AFAR Magazine November/December 2021 Issue by AFAR

TRAVELERS WHO CARE

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Architect. Mentor. Beekeeper. A life well planned allows you to

While you may not be running an architectural firm, tending hives of honeybees and mentoring a teenager — your life is just as unique. Backed by sophisticated resources and a team of specialists in every field, a Raymond James financial advisor can help you plan for the dreams you have, the way you care for those you love and how you choose to give back. So you can live your life.

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48 27

E AT, R E A D , T R AV E L

This fall’s most important new food books transport readers to destinations near and far.

T R AV E L A S A FORCE FOR GOOD

Yes, it is possible to have enriching experiences that make a positive impact on the planet. 51

CIT Y SPIRIT

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louise Erdrich discusses her latest novel, The Sentence, and her favorite places to go in her hometown of Minneapolis.

ON THE COVER

Travel can . . . inspire joy! Photograph by Thomas Prior Lettering by Emily Theodore

TURKISH DELIGHT

Bite into the culinary backstory of manti, delicious dumplings filled with spiced meat. Plus: Where to eat the best manti in Istanbul.

CONTRIBUTORS

FROM THE EDITOR

104

W H E R E T R AV E L TA K E S YO U Inspired by California’s natural landscapes, illustrator Lydia Ortiz offers her vision for how to see the world. Spine illustration by Violeta Noy

“As climate disasters increase in intensity everywhere, how do we navigate as conscientious travelers?” 60

GOOD VS. EVIL

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, locals dress up as elaborate avatars to celebrate the fall festival Dussehra.

ILL USTRATI ONS, FROM TOP: R OSE WON G, LY DI A ORTIZ PHOTO S, CLOC KW ISE FROM L EFT: JOHN CUL LEN , JAI DA GREY EAGLE, COL E WILSON

NEWARK,

WELCOME ON BOARD Fly to new destinations safely with Turkish Airlines.

ISTANBUL

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CONTENTS

64 64

ROOTED

Writer Eric Weiner travels to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and explores what it means to do voluntourism well— and in service of one of the planet’s most pressing issues: climate change.

CALL OF THE WILD

Aboard a Lindblad Expeditions ship, photographer Peter Fisher journeys to one of the most remote places on the planet, South Georgia Island, to commune with the animals who live there.

CUBA NEGR A

Artist and writer George McCalman shares a side of Havana often overlooked: the city’s rich Black culture.

THE SAKE RESURRECTION

Meet the modern sake makers reviving traditional brewing in Japan.

ILL USTRATI ON: GEORGE MCCALM AN ; PHOTOS, FROM TO P: MARÍA MAGDAL ENA ARRÉLLAGA, KO SASAKI

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CONTENTS

“There’s always an element of danger on South Georgia Island. It’s part of the appeal.” PETER FISHER

Call of the Wild

PETER FISHER

BELONG TO THE LEGEND

T H E D O R C H E S T E R , L O N D O N ˚ 4 5 PA R K L A N E , L O N D O N ˚ C O W O R T H PA R K , A S C O T L E M E U R I C E , PA R I S ˚ H Ô T E L P L A Z A AT H É N É E , PA R I S ˚ H O T E L E D E N , R O M E H O T E L P R I N C I P E D I S AV O I A , M I L A N ˚ T H E B E V E R LY H I L L S H O T E L , B E V E R LY H I L L S H O T E L B E L- A I R , L O S A N G E L E S ˚ D U B A I ( O P E N I N G 2 0 2 2 )

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AFAR.COM @AFARMEDIA FOUNDERS GREG SULLIVAN & JOE DIAZ

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“Through the Pack for a Purpose initiative, I bring a few pounds of school supplies and basic necessities to my destination for donation.” —K.L.

EDITORIAL

SALES

VP, EDITOR IN CHIEF Julia Cosgrove @juliacosgrove

VP, PUBLISHER Bryan Kinkade

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Supriya Kalidas @supriyakalidas

@bkinkade001, bryan@afar.com, 646-873-6136

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL CONTENT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS

Laura Dannen Redman @laura_redman

Onnalee MacDonald @onnaleeafar,

DEPUTY EDITORS

onnalee@afar.com, 310-779-5648

Tim Chester @timchester

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CARIBBEAN Barry Brown

Aislyn Greene @aislynj

barry@afar.com, 646-430-9881

Katherine LaGrave @kjlagrave

DIRECTOR, WEST CJ Close @close.cj,

SENIOR TRAVEL NEWS EDITOR

cjclose@afar.com, 310-701-8977

Michelle Baran @michellehallbaran

LUXURY SALES MANAGER Laney Boland @laneybeauxland,

SENIOR COMMERCE EDITOR

lboland@afar.com, 646-525-4035

Lyndsey Matthews @lyndsey_matthews

SALES, SOUTHEAST Colleen Schoch Morell

PHOTO EDITOR Michelle Heimerman @maheimerman

colleen@afar.com, 561-586-6671

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER Kathie Gartrell

SALES, SOUTHWEST Lewis Stafford Company

JUNIOR DESIGNER Elizabeth See @elizabethsee.design

lewisstafford@afar.com, 972-960-2889

ASSISTANT EDITOR Mae Hamilton

SALES, MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kristin Braswell @crushglobal

Jorge Ascencio, jorge@afar.com

“I co-created the Caribbean Youth Congress, which inspires young people to consider tourism as a career.” —B.B.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Lisa Abend @lisaabend, Chris Colin @chriscolin3000, Emma John @foggymountaingal, Ryan Knighton, Peggy Orenstein @pjorenstein, Anya von Bremzen COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Bell PROOFREADER Pat Tompkins SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS

Jennifer Flowers @jenniferleeflowers

“I always ask a local bartender or barista for recommendations on where to eat and shop and what to see. I’ve found they give insider tips that support the community and make for the best experiences.” —M.K.

How do you give back when you travel?

Fran Golden @fran_golden_cruise Barbara Peterson

AFAR MEDIA LLC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Greg Sullivan @gregsul VP, COFOUNDER Joe Diaz @joediazafar VP, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Laura Simkins DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Julia Rosenbaum @juliarosenbaum21 HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR Breanna Rhoades @breannarhoades DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT Anique Halliday @aniquehalliday DIRECTOR OF AD OPERATIONS Donna Delmas @donnadinnyc DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Anni Cuccinello SENIOR SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Rosalie Tinelli @rosalietinelli

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROCIRC Sally Murphy

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ASSOCIATE CONSUMER MARKETING DIRECTOR, PROCIRC Tom Pesik

BRANDED & SPONSORED CONTENT DIRECTOR

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P.O. Box 458 San Francisco, CA 94104

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“I bring special items from my hometown (Franklin, Tennessee) to hand out as gifts to hosts I meet along the way.” —C.C.

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AFAR ID Statement AFAR® (ISSN 1947-4377), Volume 13, Number 4, is published bimonthly by AFAR, P.O. Box 458 San Francisco, CA 94104, U.S.A. In the U.S., AFAR® is a registered trademark of AFAR LLC. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, or any other unsolicited materials. Subscription price for U.S. residents: $24.00 for 6 issues. Canadian subscription rate: $30.00 (GST included) for 6 issues. All other countries: $40.00 for 6 issues. To order a subscription to AFAR or to inquire about an existing subscription, please write to AFAR Magazine Customer Service, P.O. Box 6265, Harlan, IA 51591-1765, or call 888-403-9001. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to AFAR, P.O. Box 6265, Harlan, IA 51591-1765.

Talk about a change of scenery.

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Contributors

GEORGE MCCALMAN Illustrator and Writer

LY D I A O R T I Z Illustrator

S U M I T DAYA L Photographer

Sumit Dayal, a photographer based in New Delhi and Kashmir, first fell in love with shooting in 2004, when he interned with the American photographer Thomas Kelly in Kathmandu. Since then, he’s staked a career documenting disappearing traditions and the quickly shifting cultural landscapes of South Asia. For Good vs. Evil (p.60), he traveled to Tiruchendur in southern India to capture the country’s Dussehra festival. As a native of northern India, Dayal was entranced by the different customs for celebrating the Hindu festival in the south. “I was intrigued by Dussehra in Tiruchendur because of the vibrant fanfare, costumes, and drama,” he says. See more of his work in Time, the Wall Street Journal, and GQ. Find him on Instagram @sumitdayal.

H O L LY T U P P E N Writer

TUPPEN’S NEW BOOK SUGGESTS PRACTICAL WAYS THAT TRAVELERS CAN EXPERIENCE THE WORLD MORE MEANINGFULLY.

After circumnavigating the globe without flying in 2008, writer Holly Tuppen committed to traveling ethically—and educating others on how they could do the same (p.44). In her book, Sustainable Travel: The Essential Guide to Positive Impact Adventures (2021, White Lion Publishing), she details her approach. With travel, “like everything we purchase in life, we must be mindful of our impact on other people and on the planet,” Tuppen says. Follow her on Instagram @holly_tuppen.

Born and raised in Manila, Lydia Ortiz immigrated to the United States when she was 19 and snagged her first job in America working at the fast food restaurant Jollibee. Today she’s an illustrator whose work appears in the New York Times and Teen Vogue. After her nature-loving father passed away last year, Ortiz spent the summer revisiting California’s national parks to feel closer to him. For Where Travel Takes You (p.104), Ortiz drew inspiration from these travels. “I thought of the healing power of visiting new places and reconnecting with familiar ones,” she says. See more of her work on Instagram @lydia_ortiz.

CLOCKWI SE FROM LEFT: S UMI T D AY AL (2), DANI EL D ENT, C OURTESY OF L YDIA ORTIZ, COURTESY OF HOLLY TUPPEN

In Cuba Negra (p.82)—which he wrote and illustrated—George McCalman provides a glimpse into Black Cuban life. “Traveling to Cuba was a sensory experience,” McCalman says. “I’ve had vivid memories flood back in the making of this story. [In Havana,] I remember being dazzled by the feeling of grandeur.” McCalman’s work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, and Mother Jones. See more of his art on Instagram @mccalmanco.

THIS IS BIGHORN MOUNTAIN COUNTRY The world comes out west expecting to see cowboys driving horses through the streets of downtown; pronghorn butting heads on windswept bluffs; clouds encircling the towering pinnacles of the Cloud Peak Wilderness; and endless expanses of wild, open country. These are some of the fibers that have been stitched together over time to create the patchwork quilt of Sheridan County’s identity, each part and parcel to the Wyoming experience. Toss in a historic downtown district, with western allure, hospitality and good graces to spare; a vibrant art scene; bombastic craft culture; a robust festival and events calendar; and living history on every corner, and you have a Wyoming experience unlike anything you could have ever imagined. This is Sheridan County, the beating heart of Bighorn Mountain Country, and we invite you to WY Responsibly while you explore our backyard.

sheridanwyoming.org

unforgettable

HOLIDAY GETAWAY No matter your holiday wish, you’ll ﬁnd a home here in Charleston.

HARBOURVIEW INN A HarbourView Holiday Celebrate the holidays with keepsakes from the HarbourView Inn. Your package includes a canvas shopping tote and a unique ornament to represent your time at our newly renovated inn, nestled right in the heart of Waterfront Park.

WILD DUNES RESORT Holly Jolly Holiday Vacation Escape the holiday hustle and bustle for seaside relaxation in beautiful Charleston, SC. Spend your favorite holiday at Wild Dunes Resort, and allow us to do all the work while you enjoy this magical season with your family and friends. Enjoy a $50 resort credit along with milk and cookies delivered to your room!

THE RESTORATION HOTEL Spread Cheer Christmas Tree Package Spread Cheer in Charleston by enjoying a real Christmas tree decorated just for you in your guest room. Also included is a bundle of gift cards from some of Charleston’s best locally-owned stores located just steps away on historic King Street including M. Dumas & Sons, Croghan’s Jewel Box and Hampden Clothing.

THE LOUTREL Holiday in the Holy City Experience Charleston’s ﬁnest hour this holiday season at the historic district’s newest luxury hotel. This package includes a $50 gift card to the Preservation Society of Charleston’s shop, complimentary drink at the Veranda bar and a specially made candle from Candleﬁsh featuring a fragrance unique to our hotel!

C H R I S T M A SINCHA RLE STON.COM

EXPLORECHARLESTON.COM

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Fr o m t h e E d i t o r

WHERE TRAVEL CAN, AND MUST, GO THESE DAYS I WATCH endless episodes of vintage Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with my two school-age daughters. “Look for the helpers,” Fred Rogers famously said. “You will always find people who are helping.” That sentiment has resonated with me during the last 18 months as I’ve thought a lot about the word “care” and the role of travelers as stewards and protectors of our planet, one another, and ourselves. How can our travels make a positive impact during a pandemic, a climate emergency, and an economic and racial reckoning? How can we travel sustainably in a way that truly empowers communities, celebrates the rich diversity of the world, mitigates and helps tackle the ongoing global environmental crisis, and also leaves us enriched when we return? And most importantly, how is what I just wrote not mere lip service? As I think about where travel is going—where travel must go—here’s my attempt at a North Star to guide both travelers and the travel industry today:

• Travel must intentionally do more good than harm. • Travel must be radically inclusive and celebrate all of us equitably. • Travel must strengthen the economic resilience of local communities. • Travel must promote empathy and demonstrate that we have more in common than what we think divides us.

Kasbah du Toubkal, a hotel in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, offers a model of community tourism done right.

Safe travels, J U L I A C O S G R OV E

Editor in Chief

KARIMA TARGAOUI

Lofty? Maybe. Idealistic? Perhaps—but we’ve devoted this whole issue to these themes, from the myriad ways travel can be a force for good (page 27) and a celebration of Black Cuba (page 82) to the ethics of voluntourism (page 64) and one writer’s view on her hometown of Minneapolis through an Indigenous lens (page 51). As you read these stories, I invite you to ask yourself what fuels your sense of social responsibility when it comes to travel. Please share your thoughts with me on Twitter @jules_afar.

Scotland is

calling

Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire.

visitscotland.com

AFAR Travelers’ Awards 2020 PORTHOLE Best Itineraries 2020

YEARS

TRAVEL AGE WEST Wave Awards, Editor’s Pick 2020 CRUISE CRITIC Cruisers’ Choice 2019

*Have It All fares available on cruises 6 days or more, excluding Grand Voyages. Restrictions apply, see hollandamerica.com for details. Holland America Line cruises departing through December 31, 2021, are available for guests who have received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise and have proof of vaccination; details at hollandamerica.com. Requirements for 2022 itineraries will be announced as available. Consult https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/covid-4/coronavirus-cruise-ship for the latest CDC cruise travel advice, warnings and recommendations. Ships’ Registry: The Netherlands.

SEE ALASKA WITH THE BEST

Dreaming of seeing the Great Land? Trust the cruise line voted Best in Alaska in the 2020 AFAR Travelers’ Awards. This award, and several others, are why we say We Are Alaska. As one of the few with access to Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, we offer more itineraries that include this UNESCO World Heritage site than any other cruise line. Our spacious ships are known for award-winning dining, the best live music at sea, and service that brings guests back again and again. Extend your adventure to our own resort at Denali National Park and even explore the Yukon’s gold rush history. We’ve shown guests the majesty of Alaska for 75 years, and we’d love to show you as well.

Have It All with our best amenities included in your fare: Shore Excursions, Drink Package, Specialty Dining and Wi-Fi!* Call your Travel Advisor or 1-877-SAIL HAL, or visit hollandamerica.com

Dark-Sky camping in Grasslands National Park Step away from the city lights and into the darkest of Canada’s Dark-Sky Preserves. Located in Grasslands National Park, this protected area provides a view of the night sky that you’ll never forget. Spend hours watching the greatest show on earth. Canada. North of your expectations. BoundlessCanada.com

THIS EVENING IN SASKATCHEWAN

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FOR

good THE WORLD ON A PLATE

Illustrations by ROSE WONG

TRAVEL IN A CLIMATE CRISIS

MAKE YOUR VISIT COUNT

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

TRIPS WITH A PURPOSE

Never before has travel felt like such a privilege—and such a complicated proposition. Should we be visiting new places during a pandemic? Should w fl y during a climate emergency? Or should we all just stay home? At AFAR, we emphatically believe that travel can contribute to the greater good in myriad ways. With the right approach we can continue to feed our wanderlust by traveling sustainably. Travel as a force for good has been part of AFAR’s DNA since our inception, and the concept is particularly important as we close out 2021. Read on for ways to make your travel count each time you step out your front door. — T I M C H E S T E R

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THE

WORLD ON A PLATE On a quiet corner in Brooklyn, Emma’s Torch empowers refugees by teaching them culinary skills and the value of their own voice.

by B I L L I E C O H E N

Right around the same time, another issue was tugging at her attention. The Syrian refugee crisis was all over the news, and a shocking photo had surfaced of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body washed up on the shores of Turkey. A child of immigrants herself—her family moved to the United States from South Africa in the 1980s before she was born— Brodie was pained as more and more refugees were turned away from the U.S. “That felt like such an affront to the values that we have,” she says. She told her husband that someone should do something. So when life took the couple to New York City, she did. And those earlier conversations at the homeless shelter helped her decide how to do it. After arriving in the city, Brodie started at the Institute of Culinary Education and in 2016 launched Emma’s Torch, a cooking school and restaurant with the mission to empower refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trffi king. “There’s something about food that becomes an expression of cultural identity in a way that very few other things do,” says Brodie, who was also inspired by the idea that new Americans can add something special to the kitchens they join. “What our students have to offer has so much value beyond simply their skills—[the] value of accessing all of these different cultural identities and experiences.” Named after the 19th-century writer Emma Lazarus, whose poem on the Statue of Liberty, “The New Colossus,” traditionally welcomed

FOOD CAN CROSS boundaries and cultures. It can bridge gaps in understanding, forge bonds, spark friendships. It’s magic. Even if it’s just your standard morning glory muffin. That’s what changed everything for Kerry Brodie—a muffin. In 2015, she was living in Washington, D.C., working as a press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign and volunteering at a homeless shelter. She would often talk to the residents about food, chatting about things they ate growing up and that still resonated with them. She remembers one conversation about the muffins the shelter would hand out. “I never really knew what a morning glory muffin was,” she recalls with a laugh. “We’d have these conversations about like, what do we think is in this muffin? And what do we think is the optimal food to put in a mffi form, which was just such a fun way to connect with someone.” Though jokey, the conversations stuck with Brodie. Cooking was in her blood: One of her grandmothers had published a cookbook, the other had run a catering business. While she had no formal training, she’d loved being in the kitchen with them and her mother.

Student Zohreh Mohagheghfar works on a dish in the kitchen.

MI CHAEL GEORGE

Icewalk on Lake Louise Lake Louise, located in majestic Banff National Park, is renowned for its striking turquoise lakes. Covered in a winter coat of ice and snow, they transform into a different sort of breathtaking. After a skate under the stars, take in the quiet power of the mountainscapes looming poetically over the frozen waters. Canada. North of your expectations. BoundlessCanada.com

THIS EVENING IN ALBERTA

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immigrants, Emma’s Torch is based in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. It offers a 10-week apprenticeship program that covers everything from knife skills to people skills to résumé writing, so that graduates can find meaningful jobs in the culinary world. Students take classes while working different roles at the restaurant—and they get paid for all of their time, $15 an hour whether they’re at a desk or at the kitchen counter. So far, more than 120 students from 40-plus countries have cycled through the program, which is open to people ages 18 to 65 who have arrived in the United States within the past five years. With the help they get from Emma’s Torch, paired with their own skill and talent, more than 95 percent of recent students have landed jobs after graduation. But even with that high success rate to encourage them, the first day at the cooking school can be daunting. Aicha Combia moved to the U.S. from Burkina Faso in 2017 after winning the visa lottery. She recalls her first day: “I was skeptical, because I loved cooking but I never went to any culinary school, so I was afraid, wondering what kind of chef I’d have to deal with—I didn’t want to be yelled at!” She lets out a warm, infectious laugh. “But I took my courage and I went. As soon as I stepped in, Chef Alex was amazing. He

TRAVEL GIVES BACK

3,920

to 6,390 snow leopards are left in the world. In Mongolia, the travel company GeoEx trains locals in tourism, in part to deter them from poaching the cats.

made me love cooking even more. He has this kind of energy all the time. I felt comfortable, I felt welcome, I felt loved.” Chef Alex is Alexander Harris, who served as chef de cuisine at Blue Smoke Flatiron (restaurateur Danny Meyer’s now-shuttered Manhattan barbecue spot) before joining the Emma’s Torch team, first as a volunteer and then as culinary director. Under his training and through observation, he says, “the students learn how to be effective line-level employees and gain higher-level knowledge of working in and running kitchens.” The organization also has a catering service, virtual cooking classes, and a smaller outpost in the main Brooklyn Public Library that serves coffee and snacks (it closed for the pandemic but is expected to reopen in November). As Harris likes to say, the restaurant and café’s seasonal menus are “American food cooked by new Americans.” He looks for ways to infuse classic American cuisine with ingredients, techniques, or even names that will

At Emma’s Torch, diners enjoy such dishes as black-eyed pea hummus and asparagus topped with a soft poached egg.

MI CHAEL GEORGE

Aurora Borealis watching in Whitehorse Seeing the Aurora Borealis in person is something that everyone needs to experience. It’s a choreographed light show of ethereal greens and vibrant reds, blues and purples. Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, is a remote and wildly beautiful stage for this unforgettable dance. Canada. North of your expectations. BoundlessCanada.com

IN THE YUKON

THIS EVENING

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Restaurants That Give Back

Feed your belly and your soul at these philanthropic spots around the world SISTER SREY CAFE Siem Reap, Cambodia This cheery café donates a portion of its profits to clearing land mines, and it hires Khmer students and supports their education. sistersreycafe.com

Nfi sseta Kinda prepares food in the Emma’s Torch kitchen.

help his students feel more comfortable with what they’re cooking. For example, he designed a black-eyed pea hummus that would be familiar to his Middle Eastern students but would also feel very American. Over the years, he’s continued to incorTRAVEL GIVES BACK porate the cultures his students bring to the table into teaching demos and menu items, such as hand pies with berbere spice and peanut sauce (East and West Africa) and potato salad with Svanetian salt (Georgia). Tour operator Harris wants his students to feel empowered to share those influences—with OneSeed Expeditions has him, their teammates, and future employers: “We are providing them the underdispensed standing that they have the power, the ability, the obligation to add to this conversation of food in the city,” he says. “They bring not just the education that they’ve received, but all their experience with them—and it’s an important addition.” “The experience was amazing,” says recent graduate Jonathan Escobar, who microloans to local entrepreneurs emigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala three years ago, before he spoke any English. globally— “It helped me learn how to get jobs and helped me to be more confident in myself.” all funded by 10 One way for the public to see that confidence in action is to experience a class’s percent of trip revenue. graduation dinner. (Check emmastorch.org for dates and tickets.) For his graduation dinner, Escobar prepared Guatemalan fiambre, a bright rainbow of a salad with About vegetables, meats, and cheeses that meant a lot to him in his childhood. “I wanted to show my culture,” he says, “and how important it is for us that we don’t forget where we come from.” Once they’re out in the field, Emma’s Torch students continue to influence of the recipients are women. New York City’s culinary scene. Graduate Thu Pham created a Vietnamese pizza for James Beard–recognized Brooklyn restaurant Olmsted while she worked there. And Naseema Bachsi, who fl d Afghanistan, is the head chef at Sahadi’s, the city’s legendary Middle Eastern grocery and prepared-food purveyor. “Our students have done such a phenomenal job in the workforce that it’s created a reputation,” Brodie says. “In every kitchen they enter, they’re entering equipped with skills of self advocacy, [and] with confidence that they can share their knowledge and their expertise. I think that changes the dynamics of kitchens—that diversity is a value that impacts everyone.” Chef Alex agrees: Food really can break down walls and allow people to see each other and treat each other differently, he says. “Cooking can change the world and change people’s hearts. Hopefully, that’s what’s going on, one student at a time.”

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BIRRUNGA GALLERY & DINING Brisbane City, Australia An Indigenous-owned art gallery, café, and wine bar, Birrunga supports emerging talent and also runs a charity that provides pre- and post-release support for Indigenous prisoners. Don’t miss the café’s spin on Native Australian bush food: Think kangaroo and emu sliders. birrunga.com.au THE BLACK BULL GARTMORE Loch Lomond, Scotland The Black Bull literally gives back to the community—because the community owns it. In 2019, Gartmore’s 350 villagers collectively purchased the historic inn, and it now sustains visitors with locally sourced seafood and residents with local work and pride. blackbullgartmore.com SWEET JORDAN’S Paris, Tennessee As an adult living with Down syndrome, Jordan St. John discovered he loved baking but had limited opportunities. So he and his parents created their own bakery. Today, their dessert and coffee shop employs aproximately 30 special-needs adults, and its cookies and brownies are nearly as popular as the staff. sweetjordans.com

MI CHAEL GEORGE

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TRA VEL IN A CLIMATE CRISIS

No place is immune to the effects of extreme weather. But travelers can be part of the solution when they visit the right way.

by S A L L Y K O H N

However, Albert has seen crises alleviated by attentive donors mobilizing to donate water purification systems or even solar panels on a trailer to help communities get back on their feet. Instead of volunteering during a trip, it might be more useful to organize friends back home to sponsor such donations.

Build relationships Parachuting into a place never makes for an authentic travel experience, but it can be especially problematic in the wake of climate disasters. Call ahead or reach out to locals on social media to get a sense of how they’re feeling about tourists and to manage your expectations if you do decide to travel.

Listen and share

WILDFIRES. HURRICANES. DROUGHTS. As climate disasters increase in intensity everywhere on the planet, how do we navigate as caring, conscientious travelers? Obviously, showing up in the days after a disaster and expecting to be waited on would be worse than insensitive, almost imperialistic, but what about in the months and years afterward? How can you not merely avoid being an inconvenient burden as a tourist but actually have a positive impact as a traveler in the aftermath of disasters? “Generally it’s really positive to go, because most places that need to get back on their feet depend on the part of their economy that draws tourists in,” says Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Force, an organization that supports essential workers in disaster response and recovery. Still, how do you show up with sensitivity and do more good than harm? Here are a few things to consider.

Donate wisely Consider donating to support local organizations that help after climate disasters—even before spending on travel. Just as you would research that noodle shop, do some digging to find on-theground organizations that will use your money to support community workers and projects.

Groups such as the Climate Justice Alliance and Grassroots International are great resources for identifying local, accountable outfits led by communities.

Spend locally Don’t show up immediately. Keep paying attention, to learn when the emergency and the post-crisis

recovery phase have passed, which often takes a few months, if not longer. When you do go, spend as much money as you can in locally owned businesses. A majority of the money spent on global chains leaves, but money spent on communities truly helps them rebuild.

And Volunteer Wisely You want to ensure that you’re actually helping—not creating more work. “Reach out to community groups before you go and ask them how you can be of support,” suggests Bineshi Albert, co-executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance and a member of the Yuchi and Anishinaabe tribes, who is based in Oklahoma. That’s better than “just showing up and [asking them] to find work for you,” she adds. She’s had to stop doing valuable recovery work in order to find work for volunteers.

“Be genuinely curious about how people are doing,” Soni advises. “Just like you would if you were visiting someone who was sick, you’d ask, ‘How are you doing now?’ and you’d mean it.” And then share what you learn. Climate disasters devastate communities for years, but media attention doesn’t last long. Through social media networks, helping others understand the challenges can help communities feel seen and supported as they continue to recover.

TRAVEL GIVES BACK

26,325 people benefiting from clean water thanks to Blue Mission’s projects run in tandem with locals and volunteer travelers.

The wonder and joy of a tree house can be yours again. At the green o, your hideaway awaits, with luxury Tree Haus accommodations that would make the eight-year-old you drool. And that’s to say nothing of the cuisine. From foie gras to cedar plank salmon to a wine list for the oenophile in all of us, your stay will be full of gastronomic touches that the world’s best hotels can’t touch. So join us among 37,000 acres of the most beautiful, and unspoiled, nature in the world. You’ll be as giddy as a child.

R E M OT E . R E F I N E D.

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MAKE YOUR

VISIT COUNT

Here are three places where your travel dollars will go further to help destinations.

CHINA

In an arid, history-filled landscape about 700 miles southwest of Beijing, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region sits along the ancient Silk Road and is filled with lively markets, as well as mosques that serve the area’s sizeable population of Hui Muslims. Today, an emerging wine scene in the province has slowly been putting the destination on the travel map. An itinerary with tour operator WildChina allows visitors to explore and support the nascent wine industry and provides glimpses of the area’s culture-rich heritage, including a visit to the imperial tombs of the Tangut people dating back to 1038 C.E.

KYRGYZSTAN

by J E N N I F E R F L O W E R S

Before the pandemic, the combination of untouched mountain landscapes, centuries-old nomadic culture, and visa-free travel had begun to lure more travelers ff the beaten path to Kyrgyzstan. However, even in a good year, this Central Asian country’s tourism season is limited, due largely to heavy winter snowfall entailing road closures for several months. It poses a challenge to visitation numbers— but that means your trip will have a bigger impact on communities that struggle to get through cold winters and cyclical droughts. A trip with Steppes Travel, the U.K.-based purpose-driven travel company, often includes horseback rides, individual encounters with seminomadic people, and yurt stays by one of the country’s nearly 2,000 picturesque lakes.

TRAVEL GIVES BACK

48,870

acres of Peruvian greenery kept from deforestation by a Conservation International project—funded in part by carbon offsets purchased by travelers.

U.K.-based tour operator Steppes Travel offers trips focused on nomadic culture in Kyrgyzstan.

ELL IOTT VERDI ER

Un ug HARD

Escape

HARD

U N P LU G H A R D. E S CA P E H A R D. Peace of mind and change of scenery is right around the corner. Book early and get up to 50% off your trip to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels of Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

V I S I T H R H A L L I N C L U S I V E .CO M O R CO N TA C T YO U R P R E F E R R E D T R AV E L P R O F E S S I O N A L

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TRAVEL AS A FORCE FOR GOOD

The Torngat Mountains Base Camp and Research Station is located at the edge of Saglek Fjord.

CANADA

TRAVEL GIVES BACK

152

villages electrified by Global Himalayan Expedition since 2014, with

67,000 lives improved and 35 tons of CO2 offset by replacing kerosene oil with solar power.

When Canada reopened its borders to vaccinated travelers from the United States in August 2021, it offered hope to the country’s devastated tourism industry. U.S. visitors, who make up the second largest visitor count after Canadian tourists, spend more than twice the amount Canadians do on overnight trips within the country. But as he watched another wave of COVID cases slow travel’s recovery again, Keith Henry, president and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, feared his constituents would suffer the most—especially if a lack of visitors might lead some Indigenous travel professionals to abandon the industry. “The entrepreneurs we work with are our cultural ambassadors, and when they leave, they don’t just take the business,” says Henry, a member of the Métis Nation whose organization provides marketing and support to 842 Indigenous-owned businesses. “They take their cultural expertise with them, too.” In 2019, Indigenous tourism accounted for an estimated $1.9 billion in Canadian dollars of direct GDP and employed at least 36,000 workers. Since the pandemic began, Indigenous tourism has lost more

than $1.1 billion in sales and numbered about 20,000 workers at the peak of business in 2021. Unique hurdles for many members include their locations—in harder-to-reach areas—and the complexity of applying federal relief to the approximately 35 percent of Indigenous businesses that operate on reserve land. In response to the many challenges of resuscitating Indigenous tourism, the organization launched destinationindigenous.ca to put travelers directly in touch with businesses. Guests can explore the rugged landscape of Torngat Mountains Base Camp, which is located on Inuit land in the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador and aims to reopen in summer 2022. They can take a guided boat excursion to the iceberg-filled fjords or hike to pristine waterfalls. In British Columbia, the First Nations– owned Talaysay Tours in Vancouver offers a Talking Trees Hike, a cultural and nature tour in the city’s Stanley Park with a member of the Coast Salish people. Guests can pair the experience with a stay in the city’s Skwachàys Lodge, a hotel owned by the Vancouver Native Housing Society, where a portion of the proceeds from a guest’s stay supports the organization’s Indigenous artist-in-residence program.

DAVE HO WELLS

CHOOSE YOUR OWN

(GREENER, BETTER) ADVENTURE A step-by-step guide to planning a more sustainable trip.

HOW DO I GET THERE?

by K A T H E R I N E L A G R A V E

I’ve gotta

FLY!

WHERE SHOULD I GO? Have you considered

EUROPE? The world’s 10 most climate-conscious countries are all in Europe:

I’m ready for a

ROAD TRIP! How about a train trip instead?

The CO2 emissions of an average Eurail trip are about three times less per person than traveling the same route by car.

Can you get there via train? Amtrak is 34 percent more energy efficient than domestic air travel.

I’d prefer a

DENMARK • NORWAY

TRAIN.

SWITZERL AND • FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM • AUSTRIA FINL AND • SWEDEN LUXEMBOURG • GERMANY

1. Spring for an electric vehicle or hybrid model. But know that the way you drive can be just as important as what you drive.

Want to stay closer to

HOME? These are the 10 greenest U.S. states: MARYL AND • NEW YORK MASSACHUSET TS • HAWAI‘I OREGON • MINNESOTA WASHINGTON • CALIFORNIA CONNEC TICUT • VERMONT

2. Fill ’er up. The average vehicle on the road only carries one or two passengers, so a full car is a happy car. Consider car-sharing. 3. Pay tolls electronically. Idling not only generates more emissions than driving, it wastes fuel, too. 4. Don’t floor it. One second of high-powered driving can produce nearly the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as a half hour of normal driving. 5. Skip the speeding. Believe it or not, slowing down will increase your fuel economy and decrease tailpipe pollution: win-win.

I’ll take a

BUS.

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WHERE SHOULD I STAY? Book via Ecobnb. This ecoconscious marketplace has clear sustainability requirements for all properties listed.

I don’t want to make my bed on vacation.

HOTEL IT IS!

I need freedom and space.

RENTALS!

Review the sustainability section. Make sure that the claims of the hotel go beyond just recycling and not changing the sheets every day. Look for certificates from independent certifying bodies. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), for example, accredits and recognizes certification programs for both hotels and tour operators.

Read the fine print. Now 88 percent of Airbnb hosts say they incorporate “green practices” such as composting and using safer-for-theenvironment cleaning products.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Hotels and homeshares that are truly working to protect the environment and support the local community should be happy to share their practices and their progress. HOT TIP!

1. Skip the multi-leg trip. Taking off uses more fuel than cruising, so direct flights typically have lower emissions. 2. Settle for coach on long flights. Carbon emissions per passenger are about three times higher for business class and four times higher for first class.

1. Go electric. Read up on the type of rail. If it’s electric, excellent—but if its power source is fossil fuel, you may have some more carbon offsetting to do.

3. Don’t dismiss budget. Low-cost carriers such as Southwest are some of the most fuel efficient, because they have lightweight seats and tray tables— and because their planes are often fuller.

2. Embrace the crowds. Consider traveling during rush hour: The more heavily trafficked a public transit vehicle is, the more environmentally friendly the trip.

4. Choose your aircraft wisely. For transpacific flights, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 are the most fuel efficient.

3. Take it slow. Regional trains with frequent stops use less fuel than high-speed trains.

5. Check the fuel gauge. Boeing announced in January that it would have planes capable of flying on 100 percent sustainable fuel by 2030.

1. Take the scenic route. An average Greyhound bus can hold 55 passengers and releases less fuel than a train. The company serves 2,400 destinations across North America. 2. Treat yourself. Budget bus services like Megabus may have $1 tickets, but others lean into luxury: Vonlane, which connects Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, offers seats that are wider than those in an airplane’s firstclass cabin and have a 150-degree recline. 3. Go electric. Of the world’s approximately 500,000 electric buses, 98 percent are in Chinese cities. The European e-bus market is booming, though: The Netherlands, in particular, is leading the way.

Offset your carbon. Crunch your damage at carbonfund. org, and plant trees through a verified service, such as the Arbor Day Foundation’s carbon-credit program or the National Forest Foundation’s Carbon Capital Fund. HOT TIP!

You’ve Arrived!

Night hike in Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park Located in an area that’s home to the highest tides in the world, these otherworldly rock formations are covered in water except at low tide, when you can walk right out onto the seabed and see them up close. The tides rise quickly, so enjoy while you can before Mother Nature returns them to the ocean. Canada. North of your expectations. BoundlessCanada.com

THIS EVENING

IN NEW BRUNSWICK

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TRIPS WITH A PURPOSE

Imagine sharing your skill set with locals while on vacation— and learning from them at the same time. These travel experiences empower everyone involved.

by H O L L Y T U P P E N

with Orbis and learned everything from financial management and bookkeeping skills to social media and how to refine our elevator pitch,” Kunashe says. Thanks to the events, she has been able to expand production and get donor communities on board. In 2022, Orbis’s Impact Expeditions will take travelers to Malawi, Bali, Colombia, and Jordan.

Kasbah du Toubkal MOROCCO

So high up into the Atlas Mountains that the last few hundred yards of the journey there involve hiking with mules, Kasbah du Toubkal has long stood as a beacon of responsible community tourism. The lodge may not be locally owned, but once the Kasbah’s U.K. owners reconstructed the building, they handed the running and responsibility of the lodge over to the neighboring Berber community. Unlike the arrangement in other operations, no expats are running the show behind the scenes, and all employees are local. The result is a genuine slice of Berber hospitality, from the date dipping and rosewater ceremonies on arrival to a low level of hierarchy among staff. Another aspect that sets the Kasbah apart is the 5 percent community fee added to bookings. This income helps improve infrastructure through the local Association Bassins d’Imlil; it’s funded a new ambulance service, trash collection, and a community hammam. Recently, a portion of this fee has gone to the charity Education For All, which provides

Orbis Expeditions MAL AWI

Traditional voluntourism often revolves around a handout mentality that can do more harm than good by creating dependency and taking away jobs. However, Orbis Expeditions’ Women’s Partnership Challenge trip to Malawi carefully matches visitor skills with female entrepreneurs to foster exchange and connection that leaves a lasting impression on both. A highlight of the 11-day trip, which includes hiking on Mount Mulanje, a tea plantation stay, and a night spent on a Lake Malawi island: the Entrepreneurs Business Workshops in Blantyre where a dozen or so travelers and locals share their skill sets—accounting, marketing, and more. Trinitas Kunashe is one woman who benefited from the experience. She’s the CEO and founder of Tina Pads, which makes and provides reusable cloth menstrual pads to schoolgirls who would otherwise be unable to go to school once a month. “I’ve attended seven workshops

The Sumba Hospitality Foundation helps support local rice growers.

MAL IN FEZEHAI

PUT MEANING ON THE MAP. Travel with Purpose Across North America. As travelers, we all want rich, authentic, and meaningful travel experiences. As travel professionals, we want to ensure we use travel as a force for good. Through the Meaningful Travel Map of North America, visitors can connect to locally owned social and environmental impact experiences and opportunities, unique and hands-on cultural experiences, products, and services. Put your place on the map at

www.meaningfultravelplatform.org/main/map

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safe boardinghouses for girls from rural villages to attend school. Each year, around 200 girls benefit from the facilities, and this year’s graduating cohort celebrated a 92 percent pass rate (compared to a national average of just 68 percent).

Maringi Sumba SUMBA ISL AND, INDONESIA

With rolling surf, thatched villages, and ancient traditions including ikat weaving and the ritualistic Pasola mock battle festival, Sumba island in the east of Indonesia may seem like a land undisturbed by tourism. However, that’s far from the truth. In recent years, speculators with deep pockets have arrived—approximately 60 percent of

TRAVEL AS A FORCE FOR GOOD

TRAVEL GIVES BACK

3,500

fragments of coral nurtured via a reef project co-run by the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo

the island has been bought by foreigners at low prices, and at no benefit to locals, Belgian philanthropist Inge De Lathauwer estimates. Recognizing the danger of exploitation, she founded the Maringi Eco Resort—since renamed Maringi Sumba—and Sumba Hospitality Foundation (SHF) in 2016, a hotel and school that trains Sumba locals in hospitality skills. The foundation aims to upskill locals so they benefit from tourism. Recent graduate Alejheandrew Lhoist Syach remarks, “At SHF, they taught me to fight for myself and deal with my problems. I received so many opportunities and even worked at a nearby five-star hotel. It is important because we locals have things we want to express but don’t have the skills to share them.” The hotel’s five bamboo pavilions and four pool villas finance the school and allow guests to engage with the hospitality trainees, much like a teaching hospital. Visitors can walk around the permaculture gardens or support the students with conversational English. Maringi Sumba also features a spa and on-site yoga classes.

Awamaki PERU

Founded on the principle that income in the hands of women uplifts whole communities, Awamaki improves educational opportunities for the next generation and tackles climate-related issues including overpopulation. The nonprofit’s approach is two-pronged. First, by working with women’s artisan cooperatives in the Patacancha Valley above Ollantaytambo (near the Sacred Valley of the Incas), Awamaki provides technical and administrative skills and a link to the global marketplace via an online shop. Second, it works with willing rural communities to develop a low-impact tourism product that fits around childcare and agricultural schedules. Experiences include a weaving demonstration and a lunch featuring food cooked in a traditional Quechan Pachamanca “earth oven.” A Sustainable Tourism program prepares the community for tourists, covering a number of topics including how to prepare food safely and create comfortable homestays. Before joining the Awamaki program, none of the local women made as much money as their husbands; after the program, 60 percent do. “Tourism has helped us realize that our culture is interesting to people outside of our community, and this helps younger people want to learn more about weaving,” says Jesusa Puma from Huilloc Alto. “It’s helping to keep the culture alive.”

Yolanda Yupanqui, a Quechua weaver from the village of Patacancha, works on a backstrap loom.

Holly Tuppen is the author of Sustainable Travel: The Essential Guide to Positive-Impact Adventures, which offers advice on reducing your carbon footprint and supporting those who need tourism dollars the most.

CO URTES Y OF AW AMAKI

THIS EVENING Sugar shack at Sucrerie de la Montagne Known as a sugar shack (or “cabane à sucre” in French), this beloved Quebecois tradition is tied to the annual maple syrup harvest. After a hearty meal bathed in the liquid gold, you can dance to folk tunes or curl up beside a fire for a well deserved pause from the day. Canada. North of your expectations. BoundlessCanada.com

IN QUEBEC

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EAT, READ, TRAVEL A new collection of food books offers fresh ways to taste the world. by A I S L Y N G R E E N E Photograph by H E A M I L E E

Taste Makers November 2021, W.W. Norton & Company Mayukh Sen set out to write about immigration through the lens of food and wound up chronicling seven immigrant women who changed the way people in the United States eat—and were, in some cases, all but lost to history. Meet Chao Yang Buwei, who wrote the first American guide to Chinese cooking and popularized terms like “stir fry”; Elena Zelayeta, who deftly fused the flavors of her home country, Mexico, with those of her adopted state, California; and the progressive French chef Madeleine Kamman, whom the food media pitted against Julia Child. Exploring their legacies, you can’t help but ask yourself, as Sen does: Whose trailblazing stories are valued in America, and whose are overlooked—and why?

Flavors of the Sun September 2021, Chronicle Books For 73 years, Sahadi’s in New York City has sold Middle Eastern foods and ingredients—long before the cuisine exploded in popularity in the U.S. In her new cookbook, Christine Sahadi Whelan, a member of the fourth generation to work in the family business, showcases simple, homey dishes that highlight those foods and ingredients. Along with recipes for kale salad with date-syrup dressing and halvah-studded chocolate chunk cookies, readers gain insights into New York’s longest-running specialty food store.

The Latin American Cookbook

Filipinx

Black Food

New Native Kitchen

October 2021, Abrams

October 2021, 4 Color Books

October 2021, Abrams

Don’t expect an encyclopedic approach toward Filipino cuisine from this cookbook. Instead, Filipinx chronicles the journey of chef Angela Dimayuga, a firstgeneration American raised in San Jose, California. Working with New York Times food writer and critic Ligaya Mishan, Dimayuga researched the recipes she inherited from her family— such as the potato croquettes her mother once made and savory bistek, the signature beef dish of her lola (grandmother). She also added her own inventions: a coconut milk–infused take on chicken adobo, for example. It’s a cookbook, yes, but also an exploration of identity through food shaped by place.

How can you not be moved by a book with chapters titled “Land, Liberation & Food Justice” and “Radical Self-Care”? Such is the beauty of chef and food activist Bryant Terry’s new tome, Black Food. There are recipes (baker Erika Council’s vegan sweet potato biscuits; chef Nina Compton’s lentil, okra, and coconut stew), all prefaced with nuggets of history and memory, but this book goes much further. It’s a tribute to the Black diaspora, with essays, poems, illustrations, and collages from such luminaries as Michael W. Twitty and Jessica B. Harris. Contributions also touch on food beyond the dinner table: an okra-based ancestral bathing practice, the South African village pushing back against industrial farming, and more.

Until 2021, chef Freddie Bitsoie helmed the kitchen of Mitsitam Native Foods Café at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. There he celebrated Indigenous food throughout the Americas, serving wild rice salad and cedar-planked salmon. In The New Native Kitchen he brings those recipes to home chefs, offering 100 dishes culled from history. Try your hand at cherrystone clam soup from the Northeastern Wampanoag and spice-rubbed pork tenderloin from the Pueblo peoples. Rounding out the book are historical details, suggestions for ingredient sourcing, and illustrations from Native artist Gabriella Trujillo.

October 2021, Phaidon This volume isn’t just a cookbook— it’s a historical and culinary map of Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina. Your guide: chef Virgilio Martínez, who grew up in Peru and now runs Mater Iniciativa, a research center in Lima that investigates Latin American food. Martínez traveled throughout the Americas researching hundreds of regional specialities and then combined the recipes under main dishes and ingredients: Honduran tacos (under corn), Chilean beef tartare toast (sandwiches); and even Peruvian alpaca in spicy sauce (Native meats and insects).

Sambal Shiok

P RO P STYL ING BY REBECCA BARTO SHESKY

October 2021, Hardie Grant In her bible-like cookbook, chef Mandy Yin takes us on a journey through Malaysia, her home country, to celebrate its diversity and the many influences on its cuisine, which include the Indigenous Malay people and immigrants from China and India. She dips into childhood memories (“all conversations seemed to come back to what the next meal was going to be”) and the first dish she created after leaving a law practice to open a restaurant (a juicy chicken satay burger). Recipes abound, from Yin’s famous vegan laksa to hawker-center favorite Hainanese chicken rice. She ends, deliciously, with a travel guide to essential restaurants in Malaysia.

YOU DON’T JUST NEED A VACATION. YOU NEED AN RV.

GO ON A REAL VACATION

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CITY SPIRIT Welcome to author Louise Erdrich’s Minneapolis. as told to A I S L Y N G R E E N E Photographs by J A I D A G R E Y E A G L E

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IN HER L ATEST NOVEL, The Sentence (November 2021, HarperCollins), Pulitzer Prize–winning author Louise Erdrich chronicles the relationship between Tookie, a formerly incarcerated Ojibwe woman, and the ghost of a white woman haunting the Minneapolis bookstore where Tookie works—a store modeled after Erdrich’s own Birchbark Books. A member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and a resident of Minneapolis for more than 20 years, Erdrich shares her inspiration for the novel, her love of the city’s green spaces, and what it feels like to run a bookstore during the pandemic. (Hint: better than you’d expect!)

The pandemic and the protests that gripped Minneapolis following George Floyd’s murder are central to your new novel. Did you start writing The Sentence before or after the pandemic began? Had you already decided to weave in current events? LOUISE ERDRICH I started The Sentence six or seven years ago. This book was going to be a ghost story set in a bookstore, with one of the booksellers contending with the haunting. I kept getting stuck because it was set in real time. I am not a journalist, so writing about things as they happen and trying to get perspective is a challenge. Finally, in November 2019, I decided that I would start the book again and no matter what, I would not give up. Then 2020 happened. I tried to remember that I didn’t need to have a professional take on events,

AISLYN GREENE

Previous page: A member of the Twin Cities– based Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli, an Aztec dance group, performs a prayer.

and in fact that would kill the story. This was not an op-ed. I needed to write how things happened and how my characters experienced them. For better or worse, that’s what I did. Throughout the novel, we get glimpses into places in Minneapolis—Pow Wow Grounds, Migizi—that are true to life. What are some of your go-to spots in the city? LOUISE Aside from Theodore Wirth Regional Park, some of my favorite places in Minneapolis–St. Paul include the Minnesota History Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which has an extraordinary painting by Rembrandt (Lucretia), as well as terrific collections of Chinese art, contemporary art, and Native art. I also love the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and its renovation in 2017, which was overseen by [art curator] Olga Viso. One of my favorite pieces is a cottonwood tree, considered very significant by the Dakota people and also planted during an art project inspired by Joseph Beuys [that saw the planting of 7,000 trees throughout Minnesota from 1982 to 1987]. In the branches of this cottonwood tree hang wind chimes, [each tuned to a different note from] a piece by John Cage, [with the AISLYN

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and even religious organizations to use parkland for private purposes. So the future of the system (ever more important, as the health and well-being of humans is directly related to existing in nature) rests with our Park and Recreation Board, which is independent from the city but is sometimes overruled by local and state interests. I am an advocate for as much green space in a city as possible, as well as a vibrant forest canopy of mature trees. It is one way to fight climate change. Given the novel’s debate about the best wild rice, what’s your favorite wild rice grown in Minnesota? LOUISE I would never reveal my favorite wild rice!

AISLYN

What would you like travelers to know about the city you call home? LOUISE I would like visitors to know that we are situated on the stunningly beautiful banks of the Mississippi, and also that the Mississippi is

AISLYN

Opposite page: The cottonwood tree with wind chimes in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. This page: Ingredients at Gatherings Cafe.

wind] playing a concert night and day. A new piece of sculpture by the Dakota artist Angela Two Stars will be dedicated soon, and there is an enigmatic structure, Black Vessel for a Saint, by Theaster Gates. The pandemic has reshaped our cities—where do you think Minneapolis is headed? LOUISE I love how Minneapolis–St. Paul is becoming known for Indigenous food. Some of my favorites: Indigenous Food Lab, Pow Wow Grounds, Gatherings Cafe. I’m looking forward to Owamni, a new restaurant from Sean Sherman (also known as the Sioux Chef). One thing that has shifted more during the pandemic is the giant trend toward Amazon, and a withering of wonderful small businesses. It dismays me to see so many small empty storefronts now. Small businesses are the life and vitality of communities. Maybe the government should tax Amazon and use the money to bail out small businesses. AISLYN

You are also a character in the book, which is surprising and amusing: Is the Louise of The Sentence similar to the Louise outside of the book? LOUISE Making myself a character in this book was much harder than I thought. It is sad but true: Louise cleaning up a horrifying mess under the sink is from real life. I put this in because women artists have always been stuck with these tasks, and we do them, then get right back to art.

AISLYN

Nature also functions as a character. I love the moments when Tookie is listening to owls or walking home in the cold. What do Minnesota’s natural spaces mean to you? LOUISE Minneapolis had the good fortune of having an early visionary park planner, Theodore Wirth, who believed that parks are the most important aspects of cities and no resident should live farther than a mile from a park. Therefore Minneapolis is known as the city with the best park system in the U.S. There is always huge pressure from developers

AISLYN

“I am an advocate for as much green space in a city as possible, as well as a vibrant forest canopy of mature trees. It is one way to fight climate change.” endangered by Line 3, an unnecessary and unbelievably carbon-intensive oil pipeline crossing beneath its headwaters. Throughout the novel, we trace the journey of a fictional Minneapolis bookstore as it, surprisingly, thrives during the pandemic, thanks to online and phone orders. At one point, Tookie says, “We were absolutely unprepared to be loved.” Did this reflect your own experience with Birchbark Books? LOUISE The way our business changed was the way the fictional store’s business changed. And we did feel loved. It was one of the solaces during the isolation—just knowing that we were important to other people. AISLYN

Author Louise Erdrich has written more than a dozen novels, including The Sentence and The Night Watchman, inspired by her grandfather, a night watchman who fought the displacement of Native peoples in the 1950s.

GO WHERE THE ROAD TAKES YOU. AND THEN SOME.

GO ON A REAL VACATION

AFAR

TURKISH DELIGHT A love letter to the country’s ultimate comfort food: bite-size dumplings known as manti.

by A N Y A V O N B R E M Z E N Photographs by C O L E W I L S O N

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and I’m a dumplingholic. When I’m not dosing on Tibetan momos in my New York City neighborhood, you’ll find me queuing for har gow at my favorite dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. Or you’ll catch me daydreaming about dumplings past: the lacy-edged yaki gyoza I devoured in the drizzly Japanese countryside and the rich tortellini I spooned up at Osteria Francescana, chef Massimo Bottura’s legendary restaurant in Modena, Italy. I’m Russian, so my blood loyalty is to pelmeni, our quarter-size, meat-filled Siberian beauties. But that Slavic allegiance wavers each time I arrive in Istanbul, primed for another rendezvous with pelmeni’s tiny Turkish cousins: manti. I first encountered manti—meat-filled dumplings in a yogurt and butter sauce, the country’s favorite comfort food—on my initial trip to Istanbul in the mid-1980s. The setting was Liman, a classic lokanta (homey restaurant) overlooking Istanbul’s port, where a kerchiefed matron splashed my hands with rosewater before I sat down. My order arrived, a deep bowl of lamb-filled parcels the size of thimbles, blanketed in warmed yogurt, bracing and tart. The elderly waiter slowly drizzled the manti with butter infused with tomato paste, then sprinkled them with dried mint and thyme, and hot, fragrant Turkish red peppers. The dish was more than just dumplings. It was a spoonable masterpiece, each bite delivering the perfect proportion of toothsome dough, savory meat, and herbed yogurt. Outside Liman’s windows, a Russian tanker glided slowly up the Bosporus, bound for the Black Sea. In my own private mythology of how I wound up buying an apartment in Istanbul two decades later, manti— served up with a dreamy Bosporus view—play a huge role. Modern Istanbul cuisine is a postimperial Ottoman hodgepodge with Balkan, Greek, Armenian, and many other influences. But manti’s archetypal mix of dough, meat, yogurt, and butter is truly Turkic, a souvenir of Turkey’s distant nomadic pastoral past. According to historians, in the 13th century fierce Turkic and Mongol HELLO, MY NAME IS ANYA

Previous page: At Yeni Lokanta, manti arrive topped with ginger and pomegranate molasses. This page, from top: A city view; servers at Özkonak.

Where to Eat Manti in Istanbul A dumplingholic’s guide to the best of the best. Y E N I L O K A N TA

At his modern Turkish restaurant just off a pedestrian corridor in the central Beyoğlu district, chef Civan Er sometimes presents his manti on antique copper dishes made by Armenian artisans. The dumplings are filled with meaty dried eggplant, bathed in a salted yogurt from the southeastern Hatay region, and accented with ginger and pomegranate molasses. MIKLA

Manti are always on the menu at Mikla, chef Mehmet Gürs’s panoramic spot on the top floor of the Marmara Pera hotel in the Beyoğlu district. Whole wheat dough is stuffed with lamb braised for 12 hours—or with vegetables—and surrounded by a foam made from smoked buffalo yogurt and flavorful roasted tomatoes. Ö Z KO N A K

This page: Özkonak’s yogurttopped manti. Next page: Özkonak during the lunch rush.

horsemen left Asia for Anatolia—the peninsula that connects Turkey to Asia—to cultivate trade and diplomacy along the Silk Road, leaving meat-filled wheat-flour dumplings in their wake. (Among Turkish manti’s other cousins are Korean mandu, Chinese mantou, and Uzbek manti.) From the records of Topkapi Palace, the abode of Ottoman sultans for over four centuries, we know that Sultan Mehmed II, conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople in 1453, was so manti-mad he allegedly gobbled them for breakfast for 28 days! (Selam, fellow dumplingholic.)

For a traditional version of manti, head to this Old World esnaf lokanta (tradesmen’s tavern) in the bohemian Cihangir quarter. Open only for lunch, Özkonak makes manti topped with housemade yogurt and a flourish of infused butter. The restaurant is also famous for its Ottoman milk puddings, so don’t skip dessert.

Centuries later, Turks regard manti as nostalgia in a bowl, conjuring visions of aunts, cousins, and grandmas, their swift fingers a blur, shaping manti while gossiping. “To every Turk, their mom’s manti are best,” explained the gifted chef Civan Er on my prepandemic manti-intensive visit to Istanbul. “But manti are also ideal hangover food,” he added. “All those rich carbs, meat, and yogurt!” Currently, as Istanbul chefs turn to their Anatolian roots, manti are experiencing a glamorous revival, one I was

The dish was more than just dumplings. It was a spoonable masterpiece, each bite delivering the perfect proportion of toothsome dough, savory meat, and herbed yogurt. determined to savor on a dumpling tour of the city. At Yeni Lokanta, Er’s chic new-wave meze spot in the central Beyoğlu district, he fills his ravioli-shaped manti with dried eggplant, creating an umami meatiness without any meat. His “secret” ingredient? Tuzlu yogurt, a goat-milk yogurt from the Hatay region near the Syrian border. “It makes

everything taste better,” Er promised. Blended with ginger, onion, and a little pomegranate molasses and dotted with chili and parsley oils, the yogurt sauce was so good, I almost forgot about the dumplings themselves. My next stop was the dazzlingly panoramic Mikla, one of the handful of Turkish restaurants on the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, with views of the entire city. Mikla employs a full-time anthropologist to source its ingredients. “It took us months to develop our manti recipe,” declared chef Mehmet Gürs, Mikla’s Swedish Turkish owner, “and tons of thought and technique.” I was ushered to a window table to taste the result: a concentrated bomb of Anatolian fl vors in a package the size of a baby’s fist, with a whole wheat dough and a rich filling of shredded, slow-cooked lamb shank. The manti came topped with roasted tomatoes, a sauce of house-made raw buffalomilk yogurt aerated into an ethereal foam, and a final touch of spiced sheep-milk butter. As I lingered over the last bites, gazing out at the evening panorama of Ottoman-era mosques twinkling below, I relished my good fortune. Because, for a dumplingholic like me, Istanbul just might be the ultimate city.

@gcalebjones

Georgia isn’t some place you see. It’s somewhere you feel—an experience that’s completely your own. It’s less about snapping pictures and more about making moments worthy of them. It’s about the wonders and waterfalls, ready to be explored together. It’s that instant in the mountains where you realize there’s nothing on your mind, but the beauty set before you. The family adventures across the state, leading to stories and shared memories. You’re ready for a Georgia getaway this fall. ExploreGeorgia.org.

GOOD EVIL VS

In Hindu mythology, avatars are considered to be the earthly incarnation of deities. During the Indian festival of Dussehra, you can walk among them. by M A E H A M I L T O N Photographs by S U M I T D A Y A L

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in the town of Tiruchendur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, local men dress up in elaborate costumes to celebrate Dussehra, a Hindu festival that honors the victory of good over evil. Also known as Vijayadashami in India’s eastern and northeastern regions, the holiday is observed with fireworks, reenactments of scenes from Hindu mythology, and feasts offering dishes like kebabs, kofta, and khoya tarts. In 2017 Sumit Dayal, a photographer based in New Delhi and Kashmir, chronicled the celebration, which represents a symbolic fresh start. During Dussehra, “locals find common ground to connect with each other and their roots through traditions passed down for generations,” Dayal says. “The final scenes end with rituals on a beach, [which] allow people from outside to witness and partake in this festival.”

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For years, we’ve shared our stories with you—now it’s your turn. In the second season of our podcast, Travel Tales by AFAR, we’re excited to share epic, funny, transformational, or inspiring travel stories from our readers. That’s you! What’s that travel story you tell at parties? What travel experience has stuck with you, long after you returned home?

Got 3 Minutes? That’s All You Need to Tell Your Travel Tale

Go to afar.com/tinytraveltales for an easy guide to sharing your own Travel Tale. The submission period ends September 30, 2021.

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“Helping children made me aware of how blessed I am.”

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—Jared, a student who traveled to Ghana Learning AFAR

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Since 2009, Learning AFAR has transformed the lives and communities of thousands of disadvantaged students through the power of travel. With today’s challenges, your support makes the crucial diﬀerence in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.

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Is it possible to curb climate change through travel? On a 10-day trip to Brazil’s endangered Atlantic Forest, writer Eric Weiner explores the tricky issue of volunteer vacations, one sapling at a time.

photographs by María Magdalena Arréllaga illustrations by Vicki Ling

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The roads that lead out of Brazil’s Mata Atlântica, BRAZIL

RIO DE JANEIRO

MATA ATLÂNTICA

Previous spread: Biologist Manoel Muanis tends tree seedlings. Opposite page: The Guapiaçu Reserve protects more than 27,000 acres of Atlantic Forest.

the rain forest region called simply the Atlantic Forest, are winding and shrouded in green. As my driver negotiated the curves, towering tropical trees ticked by and I silently chronicled what I’d seen and done in the past 10 days. I had molded balls of rodent bait, a mealy mush of banana, powdered peanut candy, and oatmeal that felt and smelled how you’d expect such a concoction to feel and smell. I had collected seeds, planted seeds, replanted seeds, watered seeds, and done other things to seeds that I now cannot recall but at the time felt meaningful. I sweated more than I’d ever sweated in my life, even though I showered more than I’d ever showered. I had shared a habitat with 33 species of bats, 468 species of butterflies, and seemingly infinite species of ants, several of which scrambled up my left leg when I made the rookie mistake of standing still for more than 10 seconds. I had weighed and measured and photographed numerous mammals, including Rodents of Unusual Size. I had set animal traps. I had learned the difference between a Tomahawk trap and a Sherman trap and expunged slimy, encrusted lizard scat from both. I had ridden on the flatbed of an old blue pickup truck, the soft morning air caressing my skin. I had sampled, and thoroughly enjoyed, homemade caipirinhas. I had worked—with my hands. Not just any work, but demanding, dirt-under-your-fingernails, tropical-sun-on-your-head, mosquitoes-up-your-nose work. I was not paid for this work but had—and I realize this sounds bonkers—paid for the privilege of doing it. I had also enjoyed the work, for I knew that in some minuscule yet undeniable way I had made the world a better place: a slightly greener, cooler, healthier place. Prior to this January 2020 journey, I would not have thought any of this possible. To be honest, when I had booked the seven-day Wildlife and Reforestation trip with Earthwatch, an environmental nonprofit founded in 1971, the prospect of all this forest worried me. I am no child of nature, not even a

distant cousin. Over the decades, my few encounters with nature have not ended well—for either of us. When I rented my first apartment, in New York City, I decided it needed greenery and purchased several houseplants, which promptly died. “You kill plants,” my mother declared at the time, not so much as an accusation but as empirical fact. My Earthwatch trip was further complicated by the dark cumulonimbus hanging over the entire enterprise of “voluntourism.” As the name implies, voluntourism is a combination of tourism and volunteering. It is, depending on what you read, everything from a wholly noble endeavor— purpose-driven travel at its most purposeful—to a ruse meant to soothe the guilt of wealthy carbonemitters while simultaneously, and with great ffi ciency, relieving them of excess cash. The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in between. I’d hoped the critics were wrong. I had selected Earthwatch—whose mission is to address climate change by funding research around the world and allowing citizen scientists to join in—specifically because they seemed to do voluntourism “right.” I also hoped—and I realize this sounds sappy—to

Earthwatch biologists Manoel Muanis and Julian Willmer walk along a trail in the reserve to check on animal traps.

make a difference, to be the change I wanted to see in the world. Yet on day one, as I approached the Guapiaçu nature reserve at the foothills of the Atlantic Forest’s Serra dos Órgãos, where I would join the expedition team, I wondered: Am I fooling myself ? (It’s been known to happen.) Was this journey, so smothered in nature and thick with controversy, a terrible mistake? Turning down a dirt road, my driver and I arrived at a small compound of cement buildings and verandas shaded by wrought-iron roofing. I noticed a couple of old pickup trucks, a ping-pong table, and, on a bulletin board, photos of an odd-looking animal resembling the offspring of a cow and an anteater, and a warning: “Do not approach the tapirs!” I made a mental note to give these creatures, which a flyer on the bulletin board said can grow to 550 pounds, a wide berth. I was greeted by the expedition leaders: two Brazilian scientists who are conducting research on the more than 27,000-acre reserve. There was Julian, a lanky, ponytailed biologist, and Manoel, a shaggy-haired biologist. They exuded quiet confidence and enthusiasm for creatures large and small.

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They showed me to my accommodations—a simple cottage, exactly like those inhabited by Julian and Manoel, with no air-conditioning, only a lone ceiling fan that didn’t so much cool the air as stir it. I plopped down on the woodframe bed, closed my eyes, and fantasized about my postexpedition “recovery plan,” three days at a boutique hotel on Rio’s Ipanema Beach. Then I recalled what Julian had said when I’d mentioned my plan: “The recovering starts here, actually.” I had nodded knowingly. But I didn’t know, not yet. A couple hours later, I wandered to the canteen and met my fellow “citizen scientists.” (Earthwatch prefers that term to the more fraught “voluntourist.”) There was Summer, a sunny millennial from Las Vegas who works for the online retailer Zappos, drives a Tesla, and never met an Apple product she didn’t like; Crystal, who works at a supermarket in Michigan and likes her beer (“It’s Beer-30,” she’d say, whenever I asked her what time it was); Isabelle, a retired schoolteacher from Albuquerque; and Tim, from Lexington, Massachusetts, who is in his 60s but moves with the agility of a much younger man and displays the easy competence of the engineer he is. Five very different people, thrown together in a tropical wilderness with aggressive ants and giant tapirs—on a quixotic quest to save the planet, or at least a tiny corner of it.

That evening, Julian and Manoel briefed us on our mission. The Atlantic Forest is not as well-known as the Amazon, but it is equally impressive and vital to the planet’s wellbeing. It is a “hot spot,” a region high in biodiversity and under threat. Over the past few decades, the forest, which once covered Brazil’s coast and occupied parts of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, has shrunk by nearly 90 percent due to deforestation. The nature reserve is one of the remaining pockets of forest—and our job, they explained, was to support it in two ways: planting trees and monitoring mammal life. These twin undertakings are connected. Trees absorb carbon and release oxygen, making them natural air filters. Plant enough trees, some scientists believe, and you can cool the planet, or at least prevent it from growing any warmer. Mammals, on the other hand, help disperse seeds—nature’s gardeners—and are “a good indicator of the health of the ecosystem,” Manoel told us. He went on to detail one of our tasks, which was to set traps for rodents living in the dense forest so that Manoel

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and Julian could gauge the critters’ health and abundance—again, the idea being that a happy rodent means a happy forest. Then came the safety briefing. We were told to be alert for snakes, especially the five poisonous species and, of course, the tapirs. “Oh, and best to shake out your shoes in the morning,” Manoel said. “Dust?” I asked. “No, scorpions.” Not for the first or last time, I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. But our days soon fell into a routine. We woke early, ate breakfast, then prepared the bait for the animal traps. We lathered ourselves with sunscreen and insect repellent, filled our water bottles, then climbed into the back of a blue pickup truck and headed to the mammal study site. When we arrived, we trudged along a trail, sweat dripping from our brows. Some days, we’d set traps—a few outfitted with cameras—every 50 yards, gently placing the bait into the cage and covering it with a leaf. On other days, we checked the traps, in hopes of finding a small mammal. Some traps were untouched, with the bait still inside. In others, the bait was gone but no animal was captured. “They’re learning,” Manoel said. Some traps were knocked on their sides. Some contained lizards. Those didn’t count—not mammals. And sometimes we’d hit pay dirt, as we did one morning, two days into the expedition. “We’ve got one!” Summer cried out. Julian reached into his backpack and retrieved his tools: tweezers, scale, and a measuring tape. He arranged them neatly on a towel, like a surgeon preparing to operate. As he gently picked up the squirming rodent, called an agouti, a surprisingly cute little guy the size of my fist, I read through the checklist. Weight? Length? Parasites? Julian replied to each question and I wrote down his answers, scribbling as fast as I could, my sweat dripping onto the page. Then Julian deftly placed a little metal tag on the rodent’s ear and set it free. Most of the mammals we caught appeared to be healthy. It’s a good sign, Julian told us, because it means the ecosystem is thriving—the reforestation project is working. At one point, Julian reprimanded me for snapping photos rather than recording data, a reminder that this was not a vacation; it was serious work. We were needed. The project would be impossible

without the volunteers, Julian explained. It would take him and Manoel days to do the work our small group could accomplish in a few hours. True, we were not trained scientists; we were, though, extra hands and eyes, and that matters. Julian shared that, according to a study published in the journal Biological Conservation, the data collected by “citizen scientists” was every bit as good as that of trained professionals. In the afternoons, we planted trees near the mammal research center. This was hard work, too, but a different kind of hard. We were helping a group of professional foresters who were on a mission to repopulate the once dense woodland of the Atlantic Forest. While those pros have been working to reforest the nature reserve since 2005, they launched in 2020 an especially ambitious project to plant 200,000 trees by 2022, with the help of volunteers like me. The foresters collect the seeds of some 180 tree species from the surrounding forests, remove the outer casing, treat the seeds with a variety of nutrients, then plant them in a variety of soils and arrange them in nurseries, which trap the light and heat the plants need to flourish. The trees-in-waiting are moved and moved again, like young children graduating from elementary school to middle school to high school, and eventually released into the world—or, in the case of the trees, the Atlantic Forest. “We are still learning how forests grow,” shared one forester. “The seeds all have their own secrets.” Our job was to create homes for those mysterious seeds. We filled little plastic bags with dirt—sorry, soil—packing each one firm before wheeling the lot to a nursery for planting. The foresters watched our every move, quick to pounce on any mistakes. My work was held up as an example—of what not to do. Pack your soil tightly, not loosely (like I did); pack it uniformly, not . . . creatively (like I did). By the time

we wrapped up on our first day, we had planted the seeds of about 300 trees. It was a start. In the evenings, we reviewed the data from the day’s rodent search. We gathered in one of the classrooms and looked at grainy black-and-white photos from the camera traps installed earlier. Manoel and Julian fluently translated the blurs, often little more than glowing eyes, into species and genus. Most common is the agouti, a name for several rodent species belonging to the Dasyprocta genus. We helped. Crystal worked the laptop, recording the observations barked out by Manoel and Julian. We all tried to ID the mammals. One night, Isabelle spotted a tag on the ear of a possum: “One of ours,” she cried. Afterwards, we ate dinner, drank Império beer—and collapsed. Despite the heat, humidity, and lack of air-conditioning, I slept well. Physical exertion is the best sleeping pill. By day four, we were all a bit loopy. I dreamt of Rodents of Unusual Size. Crystal told me how one evening as she was staring at the ceiling light, its exposed wires looked exactly like rat tails. Such was the nature of this place, of this experience. We had grown a bit unmoored here, but at the same time, we had bonded, and more quickly and deeply than, say, passengers on a cruise ship might. We had bonded the way people with a shared purpose bond. One evening, over dinner, I gently raised the slippery subject of voluntourism. Its rap sheet is long: Voluntourists, the critics say, are self-indulgent dilettantes posing for selfi s with “grateful” locals, checking ff a virtue box before racing to the beach to reward themselves for their goodness. Worse, critics say, voluntourists do actual harm—by taking away jobs from locals or by perpetuating a cycle of dependency. Some overseas orphanages, for instance, earn more money from voluntourism than by finding homes for children. Unsurprisingly, fewer children are placed in homes. That hasn’t been engineer Tim’s experience, though, and this was his fourth Earthwatch expedition. He has helped to track chimpanzees in Uganda and to discover a new species of cockroach in Cuba. On each trip, he says, he felt useful, a feeling confirmed by Manoel and Julian, who, again, said their mission would be impossible without us. The way Tim, Manoel, and Julian see it, though, we “citizen scientists” also provide a valuable service by our mere presence. The real scientists, often working in remote locales, can be

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This page: Biologists Manoel and Julian (bottom) plant seedlings (top) in one of the reserve’s many plant nurseries. Opposite page: Earthwatch citizen scientists sleep in simple guest cottages during their expedition.

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Voluntourism 101

Volunteering while traveling can be a great way to give back and forge a deeper connection to a place. The ethics of voluntourism are complicated: It can be hard to discern which organizations are reputable, and it’s long been argued that voluntourism, done wrong, can cause real harm. But there are still ways to make a positive long-term impact on the destinations you visit. All it takes is a little know-how, a bit of research, and the courage

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to ask the right questions, such as “Will my actions here ultimately benefit or take away from a community?” Learn more about how to choose a voluntourism trip at afar.com/tripsforgood and consider the following environment-focused programs run by vetted organizations. And keep in mind that while there’s time for fun, these types of experiences require a commitment to a full day’s work. —Mae Hamilton

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EARTHWATCH

Wildlife and Reforestation in Brazil Located about 90 minutes from Rio de Janeiro, the Guapiaçu nature reserve is part of the Mata Atlântica, or Atlantic Forest. Less than 15 percent of the original forest remains intact, and many animals struggle with habitat loss, which is where volunteers come in. During this weeklong program (writer Eric Weiner’s trip) travelers plant seedlings and collect information on the mammals of the reserve, from the southeastern four-eyed opossum to the enigmatic puma. From $1,775. earthwatch.org ELEVATE DESTINATIONS

Sea Turtle Conservation and Cultural Exploration in Guatemala During this 10-day excursion in the seaside town of Monterrico, travelers work with a local organization that combats the poaching of the olive ridley and critically endangered leatherback sea turtles. Travelers collect and relocate eggs to a hatchery, release young hatchlings into the ocean, and assist with night patrols. From $3,000. elevatedestinations.com VOLUNTEERING SOLUTIONS

Marine Conservation Program in Bali Climate change and pollution are depleting coral reefs all around the world. On this trip, volunteers assist with beach cleanups, construct artificial reefs located near the small Balinese village of Tianyar, and help teach environmental education classes for local children. Travelers can stay from one to twelve weeks. From $475. volunteeringsolutions.com

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lonely. Sharing their scientifi findings with an interested lay audience rejuvenates their passion for the project. “It’s not just science,” Tim said. “It’s a cultural exchange.” If you think about the enormity of the environmental challenges we face, “you’d get depressed by it,” he said. So don’t think that big, he suggested. Be like the cyclist climbing a steep mountain pass, eyes fixed not at the peak but only a few yards ahead. “You know intuitively what the scientists are doing is making a difference,” Tim said, “and that you had some small part in it.”

The last day was the hardest. We needed to collect the traps, all 160 of them, lug them down a rocky trail, and scrub the cages clean. It was difficult, foul work, but everyone was in surprisingly good spirits. I’ll never forget the resolute look in Summer’s eyes as she scrubbed and scrubbed one especially filthy cage, determined to leave it spotless. That evening, we celebrated with caipirinhas, courtesy of Manoel, who, using a makeshift mortar and pestle, ground the cane sugar with the same enthusiasm and diligence he applies to his field work. “What?” said Manoel, registering the surprise on my face. “We are a research station, not a monastery.” That evening, staring at the ceiling fan, I wondered: Did I help? I did the math. I had laid some bait, planted some trees, taken some (illegible) notes, cleaned up some poop. My team and I had set 1,440 traps, resulting in 69 “captures” of animals and 20 camera-trap sightings. On the other hand, I had fl wn to get there, leaving behind a sizable carbon footprint. Had I done more harm than good? When I later asked Earthwatch CEO Scott Kania about this, he acknowledged it is “a legitimate question these days” but not a deal breaker. Whatever harm volunteers do by jetting to faraway locales, he believes, is more than offset by the good. “The planet is in trouble, and we need good scientific answers,” Kania told me. Scientists working on the front lines of climate change “need a ton of data, and we can help.” Did I do some good? Sure. Was I needed? Absolutely. Indispensable? No, but I deprived no locals of a job; if anything, I ensured that Manoel and Julian could continue their important research, since a portion of my expedition fee went directly to funding their work. I didn’t take a single selfie during my stay. Working during a vacation, paying to work, may be counterintuitive, yes, but there was something oddly satisfying

Previous spread: Biologists carry empty Tomahawk traps back to the research house. Opposite page: Tapirs, once locally extinct, have been reintroduced to the reserve.

and rejuvenating about it. It was recreational in the literal sense; while cleaning cages and planting trees, I was, in a way, re-creating myself. What is work? What is play? On an expedition like the one I was about to complete, the line blurs, and blurred felt good. I thought about the fact that, for most of human history, there was no line separating work and play. People just were. Nowadays, we take vacations; we “vacate” ourselves. Why would I want to do that? I asked silently. By traveling the way I was, purposefully, I hadn’t vacated myself. I had filled myself. So I was surprised but not shocked when, once the expedition was over, I decided to forsake the pleasures of Ipanema and stay at the nature reserve for another three days. “Jungle boy,” Julian called me, affectionately, when I told him of my revised recovery plan. I returned home refreshed and ready to talk to anyone who would listen (and even those who wouldn’t) about Rodents of Unusual Size and reforestation and the quiet satisfaction of repetitive manual labor, of being useful. When we spoke, Earthwatch’s Scott Kania confirmed that my reaction was typical. “We’re in the people transformation business,” he said, only half jokingly. He concedes some of the criticism of voluntourism is justified. Done poorly it is “too in-andout, low-impact, and self-focused.” Done well, it is transformative for all involved. As for the Mata Atlântica, consider me a fanboy. When you’ve seen nature up close, at its most beautiful, and most vulnerable, you care more than if you see it on TV or a laptop screen. The rain forest is not an abstraction. It is a place. A world unto itself, one I briefly inhabited, ministered to, and would like to see stick around for a long, long time. Eric Weiner wrote about K-pop in the May/June 2021 issue of AFAR. This is Brazilian photographer María Magdalena Arréllaga’s first story for AFAR.

CALL OF THE WILD Photographs by PETER FISHER

On an isolated island in the southern waters of the Atlantic Ocean, untrammeled landscapes— and curious birdlife— abound.

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EACH YEAR, millions of birds return to breeding colonies on a remote island roughly 1,300 miles from the southernmost tip of Argentina. King penguins, gray-headed albatrosses, speckled teals, and endemic South Georgia pipits—the Antarctic’s only songbirds—are among the 30 species that call South Georgia Island home. The birds aren’t alone: Elephant seals battle for both turf and mates, and humpback, fin, and blue whales migrate through the waters. Though whaling and sealing ships docked here until the 1960s, today the few humans to explore the island’s glaciers, bluffs, and snowfields are scientists and other visitors. The island’s singularity is what first attracted photographer Peter Fisher several autumns ago. Based in New York City, Fisher wanted to experience the exact opposite of his home—and South Georgia fi the bill. To get there, Fisher fl w to Buenos Aires and then on to Ushuaia, Argentina, where he boarded a Lindblad Expeditions ship that took him to South Georgia. Moored offshore, the ship was home base for Fisher, who spent six days traveling to and from the island via Zodiac boat, passing his time hiking, exploring, and taking photos with a medium-format 55 mm camera that required manual focusing, which forced him to take his time with each shot. He was constantly aware of his surroundings. “There’s always an element of danger on South Georgia Island. It’s part of the appeal,” Fisher says. “It’s not Disneyland. There are no set trails or paths. The animals don’t keep their distance. You’ll get scrapes and bruises. The occasional snow squall will descend and you’ll wonder if the four layers of clothing you’re wearing are enough, but you don’t complain, because you are lucky enough to witness one of the most beautiful and pristine places on Earth.” To capture the photographs on these pages, Fisher spent a lot of time just staying still. He sat in a valley surrounded by tens of thousands of penguins, who waddled up to poke and peck him with their beaks out of curiosity. And he observed elephant seal pups, who nudged and napped near him on the beach. In other instances—when male elephant seals began jousting for territory—Fisher moved a little faster: “When they rear up and start charging each other, it’s like two walls of blubber closing in,” he says. “When that started to happen, I booked it out of there really quick.” At the end of his trip, Fisher says he was left in awe of South Georgia and the verve of its residents. “When I was sitting there taking these photos, looking in these animals’ eyes, I felt I was having a deep connection with the planet. Every now and then I had to put down the camera and just take it all in.” — S A R A B U T T O N

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Here’s the truth: I never would have taken this trip by myself. When Llane Alexis Dominguez Estrada told me he was inviting a group of four friends to Havana for 10 days, it seemed to be a gift to me alone, like he had read my unconscious desire with his mind. It was late 2016, several months after the Obama administration eased travel restrictions to the island, and Llane saw an opportunity to act as an ambassador for his homeland. The excursion, I thought, would provide a window into the man, muse, and artist whom I’d known for years as a friend. Llane (pronounced yah-NAY, dramatically and with purpose) is flamboyant, expressive, and defiant. He stood out, as I did, in the temperate coolness of San Francisco, where we’d both lived for two decades. What we shared: We were both Black, gay, Caribbean men. I knew him, but I wanted to better understand him. After all, I knew my Caribbean, the fusion of West Africa and Europe (and Catholicism) that molded Grenada, where I was born and raised. But until our trip to Cuba, I didn’t totally grasp the frame of reference for Llane and the place where he was born and raised. No one really does, until you arrive. Aside from Llane, I was the only Black person in our group of travelers, and he and I shared a particular interest in tapping into Havana’s Afro Cuban culture. After landing at José Martí International Airport in Havana, I witnessed a man standing in his underwear and changing his clothes in a public bathroom with no door. His eyes never left his own reflection in the mirror. Everything inside the airport felt grand, sprawling, and decrepit. But alongside that aged beauty, there was a vitality that captivated me. In the customs line a woman in a bright-orange head wrap looked at me sternly as I regarded her handsome beauty, then asked me in Spanish if I liked what I saw. She assumed I was Cuban. I knew I was someplace else. I walked outside into a chromatic sea of vintage cars. Our driver waited for us. I walked up to him and smiled. He looked like Pablo Picasso. As he drove us to our apartment, I marveled at the glamour and scale of this large and foreign (to me) city. Bauhaus architecture dazzled me at every turn. “Havana is trapped in amber,” I said out loud, to no one in particular. Llane nodded and looked off into the distance. I was in his world, finally.

In Central Havana, Cuban youth gather to access public Wi-Fi, play with their apps, and connect with their families abroad. The older generation plays dominoes on tables that sit on their laps. I was obsessed with the ingenuity.

We called our driver Picasso, even though his name was Miguel. He rarely showed us any emotion, but he had a deep love for Llane, who often forgot his phone or wallet in Picasso’s neon yellow car. Picasso indulged our group’s chain-smoking and broken Spanish, but rarely at the same time.

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“In this area of Havana,” Llane explained, “the larger Black Cuban population is concentrated. Yoruba culture is very much alive. It’s consumed in every meaning of the word: It is commodified, it is bought, it is sold, it is danced by one another. And it’s really a status [symbol] for people to be initiated into this religion.”

The highlight was witnessing a performance by local dancers. Each dancer represented a different Yoruba goddess: Oshún, Yemayá, and Oyá. The spiritual connection to Africa was intact. The alley is small, so those of us in the crowd were pressed up against one another, and the dancers invited us to commune with our ancestors and take in the old ways again.

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The Habana Riviera is a grand totem to the grandeur of an older Havana. A midcenturymodern hotel built in 1957, it feels like a time capsule. The fixtures and marble floor are original. Llane shared a memory of learning to swim at the hotel’s pool with his father. “He pushed me into the deepest side of the pool. Yes, that’s how you learn,” Llane said.

Parque Coppelia, better known as La Catedral de Helado, or Cathedral of Ice Cream, is one of the largest ice cream venues in Latin America. It resembles a group of futuristic whimsical spaceships clustered together. Cuban families gather here and sit on barstools, quietly eating their helado.

Instituto Superior de Arte is a school that trains students in the arts: dance, theater, visual arts, and music. Llane found the architecture tedious. The rest of us were mesmerized. We had to bribe the security guard to let us onto the grounds to wander around. It was worth it.

In Central Havana, we watched tourists sit down to have their fortunes read by a woman dressed in traditional Yoruba garb. I knew she was just making stuff up. It was hilarious to witness.

I witnessed this mother and daughter walk past me by the American embassy. Both looked me up and down, and I caught the daughter staring at her shadow on the street.

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Dailyn Dominguez received a personal invitation from Beyoncé when the singer visited Havana in 2015. It’s a story Dailyn will tell until she’s on her deathbed.

I love that she’s wearing a bikini and a sheer top and that’s it. And she’s out on the street. Look at that, shoulders back, chest forward. I imagined that she was going to get some milk.

Llane, who is a textile designer, explained some Cuba fashion facts: “Having grown up in Cuba, I love Lycra and spandex, because they’re not worn on only one type of body, they’re for everybody here.”

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This gentleman was playing his horn in a basilica in Centro Habana, or Central Havana. A choir of female singers accompanied him. The din of his horn caught in my throat. I was used to secular music and to spiritual hymns, but I hadn’t encountered both in the same sphere. The soulful interplay between the metal and the human voices resulted in something different than I had ever heard, sad and sensual at once.

Omara Portuondo, the doña of Cuban musicians, recently retired in her 90s.

Boulevard Obispo is one of Llane’s favorite streets in Havana. It’s filled with onlookers and live musicians inside and outside of clubs and cafés. It’s always busy, with musical notes rising from the earth to the heavens.

f ff fst and wf iter Georf e McCalman is ff ofiled on pf f e 1f f

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HOW JAPAN’S RICEBASED SPIRIT GOT ITS GROOVE BACK.

THE

BY ALICE FEIRING PHOTOS BY KO SASAKI CALLIGRAPHY BY VINCENT DE BOER

RESURRECTION

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PREVIOUS PAGE: AT THE TERADA HONKE SAKE BREWERY, WORKERS SPREAD STEAMED RICE TO COOL. OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TERADA HONKE SAKE, KOJI SPORES, A RICE PLANT, HEIRLOOM RED RICE.

for sake at, of all places, a London wine fair. To be clear, wine, and more specifically, natural wine, is my specialty. But in my circle of food and beverage experts by the early 2010s, I had begun to hear rumors of something transcendent called junmai-shu, or “pure sake,” made using ancient methods of production and without the addition of neutral distilled spirits common in most modern sake brewing. I had heard whispers about Terada Honke, a sake producer that shared the principles of natural winemaking: brewery-propagated yeast, organic farming, no additives. In 2012, I discovered that very sake would be poured at the annual London Wine Fair. So I fl w to England, paid my fee, grabbed my glass, and rushed past the tables of wines to the back of the hall. There, a tall bespectacled gentleman loomed over bottles emblazoned with the labels of different producers. I looked for his name in my tasting book: He was Dick Stegewerns of the Holland-based Yoigokochi Sake Importers. “The Terada Honke, please,” I said, holding out my glass with a smile. Like a patient teacher, Dick suggested I try some of the more typical junmai-shu before I tasted the sake unicorn I was stalking. First, he poured me a clear, fruity sake. Then came one with age, rich and almost misolike. Both fl oded my palate with fl vors unfamiliar to me—a language I didn’t yet speak. Finally, I had earned my taste of the Terada Honke. Dick poured an inch of a slightly yellowish sake into my glass. I took a sniff and my head fl w back in surprise. I inhaled again and took a sip: The taste was a deep confection of reishi mushroom tea and tamari fl cks, with notes of pine. There was also an acidic quality that was new to me. I took another sip. I’d never had sake like this before. I was hooked.

I FELL HARD

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AT MUKAI SHUZŌ , A WORKER PREPARES KOJI (MOLD SPORES) .

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MUKAI SHUZŌ INE KYOTO PREFECTURE

THIS PAGE: TOJI KUNIKO MUKAI K U N I K O M U K A I lives and works in the touristy seaside village of Ine on the northern coast of Kyoto Prefecture. As a young girl growing up with a brewer father, she prayed for a brother to come along so she could be free from her family business. “I preferred work related to the sea. I wanted to marry a fisherman,” she told me. It didn’t work out that way. At the age of 22, Kuniko became one of the first women toji in the country. Now 46, she says she has no regrets about taking over Mukai Shuzō. An animated woman, she’s in constant motion, sipping on a foamy beer one moment, flashing newspaper articles at the screen the next. As we talked, stories of the past poured out of her, including memories of how her father manipulated her into going to agricultural school. It was at the Tokyo University of Agriculture that Kuniko met Masahisa Takeda, an influential professor in the field of sake. Masahisa, who also lamented the homogeneity of sake, urged his students to return to pure sake. He encouraged them to embrace sake’s idiosyncrasies and utilize ancient recipes. To Kuniko, he suggested experimenting with a forgotten heirloom red rice and sent her a sake made with it as an example. “It tasted like a dirty dishrag,” she told me. “Then I realized it was up to me to make it taste good.” She bottled her first Ine Mankai within two years of returning to her family brewery. This particular sake has become so popular, it now makes up half her production and is considered the gold standard for red rice sakes. As we talked, I remembered the first time I tasted it at a modern New York City Japanese restaurant: It carried such a spark, the umami, the grip. While Kuniko wanted to make 100 percent pure sakes, it was challenging at first. It was just too upsetting to deal with the angry men in the village who didn’t want her to change. But times evolved, and in 2013, after years of effort, she finally converted her brewery, making only junmai-shu. At that time, Kuniko also had her first taste of natural wine, something she thought she wasn’t interested in. She was astonished. “The wines tasted like sake!” she said. They felt good in her body and reinforced for her that using organic rice was essential.

TOJ I

OPPOSITE PAGE: MUKAI SHUZŌ, LOCATED IN INE BAY, PRODUCES A SAKE WITH HEIRLOOM RED RICE.

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AKISHIKA SHUZŌ NOSE OSAKA PREFECTURE

O K U H I R O A K I , the 66-year-old kuramoto (brewery owner) at Akishika Shuzō, is a charismatic, thoughtful man with a long, complicated relationship to sake. His family, he explained to me, founded the brewery in 1886 in Nose, a town high in the northern mountains and bamboo forests of Osaka Prefecture. Now the sixth-generation owner, Oku says he is not comfortable calling himself a toji, preferring to include all who work with him in the process. But “I have the final responsibility,” he concedes. Like Kuniko, Oku had no interest in becoming a brewer. He thought the sake his family made was awful, and he disliked his father’s hangovers. He toyed with the notion of teaching but ended up in the sports clothing business instead. When Oku was 27, his dad wanted to retire and insisted Oku return to the kura. Oku softened. He had seen the sake improve in quality: Akishika had recently converted 10 percent of production to the pure stuff. Sales had increased. “But really,” I asked, “why did you relent?” He looked up, pulling words from the sky: “I was tired of selling things that I did not make.” Now, the brewery produces 100 percent junmai-shu. “It is the only real sake,” Oku said, smacking his hand on his desk for emphasis. He not only makes what he sells, but he is known for growing much of it as well—a sake from paddy to glass. He pioneered the vigneron approach for sake: The same person who grows the rice also brews the sake. These days, Oku cultivates local rice varieties on 50 acres—most of which he rents—and farms organically. He also prefers to keep his sake back, contradicting the conventional wisdom that sake must be drunk young. His five-year-old Black Moheji sake is a terrific example of place and time. Made from rice grown on one of the parcels he owns outright, Black Moheji is a little angular, with a finish that tastes of pastry—like the snap of a cannoli shell—elegant, tamed, and exuberant.

AT AKISHIKA SHUZŌ, OKU HIROAKI SPECIALIZES IN SAKE MADE WITH RICE THAT HE GROWS ORGANICALLY ACROSS 50 ACRES.

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T E R A DA HONKE KŌZAKI CHIBA PREFECTURE

S I N C E T H E L AT E 19 8 0 S , the 351-year-old Terada Honke kura, located 14 miles north of Tokyo’s Narita Airport, has used only organic materials and native yeast, and no added alcohol. Now run by 48-year-old Masaru Terada, this is the brewery most aligned with the natural wine movement—and the brewery responsible for my own love and devotion to pure sake. When Masaru fell in love with the daughter of a brewery owner and came to work at Terada Honke in 2003, he didn’t even drink much sake. Now that he and his wife are its 24th-generation owners, he waxes romantic about the whoosh of fermentation. If you follow him on Instagram (@terada_masaru), you’ll experience his pride in growing some of his own rice. You’ll also witness the magic of the winter brewing season and hear the traditional songs brewers sing as they work. The videos are so vivid you can almost feel the heat and humidity of the brewing room. When Masaru was first introduced to natural wines, he was impressed by their acidity and vitality, as well as the emphasis on how the grapes were farmed. This cemented his vision for natural principles applied to sake. “My focus is very much on how to convey the benefits of nature, from the rice to the drink,” he told me. “That’s my purpose.” But Masaru also inherited the natural emphasis from his father-in-law, Keisuke Terada, who fell ill in 1985. Up to that point, Keisuke had made sake the way everyone else did. Then, during the sleepless, pain-filled nights of his illness, Keisuke had a revelation: What was fermented did not rot. After he recovered, Keisuke devoted himself to fermented foods and overhauled the kura, changing over to natural fermentations and organic rice, and eliminating added alcohol. He died in 2012, the year I met Dick. The sake I drank in London that first time had been made under his direction. Keisuke also saw a more symbolic meaning in sake production. He believed that the way he once made his sake, adding alcohol and yeasts, upset the balance of bacteria in the warehouse and degraded both the company and his health.

TOJI MASARU TERADA GROWS HIS OWN RICE FOR THE JUNMAI-SHU SAKE HE MAKES USING NATURAL FERMENTATION.

Keisuke Terada healed through fermentations and through finding balance, or the wa. His own healing paralleled the healing of sake throughout the country. While pure sake producers haven’t changed the way mass sake is produced, they have found a clientele. It’s now easy to find pure sakes in restaurants and bottle shops throughout Japan as well as around the world. After years of recovery from the damage done by modern sake makers, the pure balance to the national drink is returning. For, as Keisuke wrote in his book, Hakkodo: The Path of Fermentation, “when the balance is lost, it goes to corruption.”

New York City–based wine writer Alice Feiring wrote about the natural wine movement in Chile for the July/ August 2019 issue of AFAR. Tokyo-based photographer Ko Sasaki shot the Japanese sweets known as wagashi for the May/June 2021 issue of AFAR.

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Wh e r e Trave l Ta ke s Yo u

Illustration by L Y D I A O R T I Z

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