Archive for the ‘Adventure & Fun’ Category

On my way down to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon I made a quick 2-day stop in Ica, Peru to visit the beautiful oasis town of Huacachina, just outside the city. When I told a friend I was going to Huacachina, she confirmed how beautiful it was and explained the legend behind the oasis. As the story goes, the lagoon was created when a beautiful native princess was apprehended at her bath by a young hunter she fled, leaving the pool of water she had been bathing in to become the lagoon. The folds of her cloak, streaming behind her as she ran, became the surrounding sand dunes. And the woman herself is rumored to still live in the oasis as a mermaid. While I didn’t see any mermaids, I did meet a nice local girl who convinced me to turn my 2-day pit stop into a 4-day rendezvous. She …

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A 3:30am wake-up call for a 2-day guided tour doesn’t get me excited. I pulled myself up into the crowded tour bus and stumbled my way to the back where I took a quick survey of the talent pool before passing out for the next 2 hours. Still not excited. It was a long ride from downtown Arequipa to the Colca region, but around 7am we arrived at our first stop, “The Condor Observatory.” We spent an hour squinting at little black dots along the canyon ridge. No condors in sight. Even less excited now. We piled back into the tourist mobile and drove another hour before we stopped again. This time my flaccid demeanor started to perk up. It was finally time to be set free! Our Peruvian tour guide jumped out and signaled for the big Kiwi, the bearded Uruayan, the swiss girl and myself to file out. …

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**Watch in HD** On day 1 of volunteering at Paseo Los Monos Monkey Rescue Center in Puyo, Ecuador my camera was confiscated by Sambo, the alpha woolly monkey. He told me I could have it back at the end of the week, but not before he put together this short video explaining his life at “the Monkey Ranch”. If you notice any shaky footage you need to understand that monkeys don’t use tripods. Read all about my experience at Paseo Los Monos Monkey Rescue Center. Special thanks to all animals and volunteers who made this week one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Also, thanks to Nick Greco for translating Sambo’s dialog. Having trouble loading the video? Try watching it on the T2T Youtube Channel

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As the 5th largest city in South America you’d think Lima would get a little more respect. Before arriving in Peru’s capital, all I heard was that Lima is a boring pass-through metropolis that you could experience in 4 days on your way to Machu Picchu. Not one to listen to other’s travel reviews, I decided to spend 3 weeks in the city to scratch the surface on my Peruvian townie mission: Learn to cook like a Peruvian chef. While searching for cooking classes in Lima, I spent my time enjoying the coastline in Miraflores, scavenging through the massive street markets downtown, devouring traditional Peruvian dishes and I even taking the time to check out some pretty impressive historical stuff. After almost a month in Lima, I can say with confidence that this is a city that I’d definitely like to spend more time in. The people are friendly, the …

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I think the video explains all the chaos and excitement of the New Year’s celebration in Cusco, Peru better than I ever could in words. Cusco is one of the two most popular places to celebrate New Years in Peru (the other being Mancora) and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The city grew in anticipation from before christmas leading up to the big night. Tourists from all over Peru, Argentina and the world flooded Cusco and filled up the hostels and hotels. So much so that I had to walk the streets of Cusco on the 30th to find a place to sleep after finding the hotel I booked a reservation through boarded up and shut down, no notice necessary I guess. Street vendors lined the streets, while natives came in from outside the city to sell their wares and experience the festivities. As mentioned in the video, one of the …

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The trip to Paseos Los Monos almost never happened. I was enjoying my time in Baños and questioned if the hour bus trip to Puyo for a typical, over-staged monkey photo was worth it. I was also a bit hesitant to see how tourists and staff interacted with the monkeys, seeing too much poor treatment with animals here in South America. Reluctantly, my curiosity and fascination for animals won out. By the time I arrived at Paseos Los Monos the predictable afternoon rain picked up and the morning crowd had come and gone. Aside from a large group of Ecuadorian tourists, the grounds were quiet and the staff seemed lethargic. I was greeted by a young Spanish guy (Yago) who collected my $2 entrance fee and explained the do’s and don’ts of the center. I listened momentarily but my attention was inevitably drawn towards the scene beyond the main gate. …

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Tucked under the shadow of Ecuador’s largest volcano, high up in the Ecuadorian Andes lies the beautiful town of Baños. Baños is named for the Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water, Nuestra Señora del Agua Santa and features an incredible Basilica in the middle of town that was built from volcanic rock after an eruption of the Tungurahua volcano in 1999, which forced an evacuation of the entire town. Tourists both foreign and domestic come to Baños to give thanks to the Virgin as well as enjoy the famous hot springs and exciting outdoor activities. One of the greatest aspects of exploring Baños is that you can kick your own ass all day and then apologize with a $20, 90-minute full body massage (not full service) or hot springs bath afterwards. I went white water rafting, mountain biking, jumped off a bridge, swam in waterfalls with Spaniards, hiked to the Tungurahua volcano viewpoint …

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I know what you said TLC, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.” Well guess what TLC, I bet you girls have never been to Baños, Ecuador because if you have you would know that there are just way too many waterfalls to pass up. Luckily for me, I ran into a great group of Spaniards while mountain biking around the waterfalls on the outskirts of Baños who showed me an amazing spot where we could swim under a giant double-decker waterfall. I had been admiring the top waterfall from a distance when the large group walked passed. One of the girls doubled back and asked in her quick Spaniard Spanish.. estas viajando solo? (are you traveling alone?) I hesitated for a second, assested the girl-to-guy ratio and responded… “si?”  She ordered back “Ven con nosotros, vamos a nadar!” (come with us, …

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How much do we really know about ourselves until we push past what we currently think is possible and achieve more than what we’re comfortable with doing? When I was 15 years old my dad took my brother, sister and I to an amusement park in the Wisconsin Dells. As we approached the park you could see this massive tower casting an intimidating shadow over the property. Faint screams echoed into the parking lot as miniature figures threw themselves off the tower’s ledge with only a bungee cord securing their future. My brother, 5 years my senior, and sister, 17 at the time, saw the madness as another adventure to conquer. I saw it as another reason to shit my pants. They climbed up the narrow caged in stairwell, tied some rope around their ankles and jumped off. Landing safely on the giant blow-up mat below, both rolled off and …

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The parking lot just below the snow caped peak of Cotopaxi is cold and covered with snow. We´re 4800 meters up and level with the thick, early morning clouds. The guide and shuttle driver unload our bikes as the rest of us scramble to stay warm. I´m joined on this adventure by a German couple, Dutch couple and a british bloke and his online-ordered Colombian fiance (who didn´t understand a word he was saying). The hour and a half ride to our drop-off point at Cotopaxi from Quito gave us time to get aquainted and take jabs at each other’s national athletic success. With helmets strapped, gloves secured and brakes checked we were given a quick run down of the terrain and then let loose to bomb down one of the world´s largest active volcanos. Our guide darted ahead and vanished beyond the first switch back while myself and the …

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Friday afternoon I decided to push my boundaries a bit and take a solo mission over to the Ecuador vs Venezuela World Cup Qualifier match and try to grab a ticket. I’ve never been to a sporting event by myself, yet alone one in a foreign city, so I figured this would be a fun little test. I hopped on a public bus a few blocks from the hostel and followed a mob of Ecuador fans over to the Olympic Stadium where a crowd had been gathering for hours. I was pushed off the bus outside the stadium and immediately swept up in the electricity of the event. Fighting through a sea of yellow, red and blue, I went around to different scalpers scattered around the main entrance for price quotes and availability. Luckily, just outside the main entrance there was a giant map of the stadium and all the …

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A few years back, while living in San Diego, I had the opportunity to soak up all the beautiful curves of Rt. 1 on a 2-day road trip to San Francisco. As I sit here now, recovering from my Road Trip hangover and planning my next adventure, I find myself reflecting on past experiences and thinking about my favorite State-side road trip of all times… Cruising up the Pacific Coast on Route 1 in California. Route 1, or Highway 1 as its often called, is one big visual orgasm. Stretching from endless sandy beaches of Orange County to the lush green forests and nail biting cliffs north of Sacramento, Rt. 1 runs along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. It’s comprised of several portions designated as Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the Cabrillo Highway, the Shoreline Highway or the Coast Highway. One day I’d love to take a …

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