Archive for July, 2007

Airport Travel Tips

Following our recent journeys, here are some tips we picked up in transit…

Free Wireless Connections:
1) At San Juan (Puerto Rico) you can get free wireless access by signing up to the service. It’s free, you just need to give them your details. Doesn’t seem to like some websites but generally you can surf as usual with the usual precautions for an unsecured network.

2) At Newark (New Jersey), you can get free wireless access around gates C80-90 or anywhere near the Continental Airlines President’s Club which is the network you can connect to. I also noticed that a Boingo connection is available here if you have an account.

3) At Trinidad (West Indies) airport, you can also get free wireless access anywhere in the airport.

Layovers & Connections:
1) At San Juan, it would be sensible to fly with American Airlines if you can, rather than Continental. The connecting baggage process is far simpler with AA and as soon as you come through customs, you can dump your bags on the AA Transfer baggage check. With Continental, it’s not that obvious and we went round-and-round trying to find the connecting bag drop. Still didn’t find it (or perhaps we did) and ended up just taking it back to the main check-in area for Continental.

2) If you have a long (4 hours+) layover at San Juan, there are several hotels in the vicinity where you can use the facilities. We haven’t done this yet but will be doing so in September.

3) If you have a long (4 hours+) layover at Newark airport, it’s worth taking a trip to the Jersey Springs outlet mall. Currently, you take the skytrain to station P4 and then there’s a shuttle bus taking you direct to the mall (takes about 10 minutes). You then buy a $3 token for the journey back. It’s a huge mall with outlet stores for all the major brand names such as Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Saks 5th Avenue, Nike, etc. etc. An easy side trip if you’d rather not stay in the airport for hours. The only drawback is the poor selection of food options at the mall.

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The Carbon Footprint of a LIP

One thing people may be concerned about with the LIP lifestyle is the effect on the environment – and to use the current ‘en vogue’ term, your own carbon footprint.

In absolute honesty, it is not something I’ve been overly concerned with since we started our journey – more focused on pursuing the lifestyle we’ve always dreamed of…but perhaps I should have been. I have paid the ‘carbon offsetting’ additional payment that expedia offers for all our flights booked through expedia so far (and that’s practically all of them) and that eased the minor feelings of guilt that fleetingly ran through my mind although I now read that the effectiveness of these is in question.

If you’re not familiar with what makes up your own carbon footprint, it generally comprises of 2 things:

1. Your direct release of carbon (by burning fuels to cook, heat your home, drive your car etc.)
2. Your indirect release of carbon (the carbon released due to the manufacture & transport of the things you buy, including the fruit & veg transported from halfway round the world so you can enjoy strawberries in winter)

It is estimated that the more developed countries use a disproportionate amount of energy – with heating, lighting, transport and leisure activities (such as travel) being the big culprits – compared with less developed counterparts.

Here are some interesting observations I’ve read whilst doing a bit of research about the topic:

• Short haul flights are technically ‘worse’ than long haul flights because proportionately more fuel is used in take-off and landing.
• If you like to buy the latest of everything, love shopping and often eat packaged convenience food, you should feel very, very bad.
• In developed countries, heating is the biggest user of energy, accounting for 70% of energy used.
• There are organisations such as Travel Foundation, which funds carbon reduction programmes in resorts around the world. It is currently working with operators in the Caribbean on an energy-efficiency scheme for tourist accommodation that will be the equivalent of taking 2,800 cars off the road.

Unfortunately, given the nature of life today there is no way you can eradicate your carbon footprint totally but as a LIP there are ways to help reduce it…even if you are flying halfway round the world every now & then.

Whilst the flights are clearly a big contributor to our carbon footprint, the following hopefully help make up for it a little:

• Choosing to stay in hot countries means that we don’t ever need heating (and we also try not to use air conditioning ever).
• Virtually all of the places we’ve stayed have used environmentally friendly, longer lasting lightbulbs and here in Grenada water is heated by the sun in rooftop containers…or you just take a refreshing cold shower.
• Buying local produce and avoiding imported (expensive) supermarket goods – this not only cuts down on transport costs but there’s the addition of all that extra energy in developed countries that goes into the marketing of each product (think of all those ad execs & brand managers sitting in their neon-lit offices with their laptops, burning the midnight oil trying to figure out how to sell you more stuff). On the other hand, Chris our local coconut man does no advertising, other than stand at his stall all day long and sell his fruit to passers by.
• Whilst we have needed a car this time in Grenada because our apartment is miles from anywhere and up a massively steep hill, next time we won’t use a car at all and will get the buses, walk or cycle (if we can hire some bikes long term). In all other places, we’ve walked or used public transport.
• Whether the carbon offsetting schemes are truly effective, only time will tell – but we will continue to contribute to them in the hope that every little helps. If nothing else, it has certainly made us more aware of the issue and will impact on any future routes and flights we’ll be planning.

The Tree of Life

You won’t be surprised to hear me declare my love of coconuts having gone on about them enough recently!

We’re making the most of being able to drink fresh water from the nut in our last few days here and now have 4 fresh ‘water’ nuts sitting in our fridge ready to drink at the weekend when our coconut man takes time off and we usually have to go without.

Don’t know why we’ve never thought of that before.

As a Health Coach, I have long known about the benefits of coconut & especially virgin coconut oil and since coming here have spent some time looking up more facts & figures in order to justify to Jonathan why I need to drink & eat several nuts a day! (actually that’s not true – he’s just as bad as I am).

The coconut water is very different in nutritional content to the oil – but it is practically the perfect isotonic drink with an electrolyte make-up ideal for humans. Excellent to hear that – I knew that was why I needed it after my morning jogs – that 10 minutes really takes it out of me

It has even used in emergencies for blood plasma transfusions because it is sterile.

Here are some of the things I’ve found out about why coconut (oil) is so good for you…

• Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.
• Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.
• Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.
• Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.
• Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
• Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.
• Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.
• Helps protect against osteoporosis.
• Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers.
• Reduces inflammation.
• Supports tissue healing and repair.
• Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.
• Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.
• Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.
• Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.
• Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.
• Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots.
• Has no harmful or discomforting side effects.
• Is completely non-toxic to humans.

Source: Coconut Research Center

Grenada Beaches

Dr. Groome’s Beach (part of Pink Gin Beach):

La Sagesse Beach:

Grand Anse Beach: