Maui, Hawaii: Eco-Travel with the Fairmont Kea Lani

Feel like staying closer to home, but need a tropical ‘feel good’ getaway? We love the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui. Huge comfortable rooms, an exotic all-white mediterranean design, not too many kids (but just enough for families), and delicious restaurants right onsite. There’s a reason why they named it “Kea Lani” since it means “Heavenly Whiteness.” Their new organic restaurant, Ko, where 100% of its fish are from sustainable fisheries and their island classic, Nick’s Fish Market, make it a solid go-to getaway for in-the-know Maui eco (yet chic-o) vacationers.

We like them because they’re giving back in an interesting way. Through their Recycling Cents program, they donate their HI-5 recyclables to local non-profit charities, raising, to date, over $20,000. One school group used the funds to build an electric car and, in addition to that mad giving, the hotel donates bath amenities to the women’s shelter on Maui and hosts a Mother’s Day and Christmas dinner. If that’s not enough… the hotel’s Director of Engineering goes to the shelter once a month to fix things like door locks and plumbing. With nearly 50 environmental programs going on at the hotel (and others in the Fairmont portfolio), their latest initiative, converting to the just-on-the-market Eco-Mode Thermostat, is connected to the hotel’s database and automatically turns on when a guest checks in and shuts off when a guest checks out. The motion detectors scan the room for movement and, if there is no motion detected, the thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature 5 degrees higher than either the default setting, or the temperature the guest set. The thermostat also shuts off when doors to the lanai are opened, monitors humidity, and allows the hotel to ensure all air conditioning units are in good working order. Installing the eco-MODE thermostat is yet another progressive initiative emphasizing The Fairmont Kea Lani’s dedication to waste reduction, energy management, and water conservation.

So we say… heavenly whiteness, in more way than one, in the house.

Rates from $340/night.

http://www.fairmont.com/kealani

Locali Yours, An All-Organic Convenience Store!

An environmentally conscious convenience store? That’s right. It’s time to… vegan-ize! We found this new little gem in the heart of Franklin Village in Los Angeles, started by husband and wife duo, Greg Horos and Melissa Rosen. Everything about Locali, from the design to the way the business is operated and all of the products sold, is environmentally conscious, including their solar-powered website!
A neighborhood market that combines the idea of environmentally conscious living with the element of convenience, Locali offers in-the-know customers a healthy destination for all of their food and lifestyle needs. By making locally and sustainably sourced, organic, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and other eco-friendly products accessible to people in their everyday lives, the community-minded concept is launching a movement to change the way the world thinks about, and eats, grab-and-go food.

Locali also has a deli where they make fresh sandwiches to order every day showcasing the finest meats, cheeses, and produce from organic growers and local suppliers as well as the nearby Farmers Markets. Any sandwich can be “vegan-ized” and many are available gluten-free.
What’s more, Locali goes mobile at the end of May with its own frozen dessert delivery tricycle dubbed “THE ICYCLE,” making its selection of Sno-Cones, Ice Cream, Popsicles, and other frozen desserts, more accessible to Angelenos. How cute is that? With the launch of THE ICYCLE, Locali brings its in-store summer sweets directly to its customers. Dressed in an old fashioned soda jerk outfit, a Locali employee will tour the streets of Los Angeles visiting different neighboring communities each day. Locali’s Twitter page, @Locali, will unveil the day’s selected destinations with specific cross streets where people can meet for a cool summer treat in neighborhoods like Hollywood, East Hollywood, Sunset Junction, Los Feliz, Griffith Park, Silver Lake, and Larchmont Village. Locali will also offer delivery for specific locations upon request for large orders. Sno-Cones are made with ultra pure Reverse Osmosis Water and Organic Syrup sweetened with all natural Brown Rice Syrup or diabetic-friendly Xylitol, available in flavors like Banana, Mango, Cherry Cola, Grape, Pumpkin, Coconut, Cinnamon, and Key Lime Pie (2 flavors for $2.75 each). Customers can also visit Locali for a full selection from up to 30 different Sno-Cone flavors. Other options from THE ICYCLE include a variety of sweets from local artisans like Carmela’s Ice Cream and Popshop Popsicles as well as Cookies, Handmade Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches, Raw Vegan Cheesecake, Gluten-Free Ice Cream, and Frozen Organic Wheatgrass Shots.

How’s that for Locali Conscious Convenience?
Greening the hood, one Locali at a time…

5825 Franklin Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 466-1360

http://www.localiyours.com

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Red hairy chiggers that consume human flesh, cyanide-squirting millipedes, and the candiru, a translucent toothpick-like creature that burrows into the gills of a fish or human orifices like the vagina or penis, latches it’s spines and sucks out the blood of the victim until they perish…

This is the Amazon of the 1920’s and the Amazon you’ll find in David Grann’s new book, The Lost City of Z, chronicling the infamous tough-as-nails British explorer, Percy Fawcett, as he ventures with his son, Jack, and Jack’s best friend, Raleigh, to discover the famous (gold laden and lost) city of El Dorado. Grann’s well-documented tale takes you deep inside the jungle for a peek into the mind of this sometimes ruthless, always brave, explorer. The trio, in so many respects, takes you back to a bygone era when well-heeled gents at supper clubs thirsted for the high stakes of an Amazonian adventure. Not only do the characters look straight out of the movies, but the cinematic story reads like one as well (likely why Brad Pitt and Paramount have optioned the film rights). Just as his piercing blue eyes make their way into your own, so will Fawcett’s adventurous tale. It is one man’s ultimate quest to find, with tragic consequences… a fantasy.

Grann deftly tells a real-life story from both a historical context and a personal one. The author himself ventured to the very place where many believe this fantastic civilization once existed. As I read his story, I found myself being bitten by vicious gnats and fearing the wrath of parasitic worms as the three men journeyed into the heart of one of the world’s most inhospitable regions.

Grann writes, “The cramped, dirty hold of the SS Panama was filled with ‘toughs, would be toughs, and leather faced old scoundrels,’ as Fawcett put it.” Flesh and carrion eating bees, an area so hot that fish were cooked alive in the waters… the countless explorers that died along the way. Whether Percy, Jack, and Raleigh became victims of the elements or the native Indians, one thing is certain: they never made it out alive.

I was so enamored with this impossible, painstaking journey that, instead of reading it quickly as I do with most tales, I found myself intentionally re-reading passages and flipping through the photos. Like my own travels to South America, El Dorado, as well as this tale, is like the love you can never have. It will keep you constantly wanting more.

Kudos to Grann for all of his own painstaking research and bravery. After reading about the candiru, I’m not sure I’d be heading into that part of the jungle anytime soon. I will, however, recommend, for those who love a good jungle jaunt, ordering a copy of his obsessive and mysterious story.

David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker and has covered everything from an Aryan Brotherhood prison gang to the hunt for giant squid. His work has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. His collected writings will be published by Doubleday in 2010.

http://www.amazon.com

Phuket, Thailand: Volunteer with Anantara

Ah, thailand…. we can never get enough. Great food, beautiful people… nature. In the spirit of volunteerism, guests of the newly opened Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa can take part in a day-long excursion to the coastal village of Baan Talay Nok located in the Ranong province north of Phuket, this area was one of the most devastated in the region during the 2004 Tsunami, and is still being rebuilt four years later. Anantara’s community days enable guests to work side-by-side with Tsunami survivors in a handicraft cooperative, where they assist villagers in soap making, batik painting, and palm weaving. Proceeds from the sale of these articles provide a supplemental income for the widows of the cooperative. In addition to volunteering, guests can also join in a soccer match with the children, partake in a jungle hike, or simply practice speaking Thai with the elders. More than a day of volunteerism; guests can take away experiences greater than those that money can buy. Opened in October 2008, Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa features 83 private pool villa suites, five new spa treatment rooms with Ayurvedic therapies along Mai Khao Beach just fifteen minutes from Phuket International Airport, removed from the bustling strip. PS. Their property in the Golden Triangle also offers yoga teacher training!

http://www.phuket.anantara.com