The home of Buena Vista Social Club, salsa, rumba and hot dancing (there's really no other way to describe it!), Cuba is one music-passionate place. Walking through the Old Town streets of Habana, it's all you'll hear amongst the low buzz of old 52 Ford taxi's and banana freight trucks. They play from their hearts, these Cubans, and it's a good thing too because their repressive government, led by Fidel Castro, gives them little else to get excited about.

A woman at our casa (home… like a B&B) told me she earned more at her current waiting tables (a job which tips she relies solely on to make a living) earns more now than when she taught English where she earned about 260 pesos (roughly 20 pounds). Despite having a business degree in Marketing she can do little with it as she there are no private businesses in Cuba nor is she allowed to leave the country… very few Cubans are.

You see, beyond the minority of the rich officials, it seems by most accounts that it is only the musicians who have a fair chance of earning an ok wage in Cuba. They also have a better chance of leaving their country… albeit temporarily. So brilliant at what they do it's easy to understand why. They play as if their instruments are an extension of their body. They move a lot as they play also, playing as if they were born music-makers… I guess they were.

This is organic, live music at its best. It is rare that they would have help to set up electronic instruments and are lucky to be attached to a sound system or have a sound engineer adjusting their instruments – nope, none of those behind the scenes gents you´d find anywhere else in the world helping the greats sound great.

If you ever make it to Habana, Cuba, the experience would not be complete without a visit to either the Jazz Café (for Saturday night jazz and delicious cocktails), Las Vegas (Friday night locals ramba), La Llovia De Oro (any night great salsa band) or Calle Jon De Hamel (a Sunday day jam in the colourful street filled with art and sculptures made by the locals).

If you can't make it to Cuba, So Organic have a range of Jazz and World Music by maestros from all over the world you can engross your ears with the tasty tuneful treats of international musicians.

Tourism is important to Native American Indians since they were introduced to the monetary trade ways of the west. It’s their bread and butter so to speak, despite having survived very well (not to mention more peacefully) without money just a few hundred years ago. Now many of the Hopi and Navajo peoples are confined to reservations, which having seen these desolate lands first hand, are far from the wild and lush lands of yesteryear.

What we can do to help when we’re buying the ´keepsakes´and treasures of the native peoples in any country we visit is to buy from authentic crafters and taking tours with people that respect the ways of the people that live on their sacred lands. In the south west of America there are shops everywhere selling American Indian art and collectables like dream catchers and turquoise jewellery. It’s a question of authenticity rather than availability. But there are organizations out there looking out for the authentic craftspeople. The not-for-profit Council for Indigenous Arts and Culture informs people where they can buy original indigenous arts and crafts.

I picked up one flyer that told me how you can tell the difference between an authentic piece and a copy; what material you should look for (ie a written disclosure on the raw component of the stones used should be included with the receipt); and the questions you should ask to ensure you’re getting what you really want (i.e. is it Handmade or Handcrafter – the latter requires less skill, the artists name and tribal affiliation and whether the stones used are natural, stabilized or imitations). They also provide a Shop with Confidence brochure that lists the businesses and sponsors who are committed to authenticity and the honest representation of Native American Indian arts and crafts. You can find these members of the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association at www.atada.org

There are also laws such as the Indian Arts and Craft Act that protects indigenous arts and culture from misrepresentation. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your home work as there are still profiteers who are willing to sacrifice integrity for the sake of an easy tourist buck.

When planning a visit to this ancient land visit the Northern Arizona Native American Culture Trail. And also check out the visitor´s centre in Flagstaff, a great resource to help you discover more about the ways of the Native American culture.

Capturing the natural renewable resource of solar energy is the power of choice for the natural tourist destinations of the west coast of America. It seems it is for many of the sunnier countries on the North and South American countries. It´s a good thing too, with tourism one of the largest industries in the world, it has the potential to make or break our planet by depleting its resources or helping to educate people on how to use them more wisely. The potential of the southwest to meet the growing energy needs of the rest of the states is huge particularly with the advances of photovoltaic cells and in light of the crude oil crisis. 

One of the 7 wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon which attracts millions of people each year, uses renewable energy to run its facilities. Situated in the ´Solar Capital of the World´ this canyon is not just great for its size (1 mile deep by 18 miles wide), this beauty has a lot to offer in regards to sharing its solar power knowledge with the people that come to view her from all corners of the globe too. The seven solar arrays produce up to 18 kilowatts of energy and supply a third of the power used by the visitor centre on the south rim. Per year the system produces 28,800 kilowatt hours of energy which is enough to power two homes in the sunny state. Any unused energy is sent into the grid and distributed to other buildings that can utilize their solar power.

But harnessing solar energy is not such a new concept at the Grand Canyon. In 1200 AD  the ancestral Puebloans (early Native American people) lived in this wonder until the 13th century AD. Though Arizona is a desert state it is not hot year round (frost on our hire car in the middle of October prove it!). To combat the cold the Puebloans built their dwellings facing south to maximize exposure to the warmth of the low-arcing sun of the winter months. This was also true for the Puebloan cave ruins of Betatakin (see picture below).
It’s not just solar energy helping to keep the Grand Canyon green and clean. The National Parks service has placed recycling bins everywhere. There’s also no heating from the restrooms dryers or hot water in the taps. Nor will you find drinking water from the fountains during winter to help preserve water. There are free shuttle buses that take people to forest trail heads to prevent car congestion and pollution in the park. The forest service is excellent at advertising their ´Back Country Ethics´ throughout the south west also. From information on setting up camp the green way to personal rubbish management, conscious campfire building and sanitation, the service provides through guidelines to ensure people reduce the amount of damage on the ecosystem of the natural environment they are enjoying.

Travelling through the states of Nevada, Oregon and California these past few months has definitely re-awakened my affinity with wildlife. In Nevada it was the arid scrub land and playa desert, bountiful numbers of soaring eagles and scurrying gecko’s that got me; in Oregon it was pine tree cushioned fresh water lakes, volcano rock linking pathways (McKenzie Pass), and the lush misty forests; in California it was the grand cliff faced beaches of Highway 1, the giant redwood groves and a plenitude of wild fauna (wild elk, deer, raccoons, woodpeckers, tree frogs and skunks to name but a few).

Even those of us who choose to spend our holiday breaks in places where we are closer to the wild side of the great outdoors (be it hiking in the Lake District or camping in Cornwall) often only retrieve enough nature spirit to last the journey back to the big smoke. This is something at least. There are still many who don’t even get a whiff of pine scent or ocean spray. One of my travelling companions, Alan, told me of a 12 year old English boy who, when told his hamburger beef patty came from a cow was so horrified he required counsellor to help him through his shock. This one example (though fairly extreme) shows just how some in our society are so far removed from the source of our over processed, glossy packaged food of our ‘super’ markets and from our natural environment.

Being the pro earth kinda gal that I am I was a tad surprised to discover how disconnected I was from the wild side of nature. Certain forest-scapes reminded me of movie scenes (think Lord of the Rings style); the full moon peeping over the forest lined mountain ridges at dusk reminded me of a giant stadium light; the panoramic view of a crystal blue lake looked a lot like a famous water colour painting I’d once seen. There was once a time when the reverse was true. Much of my childhood holidays were spent camping at a fresh water dam or at our Australia beach house so I was constantly identifying the influences of nature on city life. For example the fabric pattern of a designer dress amidst the pages of Vogue looked to me as if it was inspired by water lilies and new buildings took on the architecture of rolling waves. The latter is how I’d like to get back to viewing things. What it will take is spending more time in wilderness areas and places where we are trying to conserve; (monthly contributions to the Rainforest Foundation, though commendable, ain’t nearly close to what’s needed to reconnect with nature).

If our children are to help us divert climate change and restore the destruction we’ve inflicted on the planet due to industrialized and careless capitalism, they deserve (and need) the time to enjoy it. Just the other day we stopped on Highway 1 beside the grassy cliffs of the North Californian coast for a bathroom stop when I came across a praying mantis eating a freshly caught Monarch butterfly. Wow was it a treat. Getting up close and personal with it (rather than watching it on a Planet Earth box set) is breathtaking. When it has been too long between trips to the wilderness, it seems quite miraculous that nature is capable of surviving without any influence from man whatsoever, despite our every attempt to mould it around our own existence.

Nature in action is quite spectacular. Being amongst it is the only way we (and our children) can truly identify with what we’re conserving.

California is well known worldwide for its surf culture. One reputable surfer on the scene is wetsuit innovator surfer Jack O’Neill of the established surf brand O’Neill’s. Living on the west side of the country and no doubt exposing himself daily to the wild waves of California’s coast beaches; Jack has developed a passion for conservation. One of the best ways to get others involved in an environmentally saving endeavour is via hands on experience, something O’Neill is working to promote through the non profit organization O’Neill Sea Odyssey (OSO).

OSO is ‘living classroom’ created on board a 65 foot catamaran. Sounds like a nice place to learn right? Explains why the innovative curriculum is attracting attention. Starting out as place for 4th, 5th and 6th grade students to receive hands on lessons about the local marine life, the organization also promotes the awareness further afield about the relationship between ocean and the global environment. Through the OSO Community Service Project people can get involved in native plant restoration, beach clean-ups, waste composting and tending to gardens for the homeless.

It would be great if a local UK surf wear designer in the UK established a similar project for the sea life in the popular surf spots in Cornwall and Devon. The eco conscious outdoor brand Howies pledges to give 1% of their turnover or 10% of pre-tax profits (whichever is greater) to grass-root environmental and social projects. Who’s next?