Writing Travel

3rd annual Passports with Purpose bloggers build a village in India

The third annual Passports with Purpose (PwP) fundraiser goes live today with an ambitious but reachable goal. We aim to raise $50,000 to build a village in India for people who have never had homes, members of the Dalit caste, India's "untouchables." All moneys raised, with the exception of Paypal fees, will go directly to the nonprofit organization Land for Tillers' Freedom (LAFTI) through the Friends of LAFTI Foundation.

Beginning today, November 15, through December 13, you will be able to bid on a wide variety of travel-related goods and services offered by sponsors who have partnered with participating bloggers.

Passports with Purpose was founded in 2008 by a group of four Seattle travel bloggers, Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel, and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, WanderMom, Nerd’s Eye View and Wanderlust and Lipstick, respectively. In the first two initiatives, PwP raised money for Heifer International and built a school in Cambodia.

In past years, I've promoted the fundraiser and made small donations, but this is the first year I'll be hosting a prize on my blog. Knowing my propensity for procrastination, I approached the Authentic Seacoast Resorts in Nova Scotia in January 2010, immediately after last year's event, to secure a prize to offer in partnership with one of my favorite travel providers. I am delighted to announce their generous contribution: a two-night getaway at their luxury bed-and-breakfast property, the DesBarres Manor Inn on Chedabucto Bay.

The Authentic Seacoast getaway at DesBarres Manor Inn includes a deluxe Manor room, daily gourmet breakfast for two, afternoon tea, Taste of Nova Scotia guest reception, and all the luxury amenities this historic inn is renowned for. The total value of the getaway package is $400.

The historical propery was built in 1837 for J.W.F. DesBarres, a Supreme Court Justice. Now a 10-room country inn with the amenitiies of a boutique hotel, the DesBarres Manor Inn is one of Atlantic Canada's top culinary destinations. DesBarres Manor’s culinary program has been recognized with Nova Scotia’s 2008 Cuisine of the Year award, the Canadian Wine Annual's Where to Eat & Stay in Atlantic Canada, and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2009 and 2010.

To bid on this luxury Nova Scotia getaway or another of the many prizes offered by PwP sponsors, visit  the Passports with Purpose donation page. (Please note that the list of prizes on the donation page is still being compiled as I write this post.)

National Travel Writing Month challenge begins today, October 1

Aspiring and established travel journalists, it's not too late to sign up for the current National Travel Writing Month challenge. Modeled after National Novel Writing Month, this challenge for travel writers asks for 30 pitches in 30 days.

Before you panic, let me clarify that we're defining pitch rather loosely. If you wish, you can send out traditional query letters to niche print publications focused on travel, but let's face it, that's a shrinking market.

It's all about building your chops as a travel writer and putting yourself out there in the public view, so almost any activity that furthers your travel writing career can count toward your query total. And we're totally on the honor system, so you decide what counts.

You can write an entire travel article for publication by a new outlet, or even an existing one. You could also research and apply for a travel blogging job or a spot on a group blog, write a guest post for another writer's blog, collaborate with other writers on a collection of travel tips, or launch a whole new website.

But don't stop there. Write a chapter of your travel book, edit your manuscript, create a photo essay, enter a travel writing contest, or publish a travel photo. Consider submitting a query to a publication outside the traditional travel niche. The possibilities are wide open.

Yes, I'm promoting the challenge with some excitement. I got a lot of benefit from participating in the first two NaTraWriMo challenges, back in 2008 and 2009. I didn't achieve anywhere near the magic count of 30 pitches, but the experience was a boon for my development as a travel writer and photographer.

So when Christine Gilbert of Almost Fearless, the original organizer of the event, announced recently that she was closing the site unless someone was willing to step up to manage it, I jumped impulsively into the fray and agreed to keep the group alive. It's a good bunch, and I know I'll learn something from the exercise.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 5 Awesome Ideas For Community Engagement From Burr Settles (socialmediabiz.com)
• The Best Book for Becoming a Travel Writer (travel.booklocker.com)
• Travel writer and publisher Q&A: Julie Schwietert (gadling.com)
• Elevator Pitch: An online writing club? What a Quilliant idea! (guardian.co.uk)

The 10-plus things I learned at TBEX '10

Here's my very personal list, in no set order, of the idiosyncratic things I learned at Travel Blog Exchange '10 hosted by Kim Mance and her Galavanting team in New York City this past weekend. (Forgive me, Spud Hilton. This story is about my trip, not my reader's vacation.)

In part, it's a list of "shoulds." Yes, I know all about the evil of should. I've succumbed to it before and certainly will again.

1. I should get out of the house more. Especially if I want to continue calling myself a travel blogger. 

2. I should post more often, for the same reason.

3. I need to converse in person with other intelligent adult humans more often. (See point 1.) I do this best in small groups or one-on-one. I'm happy enough in a large group, but I tend to drift to the perimeter of the crowd to become an observer.

4. Two cocktails in one evening is my absolute limit when indulging in a public venue. Thanks to Sean Keener of @Bootsnall and Pete Meyers of @Eurocheapo for helping me (finally) figure that out. That's not to say I won't have to relearn my lesson.

5. Travel blogging isn't just a young person's sport, but one should recognize one's limits. (See point 4.) One should also stay in training.

6. It's okay to be weird in the company of other travel bloggers.

7. I can live without my laptop and digital SLRs for a weekend, but I can't live without some way to connect to the Internet. 

8. AT&T 3G service in Manhattan isn't as groovy there as it is in other parts of the country. (See point 7.)

9. It is entirely possible to cultivate real human relationships sight unseen via social media and blogs. Proof: the joy of meeting Zach Everson, Meryl Pearlstein, Renee King, Doug Anweiler, Lola Akinmade, Kara Williams, Todd Lucier, Jennifer Miner, Mara Gorman, Craig Martin, Christine Cantera, Jennifer Huber, Robin Locker Lacey, Trisha Miller, and countless others for the first time in the flesh after long acquaintance online.

10. I'm still capable of hero(ine) worship. Cases in point: Pam Mandel (I hope you don't think I'm stalking you on Twitter), Evelyn Hannon (I read and reread your Journeywoman travel tips before every trip to a new place), Gary Arndt (Your travel porn feeds my fantasies, and I have to agree with your camera advice, although I'd much rather travel with the camera I don't yet have).

11. It will take me a bit of time to get used to referring to people by their real names when I know them so well by their Twitter handles. (See point 9. If I didn't call you out by name, it's because I'm still in the process of rebuilding my internal contact database.)

12. Going out on a limb to write in one's naturally quirky voice is good practice for a persnickety grammarian.

13. I received no compensation or sponsorship for this post or for attending TBEX. I have only myself to thank or blame. I would, however, consider help getting to Vancouver next year.

Sandra Basgall: Settling into Kinshasa

Kinshasa street scene, originally uploaded by Irene2005.

Guest post by Sandra Basgall, Catholic Relief Services for Central Africa

I have been here a week now. I went from 16 hours plane sitting to 3 days of regional meeting sitting and so was really glad when the weekend came. One of the last tips I received before I left the States was to see if anywhere they served a fish called capitaine. This was someone who had eaten it 40 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo and still remembered it with fondness. Imagine my surprise at the Thursday evening dinner during the regional meetings that the restaurant served capitaine. I, of course, ordered it. It was cooked in a banana leaf pouch with a lovely sauce and it was truly wonderful. I will have it again, many times.

At CRS CARO (Central African Regional Office), most of the major management positions are held by women. I think it sets a very interesting flavor and there seems to be a lot of collaboration and support. The regional director is an African-American woman who was three years in the Peace Corps in the Gabon and is married to a Senegalese. She has been RD for the last five years. Although we service seven other countries, the DRC is the largest in terms of program dollars, and they have the largest country program, also directed by a woman, an American. There is a real hodgepodge of other nationalities here, and it is interesting to learn where long-term Congolese CRS people have served.

Guest blogger: writer & photographer Sandra Basgall reports from Central Africa

Through the miracle of social networking, I've reconnected with Sandra Basgall, a valued friend of more than 30 years' duration. Once upon a time, as single parents in a university town, Sandra and I and another friend, Anne Kaplan, shared an after-school caregiver for our children, beginning when the kids were in kindergarten. We lost track of each other a good while ago as we pursued our separate adventures. Then, last June, we found each other on Facebook and renewed our friendship.

Sandra has just launched yet another huge adventure. Since December, she has been in Kinshasa in a new position with Catholic Relief Services, where she is based as the Regional Director of Monitoring and Evaluation for Central Africa. With responsibility for nine countries, Sandra will be traveling extensively, expecting to be on the move 30 percent of the time during her assignment.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Sandra asked me for advice on publishing a blog documenting her stay in Africa. Although she's begun posting on a WordPress.com blog, her new duties are taking up much of her time. So I leapt at the opportunity to feature Sandra's weekly posts from Central Africa here on Writing Travel to help her build an audience.