Beautiful Patagonia - Torres del Paine

Just look at it.

Ecocamp Patagonia Recommended on Clean Breaks (by Rough Guides)

Travel publisher Rough Guides is holding a launch event for its new publication 'Clean Breaks - 500 new ways to see the world'.

The book is a guide to "500 fantastic experiences that will inspire you to see the world in a new light - unusual holidays and alternatives ways to travel that make a real difference to the lives of local people and the planet."

The book's co-authors Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith will lead a half-hour discussion on 'What makes a clean break' from 7pm followed by drinks and nibbles.

Pumas in Torres del Paine

Two five years old pumas moving around the Patagonian steppes, rheas, hares and birds such as ducks and ‘caranchos’ are the attractions of the "Patagonian safari" a new tempting tourism product in the southern zone.










Photo REUTERS / Oswaldo Rivas

Cycling to work: commuter guid (Bruce Ashley G Magazine)

Cycling to work: commuter guide

Want to save money on petrol, get fit and help the planet? G shows you how to do all three with this easy guide to cycling to work.

Commuting by bicycle feels great, makes you fit and is good for the planet.

Credit: Ildar Sagdejev

There's always one in the office, a bike-nut who raves about how riding to work is so much fun and how fit they are and how they're saving the world by not driving a car to work.

As overwhelming as their puppy-like enthusiasm is, they have a point. Here's how to join 'em.

STEP 1 - Find bike

You don't need much to get on the road. A cool $600 should be ample for a brand spanking new ride and a helmet. An extra $400 will buy you the other bits such as rear rack, tyre pump, lights, lock and rain jacket.

Choose a bike that is the correct fit: with the saddle at middle position, one foot should just be able to touch the ground.

The bike should also be correct for the job at hand; a lightweight 'hybrid' or 'comfort' bike (halfway between a road bike and a mountain bike) with 35-mm wide, semi-slick tyres is perfect for an urban commute on mainly sealed roads (knobbly mountain bike tyres slow you down and wear you out).

If you're like many Australians, you've probably already got a bike gathering dust in the back shed. There's every chance that a neglected bike will be freed from its rusty encrustations after a few minutes of TLC and a drop of oil.

First, make sure wheels are true and spin freely. You can lift the bike up at one end to test this, and at the same time test the brakes. Do the tyres need pumping up? Tyres should have the consistency of a pencil eraser (about 500kpa).

For tyres not holding air, you may find the solution on Sheldon Brown's site on flats (and everything else to do with bikes): www.sheldonbrown.com/flats

STEP 2 - Ride bike

If you are a first time rider, or it's been a long time between rides, you'll want to practise riding somewhere safe (like a deserted car park) before you hit the roads. Work up to the commute by taking leisurely rides around a park on the weekend.

In a move that will be great for first-time and experienced riders alike, a new AustCycle training and proficiency scheme will be launched later this year.

It will mean accredited trainers are able to give you the confidence and skills to ride in traffic. Keep yourself informed with updates from the Bicycle Federation of Australia www.bfa.asn.au.

Here's some ol' fashioned ride tips:

• Adjust your seat so that your leg is almost straight when the pedal is at its lowest point.
• Don't be rushed or hurried, take it real easy at intersections.
• Hearing is your "eyes in the back of your head" - so no iPod whilst riding. For the same reason keep extra alert when it's windy, or when passing traffic masks the sound of cars following.
• Stay wide of parked cars (at least a metre) to avoid opening car doors - assume EVERY parked car contains an occupant just about to open a door on you.
• Wear bright clothing. A fluoro construction worker's vest slips easily over your normal clothes.
• Be visible at all times (and not just the clothing). Ride out from the kerb and definitely don't coast alongside cars in their blind spot.
• Remember how many times you have driven along in a daydream? Assume every motorist is similarly distracted.
• Drivers will mostly give you a wider berth if you ride with a deliberate wobble (like a novice rider) rather than dead straight like a pro-cyclist - true!

Continue Reading!

What's your bag? Stylish silk satchels

One of the most useful green fashion items, not to mention affordable and unisex, is the re-usable shopping bag. Tired of seeing the pollution plastic bags were causing, designer Emily Hay created Eco Silk Bags. They are durable, washable and come in a range of fade-resistant seasonal colours.

Ideal for grocery shopping (specifically made to fit supermarket checkout frames), travelling, a day at the beach, or a picnic, they're also compact and light enough to carry around in your handbag bag for those unexpected purchases.

Saying no to plastic just got a whole lot more fashionable!

Creative Travel Funding

venessapaech

Lonely Planet author

Travelling takes money. And if you go a long way (particularly over water), it can take lots.

There are a good variety of shoestring options to get around and plenty of things you can get up to for free, but you can’t exactly hitch a ride on a 747 by holding out your thumb on the side of the tarmac, or live on the breadcrumbs the pidgeons don’t want.

The recent story about a New Zealand athlete who opened a brothel to fund his Olympic bid got us thinking about similar tales of creatively fundsourcing wanderlust.

Some travellers have taken to using the airlines’ overbooking practices to their advantage, strategising ways to get bumped from flights to get cash, flight vouchers, or free hotel rooms. One Thorn Tree traveller is hoping to help fund a trip through Central and Eastern Europe by busking, others hope to get a little cash and experience by working on farms, some are charging it all to a credit card and other are open to suggestions.

Travel blogging, if you’re dedicated, talented, skilled at networking and lucky, can be a way to raise funds, or at least, get you what you need.

Two Guys Around the World, winner of the 2009 Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards for Best Travel Blog, hope that readers find their adventures sufficiently entertaining to prop up their travel budget. From their homepage you can watch their fluctuating (but currently dwindling) bank account balances as audience donations nudge them along.

Bloggers like NomadicMatt, whose posts frequently appear in Lonely Planet’s Blogs We Like, have managed to monetise their blog to a level that it more or less pays for their travels.

We also asked around the office for stories. One colleague tells of a friend who made his way around Europe joining different religious groups along the way for a free bed and free food. Another told of a friend who shaved his head while backpacking around China. Locals would invite him in for meals wherever he went because they mistook him for a monk and charity toward monks is considered lucky.

One enterprising traveller took a suitcase worth of Blundstone boots from Australia to the UK, set up shop at one of London’s street markets with a 400% markup (they were still cheaper than the locals could get). Putting sponsor logos on your gear (and body!) also came up. Arguably the most committed effort came from someone who lugged a 40kg spanner around North and West Africa, fixing cars in return for food and lodging.

What are your stories? Have you done anything unusual to support yourself while travels (before or during)?

Easter Island unveils more secrets

Tests raise life extension hopes

A drug discovered in the soil of a South Pacific island may help to fight the ageing process, research suggests.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, raise the prospect of being able to slow down the ageing process in older people. CONTINUE READING

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Hiking Through Torres del Paine, exploring the bottom of the worl on horseback...

Great travel journal of an ABC news reporter... really recommended unfortunately we cannot copy any part of the text to give a taste, so you should CLICK HERE to go to the source and read the article.

My (Almost) Private Patagonia - Photographer David McLain - National Geographic Adventure Magazine

Our destination in Patagonia was so remote that we were flown into the region two at a time in this Cessna. We originally thought the majority of the trip was going to be sea kayaking through the fjords, but we ended up spending a lot of time in and around these beautiful lakes—Lago General Carrera is the second largest and the deepest lake in South America. ::GO TO THE GALERY::