In celebration of Earth Day this year, here are a few bookings in Puerto Rico and Colombia that feature sustainable tourism, and opportunities to discover natural treasures.
Puerto Rico
The Island has some of the world’s most diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with miles of beaches, three of the world’s five bioluminescent bays, and the onlytropical rainforest in the U.S. Forest System.
Here are few options travelers can experience and explore:
- Spend the night at El Pretexto Culinary Farm Lodge: El Pretexto, Puerto Rico’s first Culinary Farm Lodge, is the home of founder Crystal Diaz, who chooses to share it with guests as a bed and breakfast nestled in the countryside community of Cercadillo in Cayey. It features three wooden villas surrounded by native and fruit trees, with a small agroecological raised beds farm and gastronomic experiences.
- Scuba Experiences: The waters around Puerto Rico are bursting with life. Not only can travelers learn how to scuba dive on the island with local partners such as Scuba Dogs, but they can also learn about the natural environment of the island and ways to help positively impact it. Now, in partnership with Copamarina Beach Resort, ocean lovers can book a Stay and Dive package as well.
- Kayak in a Bioluminescent Bay: Explore one (or three) of the only five bioluminescent bays in the world, all from the comfort of your kayak. Kayakers can swirl the water with their paddle to see thousands of single-celled dinoflagellates for an illuminating experience on the water.
- Explore a Coffee Hacienda: Take a tour and experience what it was like to be in Puerto Rico during the 1800s, when coffee was one of the island’s most important agricultural products. Some haciendas with beautiful grounds and tours include Hacienda Lealtad, Hacienda Tres Angeles, and Hacienda La Mocha.
Colombia
Colombia is known as the second most biodiverse place in the world with 10 percent of the Earth’s flora and fauna, as well as the largest amount of diverse bird species, calling it home.
While visiting Colombia travelers can take part in an array of experiences including:
- Visit Medellin: The city of Medellin has transformed itself into a model of urban planning and innovation, attracting international recognition for its entrepreneurialism and modernity. Medellin is reinventing itself as Latin America’s first “eco-city” with wide-ranging initiatives in renewable energy, transportation, housing, water management and waste.
- Book a Tour with Manakin Nature Tours: Not only does Colombia have incredible biodiversity, but its variety of landscapes, habitats, ecosystems, and cultural riches offer a unique experience for travelers. Manakin Nature Tours’ mission is based on promoting different conservation strategies that allow them to help not only ecosystems but also people who live near important places for birds and wildlife.
- Stay at Calanoa Lodge: Calanoa is in the middle course of the Amazon River, about 35 miles away from Leticia (the nearest airport). The lodge sits on Colombian territory, right where the country borders with Peru and Brazil, and features guest cabins built using traditional techniques, local materials, wood and natural fibers, raw earth, and ceramic. Rainwater is also collected and purified, and the lodge runs on a mix of fuel and solar energy. The Calanoa Project also works with the indigenous villages in the area, supporting educational processes, conservation of biological resources, sustainable economic practices and the preservation of ancestral knowledge and cultural practices.
For more information visit discoverpuertorico.com or procolombia.co.
