To be prepared … or not to be

Posted on October 14, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

Be Prepared
-Motto of the Boy Scouts of America

Moshi, Tanzania – For the first half of my life so far, I was very active in the Boy Scouts and I don’t think that there is anything that I have internalized more from those years than the Boy Scout Motto; “Be Prepared”. I absolutely love being prepared. When we went camping I took pride in always having the right gear. If it rained, I had a poncho. If we were starting a fire, I had the matches. If we came across a bear, I had my running shoes.

And after I became an Eagle Scout, I carried this value on in my life at college. I had my homework ready when I got to class. I knew what I needed to know in time for the exam. And, during those long all-nighters, I always made sure I had adequate cash in my pocket to pay the bartenders. I was always prepared.

And on into my professional life. I prepared for my meetings, prepped for phone calls, and studied up before jumping into some new technology. Then, when I started doing field service work on the lasers I was building, I launched myself into a whole new level of preparedness.

First, I had to pack my tool case. In order for the trip to be a success, I had to have the tools and parts to fix whatever problem may arise. Since I was going to be out in who-knows-what part of the world and usually on a tight schedule, I couldn’t afford to go shopping around town when I needed something, and often the odds of finding some small, speciality laser optic were incredibly slim anyway. So I made sure to bring along just the right things; rare parts, those likely to break, the right tool to take apart any part of the system. I won’t say I was perfect, I had to improvise quite a few times, but I think I did pretty well considering the magnitude of unique parts in the systems I worked on.

And then there was the trip itself. I delighted in putting together the perfect dossier for my trip before I left. Not only did I have to book the flight and transportation, I had to get myself to and from the site (and make sure not to miss any of the good restaurants in town). So I printed out city maps, campus maps, my flight reservation, hotel reservation, local transit schedules, customer location, and a sightseeing list, should I have a free moment or two. I put all the info in chronological order, threw it in my bag, and the trip schedule was set.

My “Be Prepared” doctrine was serving me well. I ticked through the steps of my trip, got my work done, and got back home. I started to see travel as the ultimate preparedness challenge. I felt like my preparing skills had reached a new level. It was a huge part of who I was and I never questioned it.

But once I got on this trip, everything changed. I started with my usual preparations at home; getting the packing just right, making some hotel reservations, mapping things out. But, as things got going, I just couldn’t keep up. The scope of the trip was just too long, we move too frequently, and I found that I was spending the majority of my time in between transits just planning for the next. And so I did something I thought I would never do; I took my beloved preparedness and let it go.

And do you know what happened? I loved it! Now that I was free of the schedule, I discovered a new richness of travel that I had been missing all along. When everything is planned and scheduled, you end up with a somewhat sterilized impression of the place you’re visiting. You only get what the guidebooks show you. But when you can change on a whim and follow a suggestion from some local or a fellow traveler, that’s when you find the good stuff.

That’s how we ended up in the Amazon when we cut out of our Ecuador home stay early, and how we checked out Huacachina and Ollantaytambo based on some advice we picked up, and how we extended our stay in Cape Town from 2 days to 6 to 7 to 8 days. Sure, we ended up in a few fleabag hotels because we didn’t check them out in advance, but we also found some really nice places (and at much better prices than the guidebook-sponsored varieties).

So I learned a valuable lesson (and, thankfully, early on in this trip). Travel is about experiencing new things, and that is very hard to do if everything goes according to plan. You might as well just stay home and read some travel books. So ask for travel tips if you run into someone who shares your tastes, or have your waiter direct you to the local’s bar with the best pisco sour, or hop in a taxi and say “take me someplace awesome!” (your results may vary). But whatever you do, leave the dossier behind.

Posted in Reflections on Travel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How we’re traveling the world for $380

Posted on October 10, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

Moshi, Tanzania – In most vacations, the three major costs are airfare, lodging, and food. We went and lopped one of those off of our budget almost entirely by getting one year’s worth of flights for only $380. How was that possible? We bought an Around the World ticket using frequent flyer miles (that we got for free) and anyone can do it.

What is an Around the World ticket?

Many carriers (or networks of carriers) offer some type of around the world (RTW) fare. The rules can vary wildly, but they typically involve a package deal on a series of flights going around the world with several stops along the way. You can buy them in cash, but we chose to use miles and pay next to nothing out of pocket. We bought the tickets on United Airlines’ program and this allowed us to go anywhere that Star Alliance flies. The information here is specific to this program but there are many others with their own rules (for example, you can fly on One World Alliance flights if you happen to have your miles through American Airlines). The requirements are as follows.

  • Cost: 180,000 miles + $380 per ticket
  • Up to 6 stops of over 24 hours are allowed (that is, any layover of more than 24 hours is considered a stop)
  • One land segment allowed (landing in one airport and taking off later from another)
  • Trip must be completed within one year of booking
  • Can fly anywhere Star Alliance flies, subject to availability of award seats
  • Must end in the same country you started from (you have to go all the way around)

That’s it and it was perfect for what we wanted to do. It took a lot of planning to pick out the route, but it is reasonably flexible. We can change flight days for free if it is over 3 weeks in advance of the flight (again, subject to seat availability) or we can change routes entirely for $75 per person per destination change. It took us about an hour on the phone to book the entire thing, but it has been working out fantastically. That “subject to availability” clause was a real pain for the first few segments of our itinerary since many were full already. In fact, our first stop was supposed to be Ecuador, but they could only get us as close at Panama City (and we had to separately buy a flight between Panama and Ecuador and for more than the cost of our entire RTW fare). We also ended up with a pretty heinous journey as a result of this as well.

So how do you get 180,000 miles for free?

My previous job required a fair amount of international travel and I kept the miles from that, however, I only had about enough miles for one ticket. They way we earned enough for the second: we played the credit card bonus game.

It is still the case that credit card companies are so desperate for your long-term business, they are offering outsized rewards in the hope that you will stay with them. Many offer airline miles but they usually have certain hoops you have to jump through; you normally have to spend a certain amount on the card within the first few months. Hence the game you have to play.

I got most of the info from a travel writer I have been following for a while, Chris Guillebeau, who just finished visiting every country in the world. And he made it possible largely through “travel hacking” or traveling at drastically discounted prices. In fact, he has just started his annual Frequent Flyer Challenge which is I what used as my main source of card info. So here are the credit cards I ended up applying for:

  • United Airlines Visa: 50,000 miles
  • Chase Sapphire: 40,000 miles
  • Chase Ink: 25,000 miles
  • Chase Ink Bold: 25,000 miles
  • British Airways: 100,000 miles (not transferable to United, but I can use them for side trips)
  • Starwood Preferred Guest: 40,000 points (used for hotel stays)

Mindy got a Sapphire card as well and that was enough to put us over the top. The great thing is that you don’t have to keep the card to keep the rewards, so once they come through, you can just cancel the card. And if you can’t find enough cards to get the miles you’re shooting for, you can often reapply after one year of canceling and get the award again.

Meeting the minimum spend requirements

Most of the cards require you to spend something like $3,000 on the card in the first three months. Fortunately for us, we happened to be planning a wedding at the time and spending money was no problem. We just had to make sure we spaced things out so we were paying on the right cards at the right times. But for the rest of you not getting married, if your expenses are not that high, there are some other tricks you can use. Pay your rent/mortgage on your credit card (services like William Paid and Chargesmart allow you to for a fee), prepay your insurance (or other recurring bills) for 6 months or a year if they allow, or there are other tricks involving prepaid cards and the US mint that, while legal, are against the spirit of their programs so I won’t get into them here.

But what about my credit score?

This can be a legitimate concern. First, if your credit score is low to begin with, you may have trouble obtaining all the cards. Second, you must be careful not to hurt your credit score by randomly applying to lines of credit all over the place. One thing you should do is apply to new cards in batches so you don’t look like the type who is trying to get credit all the time. Also, of course, pay off the cards on time. While it is too soon for me to tell the impact on my credit score, most of the advice out there from people who do this regularly says that their score dips a bit at first, but then returns to its previous level (and sometimes higher). This is a risk you will be taking but it seems to be rather small (but don’t mess around if you plan on taking out a large loan anytime soon, though!).

So if you’re patient and organized, you can travel for next to nothing as well. It may take a few years to build up the miles but it can save you loads. And if you’re not up for the whole “travel around the world” thing, there are other flight package deals that are regionally focused, like South America or Asia tours, for much less. Happy travels!

Posted in Prepping and Planning | Tagged , | 2 Comments

How to live forever and die young

Posted on October 7, 2013 by crupley

Written by Chris

As the old joke goes, “I have the ability to travel through time, but I can only go forward and only at a rate of one second per second.”

We are are all traveling through time in the same way, but I have recently begun to appreciate just how much our perception of time can vary. During this trip, things have felt wildly skewed. So how is it that you can live forever and die young? In short, the answer is to try new things.

“When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity.” –Albert Einstein*

Preferably find something else to try than putting your hand on the stove, though.

*This “quote” has often bothered me, but it is relevant here. While this does appear to be an actual quote from Einstein (alleged article text), it has absolutely nothing do to with his theory of relativity. In fact, it appears Einstein may have been attempting to give us a bit of hilarity.

As soon as we started this trip, immediately after we loaded up our car and drove away, time started to get strange. The days seemed to crawl by but, simultaneously, segments were over before we knew what was happening. We are now 4 months into our one-year journey and I cannot believe it is one third over already. And at the same time, when I consider all of the things we have experienced in those 4 months, it is inconceivable to me that we still have twice again as much time left to travel. What is going on here?

We soon realized that it was the novelty of our new experiences that was skewing time for us. When your brain cannot fall into its usual routines, each situation has to be analyzed anew and a lot of mental effort is being expanded. Time slows down. Then, when you get back into a familiar pattern, your brain can go on autopilot, you can daydream your way through, and it is over before you know. I think a lot of us have experienced this many times in what I call the “out and back” paradox. It goes like this. Say you are heading out to someplace you have never been before. It takes some mental effort to get yourself there and find the place. Then, when you are done, you head back home and the trip back seems to be substantially shorter than the trip there. What happened? Novelty and mental effort on the way there, routine and spacing out on the way back. Time distortion.

Another great example is to think of what life was like when you were a kid. Days seemed to go on forever. The school day was intolerably long, but it was usually no more than 7 hours and there were two recesses and a lunch break in there. Now, I can clock the occasional 10 or 12-hour workday and be fine. I’ve been on a few cross-country drives with minimal breaks, bus as a kid, a 4-hour car ride to Cedar Point was an eternity (but I would pay any price for a ride on the Gemini). The difference? As a kid, every experience is novel. Your brain is constantly busy building frameworks to help handle reality more efficiently. Now, as adults, all of those frameworks are in place, most experiences are old hat, and we sail right through; highly cognitively efficient but missing out on all the nuanced details of the individual experience.

So in a sense, now, I am seeing the world every day as I did as a child. Things are new and exciting and full of mystery every day. I don’t know what I am going to encounter and I am constantly stretching to make sense of these new worlds I inhabit. Perhaps that is why people are so often drawn to travel; it gives you the feeling of being young again (young mentally, that is. Alternately, the rigors of travel are exceptionally good at reminding you of your true physical age).

So seek out new experiences and it will feel like you are living forever. At the same time, a lifetime of new experiences will keep you mentally young right up until the day you die.

The next time we see you will probably be an eternity from now. It will be here before you know it.

Posted in Reflections on Travel | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Oh Where, Oh Where, Did Chris and Mindy Go?

Posted on October 3, 2013 by msuerupley

After a month or more of being almost completely off the radar, Chris and I are back in Internet civilization. (Well for the next 12 hours that is.) For the last month we have been bunkering down in a little town, Balaka, in Southern Malawi, doing some volunteer work and staying with a wonderful family. We’ve had very limited Internet, or electricity for that matter, and therefore been a bit behind in our posting.

It’s been a roller coaster of a time, with Chris and I learning more in 30 days than I think I did the whole time I was in college. However, before we get into our experience volunteering and our exposure to NGOs, development, and international aid, we thought we would give an introduction to Malawi and Balaka.

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Chris drinking homemade “Sweet Beer,” a thickish non-alcoholic corn drink that is everywhere in rural Malawi

Malawi, The Warm Heart of Africa, is located in the Southern part of Africa, towards the eastern side. It’s a tiny country, no bigger than the state of Pennsylvania, with half the land being covered by Lake Malawi. Unfortunately as it is surrounded by some of the big tourist destinations, Tanzania, South Africa, Victoria Falls, foreigners often overlook it, in favor of these more popular spots. However, it’s an incredibly friendly country, with quite a bit to offer. I can already tell you after traveling in Tanzania that Malawi is much easier to navigate and the people much less “toutey”.

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Chris and I celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary at Lake Malawi

After arriving by bus to Lilongwe, Balaka’s very oddly chosen capitol, we were met and driven down to Balaka by our host for the next month. The roads in Malawi are a bit rough, long past their prime, and driven by drivers who to us seem like they have a bit of a death wish. Of course after seeing this Driving School sign, we understood a bit better why that is.

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No offense, but I am pretty sure God would want you to drive safely and not just depend on him

We spent the next few days adjusting to the town and getting settled into our “home”. We visited the NGO where we would be volunteering and got the lay of the land. Unfortunately, besides being hot, Balaka doesn’t have a ton to offer it. Not located on Lake Malawi like many of the towns or near the mountains like Malawi’s biggest town, Blantyre, it is located on a dry, dusty plateau, without a hill or even a bit of green around it. It is often plagued with drought and this, combined with its high HIV rate and central location to many rural areas, has made it an epi-center of the Relief world in Malawi. It is however fairly centrally located and Chris and I got to do some great weekend trips.

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Our host, standing near one of the local villages

Whatever Balaka lacks in physical beauty it definitely makes up for in wonderful people. We met so many warm people who were incredibly eager to share their time with us and often went out of their way to make us feel at home. Thankfully many Malawians, really any who attended Secondary School, speak decent if not great English. This afforded us a chance to really get to know some people and find out what Malawi is truly like.

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Chris and two of our new friends

Our host family was especially wonderful. Consisting of the Mom, Bahati, daughter, Asante, and their house helper, Jenny, there were all wonderfully warm and eager to make sure we had a good experience. The food was delicious (turns out I really love Nsima, the staple stiff corn porridge that is Malawi’s national food) and the home was lovely. Bahati and I especially had some great conversations about differences between our countries and stereotypes that each holds about the other. It never occurred to me but the same way everyone in the US just assumes everyone in Malawi is poor (totally not true by the way), everyone in Malawi assumes everyone in the US is incredibly rich and that everything is perfect and modern. One of my favorite moments was when I told a car full of people that I too had grown up on a dirt road. They just couldn’t’ believe it.

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Jenny, Asante, and Me

One of the other best parts was the next-door neighbor had a four month old son, Lombani, who I fell deeply in love with. I spent most of my days after work sitting on the front porch or out back under the trees playing with him. He was the sweetest baby, loves cuddling, and it was nice to be able to just relax and play with him. (Then hand him back to his Mom!)

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My new buddy, good thing he wouldn’t fit in my backpack

So there is a bit about Malawi and our time there. We have been up to much more in the last month and half than is in this little post but it’s going to take us a bit of time to get caught up. Overall we are having an incredibly impactful experience in South East Africa, learning a ton, and really having some wonderful times.

Tomorrow we head up Mount Kilimanjaro for the next 7 days! I am a bit terrified, Chris is a just a bit excited, and we are both trying to stay positive that we will make it to the top. Stay tuned though, as there will be some posts popping up while we are gone.

Kwaheri!

Posted in Status Update | 1 Comment

Our Discovery of Ecuador and Peru

Posted on September 11, 2013 by msuerupley

Jointly written by Chris and Mindy

After quite a bit of uncomfortable bus travel, Chris and I have made it safely to the little town of Balaka, Malawi. We are having an enlightening time here, learning and engaging with the community and being challenged everyday. But before we get into the awesomeness of what we have been doing recently, we wanted to wrap-up South America.

We know that this post is really late, hard to believe it’s been almost a month since we left South America!, but due to a lack of internet/electricity and frustratingly slow internet when we have it, we are just getting this up. Also, there will not be any pictures for this post, since those definitely won’t be loading.

Hopefully we will be able to get up more recent posts soon. If not, expect a huge influx of posts in about three weeks, when we reach Tanzania.

Our Discovery of Ecuador and Peru
Our extended stay in Ecuador and our whirlwind time in Peru allowed us to see some amazing sites, meet some incredible people, and opened our eyes to a bit more of the world. Below you’ll find a quick overview of our time in Ecuador/Peru, our top 3 experiences from Ecuador, our top experience from Peru, as well as our top 3 take-aways from the whole South American journey.

Quick Overview of Our Time in Ecuador/Peru
Ecuador
In total we ended up spending almost 3 months in this amazing place. Here, we discovered a beautiful country full of charming and kind people as well as some of the most unique and diverse eco-systems we could have imagined. We also found a troubled country that is undergoing rapid development/growth and isn’t quite sure what come’s next.

We visited:
The Galapagos
Incredible and strange animals, these fascinating islands were definitely by far one of the top highlights for Chris and I.

Homestay at Amable and Virginia’s Farm
In Cuellaje we got the opportunity to experience rural Ecuador from a local’s perspective. Here we discovered amazing people and a simpler, technology-free but happy lifestyle.

Otavalo
This beautiful market town is surrounded by towering volcanoes and is a great example of indigenous communities entrepreneurship.

The Amazon at Sani Lodge
Freakishly large bugs, pooping monkeys, a wonderful and beautiful community, during our time at Sani Lodge we learned and saw some amazing things, making us realize just how intensely our world is interconnected.

Banos, Ecuador
Missed seeing the erupted volcano by a week (sadness by Chris, not so much by Mindy) but had a wonderful time biking and eating pub food.

Peru
Ah Peru, a more perfect world for us, we could not imagine. Soaring mountains, ancient ruins, and fantastic food, this country really does have it all. We did:

Huacachina
Towering sand dunes and a desert oasis, this little town provided an incredibly fun few days complete with sand boarding and dune buggying.

Lima
Delicious food and amazing friends, we spent a happy few days here eating our way through this foodie city.

Cusco
By far our favorite city that we visited in South America, we could have spent a few months here. This Inca City is the perfect blend of ancient, old, and new, with a majestic, mountainous world right in its backyard. (Oh, and great food!)

Inca Trek
What can we say? 4 days of incredible hiking with wonderful friends through the gorgeous Andes and complete with an opportunity to explore Inca Ruins, this was definitely an amazing trip!

Machu Picchu
As stunning and powerful as one expects it to be, Machu Picchu is an awe-inspiring example of the power that was the Incas.

Sacred Valley
If Chris and I could retire tomorrow, I think we would settle here. (Cusco is part of the Sacred Valley.) This gorgeous valley is the perfect blend of traditional and modern, rural and city, and with incredible trekking everywhere and warm people, what else could you ask for?

Back to Ecuador
For a visit to:
Quito
This historic city has a beautiful old town, modern up-town, and enough urban sprawl to give LA a run for its money.

Puerto Lopez
Whales, whales, and more whales, this wonderful and relaxing seaside town gave us a fantastic few days complete with watching the majestic humpback whales dance and play in the shallow waters.

The Hacienda
We ended our South America journey by putting down roots for a bit at this early 18th century estate, giving us the opportunity to try out our farming and Spanish skills. After a great 3 weeks spent hoeing, weeding, hiking, and relaxing in front of a fireplace, Chris and I can’t wait to go back.

Top 3 Ecuadorian Experiences
Chris
Seeing (and eating) all the amazing creatures in the Amazon
Okay, so I didn’t eat all of them, but they were incredibly interesting to see. Tons of monkeys, horrifying insects, giant snails, and man-eating snakes make for some inspiring sights. We never knew what we were going to run into next.

Hanging out in Banos, Ecuador
This crossroads town felt like a big melting-pot of cultures and, with its thrilling location in a valley at the base of an active volcano, offers a lot in the way of outdoor adventure. Hot sulfur springs, mountain/volcano hiking, picturesque views, a thriving expat community, and a brilliant brewpub (an extreme rarity in these parts) make it a place worth settling down in.

Hoeing a row at the Hacienda
I got to try my hand at some organic gardening and I found that I absolutely loved growing the food I eat. The opportunity to do this while living on a huge 18th century farming estate converted into a luxury getaway, getting 3 meals served to me a day, and doing it all for free was almost too much to handle.

Mindy
Hanging with Turtles and Tortoises in the Galapagos
For those of you who know me even a little, you know my love of turtles and the level of dream come true this was for me. When I finally got to sit down and stare at the face of a Giant Tortoise, realizing they could be upwards of 150 years old, it was just a moment of profound joy for me. To then get to turn around and float on a wave with Chris while three sea turtles swim around us and sea lions darted in and out, I just cannot imagine something more amazing.

Meeting the people of Cuellaje, Ecuador
Few people have impacted me at the quite the level the people of Cuellaje did. I’m not sure exactly why but everyone I met just touched me in some way. There was Ned, who left his traditional life in England to find contentment in Ecuador, his wonderful wife Patricia, who even though I barely spoke a word of Spanish managed to have complete conversations with me as well as some how get me in the kitchen cooking, and of course the Angullos (Amable and Virginia), who were without a doubt the happiest, most loving family I have ever met. They live so simply, but are in no way poor, and share a bond that was beautiful to witness. Everyone we met just showed us incredible warmness and that a simple life can be every bit, if not more, fulfilling.

The Sani Lodge
To read about why I chose Sani Lodge, scroll down to top 3 Take-Aways.

Top Peruvian Experience
Chris
Getting to Know the Incas
Our brief immersion in the world of the Incas gave me great appreciation for everything that they accomplished. I marveled at their architecture, their engineering prowess, agriculture, astronomy, spirituality, and their deep appreciation for nature. Exploring the structures that they left behind was thrilling and, since even today a great deal of it remains overtaken by the jungle, it left me wondering at all the things we still might be able to learn from them some 500 years hence.

Mindy
Making the Inca Trek
It was the reason we headed down to Peru and the Inca Trek to Machu Picchu did not disappoint us. For the Incas, these treks were not just about arriving at a destination but were a spiritual journey and the trek definitely provided us with a bit of this. The sweeping vistas, the triumph of making the mountain passes, and the ruins all combined to make this a magical four days. Add on top of this that we got to share the trip with an amazing group of fun people and it was without a doubt a memory I will hold dear for years to come.

Top 3 Take-Aways
Chris
The Developing World
It is an exciting time to be in Ecuador right now. High oil prices in a country whose economy is heavily dependent on exports has left the government coffers flush with cash and a president who is doing a decent job of returning this money to its citizens is catapulting Ecuador forward rapidly. Opportunities to seize onto this growth abound for everyone here and everywhere I look I see people hustling hard to get in on it. Though in some places, the growth seems to surpass their ability to adapt to it. As someone who comes from a nation that has already passed these development hurdles, I sometimes feel like a parent must feel when they watch their child grow up and repeat the same mistakes they have. I want to yell at them to ‘do as I say, not as I do’, but they want their share of the prosperity that the developed world has and the easiest way is to follow the same model. But they’re starting to choke on smog (and shrinking the rainforest in proportion), piling up trash, and beginning to sport some American-sized waistbands. There’s a good shot they will make it through alright, though. As long as the oil money holds out.

Ecuadorian Diversity
In a country the size of Colorado, they pack in exotic islands, gorgeous beaches, giant mountain ranges and volcanoes, and massive rainforest. We found that wildly different climates were only a day’s bus ride away and it was fantastic to be able to experience so many different natural features in such a short period of time. The Galapagos offer many species found nowhere else on earth, the cities are filled with colonial history and modern conveniences, and the natives left clues to their cultures scattered throughout the country. It has been quite a varied tour.

Lost Inca Culture
I was absolutely fascinated following the clues the Incas left behind. What made it so intriguing was that this was a very advanced civilization that existed not too long ago was wiped out and they had no written language to record their history. This means that we have had to infer what advanced knowledge they may have possessed based on the artifacts they left behind. We have found that they had advanced agriculture skills; 4,000 varieties of potato, 1,000 varieties of corn (all mostly now lost), that were optimized to grow in a variety of climates. They knew medicine, could administer anesthesia for surgeries, and could use plants to cure many illnesses. And the Incas had incredibly advanced knowledge of astronomy. All this left me constantly marveling that there is the huge body of knowledge that they had cultivated over hundreds of years hidden away and maybe the key to unlocking it all is lying somewhere among all these ruins. Who knows what else they have to teach us?

Mindy
The People and Their Lives
Chris and I met beautiful and amazing people during this part of our journey. We learned incredible lessons in slowing down and enjoying life’s pleasures and were reminded that sitting down and watching the sunset with your loved ones is every bit as important as working hard. If there is one thing South America truly understands, it is the value of family and community, something I think we often lose in the “busyness” of our lives in the US.

It also turned out that once again travel destroyed some of my preconceived notions and I found a country that yes, has people who are staggeringly poor, but also has a thriving, educated, and growing middle class. Meeting Fredi at Sani for example, really brought this home to me. Fredi is a gentleman who is line to be his community’s next Shaman (spiritual doctor loosely translated), grew up without running water, over a day’s canoe ride from the nearest place with electricity, but now has an impressive college degree, speaks 4 languages fluently, and is more travelled than I am. Over and over again it was taught to me to get over the simplicity and preconceptions I was taught in the US and get out there and experience these countries for what they really are, wonderfully complex.

The Treatment of the “Others”
Racism, classism, and sexism are all alive and well in South America and they definitely don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. This caste system is incredibly apparent, spoken about as if it is no big deal, and its ramifications are easily visible. The small population of people of African descent (regularly called Morenos in a derogatory manner) sit firmly at the bottom of this system with local indigenous populations not far behind. These groups make up the poorest of the poor and in a lot of areas are completely ignored. They have little representation in government (though this seems to be changing, at least for the indigenous populations) and almost no access to basic human services. Most live a subsistence agriculture life that is incredibly precarious, as one flood, one landslide and they are on the brink of starvation.

People in Ecuador regularly talk poorly about those who are below them in the system, and it’s hard to understand how warm-hearted people can switch to being so nasty, so fast. I know these issues are prevalent in the US, but it is very eye-opening to have them slapped in your face rather than swept under the rug, US style.

The Impact of Oil on Communities and People
Sani Lodge probably had the largest overall impact on me. First off, the Amazon is a wondrous and bizarre place, like nothing I could have imagined. The horrific bugs, the fun/terrifying animals, and the captivating jungle/river all came together to capture my attention in a way few places have. However, it was the people who really touched me. Seeing first hand the ingenuity of the local community and their fight to keep their land away from the Oil Companies brought home to me how easily and carelessly those of us from the developed world take advantage of others. (And how easily the government in Ecuador can forget its indigenous people.) We need the oil, so the companies go to these countries that are desperate for money, threaten to pull if they don’t have lax policies, and then leave them a gigantic mess to clean up. (Don’t believe me? In 2009 the people of the Amazon won a $19 billion lawsuit against Chevron for their horrific treatment of the Amazon while drilling. Of course this has to be appealed like 10 times, so who knows when they will see the money and be able to put it to use for cleanup.)

It’s so easy in the US to forget that the things we buy have to come from somewhere, they don’t just magically appear in our malls, and the realization is that a lot of our consumer practices are having devastating effects on our neighbors. Just because we are wealthier doesn’t mean we have the right to destroy other people’s homes, let alone entire ecosystems. At the very least it would help if we remembered that our world is incredibly interconnected and cures for cancer/malaria have come out of the Amazon along with 20% of the oxygen we breathe. We destroy it and we are stuck with the consequences.

 

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South Africa to the Maxx

Posted on August 29, 2013 by crupley

Hanging out above Cape Town

Hanging out above Cape Town


Written by Chris

Livingstone, Zambia – Mindy and I are in the middle of our transit across the African continent, and we just left a week-long stay in one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been: Cape Town, South Africa.

We dropped ourselves directly into Cape Town after our marathon flight itinerary and had a driver take us directly to a comfortable B&B in a little suburb called Hout Bay. We spent much of the day sleeping off the jet lag and enjoying the luxury of a bathtub (a bathtub!) after months of mostly cold showers. We attempted to head out into town once and quickly learned that the winters in Cape Town consist of erratic, enormous, and brief downpours. We promptly installed ourselves next to our fireplace for the remainder of our stay at the B&B.

After the few recovery days had brought us back to functional human beings, we relocated to Cape Town proper for some more serious exploration. Now with a name like ‘Cape Town’ I was fully expecting it to be a city full of super heroes or, at the very least, some very dapper gentlemen. Alas, not even a cape store was to be found. Instead, we found an oddly familiar scene. It seems as though Cape Town is a bit of a San Francisco Jr. Consider the following features of (San Francisco / Cape Town):

  • Both built on a bay
  • Nearby gold rush caused population explosion
  • Rains a lot, never snows, one gorgeous month per year
  • Have their own island prison (Alcatraz / Robben Island) named for the animal that inhabits it (pelican in Spanish / seal in Dutch)
  • Have a toursit-magnet waterfront area (Fisherman’s Wharf / Victoria & Alfred Waterfront)
  • Trendy shops and restaurants, colorful houses on hills
  • Wine country (Napa Valley / Stellenboch)
  • Honest to god, a guy in Cape Town warned me away from a particular coffee shop because, “there are too many hipsters in there.”

We’re back in home sweet home.

The downtown of Cape Town is pinned in by two big mountains and the bay. There is Table Mountain (1000m) to the East an Lion’s Head (600m) and Signal Hill (or Lion’s Rump, if you prefer, 350m) to the West. We promptly climbed the latter for an excellent view of the city (as seen in this post’s header picture).

I was surprised by the amount of Dutch influence in the area (though I wouldn’t have been if I had known they were the original settlers of the area). Their primary language, besides English, is Afrikaans which is a derivative of Dutch (not from an African tribe). I always get a kick out of Dutch.

koeksisters = "cake sisters" = a tasty, rich Dutch donut

koeksisters = “cake sisters” = a tasty, rich Dutch donut

One evening, we caught a traditional African dance and music show (the performers subsequently showed up at the restaurant we were eating at and performed for the diners). But most nights we just caught something interesting to eat or called Mr. Delivery, a single service you can call that picks up delivery from a large number of restaurants in the area for you. You can even combine foods from different restaurants (hello, pizza with a side of Big Mac!). During the days we:

  • Climbed a mountain (see above)
  • Checked out the District 6 museum. The museum was not terribly impressive, but it pays a good tribute to the event where thousands of non-white families were forcibly removed from their homes in a large neighborhood during Apartheid rule. The whole area was bulldozed to make way for new buildings, but legal disputes prevented any construction from happening. It’s still a big, barren area in the middle of the city.
  • Saw penguins
    • I'm a penguin, wanna fight about it?

    I’m a penguin, wanna fight about it?

  • Saw ostrich
    • Where did I leave my surfboard?

    Where did I leave my surfboard?

  • Saw the faulty lighthouse the presided over the wreck of the Portuguese SS Lusitania. (not the famous RMS Lusitania sunk by a German U-boat).
    • I had my light on, I swear

    I had my light on, I swear

  • Visited the “most southwestern point of the African continent”
    • This is the most southwestern thing I have ever seen

    This is the most southwestern thing I have ever seen

  • Visited Robben Island; prison and home of Nelson Mandela for around 20 years
    • "Hey Mandela, whatcha been thinkin' about in there for 20 years?" "Oh, just civil rights, and stuff."

    “Hey Mandela, whatcha been thinkin’ about in there for 20 years?”
    “Oh, just civil rights, and stuff.”

  • And I finally got a haircut from someone who speaks English!

We loved it in Cape Town and we were sorry to go. It has great history, great beaches, great views, culture, activities, and people. We are already making plans to return someday soon.

View of Cape Town from the bay. Peaks from left to right: Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Signal Hill

View of Cape Town from the bay. Peaks from left to right: Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill

But leave we did and we headed by train (a story in itself) to Johannesburg for a few day layover before we were to head out across Africa. We found Johannesburg to be a bit unnerving. Between the security guide that we had to bribe to help us find a taxi, the taxi drivers constantly trying to rip us off, and all the backpackers who got huffy when we didn’t give them money, the place was none to pleasant. We did, however, make it to the Apartheid museum, which I found quite amazing. It was probably the best museum I have ever been to, and that’s saying a lot.

It tells the story of the rise and fall of South Africa’s system of racial segregation, Apartheid. The museum itself is a beautiful building, it has a great mix of images, text, video, and artifacts to keep things interesting. But the most interesting part is how it is set up to feel like you are participating in a journey; almost as though you are living through the history yourself.

It starts by dividing your party through different entrances, white and non-white (somehow, Mindy became non-white in the process. I guess she can turn a bit rosy at times 😉 and you head through separate cage-like paths for a bit. The exhibits slowly gear up in intensity as segregation becomes more of a fixture of society over time. You come around a corner and you are startled by a room full of nooses (executions were common), some loud and violent video, or a large Casspir (military APC) which was used to “protect” (but really assault dissenters). But eventually, you see the tide start to turn as more activists gain traction, Nelson Mandela is released from prison in 1990 (and began dismantling Apartheid), and South Africa holds its first democratic elections in 1994, ousting the pro-Apartheid regime.

I must say that I previously only had the vaguest notions of what was happening here (I was just a carefree kid / teenager at the time), but seeing it all now that I can appreciate it has been quite illuminating. There is today still so much hopefulness for the future in South Africa today and it is quite uplifting. In fact, on the radio as we were headed out of the country, we heard that they had just started building the first few houses in District 6 in Cape Town; finally reinstating a few of the residents who were removed 30 to 50 years ago and bringing life back to a long barren part of the city. Exciting times.

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Weird plants

Posted on August 23, 2013 by crupley

Magical mystery flower from the tropics

Magical mystery flower from the tropics


Written by Chris

Johannesburg, South Africa – Mindy and I have spent a lot of time on farms in the past few months, and I got to thinking about how little most of us know about where the food we eat comes from. There are a lot of things that we consume in great quantities that grow only down here in the tropics and we never get the chance to see first hand. I know that nature can do a lot of really weird things (especially after our visit to the Amazon) but I guess I just thought that most things we eat just grew on plants. In a garden. I was kinda wrong. So here are several common foods that I found to grow in a surprising way.

Bananas

The US imports bananas from equatorial parts of the world (especially Ecuador) by the cargo plane load. I had a vague idea that bananas grew on trees in bunches and that the trees had big leaves, but the reality of a banana tree I found to be very strange. First, the banana “tree” is actually more like a disposable cardboard pole. They grow incredibly rapidly up to about 15 feet high. They start growing bananas near the top in clusters the way you would expect, but at the very top sits a giant purple flower that is the size and shape of a football. Once the bananas start to get ripe, the “tree” starts to die and the whole thing sags over until the bunch of bananas hangs down to a reachable height, nicely on display. I thought this was an incredibly nice thing to do for us hungry primates down here. After a little while longer, the whole disposable tree thingy just falls down and is done. If you want, you can hack off the stem with your machete and a new shoot will come up in a little while.

Bananas, seriously, wtf?

Bananas, seriously, wtf?

Coffee

If you are like me, you just thought that all coffee was brought to the US by Juan Valdez who threw a few sacks of the black beans onto his donkey and led him up through Central America from places unknown. (Also, if you are like me, you try to stay away from the smell and culture and especially the taste of coffee as much as possible, ewww). Now imagine my surprise when I get to Ecuador and am asked to go pick coffee and directed to a plant that looks like this.

Coffee berries?

Coffee berries?

Perhaps it is my willful ignorance of the coffee culture, but it was very surprised to find that it actually grows as a red ‘berry’ on a bush. We got to see the process of making coffee from plant to cup and it was quite interesting.

  1. Pick the beans when they turn that nice red color
  2. Put them through this hand-cranked machine to remove the husks, 2 flesh-colored beans inside
  3. Wash what comes out many, many times over to remove the remaining pieces of husk
  4. Leave the beans out in the sun to dry. This takes several days
  5. Roast the beans. We did this in a metal pan over a wood fire. This turns them the nice dark brown color we’re used to.
  6. Grind, hot water, strain, drink: the usual (+ foam, milk, sugar, carmel, half-caff, splenda, vanilla syrup, cinnamon, whipped cream, pixie dust, …)

The local kids liked to pick the berries and then suck on the beans raw. I didn’t find much taste in this and I didn’t really see the appeal. It was almost as if they had become addicted to some chemical in it…

Chocolate

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree, and that thing is one finicky plant. It only grows near the equator, requires special insects to pollinate it, and cannot reproduce without the help of animals to pick the seeds off of it. Despite this, it tends to thrive in the proper regions (or perhaps it is just heavily cultivated by man). Either way, this relatively small part of the world makes plenty to go around. The seeds grow in a pod that looks like this.

Fredy, our Amazon guide, hacking into a cacao seed pod for some sweet treats

Fredy, our Amazon guide, hacking into a cacao seed pod for some sweet treats

These pods come in many colors; red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and they function thusly. The bright colors attract some hungry animal. We dig in and find a bunch of soft, sweet, white pulp to slurp up. While doing this, we occasionally run into some gross, bitter, black seeds in there that we spit out on the ground. We get a treat and the plant gets its genetic material spread around the countryside. Evolution at its best. However, somewhere along the line, we figured out that we could turn those bitter black seeds into chocolate.

Turns out, it is mostly the hard shell of the seeds that is bitter and, once removed, can be made into something delicious (though the shells can be seeped in some hot water to make a delicious chocolate-flavored tea, without the chocolate calories!). I picked up most of the information I’m relating to you from the Chocolate Museum in Cusco, Peru. They also have a class where you can make some of your own chocolate from start to finish which I (regrettably!) did not take. So that part will remain a bit of a mystery to us both for now. Final fun chocolate fact: chocolate does not contain caffeine, but another similar compound called theobromine. Nature!

Bonus: other weird plants you’re probably not familiar with

Tree Tomato – It’s not actually a tomato, but it has an odd resemblance to one in both appearance and flavor. They are usually orange, but also come in red. The taste is a strange combination of tomato and strong citrus. The locals love it as juice and it is a pretty big cash crop for the farmers in Ecuador.

Tree tomato: grows on a tree, tastes like a tomato

Tree tomato: grows on a tree, tastes like a tomato

Garandillo – The flower at the beginning of this post is a garandillo blossom. We talked about them before but they warrant another mention. It is a hard, orange fruit that grows on a vine. Once you crack the hard shell open, you find it to be full of little fruit pearls that look like fish eggs. It is amazingly sweet and tastes like candy. It’s a bit similar to a pomegranate but without all the hard work. Definitely one of my favorite new encounters so far.

Picking out my favorite garandillo

Picking out my favorite garandillo

And the delicious fish-eggy goodness inside

And the delicious fish-eggy goodness inside

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How I accidently became Indiana Jones

Posted on August 12, 2013 by crupley

My latest selfie

My latest selfie


Written by Chris

I didn’t set out to, I am a victim of circumstance, but somehow, over the last few years, I became Indiana Jones. I get comments on my photos and walking down the street (yes, even in South America) but it’s really not my fault. I just wanted some practical clothing and here’s how it all went down:

The Jacket

A few years ago, I was in need of a new jacket. My wardrobe had been transitioning from a black-oriented one to more earth tones and I was trying to find a brown jacket to go with it. I found a great looking one at REI and, since I was traveling a lot for work at the time, the plethora of pockets made it a must-buy. It’s not leather like the Real Deal wears, but the look is right.

It all started with a simple brown jacket

It all started with a simple brown jacket

The Shirt

When we started planning this trip, I realized we were going to be spending a lot of time in the tropics, outside in the sun, and often at high altitude. That is a recipe for some serious solar radiation and heat, so I looked for a shirt to combat this as much as possible. I needed the following: light in color to reflect the sun, long-sleeve to cover up as much as possible, and synthetic fabric for breathability and quick drying. I found what I needed in the REI Sahara Tech shirt. It just so happened to come in a nice light khaki color…

REI's Sahara Tech shirt. I wear it almost as well as their model

REI’s Sahara shirt. I wear it almost as well as their model

The Boots

Here is where things start to get a little strange.

In the last few years, I have started to become obsessed with quality. I was getting tired of having such a disposable lifestyle and I started to resolve that, whenever I had to buy something, it would be The Last I’ll Ever Buy. So when it came time for a new pair of shoes, I spent quite a while shopping for a pair lifetime boots. I eventually found a pair I loved, the Danner Mountain Light; all-leather and waterproof, resoleable, looks good enough to wear with anything, and hand-made right in the USA in Portland, OR. Who could ask for more?

I found a store in San Francisco that sold them and went to try on a pair before I ordered a them. To my great disappointment, I immediately discovered that Danner, it seems, only makes boots for people without a big toe. It every pair I tried on there cut in sharply where my big toe should have been. It was kind of like wearing high heels. I was somewhat crushed since I had spent the last several months in my search for the perfect boot, but when fate closes a door…

This was a pretty high-end store with a nice selection of some quality boots, so I tried on a few more while I was there. They had another excellent boot that fit my criteria, the Wolverine 1000 Mile boot. It fit great and looked nice, but they only came with a smooth sole and I wanted something with more traction. The clerk brought out one more pair for me to try. Little did he know, he was about to change the course of history for me and my feet forever.

They were a pair of boots made by a company called Alden who I had never heard of before. It was by far the nicest looking boot I had seen (they are primarily a dress shoe company) and it had a rugged Vibram work boot sole. All the specs where met. But when I tried it on, that’s when the magic happened.

It was as though, long ago, a young man had decided to pick up the boot-making craft. He started by assisting the master craftsman; handing him tools, cleaning the shop, and occasionally, under the watchful eye of the master, placing a stitch in a shoe or polishing the leather to a shine. He slowly proved his dedication and earned the right to perform more complex tasks; forming the sole, selecting the leather, designing the form. He toiled every day, for years, for a lifetime; studying the materials, biomechanics, the technique, the craft. One day, he realized, he had become the master, and as the master, he decided to craft one more boot. He envisioned his customer in every detail; who he is, how he lives, what he believes. He envisioned his foot; the shape and size, every curve, every line, and he began to craft. This boot, he thought, would be the culmination of his life’s work and the foot, which was My Foot, would soon find its match.

And so it was, at the Unionmade shop in San Francisco that fate closed the loop and brought me together with my lifetime boot. The Alden model 404. Made in the USA in Middleborough, Massachusetts since 1884 of oiled kudu leather with matched eyelets, speed hooks, moc toe stitching, all around reverse welt and a lugged rubber sole.

My boots of destiny. "The wand chooses the wizard. That much has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore... These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand." —Garrick Ollivander on wands.

My boots of destiny.

“The wand chooses the wizard. That much has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore… These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.”
—Garrick Ollivander on wands. Except I think he was talking about boots.

And, guess what boots Harrison Ford wore during the filming of the Indiana Jones movies. The Alden model 405. It is slightly different from mine in that is has white instead of brown stitching and it does not have the lugged sole. The story goes that the wardrobe people on the film had Ford trying on all kinds of boots for Indy’s outfit and nothing seemed to work quite right. Eventually, Ford just said, ‘screw it, I’m wearing my boots’ (probably a direct quote) which happened to be his Alden 405’s that he used to wear while he worked as a carpenter for their comfort and durability. Imagine that.

Indy getting punched out in his 405's

Indy getting punched out in his 405’s

The Hat

It is the hat, more than anything else, that has been getting people to stop and comment. And I didn’t even do it on purpose. Again, I needed something to shield me from the sun for this trip. It had to provide good coverage and be packable. I guess I could have got one of those sun hats, but I could do better. I wanted something with some style as well as the function, I wanted it to look good while it kept me cool, I wanted to do my part to bring back the hat, I wanted to wear a Man’s Hat.

So I found it at, where else, REI. A dark brown fedora, 3″ brim, made from breathable canvass. Man, does it do a great job of keeping me cool and shaded and, surprisingly to me, it is excellent at keeping me dry in the rain. And guess who else happens to wear a brown fedora (though leather)…

Look at that fine shade coverage

Look at that fine shade coverage

Though when I took off the hat, I got accused of being Chuck Norris (the hair is getting a little bushy). Apparently, if I traded in the fedora for a cowboy hat, I could have been Walker, Texas Ranger.

The Adventure

Up until this point, I now look like Indiana Jones, but I just claimed that I am Indiana Jones. The missing link: Archeological Adventure. As luck would have it, part of our trip involved exploring the lost ruins of the Incas in what is now Peru.

Now where did I leave that golden idol?

Now where did I leave that golden idol?

Epilogue

So the outfit is not perfect, but I think it is darn good for being sheer and total coincidence. I can only think of two things that could be added to make things absolutely perfect; a bullwhip and:

It's a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one.

It’s a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one.

Posted in Reflections on Travel | Tagged | 6 Comments

A Farmer’s Life for Us

Posted on August 10, 2013 by msuerupley

Hacienda Zuleta, Ecuador

For the last three, very short weeks, Chris and I have been volunteering as Wwoofers (World Wide Opportunities at Organic Farms) at the beautiful and historic Hacienda Zuleta in northern Ecuador. It has been a lovely few weeks and as it comes to end Chris and I are sad to again have to say goodbye to something we love.

IMG_6427

The tree lined, cobblestone walkway to the Hacienda.

Chris and I had originally came across the opportunity to volunteer here back in January. After reading their description about the opportunity to stay at one of  the most historic Haciendas in Ecuador, while helping out and learning in a completely organic vegetable garden, complete with Ecuadorian heirloom veggies, we knew it would be a great place for us. Plus Hacienda Zuleta is incredibly involved in their community, running a Condor Rehabilitation Center, a public library, and after-school tutoring program for the children of the area. They also provide micro-financing support to women who wish to sell their embroidery as well as just in general provide jobs in an area where there wouldn’t be any.

handweaving

For those of you who aren’t familiar a Hacienda is basically a large estate/farm. These farms came about during the Spanish conquest, as large tracts of land were granted to those Spanish who supported and participated in this assault. As you can imagine, there is definitely some pretty horrible histories behind these haciendas (basically the owners didn’t come to just own the land but also the people on it) but as the current Lasso family didn’t come to own Zuleta till 1898, I’ll refrain from getting into it. The Lasso family, which includes Ecuadorian Ex-President, Galo Plaza Lasso, has built a large and impressive farm, along with their foundation, that supports not only themselves but much of the Zuleta community. The current owner and grandson of Senior Lasso, Fernando, is a super passionate and energetic guy who definitely takes his responsibilities and legacy seriously.

IMG_6717 IMG_6715

              The front of the Hacienda                                               Staff Housing

Today the Hacienda is a small, boutique hotel as well as a large farm of 400 milk producing vacas (cattle), 2,000 ovejas (sheep), caballos (horses), alpacas (alpacas), trout (yes as in the fish), as well as barley and corn. . It’s set in an incredible valley, at around 9,500 feet elevation, in northern Ecuador and is surrounded by the indigenous community of Zuleta. We worked specifically in the vegetable garden that supports the kitchen that feeds the guests as well as the staff, which thankfully, oh my goodness was the food amazing!, included us! I have to say they spoiled us ridiculously between the food, a comfortable bed and room complete with fireplace, real towels instead of our little camping ones, and best of all, hot water bottles to cuddle with every night.

IMG_6276

We definitely got a bit spoiled!

Working in the garden was wonderful for Chris and I. We both love being outside and getting to spend every waking moment for 3 weeks doing so was a wonderful experience for us. We also found, well I knew this but Chris discovered it, that we LOVE working in a garden and that we can’t wait to have one of our own. Seeing your physical labor turn into something, especially something tangible that you can eat!, is incredibly rewarding and we both loved the meditation type aspect of spending hours weeding, hoeing, and planting. I am sure somewhere my father is laughing or groaning about all the time he spent trying to get me to help in the garden and here I am weeding for fun!

IMG_6539 IMG_6654

                         Weeding away!                                                  Building beds!

IMG_6648

Squishing bugs!

A typical day started at 7am, when we would head to breakfast before heading down to the garden. (Well actually a typical day for us started at 4:30am as that is when the milking started right outside our window.) The garden had everything from American staples like broccoli and zucchini to exotic Ecuadorian classics like quinoa and passion fruit. It was especially cool to see the beans and corn there, which were all heirloom and indigenous to the Andes.

IMG_6781

Depending on the day, we would spend hours weeding beds or building beds or helping with planting and picking. We also got to do some random side projects like cleaning quinoa (me) and turning compost (Chris). I think I definitely got the better end of these jobs!

IMG_6534

Cleaning quinoa. You gently shift the quinoa grains through your fingers and the wind carries away the husks while the quinoa falls back into the bin.

 IMG_6687

Chris’ compost piles!

We worked with a wonderful woman Seniora Andi, who is an ex-pat from Germany, as well as our main boss, Ramiro. Ramiro is from the community and speaks basically no English, though he absolutely loved learning the English words for things. I have to say we were really happy to find out how much our Spanish has improved and we actually had some real conversations with him. Like most Ecuadorians he was obsessed with the fact we didn’t have children yet (seriously being a woman in your 20’s without a kid in this very Catholic country is basically unheard of) and when I missed a bit of work due to some leftover stomach issues, he was dead set on the thought I was expecting (for the record, I’m not). Of course then he destroyed our stereotypes of all Ecuadorians having huge families when he told us he only wants two kids (he has one) and came from a family of 3.

IMG_6756

Our work day ended at 4pm. If we were too exhausted we would spend our evenings reading by our cosy fire or if we had a bit of energy we would go for walks. The entire estate was the most beautiful, serene place you can imagine and we loved getting the opportunity to explore and relax in it. I especially loved the animals and spent hours playing with the gigantic Fido and loving Dominga (dogs), as well as a donkey, lots of cows and calfs, horses, and even a baby bunny!

IMG_6712

Sometime between 7pm and 9pm we would have a noisy, boisterous dinner with the other volunteers from the Condor Project or the tourism group. The food was incredible, especially the Quinoa soup and rhubarb/strawberry cobbler, and I am obsessed with the Ecuadorian tradition of always starting a meal with a bowl of soup!

IMG_6764

Meal Room

During our weekends we took some super long hikes through the beautiful countryside as well as taking a day to visit the Equator and get some non-cream ice cream! (This little place in town called Seniora Rosalita makes delicious ice cream with no-milk. The flavors were all the amazing local Andean fruits and the ice comes from a glacier on top of a volcano!) We also got to take our first horseback ride, which turned out to be fantastic as we saw a double rainbow over the Hacienda as well as the snow covered peak of Volcan Cayambe.

IMG_6504

View of Zuleta from Above

Overall the entire experience was just wonderful. It was definitely re-iterated to Chris and I how much we love having an outdoor lifestyle where we actually take the time to watch the sunset, sit in front of a fire, and talk to one another and I can only hope we continue to work to keep technology and busy-ness from taking over our lives.

IMG_6396 IMG_6390

We also learned a ton of valuable information on organic gardening and as Chris and I continue our path to living more healthy and environmentally friendly, it will definitely be useful. I will say that I wish we had had a bit more interaction with the local community and I think in the future we will stick to more local, immersion type projects, rather than working in tourism with tons of other foreigners. But then again, there is something to be said for spending 3 weeks in the lap of luxury, where I didn’t even once have to kick a spider out of my bed! (Or maybe I should say Chris had to kick a spider out of our bed!)

IMG_6795

Goodbye Zuleta, We will definitely miss you!

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On to the next chapter: Africa

Posted on August 9, 2013 by crupley
I'd better start getting used to this view

I’d better start getting used to this view

Written by Chris

It may be hard to believe, but Mindy and I have just completed the first leg of our trip. We have had some great times in South America, but it is time to move on to the next continent: Africa. We leave early tomorrow on a flight itinerary that could charitably be described as torturous. It offers the following features:

  • 4:30am wake-up call to get to the airport
  • Travel on 2 separate tickets; always a risk if delays occur and flights are missed
  • A total of 4 plane changes in 4 different countries – Ecuador, Panama, Argentina, and South Africa
  • One 16-hour layover
  • Flight miles: over 10,000
  • Door-to-door elapsed time: 51 hours estimated
  • A red-eye flight on my birthday going east so I lose 7 hours of my birthday

That’s the price I guess we pay for budget travel. We have our Kindles and iPods fully loaded and we’re stocking up on snacks. We’ll see you in Africa! (If we’re lucky…)

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