Save Eco Destinations

The beach in Tulum, with a hotel or two off to the side

We first arrived at Cancun Airport, got stood up by the shuttle service we had already paid for, freaked out, threw an exhausting tantrum, had a couple of cocktails, and finally found a solution to our dilemma.

But on to the fun stuff.

I am sorry to inform that the only way to reach Tulum from Cancun is via the use of vehicles that run on gasoline, and there is no airport in Tulum (yet). The trip can take between 1.5 and 3+ hours, depending on much you choose to spend (about USD 30 for a 3+ hour ride with transfers or USD 100+ for a comfy drive with AC just 1.5 hrs long).

You can also rent a car – and maybe find a hybrid one! It’s worth finding out if that’s what you would rather do.

Riding a bike would take so long you’d probably collapse from the heat and dehydration before getting anywhere. If it gets unbearable just standing beneath the morning sun, imagine what it would be like riding a bike with luggage on your back and for hours on end. And it’s not like the road between Cancun and Tulum is picturesque either – it’s very green, but nothing to write home about.

On to the green, largely sustainable hotel -

We finally arrived at our eco hotel, which did not provide us with any electricity except a fan in our room during the day and wi-fi (you could charge your computer, just not in your room, as there are no outlets – but believe me when I say that spending the vast majority of my day away from the computer was 100% liberating and relaxing).

Note: I will tell you why the no-electricity factor is nothing to be apprehensive about in my next post.

A little of the romantic magic in Tulum

We had hot and cold water in our room (but we barely used the hot water at all!). We really did not need AC (it was summer there: late August) and must have used the fan once, if that. The ocean breeze was spectacular and all you really need to feel refreshed.

Okay – our hotel was on the coast. If you stay in the town of Tulum, which is 6 km. away from the beach, the breeze will be less potent. All the hotels I could see in the town advertised AC, cable, and so on. But why go there when you can take a break and detox from “civilization”?

Let me tell you: I can’t remember a time I’ve been so intensely relaxed for so many consecutive days.

Tulum is paradise for beach and nature lovers – and history + anthro buffs too, as Mayan ruins abound. And there are activities – plenty of them (more on that in a later post) – but I basically used most of my time sitting by the waves, staring at them for hours, and letting their beauty flow into me as the sound of the crashing waves cleansed me from the inside out.

Costa Maya - photo by lecates

The Mexican Government said last month that discussions on an ecotourism project on Costa Maya are back on. No further news has been reported since then.

The 47,938 acre- (19,400 ha) area would span 28 miles (45 km) of beach in the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco south of Tulum, near Mahahual, Noticaribe reports.

The project would create 30,000 jobs, said Delegate for the Environmental and Natural Resources Secretary (SEMARNAT) Gabriela Lima Laurents. This is extremely beneficial and significant, especially considering the devastating effects the H1N1 outbreak has had on the tourism industry in Mexico for the past few months.

“There are various spheres [of influence] involved and so the process is long – everyone must meet an agreement and respect the environment,” she said.

Sixty percent of the land will be reserved for ecological preservation.

Environmentalists, three levels of government, and – of course – private investors have been attending the meetings. This is precisely why the project was delayed. They were also awaiting a second meeting with representatives from the Urban Development and Environmental Secretariat (SEDUMA).

“It is a complex project because it has many subprojects, it is not SEMARNAT that has halted it … but the red tape,” she explained.

The beach in this area resembles that of Cancun, Lima Laurents noted, with white sands and waters in different shades of blue – which *cough* business(wo)men and tourists from all over the world would love *cough*.

Ecotourism + nature conservation = Fantastic

Demonstators block the entrance to Camp Garcia Naval Base January 13, 2003 in Vieques, Puerto Rico. For decades, warships and planes used it as a firing range before it was closed in 2003. A new U.S. congressional report, prepared for a hearing on March 12, 2009, says officials from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a branch of the Health and Human Services department charged with protecting the public near toxic pollution sites, "deny, delay, minimize, trivialize or ignore legitimate health concerns" of residents exposed to the toxic munitions left behind. Photo from www.cpcml.ca

The U.S. polluted Puerto Rico through live-fire and bombing exercises from WWII until 2003 while it used the area as the biggest training ground for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Forces. 

The Navy is now fortunately trying to undo the damage by cleaning its shit up. But not because they’re a magnanimous bunch. In truth, it’s a response to the Vieques Government and almost 9,300 residents going after the U.S. Govt for polluting their land and burdening the population with illnesses.

Awesome: the Department of the Interior wants to turn the area into a wildlife reserve once it’s cleaned up. Yay. And small portions of the area including undeveloped beaches have already been opened to the public as a wildlife refuge by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sucky: to “clean it up” by getting rid of hazardous unexploded munitions, the Navy wants to detonate them in the open air. Actually, it’s already started conducting these explosions. The Navy also wishes to burn 100 acres of tropical jungle to find where the hell they placed cluster bombs and explode them.

Imagine the smoke, violent noise (causing mass anxiety and general disruption, I presume), destruction and other crap that would – once again – plague the region’s humans, non-humans, and ecosystems if the Navy goes ahead with this at full capacity.

photo by NOAA - ccma.nos.noaa.gov

Naturally, the locals are pissed and suspicious. For a long time now, locals have resisted the Navy’s operations on their home land. And they know this clean-up scheme will screw them once more.

“The great majority of emergency room visits here last year were for respiratory problems,” said Evelyn Delerme Camacho, the mayor of Vieques, PR. “Can they guarantee that contaminants or smoke won’t reach the population? Would we have to wait and see if there’s a problem?”

Head of the Navy’s Vieques restoration program Christopher T. Penny said that thus far, using a remote-control device to penetrate the vegetation has not yielded favorable results. Further, it unexploded bombs are too powerful and therefore unsuitable to be exploded in detonation chambers. Nice bullshit detector.

EPA reps defend the Navy and claim its plans are standard protocol. EPA deputy director in San Juan Jose C. Font went as far as to say the detonations do not pose a threat to human health (um, what about the fauna and flora, genius?) – if limited (what is “limited”?) amounts go off at a time and the wind remains calm. He said that the air quality would be consistently monitored throughout the detonations.

"A gift for Vieques from Clinton and the U.S. Navy" - photo by thegully.com

Gee, with the stellar reputation of the U.S. throughout the Americas, not to mention globally, I’m sure the peeps at Vieques will trust the EPA’s every word and take a chill pill.

After all, the TNT, napalm, depleted uranium, mercury, lead and other chemicals, including PCBs, all potentially present at Vieques are all harmless.

Oh – also, the EPA said the cleanup could last up to a decade.

Excuse me?

Bastards!

More bullshit:

“In 2003, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which assesses health hazards at Superfund sites, concluded that levels of heavy metals and explosive compounds found in Vieques’s soil, groundwater, air and fish did not pose a health risk.

Really? That’s funny, because cancers of the breast, cervix and uterus have increased by 300% over the past 20 years.

But this year the registry agency said it would “rigorously” revisit its 2003 finding, and its director, Dr. Howard Frumkin, plans to visit Vieques on Wednesday to meet with residents.”

PR is asking Obama to get his ass in gear and “achieve an environmentally acceptable cleanup” and “closely monitor the health of the people of Vieques and promote appropriate remedies.” It is the least the U.S. could do. The least.

Because if those bombs are not removed, accidental explosions could take place. Any. Time. Actually, this may happen regardless.

“The real risk is that there’s no technology available that would guarantee that they’ve removed every piece of ordnance,” said Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, an assistant professor of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Always shitting on everyone. I am so sick of their bullshit. I guess ignorance is bliss. Just reading Naomi Klein’s Disaster Capitalism, for example, makes my blood boil. My mother has had friends “disappear” during a dictatorship funded by the U.S. Government in the late 1970s. I won’t even get into Pinochet. Jesus Christ…

Some good news:

Once the whole mess is over, locals want to use the area for ecotourism too, and housing. These people live in poverty.

Fishers are already enjoying catching their prey in peace, and endangered turtles such as the loggerheads might finally be able to reclaim the land for nesting once the chaos subsides.

Source: NYT.

If you live in the area or are interested in sustainability within Mexico check out Green Expo Tulum 2009. (Scroll down for English.)

On August 7-8 you can expand your knowledge about sustainable living and show that you support sustainable construction and nature conservation in the area. Network, attend workshops, conferences, and – of course – morrrrrre.

Go go go!

Alam Sari Keliki Hotel, the boutique eco-hotel in the hills in Keliki, north of Ubud in Bali

Oy. I read that some hotels tout themselves as eco solely because they offer their guests the opportunity to not wash their laundry daily. Ridiculous? Indeed!

To help remedy the situation and separate the farce from the truth, there are now as many as 100 green travel certifications all over the world, all of which help potential guests learn whether a hotel’s eco claims are for real. Sixty of these are in Europe, and only 7 are global, including Green Globe and ECOTEL; some countries have their own particular certification program.

[Right now most certifications only apply to hotels and lodges, but increasingly others are cropping up to deal with tour operators, beaches, parks, golf courses (a green golf course?!), and boats.]

The certification measures health and safety standards (whether they are legally required or not), quality and service, and sustainability – which sometimes but not always considers the environmental and social impact of the hotel and its programs on the community.

Green Globe looks at the traditional tourism market. Its certifications reward the cutting down of electricity and water use. They do not set standards on performance (only intent – hello problem!). This one looks at the non-human environment, largely, as social and cultural issues are not addressed. (If you ask me, the environment entails all of us – are we not part of it? Is it not part of us?) P.S. Their user interface is not very intuitive. Good luck surfing their website!

So Green Globe focuses on intent as opposed to performance. Conversely, performance-based achievement certifications set clear environmental and social requirements, such as a specific percentage of local sourcing of employees or food.

ECOTEL is performance-based and more thorough than Green Globe. ECOTEL looks at five inspections:

• Environmental commitment
• Solid waste management
• Energy efficiency
• Water conservation
• Employee education and community involvement

Each of these 5 inspections has a 3-tiered Numerical Scoring System for the meeting of criteria. And all hotels have to satisfy ECOTEL’s primary criteria before even applying for the certification. Sweet. That tells me the certified hotels give a damn. Read more here.

See the ECOTEL-certified hotels here to plan ahead for your next trip!

Not many hotels – or even countries – are listed. Hopefully the eco certification industry will soon burgeon and make it easier for all of us to make ethical choices for our trips and vacations.

And I like STEP: Sustainable Travel International –

STEP is the world’s first and only global sustainable tourism eco-certification program offered by a non-profit organization. […] Due to its comprehensive nature, STEP was recognized as the most comprehensive of any sustainable tourism certification initiative in an independent research analysis commissioned by the United Nations Foundation, helping to establish STEP as the “Gold Standard” in sustainable tourism certification.

Although STEP is globally relevant, it is designed to address unique regional social, cultural, environmental and economic attributes.

STEP offers another advantage: because it is non-profit, it costs less to acquire its label – when you have to pay high prices for certification, it can get complicated no matter how green you already are. Especially if you’re just starting out or if you’re in Mexico, say, and the swine flu has kicked your business in the bum and left you struggling to stay afloat.

So to check out destinations certified by STEP, click here.

Enjoy!

Could it be? A truly eco-friendly jungle haven for those who can afford it you can live in without ruining the local ecosystem? Holy cow.

Selva de Aluxes is 300 acres between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Currently in the works, lots are going at pre-sale prices. These lots are meant to have houses built on them.

And (do you hear the music?) they claim that officials are respecting “eco-friendly restrictions as a way of preserving the environment and natural habitat.” For fresh water, they are drilling into the earth to install a well, which is a lot better than trucking fresh water in every day like other establishments (even “eco” ones) do. Right on the homepage, it reads:

“We are dedicated to preserving the ecosystem with infrastructure standards that include the use of windmill turbines, solar panels, air generators and a host of other environmentally friendly techniques.”

There will be a community center with art shows and live music—ahem, noise and light pollution! (Remember their effects on the endangered sea turtles, anyone?) Well, its impact on the ecosystem would depend on location, noise level, and other factors. I’m still skeptical. And you know why you should be too? Because there will be a landing strip for small aircrafts. Really, it’s right on the homepage.

Sounds like these people have good intentions but they’re not very smart. Or they really don’t care about preserving the tranquility of nature for the benefit of the local ecosystem—and they’re bad at hiding it.

Apart from that, there aren’t many details yet. The wind and solar energy factor is comforting, however. And the drilling of the well instead of bringing in water.

Well, then, I’m hopeful. It is, in any case, some kind of step forward.

But, you know: it’s like all these eco retreats and activities and developments right in the midst of nature—if you were really eco, you’d leave it alone, right? That’s how I feel.

I mean, sure, it’s great to be in nature. I go to my local ecological reserve to paint, read, hang out by the water and hear the river’s soothing sounds calm me. But I’m not going to build a home there, even if my excrement was to exit my super excellent eco sewage treatment system smelling of wheatgrass. I just go, enjoy myself, pick up any trash I see, and go back home without causing any destruction.

But, hey, what are you gonna do? It’s not like we can shoot down everyone who walks all over nature. For now.

Note: Even I’m sick of discussing it, but I can’t help myself.

The swine flu/H1N1 rage is over or dwindling in many parts of the world (and yes, growing in some). 70 deaths in Mexico now. And millions due to the regular flu, by the way.

I just want to say, all the overreacting has caused me to postpone my vacation. First, it was just going to be a few weeks. Now, for reasons external to H1N1 but impacted by the postponed trip, it will be a few months. No good.

Pigs are abused in factory farms

So I hope the rest of you have had better luck and suffered from no panic, or at least were able to control the media’s flu frenzy. It’s too bad that countries have been shutting people out and blocking people in due to this. And that masks, paranoia and general anxiety have been cutting us off from one another! You know, I was afraid people would give me dirty looks on the plane and at airports since I suffer from allergies and frequently blow my nose. But I am speaking even of those who do not.

And a big no-no to you, big pharma, for feeding it (and sponsoring it? Most likely!). Bad big pharma. Bad.

Oh, and if you wanted environment-related news regarding H1N1, the Huffington Post has posted a few links. (I just didn’t find them relevant enough to the usual topics to discuss here.) And let me repeat that I blame Big Pharma, not factory farms, for the virus. Although, factory farms are horrible. Go vegetarian! Ok, no pressure.

taken at Isla Mujeres, by Ricardo Carreon

Prices have been slashed by 50-70% in an effort to lure back tourists, many of whom not only did not come after having bought their tickets and reserved their rooms along the coasts of Quintana Roo—which is arguably understandable—but they didn’t even cancel. How rude.

The federal government is giving the tourism industry a hand through a multimillion-dollar campaign worth USD 450 million. They got loans for hotels, cuts in airport and port fees and tax write-offs, the New York Times reports.

And the government should be generous: Mexico’s tourism industry earned USD 13.3 billion last year alone (the worst case scenario is thought to be a USD 5 billion loss for 2009, up to 0.5% off their GDP). Two million people depend on the Mexican Caribbean tourism industry to feed their families. Tourism represents 8% of the country’s economy.

Cozumel by John and Lee

Still, no cruises will stop at Mexico. And even a Royal Caribbean representative admits that “It is not necessarily the risk” It’s more about whether our guests feel comfortable visiting Mexico.” Right! Because Mexico has been stigmatized, which I find unfair. And really, anywhere something this hysterical happens it would be unfair, it’s not a Mexico thing.

And yet the US Govt still says “essential travel only or you’ll get H1N1.” Overreact much? This is why people are in fear—Because people exaggerate!

I’ll let Jon Stewart tell you about it (plz follow the link because I can’t figure out how to embed a video).

The Cancun Hotel Assoc will be working with Mexican travel agents to get more Mexicans back in the area. It’s deserted out there, I hear. Once the global flu threat is dismissed or lifted, the assoc will work with US and other foreign travel agents to attract gringos and everyone else back.

North Hemisphere folks, you will get to swim, sunbathe, relax, hike and party your ass off in Mexico this summer. For cheap. Just skip DF and you’ll have no excuse to freak.

Swine flu’s so last week.

Come on, let me see a smile on that pretty face of yours!

ruins in Acapulco by tourbyvan

P.S. I think this issue gets to me so much because I used to be one of the people who saw or heard something on TV and believed it. Sure, I was a kid back then. But it’s always been disheartening to me to learn that I’ve been duped even if everyone else is too. It’s not cool. It’s crap. It has to stop. And bringing panic to the masses is not only crap but also evil. Not to mention the ulterior motives of selling Tamiflu and all that shit.

P.P.S. I think there’s no more for me to say on this issue, so expect a break. Yay!

I feel the need to address this because living in a relatively sheltered area can skew your perspective on some things. This post is meant to prevent misunderstandings regarding personal safety in Mexico.

So I stumbled upon a post in the destinationweddingsite.com blog (hey, internet searches come up with random things. I wasn’t checking it out because I’m interested, I swear! Heh.)

Apparently, potential Mexico travelers have been writing emails to hotels and whatnot asking about—not the swine flu, mind you—but how likely it is you’ll get killed by drug lords carrying guns and high on coke.

The basic answer is “it’s not dangerous, chill.”

Listen: you will have dangerous areas and safe areas everywhere. If you’re worried (don’t be! Well, not if you believe in the law of attraction) take some pepper spray with you or take self-defense classes.

But really, it’s common sense—don’t walk alone in dark, deserted places at night, don’t hang out with drug dealers or drug lords, don’t go looking to buy illegal drugs, perhaps don’t flaunt your dollar bills or expensive items in public (especially in Mexico D.F. right?), and so on. Oh, and don’t go out looking for prostitutes, either. (Besides, it’s demand that draws supply—remember that.)

It’s the same as everywhere else, essentially.

Okay, I’ve lived in Los Angeles. And they’ve got some of the most hardcore gangs in the US. Drugs, guns, crime, murders, the whole package. And the only bad thing that ever happened to me was sexual harassment on a public bus, ok?

So there. Just use your common sense. Don’t venture out alone into the night in the city unless getting your ass kicked turns you on.

Read this post for more.

I told you: rich white people

Land in Tulum is going up in price due to the upcoming development of Aldea Zamá and speculations as to the local  population increase to come. Realtors actually expect Tulum’s population to swell large enough to surpass Playa del Carmen’s!

Wouldn’t that be awful? It would stop being Tulum, essentially. It would become more polluted. It would become poisoned with corporate interests—and it would show—much to the dismay of the locals in particular.

Not to mention that it would be located right next to the ecological national park and archaeological sites. Yet there is not one mention of the development aiming to prevent damaging the environment or being at all ecologically mindful.

Aldea Zamá will be placed close to downtown Tulum, encompassing residential lands, green park areas and commercial community zones. This part of Tulum is having its infrastructure prepared to host the coming corporate plague. Details as to the infrastructure alteration are hiding somewhere.

The people in charge try to sugarcoat it, you know, by saying it will be cozy. Check it: “We don’t want the people feeling as if they are living in a resort, spring break city, we want them to feel as if they are in a home and within a home community,” said Francisco de La Torre, sales director of the project.

Hmmm.

As far as esthetics, the plan is to “embrace the Mayan ambience”—yet employ “contemporary styles.” Um, wouldn’t that kind of clash?

How is that supposed to “preserve the treasured Mayan cultural history”? Building freaking condos ain’t gonna do it!

They think meshing modern technology with “the skills of local artisans [and] indigenous materials” will make it fit flawlessly into Tulum. Yeah, and at the same time they will create a “European ambience.”

Are they stupid or lobotomized? No, wait: they just want your $. Clever fu**ers. I’m sure they’ll fool plenty of folks with their inconsistent promises.

So no wonder they expect the local population to increase—they’re building unsustainable condos for rich white people (come on, that’s their target demographic, you know it) at the expense of nature and archaeology.

Well that’s nothing new.

The only thing I like about Aldea Zamá is that they plan to encourage walking as the main mode of transportation…although even their model photo-illustration portrays a BMW right by the shops–but wait–I thought everything was going to be walking distance?

Oh, right: they lied.