Green Holidays

You might be dying to walk the Inca Trail – but you don’t want to actually die!

You might not believe that 1 in 10 serious mountaineers actually die every year from altitude sickness; so if they can be affected by this strange affliction – then what makes you think you won’t?

And as we all know – avoiding dangerous situations in the first place is not only the best way to keep your adventures as eco friendly and as people friendly as possible – but makes for a better holiday than having to call out the emergency services and spending a while in recovery or hospital!

First Steps:
The first thing to think of is whether you are at risk in the first place.

So if you are trekking anywhere under 10,000ft you are probably ‘OK’ – but when you start going above this height (places like the Andes, the Himalayas, Kilamanjaro and Mount Kenya) you should really know the symptoms of mountain sickness in yourself and your climbing friends.

This is expecially true if you are flying into this height from sea level, catching a train into the mountains or driving to very high locations as you haven’t acclimatised yourself to the different physiological challenges of less atmospheric air and the extra strains it puts on the active body.

The main thing to remember at all times is that altitude sickness can strike quite fast, may only have a few seemingly random symptoms, can affect even the most fit and experienced climbers or trekkers, and can and does kill people.

So take it seriously.

photo credit: discosour

How To Avoid It:
The best way to avoid getting ill from mountain sickness is ascending very slowly when at high altitudes – preferably acclimatising slowly on arrival.

Following recommended climbing ‘rates’ is also a good plan – at about 1,000ft a day – or as slow as your slowest walker. And of course this means after you have acclimatised to being at 10,000ft in the first place.

Not planning a ‘rush climb’ is another key factor, as most stories of problems are from people who ignored earlier symptoms as they felt that they ‘had to get to so and so before stopping’. As a result they pushed too hard and their bodies reacted badly.

And make sure you are planning for stops along the way, take frequent breaks and always know where your descents are incase you need to get lower. It is better to arrive healthy in 5 days than have to stop after 3 and get air-lifted to a hospital!

Some of the earlier symptoms of altitude sickness could be mistaken for something else, or ignored if people don’t want to ’cause a scene’ – but if you are at height, you should always assume that it is altitude related and consider stopping for the day or descending slightly until the symptoms disappear.

Bearing in mind the headache you get is your brain swelling up, and the cough is due to fluid flooding your lungs – I think anyone in their right mind should think about descending anyway!

No flights, local services and eating out don’t always add up to Green Holidays!

Say you decided to stay in your own country, drive to town with something worth seeing in it and eat ‘local food’ for a few days – sounds like a reasonable plan for a green adventure, doesn’t it?

But what if the actual story was: you drove yourself and your partner 300 miles to a town with a giant themepark close by and ate take-outs?

Not quite so green after all.

But it is what many people do when they stay home for their vacation – whether they meant to be green or just wanted to ‘save’ money.

But the savings are not just in physical money spent – there is an invisible cost too.

The Problem:
The ideal ‘green holiday’ is something that not many people want to actually do with the few precious days off a year – especially if their job is quite hectic.

They don’t want to carry all their clothes on a train to get there in the first place; then after arriving in the nearest town – they don’t want to have to get public transport to their guest house when there are ‘hotel chains’ right outside.

Preparing food would also be a chore – as even if their eco-friendly guest house gave them use of the kitchen, they would have to then go and buy all their food from a local store – check it was all locally grown or organic (no usually the case in smaller or more rural towns) and then carried it back on foot or by bus.

Alternatively, they would have to go out all the time and try to find a suitable eatery for their meals – and I’m sure after a few days in the town – they would have exhausted the eco choices and then have to keep going back and using all the same places.

The Answer:
Well, it is difficult to plan a totally green holiday even close to home – but you can eliminate the worst offenders along the way – like the flight.

That one part of a holiday could account for a huge amount of carbon emissions – so even if you drove your half empty car 1000 miles across the country, you still would have emitted less.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

You still want pleasures though – otherwise why take a holiday in the first place – so go 50/50. If you love the city – then settle for that not-so eco friendly chain hotel on the high street, 2 seconds from the train station – as you won’t be needing the car in town, so can make eco savings elsewhere.

If you love the countryside, then you can drive to the isolated eco friendly guesthouse with a car full of food as you probably won’t need the car when you arrive as you will be walking everywhere anyway.

The same can be done for other areas of your holiday, think of what you actually want out of your holiday in the first place – what is most important. Then think about green savings around that.

If you want luxury; you might be able to cut back on the distance travelled. If you need a specific location; then look to change your transport or maybe increase the time you are there.

Holidays are meant to be fun – and it doesn’t hurt if they are a shade of green too!

Buying a dog can be one of the best experiences for a family or individual – but take care!

It’s not just about buying from a reputable breeder, or making sure that it is vaccinated and wormed – it’s about what that dog can do for you – or what it can never do.

For example – if your dog is prone to skin problems and needs cream applied, you can’t take it for water-filled days out. If it get out of breath quickly with its short ‘bulldog’ face – you can’t go cycling with it or for long walks with it – or take it anywhere that it might get too hot!

And if it is prone to digestive upsets, takes certain medicines every 6 hours, has sore joints, patches of fur missing or can’t stop scratching – how much fun is he going be when you take him on holiday with you?

Your Dog Breed:
Some dog breeds are just the wrong shape to be outdoor active pets – for example any dog with a very short nose, dogs which are longer than they are tall, dogs with really droopy skin and dogs that have no fur!

photo credit: Jen and a Camera

Most dogs like this will have some sort of problems when you take them out over their lifetime. Now I am not saying that dogs with normal faces and skin won’t suffer from problems – I’m saying that these types probably will.

So if you want to run, swim, cycle, climb and basically spend hours out in the sunshine (and rain) with your dog – then think about getting a hardy average-shaped breed – like a pointer/retriever/terrier type. And avoid Great Danes, Bassett Hounds and Pugs!

Extra Un-Green:
In addition to choosing a dog that suits your lifestyle – you will also be choosing a dog that demands less from the environment.

For example, endless trips to the vets, tablets, treatments, therapies and operations can’t reduce your eco footprint can they? Even if you are insured (which I recommend) that only covers the money for treatment, it doesn’t buy carbon credits for all the fuel and chemicals you will be using!

Dogs which need extra grooming and clipping add to their footprints too – as well as dogs that have to be on special diets.

But, if you want a pet dog that can enjoy the outdoors as much as your – then consider all these things, and plan for the dogs lifespan (10-20 years).

They might not have any problems when they are young, but they will soon catch up with them as they mature.

Why not try some new recipes to save money on the road?

There are plenty of new dishes you can try when you travel overseas – but when you are on a budget – or living in a remote location – you might need to try some new things!

There are a lot of new foods available in the countries that you are probably travelling through – so why not take advantage of them when you are working you way through a continent or working on a volunteer project.

Forget your normal ways of eating – and embrace the new!  Maybe this will involve taking a cooking book with you or just taking a few classes on cooking times and sauces!

The Standards:
Now, there are many combinations of foods that you could come across when cooking overseas – although to be honest most of them will be focused on rice!

However you might not have a fridge for most of it – so you need to be aware of how best to store fresh food – and how to limit what you buy in the first place!

Depending on how far away from stores you are – your menus will vary immensely.  I mean if you can get you hands on fresh veg almost every day, then buy as little as possible each day – but when you only get fresh supplies every so often – then you need to get creative!

Storage Skills:
Something in the kitchen almost as important as the cooking is the storing!

If you don’t look after your ingredients or use them in the right order – then you are wasting them.  So you need to think ahead as soon as you get raw materials.

Thinking of basic recipes can really help you – but learning how to create new recipes and to store things to get the best shelf-life out of them is key to making you food go further and saving on waste.

Food doesn’t normally come with more than a few days freshness when picked and left on the kitchen table – especially in tropical climates.  And even in the fridge, dairy products and watery vegetables don’t pass the week really.

So you need to work out which things can be used fresh, which need cooking before storing and those which can be treated in some way to preserve them for many months – and many of these things you will find already in use by the local people.

photo credit: andrewrennie

Local Skills:
There are many ‘specialist’ foods that have evolved not due to their great taste – but because they are locally found foods and this is the way they need to be cooked or stored to best serve the communities they are found in – and learning a bit about them won’t do you any harm!

For example ‘stir-fried’ food was used in China where they didn’t have a lot of fuel for cooking over a long period of time – so they invented a food that took just minutes to heat up. 

Many colder European countries needed to grow all the root vegetables they needed for the year in their short growing season – so they learned to pickle a huge amount of them to last them through the cold winters when nothing would grow – like sauerkraut!

And if you didn’t have a car or supermarket – or a lot of money – wouldn’t you eat things that was found close to home and that you could make last a long time!

Stores where you visit might sell brands from back home – but you don’t need to buy them….

Thinking ahead to what you enjoy on holiday can influence your savings!

Did you think that your savings just sat in a drawer at the bank the whole time – earning you interest by just being there?

No, of course not.  Your money is sent all around the world by your bank or financial company and invested into all sorts of ventures from gold to technology, and from energy to vaccinations.

But what if your bank is funding things that you disapprove of?  Have you even asked them who they lend your money to?

Why Should You Care?
Well, firstly – you surely don’t want to be giving your money to any company that isn’t environmentally friendly do you?  Or a company that abuses people or landscapes? 

Would you give your money to a company that clears forests, pollutes waterways or displaces communities? Or one that abuses people, destroys homes and causes illness and disease?

What if you are spending money each month donating to charities which are using your money to fight certain developments – yet your savings are helping to fund the other side.

One set of funds is destroying a habitat – and you other money is trying to clean up the pieces!

What Could You Be Doing?
Well, you could be responsible for destroying the very places that you want to visit in the future. 

Your funds could be clearing landscapes for farming, energy exploration, transport connections, and any number of other technologies without you really knowing that you are doing it.

photo credit: L Gnome

If you were only looking at the financial returns at the end of your term or for when you retire then you are missing the point of the word: investment!

What is the point of investing in purely your own financial future – when the rest of the world is still being changed beyond your control.

So what you should be doing is making sure that the companies you invest in are doing what you want them to be doing.  Check with your bank where they are sending your money before you give it to them.

You try to only travel with ethical companies and you buy products that are fair trade and sustainable – so why not check where all your money is going in the bank!

You could be paying an oil drilling company to cut holes in the Amazon with your pension – and also giving to a charity to try to relocate all the people and animals that used to live where an oil well is now situated.

And if you want to ever see those orangutans in the wild – make sure your savings account isn’t funding oil palm plantations!

You can do a lot of things with your money – so plan to spend it well!

If you want to live in a Mediterranean climate – carry on regardless!

Climate change is real – and is happening every day.  Your choices every hour, even every minute are making it a reality.

You may well now be bored of hearing that you should ‘turn off your lights’, ‘don’t leave the TV on stand-by’ and ‘turn down the thermostat by 1 degree’ – but people still aren’t doing it!

I can visit a friends house and see these very basics being ignored; and taps left dripping, single item washes and radiators heating empty rooms.  People just aren’t taking this whole thing seriously.

And as a result – the world is getting warmer……

Your Green Holidays:
So, you need to make sure that the people you are paying your hard earned money to for holidays, trips and other services are doing their bit.

If you want to stay home and admire the beautiful Lake District, the Fens or some beautiful coastal villages – then you need to make sure that they can survive climate change:

If the temperature of the Earth rises just 2 degrees – you will no longer have those clear lakes.  The warmer weather will encourage flash floods – which will in turn encourage algal growths – as well as reduce the amount of water reaching the ground.  And with less water falling as rain in the first place; humans will need to ‘take’ more of it for survival and industry – so you won’t be finding it laying about in ponds and lakes!

Higher temperatures will also bring rising sea levels – and so the low-lying Fens will soo be underwater.  Just a meter sea level rise could see vast swathes of eastern England permanently underwater.  All that land which was so carefully drained for farming will be lost to ‘poisonous’ salty marshes – useless for human agriculture and living.

Rising sea levels and increased storms will soon put an end to a trip to the seaside!  Many cliffs and low level defences will be overcome by violent storms or just increased erosion.  Many houses are lost each year already due to this effect – but it could be worse if it happens when the country is already stressed.  Funding won’t be available to save a few cottages from destruction when the capital is under threat too!

photo credit: Orange County Archives

Higher temperatures and less rain will also mean that your local species will start to be outcompeted by more drought-resistant plants and animals.  Gone will be the oaks and chestnuts and in will come the corks and palms.  Apples won’t get their frosts so will soon die out and we will have oranges and lemons instead.

As a result, all the insects and fungi that feed on these plants will be gone too – and it feeds up the food chain.  If there are no insects to feed the blue tits and robins – they will be gone too – and the owls and hawks and foxes that feed on them?  If the seeds of these trees are no longer available – then what will the squirrels and deer eat?

Your Impact:
By all means carry on going on your trips – as your money spent on local services is vital for keeping these places alive and cared for – but make some demands of your own before booking.

I know it all sounds a bit petty to ask that your towels aren’t washed every day and food is locally sourced – but unless you do these things you are directly contributing to climate change and the ultimate demise of the English countryside.

You often hear the quotes of ‘if everyone in the world did A, then we could save so much of B’.  But everyone in the UK isn’t even doing A – so how can we make a real difference?

With your money. 

Money really does talk in the service industry – and if someone is running an eco friendly hotel and bed and breakfast; they should be encouraged to keep that up – with your money.

People who don’t make an effort to be green and continue to waste resources, waste water and buy cheap plastic over-packaged products should be left out of your holiday plans – ie: no money – you don’t stay with them at all!

They can either change their ethics to stay in business – or you can make sure they become extinct instead of our native wildlife and plants!

You might be paying to park on gravel or grass – but you are saving the view!

Have you ever stopped and thought about where the money from that Pay & Display machine actually goes? 

Well, have you considered that it is those few coins you push in the meter that are bringing you to that car park in the first place!

Without the ease of that carpark – would you really be visiting that place at all?  If there was no parking in that cute village – would you even go there?  I mean, if parking was banned around Longleat, Stonehenge, The Eden Project, the Lake District, Legoland and Hadrian’s Wall – would you go and visit them?

If your favourite restaurant, gastropub or countryside tavern had no parking – would they be your favourite anymore?

The Penny Drops!
The land that car parks are on always costs somebody money.  Whether it is the cost of maintenance, the cost of renting it off a landlord, or even the cost of not selling it – there is money involved with leaving land ‘spare’ just for cars.

Many businesses and companies think that it is worth the cost in terms of the customers it attracts – and they will usually offer ‘free’ parking to customers.  They will however factor in the cost of that parking into your bill somehow – but you don’t mind paying it in exchange for great food and great service!

photo credit: James Byrum

Others without food or the chance to actually come face to face with their customers sometimes charge for the parking itself.  The great service is however a bit more difficult for some to see.

Countryside Parking:
When you turn up to a car park in the countryside to walk your dogs, spend time outside with your family, visit that castle, earthworks or river, or just admire the view – you are stepping into that service without even noticing.

Someone has had to create that car park – and then maintain it.  Someone else probably makes sure that there is an up-to-date information sign for you to read, a leaflet or 2 about wildlife and landmarks, some seating and possibly some signage to make your stop here more pleasant.

Yet another person might be in charge of installing and maintaining toilets on the site, creating a bus link to the site and even finding/hiring an ice cream van or hot food stall on site in the summer. 

Another team of staff or volunteers may well be engaged in fixing fencing, marking parking bays and bicycle racks, fixing potholes amongst other things.  They may also arrange for bins on site – both rubbish and dog poop – and even for picking up dropped litter in and around the car park and disposing of it elsewhere.

Now can you see the service?
So if you turn up at a place you want to visit and you easily find a well marked parking space which isn’t filled with empty food wrappers and dog poo – the view is just as you expected with information and clean toilets close by – and there isn’t a burnt-out car in sight – why are you complaining about paying £2 to park there?

You wanted to visit this site didn’t you?  And you expect it to be as beautiful as it was last time?  So why are you not happy to pay somebody for keeping it that way?

Sometimes, people assume that all councils just charge for car parks to ‘make more money out of us’ – but if you look closely at parking signs – most of them go directly into funding the site you pay at – like all National Trust car parks (however if you are an NT member your parking is free anyway).

So before you grumble about spending a few coins to be somewhere you want to be (I mean it is just like paying an entrance fee to visit a museum or castle, etc except it is outdoors) – think about these 2 things:

1) The fact that you actually wanted to come here to this exact carpark of your own accord because it offers something special or something different, and;

2) The fact that there are plenty of free carparks and laybys across the country and plenty of other bits of quite similar-looking fields you could go for a walk across instead!

Your choice!

Taking a few wrong turns could really clock up the environmental cost of your green holiday!

Sometimes, you can really enjoy a diversion – and many people plan their vacations based purely on where the wind takes them – but not planning your route when you are aiming for a specific place can really clock up your eco footprint!

Not only will you use more fuel, you may get stressed, have to re-fuel, eat out or even book an extra night in a hotel you happened across out of desperation!

Extra Fuel:
This one is obvious really – if you have to drive further to get to your destination – then you will use more fuel.

However, diverting down country lanes, through villages and up and down steep hills can seriously add to this with the reduced speed, gear changes, stopping and starting and increased risk of hazards.  Yes, sometimes these are the fun parts of a journey – but if you haven’t planned them in advance, they could add money to your budget.

The Vehicle:
By getting diverted off a smooth motorway surface onto a B road surface could affect your everything!

Not only could it put extra pressure on the tyres with the uneven surface, you could drop into a pot hole, spray up gravel or mud onto your underside and even scrape through branches and twigs as you pass another vehicle.  None of which will do your vehicle any good!

All the other little things soon add up too, including the extra cleaning it now needs, windscreen wiper use, brake pads, wing mirrors, general wear and tear, rick of puncture, etc.  You could even lose some value off your car if it is brand new!

I know they all seem petty – but all these things add up over time to give your vehicle a shorter lifespan and you the need for extra resources to clean and repair.

Food & Drink:
By getting lost or taking a long diversion could increase the chances of the passengers becoming hungry or thirsty along the way.  Now, you may well have planned for packed lunches or a favourite pub along the way – but diversions just ruin it all.

After a 30 minute panic to get back on route – you may well find that toilet breaks and eating take on a life of their own and you end up paying out for takeaway food along with its associated packaging and carbon footprint just to feel ok about using their toilets.

photo credit: Risager

Not only will this cost you more in money and time – but could waste the plans you made beforehand – I mean those cheese sandwiches you made before you left aren’t going to last all day in a hot car.  And the thermos only keeps coffee warm for so long!

So eating out has not only cost you more in the first place – it has also caused you to waste your own money and resources along the way – and you aren’t even any closer to your destination!

And There Is Yet More:
Obviously there are loads of other things that can end up costing your more in terms of resources if you get lost along the way. 

For example, an unexpected night in a hotel for you all after a few wasted hours.  Just like the food – the hotel you had originally booked won’t give you all your money back after cancelling at such short notice (and could remain empty all night now) and you will have to pay the full price of the only other place you could find for that night. 

Plus, you may have to rush your journey the following day to catch up on where you should be – maybe missing out planned landmarks or viewpoints to do so.

This leads to the worst enemy of a long journey – STRESS!

The more things that go wrong, and the more things you have to cancel, the more stress you will be under to enjoy the holiday in the first place!

So, plan ahead – plan for problems and plan to have a great time!

Why take a holiday to see everything possible at your destination – just relax!

Next time you book a vacation – why not book a ‘Me’ vacation instead? Don’t rush off to a sight-seeing spot, or a destination filled with historical sights, casinos, theme parks, safaris, surfing, etc – choose somewhere calming and quiet.

Think about yourself a little more – and make your few days or weeks off really make a difference to you – not to take back great photos of everything to show to your friends afterwards!

Treat it like a ‘Holistic Holiday’ where you get a proper break from all that planning, shopping and cleaning of your everyday life.

We generally only get 4 weeks holiday a year – so don’t waste it rushing around!

Switch Off:
Literally – switch everything off except the ceiling fan!

Don’t worry about emailing anyone, or checking Facebook to see which distant person you used to know at school has something pointless to say about what they nearly did yesterday!

You don’t need to know these things while you are away – and what is the point of taking a vacation if you take your work with you! No texts, calls, tweets or anything; it’s your (very limited) time off.

And, why have you travelled away from home at great cost if you aren’t going to do anything different to normal and still talk to everyone back home? Stay at home and stop wasting resources!

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

Become A Locovore:
Make sure you delight in the things that are available to you where you are. Eat fruit for breakfast straight off the tree in the garden, eat salad for lunch and eat out at a local restaurant for dinner – outside if you can.

Don’t rush to the nearest fast food chain or supermarket to look for home brands – eat what nature has given you (not a freight liner and a few miles of dirty truck driving!).

And a change in diet can make a difference to your body and mind as well. Rather than another sandwich or roast dinner with endless cups of coffee – why not switch to light salads, plenty or fresh fruit juice and local dishes.

The more new things you try – the more you will relax, and the more you relax – the more worth while your journey and time off will become.

Stop Saying Yes:
Try to set aside most of your days there for doing nothing in particular. Don’t plan to catch a bus to that cathedral, a taxi into town or a train to a tourist spot – just say ‘no’.

You aren’t on holiday to do more than you would at home – so you need to tell people that you just want to sit by the lake/on the terrace/in the cafe all day reading your books or chatting to locals.

No need to worry about hiring a car or checking public transport timetables and day passes etc, it shouldn’t matter for these few days.

If everyone else heads of without you – it can only be a bonus for you!

Naps And Daydreams:
Just because back home you get up early and stay up all day – doesn’t mean you can’t take a nap on vacation!

Sometimes a little doze in the late afternoon can really set you up better for the evening ahead. It’s not lazy to stay in your PJ’s on holiday or sit in bed reading with a cup of tea – it’s called ‘on holiday’!

And why do you even have to do anything anyway? What’s wrong with just sitting somewhere comfortable and staring into space? Do a little daydreaming if you want – think about the future, think about the past, think about that little bird sitting on the fencepost.

It all helps you to refresh your mind a body without having to live up to the expectations of others. I mean how many times have you had a lay in until 10 and someone calls you ‘lazy’; or a friend pops around by surprise at midday and you are still in your dressing gown and then gives you grief?

Just because they have to be up and dressed at the crack of dawn – it doesn’t mean you have to; and thats what is great about your holidays – noone else is there.

It’s just you and your dreams!

Hello – and welcome to a one man/not many tigers Green Holidays Blog Carnival!

I chose this one post to use today as it really made me think about the whole ‘green’ and ‘eco’ travel ethos. And the fact that WWF are currently running a campaign to help save the tiger (still).

Time and again there is the ‘grey area’ that catches out so many people trying to ‘do the right thing’ on their vacations.

Should you/Shouldn’t you?

Sometimes it just isn’t so straight forward once you take into account all the alternatives as well as comparing experiences and events like for like – especially when you are traveling outside of Western Nations in countries with a whole different culture and belief system.

Take this article as a classic example: A Tiger Petting Zoo « Travels with a Nine Year Old – a blog I regularly read for the great pictures and the amazing discoveries this young lad is lucky enough to experience.

But this article shows both sides of animal tourism – as well as the choices that parents can make with their kids.

Should you deprive a young child of an amazing experience because it isn’t really ethical or should you allow them to do everything that kids find amazing regardless of the impact – but because it will be something that they may never get the chance to do again?

Read this boys parents struggling with those very questions and make up your own mind afterwards.

And, if you love Tigers – use one of these banners, Twitter backgrounds, wallpapers or phone apps to show your support and to share your thoughts with others.