Custom travel advice for ecotourism from JB Journeys

IPhone etiquette – how to be polite in the electronic, always on age

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Jean

Further to Laurie’s piece on etiquette, this is from today’s NY Times in the Style section. It’s worth a read, and I preferred it in the paper version!
I admit I am hooked on my IPhone and think that Apple is brilliant to have come this far. it’s leaps and bounds ahead of anything I could have imagined. When I finally upgraded my husband to an IPhone, after about one day, he couldn’t believe he’d waited so long!
I think it came on so fast that no one considered normal everyday manners. Just because I can be reached at any moment, it doesn’t mean I want to.
I think Emily Post or one of her descendents should write the book! Ahem! Are you talking to me?

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

A Visit to Paradise

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Laurie

Have you ever considered a custom tour? In November of 2009 JB Journeys put together a custom trip for me and 7 of my favorite birding friends to Trinidad and Tobago. This was before I began my working relationship with Jean and Barbara and, actually, was a big reason for my desire to work with them.

We started in Tobago – not the usual birding trip to this dual nation. What that did for us was get us started very gently into our 10-day birding vacation. When we arrived, our guide said “Welcome to Paradise” and he meant it! We were staying at the Cuffie River Lodge and Retreat Center. This mountain lodge is set amid the tranquil mountains of central Tobago. We were treated to local cuisine, much of which was grown right on the grounds of the lodge. Our local guide was superb, both with the birds as well as the local lore. We couldn’t have been taken any better care of.

When we arrived at the Asa Wright Nature Center in Trinidad we were ready to hit the ground running, and we birded non-stop from morning to night every day we were there. JB Journeys helped us select an itinerary that suited our birding desires to a “T” and arranged a guide who was well-known as the top local guide on the island. By the time we were taken to the airport to return to the US we were exhausted and completely satisfied that we saw and did everything that we set out to, and then some!

If you have a wine club, a yoga class, a Red Hat club, favorite birding buddies, an extended family, a church group, a group of girlfriends, a reunion planned or are wanting to plan a destination wedding to an exotic location, consider asking JB Journeys to put together a custom tour for you. We will pay exquisite attention to all of the details of your trip and give you the individual attention that you can only receive from a small travel agency.

Posted in Birding, Sustainable Travel, Uncategorized, Wine, Yoga | Tagged birding, Tobago, Trinidad | 1 Comment

Ruben Blades Music

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Jean

Reuben Blades, Salsa de Panama

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Smartphone Etiquette Blunders

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Laurie

I have been blogging for some time now about travel apps for your smartphones. While your smartphone can really enhance your life both at home and when you travel, there are some pitfalls to watch out for. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them here.

Have you ever been with someone who is Tweeting or Facebooking nearly constantly? Or out to lunch with someone who places their smartphone right next to their fork for the whole meal? Maybe this sounds like you? Consider these smartphone etiquette blunders.

Multi-tasking. Don’t multi-task and send text messages or read e-mails while you are in conversation with someone. If you’re sitting with someone and sending a text message at the same time, they will feel they’re not important to you.

Typing quickly: Always use spell check. Every message you send is an extension of your personal and professional image so take that extra second and treat each correspondence as if you were sending a letter from your office.

Turning on vibrate: Phones on vibrate can be a distraction. Keep it on silent and put it in your pocket while you are in a meeting. If you’re expecting an urgent call, excuse yourself and take the call in a private place.

Participating in ‘lap reading’: When your head is down and you are focusing on your Smartphone, you will look disengaged. It prevents you from having eye contact and generally gives a bad impression.

Leaving long-winded messages: Don’t leave long, complicated voice messages where you speak so fast that the other person has to scramble for a pen to write it all down. The best thing to do is to just say, “Hi, I need to talk to you about so-and-so. Please call me back.” Then leave your number and hang up.

Talking in front of others: Don’t have conversations in front of other people, especially professional conversations. It is inconsiderate to the people around you.

Interrupting face-to-face conversation: Some people will be in the middle of an in-person conversation and just start typing away on their Smartphone. That sends the message that the text is more important than the person standing in front of them and causes feelings of disengagement from your conversation partner.

Our smartphones have made it much easier to stay connected, but sometimes end up disconnecting us from the people around us. I admit I am guilty of some of these faux pas. It’s good to be reminded to put the phone down and experience life while it’s happening!

Posted in Aps, Culinary, Travel Tips | Tagged aps for travelers, how to use your smartphone on trips, smartphone tips for travelers, using iphone on trips | Comments Off

What does it mean, sustainable travel or responsible travel?

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Jean

People often ask what this means, sustainable travel or responsible travel? Just by asking, the traveler may be moving towards becoming a responsible traveler.

When you think about traveling, you see big airplanes, large hotels, buses, cruise ships. You see pollution, waste, crowds, sewage. Not much in the way of sustaining life there.

There are options and your choice can make a difference. Sometimes there are not options, but you can mitigate.

A few of JB Journeys responsible and sustainable practices:

Lodging choices – small, family owned hotels tend to employ local people, thus offering jobs and training skills where there may not have been any. Examples are Hacienda San Lucas in Copan Ruinas, Honduras or the Canopy Tower and Lodge in Panama. The money we send to these places stays in country and supports many people and families. With large chain hotels, the money may not even go to the country you’re traveling in, if the chain’s corporate offices are in other areas of the world. Smaller places offer staff an opportunity to move up. They may start as a housekeeper or cook, but could move to the office or dining room.

Airlines – those big gas guzzlers may some day operate in a more efficient and clean way, but who knows when? In country we utilize a few carriers who are carbon neutral. Aeroperlas, a regional carrier in Panama, protects 1,000 hectares of rainforest in the Darien Jungle, absorbing approximately 10,000 tons of CO2. Additionally they work with the Panamanian Red Cross to deliver humanitarian aid to distressed areas of the country. In Costa Rica, Nature Air claims to be the worlds 1st certified carbon neutral airline, supporting reforestation in the Osa Peninsula. Additionally they continue to improve their fuel efficiency.

So what can you do? Well, JB Journeys has selected a few organizations that we believe are doing a great job to make a difference to local people and the flora and fauna of their areas. We invite you to add any amount you wish to your final payment and we will pass it along, in full, to them, no fees will be kept by us. These groups are

1. Well Aware – raising funds to drill wells for clean water in Kenyan villages

2. Rainforest Partnership – working with local communities to find alternatives to deforestation

3. Panama Audubon Society – promoting and protecting birds and their habitats in Panama for over 35 years

4. Belize Zoo – a wildlife education center to visitors and Belizeans.

5. Birders Exchange – connecting naturalists and scholars in Latin America with the equipment they need.

More about each of these organizations in future postings.

What can you do to day to make a difference? On your next trip, bring your own water bottle and refill. Before you leave home, unplug. Easy.

Posted in Carbon Neutral, Honduras, Panama, Responsible travel, Sustainable Travel | Comments Off

Spring Migration Time!

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Laurie

There is something very important that you need to know about me. I am crazy and passionate about birds! There is nothing I would rather be doing than hiking a remote trail anywhere in the world looking and listening for birds or sitting in my own backyard doing the same. And when I’m not out in the field looking at them, I am studying birds, promoting conservation for bird habitat, talking with other people who share my passion for birds or planning my next bird watching trip. Now you know!

This leads me to a very important announcement – birds are heading north right now! I am fortunate to live in Austin, TX, which is directly in the path of the Central Flyway. This is a path that birds take to travel from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds in the spring, and back to their wintering areas in the fall. Over time, we have learned that “peak” migration on the Upper Texas Coast is April 22^nd.

Here in Austin, we get a fantastic mix of migrating birds – warblers, thrushes, catbirds, hawks and more. And now is the time to start looking for them. Recent reports of migrating birds in the Austin area have included Black-throated Green Warblers, Grey Catbirds, Swainson’s Hawks and Hooded Warblers. And some of our summer resident birds have arrived as well – notably Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos.

If you are interested in learning more about birds, consider taking a field trip with your local Audubon chapter or bird group. They will add a new dimension to your travels and will put you in the company a some of the nicest people you will meet anywhere.

Posted in Backyard Wildlife, Birding, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged birding, spring migration | Comments Off

Yellow Garden Spider & Wooly Bears

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Barbara

Bears in Austin? The tiger moth caterpillar, or Wooly Bear, is a common sight here. I generally call the ones in my yard wolly bullies, you know – as in Sam the Sham and the Pharaos Wooly Bully…..? but I digress….

These cute fuzzy wuzzies do not sting, and you can carefully pick them up. As one blogger wrote, he or she tried them out as a uni brow and mustache. They are also said to predict the weather. If there is a narrow orange band in the middle of the Woolly Bear caterpillar, it warns of heavy snow. If they are fat and fuzzy expect bitter cold. How about that?!

Remember me posting about our Front Porch Friend, the Yellow Garden Spider? I expected to find her dead after our first frost in December, but days went by until one day she was no where to be found. She had transmigrated I suppose. But not before leaving a large egg sack full of her prodigy. There could be up to 1000 spiders in the sack, and I’m watching for their emergence. Hopefully they won’t be preyed upon prior to leaving the sack. The sack is by our front door and I thought about moving it, but she choose the place so I’ll let it be.

Posted in Backyard Wildlife | Tagged egg sack, great leopard moth, Sam the Sham and the Pharaos, Texas caterpillars, Texas spiders, wooly bear, Wooly Bully, yellow garden spider, Yellow Garden spider egg sack | Comments Off

Blogging by Ear

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Laurie

Northern Cardinal, Photo by Greg Lasley

When I go out on a birding field trip, one of my most important senses is my ears. I listen to the conversation going on around me to create an image in my mind of who is talking.

There’s a Northern Cardinal over to the right, chatting with his family group who are across the trail answering him.

Black-crested Titmouse, photo by Greg Lasley

Up ahead is a Black-crested Titmouse calling incessantly to someone who has caught his fancy. Way off in the distance is a Canyon Wren yuck-yuck-yucking away at whoever will listen. Those species and more are participating in the dawn chorus that I am privileged to listen in on. Birding by ear is tremendously rewarding. By knowing who is out there, I know who to look for, where they will likely be, and how to respond to them.

Blogging is a little like that, only sometimes without any sound at all. The sound of blogging by ear with no comments from readers is deafening! How do I know who is out there? How do I know what you’re saying about anything if you don’t say it in our comments section? Speak up please! I promise a response. Really.

Did you know we are also on Facebook? Head on over there, LIKE us, and then make a comment. One of the things that distinguishes JB Journeys from other travel agencies is that we are small and we have time to really care about all of the things that go on with our clients – past, present and future clients. And I really mean to say that. We care tremendously about who you are and what you have to say. So how about it? What’s up out there?

Posted in Birding, Travel | Tagged adventure travel agency, birding, blog comments, blogging, eco travel agency, Panama Eco Travel | Comments Off

Fit to Travel

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Laurie

To be prepared to have the best trip ever to Alaska this June, I started an exercise program LAST June. I decided that nothing was going to get in the way of me having a great time, and being as fit as a fiddle would be a big part of that. I’ve watched my progress from huffing and puffing to walk up a flight of stairs and struggling through 5 sit-ups to being able to jog 2.5 miles and do 50 sit-ups! I feel great, I’ve lost weight, and I’m ready for anything. Bring on Alaska!

I sure don’t want to lose all of that muscle tone while I’m on vacation. I’ve worked so hard for it! With vacation food to enjoy, plenty of time on the road (read SITTING) and that sense of “I’m on vacation, why not?” attitude it would be easy to over-indulge and come home nearly back where I started from. I’m just not going to let that happen.

I’ve searched the App Store for the perfect travel fitness apps and have come up with several that look like they will keep me motivated to continue to move while I’m away from home. My criteria were that first of all, I wouldn’t need special equipment. I just don’t see trying to pack my 10 pound kettle-bell along! Secondly it had to be simple enough to set up that I didn’t have to get an advanced degree just to program my workouts. And finally it needed to make working out a fun part of my vacation plans.

One tip for working out while on vacation: try it at home first! Set up your workout routines and spend the two weeks before your departure doing that routine. This will give you time to tweak things and get used to your new way of working out before you go.

Here are my top five picks.

LoseIt by FitNow LLC, is an app that combines a calorie tracker with a fitness tracker. And it’s free! It also includes an online access site to make interacting with your app that much easier. With an extensive database of foods to choose from as well as the option to add your own, the calorie tracker is easy to use and very accurate. The fitness tracker lets you select the workout that you plan to do, then track your progress. With an online network of users who will encourage and motivate you to stick to your plan, this is a popular and widely-used app. I use it myself!

For a no-equipment workout, yoga really fits the bill. Yoga Stretch by Neil Harris allows the user to create and save up to 5 custom workouts or tap in to the pre-loaded routines that come with the app. The routines are voice-prompted at each change. The user has the option of using music that comes with the app or choosing music of your own for each routine. This app has received excellent reviews, and is considered a great value at $.99.

Authentic Yoga with Deepak Chopra and Tara Stiles is a fan favorite for taking their yoga on the road. With clean and simple instructions as well as multiple routines to choose from, there is something here for everyone from the rank beginner to the expert instructor. The pose review section even includes videos to help with how to get into the pose and how it is to be held. At $1.99 another great travel app value.

Crossfit is the workout that I do 5-6 days a week. My trainer emails me my week of workouts every Sunday and by Monday I am running through my new routines and increasing my core strength, balance, stamina and overall fitness level. CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology that is in use nation-wide. Since I work out at home, my workouts use a minimum of equipment but still include the intensity of the CrossFit workouts. I intend to continue CrossFit while traveling, and CrossFit Travel by Agilevent is the app I will be using. It includes 120 CrossFit Workout of the Day(WOD) routines and allows me to filter out those routines that I don’t want. For instance, I can filter out routines that include running if I’m in an area where running outdoors won’t work. I can also set up my own custom workouts if I would rather do that. And all routines can be done without any equipment.

Simple aerobic workouts like walking, jogging and running, are still some of the best ways to increase and maintain two key travel needs: strength and stamina. Interval training can bump up your workouts so that you get more intensity, allowing the workout to take up less time while getting maximum benefits. Intervals by Justin Gallagher is a great tool for managing your intervals.