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December 28 rolled around and we still hadn’t decided what to do for New Year’s Eve.   Our apartment is tiny and we wouldn’t be able to invite more than a couple of people. Besides, we hadn’t done anything special at all during the holiday.  

“What about celebrating on Bluesiana?” I tentatively ask my husband, referring to our sailboat.“Yeah, let’s do it!”  

I began the phone calls.  Let me just say that the temperature was rigidly cold, below zero, so most of our friends were a bit noncommittal at the suggestion. Until we called Mario and Silva.  They also have a sailboat in the same marina and they immediately said yes.  

So, on the morning of the 31^st, we packed up everything we needed for a New Year’s Eve feast and piled in the car with our teenaged (and not so thrilled) daughter. 

There we met with our friends and their teenaged nephew (no hope of romance—ever! says my daughter!)  For the next half day we ate drank and cooked our way into a frenzy. With the help of a reliable oil heater, we also stayed toasty warm.   

At the stroke of midnight, it was time to go outside and pop the champagne, so we bundled up and quickly had our frosty toast to 2008.  There were even fireworks we could view from the chilly comfort of our deck. Back into the cabin for a rousing game of bingo and lots of laughs.  We decided to make it one big pyjama party and everyone stayed on our boat for the night.  

Next morning after a nice breakfast, it was cool to think I had never set foot on land yet this year.   As I shook the tablecloth into the water, I found the crumbs bouncing off the surface—the water was iced over!  None of us has ever spent New Year ’s Eve on our boat… or any boat, so it was a great way to start 2008. I think it would be a great tradition to start every year this way.. but hopefully sometime soon, from a much warmer place! 

After a long drought where we witnessed the
survival of the fittest in the plant world,
we are finally enjoying some rain and cooler temps.  
It’s 12C/56F today.  Most of the olives have been
harvested in our region.  Village olive oil factories
have been bustling day and night for over two
months, pressing batches of liquid gold from family
farms and cooperatives.  

The pace of life is slowing down for most everyone
but fishermen.  Their season never ends — this time
of year they endure bone-chilling nights on rough
seas.  Somehow, they are amazingly good humored
people (at least our friends in the biz!).

During the holidays, family and friends gave us
many precious gifts – gorgeous organic olive oil,
fish so fresh it seemed to have leaped from the sea
to our table, oranges, lemons, wild herbs for tea,
irresistible cookies and eggs from chickens we
know well.  These chickens enjoy a very free range
and stop by often for fresh greens.  From our
organic garden, the chili peppers, broccoli,
cabbage, arugula and radishes are ready to eat and
share.  Our house looks like a produce market with
fruit and vegetables piling up around us.  

Now that a few magnificent thunderstorms passed
through and shook the house, the horta (wild
greens) are thriving in the mountains.  The results
of strenuous collecting expeditions are wonderful,
such as braised artichoke stalks with a splash of
olive oil and lemon juice.  A pot of greens hits the
spot after weeks of feasting.  Easier still, the
stinging nettle grows right in our garden and adds a
unique, pungent dimension to soups and omelets.

For a few winter favorites that pack in flavor and nutrients

– perfect comfort foods of the season – read on.

Kali Orexi!

Nikki Rose and the CCS Network

Photos: Nikki Rose and Flickr.com: Jenny Neal and Klazien1711.

Editor's Note: Deontology comes from a Greek word (deon) meaning 'obligation' or 'duty.' It is an approach to ethics that focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions.]

FOR DEONTOLOGY IN TOURISM AND THE TRAVEL PRESS

By Bernadette Bonnetain-Roux & Jacques Campe

The tourism industry has become a key economic factor in today's world, with consequences raising the question of its deontology. Some points worth reflection automatically come to mind, in the light of the deep changes that will affect our behavior in the future, in terms of our attitude towards Nature and the economy as a whole.

Tourism must thrive in the best interest of all populations, protecting our planet from as much pollution as humanly possible within the frame of sustainable progress. All forms of transportation, as well as hotel, amusement and cultural infrastructures should limit energy consumption at all levels and refuse should be collected and duly recycled, regardless of its origin.

We must meet the new challenges without delay and initiate an all-embracing fight against wastes of any kind.

Traveling is a right that comes with duties. A tourist should respect the population and its environment, avoiding collection of "souvenirs", interference with local customs, support of mendicity and sexually- motivated travel.

A tourist should never impose his values and demeanor on local people, nor contribute to the degradation of the environment. She or he must also abide by the provisions of all regulations pertaining to the preservation of endangered species, including in terms of gastronomy.

Activities potentially harmful to ecosystems, such as building installations in a natural settings, shooting, hunting, fishing, quad driving, etc., should be kept under tight control and regulations strictly enforced.

The specialized press has a particular role to play. While fulfilling its mission with rigorous objectivity, it should not only be a relay for tourist offices in describing the highlights of various destinations. It should also cover some sensitive fields to which the traveler will be exposed in every country, such as the social, ecological, political and sanitary situations, risks and dangers, etc. That task implies a strict respect of the journalistic deontology.

As every economic activity, the tourism industry and travel journalists alike must contribute to the well-being and enrichment of the populations. A local and international debate should take place soonest on the responsibility of all involved parties.

(AFJET - Excerpts from a note by the President of the Ethics Committee (Felicio Rodriguez)