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After flying from Buenos Aires to Minneapolis for four days, then to Texas for a week, we’ve stopped in Belize (a small Central American country) for Elizabeth’s brother’s wedding.
Our original plan was to stay here until early January, then spend a few weeks traveling around Guatemala. But, as travel plans do, ours have changed. The [...]

Earlier this month we told you about Passports with Purpose, the awesome travel blogger fundraiser for Heifer International.
It ends today, at 11:59 pm PST so make sure you get your raffle tickets now. Click here to get started. There are lots of great prizes, including our recycled Mounstainsmith Tour pack.
Tickets are only $10, it’s a [...]

“What are you doing here?” a local teenager asked us after he learned we were from the United States.
Trelew isn’t exactly the top spot on most “Places to Visit in Argentina” lists. But perhaps it should be.
Situated between Puerto Madryn, Punta Tombo, and Gaiman (a Welsh village with teahouses), Trelew is a great stop for [...]

Walk down any street in any town in Argentina at about 3:00 in the afternoon and you’ll see someone pouring hot water from a thermos into a gourd, drinking it through a straw, then passing it to a friend who repeats the process…. You drink it through a metal straw-like utensil (called a bombillo ) that has a filter on the end so the mate leaves can’t get through.

If you’re new to Go Green Travel Green, or even if you’ve followed us for a while, we want to make sure you know how to get eco travel tips and keep up with our travels…. If you’ve missed our posts for a while (or haven’t read everything we’ve written) you can check out our Archives .

However, walking down just a few blocks of the city revealed that with the sheer number of shops I would become either sick or broke (probably both) if sampling from each shop. We conducted our own taste testing of chocolate shops in Bariloche, Argentina.

As luck would have it, the liquid supplies — including toothpaste, shampoo, and sunscreen — that we purchased when we arrived in Argentina are now being squeezed to their very last drop…. While we’re baking Christmas cookies and singing carols, we’ll catch you up on the rest of our Argentina adventures — experiences in El Chalten, El Calafate, Bariloche, Trelew, and more that we didn’t have a chance to write about while we were here.

Eva gives money to the poor, chats it up with commoners, and scoffs in the faces of traditional women who tell her she can’t hold an office because she’s a woman and too young…. If you’ve still got a hankering for hearing “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” in Spanish (I know I did) here’s Nacha Guevara, the star of Eva: el gran musical argentino , singing it — “No llores por mí Argentina.”

Alas, to my disappointment, a typical breakfast in Argentina is a cup of coffee with milk ( cafe con leche ), a few croissants ( medialunas ), and a shot glass of carbonated water…. After two months in Argentina, I’ve gotten used to supplementing my hostel breakfast with fruit or yogurt to satiate my American desire for something more substantial.

While I loved the opportunity to take lots of cute photos of penguins at Punta Tombo, I was struck with the dilemmas of being an environmentally conscious traveler…. Whether it’s bringing a reusable water bottle to the airport, parking further away rather than driving in circles looking for a parking spot at the mall, or wrapping presents in the Sunday comics, every little bit helps.

Here’s the link with a few more thoughts about Vayama below: Vayama - International Travel Solved $20 off coupon code - GREENTRAVEL20 Country Etiquette Guides One thing I really appreciate about Vayama is their country guides and etiquette (Click country etiquette under “Travel Insights”)…. So, if you’ve got a trip coming up, check out Vayama and use the $20 off coupon code: Vayama - International Travel Solved $20 off coupon code - GREENTRAVEL20 The code expires December 31, 2008.

Passports with Purpose is a travel blog fundraiser that benefits Heifer International, an awesome nonprofit dedicated to eradicating world hunger… Go Green Travel Green is thrilled to take part in Passports with Purpose by contributing a recycled Tour pack, courtesy of our friends at Mountainsmith… Get your raffle ticket today.

After much deliberation, we’ve decided to head back to Buenos Aires after El Chalten rather than going to Tierra del Fuego. My mom made an excellent point: unlike the glaciers of this region, Tierra del Fuego is not in danger of extinction. It will be there to return to someday.
And I think that’s a good [...]

After seeing penguins on Peninsula Valdes we wondered how much different it would be visiting Punta Tombo, home of over 600,000 Magellanic Penguins…. My favorite part was when the penguin parents would tire of standing over their chicks and suddenly just plop (like a bellyflop) right on top of the chicks.

Every once in a while when traveling for an extended period of time, you hit a wall, even when you’re in an amazing place. Traveling isn’t as exciting; it wears you down. It’s not quite homesickness, it’s just getting tired of being on the go, seeing so many new sights, not being able to take [...]

We’ve searched far and wide to create this list of 21 gifts for eco-conscious travelers. Whether you’re shopping for presents for Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, or just for fun, celebrate Cyber Monday the green way with our 2008 Holiday Shopping List.

We’re on the road again. After spending a warm sunny week along the Atlantic Coast seeing whales, penguins, and elephant seals we’re headed south to El Calafate and the El Chalten.
Be sure to check back Monday for our holiday shopping list for green travelers!

photo credit: longhorndave

Sweet Potatoes or Yams Butter Brown Sugar (white sugar or honey could also work) Orange Juice (we used juice fresh from an orange) Bake sweet potatoes in oven until very tender…. For 2 large sweet potatoes we used 3-4 tablespoons of butter, 1-2 tablespoons of “black sugar” (which happens to be just white sugar with coloring, but we didn’t know this until after we came home from the market), and juice from 1 orange.

Christine at Almost Fearless writes about Crossing Through to Colombia from Panama with a car. I love this photo of Salt Pans in the Andes because we recently saw a giant salt patty on Peninsula Valdes…. We’d love to participate, but we’re trying to get a sponsor to donate a prize — so Calling All Potential Sponsors: Do you have a prize to donate for this cause?

Peninsula Valdes is the only place on the planet where Orcas beach themselves to catch seals. Of course, that only happens at certain times of year and even then it’s rare… We didn’t see any Orcas, but the elephant seals, penguins, ostrich-like rheas, llama-esque guanacos, seals, and seal lions more than made up for it.

During our two-hour whale watching excursion off Peninsula Valdes, near Puerto Madryn, Argentina, we floated in the ocean and watched as the Southern Right Whales (Ballena Franca Austral in Spanish) nursed, played, and swam under our boat…. While this whale let them nurse off her on this particular day, it was unlikely she would continue to do so as each baby eats over 200 liters of milk a day.

After volunteering for five days on small farm– complete with ultra fresh meals and a bit of farming work in a picture perfect setting — I’ve learned a good bit about WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). In retrospect, there are a few things I wish I would have known before going. You Don’t Have to Work Long Hours Because some farms don’t need all the volunteers they have at one time, or if you are paying for part of your stay, you don’t necessarily have to work long 8+ hour farming days…. Your answer, be it “I spent all my money and need to live for free until my plane ticket home” or “I want to know how to garden” or “I want a different experience” should help you figure out what type of farm you want and how long you want to stay.

We took a public bus from nearby El Bolson to the tiny town of El Hoyo, then taxied out to Chacra Millalen, a small organic farm in Patagonia, Argentina where we’d spend the next 4 days volunteering.

…It’s also possible to bring a tent and camp on the land, but we don’t have a tent with us. Then Josephine showed us the three showers and encouraged us to use one of the two that was heated by wood-burning stoves (instead of gas).

After volunteering for 5 days at the foot of the Andes in western Argentina, we’re crossing the country to the Atlantic Ocean. Another long bus ride and we’ll spend a few days in Puerto Madryn before heading to Peninsula Valdes where we hope to see some whales, penguins, and more.

We are now off to volunteer on an organic chacra (farm) just outside of El Bolson…. We’ll be on the farm for 5 days, likely without internet access, and will share stories with you when we get back.

We split a “mixed grill for 2″– an entire grill full of steaks, sausages, blood sausages, intestines, and sweetbreads for about $14 US. Once he had cooked the meat on the large parrilla, the owner brought a small grill table side to keep the food warm…. This meal cost a whopping $36 US. Because this parrilla was so amazing we went back a second time; this time limiting ourselves to a half portion of bife de lomo, a beef empanada and some delicious thin cut french fries.

And because it’s the low season we’ve really lucked out on our accommodations; we’ve stayed in comfortable cabins for less than hostel dorm beds cost in Buenos Aires…. Check out these views from the windows of our cabins in Bariloche and El Bolsón — with no zoom.

Here are some things I do with my time and my reflections on them: Sleep I used to sleep 8 hours a night and feel pretty well-rested on most days….But right now I can’t help but wondering if all the time I spending sleeping and dreaming and thinking and eating is excessive.

A few weeks ago I had a cold. Not a terrible one, but the kind with intense sinus pressure that a spicy meal alone won’t kick.
So I went to the local pharmacy. The dictionary we brought didn’t translate “cold” as in sick, so instead I tentatively asked the pharmacist “Tiene Sudafed o pseudoephedrine?” (”Do you [...]

Shimmering lakes, snow-capped mountains, and dozens of cows provided the stunning scenery for our bus ride along the Ruta de los Siete Lagos (Route of the Seven Lakes). We weren’t sure the weather would hold out, but aside from some clouds and a few sprinkles of rain, it did.

With all the misinformation floating around out there about voting — like skeezy people telling Virginia Democrats to vote on Wednesday — we want to do our part by spreading the word…. We won’t tell you who to vote for — though you can probably guess who we (progressive, feminist, gay environmentalists) support.

After experiencing the amazing Lake Agnes Tea House in Lake Louise, Canada, I was excited to learn that San Martin de los Andes, Argentina has the Mirador Arrayán Tea House…. A gorgeous spring day with just a few clounds in the sky provided the backdrop for our hike and within 15 minutes of our hike we had a spectacular view of the city below.

Overall, the Ivy backpack is great. A sleek design and awesome color make it look amazing. But the folks at Mountainsmith clearly care about more than just looks — they’ve got the littlest details nailed.

I did some research into greener options and was surprised by the lack of backpacks made of eco-friendly materials… So I was psyched when I found Mountainsmith’s line of recycled packs… All in all, the recycled Lily is a great pack for anyone who’s looking for a small pack for extended travel, or a large daypack, and I applaud Mountainsmith for leading the way with eco-friendly backpacks.

We’re leaving Mendoza tonight on another 20+ hour bus ride. In less than a day we’ll be in Patagonia, where we’re hoping for some great scenery and good hiking. To tide you over, here are some of our favorite Mendoza moments and sights.

Sure, the empanadas are 10x better and 4x cheaper than Julia’s empanadas in D.C., the steaks are so fantastic it’s hard to believe meat this good is possible, and the helado /ice cream, while not as inexpensive I’d like, is quite good…. Having no clue what “alcayota” is she explained that it’s like spaghetti squash inside only it’s the size, shape, and color of a green baseball.

The wine route turned out to be a run-down major road, with cement trucks whizzing by at 70 mph, barely swerving to avoid us and kicking up dust and spewing exhaust in our faces…. We tagged along for 15 minutes during which I learned 1) you should always store wine on the first floor of your house and the bottle should be kept horizontal and 2) when you buy wine at the store, take a bottle from the back of the shelf because it’s been exposed to less light.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not easy to learn a language just by being in a country where it’s spoken. If you want your language skills to grow, you have to make an effort after you arrive. These tips will take you from timid beginner to confident pro.

During our hour long tour of Guira Oga we got to see many animals up close that we saw while hiking in Iguazu (see Kimberly’s post about the animals we saw at Iquazu Falls ) as well as others we didn’t get to see such as the Capuchin Monkey and Oso Melero (both pictured below)…. Unfortunately, because it was a Sunday and during siesta hours we didn’t get to see any of the hospital veterinarians in action, but we learned a lot about the animals and the park during our tour.

Six months ago I watched a PBS documentary about animals in South America. It featured the capybra, which — at 140 pounds — is the world’s largest rodent… Luck was on my side and a capybra did come out to pose for a photo, along with lots of other exotic animals — from toucans and kites to coatis and lizards.

Iguazu Falls were indescribable. The rushing sound of the Devil’s Throat waterfall was unlike anything I had ever heard and the overall expansiveness of the waterfalls was gorgeous. On our second day visiting Iguazu Falls National Park we decided to get off the tourist path and hike the Macuco Nature Trail through the jungle.

After a 19 hour bus ride, we spent the night in Rosario, a medium sized town we’ll explore today. Tonight we’ll hop on another bus and head to Mendoza, the heart of Argentina’s wine region.

It took us a while to realize the simple problem: in our pre-departure packing fervor, we’d taken no time to mentally prepare for our travels… Learn from our mistake. Take these steps to get ready for your extended trip so you can start enjoying your destination as soon as you arrive.

Elizabeth’s words when she saw this bird flying around right outside of the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Gardens) a few days ago in Buenos Aires…. Today we’re on a bus destined for Iguazú Falls (awesome waterfalls in northeast Argentina), where hopefully we’ll see many more colorful birds — though probably not any green cardinals.

So we hopped on a Buquebus ferry near Puerto Madero in BA for the one hour journey to Colonia, a small town on the Rio de la Plata. There’s not a lot to do in Colonia but enjoy the view and wander the cobbled streets, so that’s just what we did.

It was a cold, rainy morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon and the crowds rushed to trendy (but still cool) San Telmo Market in Plaza Dorrego, where you can buy everything from antique keys and original paintings to hand-knit scarves and glass necklaces. Some vendors were out in the morning, but many more came to enjoy the sun — and the tourists it brought with it.

Sometimes I wonder what in Buenos Aires I have missed by spending so much time looking at the ground — trying to avoid loose tiles, potholes, and lots and lots of dog shit…. These dog walkers don’t walk 1 or 2 or even 4 little dogs, I’ve seen one dog walker that probably had about 12-15 large dogs with him.

On Saturday, along with porteños (what people from Buenos Aires are called) who didn’t leave the city for the weekend, we went to Puerto Madero and the Reserva Ecológica Costenera Sur (also known as Reserva Ecológica de Buenos Aires or the Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve).
It’s the only ecological reserve in the city. There are three [...]

Chris packs a lot of tips in his ebook and I know from experience the information he provides in one place can save you dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of scouring the internet for travel tips and tricks. The Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare is a good resource for almost all travelers.

Photos from Recoleta Cemetery / Cementerio de la Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Running on 4.5 hours of plane-quality sleep (we got sucked into Baby Mama on the flight so we didn’t rest as much as we’d hoped), we stumbled through customs, acquired pesos from a bank, and found our way to the bus stop for collectivo 86, the bus to Hostel Arrabal — all in just 30 minutes…. I sat by the window and, had it been open, I could have easily reached out and touched the people in the bus next to us. Fortunately, I was too exhausted to be afraid.

At this moment we are on our way to Argentina.
Once we get there our schedule is wide open, but here’s what we’re thinking for an itinerary.
We’re booked for our first week at a hostel in Buenos Aires. Then during October we’ll hit some of the northern sites like Iguazú Falls, Córdoba, and Mendoza.
As it starts [...]

We’re in the final 24 hour countdown to Argentina and our bags are officially packed. I’m proud to say, after much pruning of our packing list, we stuffed all of our travel gear into two carry-on size recycled packs — so it’s better for the environment and for our backs. We’ll be spending the next 4 months traveling through Central and South America, getting to know the region, and practicing our Spanish. Since Argentina is a huge, geographically diverse country, we’re bringing clothes for every climate. The only things I’d add to this packing list for a longer round-the-world trip would be a scarf and a pair of long underwear.

So, four weeks ago (when I thought you had to give 30days notice on everything), I called ATT to tell them I wanted to find out about canceling or suspending my service. The nice man at customer service told me that unlike other service providers (who charge about $5-10 month to suspend your service and keep your phone number) ATT doesn’t have program that allows you to suspend your service.

Transient Nature In part because of the changing politics and to high cost of living, moving is the only constant in D.C. If you’re not from D.C. and/or you don’t have family there, chances are you arrive in D.C., stay for maybe 3 or 4 years, and move out of the city…. Safety Issues Most parts of D.C. are safe — despite the tourists who clutch their purses and backpacks to their chest like anyone of the fellow metro passengers will rip it from them — but you know the city isn’t totally safe when USPS/UPS/FedEx refuses to leave packages on stoops in the city as they may get stolen.

I’m determined not to let that happen to me, and I’m a bit nervous because I need to pass a “knowledge test” about Minnesota driving laws in order to get a new license…. I even correctly answer the question about how to pass a snow plow (hint: you don’t flash your brights and honk to let the snow plow know you’re coming, nor do you floor it and speed blindly through the snow cloud).

We’ve only been gone for two days, but I already know that as much as I was ready to leave D.C. there is plenty I loved about the city. Here are 10 things I’ll miss:
1. The Metro (D.C.’s subway system)

photo credit: ChrisDag
2. Politics
3. Washington Post (especially the Sunday edition)
4. Variety of Restaurants
5. Diversity
6. Neighborhoods (especially [...]

One of the things I posted about in my checklist of things to do before a trip was finding travel insurance (specifically, insurance that would cover health emergencies while I’m abroad, even though it’s not completely “travel health insurance”).
World Nomads Travel Insurance Reviews
After sorting through numerous websites and reviews, we’ve settled on World Nomads travel [...]

Mendoza Wine Region photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55898059@N00/2552365774/ 2…. Los Glaciares National Park http://www.flickr.com/photos/60627558@N00/178918885/ 5.

I’ve always heard that, second to the Cherry Blossom Festival, the best time to visit Washington, D.C.’s monuments is at night. But in the nearly four years I’ve lived in D.C. I’ve never walked the monuments at night.
With our move to Argentina just around the corner, we finally made the walk happen. I’m still learning [...]

American Airlines and I have had a rocky relationship.
Their lack of communication with their alliance partner Aer Lingus meant my Ireland trip was cut short. Their refusal to hold a plane for me for 5 minutes (because my connecting American Airlines flight was 2.5 hours late due to mechanical problems) meant that Elizabeth and I [...]

Making a to do list for an extended trip. Sell stuff on craigslist that we won’t be moving Pack Move stuff to place for storing Get banking in order Figure out best credit card/debit to use while abroad Let banks/credit cards know we will be out of the country Ensure that all credit card/bank statements are soley electronic Tell post office forwarding address (will be parents house for time being) Make copies of all essential documents and leave with someone we trust Decide on cell phone situation (keep one US phone active and “pause” the other?) Find volunteer options for while we’re there Book first few days in the hostel Figure out health insurance options Figure out travelers health insurance options If you have any suggestions about any of these (specifically travelers health insurance, banks with low fees, etc) please let us know!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful comments and emails about Lisa, our golden retriever. We had a very tough week last week as she somehow managed to swallow two corn cobs (without our knowing). When we took her to the vet they said that if the corn blocked her digestive track we would have [...]

Very sick dog = blogging hiatus until next week.
=

After a 5.5 hour turbulent plane ride and waiting 25 minutes for a taxi (I got an eco-cab!) in the 101 degree F heat, I finally stumble into my hotel room. I open the door and a heat wave hits me. I don’t know the last time I was inside and it felt [...]

Learn six easy ways to make your travels more eco-friendly, and why we like each of them. Check out our guest post up at Allie’s Answers.

In preparation for our upcoming travels in Central and South America, I’ve taken up studying Spanish.

…Luckily for me, there are tons of free resources out there to aid me on my mission. Here are 10 of my favorites.

We’re moving to Argentina in early October and staying there through mid-December. That’s where you come in. If you’ve been to Argentina and/or Central America, where do you think we should go?

To celebrate Labor Day, we went for a hike in Shenandoah National Park near Front Royal, Virginia. It’s an easy day trip from DC — about an hour and a half drive. It was pretty and peaceful in the summer, and I imagine it’s gorgeous in the fall.

The single origin idea fascinates me because as a traveling locavore I could taste these chocolates At Trader Joe’s I found a sample pack of Choctal…. The Choctal box claims “Choctal’s quest is to bring our consumers the most delicious, robst chocalte and vanilla flavor profiles the world has to offer — and we choose to do it in the most earth friendly way we possibly can.

What I Learned at the Most Eco-Friendly Wedding Ever The food was grown by the bride and groom, the toilets were composting, and the tableware was borrowed from friends…. Registry: At a Local Shop or Donation to Non-Profit We learned the hard way that if you register at a national store (like Crate & Barrel), you’ll receive an obscene amount of packaging with your gifts.

So, how exactly do you get there without drowning in debt — or in glacier melt-offs?… Transportation: Getting There and Away Bus instead of flying Train instead of flying Take a ferry or ship Use Search Green Travel to save money on flights while saving the environment Buy your tickets online (since over-the-phone charges fees)

Then my environmentalist side kicked in. Considering the sheer amount of plastic that comes with a single airline meal — from the Saran wrapped plastic containers and water bottles to the disposable plastic silverware and individual-size butters — maybe this isn’t such a bad thing, environmentally speaking…. Then reality set in. Are travelers more likely to pack a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich and bottle of water, or grab a burger, fries, and soda on their way to the gate?

“I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this — we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”
- Hilaire Belloc

photo: Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

After exploring the extensive beer section at the local grocery store in search a local bottle of wine and turning up only an aqua blue bottle of Boone’s Farm, we gave up and decided to seek assistance…. She was slightly less puzzled by our request for wine than Bud had been, and pointed out a huge bottle of $9.99 Sweedish Hill “Doobie Blues” and another of “Jack Ass Red, local wines named after the vineyard’s pet donkey.

Partly because my last book review post Eat, Pray, Love Quotes was well received and partly because selfishly I want to have my notes from this book in one place for a reference I pulled together my favorite quotes from In Defense of Food…. But I contend that most of what we’re consuming today is no longer, strickly speaking, food at all, and how we’re consuming it — in the car, in frongt of the TV, and increasingly, alone– is not really eating, at least not in the sense that civilization has long understood the term.” “But who knos what else is going on deep in the soul of the carrot.

In our rush to get Search Green Travel launch-ready, we’ve fallen behind on getting weekly links up. So, without further ado, here’s what the green travel blogosphere has been talking about in the past few weeks.
Fake Plastic Fish has a look at plastic in Barcelona.
No Impact Man sheds light on countries that may drown if [...]

Amazon launched Amazon Green this week, which displays products users tag as eco-friendly.  But is it a good way to find green travel gear?
Not yet.
Right now, Amazon Green is a little hard to navigate. And because the system is based on tags, if you search for green travel products you come up with items like:

Zojirushi [...]

We have a guest post up at Kayak.com about 5 (+1) Ways to Travel Green with Kayak.
If you haven’t checked out Kayak lately you’ll see that they have recently added features like sorting rental cars by miles per gallon. Remember whenever you use Kayak to give back to the environment by searching with Search Green [...]

Then walk down Robson Street and find a spot where you can observe consumerism at its best as passersby shop at stores like Armani Exchange and Tommy Hilfiger If you have a sweet tooth, get in touch with the terroir side of your traveling locavore diet , and pick up some mint truffles or maple chocolates from Daniel Le Chocolat Belge …. Day 2: Yaletown, Chinatown, Gastown, and Granville Island Munch on a vegetarian breakfast tortilla wrap while you sip artistically-designed organic espresso at Caffe Artigiano on Hornby St., then cross the street to Vancouver Art Gallery , and browse the collection of nearly 10,000 artworks by Canadian and international artists.

Search for Plane Tickets, Hotels, Rental Cars using Search Green Travel. Search Green Travel is a brand new travel tool, created by Go Green Travel Green, to assist you in your travel planning…. You Don’t Have to Buy, Only Search Using Search Green Travel is an incredibly easy way to give back to the environment– all you have to do is search for cheap travel.

Last week we hosted a Traveler’s Social Media Love-In to encourage travelers to meet each other on various social networking sites. We’ve compiled all the users who submitted their StumbleUpon, Twitter, and Digg profiles and posted them below. We had a great turn out so be sure to check out these fellow travelers’ profiles and [...]

Why, exactly, are nonstop flights so much better for the environment than flights with a stopover? Here are some calculations: During a 143 mile direct flight (roughly Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, PA), 51% of fuel burned is from the taxi, takeoff, climb, and landing…. During a 1,151 mile nonstop flight (roughly Washington, D.C. to Minneapolis, MN), a plane burns about 13,896 lbs of fuel (1,819 of which come from take-off and landing).

Elizabeth and I had arrived in Hurghada, Egypt after a nightmarish plane ride from Moscow on which 1) I got sick from the fumes, and 2) a drunk Russian man in the seat next to mine repeatedly passed out, resting his head on my shoulder, while his friends across the aisle looked on a laughed…. Our “three star” hotel — where the shower, on full force, dribbled water like a leaky pipe — was staffed by young Egyptian men who were practically fluent in Russian, though they’d never formally studied it, and their English was good.

Welcome to this edition of the Green Travel Carnival! If you haven’t visited Go Green Travel Green before we invite you to look around. You can check out some of our popular posts via the tab on the right column or if you’re looking to start with the basics check out Green Travel 101. [...]

I couldn’t help but notice a display for Coca-Cola’s new Drink 2 Wear “sustainable” apparel Stuart Kronauge, vice president of marketing at Coca-Cola North America said , “If the 200 million Wal-Mart shoppers in the U.S. purchase these shirts, they will help us reuse and divert more than 700 million bottles from the waste stream.”… And maybe I’m wrong here, but my best guess is that it takes a lot more resources to produce these plastic shirts than it does regular cotton shirts.

You should be fairly active in these social media sites (the idea is that you will find others to friend/follow; so it’s pointless if you don’t actually use these sites) In the comments below please post the html to your profile on StumbleUpon, Digg, and Twitter (starting with these three, if it makes sense to add other networks we will do this again another time) I will then create pages that compile all these links together. My plan right now is to leave this open until Wednesday night at 9pm (U.S. EST ), but if it gets out of control or I start getting a lot of spammy comments I reserve the right to shut it down earlier.

I struggle to be a vegetarian (and often fail) when I travel because I believe that to fully experience a culture or destination, you should try local foods — even foods you might not ever eat at home…. Plus, you can interact with the people — farmers and craftsmen alike — whose goods you’re buying, which is an interaction that can be harder to come by in the U.S. People.

Here were some of the comments: Christine: What I would like to see specifically is Travel Blogging… promoting a travel blog, social networking for travel, what works, what doesn’t etc. All that technical and marketing stuff that isn’t covered anywhere, unless you look at Problogger.net, but then it’s so general it doesn’t apply…. That’s probably why there isn’t a place for it, and most of us just end up talking about this stuff via email with other bloggers.

There are lots of diagonal streets in DC, and when you combine those with the one-way streets, driving from point A to point B can be a time-consuming challenge…. I tried directions in a few different parts of DC and was unimpressed when I was told just about every time to go up a diagonal street that angled away from my final destination — even when there was another street that went straight there.

Just glad we got a spot inside (though I imagine the porch is wonderful on a sunny summer day) because it was chilly out next to the lake…. The Lake Agnes tea house is a great stop and if you feel up for it (we did after some tea) the Little Beehive Trail provides a stunning view overlooking the the valley below.

Are you tweeting? We are.
We took the plunge this month into the world of Twitter, and I’m slowly becoming addicted. I dig the casual, off-the-cuff tone of tweets.
Check us out on Twitter, and follow us to keep up with our rants, ramblings, and the travel deals we find.

At first it felt a little weird to [...]

Writing from the sweltering heat and humidity in Washington, D.C. we welcome you tho this edition of the Carnival of Cities!  If you haven’t visited Go Green Travel Green before we invite you to look around.  You can check out some of our popular posts via the tab on the right column or if you’re looking [...]

As there were 4 of us the taxi cab was only about $1 more per person; so we took the cab (that clearly operates solely for tourists: Mendenhall Glacier Cab Company )…. When we got to the Glacier he even got out of the cab and walked around with us for 10 minutes and pointed out spots where you can see salmon (during spawning season) and black bears (usually eating the salmon).

I went to two this weekend and you just can’t trade the experience of chatting with the people who grow your food - especially when the alternative is the bored teenage checker at the local Safeway. My favorite part of my weekend farmers market excursions was at the H Street Farmers Market when, upon seeing my reusable bag, a lettuce vendor told me how happy she is that everyone is bringing their own bags these days.

By next Saturday (August 2nd) please either post your ideas below, post them on the forum at Nerds Eye View, or email me the comments from your website and we can compile them in one place…. I’ll start with some of the things I want from an online travel community: More pageviews on our website More links in my website (yes these first two are obvious and self-serving, but also what we all want, so why not be frank with each other and get that out of the way) Interesting travel stories to read Tips and tricks for traveling New destination ideas People who will offer travel advice when I post a question (e.g., Janelle from IT is on the west coast this week and looking for ideas about where to go.

The main point of The 4-Hour Workweek is to be able to work just enough to live the life you want to lead — for some people that means traveling around the world, for others it means volunteering, and for others it means sitting in a little house in the woods overlooking a peaceful lake…. At the end of Eat, Pray, Love, while getting ready to leave Bali and head back to the states she writes about the expatriate society in Bali: “Everywhere in this town you see the same kind of character–westerners who have been so ill-treated and badly worn by life that they’ve dropped the whole struggle and decided camp out here in Bali indefinitely, where they can live in a gorgeous house for $200 a month, perhaps taking a young Balinese man or woman as a companion, where they can drink before noon without getting any static about it, where they can make a bit of money exporting a bit of furniture for somebody.

We’ve done some remodeling here at Go Green Travel Green, and added some features we hope you’ll like. If you haven’t already, check out the new site and let us know what you think. We’re still tweaking a bit.
Is there anything else you want to see?

Confused about the ever-changing baggage fees airlines are tacking on? The Washington Post has you covered, with an up-to-date (for now) guide on the latest fees. Remember, always check fees with your airline of choice before booking and traveling, since fees can change over night.
Guide to Airline Baggage Fees

Airline
Baggage Charges
Overweight Bag Fees
Oversize Bag Fees
Carry-on Limit

AirTran
First: [...]

I have to admit, when I first read about major U.S. airlines putting ads on boarding passes when passengers print them at home, my first thought was not, “Will they stop short of nothing to convince me to buy more stuff?”… If anything, the result will be a positive one — the airlines will generate more revenue this way, and have to rely less on luggage fees and hiking ticket prices.