Sustainable Travel? Really?

Just Look for the Eartcheck Symbol

Let’s see..you’ve chosen a vacation package…check….it meets your budget….check….it has everything you want…check….does it have the Earthcheck certification?  I bet you’re saying, ‘Huh? What’s that?’

If you’ve ever considered taking a sustainable vacation, there are now ways of ensuring you’re getting what you paid for. Your best bet these days is to look for the Earthcheck certification or symbol. It’s like when you’re buying food – look for the heart check symbol. It’s a form of consumer reassurance that you’re getting exactly what you’ve bargained for - in this case a sunny vacation somewhere with peace of mind that you’re maintaining a light tread on this precious earth.

Earthcheck is a fairly new organization that’s been around a few years and provides third party assessment for all kinds of businesses, namely tourism destinations. To be more specific, they design programs and products to help businesses streamline their operations to be more “green”, reduce waste, improve safety and conserve resources in the whole manufacturing process. And they do follow up.  They gather data on things like chemical use, amount of waste that goes to landfills, energy consumption and recycling practices. Each location that is audited by Earthcheck is given a checkup and is informed of ways to improve their green practices.

Although Mexico in general has received a lot of bad press as of late, it is good to remain informed of the areas you can head to if you’re hankering for a bit of Mayan Riviera culture. One particular place that has recently received gold status from Earthcheck is Huatulco in southern Mexico. The coastal paradise became the first tourist destination in the Americas to receive EarthCheck's gold certification earlier this month for meeting the meticulously thorough sustainable tourism requirements of EarthCheck. The requirements range from environmental legislation, energy usage, water conservation, wastewater management, biodiversity, and waste reduction.

Earlier this year at the EarthCheck Sustainable Tourism Forum in Huatulco, Adriana Perez Quesnel, director of the Fondo Nacional del Fomento al Turismo (FONATUR), said, "We are immensely proud to receive this certification and even more so to be the first destination in the Americas to do so. This achievement is a clear demonstration of how government, the private sector and local communities can work together to deliver significant benefits to the world in which we live."

In fact it may interest you to know that Huatalco has received Earthcheck certification for the past five years. Because of this certification, Huatalco will be featured as one of 13 sustainable destinations on a Discovery Channel program to be aired in 2012.

"In Mexico alone, EarthCheck member organizations have saved a combined total of 26,349,880 kg of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) since data started being collected in 2003," said Earthcheck Ambassador Gustavo Ramos Fumagalli in a press release June 3. “"They have also reduced water consumption by 2,196, 674,635L of water, dramatically reducing pressure on natural resources in a country that is familiar with the unforgiving effects of drought."

Earthcheck has provided its “greening” certification and assessment services to more than 65 countries and more than 1,100 businesses worldwide. One shining example they give on their website is in St. Lucia at Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort and Spa. They reduced their energy consumption by 51 per cent. In addition, Ecoturismo Kuyima in Mexico is seeing a 97 per cent improvement in their water consumption.

Remember before booking any trip, it is always smart to check with your travel agent or people you know who have been to Mexico, or view travel advisories at www.voyage.gc.ca.

Remember the crime watchdog character, McGruff? If they can give you sustainability and safety in one vacation package, now that would be true peace of mind. For more information about Earthcheck, visit www.earthcheck.org.

The Great Bruce Peninsula Yurt Camping Adventure

Wood stove inside yurt

Our cozy yurt

Ask plenty of people who know a bit about camping and they still have not heard of a yurt camping. Well we hadn't heard of it either, until we stumbled on it while looking at the Bruce Peninsula website. First off, for those of you who have grown tired of sleeping on the ground in a tent or have spent plenty of lost hours trying to assemble one or become frustrated with one that's purported not to leak but does anyway, you'll welcome staying in a yurt. Some have referred to it as 'glamping' due to its round, tent-like structure; no assembly required. In fact it's reminiscent of those tents used by Central Asian nomads; only they had to put them up and take them with them. Well, otherwise they wouldn't be nomadic, now would they? The ones you'll see at both provincial and federal parks have a wood frame and super duty canvas walls and are quite sturdy and leak proof. They are also equipped with a wood stove, beds, table and chairs and shelving to store some of your gear. Each yurt has a deck, an outdoor fireplace or pit and a gas barbecue. When we stepped inside our yurt at Bruce Peninsula National Park, we were blown away by the cozy shelter. It just wasn't the camping I'd grown up with (thank goodness!). I recall tents with poles I would carry as part of a 40 or 50-pound backpack or the pop-up tent trailer that as soon  as it rained, you could not touch the canvas over your head or it would leak. Well no more! Yurts are here and they are awesome. The following is our two-day yurt adventure:

 Day 1 - Settling in

Jim overlooks Georgian Bay with Indian Head Cove in the distance

Jim is preparing the fire outside on the deck. We just came back from a short after dinner walk. We had local whitefish from Georgian Bay, asparagus and corn with a pasta side dish. All done on the outdoor gas barbecue. This is a beautiful place and we haven't seen anything yet. The yurt is astounding. It has a green Murphy bed and a bunk with a single bed on top and a double on the bottom. There's a wood stove that I look forward to enjoying later. I have to say, the moment we got out of the car, I was marveling at the smell of cedar. It's woodsy aroma had me smiling. Our yurt is just steps away from Cyprus Lake and right by the trails. Tomorrow morning is our big day where we will hike to Overhanging Point, the Grotto and Indian Head Cove. Maybe we'll head to Fern Caves, something that is not on the map. It will be all along Georgian Bay. Can't wait! Sleep will be deep and refreshing tonight.


Day 2 - Yurt living

The morning started grey and the rain passed overnight thankfully. We slowly got up and Jim cooked eggs on the yurt BBQ. After bringing the dishes to the comfort station to wash, we made

Grotto at Bruce Peninsula National Park

our way to the trails. We did Cyprus Lake trail, Georgian Bay trail and Boulder Beach - everything from easy to difficult in terms of ease of use. At times the trail resembled a typical campground with scattered pine needles and spongy forest floor that sounds hollow with each step. Then the trail got rocky with inclines and tree roots. The air was fresh with cedar and the humus of dying leaves. We arrived at the grotto and Indian Head Cove and once we were through an opening in the bushes, we were blown away by the sight that had confirmed the sounds we heard earlier about one kilometer away. The Georgian Bay was hitting jutted rocks and spraying upward. This beautiful, natural drama was playing out before us and all around us, yet it was calming our souls. Just what we needed. we couldn't find the entrance to the grotto, but got close enough. I crouched on the outer edge at the top of it while Jim fretted about me falling and hitting my head. We snapped photos and made our way back. We took off to tour the nearby town of Tobermory before dinner. It is just ten minutes down the highway 6 from our yurt site. It's a little harbor side town with quaint antique, gift and book stores. We wandered into G & S Watersports and came across the unexpected. The young man greeted us and at once we noticed something was different about the woman he was talking to in this kayak/dive shop. While getting prices and advice on kayaking the area, we couldn't help but notice the woman in the shop wearing a pink jacket with a purple skirt and mock turtleneck was wearing a blonde wig. At first I thought, 'oh the poor woman must have gone through chemo recently.' But then when she spoke, a man's voice came out. I then took a quick glance at her hands and they were big and masculine with bright pink nails atop sausage-like fingers. I then realized the mock turtleneck's

Georgian Bay waves crashing

purpose was to disguise an adam's apple. The skin on her face was thick and you could clearly see where she had been shaving and her features were masculine. So this was a dear person who enjoyed cross dressing and walking around with her little white dog in a matching purple coat. Let's face it, kayakers and divers come in all sorts of skins. Afterwards, we popped into the bookstore next door. I bought a magazine, some chocolate and fresh made caramel corn. The store owner handed me a pile of free magazines that were missing the covers and were being thrown out anyway. When we stepped outside, we noticed the harbour area was missing the tourists and was deserted. We took a walk along the rickety, wooden dock to the end where there was an old shipwreck sticking out of the water. It was behind an Italian restaurant that was closed for the season. The lot behind the restaurant was littered with a rusty tug boat that came from Port Dover. We headed back to enjoy a bbq pork loin with the rest of the asparagus and corn. We also enjoyed some sparkling wine because we forgot our champagne at home in the fridge. The Tobermory LCBO was small but decent and we weren't prepared to drop a tonne of coin on Dom Perignon or some other champagne. Another night in paradise with a delightful wood stove in a yurt with the love of my life.

Day 3 - Heading home from the yurt

Harvest Moon Bakery

Harvest Moon Bakery grounds and home

We cleared out well before the 11 am cutoff and decided to take our time coming home and stop at all that stops we wanted to see on the way into the park. Going down highway 6 south we saw a group of female wild turkeys and a deer. That was the most wildlife we saw aside from countless crows, chipmunks and blue jays. Our first stop was at a mill from the 1850s that had been converted to a bookstore and a cafe. The place was filled to the rafters with books! I could've stayed all day! Jim found me the biography of Pauline Johnson. I bought it along with a couple of beeswax candles and a book on motherhood by Naomi Wolf. The second stop was at a bakery we had noticed before. Well you couldn't help but notice it amongst all the trees and rocks on the highway. It was called Harvest Moon Organic Bakery. The owner, gentleman with the cropped salt and pepper hair and bandana with gentle brown eyes told us they've been in business 17 years using organic vegetables in their offerings that they grow themselves. Their house was painted green, yellow and red on stucco and looked idyllic for a sustainable bakery owning family that runs its business on 100% bullfrog power. They also feature walking trails around their property called 'Sculpture Walks'. We didn't have much time to venture out and see that, maybe next time. We didn't have cash on us and thought naively we could use debit. The kind owner said they do I.O.U.s  Jim looked at me like, "no we couldn't do that." But something told me it was okay so we took their offer to write them a cheque for the $24 worth of food we bought. We bought multigrain organic bread, spanokapita, pasties and panzerotti. We

Female wild turkeys seen in a field along Hwy 6 S

Mr. Hepworth with his town sign!

were blown away by their trust in us. So when we get home I'm sending them the cheque with a thank you card. The last stop was one we had to do since the town's sign was our family name. We needed a photo to prove it. The town of Hepworth. Of course it has a big outdoor outfitter store so we had to stop there too.
I know we've been talking about coming back again. Jim has been talking about getting a camper. We'll see!