blog post: sometomes voluntourism is found in unsuspecting places

Read my latest post for Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide about my recent trip on Aqua Expeditions M/V Aria: "Sometimes Voluntourism Is Found in Unsuspecting Places."

sunset on lake charo - amazon river, peru

bottle-feeding orphaned baby amazonian manatees in peru

adios - i'm off to the amazon

Still reeling from wrapping up The Global Citizen Project earlier this week, I'm headed to the Amazon on Sunday to check out the latest addition to Aqua Expeditions' Amazon cruise vessels - the M/V Aria.  I'm very much looking forward to returning to one of my favorite corners of the world and cannot wait to get my pink dolphin fix.

Thank you Amanda Castleman, Alex Kralicek and Libby Seiter Nelson for the school supplies and clothing donations. Thank you LAN for flying me LAX - LIM - IQT.

Note: This trip is a fully hosted press trip, with the exception of flight arrangements from SEA - LAX.

headed to the amazon with aqua expeditions to experience m/v aria

You can take the girl off the travel roster, but I guess you really can’t take the traveler out of the girl. I swore off all post-project travel (at least straying from mainland U.S.) for the summer, but when an invite to experience Aqua Expeditions' brand new, super luxe ship, M/V Aria landed in my inbox, I immediately checked the Yellow Fever shot dates on my yellow World Health Organization immunization card. If I had to name my top three favorite places on the planet, the Amazon in Peru would make the final cut. Hands down. I was fortunate to experience this region of the world a few years ago on a similar river itinerary and had eyed Aqua Expedition’s ship. M/V Aqua at the time (M/V Aria's sibling ship).

Here’s the official rundown from Aqua Expeditions:

Aqua Expeditions CEO Francesco Galli-Zugaro announced plans this month to launch the second Aqua Expeditions vessel on the Peruvian Amazon, the M/V Aria, in April 2011. The M/V Aria features 16 specially designed cabins with floor-to-ceiling picture windows, a fully air-conditioned top deck with observation lounge as well as the Aqua Expeditions’ signature Amazon Grill with award-winning Executive Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.


In addition to these amenities, the M/V Aria will also boast an exercise room and an outdoor Jacuzzi with sun deck, a unique addition to accommodate the discerning and fitness conscious traveler.


“We are thrilled to announce the launch of the world’s second five-star luxury vessel to sail the Amazon,” says Galli-Zugaro. “The M/V Aria will provide the ever-growing number of travelers who wish to explore one of the world’s last great wilderness areas with a one-of-a-kind travel experience.”


The boat’s itineraries will vary from those of its sister ship, the M/V Aqua, but will also explore remote areas of the Amazon River. The 24-crew member M/V Aria is staffed with four world-class nature guides and will also include an Amazon wildlife reference library and air-conditioned multimedia room.

While this expedition is not volunteer oriented or part of The Global Citizen Project (which wraps up May 16th), there will be opportunities to visit impoverished villages along the Amazon. I plan on packing an extra suitcase of school supplies, toothbrushes/toothpaste, baby/children’s clothing and any other items that seem useful. I take off for this trip May 22, but if you act now, you can get your do good stuff into my suitcase. (And I'll throw in an extra set of thanks for your efforts!) Please email me at cpfeuffer (at) yahoo (dot) for my mailing addy. Thanks in advance for your help. I really look forward to sharing my M/V Aria experience with you and this spectacular region of the world.

third time's (maybe) the charm for lima

I don’t shy from professing my love for Peru; my feelings for Lima, though, have been lukewarm at best. This is my third trip to Peru in less than two years, and to be fair, I must disclose that I’ve logged less than 100 hours total in this colonial capital city; population 8 million.

Past visits were pre- and post pit stops before a riverboat journey on the Amazon and an early 2009 trip to Cusco, Machu Picchu and Puno. The bulk of my time in Lima has been spent shuttling between Jorge Chávez International Airport (one of my favorite airports in the world) and the safe haven of luxury hotel, Swissôtel in the swank San Isidro neighborhood. The extent of my urban explorations was a guided whirlwind afternoon tour of colonial Lima, with stops at Plaza Mayor, Mercado Indio and a restaurante muy turístico, Puro Perú. This sightseeing tour de force was meant as a quick Lima look-see, but traipsing around town en masse felt more like a dog and pony show, with minimal opportunity for organic cultural discovery.

The most telling insight of the day was of the city’s great socioeconomic divide. As we traveled from the well heeled Miraflores area, with its colonial mansions, cafés and upscale boutiques, through gritty neighborhoods riddled with trash, stray dogs and graffiti it was painfully clear that there was wide disparity between the haves and have-nots. Traffic was a major issue – in its sheer volume and recklessness – everywhere we went. Peru has the highest rate of deaths related to transit accidents in the region, and most of the fatalities take place in Lima, where pedestrians are victims in 7 out of 10 traffic accidents. That stat isn’t exactly a selling point for gal who likes explore destinations on foot until they blister. I left Lima on both occasions with a “meh” feeling and no burning desire to return.

Admittedly, it’s hard to get a handle on a place in a short amount time, especially such a sprawling urban landscape, and my half-assed Spanish skills certainly don’t help. Still, I wasn’t putting Lima on the top of any travel planning wish lists anytime soon. Or so I thought.

When I started planning the itinerary for The Global Citizen Project, my 12 country, 12 volunteer project over 12 months plan to give back, Peru was a priority. I toyed with volunteering in places I know, love and have seen need in, like Cusco and Puno, but decided that this was an opportunity to give Lima a fair shake – and not simply for an overnight stint. Cyber-sleuthing led me to Karikuy and I liked that this organization worked to promote responsible tourism, social development and gives back to the people and communities of Peru. After seeing so many inflated prices and tour company scams when I was in Cusco en route to Machu Picchu, I felt it was important to help support the people and companies who aren’t trying to suck as many soles as possible from unsuspecting gringos and gringas.

I touched down in Lima last Thursday – without my luggage – but with an open mind. (American Airlines has since delivered my missing bag.) We drove about 10 minutes across town, under an icy blanket of early, deep winter darkness to Planeta, the neighborhood where Karikuy is located. Barely one week into my volunteer experience, I’m already charmed by my new, temporary neighborhood. Taxi drivers peg this former squatter settlement as an unsafe place, but I have not felt threatened since my arrival. I hear Planeta was pretty rough and tumble a decade or so ago, but today, it’s your standard issue middle class Peruvian neighborhood. And when in doubt, we call on the fierceness of Karikuy founder, Julio’s guard dog, Killer.

The Karikuy house is located on a gated street and has enough locks, bars and gates to stump even the 'Hillside Burglar.' Beyond the façades of security, though, is a vibrant neighborhood filled with children playing, corner stores and makeshift sidewalk cafés, and the most delicious (and reasonably priced) street food you can imagine. Churros! Papas rellenos! Hamburguesas! Even Sunday afternoon drunks and the sadness of a three-day wake and funeral bring color to the neighborhood.

Peru is a place I’ll return to over and over again, so for this project, it’s important for me to break from my usual see-it-all travel modus operandi to explore within the city limits. I’ve seen the extreme natural beauty of this country, but I’m enjoying the raw realities of everyday life in Lima; especially in Planeta. I’m not running to the wedding registry with Lima quite yet, but this South American city seems more worthy by the minute as an extended travel destination instead a layover or a one-night stand. It’s cleaned up quite a bit since my last visit. Traffic is still an issue, but seems slightly less chaotic. And like everywhere you go in Peru, people are warm and inviting. I’m curious to learn more about Lima over the next two weeks while volunteering with Karikuy, but maybe third time’s the charm. So far, it looks like we’re off to a promising start.

non-profit spotlight: crooked trails

A trip to the Amazon a few years ago sparked our l-u-v affair with South America. Crooked Trails’ travel programs to Peru, India, Nepal, Kenya, Ecuador, Thailand and China, along with its community development efforts, like the Seis Vacas Para Peru program (6 Cows for Peru), sealed the deal and had us running to the alter. The Seattle-based non-profit, community-based travel organization strives to teach the ethics of responsible travel. Crooked Trails Co-founder and Executive Director, Christine Mackay, dishes with me on her commitment to change the way people travel.

CP:  What does Crooked Trails do?
CM: “Crooked Trails is a non-profit travel organization based in Seattle. We take people to live and work with communities around the world. Our focus is cultural immersion and responsible travel. I like to say it’s like a mini peace corp. experience that is in the hands of the communities we visit. We broaden people’s horizons and change lives. At least that is what our participants say.”

CP:  Why do you think this work is important?
CM: “Responsible travel is important because tourism is the largest industry in the world and the impacts on the economies, cultures and environments of people around the world is often negatively impacted because of tourists. It doesn’t have to be that way. Tourism can happen with host communities not to them if they have control over it. So we want to show travelers as well as host communities that tourism can be beneficial and a lot of fun to boot.”

CP:  What’s your favorite place to travel to?
CM: “I was thinking about this in December while I was traveling in Thailand. I had been to Thailand easily a dozen times and spent about 6 months there in total but this visit in December was the first in 5 years. I fell in love with it all over again and I realized that my favorite country is usually the one I am traveling in at the moment. I seem to appreciate wherever I am at any given time the most. It sure makes it easy to pick a place. But I just got back from Bhutan it was an amazing place – very fresh, fragile and traditional.”

CP:  What's your eco-confession?
CM: “I like sound of spa resorts, although I have yet to visit one.”

CP:  What's your eco pet peeve?
CM: “Seeing tourists using plastic water bottles when they could easily filter their own saving themselves money and time as well as the host countries environment.”

CP:  What's the eco thing you can't live without?
CM: “My steriPEN which cleans water in 60 seconds by using ultraviolet light.”

CP:  Name one place you gotta see or one thing you want to do before you die?
CM: “It was Bhutan but I just ticked that off the list, so now it’s Antarctica.”

CP:  Which type of transportation do you prefer: biking, walking, busing, train riding, or driving an eco-automobile?
CM: “I actually like mixing it up. It’s great to combine modes of transport to spice up the travel. I do love trekking though and have done it around the world.”

CP:  Are you more likely to vermicompost or put a bucket in the shower?
CM: “You got me. The only thing I have done close to combining a bucket and a shower is a sponge bath.”

CP:  If you were a character in a movie, who would you be?
CM: “Xena, the warrior princess.”

CP:  Fill in the blank: If I weren't a Travel director, I’d be…a travel writer for National Geographic.

CP:  Which do you prefer, crunchy or creamy peanut butter?
CM: “Now that depends on the bread. Smooth for whole grain bread with seeds, but crunchy for finer breads and crackers.”

Wanna Try?
Crooked Trails, www.crookedtrails.com or (206-383-9828)

Small Changes Add Up
If 10,000 Seattleites sent their kids to school with a reusable water bottle instead of a disposable water bottle each day, it would keep the weight of nearly 130 milking Holstein cows out of the landfill.

Photo courtesy of Crooked Trails

how to increase your pledge

If anyone wishes to increase their pledge, I wrote out the play-by-play, since it's kind of confusing (and a lot of people have been asking - thank you!):

1. Go to the Kickstarter page here.
2. Click on My Projects, then “Projects I’m Backing”
3. Click on “Manage Your Pledge” (in blue box on right hand side of the page)
4. Enter your NEW pledge amount (change reward if applicable)
5. Scroll down and click “Adjust Your Pledge”
6. Click “Continue to Amazon”
7. Sign into your Amazon account to complete transaction
8. You will receive a “Congratulations” page with the updated pledge amount post on the right hand side of the page (and a thank you from me!)

the river real

When I embarked on a river voyage down the Amazon in August, nothing could have prepared me for the otherwordly beauty of Peru, the Amazon and its people. It was a fairy-tale trip of cultural immersion come true.

Two dozen of us spent eight days in a blissful state of unplugged idyll on International Expedition’s Amazon Voyage – meandering several hundred miles along the Amazon River, from Iquitos to the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve and back, on the small, yet amenity-equipped riverboat La Amatista (“The Amethyst).

We walked through rainforests, watched sunrises from our boat, listened to the most beautiful symphony of howler monkeys, horned screamers, flocks of parakeets and fluttering bats and butterflies, and had an acute awareness of every inch of skin that was exposed to the sultry humidity of the jungle.

It was the people, though, who most stirred my soul. Here are four of their stories.

Robinson
He had a quiet, confident presence, but Robinson’s wild intelligence, understanding of his surroundings — he was born in the rainforest, after all — and his encyclopedic knowledge and passion for all living creatures was what was infectious.

With exaggerated trills of the “r” (that I couldn’t quite master), our tour guide deciphered the differences between the Amazon kingfisher and its Ringed species counterpart — we stopped counting different bird species at 102 varieties. He pointed out breadfruit and jackfruit trees and unfolded the medicinal benefits of the fer de lance tree in treating snake bites.

But what impacted me most was this point he made: “Activism about animal rights is a luxury of education.” When our skiff happened upon a young woman who’d killed two caimans, he delicately explained to her the benefits of at least allowing the amphibious beasts to mature long enough to reproduce. Robinson respected the environment, yet he understood the Ribereños’ (or river people) necessity to survive.

The river people — small communities of hunters, fishermen and gatherers — are simple, yet they’re hardly poor. It’s a different reality than what we’re accustomed to. Yet their standards of living are no better or worse than ours, and the Ribereños’ simple contentment is enviable. Robinson hopes increased tourism to the rainforest will bring more eco-conscious eyes to the Amazon, and ideally enabling hunters to become artisans and slowing the draining of the Amazon’s natural resources.

George
The children eyed us as we stood before a classroom in a village named “August 11th.” Nearly 20 students ranging from two to 12 years old sat attentively at their desks lined in four neat rows.

It didn’t take much prodding for George, our able tour guide and natural born entertainer, to have the kids singing, “How are you my friend, how are you?” As we gringos stumbled through simple “muy bien” responses, I recommitted myself to learning to speak Spanish. No excuses, this time.

Like Robinson, George was born in the rainforest and had been inspired to become a tour guide by a similar school visit when he was a child. His enthusiasm for inspiring the young Ribereños resonated in the intuitive connection he had with the children. Under his tutelage, we recited and learned one another’s names. The students recited their national anthem (not an easy task, as it has seven stanzas); we got off easy singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”

Ernesto
Friendship came easy with Ernesto, as well as the other Peruvian tour guides on the boat — Rudy, Fernando, Hernando, Robinson, George and Laura.

Ernesto, the Peruvian poster boy for following your dreams and finding happiness,
grew up in Ocongate, a village 2.5 hours east of Cusco. The second-youngest of six children, he knew by the age of six that he wanted to be a tour guide and a farmer.

His curious British accent (he learned English by listening to British music) belied his copper-brown skin and dark, wavy hair and I couldn’t help but feel a sweet affection for the kind-hearted, kid-at-heart as we exchanged stories and ideas and pored over maps of South America during the course of the trip.

Bany
After carefully climbing the steep, uneven steps to a rustic coastal village, we came face-to-face with an ear-to-ear smile and sparkling deep brown eyes. Bany, an 11-year-old girl, held out a section of watermelon that I happily accepted.

Immediately enthralled by the curiosities that we were, Bany stayed close and an entourage of her young female friends soon followed suit. She placed chicken feathers in my hair and I pulled her raven locks back with my blue silk scarf. She giggled as my face was painted with fiery streaks of achiote (a pigment made from seeds). When it came time to say goodbye, Bany grabbed my hand and indicated to Ernesto that she wanted to show us something.

Halfway up the hill, she announced that she wanted to watch us kiss. Taken aback, I reacted rather clumsily. Without skipping a beat, though, Ernesto snatched the opportunity to have an impromptu talk with the inquisitive young girl about intimacy.

Bany’s eyes widened as Ernesto explained that she’d have more opportunities in the world if she waited just two years longer than the other girls to have a baby. When he conveyed the conversation to me in English, I was moved almost to tears by his thoughtful gesture.

Details
The Company: The 10-day Amazon Voyage is run by International Expeditions, which also organizes nature travel tours. Prices for this trip start at $3048, not including round-trip airfare to Lima. Occasionally, IE offers a $500 per person discount.

Travel: My itinerary started in Seattle, with a layover in Houston before arriving in Lima, Peru. The group of less than two dozen guests convened at Swissôtel Lima for an overnight stay before a flying to Iquitos and boarding La Amatista the following day. A valid passport is required for travel to Peru, but no visas are required. There is a departure tax from Peru, which is currently $30.25 USD.

What You’ll See: Expect to see more than 100 bird species, as well as three-toed sloths, pink and gray river dolphins, squirrel monkeys, woolly monkeys and a large variety of tree and plant species. Don’t expect to see a jaguar. Hernando said that in the 70-plus trips he’s led on the Amazon, he has only seen one – and only for about seven seconds.

What You’ll Do: The trip balanced boat and land excursions. At least one or two big adventures were planned each day, including village and classroom visits; hiking in the rainforest in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve; fishing for (and later eating) piranha; swimming in the Amazon; canoeing; searching for bats after dark; shopping for local artisan products; drinking Pisco Sours as the guides and crew played musical instruments; learning about the medicinal benefits of plants from a local medicine man; and educational seminars on everything from the local politics and people to in-depth information on the Amazon and its history.