Part of a series of three minute-long films commissioned by STA Australia, MOVE condenses several months of travel into a 60-second highlight reel, but connects the footage together in an impressive and innovative way.

While it may seem slightly at odds with the slow travel philosophy we try to promote here at The Travel Word, MOVE really does a fantastic job of summarising what’s so exciting about travel – the feeling of waking up somewhere new and of stringing together destinations by making yourself the connection.

It also echoes the experience of flicking through old travel photographs, which is something the digital age hasn’t quite replicated just yet.

MOVE, by Rick Mereki, is a vibrant exciting clip that inspires us to do exactly what it suggests. We hope it inspires you too.

This means that sometimes we can all end up looking a bit scruffy. That’s fine, since everyone’s in the same boat and no one’s going to judge you when you flop into your hostel bed at the end of a long day of trekking.

But because it’s a gradual process, it’s also easy to lose track of just how wild our appearance may be getting. Until you look back at your holiday snapshots, or finally get around to spending some serious time in front of a mirror, you might be surprised at just how rugged you really looked.

That’s why we love this video from Christopher Rehage, who filmed it as part of an attempt to hike from Beijing to Germany. Here’s a man who’s not only aware of his ruggedness, but actually revels in it. His beard is a badge of honour, which keeps track of the hundreds of miles already walked.

We love a good time lapse video here at The Travel Word. This one is especially nice because it gives you a flavour not just of the places visited, but the person who did the travelling and the ways in which he changed.

Chris, we salute you. And we salute your beard.

“Almost there!” he bellows down the trail at us. He’s smiling and doesn’t seem at all winded by the last few hours of trudging through thick vegetation and brush, during which he expertly pointed out a slithering snake, sweet-smelling lemongrass and a weird, edible nut. The trail we’ve been following – when there has actually been sign of a trail – has recently grown wider into a dirt road, hopefully an indication we’re almost to the top of the mountain and the local village where we will spend the night.

A group of 12 trekkers marches toward a hill-tribe village in northern Thailand. Photo courtesy of Gina Douglas

I hear a low rumbling noise that gets louder and louder until a motorcycle comes roaring up the trail carrying two Thai boys who look about 15. They weave around me and stop when they get to Ti, who greets them joyfully. After a minute, the motorcycle takes off again and I notice bags of what looks like groceries strapped to its back.

“Think that’s our dinner?” jokes my fiancé, who has joined me on this adventure.

“The villagers drive motorcycles up and down the mountain?” is my surprised response. I’m aware they need to get around; I just assumed it was rare and via foot or animal. I’m more curious than ever to see this mountain-top village. We round a few more bends and arrive.

The village is more massive than I expected. Faded wood huts with thatched roofs, most on stilts, dot the landscape. As I walk around I notice a cluster of animals; puppies, pigs, chickens and roosters all abuzz amongst the overgrown grass and dirt paths winding between the huts. Joining them are a dozen young children, running around laughing, the setting sun dancing off their eyes as it creates a hazy glow over the mountains in the distance.

With glowing mountain views like this one, a northern Thailand trekking experience can seem staged for tourists. But the wild landscapes were here long before the treks. Photo courtesy of Gina Douglas

The children are barefoot, but look well fed and dressed. Another motorcycle whizzes by and the children chase it, giggling. It stops next to an empty lot where a low-slung volleyball net is strung and teenage boys, their western-looking clothes rustling lightly in the low breeze, are hitting a soccer ball over it with their feet. I wonder if they’re wearing hand-me-downs from visitors or if the money from tours actually covers the costs of such clothes.

I look around at the motorcycles, the well-dressed children and the minimalist huts and find myself wondering if it’s all an act. Do they head back down the mountain after we’re all asleep? Is this just a well-produced illusion for tourists? Then I notice a woman hanging up laundry and I pass what looks like a bare-bones general store. This definitely is a lived-in – and by all appearances happy – village.

Later, after the sun has set and a chill sets in, Ti regales us with stories. We’re huddled around a blazing bonfire adjacent to a long room we trekkers will be sleeping in. The bonfire is the only heat we’re going to have the luxury of experiencing tonight.

21st-century transport is set against a traditional wood hut, reminding us that this is a very real village and not a tourist display. Photo courtesy of Gina Douglas

A local woman, dressed in a long gold and red robe, enters our bonfire circle from the darkness beyond the hut (there is no electricity here). I look at her in surprise. Her outfit is so different from the ones I saw on the playing children and teenagers earlier this evening. She murmurs something in Ti’s ear and he nods before turning to us.

“Anyone want a Thai massage?” he asks. “200 baht,” which is roughly US$6.50.

My fiancé and I – and six other trekkers – excitedly raise our hands.

We head into the long room and climb onto our mosquito net–covered cots. Teenage girls, also dressed in robes, join us and begin massaging us over our clothing. It was relaxing, although these girls aren’t anywhere close to being professional masseuses. It’s just another useful (and clever) way for them to make some money through tourism.

Trekking in northern Thailand is a great way to enjoy the local environment's natural wonders while benefitting local villages along the way. Photo courtesy of Gina Douglas

As we leave the village the next morning, passing by a one-room schoolhouse, it is clear this is every bit an authentic mountaintop village – just not exactly what I expected. The villagers appear to have found a way to embrace the 21st century and make a living without having to leave their serene home up here where the air is crisp. From the trekkers they get what is most likely much-needed income and, in turn, trekkers such as myself get to share their beautiful mountains and home. The community’s peaceful existence is maintained through this low-impact form of village tourism, preserving the beauty of the river- and waterfall-filled environment, the habitat of wildlife such as the elephants I see along the way.

As I set off back down the mountain to where an afternoon of whitewater thrills on bamboo rafts awaits us, rows of bright green mountains fill the distance for miles and local children’s laughter follows me down the trail. To me, visiting this community is a remarkable experience, unlike any I’ve ever had. I hope it has helped to protect the little village and the majesty of its surroundings.

To experience overnight treks to the hill-tribe villages of northern Thailand, contact the whl.travel local connection in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

First, before we even got to Colombia, we had to digest the government travel advisories. A visit to the country equalled full-time danger: exercise a high degree of caution; be vigilant; avoid travel to rural parts of Colombia and on and on.

Pack horses and donkeys ford their way across a stream in Tayrona National Park, Colombia. Photo courtesy of Norm Rath

Jumping that hurdle mentally, once we had settled in Santa Marta – our base city in Colombia – we noticed our guidebook warned the best option in case of a snake bite in Tayrona was to head for an eco-cabin cluster inside the park for the immediate administration of anti-venom serum; do not take the time to head back to Santa Marta. The popular resort town of Santa Marta, a hot (average mid 30 degrees Celsius), extremely humid and sun-drenched spot of almost 500,000 people, sits on the Caribbean coast like a once-beautiful ageing lady fanning herself with ocean breezes.

Aware of the hazards, we asked our Irish-born inn owner for advice about visiting Tayrona. He was adamant: Go. Here’s how to get there. Here’s what you can expect. We long ago discovered that on-the-ground intelligence is best.

From Santa Marta to Tayrona

Once upon a time, Tayrona was a combat zone for drug trafficking between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), one of the western hemisphere’s oldest Marxist guerrilla groups, and right-wing paramilitary units. Today, Tayrona proudly displays its true nature as a safe environment for tourists. Since its elevation in status to a national park in 1969, this biodiversity area covering 12,000 hectares of land and 3,000 of sea has been growing in popularity. Within its territory are sandy beaches, dazzling blue/azure ocean waters, tropical dry jungle and a rainforest up to 900 metres in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

A Tayrona National Park camping site on the Caribbean coast at Arrecifes in Colombia. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Getting to the Tayrona from Santa Marta took one and a half hours using three types of vehicles: taxi to the bus terminal (US$2.50), people’s bus for an hour (US$2.50 per person) and the park collectivo (US$1.25 per person). The general advice we got for exploring the area we had selected was to follow the trail for an hour and a half to our destination on the coast. That sounded easy, but that’s when the ambiance of Tayrona kicked in.

Under a Jungle Spell

Surrounded by calling birds, colourful butterflies, shrieking monkeys and crawling cutter ants with their loads of leaf pieces, we forgot the cacophony of noise in the city. With tall tropical trees, swaying palms weaving a canopy of interlocking green fingers above, and thick, lush vegetation sprouting on all sides, we fell under the spell of the jungle.

The main trail we followed was up and down: it twists and turns through narrow paths between high and low ridges of rock triggering leaps from above, below and across the uneven, sometimes muddy, ground. A tiring terrain, it offers no relief from the streams of sweat that pour from every pore. Since donkeys and horses also use this trail, an overabundance of manure awaits human feet forced to tread in impassable places.

The uncrowded beaches along the Caribbean in Tayrona National Park, Colombia, are just one of its many faces. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Yet every so often there is a reprieve. Shhhhh… see the agouti rustling in the underbrush? Listen… hear the squawks from above? A family of titi monkeys plays in the treetops.

After what seemed like an eternity, we broke out of the jungle at Arrecifes on the Caribbean coast, where authorised campsites dot the shore. After our hot and humid slog, we decided it was all about the journey and not the destination.

For another half hour we hiked along the seaside, fording four streams, meandering through clusters of mangroves, until we reached our Caribbean destination: La Piscina (The Pool), a bay of smooth, safe-to-swim/snorkel waters sheltered by a long stretch of unspoiled barrier reef. (Other beach areas along the coast produce strong and dangerous undertows.) As it turned out, the destination too was worth it (lo valió)!

Plenty of Life

The park, once the land of the indigenous Tayrona people, offers a few archaeological ruins of interest, as well as activities like nautical sports and horseback riding. It is home to more than 100 mammals, among them jaguars, ocelots and monkeys, most nocturnal and many on the endangered list. Other endangered species include reptiles like the loggerhead sea turtle, mixed in with fearsome snakes, at least 300 species of birds such as the rare Andean condor, valuable marine fauna, unspoiled coral formations and endemic vegetation. (Cacti, orchids, bromeliads, mosses and trees, contribute to the richness of, and necessity for, protecting the park’s environment.)

Found in Tayrona National Park, the titi monkey is endemic to Colombia and is an endangered species. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Park entry fees are approximately US$18 for foreigners; US$7 for nationals (in April 2012).

For more ideas on where to stay and what to do around Santa Marta, visit www.santamarta-hotels-tours.travel, the whl.travel local connection in Colombia.

From its already impressive one-city debut in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 – when as many as 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses hit the swtich for 60 short minutes – Earth Hour this year expects that “hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world” will unite in support of the largest environmental event in history.

Already, participation this year is set to smash the numbers from Earth Hour 2011. People in a record 147 countries and territories are preparing to send a collective message – one that could impact more than 2 billion people – that now is the time to take action on climate change.

Have you got something planned for Earth Day? Not yet sure what to do? There are lots of ways to get involved, including through social media.

Landmarks Go Dark

Earth Hour isn’t just about individuals doing the right thing. This year scores of major monuments will join the cause. The Sydney Opera House, the Tokyo Tower and the Great Wall Of China in the East start a rolling spectacle that will take in Table Mountain in South Africa, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Brandenburg Gate and the Cupola of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in mainland Europe, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the UK, before sweeping across Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil and Times Square, the Empire State Building and even the Las Vegas Strip in North America.

Even United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on everyone to join the UN, which will turn off its lights in solidarity with the 20 percent of the world’s population that doesn’t have access to electricity. The Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has also suggested to all World Heritage sites that they switch off their lights.

New in 2012: People’s Postcode Lottery

New this year is the People’s Postcode Lottery, a community initiative to assist conservation ventures achieve great things for the planet. Bill Clinton has apparently called it “the best thing I’ve ever seen to involve ordinary people in charitable work.” Here’s a quick video about it.

The Aboriginal sacred site of Uluru – also known as Ayers Rock – is one of Australia’s most recognizable natural icons. The time seems right to ponder over a question that has for decades been the subject of a much-heated debate: Should tourists be allowed to climb the rock or not? Respecting indigenous cultures and local traditions is at the core of the responsible tourism concept and it is the center of the controversy over Uluru.

Sunrise is a spectacular time to photograph Uluru, the traditional Aboriginal name for what many people still know as Ayers Rock in Australia's red centre. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

Uluru, which is part of the UNESCO-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park World Heritage Site – located 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of Alice Springs, in the state of the Northern Territory – is climbed by more than 100,000 people every year. The sandstone formation rises to 348 metres (1,142 feet) above sea level and measures 9.4 kilometres (5.8 miles) in circumference. Those who have been fortunate enough to visit the site say Uluru appears to change color depending on how light strikes it at different times of the day and year.

But the popular climb of the monolith has long enraged local Aboriginals, the Anangu people. Under Aboriginal law, they are responsible for protecting Uluru and its visitors. They say the site is sacred and have called for the climb to be banned since Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was placed in their hands in 1985.

Although climbing is strongly discouraged, circumnavigating Uluru is possible by following a flat walk that hugs the vertical undulations of the rock. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

The Anangu people believe that during the time when the world was being formed, the Uluru climb was the traditional route taken by ancestral men when they arrived at Uluru. Because of this spiritual significance, they prefer that – out of education and understanding – visitors respect their law and culture by not climbing.

Safety is also an issue. The path is about 1.6 kilometres long and takes about two hours to complete. Since it can be treacherous, the first part has a chain to hold on to. It is reported that 36 people have died and many more have been injured attempting the climb, something that worries traditional owners.

There are environmental concerns as well. Park officials say the climbing path has been worn down by the constant tread of tourists and erosion is changing the face of Uluru. The lack of toilets and garbage cans on top also means tourists leave behind waste that is affecting nearby waterholes.

Money Is the Matter

The park estimates that around 38 percent of visitors climb each year, down from 74 percent in 1990. Even so, tour operators in the region continue to offer the climb as the main attraction of the visit to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and they often do not inform clients of the cultural and spiritual significance of the place. The first time many tourists hear “Please don’t climb Uluru” is when they read their entry ticket.

The market demands it, people want to climb, and since there is no law against climbing Uluru/Ayers Rock, many companies continue to feature the same popular offerings: sunrise viewing, climb, sunset viewing.

Until now, the national park’s management has employed a strategy of visitor education to face this issue, with interpretive signs expressing the distress that climbing causes the local owners and asking that visitors participate in alternative activities. However, changes in attitudes and behaviors of visitors usually take place over the long term and sometimes it is necessary to apply more direct management techniques such as banning an activity to ensure the conservation of the natural attraction and ensure that tourists will show the necessary respect.

In 2009, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management took the initiative in drafting a 10-year management plan recommending closure of the climb, highlighting that the activity is culturally insensitive. Although the measure did not have strong political support, climbing Uluru has its days counted anyway.

Under the terms of the lease the Anangu elders granted in 1985 to the National Parks Service, the right to climb expires in 2020, and the national park is currently recruiting a professional to oversee the closure of the climb. If the climb is permitted beyond this date, the lease would have to be renegotiated.

Some industry stakeholders argue that the prohibition could lead to reduced visitor numbers and that it would have serious financial implications for the Anangu, who receive 22.5 percent of all gate receipts and have sole rights to undertake commercial activity within the national park.

The surface of Uluru is marked by caverns, overhangs, rock piles, gullies, water holes and more, most of which are of such significance to Aboriginal teaching and lore that their meaning is left untold. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

There are, however, several attractive alternative tours within the park with activities that do not upset the traditional owners. These include walking expeditions to explore rock formations and Aboriginal art sites around the base, escorted by local guides and an interpreter. Visitors learn about creation myths, bush foods, traditional didgeridoo-playing, dot-painting and spear-throwing.

A brochure available at the Cultural Center in the park carries an important message from the Anangu elders:

“That is a really important sacred thing that you are climbing . . . You shouldn’t climb. It is not the real thing about this place. The real thing is listening to everything. Listening and understanding everything. Why are we going to tell you to go away (and ask you not to climb)? So that you understand this . . . so that you understand, we are informing you: Don’t climb. And maybe that makes you a bit sad. But any way, that is what we have to say. We are obliged to say. And all the tourists will brighten up and say: ‘Oh, I see. This is the right way. This is the thing that is right.’ This is the proper way: No climbing.”

Sea Travel Options

At present, nearly all long-distance sea travel is more expensive than flying to your destination. But for us the journey is just as important as the getting there. Fed up with flying from place to place and feeling removed from the land and people we zoomed over without even noticing, we wanted to travel in a way that would let us appreciate the distance we would cover.

For a more authentic trans-oceanic alternative than a passenger cruise ship, board with the cargo on the A.S. Carelia. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

We decided that we wanted to travel westward from the United Kingdom with the loose aim of reaching Singapore via Australia or New Zealand. Reaching Southeast Asia would therefore mean finding passage across the Atlantic Ocean and then later the Pacific Ocean, the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. We began to research our options and drew up a shortlist, which included: signing up as crew on a yacht, taking a passenger liner or trying to book ourselves onto a cargo ship.

Join the Crew

Joining a small boat crew would undoubtedly have been the slowest and most environmentally friendly way to travel. If you are interested in this, there are several fantastic websites that can help you. Find a Crew is one example, where travellers in need of a boat or crew can tailor their search in terms of skill, destination and budget. We consulted this at several points in our journey, without much luck. Nothing matched our journey requirements and timeframe.

When opting out of airplane travel, one option for crossing major bodies of water is to look for work as the crew of a sailboat. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Passenger Ships

Passenger liner travel is perhaps the most well-documented form of trans-oceanic transport and one we ended up taking twice – once to cross the Atlantic and a second time to cross the Pacific. We used an agent to book both of these routes, as they were able to offer us heavily discounted fares, which really helps when trying to stick to a budget. Among the many cruise deal sites around, we found that CruiseDeals offered us the most competitive prices.

Fares on passenger liners can be very reasonable – often much more so than on cargo ships – particularly if you book early or late and can travel during off-peak periods. Passenger liners are also generally considered more luxurious than cargo ships, but this of course depends on your definition of luxury. Is it entertainment and endless food buffets you are after? Or cabin space and access to the behind-the-scenes operations of a ship? If you think the latter, then a cargo ship journey might be for you.

Few people realize that cargo ships have amenities for passengers, such as cabins and sometimes even scenic sitting pools. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Go Cargo

Many people are simply not aware that numerous cargo ships offer passenger cabins. Or if they are, they often have the preconception that booking one is a difficult business. While it is no longer possible to obtain a ticket by turning up at a port, there are a number of agents who can make things easy by arranging it all for you. Here are a few:

* Hamish Jamieson at Freighter Travel is based in New Zealand. He is an expert on all things cargo and will answer all realistic questions quickly.

* Globoship, a Swiss company, are fantastic agents and will answer questions in English if your German is as bad as ours. They advertise last-minute passages (usually due to passenger cancellation) on their website and, most importantly, they seem to add the least amount of booking charges/agent fees onto travel costs, which always helps.

* Strand Travel deal with passenger bookings on container vessels and are very quick to answer any queries.

* The slightly higher-end Maris Freighter Cruises are also helpful but more of a travel club (and have the slightly higher prices to match).

On a cargo ship, the on-board entertainment consists of things like dramatic storm clouds and real behind-the-scenes life at sea. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Planning

When planning for cargo travel, get in touch with one or more agents as soon as you know what your ideal embarkation and destination points are, especially if wishing to travel between Australia and New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia or other popular routes. Even if an agent has nothing available at the time of first contact, as was the case for us, let them know that you are interested to hear if a new route opens or there is a cancellation.

Patience

We sent a number of initial inquiries that didn’t return any joy, but about six weeks later, we had an email from Globoship telling us that a new route had opened up from Adelaide to Singapore with sailings once a month. The price for a private, en suite cabin for the 10-day sailing was around £1000 per person (the average-price guideline for freighter travel currently stands at €90-110 per day per person), so we decided to book a late-December sailing.

When travelling across the Atlantic by boat, you open your eyes to the details of ocean life - like leaping dolphins, for example. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

About a month before we were due to sail, we received an email from Globoship to say that the route had suddenly been cancelled but a sister ship, the AS Carelia, could offer us a cabin instead. The Carelia would sail from Brisbane to Port Klang in Malaysia via New Zealand and would take 10 days longer, therefore costing a couple of hundred pounds extra too. Globoship were very good and offered us a small discount on the new sailing “due to the inconvenience” but also added “that’s freighter travel for you.”

Payoff

After much discussion, we decided to go for it and are very glad we did. The experience is one we will remember for a long time. We ended up spending both Christmas and New Year with the Bulgarian, Russian and Filipino crew, all of whom made us feel very much at home. We were treated more like house guests than passengers and felt privileged to be invited into their fascinating world of navigation systems, route mapping, piracy warnings, engine rooms, crew table-tennis tournaments, home-style cooking, tropical storms, makeshift swimming pools, hard work and celebrations.

The sunset views from a cargo ship are just as awe-inspiring as views from the deck of a passenger cruise liner. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Michael Palin famously described his experience at sea as a sort of sensory deprivation. I liken it more to spending time somewhere remote where your surroundings become familiar but your eyes and senses become keener. They hone in to notice even the smallest change, such as a fish skimming the waves or a swallow nesting in a container. Nothing was ever predictable and no day on board could ever be described as boring. Our ‘slow travel’ circumnavigation of the globe is off to a great flight-free start.

A hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus in Cape Town, South Africa, can't offer the slow travel experience of hiking or biking, but is a good way to get oriented. Photo courtesy of City Sightseeing Tours

One thing that visitors immediately notice about Cape Town is its laid-back attitude. Those who are used to the fast pace of other cities take a bit of time to adjust, but ultimately they settle in and love it. Still, it’s worth remembering in advance the best piece of advice you can get from a local: if you really want to get under the skin of Cape Town, you have to slow things down. If you speed through the city, you will miss out on the great subtleties that give Cape Town its character. It’ll melt together and become a blur, as if you are driving a car at 100 miles per hour and trying to look out the window.

There is, of course, a great list of must-do sights and activities in Cape Town. I too would like to offer some suggestions for visiting the city’s top destinations, but my angle is to do it the way we locals know and love – the slow way. Exploring Cape Town’s top attractions by slower means provides many more unique and exhilarating experiences.

Walk, Hike and Bike in the Table Mountain Range

Table Mountain, a recently appointed New Seven Wonders of the World, is one of the best places for panoramic vistas of Cape Town and the mountains surrounding it. Instead of taking a gondola or cable car that will whiz you to the top in five minutes, though, why not ascend the mountain the slow way?

Check out the views of Cape Town, South Africa, while mountain biking in nearby Tokai. Photo courtesy of Mark Stodel

If you are relatively fit and enjoy walking, there is no better way to see Cape Town unfold before your eyes than by walking. The hike up Platteklip Gorge – a series of stone-stepped switchbacks – takes about two hours. You can make the hike on your own or with friends, but I suggest taking a Table Mountain hike tour. For serious walkers and climbers, there are more difficult trails, but travel along these is not recommended without experienced Cape Town guides.

Mountain biking in Cape Town is another great mode of slow travel. Try cycling the lower slopes of Table Mountain or Tokai, the latter of which is further south in the Table Range.

Cape Town is laced with trails, walking paths and climbing routes; once you start looking, you see them everywhere! Running down the Cape and into the suburbs, these trails are some of the best ways to experience Cape Town slowly, taking the time to soak in local life. For a completely unique experience (and one of the city’s best-kept secrets), try walking to the top of Lions Head during a full moon. And if you are really looking for a local experience, try trail running, one of Cape Town’s fastest growing sports.

Buses and minivans will get you to the Cape of Good Hope, but to really feel the wind in your hair, head there via WWII motorcycle sidecar. Photo courtesy of Mark Stodel

Drive Along the Cape of Good Hope in Style

The southwestern tip of the African continent was described by Sir Francis Drake in 1580 as “The most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth.” Cape Peninsula National Park is one of the most popular tourist spots in South Africa, with historical maritime significance and breathtaking surroundings.

The common way for Cape Town tourists to reach the Cape of Good Hope is via a bus or minivan tour. Instead, why no let a chauffeur drive you there in a classic WWII sidecar or vintage car? The views along the way are astonishing, and you get an added sense of history when travelling in this classic mode of transport. There are also plenty of opportunities for unscheduled photo stops, which are great for meeting locals; people stop in their tracks to admire these classic cars.

If you want to get some exercise on your trip to the Cape, then rent a bicycle and get a shot of fresh air straight from the Cape Doctor; the prevailing wind is locally renowned for clearing chest infections and other respiratory ailments common to colder and wetter climates.

Visitors to Cape Town, South Africa, can experience the day-to-day life of the townships, where reminders of the country's recent segregated past meet its hopes for a more equitable future. Photo courtesy of AWOL Tours

Explore Cape Town by Foot

Most first-time visitors to Cape Town orient themselves to South Africa’s oldest and most beautiful city with a half-day minivan tour or by taking the hop-on/hop-off bus that winds its way through the city. But Cape Town is small and, in my opinion, the best way to really see it is on a Cape Town walking tour or cycling excursion.

Personalised walking or biking tours of Cape Town really wade into the city’s melting pot of cultures. Originally a Dutch settlement set up as a supply station for passing ships, the city’s essence and history are rooted in the competing interests of colonial powers and local indigenous groups. Walking around the city introduces visitors to this complex history. As the terrain is relatively flat, it’s a great option for families of all ages.

Bike the Winelands of Constantia

Fifteen kilometres from Cape Town lie the oldest and most beautiful wineries in South Africa. There are at least six world-class wineries in the Constantia Valley, most dating back to the 1600s. To drink it all in, take a South African wine tour (by bike), on which you can taste and purchase wine, as well as sample the outstanding cuisine at the local top-class restaurants.

The green valleys north of Cape Town are rife with family-run wineries and local culinary delights. Take a taste trough the region by car, bike or even horse. Photo courtesy of Mark Stodel

A tour of the Constantia Valley is just as easy by car or on an organised Cape Town tour. However, for slow travellers, the best option really is by bicycle. This low-impact form of travel is great for people of all ages and fitness levels. Just go easy on the wine tastings or you run the risk of falling of your bike!

Township Tours

As you approach Cape Town from the airport, you will see firsthand the material inequities that are a constant reality of life in South Africa. Along the highway are what many describe as ‘shantytowns’ – informal settlements on the outskirts of more affluent neighbourhoods. It might be easy to pass judgment as you drive by, but that only makes the situation seem hopeless and untenable. In reality, South Africa has come a long way from the times of mandatory segregation, since the Apartheid was officially abolished under Nelson Mandela in 1994. The best way to find out the real story is to visit these areas and meet the people who live there.

To do that, take a slow, interactive Township tour, walking through the area with a local guide who grew up there. Hearing his stories will take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride, but the experience is guaranteed to leave you with a sense of hope for South Africa. The country is a living example of the positive outcomes people can achieve when they work together. There is still a long way to go, but the road has been mapped and its foundation has now been laid.

A meander in or around Cape Town - best done by bike - will help you get to know the city in the same slow way the locals do. Photo courtesy of AWOL Tours

Another option is a responsible cycling tour of the townships. Several community-based bicycle tours provide visitors with more opportunities to interact with the community than from an air-conditioned bus. It’s also recommended to take a tour of Robben Island to round out your knowledge of South Africa’s political history and Nelson Mandela’s incredible impact.

With so many Cape Town tours from which to choose, be sure to experience life from a local perspective…the slow way.

If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. Seeing orangutans in the wild, along with silver Thomas leaf monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, and a diverse range of birds like hornbills, will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty and ingenuity of other species. However, you need to know how to visit them responsibly or you could introduce illnesses, since they share over 97 percent of our DNA. Less than 7,000 Sumatran orangutans live in the wild, and they’re an essential part of the rainforest ecosystem, helping seeds to germinate and even pruning the canopy.

Orangutan in Gunung Leuser, Sumatra. Photo courtesy of The International Ecotourism Society

The Gunung Leuser National Park is part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an excellent spot for ape-watching and rainforest trekking. The Orangutan Information Centre (OIC), a local, grassroots nongovernmental organization, is working with a local guides association to certify guides in the popular destination of Bukit Lawang.

The OIC is an excellent source of information, and many of the guides are extremely knowledgeable and conscientious. However, because of the competition for visitors and tips, some guides do engage in unscrupulous practices like luring orangutans over with fruit, leaving fruit peels on the ground, or even letting visitors hug orangutans. Before you go into the forest, you’ll watch a short film on rainforest etiquette at the visitors’ center. Pay attention, and take responsibility for your own behavior. Better yet, download a copy of the park guidebook from the OIC website to prepare for your trip.

OIC Director Panut Hadisiswoyo, in Bukit Lawang, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of The International Ecotourism Society

In Bukit Lawang, you’ll have the chance to see orangutans close up, either at the feeding platform or slightly further into the rainforest. These orangutans have returned to the wild after a life in captivity. Taken from the wild by poachers at a young age, they are learning to live in the forest again after a rigorous rehabilitation process. They grow adept at building nests to sleep and lounge in, climbing nimbly through the canopy, and raising the next generation of wild orangutans. Like humans, they don’t know how to live in the wild by instinct alone. In the wild, they might spend eight years with their mother, learning how to live in the jungle. Learning these skills as adults takes an incredible amount of intelligence, patience, and perseverance, just as it would for a human.

Deeper in the jungle, you’ll likely see wild orangutans from afar. You’ll have the option to take a one-day, overnight, or multiday trek. Local guides are quite flexible in making arrangements. If planning a longer trek, talk with the staff at the visitors’ center to request a knowledgeable, conscientious guide.

For a quieter experience, visit the farther-flung village of Ketambe, about 8 hours by van from the main city of Medan. Staying in this little village bedecked with flowers and fruit trees will let you experience a less-trafficked part of the Gunung Leuser National Park, or “Leuser.” You’ll easily arrange van transportation on arrival; just ask your hotel staff for details. Call ahead to book a room in Ketambe. The Friendship Guesthouse offers rustic one-room bungalows with bathrooms for around U.S. $6 per night, and tasty curries for around $2. The welcoming staff will connect you with a local guide as well.

As in Bukit Lawang, take responsibility for your own behavior. The orangutans around Ketambe are wild, meaning they’ll keep their distance. One was said to have thrown a beehive at visitors, I was told, in what I felt sure was a cautionary tale. Talk about tool use, I thought.

Unfortunately, Leuser is threatened by the oil palm industry and other forms of encroachment, like much of Indonesia’s rainforests. In June 2011, it was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger for this reason. While there, I volunteered at a restoration site in the district of Langkat, North Sumatra. The OIC had reclaimed this illegally logged and farmed section of national forest in 2007. Since then, the all-local staff had been working to bring the rainforest back to life.

The old “hantu” – what we jokingly called the dead oil palms – still stood menacingly in some parts of the forest, gray-white fronds draping around their rotting trunks like a veil. But the vibrant growth of young rainforest trees was enveloping them, weaving them into the ecosystem as life carried on.

Restorasi house and plantation, Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of The International Ecotourism Society.

One of the field assistants, Darjo, had carefully counted the bird species in the area – he’d spotted 83 so far. While collecting saplings in the deeper forest, the staff showed me huge elephant tracks. Very near the small house where we stayed, we saw the print of the rare golden cat.

Recently, after I’d arrived back in the States, the staff sent me an excited message: Orangutans were living at the site! They’d observed a male and pregnant female in the trees. The forest would take centuries, perhaps longer, to gain back the richness of the diversity it once had, but in the meantime, life will continue to thrive – as long as we let it.

More Information

Unesco World Heritage Centre: Danger listing for Indonesia’s Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
Orangutan Information Centre: Project Reports
Ketambe: The Friendship Guesthouse & Restaurant
Orangutan Information Centre: OIC Restoration Site Performance Report, 2010-2011

Melanie Jae Martin writes about social/environmental issues and travel in the U.S. and abroad. To read more of her work, please visit The Story Grove.

Volunteering abroad, also known as voluntourism, is on fire. More and more, all kinds of people are looking for travel experiences where they can serve the under-served, globally. Who can disagree with such noble intentions? In fact, voluntourism is often hailed as one of the most constructive forms of tourism out there.

Voluntourism Economics

Like anything new and fast-growing, voluntourism can go awry. Opportunistic travel companies commercialize what should be kept in the non-profit sector, charging voluntourists a hefty premium. NGOs use voluntourists as a fundraising mechanism, taking more advantage of their willingness to pay than their willingness to work. As voluntourism gains scale in certain destinations, it can even affect local labor markets in ways the voluntourists never imagine. Rightly so, skeptics have started blowing whistles and calling for best practices.

Two Sustainable Bolivia volunteers paint a flagpole at Atendi. Photo courtesy of The International Ecotourism Society/Cynthia Ord.

The economics of voluntourism is a hot issue in the larger debate about voluntourism’s impacts. Where are voluntourist dollars going? How much stays with the coordinating organization, and how much enters the local economy in a meaningful way? If you’re thinking about volunteer travel, these are the kinds of questions that are worth asking. If you’re an organization that is coordinating volunteer tourists, these are the kind of questions that are important to answer. Transparency is key.

Volunteering with Sustainable Bolivia in Cochabamba

Sustainable Bolivia is a registered non-profit organization in Cochabamba, Bolivia’s third-largest city. Here, it partners with 28 local non-profit organizations to coordinate volunteer and internship opportunities for international students and professionals. The organizations span a number of fields of development: public health, the environment, education, human rights, and social services.

Volunteers choose which organization they would like to get involved with, depending on their experiences, educational background, and interests. With its diverse network of local non-profit organizations, Sustainable Bolivia is in a good position to match volunteer skills and resources with the places in and around Cochabamba that could use them the most.

Engineers who want to work on appropriate technology solutions find a good match with Energetica, which works on alternative energy sources in the rural communities of Bolivia. Doctors and health care professionals have a number of choices for applying their skills, like Atendi where they can work with kids with disabilities, or Centro de Salud Cerro Verde if their interest is in reproductive health. For creative types and performers, Sustainable Bolivia has an artist residency program and a partner organizations like Performing Life, which provides underprivileged youth with workshops to develop juggling and other circus show skills.

Screen shot of mini grant reporting on the Sustainable Bolivia website.

The Mini Grant Program at Sustainable Bolivia

In 2009, the administration of Sustainable Bolivia started thinking about how they could make volunteer impacts more transparent. They realized that volunteers were the ones who were working directly in the field, in close contact with local partner organizations. The volunteers could see firsthand the most pressing needs on site at their projects.

In February of that year, the innovative new mini grant system was introduced. It’s a system where volunteers can decide exactly how their money is used in the community, and Sustainable Bolivia has one more way to measure and report contribution its to parter organizations. How does it work? For each month that a volunteer works with Sustainable Bolivia, $75 goes toward a mini grant. So, a volunteer that stays for three months has $225 to use toward their volunteer project in the way they think is most appropriate.

In order to apply their mini grants, volunteers are required to fill out an application explaining their project plans and budget. Then, once it has been approved, the volunteer is also required to submit receipts. This process allows for an organization-level reporting system on how volunteer money is being spent.

In keeping with the transparency that Sustainable Bolivia values, it publishes all mini grant activity on its website. On this fascinating page, viewers can see what each volunteer has done with each local partner organization. You can see a short description of the project, the application form, and the receipts showing where the money was spent. More than an ingenious system that ensures transparency about volunteer funds, it’s an elegant composite portrait of the kinds of activities that volunteers can do at Sustainable Bolivia and what the organization is about.

Blogging and Hula Hoops

I applied to spend time at Sustainable Bolivia through their artist residency program, asking if online content creation counts as a form of art. They were happy to accept me as their resident writer. Once I arrived, I had a meeting with Michelle, the national director, about the best way to use my volunteer time. Their website blog had become a little neglected, she said. I loved the idea of helping bring it back to life. By the end of my three month stay, I had five new posts published on the blog.

Hula Hooping with Performing Life members in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Photo courtesy of The International Ecotourism Society/Cynthia Ord.

As my time there passed, I was looking for ways to apply my own mini grant funding. The mini grant program inspired me to close my laptop and get involved on the ground level. My first week there, I had seen a show put on by Performing Life, amazed by the talent of its kids in juggling, diabalos, and unicycles. Since I’m a circus hobbyist myself, I was especially impressed by 13-year-old Scarlet and her fire poi spinning skills. I wanted to learn from her. I noticed that the organization could use some hula hoops to make its circus equipment more complete, and I started planning a project for my mini grant resources.

With my mini grant money, I went to the massive La Cancha local market and bought everything needed to make high-quality, performance-level hula hoops. I found PVC tubing, connectors, duct tape, electrical tape, and even some shiny decorative tape to finish the hoops with color and flair. My mini grant funding went a long way in Bolivia. By the end of my time there, I had made 15 new hula hoops, which were a big hit with the Performance Life kids.

All the materials for hula hoop construction had only cost about $75. There was still more mini grant funding left. I wanted to donate it directly to Performing Life, but Michelle explained to me that it rolls over to the next volunteer working with Performing Life. In this way, they can keep things totally transparent and visible about how the funding is spent. It gave me another idea – maybe I’ll go back and be that next volunteer myself.

To apply for an internship or volunteer opportunity at Sustainable Bolivia, get in contact through the Sustainable Bolivia website.

Such too were the reasons why whl.travel, the global online travel-booking network of mindful local travel experts, stepped up to sponsor it, working from within its extensive network of local partners to find fitting ecotourism prize material for the winners.

Participants were given a limit of 1,000 words and five evocative photographs through which to tell their stories. They were also required to provide tips about ecotourism in their selected destinations or reflections about how they might help better preserve that particular destination through ecotourism practices.

See the promotional video here:

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And now the winners have been identified. From dozens of submissions, a shortlist of 10 finalists (determined by public vote) was reviewed by a panel of judges that included representatives from The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), Tourism Concern, MyNatour and the WHL Group, the parent company of whl.travel.

Ethan Gelber, the Chief Communication Officer of the WHL Group, said (see the video directly below) that he was looking for three qualities when determining the best of the ecotourism travel blog contest finalists: the first was “how much time and effort was taken by the person to think about what an ecotourism experience is”; the second was “how carefully they made a choice of the experience they wanted to live through”; and the third was “whether or not the experience was as rich as they thought it would be.”

And now the winners have been announced and decided on their prizes:

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FIRST PLACE: A Garden Lady in India’s Cold Mountain Desert by Shivya

As her prize, Shivya will escape to the highland region of the Albanian Alps. Hosted by Outdoor Albania, the whl.travel local connection in Albania, Shivya will set off on a five-day guided trek through some of the country’s most vivid scenery. With overnights spent in the traditional houses of the Albanian highlanders, daytime activities include a ferry trip along Lake Koman, a visit to the Valbona Valley and a trek to the Theth Valley surrounded by high mountain passes and peaks.

SECOND PLACE: Reef to Rainforest by Hobbers

Hobbers will head deep into Estonia’s Soomaa National Park (soomaa translates more or less as ‘land of the bogs’). Surrounded by vast floodplains and crisscrossed by rivers, she and a companion will enjoy a wilderness experience in an area known for its canoeing, ‘bog-shoeing,’ beavers and berry-picking – all courtesy of Soomaa.com, an operator based out of Estonia.

THIRD PLACE: My Trip to Mali – Halt in Terya Bugu by Mario Difra

Mario will travel from his home in Italy to southwest Laos, a region replete with jungles, raging rivers and outstanding cultural heritage. Once there, he will embark on a high-flying treetop adventure by zipline, followed by a Mekong cruise to the World Heritage Site of Wat Phou – all made possible by Teamworkz, the whl.travel local connection in Laos.

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The three ecotourism packages that were not selected were a rainforest adventure in Ecuador made possible by the Yachana Lodge, the whl.travel local connection in Quito; a Galapagos Island tour through Yacu Amu Experiences, the whl.travel local connection in the Galapagos; and a visit to Sana’a and Soqotra in Yemen with Eternal Yemen, the whl.travel local in Yemen.

The author grates zucchini under the watchful eye of Koula Barydakis, the chef-instructor who believes that the food of Crete, Greece, is the healthiest in the world. Photo of Heather Rath

Koula Barydakis, our ebullient chef instructor, began our local cooking lessons by pouring a shot of raki for herself and her students as we toasted the traditional Cretan diet, one of the healthiest in the world, which is a quality Barydakis makes clear in her book, Foods of Crete: Traditional Recipes from the Healthiest People in the World.

Cretan Cuisine Through the Eyes of a Local

“We Cretans eat abundantly but simply, consuming much olive oil, olives, seasonal fruits and vegetables including wild mountain greens (horta), yogurt, cheese, lentils and beans,” Barydakis explained to us. “We eat meat once a week and on special occasions. We always drink a lot of mountain tea (malotera, good for the stomach) while eating bread and olives.” It doesn’t hurt that the food is routinely flavoured with native herbs like oregano, thyme and sage, and that red wine commonly accompanies lunch and dinner.

Even cats have something to contribute to food sustainability in Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

When it comes to food, Barydakis even proudly proclaims that Crete has practised sustainable living without using the name. Raki is derived from the residue of grape pressings. Most fruits and vegetables consumed are seasonal, not imported from faraway places. Crops are grown naturally without fertilisers and pesticides, just as they have been for generations. In Barydakis’s village, goats make short work of any scraps of food. Chickens are free range and their fresh eggs contain bright orange yolks. Even the scavenger street cats of Crete are part of the solution!

Modest Origins, Modest Practice

Barydakis recalls how her parents sent her to hairdressing school to learn how to earn a living unaware she also attended cooking school, where she refined the culinary skills learned from her mother and grandmother. At 16, she left Crete to travel abroad but spent most of her new life as a chef in Toronto, Canada’s Greektown before her “blessed island” lured her home again.

Delicious handmade dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice) are typical of the cuisine on Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Now she conducts her cooking classes under a patch of cobalt blue sky in an old olive oil press building renovated 10 years ago in Vamos, a traditional Cretan village. In case of rare inclement weather, she moves to a house.

During our session, we chopped, grated, mixed, pressed, formed – and dined on – rooster with Cretan pasta, kalitsounia pies (a sweet cheese pastry), grape leaves with rice (dolmades), zucchini fritters, Greek salad and garlic beets with yogurt salad washed down with liberal amounts of village wine.

A Greek Island Full of Grace

Cretan cooking is not the only lesson Barydakis taught us. She is an exuberant ambassador for her island.

“Crete is a beautiful island filled with bountiful food.’ she enthused. “The wild, natural beauty of the mountains and the ocean make you think that when God created Crete, He created all the beauty the human mind can imagine. The land is so rich with olive, lemon and orange trees, and gardens, the smell alone can make you drunk. The wide variety of herbs and flowers from ancient times found on Crete is still used to cure pains and diseases. Writers, explorers, scientists and tourists all come to Crete to see it, study it, eat the tasty foods, drink the raki and get high on its immortal wines. The people of Crete live simply and always win your heart.”

The market of fresh greens in Crete, Greece, help to make the local cuisine so rich in variety of and nutrition. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

Barydakis lives her philosophy. Following my lesson, our weekends in Crete soon featured Saturdays with Barydakis. Each week we met for coffee in a different place of Chania, the ancient city on the island’s western shore, after which she took us on a leisurely walking tour to show us excellent local restaurants, and markets, and pointed out where to purchase good local wines. She led us to special churches, monasteries and gave us a thumbnail sketch of Cretan feast holidays. Our education included the island’s Second World War history and how it affected her village and family.

A Dish to Savour: Cheese and Spinach Pie

The dough
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup raki (Barydakis says white wine or lemon juice can be used instead)
a pinch of salt
warm water (as much as needed)
½ cup olive oil

Directions
Mix the ingredients and knead them well. The pastry must be a little soft. Leave it to ‘rest’ for half an hour, covered with a towel.

Zucchini fritters frying in olive oil in Crete, Greece. Photo courtesy of Heather Rath

The Cheese stuffing
Ingredients
Equal amounts of ricotta and feta cheese
2 eggs
chopped sprigs of fresh mint
salt

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together and place on the pastry as below. Roll the dough until it is not more than 1-2 mm thick and then cut it into round shapes of about 8 cm in diameter. Put in a little stuffing and fold in a half moon shape. Seal the edges with a fork. Fry in hot olive oil. When they are browned on both sides, remove and serve.

Kali oreksi, enjoy your meal!

Yet even with UNESCO’s imprimatur on sites big and small, natural biospheres and even intangible culture, the same famous mega-monuments always seem to get the lion’s share of travel love. Lesser-known but equally worthy sites still fall to the wayside as travellers rush for the obligatory photos of world icons and check off another legendary site on the do-before-I-die lists.

UNESCO recognition through its World Heritage List and time in the subsequent travel spotlight can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, a new site gets a big status boost and protection under the UNESCO umbrella. On the other hand, an influx of tourists adds pressures and more need for protection.

One way to curb this effect is for travellers to visit alternative heritage destinations where high tourism congestion isn’t causing problems. In that spirit, below is our list of seven UNESCO World Heritage all-stars plus just-as-incredible alternatives. Why not avoid the heavy traffic and step lightly while doing your own thing? That way, the all-stars won’t get loved to death and more places will have a chance to benefit. The photos will be just as cool.

The All-star: Chichén Itzá in Cancun, Mexico. Photo courtesy of flickr/Dtraveller

1. The All-Star: Chichén Itzá in Yucatan, Mexico

The iconic Mayan pyramid of Chichén Itzá was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988. Then, in 2007, it was nominated for the New Seven Wonders of the World. Now that it has officially been identified as one of the honoured seven, some predict tourist visits will double within five years. As a convenient day trip from the mass-tourism destination of Cancun, Chichén Itzá, given its amazing story and stunning coastal location, is the second-most-visited ruins site in Mexico. Authorities have gradually needed to close parts of the monument to the public, no longer allowing visitors to enter interior chambers.

The Alternative: Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. Photo courtesy of flickr/Ivanka Majic

The Alternative: Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico

Deep in the jungle of Chiapas in southern Mexico are the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque, which was inscribed as an official UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. While it doesn’t attract the kind of mass tourism that Chichén Itzá does, thousands visit it each year. Guided tours fascinate with stories about the buildings’ precise astronomical alignment and visitors can still go into some of the ancient passages and chambers.

The All-star: The Great Wall of China. Photo courtesy of wikimedia/Jakub Halun

2. The All-Star: Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the best-known world monuments of all time, but added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1987. The Badaling section of the wall, near Beijing, attracts around 10 million visitors per year. Sadly, as a result, Geography in the News points out that “There is little concern over protection and conservation. Instead, exploitation of the site has culminated in an almost Disneyland type scene.” Booming tourism, development and inadequate protection are eating away at the Great Wall, of which as much as two-thirds are in a state of collapse.

The Alternative: Wall of Ston, Croatia. Photo courtesy of flickr/Poo-tee-weet?

The Alternative: Walls of Ston in Croatia

While nothing can really compare with the magnitude and might of the Great Wall of China, it is definitely not the only great wall in the world. In the historical city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, for example, are the Walls of Ston, known as the “European Wall of China.” It dates back to the 15th century and its 5.5 kilometres of length form an irregular pentangle.

The All-star: The Parthenon, Athens, Greece. Photo courtesy of wikimedia/Steve Swayne

3. The All-Star: Parthenon in Athens, Greece

Lit up and glowing over Athens, Greece at night, the Parthenon is the jewel of the Acropolis, the ancient city on a hill. As the grandest remains of Greek Antiquity, the Acropolis was deemed an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Greece is a world tourism powerhouse, welcoming more than 17.5 million visitors each year. In 2005, Athens alone received 6,088,287 tourists (each of them wanting a photo of the Parthenon without any other tourists in it).

The Alternative: Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon. Photo courtesy of flickr/Ben Piven

The Alternative: Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Lebanon

One of five of Lebanon‘s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Baalbek demonstrates that Greece is definitely not the only Mediterranean country with amazing ancient ruins. As UNESCO states about the ancient imperial city, “The archaeological site of Baalbek represents a religious complex of outstanding artistic value and its majestic monumental ensemble, with its exquisitely detailed stonework, is a unique artistic creation which reflects the amalgamation of Phoenician beliefs with the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon through an amazing stylistic metamorphosis.”

The All-star: Medina of Fes, Morocco. Photo courtesy of wikimedia/Pawel Ryszawa

4. The All-Star: Medina of Fes, Morocco

Compared to Marrakech (one of Morocco‘s most famous destinations), the city of Fes is a modest place. Yet every visitor to inland Fes is bound to wander through its medina, the walled city centre that dates back to the 8th century. By some measures, it’s the largest car-free area in the world.

The Medina of Fes has been on the official UNESCO World Heritage roster since 1981, but may soon also be added to the list of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO cites two major threats: uncontrolled urban development due to overpopulation, and deterioration of the buildings. The governmental plan to address these issues is to safeguard everything, intervene where houses are collapsing and increase sustainable tourism.

The Alternative: Medina of Tétouan, Morocco. Photo courtesy of flickr/luisgosalbez

The Alternative: Medina of Tétouan, Morocco

In the smaller and less-touristed city of Tétouan in northern Morocco, another medina has gained World Heritage status. Full of mosques, madrassas and markets, Tétouan’s ancient city centre exhibits the same definitive Moroccan culture and tradition as its better-known counterparts in Fes and other cities. While also in need of protection and conservation, Téotuan is less overwhelmed than the Medina of Fes and in a better position to absorb increasing tourism traffic.

The All-star: Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Photo courtesy of flickr/daveperkes

5. The All-Star: Angkor Wat, Cambodia

A spectacular temple complex from the 12th century, Angkor Wat has been a power player for tourism in Cambodia since before its 1992 inauguration as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thomas Holdo Hansen of AngkorHotels.org, the whl.travel local connection in Cambodia, comments that “Angkor would without doubt be on my personal Top 10 World Heritage Sites list. It’s not without good reason that this important archaeological site is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and comes high up on many people’s must-see lists. The flip side of the coin is that the recent increase in tourism potentially can bring about many negative impacts if not managed properly.”

The Alternative: Preah Vihear, Cambodia. Photo courtesy of flickr/theonlymikey

The Alternative: Preah Vihear, Cambodia

Compared to Angkor Wat, Preah Vihear is a minor temple complex. It’s a less-likely tourism destination because of political strife. “Preah Vihear is more controversial but still a stunning archaeological site,” says Hansen. “It is situated right on the top edge of a steep cliff bordering the Sisaket Province in Thailand. After its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, Preah Vihear has been the centre stage for some border conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia and, thus, many travellers have been discouraged from visiting.”

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The All-star: Machu Picchu, Peru. Photo courtesy of flickr/[togr

6. The All-Star: Machu Picchu, Peru

The year 2011was special for South America’s favourite pre-Colombian archaeological site of Machu Picchu. It marked 100 years since Hiram Bingham, a Yale University historian, arrived at the majestic high-elevation Incan citadel and announced its existence to the rest of the world. Machu Picchu was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since then, UNESCO has had to fight many battles to protect it from private interests and overdevelopment, including the implementation of a daily visitor limit. Still, safe-keepers fear irreparable damage if poor administration continues in the face of surging tourism.

The Alternative: Wiñay Wayna, Peru. Photo courtesy of flickr/Greg Headley

The Alternative: Wiñay Wayna, Peru

Also along the Inca Trail in the Sacred Valley of Peru where Machu Picchu is found, Wiñay Wayna is a minor Incan ruins site that is often considered a mere “stop in the road” on the way to Machu Picchu. While it’s true that it can’t match Machu Picchu’s scale and grandeur, Wiñay Wayna charms and impresses. With staircases and fountain structures connecting the layers of terrace, it is a perfect example of the hillside architecture traditional to the Incas.

The All-star: The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Photo courtesy of Bruno Girin

7. The All-Star: Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

The Pyramids of Giza were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. They are, of course, Egypt‘s most visited attraction. In 1999, the largest of the three pyramids was reopened after a year of restoration work. The project’s goal was to undo some of the damage caused by long-term exposure to mass tourism. According to the BBC, “humidity levels in the tunnels and chambers inside had reached 80 percent because of the sheer volume of people going in,” which caused condensation and a build-up of salt. Since then, a cap of 300 visitors per day has been set on pyramid access.

The Alternative: The Pyramids of Gebel Barkal, Sudan. Photo courtesy of flickr/shovelingtom

The Alternative: Pyramids of Gebel Barkal, Sudan

The Pyramids of Gebel Barkal are part of the larger Gebel Barkal mountain site, which was approved as a UNESCO cultural World Heritage Site in 2003. It is one of only two in the country of Sudan. The Kushitic pyramids themselves were built as a royal cemetery in the 3rd century, which makes them only half as old as and very modest in size compared to the likes of the Great Pyramids of neighbouring Egypt. Travel to Sudan is complicated at the moment, but pieces of cultural heritage like this already under UNESCO protection hold promise for a tourism future.

Fabiola Duerig and her husband Oliver, the cofounders of Las Pleyades Travel, enjoy a sunset over the bay of Taganga in Santa Marta, Colombia. Photo courtesy of Las Pleyades Travel

Fabiola is proud to call Colombia home and to share it with travellers eager for a local’s insights. As a seasoned traveller herself, she can appreciate the value of a local travel experience.

WHL Group: Which is your favourite WHL Group destination and which would you most like to visit?
Fabiola: My favourite destination at the moment is my own home – Santa Marta, Colombia – because I am able to experience its natural beauty every single day. Colombia as a whole is a great country in every sense, which more and more foreign tourists are starting to realise.

Outside of Colombia, the destination I would like to visit is India. Despite the poverty and misery I might see there, where 80 kids die every day from curable diseases like rabies, I don’t want to shut my eyes. It’s real. India has a very special culture and way of thinking, one so different from that of the western world. I also love their way of dancing and all the colours. I look forward to exploring it someday.

WHLG: What would you never travel without?
Fabiola: For me, the two biggest essentials are music and a passport. The rest are details.

Bahia Concha is part of what makes Santa Marta, Colombia Fabiola's favorite destination. It is also where she is lucky enought to call home. Photo courtesy of Las Pleyades Travel

WHLG: What do you miss most about home when travelling?
Fabiola: I suppose it depends on the country I visit. Here on the coast of Colombia, I really miss the high quality and variety of European food, but if I were travelling in Argentina, for example, I wouldn’t notice this so much. What I always miss, no matter the destination, are my friends and family if they’re not there with me to share all the exciting experiences of travel.

WHLG: What’s the most adventurous trip you’ve ever taken?
Fabiola: I would have to say a trip down the Death Road from La Paz, Bolivia, to a small town in the mountains. It is said to be beautiful, but I don’t think it is worth it because the road is so dangerous that you see the old remains of vehicles down below. Also, local people drive so fast that accidents are inevitable. So I am just glad to have survived that!

WHLG: What is your funniest travel experience?
Fabiola: It’s hard to say which is the funniest because I’m lucky to have lots of really funny ones to choose from. On more than a few occasions, I’ve found myself in situations I almost could not believe because it was so funny and surreal. But at the same time I know that it will be less funny when I try to relate it to someone because you have to live it. This is one of the joys of travel with your partner or your friends – you can laugh so many times about the same stories for years. You will always have the memories of that extraordinary, unusual situation that you shared.

Oliver looks out onto the stunning hills of across from the bay of Tananga with Kike, another partner on the Las Pleyades team in Santa Marta, Colombia. Photo courtesy of Las Pleyades Travel

For example, when I was travelling in Bolivia with a friend, the bus stopped in the middle of the night because there was a technical problem, as happens a lot there. When we got out of the bus to see what they were doing, we saw that they had pulled a frog out of the wheel! They managed this in a few hours without any technical instruments. It was amazing, but, as I said, it’s not that funny unless you were there.

WHLG: What is your scariest travel experience?
Fabiola: I felt frightened while crossing the border from Peru to Bolivia at night. I know now why it is not recommended!

WHLG: If you could go on holiday with anyone famous – living or dead – who would you take?
I would visit Fidel Castro with Albert Einstein in Cuba. I just think that they’re both admirable. Although they may have a lot of failures (like every human being), they are intelligent enough and I would help them to open their minds so we could improve all together. Maybe we’d find a political formula that solves all our social problems. Of course, I would take my husband Oliver with me too!

WHLG: Describe the best and worst accommodation you’ve ever stayed in.
Fabiola: The best would have to be Finca Barlovento here in Santa Marta between the river and the Caribbean Sea. The waves of the ocean sound like a whisper in your ears and the natural beauty just overwhelms you.

On the other end of the spectrum: as a backpacker I saw a lot of accommodations that compete for the ‘worst place’ award. Backpacker accommodations can surprise you in both negative and positive ways. I am happy with a clean bed in a clean room with a private bathroom, although it can also be shared, although shared bathrooms are generally less clean. The worst thing I’ve ever seen was in Peru, where the room smelled like bad eggs and Oliver found excrement on the floor of the bathroom. We decided to leave and found a great hostel (called La Casona) at a very fair price.

Fabiola and Oliver pose with team member Gilbert (center), who is one of their best drivers and friends. All three are very excited about their new vehicles, part of what makes them the best transfer service in Colombia between Santa Marta, Cartagena, Tayrona Park and Sierra Nevada. Photo courtesy of Las Pleyades Travel

WHLG: Describe your earliest travel memory.
Fabiola: I have early memories of the beaches in Southern Europe on holidays when I was two or three years old. I remember surfer beaches, the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea.

WHLG: Please briefly explain what you think local travel is.
Fabiola: To me, local travel is being aware that you are visiting a different place where people have different habits and cultures, and if you are ready to accept and respect this, you can dive in and have a true travel experience. It’s about getting in touch with local people and eating in local restaurants to try the typical and recommended dishes. As an alternative to ‘all-inclusive’ resort-style travel, local travel means staying in small cabanas in the surrounding areas where you can see how local people really live, and choosing local tourist guides. Local guides can help you learn a lot about the people and their culture in a short time, because they have a great wealth of knowledge about the area, the history and the people.

WHLG: In what ways do you see local travel benefiting the country in which you live?
Local travel involves many different local people as the service providers of accommodations, tours and transportation. In this way, small companies have a chance to create jobs for more and more local people. We feel that, in our case, as a travel agency, this is one of our most important roles.

Space holds a special place in the human consciousness. Before we were even properly aware of it, we yearned for it. The stars, so important to humans as ancient sources of wisdom and guidance, hold just as much draw for us today as they did for our ancient ancestors. Today, though, our shared dream of slipping ‘the surly bonds of Earth‘ has been made a reality; we have taken the initial steps on the journey that will render space as another conquered frontier.

This genuinely amazing video, compiled by filmmaker Michael König using images shot from recent missions on the International Space Station (ISS), reveals the next step of that journey: reflection. We can’t help it when we contemplate the unparalleled beauty of our planet, the flashes of lightning beneath the shimmering green aurora, the crystal-clear lightmaps of our cities. It happens when we realise that we have achieved so much in some respects, but that we lack in others; that we are all united in calling this planet home and that we need to care for it and eachother; that we are, ultimately, so very small in the grand scheme of things.

Looking back on the planet that sustains us all seems almost like an afterthought for a species that’s about to step forward into the infinite realms of space. But if we’re ever to get anywhere, we should never forget where we come from.