A recent trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico not only gave me a chance to visit Bandelier National Monument and ponder overpriced bad service, it also included a visit to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.  

While there, I had a disposable video camera to play with.

The CVS (a US pharmacy chain) disposable costs about US$30 and then another US$12-13 to develop, but it did motivate me to film without my usual over-analyzing and artistic angst. Once I show you one or two good clips from it, I’m going to start using the video mode on my regular digital camera, for better quality.

I’ve never had a video camera, so I made all of the usual newbie mistakes: panning/moving the camera too fast so that the resulting video induces vomiting, simply forgetting that I had the thing in my purse, and then not getting around to getting the clips off of the camera and onto my computer.

With great fanfare, I’d like to announce that in addition to filming a little video clip of me on Family Travel with a laptop camera, I actually drove over to my local CVS pharmacy yesterday and got the contents of the camera onto a DVD. I popped the DVD into my laptop and voila – a whole lot of “OMG, I forgot I filmed that!”

But back to the Cultural Center….I’ll write about it in more detail in another post, but this particular clip is of Zuni/Omaha tribal dancer Fabian Fontenelle accompanied by his wife, award-winning singer Shelley Morningsong. 

They are performing in the Center’s courtyard as part of a series of dance, food and music demonstrations during Balloon Fiesta Week (although there are demonstrations year-round, call the Center at 1-866-855-7902 for more details.)

This is “Faithful Feet,” from Ms. Morningsong’s album “Out of the Ashes,” which won the 2007 Native American Music Award for Best Debut Artist.  You can also listen to her and other artists on Native Radio.

Waking to the news that the M/S Explorer was foundering in the Antarctic, I was struck with a wave of nostalgia. I travelled on the ship last year on a voyage in the High Arctic amongst the pack ice and the polar bears, and always held the hope of one day travelling with it to the Antarctic.

The ship was pretty unique: an expedition ice-breaker it allowed normal people to go to some of the most remote places in the world. Unlike most of it’s competition it was small (taking only around 200 people when full) and certainly was not a luxury cruise for the rich. It was old, and the decor was somewhat tatty, but everyone who went on the ship loved it.

In the High Arctic, we spent days slowly pushing through the pack ice searching out polar bears and those places that the other ships couldn’t go.

The crew were an eclectic bunch of ecologists, naturalists and polar veterans. With them on board, I am not surprised that everyone managed to abandon ship safely. This was no doubt helped by the expedition nature of the ship: passengers would have embarked and disembarked a number of times on the voyage already, taking to Zodiac inflatables for excursions.

Predictably, the sinking of the M/S Explorer has already lead for calls to stop tourist ships visiting the continent. Whilst I would support a strict code of practice to stop the Antarctic ending up like the virtual zoo, which the Galapagos is in danger of becoming, the simple fact is that far more damage is being done by climate change than by any number of ships in the Antarctic. If we want to save the Antarctic, then we have to curb our excesses and moderate our rampant and ceaseless consumption of the world’s natural resources.

When things survive in isolation, it is much harder to conserve them. Responsible travel will not damage the Polar regions, and I defy anyone to visit them and not come away awed by their beauty and committed to their preservation.

Words & Pictures © Steve Davey/stevedavey.com 2007

It’s not even December yet, and I’m already sick of “Santa Baby” on the radio.

Nothing like a blast of Beninese/New York singer Angelique Kidjo to take care of that — have you heard her remake (with Joss Stone) of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter?”

Fortunately, the Perceptive Travel gang is really into world music, so if you’re bored by your current collection, take a look at the Nov/Dec 07 issue of the online magazine for the World Music Reviews.

Columnist Graham Reid listens to recent gems by Thione Seck from Senegal, Hossam Ramzy & Samy El Bably working Cairo bellydance tunes, Malouma with some Sub-Saharan blues and various artists on Marabi Africa.  There are click-to-buy links in the sidebar if you want to check out any or all of the albums.

Another place to look for interesting music (tied to iTunes, so you’ll need the Apple software)  is the National Geographic Traveler Web site.  In the July/August 2007 version of the magazine, I noticed an “Italian Rhapsody” playlist next to an article about Tuscany, so I went to investigate further and also found Traveler downloads for Brazil, Hawaii, Miami, Paris, South Africa and Southern California.

Lastly, through some of my Twitter friends I discovered Last.fm, a social music site where you download some software, indicate your current tastes and then share your musical interests with others.

Randomly surfing a “world music” tag brought me Cheb Balowski (Mirant les noticies,) Femi Kuti (Truth Don Die) and Sergent Garcia (Guantanamo City.)

Beats the heck outta “Santa Baby.”

Technorati tags: travel, world music, Last.fm

Today is the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and in between bites of our traditional turkey, sweet potatoes/yams and pecan pie, I am most thankful for all of those around the world who welcome travelers, and make us feel at home in your home.

We may love to travel, but no one likes to feel displaced or lonely, so thank you to everyone who offers hospitality to tired folks lugging suitcases in strange lands. 

Hopefully we can someday reciprocate your warmth and welcome.

This is the time of year to enjoy a German tradition that seems to have spread over much of Europe: the weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas market.

Normally held outdoors at night, often in the shadow of a dom or cathedral, a weihnachtsmarkt has numerous booths with handicrafts and toys, lots of singers and other holiday musical offerings, plenty of food and perhaps some hot apple cider or glühwein (spiced warm red wine) to keep everyone toasty.

For a unique Dutch twist on this event, visit the southern Limburg (Zuid-Limburg) region of the Netherlands, near Maastricht, to see how the town of Valkenburg puts on a Christmas market inside the caves that surround the town. 

Talk about perfectly climate-controlled holiday festivities!

There is the Kerstmarkt in de Gemeentegrot “in the Town Cave,” and the Kerstmarkt in de Fluweelengrot “in the Velvet Cave.”  Both offer a beautifully-decorated and unique underground Christmas shopping and cultural experience in the marl caves that were mined for building stone (starting with the Romans) for hundreds of years in this part of Limburg.

From the Velvet Cave event English translation description:

“Twinkling lights and magic illumination that reflect the soft marlstone walls break through the rustic darkness of the cave. Gentle Christmas music breaks through the (normally) every day serene silence. A tour of capricious passages will lead you past caverns, decorated niches, stalls with various quality (Christmas) items for sale, and a few stalls that demonstrate old Dutch trade & (handi)craft. Don’t forget to visit our enchanting catering garden in the ‘heart’ of the cave, to have a bite to eat and experience our famous Dutch Christmas drink ‘Glühwein’ (sparkling hot wine)…”

(I think it’s a famous German Christmas drink, but never mind….)

South Limburg is jokingly called the “Dutch Alps” and there are a few rolling hills that call to a lot of Dutch cyclists in training. The Maas, Geul and Gulp rivers also run through this area, with a lot of picturesque little castles and farmland. 

It’s a very pretty and generally undiscovered part of the Netherlands, so you should stay awhile.  There’s even a casino and a well-known thermal/hot springs spa in town. Accomodations are certainly available since many Dutch like to vacation in Limburg, so put Zuid-Limburg on your “must see” list in Europe.

Technorati tags: travel, Europe, the Netherlands, Zuid Limburg, Christmas markets, caves, Valkenburg