Free Travel & Our Week With CVA

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Free Travel – Day 1 – April 1st   No pranks this day, unfortunately. I think the 1st snuck up on all of us… In the morning we left Nelson for Takaka. During our drive through the mountains we had some truely amazing views. We got into Takaka in the early afternoon. Our hostel in Takaka was certainly the smallest and I’d say the nicest we’ve stayed at thusfar. That night… Read More

Invasion of pretty good weather, cyclists, tour leaders, peach, pear, apricot blossoms, bugs and cycle-tourism!

Archive Latitudes Year
The last few days have been extremely busy as I have been spending time in and around the tour lead training simulation we are doing over the week. I have been kept busy with paperwork, organizing, cooking, meeting, greeting, cleaning and everything in between amongst the great weather (and even having chances to cycle and take some mechanical training which will come in handy in life or even the future… Read More

From High Tea to OM GANGA MAI

Archive India- SHIVA
A lot has happened over the past two weeks. After the week of trekking to Dzongri, we had two weeks to recover from our aching feet & sore muscles by spending time in Darjeeling & Rishikesh– both in very different ways. DARJEELING: While in Darjeeling, we recouped anyway we saw fit. We all found some much needed rest & relaxation by doing whatever we wanted to do with our three… Read More

Poop and Bugs: The story of Finca Bona Fide

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hello from Playa Gigante! Sorry for the long hiatus between posts. We haven´t had many opportunities for internet in the last couple of weeks. Last week the group worked hard on Finca Bona Fide on Ometepe Island. The farm´s main goal is to promote permaculture, or permenant agricultural, a practice of sustainable farming where the available resources are constantly reused as opposed to being used up as is in most… Read More

Bienvenidos from Colombia!

Archive Latitudes Year
Tom here, writing you from my home here in the beautiful city of Cali, Colombia. The climate is around 80 degrees and perfect,while the wildlife and plantlife erupts from nearly every possible surface. I live with a yoga instructor from Argentina named Pablo, the owner of the house and center named Samantha, and her one and a half year old son Ilan. As if that wasn’t a perfect environment I… Read More

Carpe takes Cusco

Archive South America- INTI
This week was spent running through the rambling streets and alleys of the longest consistently inhabited city in all of South America. Highlights included many amazing meals, a visit to the black market, salsa lessons, and a thundering sunset. Cobblestoned streets lead from plaza to plaza, while fountains and an interesting array of graffiti decorate the walls. Mornings have frequently begun with a quick stop at a nearby bakery for… Read More
Archive South America- INTI
Joseph and Byran Learning to Salsa Today marks our last day in Cuzco. We have spent the past week in Spanish classes, which included various museum visits, cooking night, salsa lessons, and a visit to the black market. Cuzco has to be my favorite city thus far. It has an air of beautiful decay. Many of the buildings are of old european stone and ceramic tile roofs, obviously incredibly beautiful… Read More

Edirisa

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
After arriving in Kabale, we dove into Edirisa without knowing what to expect. We bought our groceries for the week and then split into two. Group 1 (Oren, Sophie, Rachel, Victoria) went to volunteer at the Special Needs Education Center while group A (Marisa, Ellen, Rachael, Giselle) volunteered with nursery school children in Buchinda. Both groups spent their time painting murals, making masks, cooking their own food, and especially playing… Read More

Buena Adventura

Archive Latitudes Year
There is a moment when you have time, build up enough confidence and decide to embark on a personal journey. I have kept writing tour scripts about Firenze (Florence) and heard many great things about the city from my host family, the descriptions I work with for bicycling tours and my co-workers. I have been extremely encouraged to travel on the weekends out to nearby places. I have found it… Read More

Hola mis amigos!!! Greetings from Bolivia.

Archive Latitudes Year
I have to say, I have had quite the time over the last two and a half months down here.  Here’s a quick little recap of the first month. I arrived tired but optimistic to the CondorTrekkers office in Sucre after 29 hours of travel.  I had a couple bumps in the road getting there (a confused taxi driver, a lost wallet scare) but arrived in one piece.  I was… Read More

Sterling from the Eco Farm in Nepal

Archive Latitudes Year
Arriving late in Kathmandu I finally met the man called Govinda. Since that day he has taken care of me and acted as an older brother, as we have taken on the task of getting his dream eco farm up and running. The farm itself is perched towards the top of a hill overlooking the valley below and the spectacular Himalayas, with Begnas Lake almost close enough to touch. Now… Read More

Freedom of the Hills: A Trek in Western Sikkim

Archive India- SHIVA
After our time in Gangtok, we prepared to go on our long awaited (or dreaded) trek in Western Sikkim. This area is dominated by high mountains covered in dense forests.  While the beginning of our trek was only a few dozen kilometers away in Yuksom, it still took hours to reach our hotel having to navigate the winding dirt roads of Sikkim. Arriving at Ejam Residency, we found ourselves in… Read More
Archive South America- INTI
Our second week in Arequipa, Peru comes to its close in just seven hours. The week was filled with activities for Semana Santa, Holy week leading up to Easter (Today!). We sampled different fruit juices and various cow parts being sold in the streets as we joined the masses (pun) in a city wide crawl from church to church. A few days ago, we enjoyed a goodbye party at the… Read More

Vamos a Cuzco!

Archive South America- INTI
Happy Easter from Areaquipa! It´s our last day here and many of us spent Easter morning feasting on traditional Peruvian Easter breakfasts with our home stay families. Being in Areaquipa for Semaña Santa has been quite the experience. On Holy Thrusday, we wandered around the streets of the city center doing the ¨Chruch Crawl.¨ We went from chruch to chruch attending Mass and sampling cow heart and fruit juices along… Read More