Archive for the ‘Culture & Food’ Category

For those of you who’ve followed this adventure for a while understand that everything I do has a purpose. The “missions” I set out on are organized to learn about specific aspects of a country and it’s culture. Tourist 2 Townie began in Argentina with learning Spanish and finding a local job and then moved to Colombia to trade my gringo shuffle in for some smooth salsa moves. From there I scratched the surface on cooking like a Peruvian chef and now I’m focused on Bolivia and my most ambitious adventure yet. When I decided to take on my latest T2T mission, volunteer in Bolivia, I wanted to get involved with an organization that was truly instrumental within the community and be a part of something that I could have a lasting impact with… Enter BiblioWorks! My Passion for Literacy From water to rainforests, there are a million and one …

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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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While sunburning my way through Northern Peru, I had the opportunity to stop by the famous archaeological site of Chan Chan located just a few miles outside the city of Trujillo. Built by the kingdom of Chimú around 850 AD, Chan Chan was the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America before being conquered by the Inca Empire in 1570 AD. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor and was home to an estimated 30,000 people. There are 4 main archaeological sites around Trujillo relating to the city of Chan Chan and the Chimú empire, but the most interesting was definitely the principal complex, known as the Tschudi Palace. The adobe grounds were said to house 500 to 1,000 noble people and came complete with a huge courtyard, incredibly detailed wall designs, ceremonial tombs, guard posts and an impressive irrigation system. Despite cheap tours running all the time, I just …

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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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After a month and a half in Ecuador it’s time to head south to Peru, but I wouldn’t feel right about leaving without giving you the other side of Ecuadorian beauty, beyond the country’s incredible landscape, culture and cuisine. The “Hottest People” posts have become one of my favorite features on the T2T site, not only because of the obvious benefit I get from “researching” pop culture, but because of how the lists are created. I ask locals who their favorite celebrities are and their ranking opinion. For this list I received “insight” from our cooks at the Monkey Rescue Center, computer technicians at the Mac store, Ecuadorian friends in Quito, Baños and Cuenca and even a few bartenders, waitresses and hostel workers along the way. While Ecuadorian women didn’t provide the same neck-whipping-double-takes on the streets as often as the ladies of Colombia and Argentina, there were a few …

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I wanted to love you. I wanted you to be like people said you would. I was tired of running around and ready for a relationship. You introduced me around town and fed me well. Your tranquility was comforting and at night your face lit up when I went downtown. You seduced me with your charm. I was into you. As our relationship developed however, I noticed a flaw I couldn’t overcome. Trust became an issue and when that fades, everything goes. It started in the computer store where we talked everyday for almost two weeks. We spoke about one laptop in particular and all the details that came with it. We agreed on a price and the programs included. However, when the day came to make the purchase you told me you didn’t carry that model. You told me it would take 20 days to arrive and then tried …

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Cuenca was the final stop on my Ecuador adventure and I had yet to experience the most famous of Ecuadorian cuisine, the guinea pig or cuy. I had the opportunity to taste these little bastards on numerous occasions from street stalls and restaurants around Ecuador but had managed to dodge them until this point. On one of my last days in Cuenca, I told a local friend I was ready to devour my sister’s childhood pet so she took me to “the best” cuy restaurant in the city – the Guajibamba Restaurant. The traditional preparation was butterflied and grilled with sides of hot salsas, potatoes and mote hervido (corn cooked in water). The taste was salty and a bit gamey, almost like a pork-rabbit blend and the skin was my favorite part (although it felt weird enjoying it so much). It was crispy and fatty like the skin on well …

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The Otavalo Market in Otavalo, Ecuador is South America’s largest market and on Saturdays the whole town comes out for an orgy of awesomeness. You can buy anything from snails and mystery meat to fake shrunken heads and dream catchers. For those of you who know about my addiction to markets you can understand what a great day this was for me in Otavalo. Checkout the video above and photos below to get a feel for the Otavalo Market experience. If you’re ever in Ecuador, take the 2 hour bus ride from Quito to Otavalo on a Saturday morning and experience true Ecuadorian culture at the Otavalo Market. Some people even stay in Otavalo for a few nights to explore the tranquil Ecuadorian pueblo beyond the Saturday market. This isn’t under the category of all inclusive holidays but definitely a great way to beat the hustle and bussle of Quito …

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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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Denver and Salt Lake City have fresh air and outdoor adventure, San Diego and Miami have awesome beaches and nightlife, San Francisco and Seattle have great food and brilliant minds and New York… well, they have a ton of everything. But, in my completely skewed opinion, none of these cities add up to what I think is the best city in the United States of America – Chicago, Illinois. Sinatra said it best, “… And each time I roam, Chicago is calling me home, Chicago is why I just grin like a clown – It’s my kind of town…” I’ve been coming to Chicago since I was a young boy. I was born just over the Indiana border in Valparaiso, Indiana and my brother lived in downtown Chicago for years. The problem with that is, sometimes when you travel like a townie, you overlook some of the great, most basic …

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One day I’ll come home from work to find my family and close friends sitting around my living room, drinking coffee and discussing my future. They’ll stop talking when I come through the door and mom will hug me as she explains “we’re doing this because we love you.” I’ll sit down and ask “what’s this about?” And they’ll tell me “we think you have a problem…” I’ll fight back, maybe throw some chairs and swear at grandma, but they’d be right. I have an addiction and I don’t care who knows it. I’m addicted to public markets. Big ones, small ones, fruit carts, meat stands, craft tents, baseball cards, live performers, you name it, if it’s at a public market… I’m in. From the funky Camden Markets in London to the Sunday San Telmo Market in Buenos Aires I have a serious addiction to the awesomeness that is open …

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