ARGENTINA: Work and Travel in Buenos Aires
My first Tourist 2 Townie mission was to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina and try to find a local job, learn Spanish and make some friends. I never thought I would get this far!
- Get into Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Find an Apartment in Buenos Aires (Palermo, Recoleta, Barrio Norte or Belgrano)
- Purchase a cell phone in Buenos Aires
- Have dinner at a true Porteño’s home
- Play basketball with locals
- Play in a pick-up Football match
- Get a Job in Buenos Aires (Beyond Teaching English)
- Make it to a 2nd date with a Porteña
- See Eva Peron’s grave in the Recoleta Cemetery
- Buy something at the Sunday market in San Telmo
- Have a Coffee @ Cafe Tortoni, Argentina’s Oldest Cafe
- Visit the colorful houses of La Boca
- Go crazy at a football match in Buenos Aires
- Watch a River Plate Game at River Stadium
- Go to a Boca Juniors game at La Bombonera
- Go to a Professional Rugby Match – Los Pumas
- Go to a Professional Basketball Game
- Take Polo Lessons with Polo Elite
- Attend an Argentine Open Polo Finals match
- Take Tango Lessons in Buenos Aires
- Go to a local concert
- Visit a Telo
- Take a cooking and/or pastry class
- Drive a car/bike in the city of Buenos Aires
- Learn how to play Truco and win a game against a local guy
- San Antonio Areco for the Fiesta de la Tradicion
- Attend the Feria Mataderos
- Visit Tigre, Argentina
- Visit Rosario, Argentina
- Visit Cordoba, Argentina
- Visit San Isidro outside Central Buenos Aires
- Step on grapes in Mendoza, Argentina’s wine country
- Lay on the beaches in Mar Del Plata, Argentina
- Compare Iguazu Falls to Buffalo’s own Niagara Falls
- Visit the crazy Salinas Grandes in Northern Argentina
- Ski Patagonia (while wearing a Patagonia half-zip fleece sweeter vest).
- Drink whiskey after trekking on El Perito Moreno.
COLOMBIA: Get Salsa Smooth in Medellin & Cali
After Argentina, I moved to Medellin, Colombia on a mission to learn to salsa dance and prove that Colombia is much more than coffee beans and drug lords. Unfortunately, I fractured my ankle playing basketball two months into the quest so I wasn’t able to reach a competitive level with my Salsa moves. This was an unfinished mission.
- Get into Colombia
- Find an apartment in Medellin/Envigado
- Find an apartment in Cali Colombia
- Have dinner at a true Paisa’s home
- Start taking salsa lessons in Medellin
- Take intensive salsa lessons in Cali
- Find a professional salsa partner
- Play basketball with locals
- Play in a pick-up futbol match anywhere in Colombia
- Make it to a 2nd date with a Paisa
- Win a Salsa contest
- Witness a Live Bull Fight
- See where Pablo Escobar lived and died
- Checkout the fat chicks in Plaza Botero, Medellin
- Go crazy at a futbol match in Medellin
- Visit a traditional coffee plantation
- Visit the beautiful Colombian countryside
- Visit Castillo San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena, Colombia
- Go snorkeling in the Isles de Rosario and Playa Blanca
- Act like a hippie in Taganga, Colombia
- Attend a beach party in El Rodadero Santa Marta
- Spend New Years in Bogota, Colombia’s capital city
- Visit Guatape & climb La Piedra
- Visit Jardin, Colombia
- Visit Manizales Colombia
- Hike to the Cuidad Perdida
- Go nude at Tayrona National Park
- Visit the burial tombs & sculptures @ Tierradentro National Park, Colombia
USA: The Great American Road Trip
From Colombia, I returned to the States for a number of weddings and decided to set out on a road trip across the United States to experience the best of my own backyard. Here’s what I’ve done and some thing I’d still like to do…
- Road Trip up California’s Route 1 (Highway 1) from San Diego to San Fran
- Visit the San Diego Zoo
- Learn to Surf in San Diego
- Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge
- Experience Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
- Eat my way through the Pike Place Market in Seattle
- Get Weird in Portland, Oregon
- Mountain Bike in Moab, Utah
- Visit Arches National Park in Moab, Utah
- Act like a local in Park City, Utah
- Attend Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah
- Visit Zion National Park in Utah
- Visit Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
- Visit Havasupai Falls in Arizona
- Experience the best of Tucson, Arizona
- Rate the best Mexican Restaurants in Tucson, Arizona
- Ride a horse in Montana
- Visit Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
- Attend SXSW in Austin, Texas
- Watch a Cowboys game at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas
- Cruise along the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas
- Attend a Rodeo in Houston, Texas
- Explore the outdoors in Denver, Boulder and Golden, Colorado
- Kayak down the Chicago River
- Eat my way across the Taste of Chicago
- Attend a “Cross-Town Classic” Cubs vs White Sox Game at Wrigley Field
- Sit courtside at an NBA game (Chicago, LA, New York, Boston or Miami)
- Experience the best of New York City in the Summer
- Explore Boston
- Eat lobster in Maine
- Eat Crab in Maryland
- Party on Bourbon Street in New Orleans
- Road Trip through Florida
PERU: Learn to Cook like a Peruvian Chef
Back in Latin America, I traveled through Ecuador and Northern Peru before settling in Lima. My biggest mission in the Peruvian capital was to eat my way around the city and learn to cook like a local. Here is what I was able to accomplish in Peru…
- Enjoy the beaches of Mancora
- Visit the Chan Chan Ruins
- Crush a few Pisco Sours in Lima
- Erotic Artifacts at Larco Museum in Lima
- Circuito Magico del Agua in Lima
- Make it to a 2nd date with a Peruvian Girl
- Play basketball with locals
- Learn to cook Ceviche from Locals
- Learn to cook a traditional Peruvian dish from Locals
- Create a dish that gets served in a restaurant
- Experience the Hare Krishna Lifestyle
- the Ballestas Islands
- Sandboard the giant sand dunes in Huacachina oasis
- Hike the world’s deepest Colca Canyon outside Arequipa
- Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
- Explore Machu Picchu
- Volunteer on Christmas in Cusco
- New Year’s Eve in Cusco
- Visit the floating islands of the Uros in Lake Titicaca
BOLIVIA: Volunteer with BiblioWorks.org
From Peru, I moved to Sucre, Bolivia to begin volunteering with an organization called BiblioWorks.org. BiblioWorks builds and facilitates libraries in and around the city of Sucre. Here were my goals for living and volunteering in Bolivia for four months…
- Help BiblioWorks.org establish sustainable literacy programs
- Help fund, organize and execute the first ever Literacy Fair in the city of Sucre
- Living like a local in Sucre, Bolivia
- Experience Carnival in Bolivia
- Speak in Spanish on Bolivian Radio
- Appear Live on Bolivian Television
- Experience the Legoland that is La Paz
- Visit San Pedro Prison in La Paz
- Survive Mountain Biking the World’s Deadliest Road
- Volunteer in Cochabamba
- Experience the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni
- Make the coolest tour video of all time
- Make it to a 2nd date with a Bolivian girl
- Play basketball with locals
- Visit La Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca
- Work in local villages to build literacy initiatives in Bolivia
GUATEMALA: Volunteer with Kiva.org as a Kiva Fellow
After a summer back in the States, celebrating more weddings and organizing my next adventure, I flew to San Francisco to train at the Kiva.org headquarters before traveling to Sololá, Guatemala where I spent three months working with local entrepreneurs to help fund their businesses through Kiva Loans.
- Meet local entrepreneurs to help them develop their businesses
- Work with with Kiva’s local microfinance institution partner
- Play basketball against locals
- Enjoy the architecture of Antigua
- Discover the beauty of Rio Dulce
- Swim in the pools of Semuc Champey
- Watch the sunrise on the Island of Flores
- Visit the Ruins of Tikal
- the end of the world is all about from the Mayans
- Soak up some sun on Lake Atitlán
- Party in Panajachel
- Explore San Pedro
- Discover the best foods in Guatemala
Brazil: Learn Portuguese and Work at the World Cup 2014
- Where should I live to do this in Brazil? Is Rio de Janeiro too obvious?
- What are the best Ju Jitzu schools in Brazil?
- How do I learn Portuguese? Will it be easy after I learn Spanish?
- How can I get a job at the FIFA World Cup in 2014?
- Hold a conversation in Portuguese
- Find a Ju Jitzu school to train
- Compete in Brazilian Ju Jitzu
- Get a job at the World Cup
- Watch Argentina, England, Spain and Brazil Futbol Match
- Discover the Amazon
- Surf in Florianopolis, Brazil
OTHER GOALS & ASPIRATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA:
- Ride motos on the cobblestone streets of Colonia, Uruguay
- Eat a big steak at the Central Market in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Hit the beaches of Punta del Este, Uruguay
- Visit the central market in Santiago, Chile
- Travel to Valparaiso & Vina del Mar on the Chilean Coast
- Ski the Andes in Chile
- Skinny dip in the World’s Largest Pool in Chile
- Catch crabs on Easter Island
- Explore Paraguay
- Explore Venezuela
- Volunteer at a Monkey Rescue Center in Puyo, Ecuador
- Bungee Jump in Baños, Ecuador
- Explore Quito, Ecuador
- Visit the Middle of the World (Mitad del Mundo)
- Eat Guinea Pig (Cuy)
- Have a love affair with Cuenca, Ecuador
- Mountain Bike down the World’s Largest Volcano in Ecuador
- Experience Latin America’s Largest Market at Otavalo Market
- Visit El Cajas National Park in Ecuador
- Explore Puerto Rico
- Explore Cuba
- Swim in Cenotes in Mexico
- Explore the ruins of Chichen Itza
- Explore the ruins of Tulum
- Explore the ruins of Copán
- Scuba Dive in the Tropical waters of the Yucatan Peninsula
- Experience Street Food in Mexico City
- Kayak in the Galapagos Islands
- Cruise down to Antarctica
- Get on a Spanish television show
What am I missing? Do you know anybody who can help?
I would love your comments below.
Motorcycle all the way for the road trip across the US