Matador Network's Blog, page 716
January 14, 2021
Bloodroot bookstore and restaurant
While hundreds of women gathered to march on Washington, DC, in 2017, shortly after the presidential inauguration, Bloodroot, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant and bookstore in Connecticut, also had an important moment that year. It marked its fourth decade operating as a welcoming space for feminist writers, speakers, and thinkers.
Bloodroot — its walls packed with antique photographs in its dining room and bookshelves stacked with women-published works — is much more than a shrine to political movements of the past. Since opening in Bridgeport in 1977, this women-run establishment, co-owned by Selma Miriam and Noel Furie, has remained a place to not only enjoy a vegetarian meal but also to encourage open dialogue about politics, feminism, social justice, and human rights.
“We started right in the middle of second-wave feminism,” said Miriam while slicing up red peppers for a crepe filling. “And a number of women across the country were wanting to start women’s centers. Mostly they were bookstores; some of them were clothing exchanges.”
Photo: Michele Hermann
Around that time, Miriam and Furie met through the National Organization for Women and became friends. They watched as other women banned together to create their own feminist restaurants, including Mother Courage in NYC’s West Village, providing a space where women could dine without being accompanied by a male chaperone.
“We were housewives, both of us; we had children,” remembered Furie, “And that’s what you were supposed to do in those times.”
Yet the times were changing and perceived notions about a woman’s place in society began shifting. Two of their friends, both of whom supported animal rights, encouraged the pair not only to open a restaurant but to serve an entirely vegetarian menu. With help from Miriam’s parents, the two women were able to get a mortgage to purchase a former machine shop on the bank of Burr Creek in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood.
Photo: Michele Hermann
Named after a flower, Bloodroot still operates as a feminist collective. There are no professional, classically trained, award-winning chefs preparing the food. Instead, the women-only kitchen staff, including Furie and Miriam, refer to themselves simply as cooks. There are no waitresses either. Diners pick up their tray orders at a counter and also then dispose of their dirty dishes in designated bins.
Photo: Michele Hermann
Since its early years, Bloodroot’s seasonal, ever-changing menu has focused on comfort foods from many cultures and countries. For example, the kitchen has served an array of soups from Puerto Rican sancocho to matzo ball (served around Passover) and Greek avgolemono. In recent years, Bloodroot transitioned to a vegan menu; Miriam loves to experiment with recipes like cashew-based cheeses.
“The thing we wanted to do was show all the different foods of the world, as our version of the rainbow flag, if you will,” said Miriam. “We wanted to learn about other people’s foods, and to promote other people’s foods, and to represent as much as we could.”
Cultural representation is also reflected in Bloodroot’s employees, along with the diversity found in Bridgeport itself. Some of their workers have been referred to Bloodroot from the Mercy Learning Center, a Bridgeport nonprofit providing literacy and life skill training skills to their students.
The staff at Bloodroot has included immigrants from Jamaica, Ethiopia, Honduras, and Haiti, and their kitchen experiences and personal ties to cooking have been folded into the restaurant’s menu. Their employee Carol’s Jamaican jerk dish is a very popular item.
Photo: Michele Herrmann
Over four decades, Bloodroot has continued to be a gathering place where women’s nights on Wednesdays were once held to encourage women including lesbians to dine comfortably and independently. While in the past Miriam and Furie have encountered male-related assumptions about their restaurant, such as their ownership, they continue to receive business and support from male customers. “And we’ve always had men who have come in, and they’ve been really very good friends to us,” said Miriam.
Bloodroot also functions as a bookstore. Located to the far left of the kitchen and dining room, this literary space is stacked with novels by female authors — among them Aimee Molley’s The Perfect Mother and Madeline Miller’s Circe — along with books focused on feminist politics and a section for books by and for women of color. A short flight of stairs leads to an elevated platform where most of the books are packed onto bookshelves; just below the staircase, plush wingback chairs await any guests who want to sit comfortably while they flip through a book or two.
Photo: Michele Hermann
The bookstore’s best-sellers are Bloodroot’s cookbooks, including 2018’s The Bloodroot Calendar Cookbook and The Best of Bloodroot. A personal letter from one of the restaurant’s fans — feminist writer and poet Adrienne Rich — is also displayed in the bookstore.
COVID-19 has changed some of Bloodroot’s operations: The restaurant offers takeout and limited seating on an outdoor patio dining area. The restaurant has a long history of holding events that center feminist politics, which have also been put on hold due to the pandemic. In the past, Bloodroot has hosted guest speakers such as radical feminist philosopher Mary Daly, and cooking classes and art exhibits organized in timing with their 40th anniversary in 2017.
Despite the fact that the pandemic has slowed some of Bloodroot’s more radical and political work, its legacy and activism is well recorded: In 2010, Selma and Furie donated their records — including old letters, business documents, and event flyers — to Yale University Library in New Haven, and in 2019, Miriam, Furie, and Bloodroot were the subjects of a Douglas Tirola documentary screened at the SFFILM Festival.
Feminism has come a long way since Miriam and Furie opened Bloodroot, but they also acknowledge that there’s still more work to be done. Furie notes that the issues of racism, white supremacy, and social justice are still rampant in society today. She added that although she and Miriam support causes such as Black Lives Matter, they “are not in a place anymore” where they can go out to a march (Furie is now in her 70s; Miriam is in her 80s). These days, their involvement in activism mainly manifests through their connections and conversations with customers at the restaurant. Miriam, in particular, will spend time discussing politics with folks who come in to eat the restaurant.
“We’re very clear about where we are and who we are. And we’ve got our opinions. But we make sure that [with] everyone who walks in the door, I say welcome, and I mean it,” said Miriam.
Bloodroot is located at 85 Ferris Street in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood. 
The post For over 40 years, Bloodroot has exchanged food, books, and feminism appeared first on Matador Network.
Learning to surf in Mexico
Nothing felt normal last year. In my attempt to salvage some idea of bettering myself against the apocalyptic backdrop of 2020, I focused on surfing. I was shaken out of my routine but ended up finding my feet again and carving out a new life for myself, one that in many ways challenges my idea of what made me happy in my pre-COVID existence.
A “hidden port” south of the border
Photo: Photostock by LEEM/Shutterstock
Even before the pandemic broke out, I was paying month-to-month rent and working remotely. I prided myself on having the freedom to travel and live independently and unattached. This non-tethered existence served me well when, after six months of quarantine, I decided to move to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, a small surf town in southern Mexico. Living in a small tropical town felt safer to me than living in San Francisco, and one of the many things that I instantly loved about life in Puerto Escondido is that everything takes place outdoors, which felt freeing after so many months of confinement.
One of my main goals for last year — in lieu of my original ambitions of career growth, enjoying city life, and traveling for work — became learning to surf. Learning to surf is a lofty, arduous journey filled with cuts and bruises (in my case, it also included a black eye when my board slammed right into my face underneath a wave), strangers yelling at you, and near-drownings. Yet through the discomfort you sometimes catch these moments of purity, of glory that make all the growing pains seem like if they are not worth it yet, that someday they will be.
Puerto Escondido is a small community of locals and expats living in Mexico, as well as visitors from all corners of the earth, brought together by a love for the waves and the easy-going mentality of the place. Puerto Escondido means “hidden port,” and the people here like the idea of being hard to access by road or plane, with no direct flights to the United States or most Mexican cities. Almost all the flights from the airport in town are to and from Mexico City. Living in this lesser-known town has many benefits, but when it comes to all-year-round surfing, the secret is out.
Learning to surf
Photo: Elizaveta Shcherbak/Shutterstock
One of the hardest parts about learning to surf in Puerto Escondido is that everyone wants to learn to surf, and if they are not learning then they are already pros, catching every single wave and leaving very few for the beginners. You’ll find numerous instructors giving classes to five first-timers at once, knocking into each other like bumper cars into waves, the lesson-takers having no idea how to avoid the numerous obstacles. This chaos can be a huge deterrent and annoyance for someone at my level of surfing. I think to myself, “If only I had a tiny bit of SPACE I could catch tons of waves.” A girl can dream, right?
So when Omar, a born-and-raised local surf instructor and friend of mine, mentioned a vagabond style surfing trip to a desolate location I immediately agreed. All I knew, as I set my alarm for 6 AM the next morning, was that we were going to a legendary surf break that is closed to outsiders, getting there either by boat or some kind of car on the beach situation, and that I could sleep on the beach that night where the ocean breeze would keep the mosquitos away.
On the road I learned more details about our destination: Barra de la Cruz, just over three hours driving south down the Oaxacan coast, an infamous right point break off the shore of a small indigenous Chontal village. Barra de la Cruz is accessible by only one road and boasts just a smattering of tiendas and essentially one restaurant. Unfortunately, I only learned once we were en route that the village had been in strict lockdown since April 2020.
Making plans on the fly
Photo: LMspencer/Shutterstock
Omar had several ideas for accessing the waves without passing through the pueblo so that we wouldn’t put the villagers in danger. My fellow surf-tripper explained to me that in “regular” times, Barra de la Cruz was just as crowded as any break in Puerto Escondido and not a place for beginners because the waves were so saturated by higher level surfers. She said that the biggest restaurant in town, a pizza spot called Pizzeria el Dragon, was the spot for meeting “young, hot surfers.” Not so much now. Sure it was going to take extra effort to get there, and a little off road adventuring, but we were going to one of the most famous and celebrated surf point breaks in Southern Mexico, and we were going to have it all to ourselves.
After a three-and-a-half-hour drive, we passed the turnoff for Barra de la Cruz, essentially a dirt path, and turned into another dirt path about nine miles further south, into Playa Grande. Playa Grande is an isolated, windswept beach with nothing but a fish camp, the beach littered with fishing nets and small wooden boats. The sand is golden, and the waves crash against the shore endlessly in a hypnotic manner. Omar was friends with the men who manage the fish camp. We pulled up to a small palapa, an open-air hut made with a palm-leaf roof, overlooking a beach with large waves closing out fiercely right at the shore. I pressed Omar for a little clarity about what was going on and where we were.
“The plan is no plan,” Omar said for the fifth time that day.
The one bit of information I was able to glean was that here on Playa Grande, it was up to you to find a place to sleep, crashed out in a hammock or under the palapa. I had brought a yoga mat and the sheets, blankets, and pillows from my bed at home, with the hope that I would have a night full of shooting stars, lulled to sleep by the never ending crash of waves.
Surfing until you can’t see the waves
Photo: Photostock by LEEM/Shutterstock
We enjoyed fresh, lightly fried whole small reef fish with homemade salsa and ate with our hands sitting on the beach, tossing the bones into the waves. Most of my meals in Mexico have been taken outside in the 80-degree weather, but this meal felt special for its proximity to the wild seas and to the men who had caught the fish.
The fishermen would drive us to the surf break for $2,000 pesos (roughly $100) in their boat. Coercing the small wooden fishing boat called a panga back into the ocean from the dry sand, and then past the powerful shorebreak, was no small feat. After 15 minutes of slowly rocking the boat towards the water, we eventually passed through the crashing waves and set off for Barra de la Cruz, soaking wet and surfboards in tow.
There were zero other people in the waves that late afternoon. The surfing was hard but amazing, the swell almost overhead and peeling steadily off of the large intruding rock formation. It felt like we were a bunch of kids locked in a candy store. As the sun set and it became too dark to deny, we returned to the boat and drove back to Playa Grande for the night. The local fishermen’s wives prepared us four lobsters and another seven small fried fish, as well as rice and salad. I went in the truck to buy beer for the whole lot as both an expression of gratitude and a deep personal desire to drink a few after the exertions of surfing all evening.
Cold beer and the warmth of connection
Photo: In2dodo/Shutterstock
The plan was to wake up early the next morning for a second session and then to drive the truck as far on the desolate, sandy beach as we could without passing into the village of Barra de la Cruz. From there we would grab our boards, walk 20 minutes along the shore, surf for two or three hours, and then drive home. The day before on the boat I had brought all of my prepared-girl supplies: sunscreen, loads of water, clothes, a sarong, a snack. It had all gotten soaking wet and remained unused. This second day I had to carry a heavy longboard and figured to myself I would be fine with nothing. I had no extra hands and struggled simply with the weight of my board.
We didn’t leave Barra until sundown again. From 8 AM to 7 PM we stayed on this private surf paradise with very few supplies. The small family that tends the beach (charging the few visiting surfers a $25 USD fee to enter the beach from their own chartered boat) generously cooked us a wonderful meal of small fried fishes again and an amazing salad made with fresh nopales (cactus pads), chilies, red onion, and tomato. I don’t think we would have survived this long day without our daily intake of small fried fish, and I appreciated their kindness.
As a lover of big cities, this last year has given me a true appreciation for wide-open nature. I don’t know if before 2020 I could have appreciated the glory of being the only person on a beach, in a wave, or anywhere for that matter. This weekend journey into the unknown left me feeling strong, peaceful, and appreciative and would not have been possible during “normal” times. Certainly, there has been a lot to grieve since the pandemic began, but every once in a while you can find a silver lining and make the most of this crazy world that we are all living in together.
The post When the world turned upside down, I moved to Mexico and learned to surf appeared first on Matador Network.
Norwegian Air end long-haul flights
All airlines are facing pandemic-related financial consequences, and they’re handling it in different ways. Norwegian Air just announced that it will cease long-haul operations and focus solely on European destinations while it deals with the economic blow of the pandemic.
According to the low-cost airline, it will “focus on its core Nordics business, operating a European short haul network with narrow body aircraft. Under these circumstances a long-haul operation is not viable for Norwegian and these operations will therefore not continue.”
Its fleet will be reduced from 140 aircraft to about 50, in an effort to decrease its total debt which currently sits at $2.36 billion. The plan is to increase the number of aircraft in Europe to 70 in 2022.
Chief executive Jacob Schram said, “We do not expect customer demand in the long-haul sector to recover in the near future, and our focus will be on developing our short haul network.”
In November, Norwegian announced that it was seeking restructuring and bankruptcy protection in Ireland, where its fleet is based, and indicated that the airline faced an uncertain future. In December, Norwegian’s passenger capacity was down by 98 percent compared to the previous year.
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California said to stay close to home, and that turned out to be a great thing
Late last week California urged residents to avoid all nonessential travel outside of a 120-mile radius from where we live. This isn’t really news; as the latest epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak, California has been under touch-and-go stay-at-home orders since December, with four of the state’s five regions now under indefinite advisory. Yet upon seeing a fixed distance assigned to my travel bubble, this new, quantifiable mandate felt to me like the tightening of a screw with no room left to give.
Naturally, I turned to Google to see just how small my backyard had become.
Loosely outlined, a 120-mile radius from my apartment in San Francisco’s Richmond District stretches north toward Ukiah, encompassing the lower tip of Mendocino State Forest; arcs east around Yuba City; slopes south along the Sierra Nevada, just missing Yosemite; sweeps through the San Joaquin Valley; and loops back toward the coast, cutting across the top half of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. The other half of my travel bubble lies over the Pacific Ocean.
Scanning the website I used to map my travel bubble, I noticed a few things: Lake Tahoe is nearly 200 miles away from the city, but Big Sur is closer than I remember. And California is incredible, top to bottom — measuring roughly 1,040 miles north to south and only half that across, with the coast on one side and the Sierra Nevada running two-thirds down the other, eventually giving way to the Mojave Desert. The point is, you’d have a hard time avoiding the Golden State’s seriously stunning wilderness driving 120 miles east or west, no matter the address you start from.
And just like that, the shaded gray circle I’d drawn around my apartment started to look less like a stormcloud and more like an opportunity.
I’d like to say that my initial reaction to California’s new travel advisory was simply, “Good.” Coronavirus cases in the state are surging, and stay-at-home orders have proven integral to stopping the spread. Yet despite having every intention to stay hunkered down, abide by my local mandates, and only participate in outdoor recreation as advised by health officials, being reminded of how many open spaces I can access in just a couple hours felt like the breath of fresh air these back-burner outings also promise.
It’s also a welcome reminder that there’s a whole lotta nature between my front door and the world-class destinations my current travel bubble doesn’t reach — and mostly without the masses.
So, for all my San Francisco neighbors, future travelers to the Bay Area, or anyone curious about the 120-mile radius around one writer’s Richmond District apartment, I present this local’s in-need-of-emergency-outing guide to COVID-19-era NorCal — aka 12 wide-open, refreshing, and relatively crowd-free escapes across the Bay and beyond.
1. Anything on the Bay Area Ridge Trail (but mostly in the East Bay)
Photo: Anthony Chabot Regional Park in California/Shutterstock
Full disclosure, this is cheating. The Bay Area Ridge Trail is a 550-mile loop connecting public lands across the Bay Area, with 75 individual trail maps detailing some of the best hikes around San Francisco, the Peninsula, and the North, South, and East Bays. The majority of the trail is also open to mountain bikers and even horseback riders.
The trick here is knowing where to stay six feet apart from strangers. One recommendation: Anthony Chabot Regional Park in Oakland. Open spaces in the East Bay get overlooked, in general, although parks like Tilden near downtown Berkeley can draw crowds. Roughly twice the size, Anthony Chabot sprawls across the East Bay from Richmond to Castro Valley, covering 70 miles of mostly intermediate, mostly empty trails.
Up first on my list: the four-mile Goldenrod Loop, Horseshoe, and Brandon Loop.
2. Mendocino scenery at Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands
Photo: FYC/Shutterstock
That Humbolt and Mendocino’s Lost Coast is more than twice the distance I’m currently allowed to travel stings, but knowing my northern boundary reaches into the lower part of Mendocino National Forest softens the blow. With nearby attractions like Fort Bragg’s Glass Beach just out of bounds, I’m setting my sights on Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands, whose two-mile stretch of coast hosts the only on-land section of the California Coastal National Monument.
Bonus: After exploring as many of the 1,600 acres of coastal bluff trails as you can handle, and no doubt snapping a photo of the iconic Point Arena lighthouse, consider driving through seaside Jenner to see what life is like in one of Matador’s coolest towns to visit in 2021.
3. See if the Garden of Eden lives up to its name
Photo: Rodrigo Martins/Shutterstock
This swimming hole in Santa Cruz’s Cowell Redwoods State Park is not always empty, but the winter chill bodes well for a socially distanced visit. (Just note that a few trails are closed, so check here.) To get to the Garden of Eden, park at the Ox Fire Road Trailhead, or skip the swimming hole altogether in favor of touring the park’s 40 acres of old-growth redwoods, the oldest of which has been growing for around 1,500 years.
4. The state capital and the American River Bike Trail
Photo: Lisa Parsons/Shutterstock
As many times as I’ve driven through Sacramento, I’ve never really seen California’s capital. Until a few months ago, when a friend invited me out for a hike, except for a few endorsements of the growing food and beer scenes I hardly knew anything about visiting Sacramento.
Turns out, it’s a pleasant place for a stroll and an even better spot to mountain bike. In lieu of seeing the state capital from the indoors out, now’s a good time to tour the 32-mile multi-use Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, or American River Bike Trail, which starts in Sacramento’s Discovery Park and ends near the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.
A full-on foodie tour of the city will have to wait, but you may want to grab a bite for the car after a long ride. Rumor has it Solomon’s deli has pastrami subs worth stopping for.
5. Mount Diablo State Park
Photo: Ventu Photo/Shutterstock
An hour and change east of San Francisco, Mount Diablo is a go-to for elevation gain in the Bay Area, though it still doesn’t clear 4,000 feet. The view from the summit makes it feel taller, though, revealing roughly 8,500 square miles on a clear day. Winter is also an excellent season to see the view, with the best visibility coming after stormy days.
6. Dodging the crowds in West Marin
Photo: Lucy Autrey Wilson/Shutterstock
Growing up in Marin County, woodsy, beachy West Marin was always top of the list for a family outing: hiking around Point Reyes, body boarding at Stinson Beach, kayaking to Heart’s Desire in Tomales Bay, then washing it down with some Hog Island oysters.
It’s increasingly difficult to find crowd-free pockets of West Marin, especially on sunny days like the ones we’ve been having this unseasonably warm winter. Thankfully, last I checked, at least two of my old favorites have managed to stay relatively calm: Limantour Beach near Inverness and Mount Barnabe in Samuel P. Taylor Park. Let’s keep those between us.
7. A limestone tunnel in the Sierra foothillsWere I to travel as far east as my 120-mile radius would allow, I might arrive in Calaveras County near the city of Vallecito. There are worse places one could wind up, owing largely to the area’s Natural Bridges Trail. It may be too cold in January to enjoy the swimming hole that makes this a popular summer hike, but you can still enjoy the babble of Coyote Creek and the modest winter traffic. After a couple of miles from the trailhead from Parrotts Ferry Road, when you hit the large limestone cave and pool, you’ve reached Upper Natural Bridge.
8. Bouldering at the South Bay’s Castle Rock
Photo: Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
All of a sudden it seems like everyone in the Bay Area rock climbs. I don’t, save the occasional indoor session at Mission Cliffs. I have been bouldering around the Santa Cruz mountains, though, and am overdue for a repeat. An easy day trip from San Francisco, Castle Rock State Park is known for having some of the most frustrating and rewarding bouldering problems in the Bay Area. Two such rites of passage: The Spoon V2 and Tree Problem V4.
Do note, however, that these are sandstone boulders, which means they’re dangerous to climb when wet. As a rule, wait three days after it rains to boulder here.
9. Surf the Peninsula, hike the Midpeninsula
Photo: VladCalifornia/Shutterstock
Surfing San Francisco’s peninsula is no hot take: Big-wave riders the world over fly in during winter to surf Mavericks, a monster wave near Pillar Point Harbor north of Half Moon Bay. But many of the beaches here — from Montara, or Mini Mavericks, to San Gregorio — are sweeping expanses that are perfect for social distancing even on busier days, if not actually surfing.
Less common are the nature buffs that extol the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District below Palo Alto, where 65,000 acres of regional greenbelt feel practically private. Admire the rolling hills, redwood forests, and wetlands on undisturbed walks or bike rides around the preserve — or to really avoid everyone else, look into securing a paragliding permit.
10. In and around Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur
Photo: Kris Wiktor/Shutterstock
Big Sur is about as far south as my 120-mile radius extends. Zero complaints there, though like the rest of the major attractions in my travel bubble, the challenge here is avoiding others.
A little inland of Monterey, Fort Ord National Monument is a good place to start, with over 85 wild miles to hike. Closer to the coast, and neighboring Carmel, China Cove is a small, sometimes forgotten bay with emerald waters in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. It may or may not be open depending on the conditions and pupping season for the local harbor seals, but nearby Gibson Beach peers onto the cove as a backup.
Big Sur itself is probably best to avoid if you’re not willing to gamble on crowds, notably hotspots like Bixby Bridge and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, one of the country’s best state parks — though winter keeps most visitors at bay. A better option on the Big Sur coast is Andrew Molera State Park, which you’ll mostly share with sea birds, sea lions, sea otters, and migrating whales.
11. Fly fishing in the Lower Yuba River
Photo: Poggensee/Shutterstock
I’m no angler. I’ve only tried fly fishing once, with little success, but it’s still nice knowing I have the Lower Yuba River in my back pocket. Some say it’s the best winter fly fishing anywhere in California, promising abundant rainbow trout alongside steelhead, salmon, and other species.
Even in the likely event that I don’t track down a friend with fly fishing gear to borrow, I’ve never actually been to the Yuba River, having always favored the Russian River for tubing. The North Yuba River’s whitewater is unfortunately out of reach, but the Lower Yuba is supposed to be a nice, calm spot to launch a kayak. And it’s about time I showed this river a little love.
12. Being open-minded about San Francisco’s open space
Photo: huangcolin/Shutterstock
Despite the sweeping views, San Francisco’s open spaces can feel claustrophobic when everyone’s crowded around the same scenes. There’s a lot more to the city’s outdoors than the Presidio and Dolores Park, however. There’s Mount Davidson, the city’s tallest peak, for one. Also the Mount Sutro Open Space Preserve, Bayview, and Billy Goat Hill, complete with socially distanced rope swings. Even the city’s second-largest park, John McLaren, looks empty next to Golden Gate Park. See how it all fits together on the 17-mile Crosstown Trail here.
And while we’re on the subject, I have no idea how Marshall’s Beach, a semi-secret spit of sand between the Golden Gate Bridge and Baker Beach, and Fort Funston, a former military defense and massive stretch of coast on the southern end of the Great Highway, have stayed so people-free. Seriously guys, Ocean Beach is just the tip of the seashore.
The post California said to stay close to home, and that turned out to be a great thing appeared first on Matador Network.
SCP Hotels lets you name your price
“The espresso bar is free and open 24/7,” the gal with the tattoos said. “And here’s a–”
“Did you say free espresso…24/7?”
“Ha, yep. Just grab your own personal mug. And here’s a happy hour token for your free welcome beer. Bar opens in an hour.”
What kind of hotel was this? A few folks in flannel and bandanas were traipsing between pool tables, hanging chairs, private working spaces, and shelves of local goodies. A well-behaved German Shepherd was lazing by the fireplace, its owners deep in a checkers match. Vivid murals and bright-green hallways faded into a dimly lit, industrial-chic common area more reminiscent of a hip European hostel.
I was standing in SCP Colorado Springs, or Soul Community Planet. Once a one-star Knights Inn — regarded as one of the sorriest motels in the country — this totally renovated combination hotel/motel is a far cry from its former corporate days advertising with “CASH ONLY NO REFUNDS.” With one property in Colorado and two in Oregon, the brand espouses some seriously boundary-pushing ideas: “Fair-trade” pricing means guests can name their price (with a suggested starting point around $100); in lieu of corporate points programs, your stay donates to families and forests in need; the provisions and products are local, organic, and eco-friendly; and that lazing German Shepherd? Just as welcome as I was.
More figuratively, I was standing inside a shining example of where the $7-trillion hotel industry could be headed.
Each stay contributes to charity and plants a tree
Photo: Jacqueline Kehoe
Ken Cruse, CEO of Soul Community Planet, LLC, was the mastermind behind the company’s fair-trade pricing model. “This is one idea I really pushed for. Naturally, there was a fair amount of skepticism,” he admits. “People thought that guests would come in and play the system. But if you think of what we’re about, that [framework] perfectly reflects our values.”
Pointing to similar minds like Yvon Chouinard at Patagonia, he says, “When we set out to form SCP, we set it up as a social enterprise. We can do well from a traditional sense while first and foremost making the world a better place.”
As for that fair-trade skepticism, it’s thus far unwarranted. “We haven’t seen abuse to the system,” Cruse states definitively. “If the guests do utilize it, it’s always for a good reason.” Utilization has been in the low single digits, and — Cruse points out — rather than the guest simply not returning, they can voice their honest feedback and feel more inclined to return.
But say you do pay the full suggested price. A portion of that cost goes toward supporting local and good causes. At SCP Colorado Springs, that 24/7 espresso bar sits behind the local and sustainable Provisions Market, and 1 percent goes to the WE Well-Being Initiative, a youth empowerment program, and another 1 percent goes to Miracle for Kids, an organization fighting for families with critically-ill children.
It’s called Every Stay Does Good. And that “good” is for the natural environment, too — for every stay, one tree gets planted, part of the simply named One Tree Planted program. After just one year, Cruse adds, they had planted over 5,000 trees. (That number is now above 20,000.)
All this do-goodery has worked out better than the company expected. In a little over a year, Soul Community Planet is the third of 113 hotels in Colorado Springs on TripAdvisor and was voted into the top 10 percent of hotels worldwide.
Will other hotels follow suit? Can other hotels follow suit?
The brand hopes to re-inspire the hotel industry
Photo: Jacqueline Kehoe
“Our industry is dominated by major brands; they’re big corporate enterprises that are difficult to turn,” Cruse explains. But some headway is being made: Omni Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Feeding America and provides one meal to a family in need for every stay. Choice Hotels matches donations made by those within the company. With Hilton, for every 10,000 points you donate, it’ll contribute $25 to the charity of your choice. But SCP blows these initiatives out of the water.
“For each program, that’s 1% of our revenue. That’s 3% lost off the top — nobody is doing it near that degree.” That’s a notable figure regardless, but at the affordable $100 per night price point, it packs an even bigger punch.
“As we grow, we’re making a bigger and bigger impact,” Cruse says. “This is what we’re about. The ripple effect.”
And the brand is actively expanding. Cruse goes so far as to say that he’s not worried about sustained competitive advantage. “We hope others will adopt it!” he adds emphatically, referring to these socially conscious policies. “This way, travelers benefit, the industry benefits, and we can all grow together.”
I pocket my happy hour token and beeline for the espresso bar, thinking about what kind of tree I should plant — of my own accord. After all, that ripple effect isn’t confined to the hotel industry: Every guest, too, gets a dose of soul, community, and planet.
I’d take two if I could.
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Indian flight record broken
Air India just shattered a 38,000-foot glass ceiling by completing the longest nonstop commercial flight operated by an Indian airline. What’s more, the pilot team was composed entirely of women, putting an even finer point on the accomplishment. Air India Flight 176 left San Francisco at 8:30 PM local time on Saturday and arrived in Bengaluru, in southern India, 17 hours later, at 3:07 AM local time. This route is also the first to connect South India directly to the United States.
Captain Zoya Agarwal, who led the crew, told CNN, “We are India’s daughters who were given the opportunity to make this historic flight. We were able to create a new chapter in the Indian aviation history. I’m extremely proud to be a part of this and I have been personally preparing for more than a year for this flight.”
The route required a significant amount of preparation. According to co-pilot Captain Thanmai Papagari, “Because we flew over the North Pole, there were varying factors involved. This includes the weather, the solar radiation levels, and the availability of airports in case of a diversion.”
Papagari, who flew the second half of the flight, hopes the achievement will inspire more women to become pilots and open up opportunities in aviation for women across India.
“The idea of seeing aviation as a male-dominated field is reducing. We are being seen as pilots, there is no differentiation.”
According to the Center of Aviation, India stands out as having the highest number of female pilots in the world. The country is also hailed for its encouragement and investment in training the next generation of female pilots.
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Best places to live as an introvert
Usually when you read lists of top destinations for living, working, or just traveling, that list is compiled with extroverts in mind. Criteria like coworking spaces, nightlife options, and community activities are frequently taken into account to determine a destination’s worthiness. This set of criteria, however, doesn’t consider introverts, who have an entirely different range of needs and requirements.
For those who don’t put socialization opportunities and nightlife venues at the top of their list when choosing where to relocate, most “best of” lists will ring hollow. Luckily, Merchant Machine has compiled a list of the best places to live designed specifically for introverts. It used criteria like people per square meter, Wi-Fi speed, average annual salary, and rent per month, to make their selections. The list cuts through all the frills and focuses on places that make financial sense without being too overcrowded.
Topping the list is Canada, with just four people per square meter (largely thanks to its sparsely populated northern regions), an average annual salary of $29,587, Wi-Fi speed of 145 Mbps, and a median rent of $1,027 per month. This is the list of the top 10 countries:
Canada AustraliaIcelandRussiaFinland New ZealandSurinameMauritaniaNorwayBelizeThe study goes on to show that physics and astronomy are the best-suited jobs for introverts while being a writer is the introvert’s dream job.
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January 13, 2021
Digital nomad village in Portugal
Digital nomadism is on the rise as remote work becomes more and more common due to the pandemic. To make things more fun for those who can work from anywhere and want to escape their home, an entire village dedicated to being a haven for digital nomads is opening on the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira.
Digital Nomads Madeira, a joint effort between the government of Madeira, Startup Madeira, and a digital nomad named Gonçalo Hall, will welcome keen remote workers to the village of Ponta do Sol starting February 1, 2021.
According to 150sec, Hall initially presented the idea of a digital nomad village at a conference last year, which was attended by the Portuguese economic minister.
“I told them they should take the opportunity to bring remote workers to the island and make it a source of revenue,” he said. “My proposal did not seem to make much sense at that moment, but the next day I was speaking with the president of Madeira. And I was hired to work with the government there to promote the island.”
Hall’s goal is to bring locals and digital nomads together to create a strong community feel, which also includes events organized for all the nomads to participate in.
“We have partnered with different local businesses such as real estate and rental car companies,” he said. “The goal is to help the local community benefit from the social and economic impact that such an initiative can have.”
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New River Gorge, West Virginia
As of December 27, 2020, the Appalachian Mountains’ largest gorge is officially a national park. The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is the 63rd national park and has some of the country’s best whitewater rafting and rock climbing. The ability to do both here, combined with the area’s outstanding natural beauty, speaks to why New River Gorge just got promoted to the majors.
This area just outside of Fayetteville, West Virginia, is renowned among East Coast outdoorsy types but relatively under the radar for the rest of the country. That is surely about to change. At the same time, even with more traffic passing through, the New River Gorge is unlikely to lose its appeal to diehards — given its 1,000-foot sandstone walls, challenging river rafting, and backcountry trails and pitches. Here’s how to get the most out of this new national park on a day trip or long weekend.
Whitewater rafting
Photo: Steve Heap/Shutterstock
The New River Gorge itself was carved by the New River, a 50-mile stretch of water that was already, prior to the new national park status, a designated “national river” with National Park Service protection. The best way to tour the park is on a raft floating down this impressive river.
As you wind through the gorge, you’ll pass towering sandstone walls rimmed by open blue sky, perhaps a white cloud offering an accent but otherwise a pristine mountain view seen from below. Pine, willow, and aspen trees line the gorge valley, giving it a Colorado-esque aesthetic.
Be prepared for Class III to V rapids, including some bumps and spins. The Lower Gorge is lined with challenging rapids that include the risk of topping your boat and its supplies, while the section from Hinton to Thurmond offers a challenge for intermediate paddlers and a mellower experience for the hardcore river rat. Just be sure to pull out at Thurmond; the river below is tight, windy, and technical, suitable for experts only. Of course, you can hire a river outfitter like Ace Raft or Adventures on the Gorge to guide your crew through a challenging or intermediate run, with trips lasting from a couple of hours to multiple days.
Rock climbing
Photo: TempleNick/Shutterstock
The other magnet for mountain voyagers in New River Gorge National Park and Reserve is rock climbing. More than 1,500 climbing routes are established within or immediately surrounding the park, making it the East Coast’s best proving ground. In climbing speak, the big draws are 5.10 sport routes and 5.10 trad climbing routes, with some routes making for quicker ascents and others topping out at more than 100 feet of vertical and forming the bulk of a climber’s day in the park.
With so many established routes and a cult-like following that climbs them regularly, it isn’t tough to find where to go. Just be aware that beginner routes are few and far between at New River Gorge. Much like Yosemite in California, experienced climbers in the area base their hobby — and often their lives — around climbing in the gorge, and have established routes to accommodate that passion. The Junkyard and Bridge Buttress routes are among the most popular. You may feel more comfortable hiring a guide service like New River Mountain Guides or Blue Ridge Mountain Guides to lead you up and offer pointers on the routes.
Mountain biking and hiking
Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
The Boy Scouts of America established the 12.8-mile Arrowhead trail system for mountain bikers inside New River Gorge, and this should be your first stop for biking inside the park. Located in Craig’s Branch section, the trails are flowy and quick, typical of East Coast riding, and are suitable for riders of all levels. For a more challenging ride, the 8.6-mile Kaymoor Trail runs past old coal mines and up several quick steeps (which of course mean you get the fun descents) and joins with the Craig Branch Trail if you wish to diversify your ride. Other popular biking trails include the Park Loop Trail and Fayetteville Trail.
The fall foliage is amazing inside the park, as the aspens turn bright colors come autumn. That’s a great time for hiking, but in fact walking this landscape is stunning most of the year. The New River Gorge Bridge is the park’s most iconic attraction, and the short-but-breathtaking Bridge Trail is the best way to see it. It’s a 0.86-mile jaunt to an overlook with an unrivaled view of the 3,030-foot-long, 876-foot-high steel mega-bridge stretching across the river from one side to the other.
For a longer day hike, the Grandview Area Trails lead you up to more overlooks while the Glade Creek Area Trails pass waterfalls and hint at the more meditative side of outdoor recreation. For solitude, head south to the trails of the Sandstone Brooks Area. These include the Sandstone Falls Boardwalk, which takes you out above the falls themselves to gaze down at what would be an unfortunate end to a rafting excursion. See the NPS guide to hiking in the park for trailhead locations and information.
Hunting and fishing
Photo: Patrick Jennings/Shutterstock
Few parks offer such a wide range of river fish. Here you’ll find walleye aplenty, along with bluegill, carp, channel catfish, crappie, and multiple species of bass. And there’s plenty of trout in the streams of the park. You’ll need a West Virginia Fishing License to fish in the park, and once you have that secured, it’s time to “seize the carp,” as fans of the 2001 cult classic Out Cold would say — though catch and release is preferred.
Start at Glade Creek to warm up, or head down to the Grandview Sandbar to angle for the above. For a unique experience, consider a guided kayak fishing expedition with Mountain State Kayak Anglers, where you’ll have the chance to move about the water taking in the surrounding mountain scenery while you fish. More than 65,000 acres of the park and reserve are open at various times for hunting. If you plan to hunt, follow all proper licensing and precautions and study the hunting maps provided by the National Park Service.
Where to stay near the park
Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Of course, accomplishing all of this in one day is impossible. So make a long weekend out of it and crash in a cabin at Ace Adventure Resort. If you plan to spend multiple days exploring New River Gorge National Park and Reserve but also prefer amenities like restaurants and markets, the nearby towns offer all types of accommodation. As an added perk, it’s generally pretty cheap unless you’re visiting on holidays. Rooms in Fayetteville, Lookout, or Oakville can be found for under $100 per night. Expect to pay $90 for a midweek stay, and go up from there. You’re in the high country, so we recommend fitting the mold and booking into a mountain motel such as the Glen Ferris Inn or the Hillcrest Motel.
Backcountry camping is available within the park itself. Multiple camping areas are located down in the gorge near the river, where you’ll sleep to the sounds of the water rushing by and wake up to the sun cresting over sandstone cliffs. If you plan to recreate in the south end of the park, consider the Grandview Sandbar camping area. Other easy-to-access, though still primitive, campsites are located at Stone Cliff Beach and Army Camp. You can also get further into the woods at other backcountry camping areas maintained by the park service. If you do plan to backpack, the park rangers recommend visiting a visitors center to check conditions and leave a note of where you’ll be going — and don’t camp within 100 feet of an established trail.
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Free and budget activities in Kauai
Kauai, the Garden Isle of Hawaii, beckons with its lush mountains, soft pearly sand, and plenty of rainbows. Once you get there, admiring those vistas comes free of charge. But there are plenty of other low-cost things to do on the island, including some you would not expect to be so cheap — like live music, good food, and even golf. Yes, notoriously pricey golf. These are the best low-cost and free things to do in Kauai.
1. Take in the view
Photo: Marisa Estivill/Shutterstock
Kauai’s views are free to savor and likely a big reason you came to the island in the first place. Whether you want to sit on a stretch of sand and gaze out at the sea, hike the Garden Isle’s famous trails, or drive to places like the Waimea Overlook, all of these activities — save the Kalalau Trail, which requires a $20 permit — cost nothing.
If you’re up on your interesting Hawaii facts, you also know that all the beaches in the state are open to the public. More than that, there are plenty of nearly secret beaches in Kauai that most of the public doesn’t know about. The same goes for those precious views overall. Not only can you see them for free; you can find ones that most tourists never visit.
2. Hike the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail
Photo: Nina B/Shutterstock
Hiking is a super activity on Kauai that will cost you nothing, or nearly nothing. And while Kauai is packed with amazing places to hike, one trail that’s easy to do also includes some bonuses that will make the entire hike more than worth it. The Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail, starting at Poipu’s Shipwreck Beach, is mostly flat with a few short up and down sections, running less than two miles (3.7 round-trip) along low cliffs on Kauai’s south shore, offering excellent ocean views the whole way.
But you’ll get more than a spectacular ocean vista for the zero money you spent. You’ll also get a cave, history, and incredible land turtles. This trail takes you to the Makauwahi Cave, the largest limestone cave in Hawaii and the site of fossil preserves. Volunteers are there to explain its significance in historical and geologic terms. While the cave is free to visit, feel free to leave a small donation.
If you keep walking past the Makauwahi Cave at the end of the trail, you’ll reach a tortoise sanctuary that is part of the Makauwahi Cave Reserve. There are up and down steps to get in to make sure none of the giant land turtles there escape their sanctuary, where they are fed and cared for. For a lot of people, seeing these gentle creatures is a highlight of the hike and even their Kauai visit.
3. Check out Island Art Nights
Photo: Historic Hanapepe-Kauai’s Biggest Little Town/Facebook
Every Friday evening, locals and visitors drive to the west side of the island for Hanapepe Art Night. Hanapepe is home to a community of artists, and on Friday nights galleries fling open their doors, food trucks park along Hanapepe’s main road, and artisans showcase their wares at outdoor kiosks. It isn’t entirely free as you’re sure to be tempted by some of the culinary offerings, but it’s definitely a fun, low-cost thing to do.
If you happen to be on the opposite end of the island on the first Saturday of the month, then check out the Kapaa Art Walk, where you’ll find plenty of food trucks, open galleries, and live music.
4. Dig into the iconic plate lunch
Photo: Charles Lewis/Shutterstock
Eating out in Hawaii can add up since food is either grown on small ranches and farms on the islands or has to come by ship. The solution is the plate lunch, an extremely hearty lunch option that you will find all over the Hawaiian islands. Classically, it consists of white rice, macaroni salad, and a protein like teriyaki chicken or pulled pork. If you get more than one protein it’s more likely to be called a mixed plate. If you’re not a vegetarian, this is a low-cost way to get a satisfying meal.
Plate lunches have often been served straight off of food trucks, the other way to save on a tasty meal. Food trucks have been part of the Hawaii scene since before they were a thing anywhere else. Now on Kauai, you can go to places like Kalaheo and find a few food trucks to choose from, like Kauai Poke Co or Kickshaws, which makes a mean grilled cheese.
5. Attend an affordable hula show
Photo: Jose Gil/Shutterstock
For many native Hawaiians, hula is an important part of their cultural heritage. There are ways to enjoy hula that don’t involve shelling out a bunch of money for a tourist-oriented luau. Instead, you can see free hula shows — often with young students from local schools — on Thursdays at 2 PM across from Spouting Horn near Poipu, or at the Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa on Wednesdays at 5 PM and Saturdays at 1 PM.
6. Ride a bike
Photo: KevinClarkArt/Shutterstock
Spend a few hours or a whole day riding a beach cruiser along Kauai’s eastern shores. You can rent a bike for the whole day for $17.50 or for 24 hours for $25. In Kapaa, head over to the Mermaid Cafe and buy a Mermaids Sandwich or one of their huge wraps (like a peanut satay or black bean burrito) to go, pick up some water or juice at Kauai Juice Co., pop it into your bicycle tote bag, and then start cycling up the beachfront bike path. Head all the way to Paliku (aka Donkey Beach) and enjoy your picnic in one of Kauai’s many quiet, uncrowded stretches of sand.
7. Spelunk
Photo: Steve Heap/Shutterstock
Okay, it’s not really spelunking, in the sense that you won’t be donning a hard hat and headlamps and descending into deep underground caverns. Kauai’s caves are above-ground and don’t really require extra gear to explore. But there are a few of them and all are free to check out. Beyond Makauwahi Cave, noted above, you can visit Maniniholo Dry Cave just off the road on the north shore by Haena Beach. Near that cave are Waikanaloa and Waikapalae, and though they may be so-called “wet caves,” we urge you not to take a dip in their still-water pools.
8. Snorkel
Photo: Hiroyuki Saita/Shutterstock
Snorkeling is some of the most low-cost entertainment you can find in Hawaii. And entertainment it is since — when you know the spots — you’ll be rewarded with sights of sea turtles and every type of colorful fish. Rent your gear for a mere $12 a day (and two sets for the price of one on weekdays) from Boss Frogs. With your snorkeling gear, you’ll also get a sheet with drawings of all the fish you may spot. While some of the locations are closed during COVID, the Koloa town location is still open. From there, you’re a short drive to the beach in front of the Beach House Restaurant, where you’ll have a chance to search out several of the species on the fish sheet.
9. Stroll the farmers markets
Photo: Phil O’nector/Shutterstock
On any day from Monday to Saturday, you will find a farmers market in Kauai, and every one of them makes a fun excursion. Not only will you find purple sweet potatoes and hot-pink dragon fruits, but you can also chat with the farmers about how best to prepare these unusual delights. Learn how to tell when a papaya is perfectly ready to eat, or admire a local artisan’s wood carvings. Kauai farmers markets are more than an ultra-fresh grocery store or a really cool craft fair — they’re a chance to see how locals eat and live on the Garden Isle.
10. Listen to daytime live music
Photo: Charles Lewis/Shutterstock
Besides listening to live music over drinks at a bar, you can get your choice of several local acts at the Wednesday afternoon farmers market at The Shops at Kukui-ula, a newish outdoor collection of shops in Poipu. So between choosing the ripest papaya and freshly picked lettuce from the farmers themselves, wander to different parts of the shopping area to listen to young surfer dudes in a rock band, a local guy strumming island classics on his ukulele, or some plenty of other fun and free tunes.
11. Golf at the Kukuiolono Park & Golf Course
Photo: All a Shutter/Shutterstock
Usually, golfing doesn’t fall into the low-cost things to do in Kauai (or anywhere) category. After all, tee times cost well over $200 at places like the Makai Princeville course. But Kukuiolono is a bargain. Sure, the meager $10 price is per person for nine holes, but even if you do the course twice — for 18 holes total — and pay for four people, you’re still at $80. And if you are on a budget, you aren’t going to pay airline baggage fees to bring clubs to play nine holes. So just rent clubs, a bag, and balls; all in, they’re just $14 for those nine holes.
12. Admire flora and fauna
Photo: Ian Fox/Shutterstock
Kauai is full of lovely gardens, but most are pricey to visit. A tour and chocolate tasting at Princeville Botanical Gardens would set you back $85, and both the McBride Garden and the Na ‘Aina kai Gardens and Sculpture Park charge $20 for entrance. While the $20 fee does fund the upkeep of these lovely gardens, that’s a lot if you’re on a budget.
Check out the island’s animal life instead. In addition to the free-to-visit tortoise reserve noted above and the snorkeling opportunities, the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge costs just $11 per adult ($10 plus a $1 reservation fee) and is free for kids 16 and under. There, not only will you look upon the Kilauea Lighthouse against a backdrop of Pacific Ocean, but you’ll encounter nesting seabirds and the rare Nene, Hawaii’s state bird. And if you are into botany, you’ll find plenty of native coastal plants there, too.
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