| Sustainable travel has been an issue I have been | | | | did not reach the hospital in time and the baby died. |
| interested in for a while now and through G.A.P | | | | Images like these shaped Danielle's realization how |
| Adventures, the sponsor of the grand prize for our | | | | hard life is for so many people and how lucky we |
| soon to be launched Travel Story Contest, I was | | | | really are.Danielle will tell us how difficult it was to |
| able to learn more about the topic of sustainable | | | | come back to Toronto and not surprisingly she went |
| tourism.Danielle Weiss, a former tour leader for G.A.P, | | | | back to Latin America not much later. Over a period |
| is now the company's Sustainable Tourism | | | | of several years, Danielle lived, worked and |
| Coordinator. While I was quizzing Danielle about | | | | volunteered in different locations in Latin America and |
| sustainable travel issues of course I asked her a bit | | | | fell in love with the countries, the language and the |
| about herself and her connection to the adventure | | | | people. She will share stories of survival where she |
| and eco-travel industry. As she started to tell me | | | | literally survived on about a dollar a day. During one |
| more about her background, I realized that I had a | | | | of her stays in Latin America she linked up with G.A.P |
| very interesting person right there in front of me, | | | | Adventures and eventually become one of their tour |
| who has lived, worked, studied and volunteered in a | | | | leaders. In the upcoming interview, Danielle will tell us |
| number of foreign countries. Needless to say, I | | | | more about her travel experience and her experience |
| needed to find out more about Danielle and her | | | | as a tour leader, continuously on the road for 12 |
| background.Danielle completed a degree in | | | | months.Today, Danielle is back in Toronto, and after |
| environmental studies at the University of Waterloo | | | | various positions at the head office, she has become |
| and during her college years she travelled to | | | | G.A.P's Sustainable Tourism Coordinator. Through her |
| Guatemala and Costa Rica. In her 3rd year of studies | | | | work Danielle makes a difference in a number of |
| she went to Ecuador for two semesters. During the | | | | Latin American communities and demonstrates how |
| first semester she worked on academic studies, while | | | | individuals and private businesses can lend a hand to |
| during the second semester she volunteered in a | | | | people in need.Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a |
| coastal jungle project where she provided | | | | website called Travel and Transitions( Travel and |
| environmental education to local children, got involved | | | | Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is |
| in a tree planting program and worked in a women's | | | | chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, |
| program.That year in Ecuador truly changed her life - | | | | interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights |
| Danielle came back a different person. The most | | | | and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and |
| striking experience was that she had developed a | | | | many other features. You will also find stories about |
| strong distaste for the materialism that is so | | | | life and the transitions that we face as we go |
| prevalent in our western societies. A key memory | | | | through our own personal life-long journeys.Submit |
| for Danielle was meeting a family who had walked | | | | your own travel stories in our first travel story |
| for four days through the jungle with a sick baby to | | | | contest( and have a chance to win an amazing |
| try to reach medical facilities. Unfortunately the family | | | | adventure cruise on the Amazon River. |