Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

Sustainable social initiatives change lives forever and the visionary people who create these incredible projects that grow and impact the fortune of an existing community are who inspire me the most. There isn’t a more perfect example of this than what the Proyecto Horizonte organization is developing in the small town of Ushpa-Ushpa just outside the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Thanks to a connection made by friend and fellow traveler, Kiersten, we had the opportunity to visit Ushpa-Ushpa and work with Proyecto Horizonte for a few days to learn about all the amazing things they were providing for this community. Home to approximately 1,500 families, Ushpa-Ushpa was established by former miners in August of 2001 who migrated to Cochabamba in search of brighter prospects. Beginning as an illegal settlement outside Cochabamba, the community eventually grew to be recognized as part of the neighboring city even though it lacked any infrastructure …

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Salar de Uyuni is home to the world’s largest salt flats and makes for the most amazing photo shoot backdrop. If you search around the web you can find some pretty creative shots from Salar de Uyuni, so we decided to explore the space and snap some fun pix of our own. As I’ve mentioned before, Salar de Uyuni is one of most breathtaking places I’ve ever had the opportunity of experiencing. Like Machu Picchu in Peru, Salar gives you this incredibly euphoric feeling and makes you appreciate how beautiful this world is. The only thing I can really compare it to visually is a giant frozen lake with a perfectly flat snow cover across the surface. The snow is in fact salt, which covers more than 4,000 square miles. The salt actually carves crazy hexagon-like shapes into the surface because of the freezing and thawing process that exists at …

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Okay so maybe Mars wasn’t in the cards, but the next best thing was Salar de Uyuni in Southwest Bolivia. The incredible scenery, diverse landscapes and remote surroundings make you question what planet you’re really on! Last month, Kiersten and I decided to leave the world we knew behind to venture off on a 4-day, 4×4 tour in and around the famous salt flats of Bolivia. The trip was absolutely mind blowing as we crossed rugged deserts, cut through epic volcano-lined mountain ranges and admired breathtaking multi-colored lagoons along the way. There were flamingos, llamas and more photo ops than a Victoria Secret Fashion show. I’ll give you a little information along the way, but words really don’t compare to the photos, so go ahead and come along with me on a visual ride through 4 days of Mother Nature’s greatest Bolivian creation… Salar de Uyuni! Day 1: Tupiza-To-Paradise The …

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April 2012 has been one of the most overwhelming, fulfilling, frustrating, inspiring, and confusing months I’ve experienced in a long time. I made the transition from the completion of an amazing experience in Sucre, Bolivia to a tropical adventure in Mexico to home with family and friends in Indiana and Upstate New York. April has been an internal battle of emotion and composure, as the closing of one chapter brings the excitement and uncertainty of the next. It’s the sadness that comes with saying goodbye and the anticipation of reuniting with loved ones back home. April messed with my mind, but it also gave me a lot of great memories. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened last April. April Recap: April started off with the BiblioWorks team and I running around like crazy to get things setup for the first ever book fair (Feria de la Lectura) …

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Sucre, Bolivia is the third place I’ve called home over the past two and a half years of living in South America. While the lifestyle here is much different from the bustling Buenos Aires and seductive Medellin, it has been an amazing place to experience life like a local. Sucre is Bolivia’s judicial capital and is nicknamed la blanca (the white) because of all the beautiful Spanish-style, whitewashed buildings that canvas the city skyline.  It’s home to just over a quarter of a million people, which makes Sucre feel more like a small town than a major metropolis. The weather is beautiful all year round, the people are humble and friendly and your money goes a long way. The food is basic, the streets are hilly and travelers don’t venture far from the main square. There isn’t much tourist hype or famous attractions in Sucre – it’s just a peaceful, …

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It’s a 2-hour bus ride from the city of Sucre to the village of Morado K’asa where BiblioWorks has established one of their eight libraries. This has been my home away from home, away from home for the last few months as I’ve spent three days a week working in the library to develop and facilitate literacy programs. It’s a 2-hour journey that transcends me to a place that remains virtually untouched by the outside world and it takes a while to readjust each time I arrive. It’s a place that gets very few visitors for visiting sake. I stay with the same family every week, which consists of the boss, Doña Justina, her husband Don Teadoro, their niece Carolina and their four children, Nelson, Nicole, Melony and Margot. The kids go to school in the morning and then Nelson helps Don Teadoro work in the fields while the girls help Doña …

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You can’t make a trip to Bolivia and not pass through La Paz. It is the world’s highest city (by altitude), home to the infamous San Pedro Prison and built like a giant legoland set. If that wasn’t reason enough to visit, I also had the fortune of scooping up the lovely Blonde Abroad and mountain bike down the world’s most dangerous road while in town. La Paz is also Bolivia’s second capital city, along with Sucre. While La Paz focuses on the political side of governing, Sucre is the judicial headquarters. Two capitals in one country give you an example of some of the inefficiencies here in Bolivia. Either way, I really enjoyed the big metropolis that was La Paz. The skyline was stacked with colors, the streets were bustling with life and the food scene was much more developed than in Sucre. When it came down to it, …

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I’m writing this post from 35,000 feet in the air on my way from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Cancun, Mexico. As I squeeze into the middle-row seat on a 6-hour flight between 2 layovers and an overnight bus ride, nothing can push me off the feeling I have at this moment. The feeling is of complete warmth. One that rushes through your body when something you’ve been working so hard for finally comes to fruition. It’s like that sensation you get on a Friday afternoon when the sun hits your face as you leave the office. This is the feeling I crave and one that constantly drives me. Last Saturday, the BiblioWorks staff, myself and nine other volunteers put on the first ever book fair in Sucre, Bolivia and it went off without a hitch. We had 15 educational institutions participating, 11 corporate sponsors and hundreds of children and adults …

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[WATCH IN HD] To be fair, it’s technically not considered the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” anymore. Due to the construction of a new highway close by, which directs most traffic away from its path, they’ve recently upgraded the trails nickname to a much more simple, passive and inviting moniker… “The Death Road” Okay, so the name and mortality figures didn’t sit well at first, but how could I pass up the opportunity to test out its narelyness first hand? Besides, most of the people who’ve died have done so because of truck, bus and motorcycle accidents… right? Kiersten, my partner in crime for this adventure, was a lot more skeptical about the whole thing. It took some convincing to get her to stop looking at mishap reports and death road death stories, but she eventually, although reluctantly, agreed. The day started at the crack of dawn at the Madness office …

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La Isla del Sol AKA the Island of the Sun rests peacefully on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. After touring the floating islands of the Uros from Puno, Peru, I took a uneventful 4-hour bus ride across the Bolivian border and into Copacabana, Bolivia. Copacabana is a nice little lakefront village that is both traditional and accommodating to the passing Lake Titicaca tourists. I chose the first waterfront hotel (Hotel Mirador) I saw getting off the bus and for 70 bolivianos ($10 US) it proved to be a pretty decent choice for the night. I guess it worked out better than expected because I ended up oversleeping the departure time for the full-day boat tour around La Isla del Sol. I wasn’t too disappointed because it was raining when I woke up. So I got to trade in the early morning storm for the sweet sounds of rain hitting …

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We’re officially 10 days away from the first ever book fair here in Sucre, Bolivia and the BiblioWorks squad has been running around like crazy to ensure the event’s success. La Feria de la Lectura (the literature fair) will be held on Saturday, April 14th in downtown Sucre right next to the central market in Plazuela San Francisco. At this point we have almost every major educational institution in town participating at the fair with educational games and information, as well as 11 sponsors, including Tigo (telecom), AeroSur (airline) and Coca-Cola (you know). Over the past 2 weeks (and continuing up until the day of) we’ve been covering the streets of Sucre with posters and flyers, and announcing the big event on all the major radio and TV stations. We’ve invited every school in the district and even provided their transportation funds. Like planning any major event, there will always …

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One of the most frequent questions I receive in the T2T inbox is how I meet and befriend locals while traveling and living abroad. The entire concept of this site focuses on that interaction and I base the success of each adventure on the friends I’ve made and authentic moments I’ve shared with locals. I’m not saying you can’t have the same experiences following the backpacker trail or hanging out in tourist bars, but I do think that while traveling, everyone should make some effort to understand a place and culture through the people who define it. The moments I cherish most while traveling and living abroad are those when taking photos seems inappropriate and an explanation of the scene always falls short of the feeling. They are the times when you feel comfortable being part of something completely foreign. It’s for this reason I’ve gone into every South American …

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