Help Passports with Purpose Build a Village in India

Passports with Purpose 2010

The power of community is strong. No more is this evident than in the vibrant travel blogging community.

Passports with Purpose is celebrating their third year of fund raising for a cause. I’m pleased to say that this What a Trip travel blogger has supported Passports with Purpose from the start and I continue to be involved in 2010.

Last year we raised nearly $30,000 to build and supply a school in rural Cambodia.  The Passports school opened in early October of 2010.

This year, more than 100 travel bloggers from around the world will participate in Passports with Purpose 2010.

Together, with your support, we are building a village in India. This year, we’re supporting Land for Tillers’ Freedom or LAFTI, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the Dalit (untouchable) population in India.  Raising $50,000, we will provide homes for those who have never had a roof over their heads!

Passport with Purpose Prizes

This week you will be able to see a list of prizes on the Passports With Purpose website. Each donated prize will link back to a full description of the prizes on the blogger’s website

Your purchase of a $10 raffle ticket will help support Passports with Purpose and ultimately build a village in India. For each $10 in donations that you make to LAFTI, you will will be entered to win a prize (or prizes) of your choice. The fundraiser begins on November 15th and closes on December 15, 2010. All proceeds go directly to LAFTI.

Hurtigruten's MS Trollfjord on a Norwegian Coastal Voyage

What a Trip Passports with Purpose 2010 Prizes

Thank you to my generous sponsors and Passports with Purpose Platinum Sponsor BootsnAll.  This year I have prizes donated from Hurtigruten and Briggs & Riley.

Norwegian Coastal Voyage on Hurtigruten

Hurtigruten is donating a seven-day Norwegian Coastal Voyage or the six-day Southbound Voyage for two aboard one of Hurtigruten fourteen cruise ships.  The suggested retail value of this Hurtigruten cruise is $1,037 pp. Thank you Hurtigruten for your $2,074 donation.  Read my posts about the many ports we visit on this Norwegian Coastal cruise.

Briggs & Riley Explore 22" Upright Carry-on Luggage Review

Briggs & Riley Luggage Donation

Briggs & Riley, a second year sponsor for What a Trip, is donating their BRX Explore 22″ Carry-on bag. I reviewed this 7.5 lb. bag and highly endorse it. The suggested retail value of the upright is $290. For a $10 donation to Passports with Purpose, you may be able to own this piece of luggage.

Seasons Greetings from What a Trip

Check back often to see our progress for the 2010 Passports with Purpose and thank YOU for making a difference! Seasons Greetings.

Related Posts:

Discover Authentic Norway on Hurtigruten Coastal Voyage

Briggs & Riley BRX Explore Upright Carry-on Luggage Review

Native Sami Couple in traditional costumes, Finnmark, Norway

Discover Authentic Norway on Hurtigruten Cruise Ship

If I close my eyes, I can still see visions of pink, red and orange streaks lighting up the Norwegian skyline. It was an August sunset in Bergen that I witnessed aboard Hurtigruten’s MS Midnatsol, my lodging during a six-night cruise along Norway’s west coast.

With its majestic Norwegian fjords and snow capped mountains, Norway is accessible by boat, car, train and plane. However, sailing is my preferred mode of transportation when it comes to discovering Norway. After all, Norwegian Viking ships sailed the North Sea long before Christopher Columbus discovered America.

Hurtigruten – Worlds Most Beautiful Voyage

If you require television, slot machines, craps tables and nightly entertainment resembling Hollywood productions, Norway’s Hurtigruten cruises are not for you. However, if you prefer daily access to stunning vistas, excursions to Trondheim’s Nidaros Cathedral, dining with Norwegian Vikings in Bode or bird watching in Honnigsvag, sailing with Hurtigruten  may be your ticket to discovering authentic Norway.

Take a horseback ride on a Fjord horse in Bergen, Norway

Hurtigruten – A Different Type of Cruising

Unlike super-sized cruise ships bedecked with water slides and climbing walls, Hurtigruten stakes its claim on Norway’s authentic beauty. The cruise typically begins in Bergen, Norway. Fly in early to visit the fish market, Hanseatic Wharf and Edvard Grieg Museum. Minutes from Bergen is the historic Øvre-Eide Farm. Take a carriage ride behind a fjord horse or go for a horseback ride on a Fjord horse.

Art Nouveau Alesund, Norway

Hurtigruten ships are working ships, and by that I mean that they carry cars and packages, as well as passengers. The Hurtigruten makes 34 ports of call and offers shore excursions in many of the ports. On my trip, I disembarked at the Art Nouveau town of Alesund and visited one of several museums, including the Sunnmøre Open Air Museum, with old Norwegian building replicas and a working Viking ship.  Further up the west coast, Trondheim is known for its Nidaros Cathedral and boasts the worlds only bicycle lift.

Adventure Seekers in Norway

Hurtigruten's MS Midnatsol - an authentic way to experience Norway

With the world’s largest population of sea eagles, Bodo is also known as the land of the midnight sun, as the sun doesn’t set during summer months. Take an inflatable rubber boat in search of these mighty birds and experience the Saltstraumen, the world’s most powerful tidal current.

It is near Bodo when the Hurtigruten crosses the Arctic Circle and passengers may volunteer to experience a different sort of baptism – see above video.

Samis and reindeer and bears – oh my!

Far in the reaches of Northern Norway, passengers may sip reindeer soup in Finnmark with Sami locals, participate in a Viking feast and see what life was once like in Tromsø at the Polar Museum, where natives hunted seals and Polar bears to survive the long, cold winters.

Vigeland Sculpture Garden in Oslo, Norway is not to be missed

O is for Oslo Opera House

As is the case with Bergen, allow extra time in bustling Oslo, Norway. The Oslo Opera House offers stunning acoustics and the Vigeland Sculpture Garden is not to be missed.

If You Go:

Hurtigruten (800) 323-7436

5100 NW 33^rdAve. Suite 255, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309

Related Posts:

Things to See and Do in Bergen, Norway

Things to See and Do in Alesund, Norway

Things to See and Do in Trondheim, Norway

Things to See and Do in Oslo, Norway

Are Cruise Ships Environmentally Friendly?

I was a guest of Hurtigruten and Innovation Norway. Article, YouTube video and photos by Nancy D. Brown. Fjord horse photo courtesy of Ovre-Eide Farm.