The second R (out of the 7 Rs of Responsible Travel) is Ranking. Ranking involves going a little deeper with the research (the first R) and prioritizing our options based on our personal travel goals and the best impact for the destination. Here are 4 questions you can ask to help you narrow down your decision regarding which businesses to support when you travel.
A little advance research can make your travel not only much more enriching, but also much more responsible. What should you research before a trip? I’ll share seven different areas of research that I recommend.
There are many ways we can be more conscious and conscientious travelers, but it’s overwhelming to know where to start. That’s why I created this list of the seven Rs of responsible travel, as a starting point for things to consider when you travel. These are the foundation for the new book I’m currently writing about responsible travel.
Do you stop to consider the impact of your travel on the communities you visit? Do you want to make responsible travel a routine practice in your trips? Do you want to help preserve nature, the cultural heritage, and develop friendships with the locals? Read on!
“We’ve been told there’s a waterfall up the Zamora Huayco river, but nobody ever goes up there. Do you want to go scout it out with us tomorrow morning?” I was on the phone with Diego, one of the founders and leaders of LojAventura, an outdoorsy adventure and tourism group based in Loja. We first…
Are you planning an exploratory trip to Loja and wondering what to pack? I’m a nerd when it comes to packing. I’ve honed my skills over the years from my own multiple trips across the globe, beginning early in life as a child fugitive. I also have many good friends who are avid travelers, and…
During our latest trip to Loja, I visited the transportation office and the tourism office, begging for a complete map of the Loja city bus system. Although the buses run along established routes at regular intervals, no complete map seems to exist outside of an Android app called SITU Loja, but since I have an iPhone…
I’ve written a lot about Loja as a potential place to live. It’s the main focus of my book on Loja, and will continue to be a major focus in the second edition of the book. But what about the city and province of Loja as a destination for travelers? I’ve explored this theme in…
When I found out we would be returning to Loja (unexpectedly, see 2016 Holiday Letter), I downloaded The Visa Chase and Other Fun Stories of Ecuador, by Diana Cevallos to my Kindle. Diana is an expat from the United States who has been living in Ecuador since 2011 and in Loja since 2012. She spent…
The bright yellow house down in the green jungle valley below beckoned us. We were in Baños, one of the most popular tourist towns in Ecuador, walking up a dirt road off the tourist radar, beyond all the hostels, tour companies, and restaurants and into the surrounding farmlands. We had recently left our beloved Loja…
I’ve recently heard from a couple different African American readers of my book, one of whom asked me about racial issues in Ecuador. I’d like to share our correspondence so that others who have similar questions will have an answer. I hope it helps someone! My reader wrote… “While you mentioned a great many things…
What makes Cuenca such a magnet for expats? Although most of my Ecuador posts and my book are about Loja, where we lived in 2014, Cuenca is by far the more popular choice among expats. I think there are several good reasons for this. We spent nearly a week in Cuenca (though I was out…