Most people grab their coffee to-go, fill it with sugar, then repeat the next day, but do you know where your coffee comes from? I mean the good, real kind. Not the vente latte or McCafé you line up for at the drive-thru. On my recent trip to Colombia, I went on a Medellin coffee farm […]
Social Impact Travel
4 Alternative Tours to Take in Medellin
I’ve talked before about Colombia being a far cry from its dark past. Even if narco tourism is growing, Medellin is actually full of peaceful and positive transformation, rebuilding itself through things like art, coffee, and tourism instead of drugs. As Paisa people continue to rebuild it’s important to be conscious of how far they’ve […]
Where to Stay: Hip and Chic Selina
We decided to head south for the winter and explore Medellin, Colombia for the very first time. We had an amazing one-month long assignment house and cat sitting in the Provenza neighbourhood (I’m already missing Ollie, our adopted cat). Since we happened to be in the city, we added a short stay at Selina Medellin […]
The Tire Problem in Haiti
Julina rushes outside from the workshop to give a strong ringing of the gold hand bell. She’s smiling ear to ear because she just made her next shoe sale. It’s a big deal here. Julina and 13 other full-time workers make leather shoes, hand-crafted from old rubber tires they manage to collect from the sides of the road in Port-au-Prince. […]
Sustainable and Adventure Eco-Lodges in Costa Rica
Choosing what to do and where to stay when you travel can have direct social impact on the destination and community you visit. In Costa Rica, the government and local ticos believe in sustainable eco-lodges where you can sleep, eat, and travel in a more conscious way, and where your tourism dollars help support the local development. The Costa […]
Where to Volunteer in the Dominican Republic
My time volunteering in the Dominican Republic was one of my most rewarding experiences. There is so much need on this Caribbean island where much of the population lives on less than $2USD a day. Beach-hopping is relaxing yes (the DR has some of the most stunning coasts and sunsets), but resorts and “all-inclusives” are […]
