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PLANETA

El Planeta Platica (The Earth Speaks):
Eco Travels in the Americas
ISSN 1089-8395
Volume 5, Number 3
Building the Perfect Trail
August 1998

This special issue of Planeta looks at path building - both literally and figuratively. How do you build a tourist path? What type of road does ecotourism construct?

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In terms of nature tourism, there exists a great irony. People want to experience nature by hiking and cycling and for this they need a path, lest everything gets trod under by travelers. But how do we create such trails?

I titled this issue of Planeta 'Building the Perfect Trail' in a manner that is tongue-in-cheek. Trails alter the geography of the terrain and impact travelers as well as communities. Is there a perfect trail? And if so, how would we begin to define sustainability?

The Royal Road - or Camino Real - stretched from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was used for a few centuries. Now it exists on highway markers, in the same stretch of nostalgia we see Route 66 promoted in the southwestern United States. How long do we expect trails to last? Such questions are the focal point of this issue. I hope you enjoy reading the following articles, and wherever you go, Vaya con Dios.

 


FEATURES

g Reflections on "Green Ratings" - Anne Becher and Beatrice Blake
The authors of The New Key to Costa Rica have pioneered the use of rating the "eco" in the hotels listed in their guidebook. Does it work? They explain the process - and its limitations.

g King of Trails - Protecting Macchu Picchu - Ulf Carlsson
Both the Inca Trail and Macchu Picchu National Park are about to be loved to death by all the visitors. What can be done? The author offers some practical suggestions.

g One Trail, Many Paths: Macchu Picchu Revisted - Steve Rinder
Hiking the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu remains one of the most impressive and challenging treks in the Americas.

g Enlace Verde - Quint Newcomer
Residents of Monteverde, Costa Rica are forging a new initiative to provide biological corridors, or "stepping stones" of natural habitats between the larger protected areas.

g Ecuador Exchange: Matthew Gorman Interviews Andy Drumm
A scholar discusses the path taken by the promoters of ecotourism in Ecuador with the founder of Tropic Journeys in Nature and the Amazon representative of the Ecuadorean Ecotourism Association.

g Canaima Up-date - Christopher J. Sharpe
Follow-up to an article that appeared in Planeta last year, this article explains how the Pemon are protesting a bill that if passed - would permit mining within protected areas, including Venezuela's Canaima National Park.

g Huautla Pilgrims: The Shapeshifting of Tourism - Ben Feinberg
"Huautla de Jimenez" are words that produces a light bulb over the head of any Mexican. "Hongos," they say, and "Maria Sabina."

g Biking in Oaxaca's Northern Sierra - Carlos E. Cornejo
A journey to Iztlan on two wheels.

g Adventure Travel in Monterrey - Sonia Ortiz
A background to conservation and travel in the "Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey" with directions to Potrero Redondo.

g A Cross-Continent, 70-Mile Trek - Charles Shirley
Take a walk on part of the Camino de Cruce, one of the most important, yet unknown, trails in the hemisphere.

g Nature Guides in Honduras - Jon Kohl
Last June I was offered a job by the Philadelphia-based RARE Center for Tropical Conservation training nature guides to promote wildlife conservation on the North Coast of Honduras.

Travel Guides

g Oaxaca Territory - Anthony Wright
Original travelogue about adventures on and off Mexican highways.

g Mexico's Volcan Paricutin and Pico Tancitaro National Park - Bruce Whipperman
This volcano, born only in 1943, now boasts paved roads that encourage the adventurous to explore the pine-tufted backcountry of this sylvan, PurÁpecha Indian heartland, less than an hour's drive northwest of Uruapan.

g A Practical Guide to Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras - Warren Post
Nestled in the mountains of western Honduras, Santa Rosa de Copan offers a agreeable change from tourist traps and scorching cities.

g Serra do Mar (Brazil) - Ric Goodman
The Serra do Mar, commonly known as the Mata Atlantica, or Atlantic Rainforest, runs parallel to the Atlantic coast in southeast Brazil and includes some of the country's highest summits.

g Crocodiles of Belize - Les Beletsky
Remnants of the age when reptiles ruled the world, today's crocodilians (alligators, caimans, and crocodiles), when seen in the wild, generally inspire awe, respect, a bit of fear, and a great deal of curiosity.

g Tropical Toucans - Les Beletsky
The shape, brilliant coloring, and tropical quintessence make toucans one of the most popular "poster animals" for the tropical forests of the Americas and one most visitors want to see.

Environmental Features

g Colombia's Sierra de la Macarena - Robert Mykle
The Macarena is the convergence point of six major ecological and geological forces and has been called a biological hothouse. And this biological hothouse is on fire.

g Chile's Native Forest Crisis - Jimmy Langman/Defensores del Bosque Chileno
Chile's forests have more than 50 species of trees of which 95 percent are endemic, and 38 are listed as endangered, vulnerable or rare.

g After the Wars: Protecting Central America's Environment - John Burnett
Peacetime brings new investments to the region, and conservationists worry that environmental laws may not be respected.

g The Kuna Kingdom - Megan Epler Wood
A continuing series of adventures in which the author describes a series of personal journeys in search of true ecotourism in the Americas.


BRIDGES AND BORDERS

g Editorials - Ron Mader
Environmental stories are tomorrow's political and economic features. The division between "environmental journalism" and any other journalism tends to blur when you look at a story over time.


All stories copyrighted. Contact authors directly if you want permission to reprint an article.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the following eclectic group for their encouragement and correspondence that provided direct or indirect inspiration in the creation of this and recent issues of El Planeta Platica: Marita Adair, Scott Anderson, Vanessa Byrne, David Brackney, Tom Buckley, Alan Chitlik, Jim Crabtree (ENS), Boris Gomez, Margo Gutierrez, Sarah Hilbert, Bill Hinchberger, Clay Hubbs, Olga Loera, Yu-Fai Leung, Patricia Mares (Ruby's BBQ), Al Meilus, NACLA, Rich Remsberg, George Thomas

Music That Helped Put This Issue Together: Dave Matthews Band - Before these crowded streets, Peru Independence Day - Austin radio


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