Posts Tagged ‘travel’
California Cruisin’… in the Element van! A note from our intern!!
As an intern, I’m always ready for new experiences and an exciting challenge. Today I was able to achieve both. I had to run a few errands today and it was my first time driving the Element utility van, on the freeway to be exact! There’s a first for everything I guess! No worries, the errands were completed both safely and efficiently. Add this one to my list of learned skills at Element as a summer intern!
-Sam
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 3
Our guest blogger Jess Cramp finishes off her photo journal with her adventures in Palmerston.
” I was lucky enough to spend the entire month of April on a remote outer atoll called Palmerston, studying sea turtles. We spent every afternoon snorkeling the lagoon looking for turtles (and sharks!).”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“We brought everything we could possibly need….except women that could cook! Haha. This is Matua, teaching Kelly and I how to make proper coconut bread.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“Wondering what “turtle research” looks like? Find the egg chamber, dig until your fingernails bleed and count the number of egg shells. Every once in a while- you find a baby turtle, and that’s worth every scratch.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
” While I love research and policy work, I revel in the time with kids. Sometimes, your attention makes the difference.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“Part of living so remotely, is total self-reliance and of course, team work. We spent the day replacing thatch at the school.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
“While on Palmerston, my friend Tina and I ran a shark survey alongside the team’s turtle research. This baby grey reef shark is paying me a visit. They aren’t the killing machines that Jaws portrayed. I promise.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Green
” It’s business time! What I love about my job is the ability to transform fears through open discussion and fact sharing. This is Mayor Bob Marsters of Palmerston writing a letter to the Prime Minister, in support of shark protection. If I had my way, the entire campaign would be run by locals.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Tina Weier
Thanks for reading! Here’s a sunset to keep you dreaming. What’s life without adventure?
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 2
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp shares more of her adventures in the Cook Islands and her volunteer work throughout the world through her photo journal.
“Last year, I was part of the 5 Gyres crew, which sailed from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Tahiti, trawling for trash and taking water samples every 50nm. We’re already well aware of our impacts onshore…”
PHOTO CREDIT: Kitt Doucette
“We were aboard Sea Dragon for 3 incredible weeks, reveling at the many faces of the open ocean.”
” This is a nurdle. These petroleum-based pellets are used to manufacture plastics. We found this nurdle on Henderson Atoll. It is uninhabited, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, but still a victim of the industrialized World.”
“Next stop: Cook Islands. Almost a year ago, I committed to volunteering in marine conservation for PICI…and I don’t regret it. Lucky for me, looking for hawksbill sea turtles, like this little guy, is part of my job!”
PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Lyon
“But life in paradise isn’t always sunny skies! With an important meeting on the horizon and nothing but a scooter, what’s a girl to do?”
“One of my very favorite things about my new “career” is getting into local communities. Here are some local Cook Islands kids showing me their shark fins in support of our shark sanctuary efforts.”
“Surfing in the Cooks is not for the faint of heart. Here’s me, wondering if I made the right choice in paddling out.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Bastien: www.justinbastien.com
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Guest Blogger Jess Cramp’s Photo Journal: Part 1
Our Guest Blogger, Jess Cramp, shares with us some of her most incredible experiences, bits of wisdom, and beautiful photography in this photo journal.
“I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. So when I decided to take the leap and follow my dreams, this was first on the list!”
“First stop: Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. I volunteered in a field hospital as a pharmacist and learned fairly quickly that I was not tough enough for disaster relief. Haiti was heartbreaking and humbling.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Cody Doucette
“I remember being completely amazed at the smiley, relaxed faces on many of the kids, even with a panorama of unsightly tragedies.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Cody Doucette
“Next stop: Panama. I spent about six months volunteering in Bocas del Toro, Panama-mostly in water quality and marine science education. But my real passion was found in trying to help the local indigenous tribe, the Ngobe-Bugle, to start a sea turtle monitoring program.”
“Bocas is a Caribbean jewel with gorgeous beaches and amazing waves, but there’s so much litter along the roads, in the drains and along the back beach that it hurts my soul.”
“I felt so lucky to be a part of the Water for People team in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala. They work with communities on clean water, hygiene and sanitation. And my favorite part is that they stick around to ensure the systems work.”
“Hand-washing can save lives in developing countries. These little ones are on the right track thanks to W4P’s commitment. Kid sized washing stations at a cistern full of water!”
“Guatemala. Imagine someone coming to your home unannounced and asking when and how often you wash your hands? When you travel, spend time with locals. Drink the water they offer, even if it has six teaspoons of sugar in it. Sit in their home. Listen. You will have no choice but to adapt your views of the world.”
With love and sunshine,
Jess
Learn more about Jess through her Matador Ambassador profile
Check out more of Jess’s experiences on Destination Global Good
Crossing paths…
With the adventurous hearts of our dear friendas Amber B Dianda and Juliana Neufeld, it comes to no suprise they both took to the road for a break this holiday… the big shocker comes in the fact they both by chance visited the exact same places on the exact same day, and didn’t run into one another!!
Here are the photos from Amber B Dianda‘s road trip, view the rest of the beautiful shots she took HERE!
Juliana Neufeld‘s photos can be seen in the post below as well as the full selection HERE!
And so, we say it again, “the stars are so big, the earth is so small… stay as you are” -Marshall McLuhan
Just visiting…
Over the river and through the woods… Eden Advocate Juliana Neufeld captured a beautiful line up of shots from the adventures had while exploring her grandparents town in California!
The opening quotation tells the story perfectly
See the rest on Juliana’s blog HERE!
All in a days work…
He’s My Brother She’s my Sister has been hitting the road hard and spreading toe tapping cheer across the U.S. of A!
Keeping in step with the crew via instagram snapshots as much as possible from our little office in So-Cal!
Miss you guys, come play in your home state again soon!
Winter Dwelling
My home for the winter… quiet little ski town of Crested Butte, Colorado.
Best new travel buddy…Ginger Tea!
With all the travel I have done lately and all the airplanes I have flown on, I am always looking for a natural alternative to anti- nausea medication and finally found it! Bija Double Ginger Tea! With its spicy fresh ginger taste, I no longer have to worry about an upset belly on a long travel day! I love that the tea is organic and also gives a much needed boost of energy, plus isn’t the packaging kind of cool?
Traveling Journal …
Growing up I was blessed to have such great women in my life that have shaped me into who I am today. It was a little fear of all of ours that when it was time for all of us to leave the nest that life would happen and we might drift. It has been so amazing to see that over the past years nothing close to that has happened, in fact, in some cases I feel we are closer than ever.
After we all spread out over America we thought it would be neat to start a sisterhood traveling journal. The rules were set, (due to the procrastination in all of us, rules were very necessary) each girl was to decorate and write on her page/pages in one week, you must send it in the right order, and no peeking if you see the journal out of turn!!
My mom and I started a journal three and a half years ago and are still going strong. It has been the most amazing thing to look back over the pages and see dreams and hopes of all of ours become realities. It is so easy to loose touch and just let “life” happen to you. We get so caught up in our day to day business that we loose touch with the relationships that mean most to us. Im not talking about sending an e mail or text message here and there, thats easy. But being intentional with the ones around you is what makes the difference. We are so easily sucked into technology that we forget how to really communicate face to face and we forget what pages of a real book feel like in our fingertips. I cant tell you how stoked I am when I see that packaged journal on my door step!
Take time to be intentional with those around you. Its those relationships and acts of selflessness that bring so much joy and encouragement into your life and others.