May, 2009 Photo Contest

Be the first to email us with the name of this mid-western rock formation and win a piece of clothing from Eagle Creek. (Also, meet the lovely face behind the great gear we get to share with you! Read about Eagle Creek’s Stasia Raines, who makes it possible. Last Month's Winner Congratulations to Andrew Meyerson for correctly identifying Shannon Stowell in a tricky April Fools Photo Contest.

Kite the Costa Esmerelda in Veracruz

Next we move south to Costa Esmeralda, Mexico, where Peppi Stunkel and Omid Kay recently founded Elemental Kite Club. I met Peppi in 2007 when she was working with volunteer-adventure tour operator Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself, in Cambodia. Now far from the rice fields, Peppi’s new project opens up her favorite bit of coast in Mexico to new and experienced kiters. What she loves about the new business: “miles of empty, hazardless beach, and the mango margarita at the palm-thatch Palapa Bar!” She and Omid have spent countless hours scouting the best areas for kiters of all levels, and ...

Che Shale Kiting in Kenya

Spice up your classic Kenyan safari by following it up with a few days of kite surfing on Kenya’s coast. Glassy bays and the challenging waves of the Indian Ocean beckon kite surfers to Che Shale where lessons and rental equipment are available for newbies. On the days you’re not in the water, visit Malindi or head to Tsavo National Park, famous for being the real site of the 1996 thriller about Tsavo maneaters, The Ghost and the Darkness. The founders of Che Shale take their responsibility to the community seriously and ...

Kiting Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge

Some of the best kitesurfing in the world is found over 100 miles from the ocean in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. Local kiters turned us on to Big Winds in Hood River, where you can get safety-conscious instruction from people who are passionate about kite surfing, the Gorge and the Hood River community. Atmospheric pressure differences between the east and west side of the Cascade Range create the wind tunnel effect in the gorge, which generates reliable winds for kiters all year round. Learn on solid ground with a “trainer kite,” and then take it to the water! And ...

Video by Matt Thames, Eclipse Kiteboarding Team Rider

SolShine from Matt Thames on Vimeo. "I've never lost the magical feeling since first learning to kite. What amazes me the most is how many different types of people can get together at the beach and instantly become friends. It's as if the feeling we share is a common ground to base an entire sport upon. It's hard to compare a sport to kiteboarding. Imagine driving the boat and water skiing at the same time, Or you could say its like flying a parachute with a ...

Water: The Causes, Costs, and Future of a Global Crisis

Caldecott is a United Nations Environment Programme biologist where he focuses on "environmental disaster management." Reading his book on a recent flight from San Francisco to Mexico City got me thinking about oceans in a way I hadn't before. Often I read about global environmental crises and get the sense that the problems are too vast and overwhelming for me to engage with on a very meaningful level. What can I really do about cleaning up the world's oceans? Well, a lot as it turns out. ...

Why is the World’s Biggest Landfill in the Pacific Ocean?

In t he broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents. The area is an oceanic desert, READ MORE

Gyre Cleanup Project

The Environmental Cleanup Coalition (ECC) is an independent, non-profit group organizing the Gyre Cleanup Project. The Gyre Cleanup Project is a large scale ocean rescue mission focused on removing debris accumulating in the North Pacific Gyre, revitalizing an ecosystem choking on human garbage, educating the public about the danger of plastics and advocating a culture that takes responsibility for its waste. LEARN MORE

New Music: Shaun Bartlett

Shaun Bartlett BASE jumper Andre Bach first heard Shaun Bartlett from outside a rundown bar in Oslo when he decided to go inside and check it out; in that evening, musician and madman were aligned and the soundtrack for Andre's BASE jumping spectaculars, 1st BASE and 2nd BASE, were born. Andre first introduced us to the evocative vocals and elegant melodies of this passionate musician, and now we're hooked. Ten years after that night in the bar and twenty years after his first keyboard gifted from his parents, Shaun is producing solo ...

Kiting Events 2009

Deborah Garner has put together this great list of kiting events in 2009: MAY KiteJamboree May 7th-17th, 2009, El Gouna, Egypt in the IKO licensed Center RedSeaZone™ Spike Round UP - May 1-10th, South Padre Island, Texas The Triple S Invitational – May 30-June 5, 2009. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 2009 marks the 4th year of the Triple-S Invitational, scheduled for May 30th to June 5th 2009. This event invites the world’s best kiteboarders to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to compete in the unique free ride format that pushes the sport further ...

What can you do as a visitor to the coast?

Julian Caldecott says, "The most important thing is to remember where you are. The coast is special, and especially vulnerable. Every road and hotel room replaced part of its ecology, and every carload of visitors affects what is left, by making sewage and litter, by eating drinking and walking the dog, and by spending money at holiday rates. These all have local impacts and can affect local livelihoods dramatically. The solutions that local people are trying to reach deserve support. Every tourist is a bundle of global experience, just as every ...

Kenya and Mexico Tips from The Adventure Doc

Off the Radar has teamed up with the Adventure Doc to provide you with health tips for the destinations we feature. Read on for vaccines and other concerns for Kenya and Mexico Kenya Ensure all childhood/routine immunizations are current Yellow Fever vaccine is advised and required for all travelers entering Kenya from an endemic area, be prepared to show proof of vaccine Hepatitis A and B series, Typhoid, Meningitis vaccines are advised Adults who have completed a primary series against polio should have a one-time booster of polio vaccine prior to travel Rabies vaccine is advised for travel to remote areas and ...

OTR Talks to Eagle Creek’s Stasia Raines

Ever wonder about the people making the great gear you use when you're hiking the Annapurna Circuit or cycling through Moab's Canyonlands? They're people like Stasia Raines of Eagle Creek, who just returned from a mixed adventure-volunteering trip through Thailand and Cambodia. In addition to its efforts at creating more sustainable fabrics and equipment, Eagle Creek supports a number of philanthropic projects around the world, often discovered through the traveling adventures of their staff. Stasia visited a couple of projects when she mixed her recent dive holiday with a stint volunteering in a North Thailand orphanage and short visit to ...

Extra Travel Insurance for Adventure Sports – A Good Idea

Speeding high over the Costa Rican jungle on a zip line sounded like a thrilling way for Jerry Shirley of Denver to see the lush tropical terrain around the coastal town of Jaco. All went well until he realized during his fifth ride that the leather gloves he was given to grip the cable were a sorry excuse for a braking system. READ MORE

Church of Our Lady, Bruges

Aside from the many other attractions Bruges holds for the visitor, including breweries, macabre art in the Groeninge Museum, and the magnificent Belfort (bell tower) overlooking the square, stands the massive Church of Our Lady. The church took two centuries to build, and boasts the tallest spire in Belgium (and the second tallest brick tower in the world). Perhaps as a result of the long build-time, the church is a mish-mash of architectural styles, and some of the interior decoration looks like it was selected by Tim Burton. Aside ...

Volunteer Trip Awarded by Travelocity

Reverend Willie Bacote, pastor of The Missing Link Street Ministry in Troy, N.Y., is the official winner of the Travelocity/USA Weekend Picture a Better World Photo Contest, the company reported. Pastor Bacote's winning photo captures 25 children from Troy's North Central neighborhood coming together to beautify their community by sweeping sidewalks and curbs and collecting litter. Read More about the Travel for Good Awards

Can Poetry Save the World?

We truly believe that Adventure Travel will save the World, but not without a little poetry. Stanford professor John Felstiner has a new book, Can Poetry Save the Earth? , a collection of poems from writers who have written about the natural world. NPR asked the author to select one poem he believes can save the world, he picked "The Well Rising," by William Stafford. The Well Rising The well rising without sound, the spring on a hillside, the plowshare brimming through deep ground everywhere in the field- The sharp swallows in their swerve flaring and hesitating hunting for ...

The Ayahuasca Ceremony

by Guillermo Quintana Courtesy of livinginperu.com In order to begin to write about this traditional native ceremony it is essential to know about the plant that is used for this ritual: ¨Ayahuasca.¨ Its meaning comes from two ethnic Quechua words ¨Aya¨ and ¨Huasca,¨ which mean rope and death, or the rope of death. The other meaning of the word Ayahuasca is ¨Vine of the Soul." The plant grows in the Peruvian Amazon. It is a climbing skinny plant that grows around the trees. That is why they call it rope. The Ayahuasca ceremony ...

OTR’s Top Ten Tips for Making Adventure Travel Easier

Always pack a shawl or sarong and keep it handy in your pack. It's good for covering up your legs or your head; good for sitting on; great for wrapping around your waist while you change out of a swimsuit and back into your jeans; excellent for warming up, shading yourself, or replacing a towel. Scan your credit cards, passport, and vaccination certificates and keep them in your email in case you lose them while traveling. Don't bring anything you don't mind losing. Bring one bag. Only. Pack a jar of Iodine tablets for water purification. Carry a a simple but thorough first aid kit ...

Swiftwater Rescue Workshop, April 18-19 Portland, OR

Join Members of the Oregon Whitewater Association for their annual swiftwater rescue training taught by NRG. For more information, click here