We bought land! Now What?
Almost a year. That’s how long it took us from the moment we first saw the property we fell in love with to the moment we signed the papers that made us its official new owners. Well, 11 months to be exact. Ten, maybe, if you count from the moment we decided we wanted to buy the place. No matter how you look at it, it has taken quite a while. We are partly at fault, because we wanted to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s –
30+ Reasons why we love Portugal
and why you should plan a visit This is an ever-growing list about why we love Portugal, a reminder to ourselves and an invitation for you to come and visit to see what we mean and why we love our adoptive country so much. We love Portugal because of… 1. Its truly cosmopolitan population stemming from a rich (if relatively unknown) history mixing cultures in a very open-minded way. Quite the contrast from their neighbors coughcough-spanishinquisitionanyone 2. Vinho Verde, a type of white wine made with very young grapes, often slightly fizzy and
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
Gorillas in Rwanda
Our last stop in East Africa, after Kenya and Uganda was Rwanda. We flew in to Kigali early on Friday morning and hung out at the “Ikirezi Bookshop” – a fantastic spot full of great books (note: just as some people have a soft spot for handbags or shoes, my Achilles heel is books) and with a café serving delicious smoothies with a metallic reusable straw no less! After enjoying this book lovers’ paradise, we feasted at the Italian restaurant Brachetto before finally hitting the road and heading
Uganda & the Nile
During our week in Uganda, we were lucky to be invited to spend a weekend on the Nile. On Saturday morning we drove just over two hours out of Kampala before turning off the tarmac road onto a nondescript red dirt road – I love the color, which is even more vivid in Uganda than in Kenya. Children played in front of mud houses and waved frantically as we “muzungus” drove by, a common occurrence in every rural area we have visited so far and which somehow never
Kenya & the “Big 5”
The first official stop on our honeymoon itinerary was Kenya. Having been to Nairobi and on a horseback safari by myself in 2013, I was excited to be back and this time around to be able to share the experience with both Francois and my brother who was in town for business (he is the founder and managing director of an impact investing fund, AlphaMundi Group). During our time in Kenya – and Uganda, actually – we were lucky enough to shadow my brother at a few business meetings,