travel brochure didn’t she understand?  Genghis must be rolling in his grave.

 No, Hurtigruten is not the new Swedish Chef on the Muppet Show.  Besides the name is Norwegian, not Swedish.  Granted, “Hurtigruten” is an unusual name but it’s an unusual company. Begun as a postal delivery service in 1893 by sea captain Richard With,  it now serves as a freighter, ferry, and cruise line connecting northern with southern Norway. Their ships are small enough to slip into Norway’s  narrow fjords, yet large enough to provide many of the comforts of larger vessels.

  Originally named “Norwegian Coastal Lines”, its initials “NCL” became a source of confusion to agents and clients alike.  Since the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has no connection with the Norwegian Coastal Lines, it was decided to return to its original name ,”Hurtigruten”, literally meaning Express Route.

  Beginning in the 1980s, the role of Hurtigruten changed; operating subsidies were gradually phased out and the operators put more emphasis on tourism. New, bigger and more comfortable ships were introduced, with attention given to hot tubs, bars, restaurants and other comforts. However, Hurtigruten still serves important passenger and cargo needs, and operates 365 days a year. Originally designed to hug the shoreline, the newer vessels are designed to sail throughout the Arctic  as well as the Antarctic.  One can go dog-sledding above the arctic circle, or head south (VERY far South)  and go penguin – watching.

  Now it’s many things to many people.  Linda and I traveled southward on the Kong Harold  and found the trip fascinating.  We’ve been on cruises before, but this was the first “working” ship we’ve ever been on.  We could stand on deck and see people and cars embark and disembark.  We could see supplies being taken off and crates of frozen fish taken aboard.  Or we could just sit back and watch the magnificent scenery go by on what some have said “It’s the world’s most beautiful sea voyage.” 

If you’ve never been on a small ship cruise in Europe or elsewhere, this would be an adventure for you.  I’m sorry.  Now you’ll probably be humming that song all day long, possibly annoying other people as you do so.  It’s sort of like the “Pina Colada” song for me, or “Starry, Starry Night” for Linda.  (Note to myself:  never mention that song if she’s holding anything sharp , like a knife or scissors)

Anyway, back to our story.  Here we are, sailing on the Danube on this wonderful river boat, the River Beatrice.  This is the second river voyage that we’ve taken with Uniworld.  The food and wine are excellent, and the staff, attentive . After dinner we move into the lounge area where a very talented keyboardist is playing.  We strike up a conversation when he takes a break and we get into the usual conversation:  What’s your name?  Where are you from?  Ever been to the U.S.? Ever been arrested?  (Just kidding on that last one)   His name is Zoltan and it turns out that he is from Budapest.  He asks us where we’re from and we tell him Pennsylvania.  Where in Pennsylvania?  Lancaster County (as if he has any idea where Pennsylvania is, let alone Lancaster).  As it turns out, not only does he know where Lancaster is, he is engaged to a young woman from a suburb of Lancaster.  Now you see where the title of this blog comes from.  It really is a small world out there.

Things I’ve Learned while on this Journey

• How little I really know about world history and cultures.             How much I have to learn
• People have been killing each other just because they belong to different tribes, ethnic groups, and religions going back to the hunter-gatherers vs. the nomads.  Sadly, this continues throughout the region with no end in sight
• Contrary to what seems to be in the news on a daily basis, not every Muslim is a terrorist. 
• Americans are liked everywhere we went. (Probably because we buy things)
• Eating with chop sticks around a “Lazy Susan” is no easy task.
• The egomaniacal former president of Turkmenistan renamed the month of April after his mother.
• Plump, meaty chicken legs sold in the market are referred to as “Bush Legs”.  This somehow relates to a trade agreement signed during the 1st president Bush administration.
• Never make eye contact with someone carrying an AK-47.  And for G-d’s sake never, ever take a photo at any border crossing!
• The more you pack, the more you have to carry, and the more you pay for flights on smaller planes between countries.
• Apples originated in Almaty, Kazakhstan  not with Johnny Appleseed
• One country’s Hero is another country’s Scourge of the Earth       (Genghis Kahn vs. Tamerlane)

What?  Did you think AdventureTravel 4U  was only about traveling to foreign places?  Ever been to New York?  Some people  would probably consider it to be a foreign land, with different dialects, different foods, different people from all over the world.  Linda and I grew up there, and of course, when I say “New York” I mean the 5 boroughs, (and I’m not so sure about Staten Island).  We refer to other residents of New York State as people from “Upstate” as in: “Oh, I see you’re from Upstate”.  Yes, they use the same license plates as everyone else who lives there, but are they really “New Yorkers”?

 The term “Adventure Travel” means different things to different people.  For us, the more exotic, the more remote, the more culturally different a place is, the more we like to go there. Think  Mongolia.  Think Galapagos Islands.  Think Tanzania.  However, there are many people in our immediate area that have never been out of their town, let alone their state, or their country.  For these people, traveling more than 25 miles would be considered adventurous as it would involve getting past one’s fearfulness and would seem, at least for them, as  risk-taking. 

But for me, a hot pastrami sandwich, tickets to a Broadway show (discounted of course), and round trip transportation would not be considered an “adventure”, but it sure is a great way to spend a Saturday just before Christmas, or Chanukah, orKwanza.  Or, for no special reason at all – just to “get away”.  Don’t feel comfortable with this?  FUGEDABOUDIT!

O.K., I never took Spanish in high school.  But I’ve watched enough Westerns on TV growing up to know that the nice lady from the Uros people of Peru was offering me water.  I pointed to my water bottle and politely shook my head and said “No.  Gracias”.  (Pretty good cross-cultural interaction if I do say so myself).

However, she kept repeating the phrase “Agua, Senior, Agua” while pointing, not at my water bottle, but at my feet.  Lo and behold, I was slowly sinking into a deepening puddle of water.

Now you need to know something about the Uros people of Lake Titicaca.  They don’t live next to the lake.  They don’t live near the lake.  They live on the lake on what are called “The Floating Islands”.  These aren’t really islands.  What they are, are essentially large quantities of reeds that are cut, bound together, and piled up. gradually forming an “island”.  This must be done continuously as the bottom layers gradually rot and disintegrate. 

The Uros live on these islands, sleep there, cook there, raise their families, and, of course, sell souvenirs to the tourists.  However, nowadays I suspect that many of the tribe live on the shore and quickly paddle out to their “villages” when they see tourists arriving. 

I learned many things on our 2 trips to Peru.  It’s a fascinating country that we were told (by a shaman) that we will visit a 3^rd time.  But on this day I learned something very important – always watch where you’re walking, and always look down especially when you stop.  Agua, anyone?