RANTS: 2007 AIRLINE QUALITY RATINGS http://www.aqr.aero/aqrreports/AQR2007full.pdf. Not much you don’t already know about the decline in airline performances if you are a frequent flyer. Of 15 companies rated, only Northwest and US Air improved their overall scores.
GREEN $ MAKE SENSE http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4347565.stm
“Remember that time is money.” Benjamin Franklin
“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.” Henry David Thoreau
Two famous Americans, two very different attitudes towards time, the only real commodity any of us really has. Our time on the planet. Many people have written about travel as a life-changing experience. One of my favorites is Pico Iyer who says “When we leave the comfort of the familiar, we pay attention, our notions of ourselves and our world are challenged.”
RAVES: Here’s Woody Allen on Manhattan (quoted in The Quotable New York by Wm. Cole): “There is no question there is an unseen world; the question is, how far is it from midtown, and how late is it open?”
More seriously, I heard Esther Cohen talk about her 2006 book unseen america at a Labor Voices conference this spring. Hundreds of workers were given cameras and lessons in photography and then asked to document their lives. Through this collection of black-and-white images—sometimes bleak, sometimes poignant, and always honest—the workers give voice to their stories. A remarkable achievement. Check it out. http://www.bread-and-roses.com/unseenbookback.html
For years I’ve gnashed my teeth as cruise lines talked ecotourism and practiced eco-sabotage. Rumors and lawsuits about dumping sewage and even furniture and appliances at sea have circulated for decades. Finally, Ross Klein decided to blow the whistle, documenting some of the worst offenses in Cruise Ship Blues: The Underside of the Cruise Industry. Klein is not an environmentalist nor a travel writer. He is an associate professor of social work at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. But he’s a self-described "cruise junkie," who made dozens of voyages before taking on the industry. He says, “What's needed is strong law, not voluntary compliance.” His site, www.cruisejunkie.com, details incidents of illness, accidents, sinkings, labor issues, persons overboard, and more. Here are a few of the latest news reports:
ATTENTION ALL SHIPS: STINKY SEAS
Richard Shulman and his girlfriend were set for a vacation at sea; what they got was trial by sewage. Their Carnival Cruise stateroom toilet had overflowed when they boarded and staff were nearly as offensive as the noxious odors. So Shulman did what any irate consumer should do: he documented the sewage mess on videotape and posted it on youtube. Here’s the link, demonstrating again the power of the ‘Net. Did the couple get satisfaction from Carnival after a miserable cruise? They were refunded half the expense with an apology. Read more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24357062/
Crew Abandons Sinking Ship with Passengers Aboard, August 3, 2007.
When the Greek ship Oceanos sank off the coast of South Africa because of poor maintenance, the captain didn't exactly go down with the ship. In fact, he and the rest of the crew bailed out, leaving all 571 passengers aboard. This video footage (posted several weeks later on Youtube.com) shows how terrifying the ordeal must have been. Luckily, all passengers were saved by helicopters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BFux2AAMso
Alaska Cruise Ship Runs Aground
Juneau, Alaska, May 14, 2007 — All passengers have been safely evacuated from a small cruise ship that ran aground 49 miles west of Juneau at 1:40 am local Alaska time. The 299 foot vessel Empress of the North was cruising the Inside Passage when it grounded near Hanus Reef in Lynn Canal, Alaska, in calm weather and calm seas. The cause of the incident was not immediately apparent. The crew contacted the Coast Guard via VHF radio on Channel 16 reporting they were aground with 281 passengers and crew on board.
Caymans Ban Cruise Ships to Protect Coral.
George Town, Cayman Islands, May 1, 2007 (AP) — The government said Tuesday it has banned cruise ships from anchoring at a port where their huge chains have damaged coral reefs. Environmental officials say some coral can be preserved despite extensive damage along the sea floor near the Spotts Dock facility, which is used as an alternative port when seas are too rough for cruise ships to call on the George Town harbor. "Because cruise ships are the biggest vessels to use the area regularly, their chains tend to cause a lot of the damage," said John Bothwell, a research officer with the British Caribbean territory's environment department.
Santorini Under Threat from Cruise Ship Oil Spill
April 12, 2007. Environmentalists have launched a major operation to contain a massive oil spill caused when the Greek cruise ship Sea Diamond hit a reef off the Greek islands last week.
The 22,412-ton vessel, operated by Louis Cruise Lines, sank near the island of Santorini, one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations, early on Friday. More than 1,500 passengers were evacuated last Thursday and the Greek government initially declared the operation a success.
But now it is struggling to avert a potential environmental and economic disaster, as tourists prepare to visit the Greek islands this summer. Sea Diamond's tanks are thought to have stored up to 400 tons of oil and lubricants.
New York, NY, February 6, 2007 -- Norwegian Coastal Voyage and its parent company, The Hurtigruten Group, are reporting that no environmental damage or traces of pollution have been found at or around Deception Island in Antarctica, the site of the MS Nordkapp’s recent grounding. As expected, all traces of the limited discharge of marine gas oil from the MS Nordkapp had disappeared by Saturday, February 3. This is consistent with the fact that marine gas oil easily evaporates and rapidly degrades, helping to minimize any effect a spill may have on the environment.
Passengers Injured When Cruise Ship Tips
Miami, Florida, July 19, 2006 (CNN) -- A cruise ship listed sharply off Port Canaveral, Florida, injuring at least 93 passengers, 16 of them seriously, according to the Cape Canaveral Fire Department. Two victims were airlifted to local hospitals, according to paramedics that the Coast Guard transported to the ship as it returned to port. Ten ambulances, three helicopters, four buses and mass-casualty trailers were on hand as the vessel arrived at the port.
Cruise Ship Pollution. Download this report by Bluewater Network: www.bluewaternetwork.org/reports/cv/Cruiseship_MiniReport_06.pdf
ITALY continues to delight those of us who’ve traveled there over 30 years. In June 2007 I explored Le Cinque Terre—the steep, terraced coast that extends south of Genoa to La Spezia—and Sardinia. See my article “Sardinia: Wild and Wonderful.“ Sardinia’s most spectacular coastline is not, as many assume, the Costa Smeralda. It’s the much more affordable and exciting Gulf of Orosei. Here the mountains of the Gennargentu abruptly meet the sea, forming a crescent of dramatic cliffs with hidden beaches and deep grottoes at the crystalline water’s edge. Not long ago only goatherders and charcoalburners navigated the canyons (codulas) descending the cliffs. Today the area is a magnet for serious hikers, bikers, cavers, and rock climbers, who can choose knowledgeable guides to organize either day or camping trips. I explored the area with two tour companies – Jill Simpson’s Island Spirit Adventures and Peter & Anne Holidays. American-born Simpson, who discovered Sardinia 10 years ago, competes in triathlons and road races when she’s not leading hikes. Peter Herold and Anne McGlone are a British couple, who’ve cycled and rock climbed in Sardinia since 1992. Each of them chose the southeast coast as their base because it’s the island’s wildest, most unspoiled region.
HILLTOP VIEW OF THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF GIAVE, SARDINIA
JILL SIMPSON, FOUNDER OF ISLAND SPIRIT ADVENTURES IN SARDINIA
STINTINO BEACH WITH THE TORRE PELOSA IN THE BACKGROUND
MORE BELLA ITALIA: ROME’S ANCIENT SEAPORT AT OSTIA
Read Rick Steves’ latest on the ruins of Ostia Antica, about 30 minutes outside Rome. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/04/15/ostia.antica/index.html
As reported in the NY Times, Venice’s first female gondolier, Alexandra Hai, struggled for more than 10 years to be able to paddle passengers around the canals. But it’s a sad triumph since the struggle has made her the most hated woman in that drowning city by the other 425 all-male gondoliers.
Dateline July 7, 2007. GOING TO NAPLES? HOLD YOUR NOSE!
The U.S. Embassy issued a warning this week urging Americans to avoid Naples and its suburbs because they “may encounter mounds of garbage, open fires with potentially toxic fumes, and/or sporadic public demonstrations by local residents attempting to block access to dumps.” Naples, it turns out, is in the midst of a garbage crisis. Trash service has been disrupted since May, according to reports. Dumpsters are overflowing, and those that aren’t are allegedly controlled by the camorra, the Neapolitan mafia. And doing business with the camorra will cost you some euros. Read more.
ROME (AP) — The dungeon beneath the papal fortress of Castel Sant'Angelo, where popes of old locked up criminals and enemies, has reopened to the public after a ten-year closure for restoration work.
Through Aug. 26, visitors will be offered nighttime guided tours of the prison built in the fort's cellars by Pope Alexander VI in 1503, stepping through darkened cells and an infamous courtroom where death sentences were handed down.
Organizers said the brief reopening of the restored prison is part of a summer festival of concerts and cultural events that takes place in Castel Sant'Angelo — a first century monumental tomb built for the Roman emperor Hadrian later reused as a fortress by the popes.
The castle's dungeon hosted common criminals and illustrious figures, from a self-styled magician and religious leader known as the Count of Cagliostro to those who fought to unify the independent papal state with Italy in the 19th century.
Also imprisoned there was Florentine Renaissance master Benvenuto Cellini, held in the fortress for about a year in 1538 for killing his brother's murderer. Cellini drew on the walls of his cell images of God and Jesus, traces of which are still visible, and made a failed escape attempt by lowering himself from the prison's toilet with a rope made of sheets.
HUNGRY FOR ITALY? Check out these postings about white balsamic vinegar and making the perfect pizza dough. Then sit down to a steaming bowl of pasta con pesto. Salute!
TRAVEL PLANNING WEBSITE with lots of resources to plan your next trip to Italy.
DIGGING SARDINIA (Italy Mag) Aug. 8, 2007
An ancient Phoenician colony on the western coast of Sardinia may soon yield some of its long-buried secrets during new excavations. Othoca, founded by the Phoenicians some 2,600 years ago, partly evolved into the modern-day town of Santa Giusta but most remnants of the original settlement lie buried under a thick layer of mud at the bottom of a large lake.
Experts believe the lake, separated from the sea by a narrow bridge of land, was once the port of Othoca, used by the Phoenicians as a staging post on their maritime voyages.
Discussing the planned excavations, Santa Giusta Mayor Atonello Figus and an archaeologist from Cagliari University, Carlo Del Vais, said they would focus on a small section of the lake, just a few dozen square metres. This area is believed to contain around a hundred amphorae, resting on top of a large quantity of processed wood. Read more at:
http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy_regions/sardinia/2007/history/new-sardinia-digs-may-unearth-buried-phoenician-settlement/
MONA LEONARDO? (Italy Mag) Sept. 7, 2007. The famous painting of "Mona Lisa" is a disguised self-portrait of its creator, claims the American scholar Lillian Schwartz. Her book, Leonardo’s Hidden Face, argues that computer studies of Leonardo’s self-portrait “superimpose perfectly” with that of his female subject.
Schwartz first gained headlines with her claim in 1987. The book is the first time she has published it.
It is supported by Florentine architect and writer, Renzo Manetti, a co-author of the book, who claims Leonardo had a “philosophical” reason for putting himself into the picture. Read more at:
http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy_regions/tuscany/2007/arts/mona-lisa-‘a-self-portrait’/
ALITALIA FOR ITALIANS, (Italy Mag) Sept. 18, 2007. Italian Deputy Premier and Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli on Tuesday threw his support behind the bid Italy’s second biggest airline Air One is making for national carrier Alitalia. Italy “cannot allow the national carrier to be dominated by an airline of another country which has a national agenda which could damage Italian interests in the decades to come,” Rutelli said. The acquisition of Alitalia by Air One, he observed, “would be the most rational solution”.
The Italian government decided at the end of last year to sell most if not all of the Treasury’s 49.9% stake in Alitalia. An attempt to auction the stake failed this summer after the three remaining bidders, including Air One, dropped out because of the conditions imposed by the Treasury. Read more at:
http://www.italymag.co.uk/2007/news-from-italy/politics/rutelli-backs-air-one-bid-for-alitalia/