Bolivian Adventures: When the Sky is the limit (and then some)
Disclaimer: Under most circumstances, it would be a toss-up between my spontaneously gushing about Bolivia or trying to act nonchalantly enthusiastic with a “don’t even get me started on how much I love that place”, with the odds firmly in favor of the gushing. I lived in La Paz back in 2005, enjoying a life I had barely dreamed of before taking six months to volunteer there and get to know my roots, staying on for almost three years of sheer adventure and happiness. I left because it was
Bogota to La Paz by bus, NBD Bogota to La Paz by bus, NBD
It started as a joke, this idea of doing 5000km and going from Bogota all the way to La Paz by bus. But then, as the airfares continued to defy our budget week after week and month after month, we decided it was our best option and made an adventure out of it (how could we not!). We found out the hard way, albeit with minimal consequences, that any information about bus schedules and prices that can be found online are unreliable and should be used as a very
Going “Wild” in rural Colombia: the B&B life and Chasing Waterfalls
While in Colombia, we spent two weeks volunteering on yet another great project we found through Workaway: an eco-tourism Bed & Breakfast (B&B) called “Finca Agrreste”. The name is inspired from the word “agreste” with one “r” which means “savage” or “wild” in Spanish. The property lies a few hours North of Bogota, between the towns of Nemocon – known for its salt mine – and Suesca. The manager, Felipe Galindo, used to work in petrochemical engineering. Today, he manages six B&B properties in the general region of the
Wine, Tango & Beef: That’s what’s for dinner
Buenos Aires is probably the best city to visit as an introduction to Latin America. That’s why we chose it as our end of year destination, given that Francois’ parents were flying out to meet up with us for Christmas and New Year. The city is full of old, glorious, historical buildings designed based on French architecture, yet the vibe is decidedly Latin. Streets are full of colorful graffiti, and music – often but not only tango – can almost always be heard coming from someone’s apartment, a
Ode to Desnivel
[Inspired primarily by the restaurant Desnivel in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, and Pablo Neruda’s Odes to the onion, tomatoes, and the lemon… ] Your name emerged From Google Maps and the Guide du Routard With such promise We timidly peeked Into what was a nondescript entrance Only to be welcomed By a glorious smell Of roasting meet And the visual delight Of an overloaded grill Right there in the entrance Waiting, beckoning us So we dove in And ordered a few cuts Of red meat Red, like a heart full of love Red, like a rose in bloom Red, like full lips waiting for a kiss So
Building muscles in Uruguay, one smile at a time
Up in the hills outside of Rocha, a small town North East of Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, sits what looks like a hobbit house. Three geodesic domes built of wood, mud, and thatch sit overlooking a gently sloping piece of land called “Tierra Alegre” or “Happy Earth”. This is Juli and Libre’s little piece of paradise. They moved here a few years ago when Juli was pregnant with their son Indi – who has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen and is now two years old. Also a part
How Patagonia stole our hearts
Our week in Patagonia can be split into three segments: Our time in El Calafate and specifically the big ice hike we did on the Perito Moreno glacier, the 30h stint we did in Chile at Puerto Natales and hiking in the Torres del Paine national park, and the three days spent hiking in El Chalten. A Glacier Up Close and Personal We landed in El Calafate and went straight to our hostel, I Keu Ken, where Patricio at the front desk introduced us to the town and helped us
For the love of Avocado!
Fact: avocados are delicious. I am not sure it is possible to get tired of eating avocado – its versatility as a food is limited only by our imagination. I have heard of replacing butter with avocado in baking recipes as well as breading and frying slices of avocado as fries. All that to say, we would love to have avocados on our future farm. So as we perused Workaway, we decided to look for an avocado farm to go spend some time on and learn what growing avocados
NZ Campervan Adventures
Itinerary & Recommendations South Island: Christchurch – Mount Potts & Mount Sunday – Geraldine – Lake Tekapo & Lake Pukaki – Glenorchy – Te Anau & Milford Sound – Wanaka & Mount Iron & Diamond Lake – Franz Josef Glacier – Hoikitika – Punakaiki – Cape Foulwind – Abel Tasman National Park – Picton North Island: Wellington – Flying Fox / Whanganui National Park – Lake Taupo – Rotorua – Auckland – Whangarei Kamo & Mount Audrey – Auckland If we were to do this part of the trip again, we
Tasmaniac Campervan Adventures
Itinerary Hobart – Paradise – Cradle Mountain – Launceston-ish – Bay of Fires – Wineglass Bay – Hobart Our Campervan Adventure Tasmania blew our minds, and we did not even see half the things there were to see on the island. After our two week stay at Tiger Hill Farm in Buckland, we spent a few days in the quaint city of Hobart – with more second hand bookstores than pubs, and a lot of pubs – before heading off to explore the North of the island. The challenge was