Green Holidays

I watched a film last night that really was quite something – and it involved a quite amazing man!

It is a film about a man from Slovenia called Martin Strel, who loves endurance swimming, and who has decided to swim the giant rivers of the world to highlight water pollution in the regions.  He has already swam the lengths of the Danube in Europe, the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China – and set his heart on being the first person to swim the full length of the Amazon!

You might think that this devoted eco-saviour was the epitome of youth and finesse, with multi-national backing (or rich parents). 

He certainly is someone who doesn’t mind a challenge, but in the words of his own website:  ‘Martin is also a rather overweight, horseburger loving Slovenian in his fifties who drinks two bottles of red wine a day… even when swimming.’

The Man Himself:
The film is certainly a bit kooky and makes you feel as though you are right in the thick of the action, but I really was amazed at the character of this man!

The things he did and has done is really like no one else I have ever heard of – and if the whole thing wasn’t an elaborate set up – he really is a truly amazing individual.

You follow his life in the run up to the trip to the Peru starting point, where you see him striding around his local town (and other cities) in just his speedo’s; you see him mixing with the kids in his local pool, sitting in a cave and then mixing with some of the ‘It’ crowd of his country.

He certainly spans the generations and social classes with ease – but says very little.  Many a moment is spent watching him smiling at the crowds.  And when he does speak it is usually something quite funny!

How he managed to keep swimming for up to 12 hours a day for the 10 weeks it took him is a miracle.  And in one scene you see him arrive in a town after a days swimming to a huge crowd.  Now, it would have made sense to wave a bit, then go and sleep all night after a shower and a hearty meal – but no, he’s there for the people.  He joins them (still in his wetsuit) for a long parade through the streets in the dark!

The Swimming:
The length of the Amazon River is like swimming across the whole Atlantic Ocean – except there are no piranhas in the Ocean!

His health would really be put at risk from the water itself – not just the endless swimming and virtually the whole day being wet!  There were many assistants to spot dangers like flesh-eating fish, giant anacondas and alligators as well as whirl pools and whole trees caught in the flood!  As well as doctors to make sure that he didn’t become infected with parasites, bacteria and other tiny invaders!

He also had to contend with second degree burns from the tropical sun reflecting off the water onto his face!

Of course, no ordinary swimmer could complete this challenge.  Martin is a well known marathon swimmer and spends over a year training for such events – he spent 3 on this one though!

The Result:
By combining such a mammoth adventure with a charismatic lead character as well as the most beautiful backdrop – they were onto a winner.

If only this film does manage to help the environment in some way, as well as the people who rely on the river – then it was worth one mans extraordinary effort…..

….and the least you can do is watch it!

Going on a car journey for your holiday?  Got the spare spark plugs?

If you are heading off on a long journey as part of or all of your holiday, you might as well take some little things that can be the difference between a quick fix and a long wait at the garage – and that’s if you happen to run into trouble close to one,  rather than having to find one in the first place – and assuming on top of that that they speak English!

We all know that a spare tyre is expected and many people carry a torch, an ice-scraper, some oil and maybe a warning triangle, but there are many more little things that can really help out if you intend to be on the road for a while.

Now, you won’t want to weigh your car down with a huge amount of excess things, as it will use more fuel and allow less space for your holidays bits or family.  However, most essentials are only lightweight anyway.

Spare Stuff:
Things like headlights and brake lights are an essential safety feature of your car, so make sure that you have at least those 4 spare bulbs before heading off.  All the other lights are not really vital in stopping other cars bumping into you – Although the more you carry with you the better things will be for you.

Some spare fuel wouldn’t be the worst idea either.  You never know when you will start running out of fuel – and you never know when you will next see a fuel station if you are travelling in the middle of nowhere.

Spare clothes and blankets are something you might have already because of the journey anyway – but spare water for the car for cleaning windows, refilling the engine and rinsing things off could be worth having, as well as toilet roll, some plastic bags and rags are certainly things I have found worth having on my travels.

One time my car started mis-firing – (which turned out to be caused by me spilling oil on one of the spark plugs when I was refilling the engine without a funnel – now added to my list of carry-on things)) and all I needed was a replacement spark plug!  Something you don’t normally carry – but when your car starts chugging up a hill and only gets to 40 mph – you’d wish you had one!

Other Helpful Items:
It’s not just replacement items that could come in handy while travelling, there are a whole host of ‘grab’ items that could really make things run more smoothly.

Pen and paper isn’t a bad idea for on-the-road games as well as for taking details of directions and possibly names of hotels, tourist sights you hear of on the road and even for taking down number plates of vehicles that are involved in accidents or incidents along the way.

Maybe even a portable solar-powered battery charger is something you might consider if you have a mobile phone with you or even a laptop or iPad.  They take up hardly any room, yet could keep you away from civilisation for a lot longer if that was your plan.

A tiny bit further from the norm, but by no means worth ignoring is a basic first aid kit with iodine to make fresh water safe to drink.  If you want to have all eventualities covered – always think of the things that will be really annoying to you on a day out and prepare for it.  So would you want a headache all day?  No, take pain relief then.  Tummy ache?  Loose Stools?  No? Then have it covered as a basic.

And of course, don’t forget your toothbrush!

Why not book yourself onto an old-fashioned steam train – in a Pulham car of course!

I recently had the privilege of travelling from London Kings Cross to the beautiful city of Cambridge on-board a working steam train.

I love the idea of travelling by rail – and I am a real fan of historic English cities, so the combination of the two was perfect!  And more eco friendly than driving there.

The Train:
The train I travelled on was called the BR Pacific No. 70013: Oliver Cromwell - and was the same engine used on the last steam rail journey by British Rail in 1968.

This handsome green engine was a regular visitor to East Anglia – and in fact carried on past Cambridge to Ely and Norwich if you wanted a longer journey.

It was great alighting mid-way on the journey as not only did we get to see him pulling away from the station – and of course returning head on (for some great video footage) – but we spent a lovely 5 hours wandering around the many colleges and historic sites in the city.

The Journey:
The first thing everyone on the carriage realised as we pulled away from London was that the steam that gives us the characteristic white ‘smoke’ from the front engine isn’t just steam – it has all the coal particles in it! 

Needless to say after we came out of the first tunnel and the ash had all blown into the carriage and onto absolutely everything – people closed all the windows and started wiping the thin layer of soot off their belongings!

However the smell was delightful and all part of the experience!

The company running the service had provided every passenger with a route map of the journey and all the stations we pass through or stop at and some information on the original services and the engine itself.

All along the route, we saw random people standing in fields to get a good look at the engine as it passed across the landscape.  Hundreds of people crowded into station car-parks and bridges along the way, craning to get a good photo of the train as we passed by!

It almost seemed like we were a celebrity – a 13 carriage long celebrity throwing soot and steam up into the air and hooting our steam whistle at everyone along the way!

If you fancy a day out in style, then find yourself a steam company that can take you to a place you want to go for a great eco friendly adventure!

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Hello, and welcome to the first edition of the Green Holidays and Adventures Blog Carnival – where writers from all over the world can offer you their tips, their experience and tell you all about their great adventures!

To start with are 2 personal stories about different modes of transport when abroad – the first is an elephant(!) and the 2nd is the famous ‘chicken buses’ of Central America. So, Shannon starts with her story of Traveling Through Rural Laos, then Ben Connor Barrie gives you some info on Chicken Buses!

Elizabeth Hargrave is next with some tips on being car-free as well – but in Washington DC. This article: Car-free DC: Rock Creek Park is one in a series of local walks that use public transport only! Leave that smelly car at home!

And, as with many people at the moment, the following articles relate to camping tips! Why not take a vacation in the woods or the mountains this year?

Smart Camper offers a trio of great articles revolving around he great outdoors – firstly tips on Working at a Campground, then to fill your tummy, you can read about some Easy to Prepare Campsite Meals- then tips on taking the young uns with you in Camping with Young Children

If anything goes wrong while you are out there, Dorrie offers some tips on Basic Camping First Aid as well!

Hope you enjoyed the articles on this Carnival, and please offer your stories up for the next one in June. Thanks again to all the writers here, and see you again soon!

Catherine.

To highlight water pollution, a brave millionaire is about to set sail in a 60ft boat made of plastic bottles stuck together!

The ecologist adventurer, Mr de Rothschild, is setting off to highlight the problem of the ever growing ‘sea of plastic’ in the Pacific Ocean. This ‘sea’ is currently in an anomoly of the world’s wave patterns. This means that all floating rubbish from the worlds oceans eventually ends up stuck together in this one place, somewhere between the US mainland and Hawaii.

This mass of rubbish floating just under the waters surface weighs an estimated 3.5 tonnes and is about the size of Peru, or around 3 times the size of Japan!

Plastic Facts:
The UN estimates that there are around 46,000 pieces of plastic floating on every square mile of the oceans – devastating the wildlife it supports. Seabirds are also affected and albatros ‘catch’ disposable lighters and bottle tops thinking they are fish and feed them to their chicks. However, because they are not digestible, the chicks bellies fill with all this rubbish leaving no room for food – ultimately and painfully they starve to death, hungry in their nests.

And because it isn’t biodegradable, plastic is with us for ever – that means that every centimeter of plastic that has ever been made since if was first invented – is still in the world today. And todays figures suggest that around 100m tonnes of plastic is currently being produced each year!!!

And don’t think that all this plastic is from fishermen or cruise ships (although they do contribute) because your carefully disposed of plastic in your garbage could end up being send overseas for processing, those tiny sample bottles you used at the hotel in Mexico may be dumped not recycled, and even that small piece of packaging that blew out of your hand at a picnic or town event could also make it to the ocean.

How much of your plastic is floating in the worlds oceans and what are you going to do about it?

The Adventure:
This adventurer plans to sail (how eco friendly is that!) from San Fransisco on April the 28th this year – the exact day that his namesake – the Kontiki – set off on 62 years ago.

Heading down to Hawaii from there, he will try to navigate through the swirling mass of trash while charting their progress. They hope that this is a way to highlight the problems of this visible and dangerous pollution to both humans, wildlife and of course the effects it has on the world as a whole.

Your Contribution:
You can help do your bit locally by organising beach collections – where people walk along coastlines collecting litter and plastic then disposing of it correctly (contact your collections agency to make sure that you approve of their disposal or recycling techniques – if you don’t then complain about it).

Collections make sure that less waste gets into the ocean in the first place and wildlife and environments on land can also benefit. Why just do the beach – walk through woodlands, valleys and mountains doing the same!

This way you not only make your local environment that much nicer for yourselves and the wildlife – you can also have a far greater effect on the worlds environment.