Ecotourism Matures: From Eco-Travel to Service Learning Adventures
12 March 2012 – Wanderland Program Development Blog

The forest glittered with a million raindrops from last night’s rain.  Warm sunlight filtered through the dense conopy of Coigue, Araucaia, and Mañio trees.   We are in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest of the southern Andes of Patagonia, Argentina.  A chucao, no more than a flash of brown, blue, tail and beak in the dense cane, curious about what we were up to shadowed us for several minutes as we treaded along the black soil of the forest trail. The Chucao is a ground running and flitting bird, you could only catch quick glimpses, but the coo-cau, coo-cau voices seemed to be all around us.  We were hiking to the project site near San Martin de Los Andes in southern Argentina.  Our host had arranged for a local birding and natural history guide, Alejandro Soto to give us an introduction to the Valdivian Forest Complex.  We took the long way through the forest to the school where we will be working.

In addition to the Chucao, we saw Patagonian Whistling Ducks, Cometocinos, Aguiluchos, Taro Taros, and flashes of other exotic bird life of the area.  We even saw tracks of the elusive Wiña, a scaled-down feline adapted to these thick forests.  All of the kids from the school we will be working with were excited by the wiña tracks.  ‘You hardly ever see them, and we are here all the time,’ Nestor told me.  Nestor is an 8th grader from the school where we will conduct our project.

It really surprised me how quiet the kids were when they walked through the woods with us, very attentive and clued in to the sounds and smells.  It was a perfect break in the action.  We had been meeting with the kids and parents at the school for a couple of days already.  We were developing a project here to come back with our students and prepare with them an organic garden of vegetables and spices in the back yard of the school.

This is a Service Learning Adventure, a new breed of eco-travel that combines active exploration with education and volunteering.

More about this Wanderland Service learning Adventure later.  Right now let’s look at how the tourism market has evolved to allow this kind of specialized travel.

Ecotourism has matured considerably in the last two decades since its inception in Mexico.  Here is an examination of how ecotourism has evolved in 30 years.

From Volunteering to Voluntouring – Evolving Ecotourism

Ecotourism has evolved considerably since 1983 when the term was coined by Héctor Ceballos-Lascurain, a Mexican architect and environmentalist. He explains,  “I was performing the dual role of Director General of Standards and Technology of SEDUE (the Mexican Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology) and founding president of PRONATURA (an influential Mexican conservationist NGO). …. Among the arguments that I used to dissuade the building of marinas in the Celestún estuary area was the presence of an ever growing number of tourists, especially from the United States. Back in those days I was already convinced that such people could play an important role in boosting the local rural economy, creating new jobs and preserving the ‘ecology’ of the area, and began using the word “ecotourism” to describe this phenomenon.”

It is certain that this flavor of tourism, visiting places for their geographical or ecological import,  had been going on for decades already.  However, the new term served as a rallying point for travel companies that wanted to distinguish themselves from their run-of-the-mill and not-eco-friendly competitors.  Ecotourism as a new product definition helped the more culturally and ecologically responsible travel providers to proliferate into new niche.  It allowed them to qualify themselves and their approaches as ecologically friendly, and to boast that their tour packages were culturally and economically beneficial to the people who lived year round in the destinations.

Central in the evolution of the practice of ecotourism has been its definition and codification. Many of the first tour operators who jumped on the bandwagon were only paying lip service to the term and its shiny reputation.  The providers who had a stake in preserving their stamp of ‘eco’ set about defining what it was that made their products truly eco-tours and not just tours in a green suit.  One functional definition that this author likes reads like this:  “Ecotourism is about connecting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel.” [1]  The same definition goes on to outline several key components of any eco-friendly travel package.

* Minimize impact.

* Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.

* Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.

* Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.

* Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.

* Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental and social climate.

From Tourism to Voluntourism
Tourism and Ecotourism during the 1980’s and 1990’s began to cross over onto the turf of another realm of travel: that of volunteering.  Volunteerism options provided by tourism and ecotourism companies for schools, clubs, organizations, and individuals became a considerable percentage of all volunteer travel options worldwide during this period.  The goal of escorting people to foreign lands, whether for travel or service began to cross-pollinate between the pure volunteer organizations and the pure travel agencies.

Where it all started.
It was the Peace Corps that can be credited with rescuing volunteer travel from the ulterior sectarian motives of much older missionary endeavors overseas.  Both were bringing volunteers into out-of-the-way locations with the aim to improving and sustaining local economies.  The Peace Corp, however, scrubbed the hard sell on mono-theism, or theism of any ilk.   John F. Kennedy during his presidency in 1961 formed the Peace Corps.  It’s stated mission is to promote world peace and friendship.  As you can find on the Peace Corps website today in 2010 the Corps still embraces just three simple goals.

The Peace Corps’ mission has three simple goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. [3]

The Peace Corps can really be said to have legitimized and popularized volunteering abroad as a non-sectarian and non-denominational method of having a positive impact on local communities through time spent volunteering one‘s time and energy in foreign and overseas locations.  The Peace Corp also helped to establish standards of practice for volunteers visiting foreign locales that are still the seminal elements of eco-tourism and volunteer travel today.

Volunteers Wanting Tours and Tourists Wanting to Volunteer
Foreign service projects of many descriptions, missionary and Peace Corps alike, began to influence tourism right from the start.  The people engaged in the volunteer service project began increasingly to desire a broader experience in the host country or region.  They asked to shown around a bit, to tour their destination as a reward for their toil building, teaching, doctoring, nursing, and protecting.  They reached out to locals to be their guides to local wonders.

This had an immediate and profound benefit to the locals and the locale.  A tourist would pay many times the value of an exploited resource to view that resource alive and growing as an element of beauty and uniqueness endemic to that region.  As well, the traveler began to really respect and love the place on its own terms, an emotional impact that would earn the region ongoing support from even the one-time traveler.  That support might come simply as word of mouth about the wonders to be had, or at the other extreme the formation of a protectorate entity, such as a UNESCO World Heritage designation or NPO.

Volunteer organizations continue to positively influence local travel industry sustainability. One great example that comes to mind is how Habitat For Humanity volunteers in Chile have developed a lively relationship with La Bicicleta Verde, a Santiago based bike tourism and educational company.  Many of Habitat’s volunteers take advantage of the opportunity while in Santiago at one end or another of their project to ride the historic districts of Chile’s amazing capitol on bright green cruiser bikes, learning about cultural and historical aspects of Chile from La Bicicleta Verde’s talented, bi-lingual, history and geography interpreters.

Making Ecotourism Count
Ecotourism during the 1990’s embraced Volunteer Travel  projects as another product that aimed to attract people with a volunteering bent and who also wanted that broad eco-travel experience.  Travel companies were uniquely suited to host these adventurous volunteers.  Increasingly, a new term was needed to describe this realm of the travel industry and “voluntourism” was born.  The roots of the word can be traced back to either The International Alliance for Women’s Rights or the Governor of Nevada, depending what search engine you use.  Whomever coined the new portmanteau ‘voluntourism’  they were describing a combined effort in volunteering and travel. The purposeful traveler had a new noun to play with..

Road Scholar is a shining example of an organization that runs a wide profile of volunteer projects in addition to their well regarded educational travel programs.  Among their volunteer/educational projects you can teach, do reforestation, study animal populations, battle invasive species, or even conduct archaeological research.   This writer works with the Northern Arizona University Road Scholar program.  Here is a quick example of a service project with NAU Road Scholar, specifically an active archaeological service learning project.

“We work with local private land owners and the tribes to provide them with survey crews to evaluate and record cultural resources that state and federal funding can’t reach or adequately supervise.  Our volunteers are amazing.  Scientists, photographers, artists, organizers, mathematicians, even retired archaeologists, have come together to hike, study, and record ancient sites and  rock art.  We tie our data into the system with the National Forest and Site Steward liaisons and have it all archived by the Sharlot Hall museum.  Our volunteers generated valuable data about the sites that is now available to archaeolgists worldwide, and had a fun learning experience while doing so!”

The organization that has dedicated itself most assiduously to the new portmanteau “Voluntourism” is www.VolunTourism.org.  Its founder David Clemmons describes the overlap between Volunteering and Tourism succinctly in this excerpt from his newsletter, The Voluntourist.  He sees both volunteering and ecotourism as sharing key components:
* Service
* Experience
* Investment
* Repetition
* Passion
* Purpose
* Authenticity, and
* Learning

Of these components I would like to address three of them, Investment, Repetition and Authenticity, a bit more.

Repetition is the descriptor or requirement that most directly influences the sustainability of the host community.  One-time projects are valuable to be sure, but for the community to experience complete buy-in and to receive the most sustainable benefits, the projects must continue to bring resources and assistance to the communities.  The torch needs to be passed along through a continuing chain of conscious voluntravelers and voluntourism companies.

Authenticity is another component of all successful travel endeavors that deserves highlighting.  An authentic experience is what most dedicated travelers crave.  They want to find themselves in a place where their expectations could not have predicted the outcome.  Yes, their insertion is  controlled and accommodated, but the surprise and novelty factor are still key.  Authenticity is part and parcel of  that ‘touristic grail’ of Novelty, the one thing that the human brain and being always seeks  in order to stave off putrefaction of the spirit.

Investment   Of course, it is Investment that is the most important aspect of travel for the recipients, the people and organizations that your visit, the people entrusted with the amazing places you want to go and visit.  If there were no direct benefit to them in terms of improved economic reality and sustainability they would rather we stayed home or went elsewhere.  Investment also means that eco-tourism, voluntourism, service learning, edventure, and adventure travel organizations have the responsibility to insure that they are invested in the continuity and sustainability of the places where we bring travelers and volunteers.

A significant portion of the revenue from any tourism product needs to find its way into the local economy.  But planning, promoting,  and running eco-tourism packages isn’t free.  Local economies and the on-site providers of services need to be educated by the industry in what it takes to bring the resources to their corner of the globe.  The locals see the price tag online and can do the math like anyone else.  Part of our investment is educating our locally-based partners in how the system works so that they do not feel slighted.

This is where Fair Trade Travel resides.  Being Fair means inviting them into your books and allowing them to really see how much it takes to entice a single signature to visit their region.  This way, we show that we are investing both before, during, and after the actual trips and that they are benefiting from the ecotourism company’s investment at both ends.  Wanderland seeks to have all of its product certified as Fair Trade Travel options and is following the requirements closely.

Authenticity and Novelty are what drive the traveler’s spirit to new places and experiences.

Investment is what keeps both sides of the provider equation enthused and participatory, when tour operator, host regions and local guides and educators all recognize the responsibilities to one another and see the concrete benefits as sustainable and worthwhile.

That the community one volunteers in benefits is well recognized, especially if the vital component of Repetition is respected by the tour operators.  However, what benefits to the participants derive, besides new experiences and a sense of accomplishment?

An interesting study of what the effect on the traveler who engages in volunteer-style travel options is very revealing.  Zoe Alexander of Buckinghamshire New Univerisity in the UK has analyzed the changes that volunteer travel has wrought on its participants.

“Although it is still early in the process, the tentative findings suggest that there are significant changes in the following traits of volunteers: trust (p=0.034), artistic interests (p=0.022) and assertiveness (p=0.030).  ….  The mean difference between the before and after personality inventory results suggests increases in all of these traits.”

People become more trusting, more artistic, and more assertive through this style of travel is what the study is suggesting.  Greater esteem for each other and greater self-esteem and the desire to express their new-found wonder.  It’s good.

How the EcoTour Market has Evolved and Redefined Itself

Ecotourism has lots of flavors today.  Some green on the outside and some green through and through.  Here are some search terms that will help you to shop much more effectively for a volunteer vacation.  The digest here will hopefully help you to better mesh your relaxation needs with your desire to something important on your vacation.  This list will help you select from all of the ‘travel packages’ on the market a travel experience that will be both fun AND relevant.

Eco-Tourism seems to be sprouting off branches much like a tree.  Let’s look at some of the options that are splitting from the trunk of that contains service-oriented vacations.

Volunteer Travel – ‘A trend that combines traditional travel with volunteer work for a day or months. Teens to Boomers include volunteering for causes — from feeding African lion cubs to building homes in Costa Rica and preserving Caribbean reefs while diving. Many adventure travel companies offer the trips.’ [Wikipedia and about.com;  Volunteer Travel]  This is the most recognized industry jargon, it conotes a standard vacation package combined with a pertinent project, or vise versa.

Voluntourism and Service Learning not exactly interchangeable terms.  Voluntourism, through voluntourism.org,  boasts some concrete guidelines to define it, but does not specifically embrace the educational model as its foundation.

Voluntourism is the rallying cry for a consumer base that craves involvement and relevance.  In a world of threatened resources that need your help, volunteer vacations deliver what you seek.  Your money spent on this sort of travel can only bring you enjoyable times and your hosts a buy-in on sustainability and preservation of their way of life.

Service Learning Vacations is the next sub-division.  These programs bring together educational curricula, service projects, and a tourism component.   Wikipedia describes Service Learning as

“… a method of teaching, learning and reflecting , frequently involving youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education. More specifically, it integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the common good.”

www.ServiceLearning.org tells us that  “Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.”

Service and Learning?  What Will I Learn?  
Service Learning Vacations combine volunteering and education with tourism.  With Service Leaning your itinerary is also a syllabus.  Trained Experiential Educators run these trips, men and women who are not only steeped in science and history but who are also professional guides and interpreters.  Geography, History, Culture, Politics, Botany and Biology, and Language Studies are all on the syllabus.

Service Learning Adventures
The experiential education curriculum espoused by Service Learning has made it a rich avenue along which to develop active and adventuresome, mild to wild, versions of the service learning vacation.  Let’s call them Service Learning Adventures.  These combine the attributes of volunteering and education with adventuresome outings that radicate the experience in adreanline-fueled emotional involvement in the destination.  Cycling, Rafting, Hiking, Trekking, Kayaking, these activities not only bring the traveler into closer contact with the fabric of a region, they also help fuel the sustainability of the local tourism infrastructure.

I think that Wanderland Travel on our website (www.wanderland.org) puts quite directly the aims of Educational Travel in our mission statement.  “To provide educational travel that reveals and respects geography, culture, and history, while  responsibly supporting and re-investing into local economies and environmental protection.”

Summation
There has been a broadening of the definition of eco-tourism into various specialities.  This proliferation rewards the travel shopper with the ability to choose more precisely what kind of experience they want.

1.  Eco-travel – clients experience nature and cultural settings with intentional components. .

2.  Eco-adventures – eco-travel combined with active sports.

3..  Voluntourism where clients participate in a project and tour the region.

4.  Service Learning in which a project is also an opportunity for experiential education.

5.  Service Learning Adventures where you will get a healthy helping of science, history, and geography along with adventuresome outings, all while participating in a relevant service project.

also:
6. Fitness Adventures – These are more challenging active and adventure trips, similar to the eco-adventures but with multi-sport itineraries chocked full of adrenaline and exercise.

7. R&R Challenges – A special subset of fitness adventure that has been developed for the keyed-up and dynamic military personnel who is on his or her mid-term leave.

Wanderland and Service Learning Adventures
This how the responsible modern traveler wants to spend his or her travel dollar, in an endeavor that is at the same time fun and relevant.

Designed into the project are instructive and enjoyable excursions to the forest, local rivers, fly fishing lodges, and some nights on the town getting to know the local cuisine and ‘onda’.  You will be hosted by an professional, bilingual, outdoor educator.  Along with your Argentine guides, your instructor is also involved in detailing the trip, and will be a ready translator when your Spanish flags a bit.  In your interactions with the people of the town you will find yourselves welcomed like ambassadors of goodwill.

Wanderland has service learning, voluntourism, and ed-venture projects in the U.S. southwest, Baja California, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina.

Patagonia Voluntour:  The gardening project  will be the central element, and it will also be an active trip with hikes and explorations of local sites, a “Service Learning Adventure’.  A Service Learning Adventure isn’t some fluffy ecotour, it’s a super-relevant project where you go to work with the locals planting and preparing what would become productive gardens for the community.

Our aim is to foster sustainability in isolated communities and to invite adventuresome volunteers to help us stimulate their economies.

The flash of tail and song of the curious and vocal Chucao, coo-cau, coo-cau, still echoes in my memories.  The garden project in Argentina will provide important sustainability to the area.  Your involvement will have a lasting impact, all the while learning and living.

References
1. http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php?title=Ecotourism
2. http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/weaving/hectorceballos.html
3. http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.mission
4. http://www.voluntourism.org/news-soyouknow61.htm
5. http://adventuretravel.about.com/od/volunteertravel/Voluntourism_Taking_a_Volunteer_Vacation_Expands_Your_Horizons.htm
6.  http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/
7.  http://www.voluntourism.org/news-studyandresearch52.htm
8.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-learning
9.  New York Times, Travel Sec. Sun 11/28/2010
10. www.wanderlandtravel.org

This program is a terrific combination of strenuous hiking combined with in-depth learning about the western Grand Canyon’s geology and cultural history. The visit to the small village of Supai where we hiked to Havasu and Mooney Falls was the trip’s highlight. Stewart Lasseter’s personal involvement with the native Supai added depth and perspective to understanding the history and current struggles of the villagers. Both Stewart and Jeff Strang were outstanding leaders. They are incredibly informed about the geology, biology and history of this lesser-visited area of the Grand Canyon. Plus, they seemed to be having a great time themselves and made for a fun trip.

Backroads in the Central Highlands –  Prescott to Sedona, Arizona

Trip Details

Trip Type: Hard-surface Cycling, Lodge-Based, Educational, Kayaking, Conservancy, Gastronomy.

Difficulty: 4 (Somewhat strenuous.)

Length: 6 Days

Group Size: 4-15

Price: $2000 inclusive

Dates: November 1-7, 2011 and 2012.

Meeting Time and Place: Arrival Prescott, Arizona. Hassayampa Inn

Sedona and Central Arizona Wine Country by Bike

Introduction

6 days of lodge-based cycling on backroads in Arizona’s hidden Central Highlands.  Elevations between 6000 feet and 3100 feet, gradually descending day by day.  You will wind through a lightly traveled region of rolling pasture, chapparal, and  lush piñon juniper forest.  Special little cabins, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and inns will grace each nights rest.

Our course will allow us to visit wineries each day.  While we will forego tasting during the days and keep upright on the bikes, in the evening your guides will prepare a fine tasting of a vintage or two  collected at each stop.

The special bioregion of the Central Highlands has been found to give surprising benefits to grape production.  There are challenges as well.  As we travel our hosts at the various wineries will give us insights into the bioregional concerns of the area, and as well demonstrate their craft at viticulture and oenology.

ITINERARY – Prescott to Sedona, Arizona Wine Country Route

Day 1  : Arrival in Prescott PM. Historic Downtown Ride and bike test.  Welcome Dinner and Orientation.

DETAILS:  Prescott is Arizonas Victorian City and the first state Capitol.  Your charming Inn, the Hassayamp,  will place you right downtown.  After checking in meet your hosts for a sunset bike ride through the historic neighborhoods and visit the well preserved Victorian style architecture.  The ride will also serve as a shakedown and fitting opportunity for your rental bike or personal bike. Welcome dinner at the fine Hassaympa Restaurant and then a short orientation meeting to lay out the plan for the week.

Day 2  :  Prescott to Juniper Well.

DETAILS:  Climbing up out of town on the the Copper Basin Road and topping out with a great view from the Sierra Prieta Overlook.  Rolling backroads into Wilhoit for a preview of Arizona’s next grape growing hotspot.  Through to historic Skull Valley with a visit to the historic schoolhouse.  A walk to petroglyphs and lunch by the creek.  Afternoon we roll up into the foothills of Granite Mountain to the cabins and vineyard at Juniper Well Ranch.

Day 3  :  Juniper Well to Granite Creek Vineyards

DETAILS:  Today we tackle some lovely country, crossing into Williamson Valley and then Chino Valley, some of northern Arizona’s extensive short–grass prairies will prove expansive vistas.  Today we will be able visit some prehistoric sites along our traverse and will end up in a great Bed and Breakfast overlooking the Verde River, the last wild river in Arizona.  Barbecue tonight on the deck.

Day  4  :  Granite Creek to Jerome

DETAILS:   Today our backroads route will take us up into the Black Hills of Arizona following old railroad routes and winding gravel roads.  A stop at the Buddhist Sanctuary will grace our morning.  Expect tremendous vistas of the Sedona area, the Mogollon Rim, and the San Francisco Peaks.  Tonight we stay in the Asylum atop the hill, the old hospital now a travelers rest, nice rooms, restaurant, bar, and soaring views.  You are crazy if you don’t come!
In Jerome we can sample from the cellars of Cadeuceus, Jerome Winery, and Bitter Creek Winery.

Day  5  : Jerome to Page Springs

DETAILS:   Today we get not only a screaming downhill into the Verde Valley, we also will have an avalanche of new wineries to visit.  We are rolling down into the Verde Valley bioregion, a favorable climate and availability of surface water here have produced Arizona’s oenological hub.  Tonight in a nice Inn closer to Sedona.

Day  6 :    Sedona Area Riding and PM kayak trip on the Verde.  Farewell Dinner.

DETAILS:   The Red Rocks of Sedona beckon.  Today is all about finding the great trails and backroads around Sedona.  Tailored to group’s riding abilitiy.
Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, Battleship Rock, Oak Creek, Bell Rock Trail,.  You’ll find the real vortex of 360 degree Sedona riding, hubs humming in the red dust.

HAPPY TRAILS from all of us here at WANDERLAND.ORG and we look forward to seeing your bright smiles on this exciting adventure.

Education – Adventure Curriculum:
Oenology
Central AZ Geography
Prescott Arquitecture
Bioregionalism
Colorado Plateau and Sonoran Desert
Arizona Archaeology
Astronomy
Natural History

Stepping forward with Wanderland’s Right Brain Foot.  Remember from anatomy class that the right brain controls the left side of the body? If you know our logo: the right foot forward of exploration(!), then I believe you will find these word clouds are a fun way of creatively , right brain to left foot, demonstrating some of our Webpage Content.  The Tag clouds are generated with Tagxedo.com, thanks for their great online Tag Cloud Generator!!

Our Mission:

Wanderland Mission Statement Art

Our South America trips in Chile and Argentina – Migrate with the Birds!!:

South America Bird Cloud

Our Summit to Shore Bike Tour in Chile:

Summit to Suds Cycling!

Eric, Brice, Glenn, Cayo and myself invite you on a learning adventure.  Fully-supported, lodge-based, great food, amazing landscapes, and terrific backroads await you and your clan.  Give us a ring if you want to find out more.

Stewart   1-866-701-2113

Mogollon Rim

Start and End Dates:     October, 2011

Duration:    5 Days, 4 nights

Location:    Sedona, Jerome, and Grand Canyon, AZ.

Price starting at:    $1630 –Price may vary based on date – please call for details.

Program Type:     Mountain Bike, Kayak, Vineyards, Oenology, Educational, Lodge-based.

Meals:    Included.

Sedona Wine Region Biking and Kayaking – A Wanderland Multi-Sport Trip

Overview:  Jerome, Sedona, Grand Canyon, and The Verde Valley of Arizona.  Cycling backroads from Grand Canyon to the wine valleys of Jerome and Sedona and mellow kayaking the Verde River to select wineries.   Learning about bioregionalism and the ideal conditions here.

Enjoy a fun-filled trek by mountain bike during this week of adventure, breathtaking beauty, and camaraderie. In the cooler plateau and highlands of Northern Arizona we will explore and enjoy the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Verde Valley country.

This trip will present some of Arizona’s most rewarding and beautiful mountain cycling routes.  Our route traverses the rolling Colorado Plateau and Grand Canyon country (UNESCO World Heritage Site designated), the surprising Canadian Oak & Ponderosa Forests of the rim, land of snows and meltwaters.  Next we descend into the land of Gin and Pine Nuts – the expansive pygmy forests of Juniper and Piñon of the Central Highlands.  Arizona’s wine producing Verde Valley awaits us down at 3500 foot elevation, a riparian thread of rich and rocky soils, bountiful both for grapes and gear grinding!

We will meet with local oenologists, bioregionalists, and agricultors to learn about the abundance of the region.  Each evening we will sample from the delicacies and vintages of the region.

Adventure Itinerary

Day 1:   We will meet the group in Williams and explore forest roads as we do the bike fitting and group orientation.

DETAILS:  Williams, which is surrounded by the Kaibab National Forest, is the closest town to the South Rim and is considered the gateway to the Grand Canyon. The thriving community is named after a famous American mountain man called Bill Williams, who also has a mountain named after him. Bill Williams Mountain, which is also one of the many inactive volcano remnants in the area, is one of the highest points in the state. Over dinner we will discuss the details of the tour.

Day 2:   South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

DETAILS:  We will drive to the South Rim (about an hour north of Williams).   Arizona’s Natural Wonder of the World!  We are going to bike Arizona Trail pathways in the Kaibab National Forest close to the rim.  At breaks in the day’s activities you can ride on your own to the rim for amazing views.  The story behind the scenery.

For today’s adventure the Highest point is 7,193 ft – Starting point 7,026 ft – Ending point 7000 ft
Total Climb 500 ft ¬ Total Descent 500 ft

Day 3:  Williams to Jerome; Jerome Vineyards.

DETAILS:  The road drops into Williams and we will head south climbing the hills of the Kaibab National Forest.  Reach the pass at Summit Mountain. Descend to Bear Canyon and begin ride on the dirt road. Stop for lunch by the Verde River at Perkinsville. From there, it’s a long gradual climb to Hopewell (48 miles) Descend into Jerome.

Today’s cycle will be a mixture of tarred and dirt roads that wind their way along the boundary of the Woodchute wilderness which drops steeply into the majestic valleys and into the Prescott National Forest. The bird life of this area is amazing and views from a bicycle are probably the best. The day ends with a climb to the pass that overlooks Jerome. We roll into the Caduceus Cellars for a tasting and trasfer to our hotel.

Jerome is a throwback to what life used to be like a century ago. Its buildings and houses cling to the slopes of Cleopatra Hill. Perched on the Verde Fault, the town is known for its rumblings.  At one point the town jail broke free and slid 225 feet down the hill. Rescued from becoming a ghost town by a thriving artists community, and now vineyards, this little copperopolis will be a high point on your bike trek.  The entire town has now been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Total distance: 53 miles – Highest point 7100 ft – Starting point 6,500 ft ¬ Ending point 4000 ft

Day 4:  Jerome to Cornville and Sedona. Mingus descent and Oak Creek and Page Springs wine producing region.

DETAILS:  Leave Jerome onto fine dirt backroads that wind from the top of Mingus Mountain to the Verde Valley and the Sedona area.  The beautiful scenery will challenge your ability to keep your eyes on the road. The vineyards that await us at the end of the trail will cap off a spectacular day of cycling.
Total distance: 38 miles – Highest point 7356 ft – Starting point 7356 ft ¬ Ending point 3,120 ft
Total Climb 500 ft ¬ Total Descent 4,000+ ft

Day 5:  Riding in the Wine Region and Vinyards of the Verde Valley and Sedona. Paddling the Verde River through Vineyards, pastoral lands, and emerald riparian communities.

DETAILS:  AM Cycling in the Page Springs Wine Producing region and Sedona. Kayaking with sit-on-tops down the Verde through the wine-producing region.
Total distance: 10 miles by bike; 4 miles by kayak.

Please Be Advised:

A.  An early start is necessary most days as we breakfast around sunrise. That way we get to see and do more throughout the tour, and of course it is better to lose sleep and beat the heat whenever possible in the arid Southwest.

B.  This itinerary is an example of what typically happens on this mountain biking trip.  Please bring an open mind and a readiness for adventure!  Last-minute adjustments due to weather and such are built in as a safety cushion.

C.  Sí, All itineraries can be customized.

What’s Chilito Style? You have to experience it to really understand. Grooving along on fine backroads on a sturdy mountain bike is one of the best ways to find it.

November through March the arrival of Spring and Summer make for an excellent climate. The perfect escape from the Northern Hemisphere winters.

Spring and Summer ride locations begin in the Norte Chico North from the Santiago and move South following the bubble, that seasonally perfect latitude in Chile and Argentina where you will find near perfect weather. Our tour locations move organically from north to south in the summer, and then south to north in the fall and winter, tracking the perfect climate as it moves up and down the country.

EVEN BETTER? Lace the whole season together into a 35+ day backroads extravaganza!! You might get tired, but you won’t get tired of Chile.

We offer from 1 day to 15 day bike treks. We have set dates for some rides and also arrange custom trips for your group. We have a small group focus always, rarely more than 10 or 11 riders, though larger groups can be accommodated with special arrangements.

The famed La Bicicleta Verde city bike tour in Santiago will grace any trip that you do with us (providing that you travel through Santiago on your way) giving you a two-wheeled historical and cultural perspective of the country and its people.

WHY WE LOVE CHILE FOR MOUNTAIN BIKE TOURING

Chile, in all of its myriad realities, is our beloved base of operations. The country of Chile is an immense region that runs from from 18.5 degrees south Latitude to 56 degrees south Latitude. On the East – West axis the country is narrow but contains the extremes of elevation from sea level to 22,000 feet. Peru is to the North, Bolivia and Argentina to the East, the Pacific Ocean to the West, and the South Pole to…well to the south of course.

We can find you a lovely climate zone on ANY given day of the year by moving our program locations to that perfect window of temperature and geography. Like an elevator that opens only for agreeable temps and interesting places, our trips will present Chile at only its most delicious attitude.

This bubble of fine weather moves up and down the whole southern cone of South America and our Bike Treks follow it where it leads us. So keep tabs on our menu throughout the year as we follow the bubble. If you join the site’s Social Network we will be able to keep you posted when new programs arise. Otherwise, surf on by whenever; you will find that our programs change dramatically with the season.

The Southern Cone, or Cono Sur, is made up of both Chile and Argentina and tapers like a huge arrowhead pointing at the Antarctic continent. From our base here in Chile we will be helping you explore this vast region and its neighbors Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. Don’t forget about Easter Island, the bellybutton of planet Earth, also is Chilean territory and a fine cycling destination.

Our backroads bicycle treks take in the beauties and distinct cultures of the two main residents of the Cono Sur, Chile and Argentina. Our principal trips feature these two countries famous wine regions and their temperate rainforests spangled with deep blue lakes and hot springs.

These trips wind you through quiet grape-growing countryside or the deep green temperate rainforest further south snuggled into the Andes. We want your trip to South America to give you a regional perspective so you will find many of our trips introducing you to the wine valleys, Lakes Districts, the Araucaria forests, and Patagonia regions of both countries.

The Cycling: We will travel a combination of smooth dirt roads, paved backroads, and gentle two-track. Elevation gain and loss on this trip follows a profile where 5% – 15% grades ease us into the cordillera of the Andes gaining elevation from 1500 feet to 6000 feet in Chile and then down to 3000 foot elevations on the Argentine side. The roads are not heavily traveled and we plan to be at certain locations at certain days of the week and times of the year to avoid vehicles and crowds, for the most part. We always provide you with ‘rolling-enclosure’ so that we have a vanguard rider and a rearguard vehicle notifying oncoming traffic of the cyclists.

Chile is the perfect country for Summit to Shore trips, with 3000+ km of Andean Cordillera mirroring an equal distance of wave-tossed Pacific coastline, and hundreds of peaks, dozens of passes and thousands of km of backroads. We let the bubble of perfect weather tell us when and where. There are three of these treks on the menu right now: the Elqui and Limarí valleys in Norte Chico, The Pucón to Valdivia slice and in the Fall and Spring from Sewell to Pichilemu.

We often host cicletadas related to specific events. In our bike trek menu lineup you will find opportunities to plug your bike trek into specific regional events and festivals (ferias costumbristas). These events range from frivolous to top priority, and are all related to fun and exploration. The top priority of Chile Bike Tours is the protection of Wild Patagonia and wild lands throughout the Andean Cordillera. Travel with us to the Carretera Austral and find out why it is a landscape worth preserving and revering.

Maybe your tastes run more to the ‘fundane’ and our week-long travesía through the bejeweled Lakes District to the Valdivian coast and the yearly Kunstmann Bierfest. Our bike and wine trips are particularly interesting during the Vendimia Festivals of Santa Cruz and Mendoza in March each year. Keep an eye on the site or sign up for notices on more event-specific treks.

The airlines have been becoming more and more diligent about charging you for traveling with a bike.  Gone are the days when you could simply describe the big box you were traveling with as a ‘mobility device’ and waltz right through check-in no questions asked with your $ in your pocket.

I often travel to Mexico, Chile, and Argentina with my bike and I have been having to devise ever-more inventive ways of getting the bike through all the check-in procedures without it being recognized as such.  For the airlines, as long as you satisfy their guidelines for weight, shape, and size dimensions then normally they will not bother you at all.

Bikes in big boxes should be charged for, they take up valuable space and are unwieldy for the handlers.  Hard cases are great, to be sure.  The bike is snug as a bug in a rug and comes through the flight completely unscathed no matter how many apes have invaded the baggage handling procedures.  But the cost per bike per flight has risen to $100 and even $150 in some cases.  And then you have to drag the case around with you once in country or pay a hotel to store it for you.  Now, you can support the airlines in their year-end profits if you want, or read on and learn how to get your bike into a regular piece of travel baggage.

I recognize the need to balance the affordability of bringing your own ride while also protecting the investment in the bike.

Of course, you do have the option of renting.  The rental bikes that we use with Wanderland are always in the best condition available.  The problem with Rental bikes is that the fit can be slightly off, or the components unfamiliar, not to mention that the rental can add up to another $200 or $300 on top of the cost of your professionally guided trip.

So, if you want to save upwards of $400 on overall trip costs per person check out the methods outlined below.

There are a couple of approaches for ‘disguising’ your bike as just regular luggage.  If the airlines cannot easily identify your baggage as a bike, then you will be able to get it through without an extra charge most of the time.
The first rule is to not have a suitcase, hardcase, or bike carrier that shouts,  “I am a bike!”  Stickers, bike-company brand names, you wearing tight lycra shorts and a helmet will get you charged every time.  As well, the hard edges of the frame poking out the end of the bag are a dead give-away.  Make sure that everything is well padded with foam and clothing.

There are two principle approaches:
Method #1 – Buy bikes that disassemble.  As you investigate the purchase of your new bikes keep in mind a company in Bozeman, MT that makes S&S Couplers – (http://www.sandsmachine.com/).  Bike Torque Couplings can be incorporated into a custom frame that then can be split in the middle of the cross-tube and the down-tube and laid into your regular suitcase.  So, the couplers  allow you to take the front and rear of the bike completely apart and I have found that with most frame sizes you can usually then fit the bike into a regular suitcase along with your clothing.

A regular-looking suitcase is the best disguise, just as long as it doesn’t clank.  Take the additional time to place the bike and all of its separate components into opaque plastic bags, just in case someone wants a peek inside.  For my part,  I am a fan of soft luggage like large canvas duffels.  I don’t like to have to drag around a hard piece of luggage for my entire trip..I usually have my bike set up with a sturdy rear rack, Old Man Mountain makes rack models that will mount on any kind of bike.  With a rack snapped on and your soft duffel rolled up, you can usually then ride right out of the airport parking lot with your stuff in a couple of panniers!

Rock Art of the Greater Southwest

Rock Art – Petroglyphs and Pictographs – Yes, the “Artifacts of former cognitive universes” of the amazing Southwest. The pine forests, mountain streams, and florid deserts of the SW US and N. Mexico are home to an amazing array of styles and images from the deep past.  We offer archaeology enthusiasts and rock art devotees a unique opportunity to visit and learn from the rupestria of this vast province.

The “Greater Southwest”is an archaeological province that spans two countries, the US amd Mexico. “Las Vegas to Las Vegas, and Durango to Durango”, as the saying goes.  Inside this elongated oval that stretches East-West from Las Vegas, NM to Las Vegas, NV and North-South from Durango, CO to Durango, Mexico can be found some of the world’s finest rock art and easily-accessed archaeo sites.

The SW Rock Art Series: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Sonora, Baja and California.   This first trek is the first of 10 trips we will offer radiating out from Utah to explore the Rock Art of North America.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of individual motifs and thousands of sites tucked into the front and backcountry. Too many of these sites have not been afforded any protection whatsoever, or enjoy only scant protection.

This program will feature only sites that have been gifted a level of protection.  We are not giving up any carefully guarded archeological treasures.  To be sure, we will journey well off the beaten track, we are offering you access to the little known but well protected gems of our archeological heritage.

We want you to wonder at and to better understand these ancient symbols and the information they contain.  By visiting the sites and the complexes they are associated with and learning the history and customs of the peoples who left them you will learn to love them as we do.  This is what is needed most.

The visits and our instructors will help you to appreciate the measures that are being employed to better study and protect their mysterious messages.  Wanderland Travel wants to fete these conservators of our patrimony whether they be federal, state, community, tribal, NGO, or family by bringing their programs to a concerned public.

ITINERARY – Moab to Peñasco
Day 1– Arrival PM to Moab and B&B. Introductions and Orientation. Welcome Dinner. Night Visit to Glyph Panels.

Day 2  –  Moab Region Petroglyphs.  Roadside attractions and off the beaten path discoveries.

Day 3  –   On the road to the Bluff, Utah area.  Backroads sites in Montezuma Canyon and Hovenweep NM.

Day 4  –   Exploring sites in the Bluff, Utah area.  The Comb Ridge and Butler Wash Sites.  Expect some great hiking today.

Day 5  –   On the road to Flagstaff, Arizona.  Visiting sites along this route of travel.

Day 6  –   Sites in the Flagstaff Area.  Wupatki, Elden, Parks, Beaver Creek.

Day 7  –   On the road to the Prescott, Arizona area.  Backroads sites in Arizona’s Central Highlands and private ranchlands.

Day 8  –   Sites in the AZ Central Highlands.  Perry Mesa and Salida Gulch.

Day 9  –   On the road to Gila Bend.  Selected sites in the Sonoran Desert and Gila River Drainage.

Day 10  –   On the road to the Caborca, Mexico area.  Rock Art Preserves near Caborca.

Day 11–On to Puerto Peñasco and the Sea of Cortez.  A visit to the Center for Deserts and Oceans. Farewell dinner on the beach.

Day 12– AM border crossing to Tucson, AZ through Lukeville.  Noon Arrival.

Start and End Dates:     February 28 – March 10,  2011

Duration:    10 Days,  9 nights

Location:    Buenos Aires, Bariloche, San Martin de Los Andes – Argentina

Price starting at:  $1,900 –  Cost can vary based on number in group.  Price includes one complimentary position for chaperone or group organizer.

Program Type:     Service Learning Travel for school groups, companies, and organizations.

Meals:    Included.

Patagonia Service Learning — Adventure Argentina

Help a small community school to be more sustainable and enjoy an adventurous and impactful  travel experience in Buenos Aires and Northern Patagonia of Argentina.

You arrive and depart from the impressive capitol of Argentina, Buenos Aires.  Your travel itinerary will take you to the Lakes District of Northern Argentina.  Here you will have an opportunity not only to explore this majestic area but also to leave a positive impact through a  service learning project.  Help us to make this region more sustainable year round, not just in the tourism seasons, through adventure travel that brings needed seasonal income to the local providers with whom we work, and small-scale agricultural service projects that help to nourish the youth and families that make this lovely region their home.

We invite your school group, community organization, club, or business to take part in a travel paradigm that will redefine how you travel in the future.  Voluntourism, adventure philanthropy, service EDventure, whatever you want to call it.  Your travel can be rewarding on so many levels and the joy experienced in working and playing in close contact with the communities where you journey will make for vacation memories that endure.

Start and End Dates:     November 2010; March, April 2011

Duration:    11 Days, 10 nights

Location:    Moab, UT to Caborca, Sonora.  End in Tucson.

Price starting at:    $4217 –Price may vary based on date – please call for details

Program Type:     Archaeology Education, Light Hiking

Meals:    Included.

Rock Art of the Greater Southwest

Rock Art – Petroglyphs and Pictographs – “Artifacts of former cognitive universes” of the semi-arid rangelands, forests, and deserts of the Southwestern US and Northern Mexico.

We offer archaeology enthusiasts, and specifically Rock Art devotees, a unique opportunity to visit and learn about the rupestria of this vast province.  The Greater Southwest is bounded by a long oval that takes in the width and length coordinates: “Las Vegas to Las Vegas, and Durango to Durango”.  Las Vegas, NM to Las Vegas, NV; Durango CO to Durango, Mexico.  Each of these Rock Art Treks will spin off the hub at Moab, UT and head along one or another coordinate of the compass rose.  Any of these trips would thrill the amateur archaeo-buff and professional alike.  Our range: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Sonora, Baja and California.   This first trek is the first of 10 trips we will offer radiating out from Utah to explore the Rock Art of the Greater Southwest.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of individual motifs and thousands of sites tucked into the front and backcountry. Too many of these sites have not been afforded any protection whatsoever, or enjoy only scant protection.  This program will feature only sites that have been gifted a level of protection.  We are not giving up any carefully guarded archeological treasures.  To be sure we will journey well off the beaten track, we are offering you access to the little known but well protected gems of our archeological heritage.

We want you to wonder at and to better understand these ancient symbols and the information they contain.  By visiting the sites and the complexes they are associated with and learning the history and customs of the peoples who left them you will learn to love them as we do.  This is what is needed most.

The visits and our instructors will help you to appreciate the measures that are being employed to better study and protect their mysterious messages.  Wanderland Travel wants to fete these conservators of our patrimony whether they be federal, state, community, tribal, NGO, or family by bringing their programs to a concerned public.