Image by Eugenija Sniokaite
Text by Kestas Lukoskinas, whl.travel local connection
in Vilnius and Klaipeda, Lithuania

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This is a moment from a traditional Easter-morning family gathering in the awakening fields of the countryside of Lithuania. Sometimes absolutely simple things like an Easter morning breakfast can be seen as something unique, individual and precious.

Have you ever had a meal with your family and close friends in the middle of nowhere? Let me tell you, I participated in this  tradition for the first time last year and believe me I’m going to do it this year too. The feeling of your consciousness and subconsciousness opening to nature, the sense of all worries leaving your troubled mind and the experience of ‘being right here, right now’ are simply unspeakable.

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Posted under General, Lithuania, Photo of the Week

SIEN ONDER VIR DIE BOODSKAP IN AFRIKAANS / SEE BELOW FOR THIS MESSAGE IN AFRIKAANS

Notable as the locations of some of Africa’s preeminent water-sport destinations, Port Elizabeth and Addo National Park lie halfway between Cape Town and Durban on South Africa’s Eastern Cape. With a moderate climate and pleasant temperatures all year round, Port Elizabeth – more affectionately known as P.E. or the Friendly City by locals – and the surrounding region also offer exciting activities to terrestrial sports enthusiasts, nature lovers and history buffs alike.

Traditional wear in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, is still regularly seen. These two ladies are a prime example of the Xhosa heritage common throughout the province and in cities like Port Elizabeth.

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Posted under General, South Africa, countries, new local connections, whl.travel news

By Ethan Gelber

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As a follow-up to our blog post about how you can help Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, the most urgent plea at the moment is for temporary shelter for estimated one million homeless and displaced people.

Information from people actively helping to direct donations to the right places have relayed a call made by the United Nations Office of Humanitarian Assistance for 200,000 tents. By some estimates, less than 5% of what is needed has made it to people on the ground.

To help with this effort, Partners in Health, a non-profit medical charity that has been working in Haiti for for more than 20 years to build local medical capacity, has set up a special Web page for everyone able to donate money specifically for tents and bedding (sleeping pads, blankets and lightweight sleeping bags).

Donating cash is by far and away the best way to help. Partners in Health is not able to handle in-kind donations, generous though they are.

Posted under General, Haiti, countries

By Ethan Gelber

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Michelle Rodrigues, who works for the WHL Group in Miami, USA, is the newest TIES Travel Ambassador

One week ago, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) announced Michelle Rodrigues as its newest Travel Ambassador. Michelle, born and raised in New York City but now resident in Florida, USA, is also a project manager and content editor for the WHL Group in its North America and the Caribbean Regional Office currently based in Miami.

Promoting Responsible Travel

The Travel Ambassador Program is a brainchild of TIES, “the world’s oldest and largest international ecotourism association,” which plays a pivotal role as a “global source of knowledge and advocacy uniting communities, conservation and sustainable travel.”

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Posted under General, responsible organisations, responsible traveller, whl.travel news, whl.travel newsletter

Image/text by Gerard Oude Hergelink, whl.travel local connection
in Marmaris-Datça, Turkey

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This picture was shot in Belenkeuy, Datça, in August 2007. I think it captures a stereotypical moment of a peasant community in the Middle East. We see only men, most of them seated at tables. Some seem to play a game, while others look on or may be about to fall sleep.

Now, some of you may look at this picture and see nothing more than a bunch of lazy blokes who have probably been sitting all day in this public house and letting others do all the work. There is, however, much more than meets the eye.

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Posted under General, Photo of the Week, Turkey, countries

By Maureen Valentine

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The diamonds that were once harvested from the national park of the Chapada Diamantina (or Diamond Highlands) are only the tip of a precious natural resource iceberg in the northeast Brazilian state of Bahia. In fact, until recently, Chapada Diamantina was perhaps Brazil’s best-kept secret, trade from tourism having been on the rise only since it became an official national park in 1985.

Brazil's Chapada Diamantina landscape is known for the mesa-like features called 'tepuis'. In the Pati Valley (pictured here), hikers are rewarding to stunning vistas over the national park after a bit of serious legwork.

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Posted under Brazil, General, countries, local tips, responsible organisations, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter

By Luke Ford

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Chez Galip at his wheel in his pottery workshop in Avanos, Turkey

A traditional wood stove in the corner of the sitting room heats the cool stone walls of this large cave-house turned workshop and gallery quarried into the hills of the town of Avanos in central Turkey. Homemade wine adds to the warmth as the ever-steady hands of Chez Galip, a local artist, hover over a spinning traditional potter’s kick wheel and mold masterpieces of times past from wet clumps of terracotta-red and mineral-rich clay taken fresh from the nearby Kızılırmak, or ‘Red River’.

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Posted under General, Turkey, countries, local tips, whl.travel newsletter

Image/text by Navin Shrestha, whl.travel local connection
in Pokhara, Nepal

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At a glance, it’s just a dragonfly, a fairly interesting insect not that hard to sight in late summer in several areas of Nepal. Caught on camera near the farther end of Lakeside area of Pokhara, this particular insect has a wonderful tale to tell. So let’s hear it, shall we?

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Posted under Nepal, Photo of the Week, countries, responsible travel

By Ethan Gelber

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The devastation and tragedy are heart-wrenching following the 7.3 earthquake that leveled most of Port-au-Price, Haiti. The dispiriting pictures and tales of loss reach to the depth of our sorrow, just as the living, breathing bodies pulled from the rubble are reason for quiet celebration.

People, injured and afraid, on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the earthquake (photo courtesy of Lambi Fund for Haiti)

I watch in horror, helpless from my distant perch (Sydney, Australia) but committed in whatever trifling ways open to me, reminded of just how thin the thread is that keeps us all safe on a sometimes merciless planet that, with a simple shrug, is able to wreak so much havoc. I was resident (albeit not present) in Sri Lanka at the time of the tsunami five years ago. I hastened home to Colombo a week later to do what I could then. What I feel today is laced with the anger and frustration of that time.

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Posted under General, Haiti, countries

By Ethan Gelber

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The Muğla Province of southwest of Turkey is much beloved for many reasons – its scenic beauty, historic sites and archaeological ruins, and the many, many attractions of its Turquoise Coast. The area including Köycegiz, Sarigerme, Marmaris, Göcek and Dalyan is particularly well reputed for its natural glory. Unfortunately, the pristine sanctity of this magnificent green cathedral is no longer sacrosanct, as on 13 December 2009, Akfen Energy, a Turkish company, began preparations to dam – some would say destroy – the Yuvarlakçay River, as a major step toward construction of a hydroelectric dam.

Locals visit the scene of logging along Turkey's Yuvarlakçay River to protest the destruction paving the way for a new hydroelectric power plant

However, this plan now faces strong opposition from the ‘Platform for the Protection of Yuvarlakçay,’ a growing consortium of local residents, businesses, organisations and municipalities calling for a stop to the project and new long-term safeguards for the riverbed.

(If you don’t care to read any further, but are willing to show support for the Platform for the Protection of Yuvarlakçay, please sign this online petition and/or donate to their cause and help spread the word.)
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Posted under General, Turkey, countries, opinion, responsible organisations, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter