This blog is dedicated to younger Kate and all the people who enjoy my writing.
Follow your heart and your dreams will come true, especially if that means becoming who you were always meant to be.
THE ECO-TOURIST: BE CONSCIENTIOUS OF YOUR JOURNEY
January 29, 2020
To move to breathe to fly to float to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live. Hans Christian Anderson was right, here in the True North millions of people travel domestically each year while an estimated 80 billion in tourism dollars was generated for Canada in 2018 – travel has defined the lives of human beings and is one of the core reasons many of us get up and go to work every morning. Humans have perfected travel to the point that you might say we might travel too well, as our behaviour has begun to damage the environmental and the societal structures in the places that we are so excited to visit.
Leaders in the Canadian tourism sector are grappling with the reality of “too much travel” and strategies that will teach those of us who travel “how to do it right”. So, what exactly does eco-friendly travel look like in 2020? If while on vacation, you use your Kleen Kanteen and wear your ethically sourced wool socks and only eat vegan meals at local establishments that grow all their own produce, can you call yourself an eco-friendly tourist?
The ability a person has to be conscientious of the journey they take through this world, is the bedrock foundation of an ethical and eco-friendly traveller: making choices because they are right, and most importantly, making choices because you understand the impact your choices have. Often in travel, this journey begins with the responsibility to research your destination, accommodation and travel operator so that you can make an informed and ethical decision. From a tour operator’s commitment to you that they are transparent about their work regarding recommendations for trip planning and site selection, to community involvement, in 2020 tourism and eco-tourism are one in the same, a holistic and sustainable practice of living.
1. ASK QUESTIONS
Growing up my report card was full of comments highlighting my love for talking during class, and not much has really changed. Asking questions is important because this is how we as humans discover new information. Interested in finding out where your dinner came from? Ask. Interested in finding out what products are used to clean the restaurant? Ask. Interested in finding out how staff are compensated? Ask. Remember to be kind, respectful and genuine but there is everything right with asking questions!
2. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
One of the most disappointing feelings as an eco-friendly tourist is arriving at my air BnB, campsite or hotel room to find something seriously wrong. The more research I do ahead of time the more prepared I’ll be for my journey. Does this campsite allow glass or reusable containers only? Better find out so I can prepare the group! If you’re not the researcher in your travel team, reach out to someone who is! Tips? If an organization is in-sync and aware, they’ll typically post disclaimers all over social media, so visit Instagram or Facebook first and your research may be less painful.
3. BE PATIENT
Sometimes the greatest frustrations we feel as consumers is understanding that things need to change but becoming frustrated when companies do not move fast enough. If you have booked accommodations that are still using single use plastics, take a deep breath, consider the entire operation, and then speak to right person once you have gathered your thoughts. Usually it’s more than likely that the staff understand your frustrations and can help explain the “why”.
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THE COURTNEY ROOM
June 14, 2019
Here’s a question fellow food, beverage and hospitality professionals y enthusiasts! I had the most flavour packed food experience last night at The Courtney Room in Victoria, British Columbia. The Courtney Room is Victoria’s offering of an elevated fine dining experience without the stuffy fine dining experience. This place is serving killer dishes like this lightly pan-fried Halibut garnished with sea asparagus, radish, and beautiful eight–hour–old spot prawns caught that morning in the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Oh, and these ingredients were all swimming in an exceptional Tom Yum soup broth that packed the most incredible punch of flavour. At the Courtney Room the food is excellent and so is the service, but today I do not write to write about food and service. What dawned on me yesterday were the questions I asked myself after I placed my order. Like, when I expressed interest in the Beef Tartar I wanted to know where the beef was from, how the cow had lived, and how far away the cow had lived before being slaughtered for my little appetizer. That’s when it struck me, isn’t the manure produced by beef the leading cause of climate change on Earth? Have you ever had this conundrum? You love food but also understand the connection between what we eat and what’s causing the planet to warm at an extraordinarily alarming rate. How quickly we in the industry have responded to the expectations of our guests for sustainably sourced beef, chicken, fish and crustaceans but as the planet continues to warm how quickly will the industry be to respond to guests who, at the heart of everything, feel a moral obligation to protect the planet?
I GOT A TAN IN JAPAN
I have one witness to verify that I got a tan in Japan. A watch tan to be specific. My witness is one of the most trustworthy people I know, so to all my skeptic friends reading this, it’s true. I got a tan in Japan.
I came to Japan for six weeks but I never felt excited about the trip, only pleased and at peace with the idea that I was finally visiting my dream destination. Still as I write this, I’m sitting at a bus stop waiting for my friend as a River runs underneath me as it has through Kyoto for hundreds of years, and all I can feel is that this is where I’m supposed to be. This is a place I do not want to leave. The truest emotion I have felt is one I can’t describe but know that the feelings were accompanied by tears. The following are my accounts of moments where the motivation to write overcame me and the words just flowed onto paper or keyboard.
KYOTO
They say that when you come to Japan convenience is everywhere. I remember seeing a photo online of a vending machine stocked with perfect ice cream cones and then told everyone that that was one of the things I was most excited to see. Turns out there is definitely convenience, mostly in the cities, where you can find coffee, tea, and juices stocked in the vending machines that line the streets. But what I realized after six weeks in Japan and on my last day in Kyoto, was that what I had discovered is the refinement that is hidden behind all of the convenience. What’s more, I realized that the convenience of my life in Canada was actually responsible for much of the stress I experienced. My lifestyle was rushed. My morning routine consisted of waking up, begrudgingly, to an alarm clock, and then waiting in a long line somewhere for shitty coffee before running off to my next whatever. As Cher Horowitz said, “I don’t mean to be a traitor to my generation or anything”, and I don’t think I am. But I do think that the level of anxiety my peers and I experience as young Canadians is due in part to this minute to win it lifestyle that has clearly burned out our parents, who ironically are beginning to tell us how exhausted they are at 60. Have you seen a Japanese person over 60? Well now I have, and let me tell you they’re cycling somewhere quite effortlessly and doing it in style.
GION
Despite being a person who is emphatic about her views of the patriarchy, I adore and admittedly romanticize the goddesses who are the Geisha of Japan. Our first @airbnb of the trip is located in Shirakawa, Higashiyama-Ku, Gion, Kyoto, a well preserved and beautiful historic area that in 2019 brings you back to early centuries. The two and three story buildings have stood along the Shirakawa Dori Waterway for more than 100 years, and continue to be the place where the elusive and enchanting Geisha entertain guests and “businessman”.
CHIORI
Hofu, Yamaguchi is a beautiful, rural town south of Hiroshima. Our hosts are Ken and Saki and they rent a 1960s country home from Masao-san. Masao-san and his granddaughter Chiori visited us today and took me foraging for bamboo shoots in a nearby forest. This kid is great: she showed me how to find Shiitakie mushrooms which grow on fallen wood and to search under fallen leaves for the small bamboo shoots for bbq-ing! What I’m learning as I spend more time in Japan is, above everything else, the power of human connection. We learned to communicate in five hours when we both barely speak each other’s language, and then took our bikes to get strawberry ice cream. Life is good here.
I changed our itinerary after my friend TJofToronto arrived in Japan so that we could visit Hofu and Yamaguchi City for a second time. Even though I know TJ is a city mouse, I figured her appreciation of people would trump the fact that our Air BnB is located in the Japanese countryside. Hofu is well known in the region for this bomb ass soft ice cream shop that is built next to the incredible strawberry and blueberry farm pictured here! On our last day the owner, Asamura-san, invited us for a tour of the greenhouses. She taught us many things that morning, but one thing that stuck is how important her worker bees are to perfecting the shape of the strawberry @psecord1!!! Must make additional note of the following:
1. Hofu smells like Muskoka!
2. Our cycling adventure to nearby city to buy all the ingredients we needed to make an authentic Canadian summer BBQ meal complete with burgers, hotdogs and s’mores!
3. Making friends :)))) with the neighbours and being invited to a homemade Filipina dinner the next night.
Thank you again @kominka_yamane and Saki – we will see you again one day in Canada!
CARTAGENA
April 18, 2018
Go! Before everyone else does. Make sure you pack your pocket size Spanish dictionary, favourite hat, and an appetite for cheese, guava and mojito. Cartagena is only a flight away from Chicago, New York and Toronto, and the heat, oh the sweet, enveloping heat that greets you like a warm hug the moment you step off the airplane. Cartagena, Colombia is another world away and that’s why it continues to reappear in my dreams. Were we really there? Salsa-ing with locals at midnight, following a local guide on a bike tour through 5 pm rush hour traffic to see the sun set? Standing on the cobblestone streets that Gabriel García Márquez describes so vividly in his Love in the time of Cholera? And the doors, the magnificent doors that define many of the homes in the city – you’ll fall in love with the architecture and the Bougainvillea flowering from every nook and cranny. If you’re looking for luxury and service with a dash of affordability, you can find it staying at Casa Lola. Located in the Getsemani District, Lola is a hotel built inside the ruins of a grand old Colombian home and in no time, you’ll find yourself exploring the open air hallways and transported back to a time of luxury. And eat! Always remember one must eat. Mango, Chicharrón, ceviche, handmade Lullo (a regional fruit) popsicles, and arepas now all have a special place in my mental food file. We had time to spend a few days outside of the city at one of the handful of eco-hotels that have become a mainstay in the gorgeous coastal Rosario Islands. Barú Playa is an isolated eco-hotel that sleeps 12 and has no hot water (like you need it, it’s 35 degrees Celsius outside). Take a 30-minute boat ride from a launch in the town of Barú (45 minutes outside of Cartagena) and you’re in Colombian paradise with white sand beaches and cerveza chair side, order any food and wait two hours for it to be served, it felt great for the pace of life to slow down. So go, in the winter months when its quiet and the city is not yet packed with tourists, giving you a chance to experience a place so steeped in life and beauty, you will find yourself dreaming about it too.
BACK TO SCHOOL
September 23, 2016
So proud to announce my engagement to my Masters of Arts Tourism Management at Royal Roads University. This has been a long time coming and it is neat not knowing where this journey will take me. First time visiting B.C., spending the next two weeks between residence at RRU and at @jstrue’s place in James Bay. Here is a photo from this morning doing my first bit of field research with @eaglewingtours. Dreams came true when I saw three Humpback whales at at least 40 resident Orca! #lifeisgood
I got a tan in Japan!...and other stories. 