Water Travel
I have been traveling a lot in the last two months and I am so grateful for the opportunity to see other parts of the gigantic country I live in.
At the end of June my spouse and I were blessed with the opportunity to go on a cruise to Alaska with his family. It is a vacation I would never have chosen for myself. Why because I tend to be a frugal, hippy type traveler, prone to pick international destinations and hostels, no frills and no extras. Plus my water travel tends to happen in a kayak, not a floating city. I have to say, I had more bags for these 7 days than I took in my last 2 trips combined. We had an amazing time and the experience has made us likely to participate on another cruise at some point. If a country to run half as efficiently as that ship seemed to run... wow! we would be living in an amazing place.
But here is the secret, I was extremely hesitant to go on this adventure. I hate those giant ships, they are an eyesore and the environmental destruction they do! Ack! I was besides myself with the disgust. To prevent myself from finding an excuse to cancel or ruining my trip with an illness, I decided to do some faery work in advance hoping to neutralize my impact on the trip. It worked and I had more fun that I ever anticipated. What's even better is my husband had so much fun for weeks after he would look at me and say "I miss our cruise."
Yesterday while cleaning out my pile upon pile of old magazines what should pop up but a wonderful solution to our vacation woes. A eco-cruise line!
Not a fruity umbrella drink in site, no casino or dance club on board and no stupid art auctions! Ahh the beauty of being with people who do yoga on deck in the morning and get out in kayaks or snorkel gear to interact with nature. So I'm setting aside funds and someday I'm going to join one of these beautiful, environmental journeys. A place where I can be thoroughly pampered, see nature, and make a difference. It's a win all around!
Oh and for those who want to offset their travels through carbon funds here are 2 options
carbonfund
co2balance