If people do not already know I left 2 days ago for reasons do to my health. I just wanted to post one blog because I never got the chance to post in Bonafide.
Two and a half months ago I signed up for a gap year program that was headed to Central America. I had no clue who I was going to meet, what my experience would be, and… Read More
Hello again friends and family! With only a week standing between us reciting monologues about our epic voyages to all you, I give you one of our last updates. It seems like a lifetime ago we were sadly leaving Calcutta. Heading to Phool Ashram we all had our reservations about this week long semi silent retreat with 5:30 am wake up calls for morning chanting and meditation, neti potting and… Read More
My fellow Americans,
Hi!!! This is Kate Maher from the Nkula East Africa group (obviously). I am channeling you all from a computer at our guest house in ZANZIBAR. So without further a do, as your blogger, let me relate to you the events of two weeks ago.
Our journey left off when we traveled from Mufindi to Njombe town, a town I love exclusively for its dairy products. They… Read More
Happy Turkey Day from the Carpe Diem Hongi Group. We have had an amazing experience here in Cairns. The fun started at the airport in Alice Springs and continued all the way through our time here. We were given a taste of Australian paradise the past two days. We took a boat Thursday morning and headed to Fitzroy Island. We arrived and everyone automically was on “relax take it easy… Read More
“I can’t, I have to finish my homework,” is a phrase I never thought I would hear while on this trip. But, this past week we all fell into the old routine of doing homework late at night, in hopes of becoming scuba certified. We started class at Cairns Dive Center (CDC) on Tuesday of this week. We packed our lunches for the 8 hour day ahead of us… Read More
And so Kifaru’s free travel began…with an 8 hour bus ride, (as many things do in Tanzania). With our own budget and affairs to handle the week ahead seem pretty daunting, yet we prevailed as usual. When we arrived to our self picked hostel we arrived to find a homely place filled with couches and all the finest things East Africa had to offer. With our first day in Moshi… Read More
Food is never far from the forefront of our groups’ mind. Our wonderful preoccupation with our meals didn’t skip a beat during student directed travel. We started our week off in the sleepy fishing village of Las Peñitas, a lazy beach town perfect for relaxing, swimming, and eating. So we relaxed, swam, and ate. If you had walked into the common area at Hostal Barca de Oro you would’ve found… Read More
Last week our group split into two groups and embarked on separate CVA (Conservation Volunteers of Australia) journeys. My group, which consisted of Nick, Riley, Liv, Trace, Allie, Brett and our new team leader whose name was also Brett, camped and worked at the beautiful Cooloola Recreation Area, Great Sandy National Park for the week.
Our campsite was a short walk from the beach which was made up of warm… Read More
Our journey into the outback began when we got picked up in this massive off-road looking bus. We set off into the outback riding on normal asphalt roads as well as driving on rocky dirt roads. It was pretty hard to take a nap because we were being bounced around inside the truck. The very first place we stopped, we were at a watering hole so we could go for… Read More
After a tough week of work in the Amazon we returned back to Puerto Maldonado a small river town. There we decided to splurge on a hostal that was slightly out of our budget but a neccesary luxury. The hostal Anaconda Lodge featured large lodge type rooms with private bathrooms, warm water, comfy beds, a gorgeous pool, the best thai food in Peru, and best of all monkeys. It was… Read More
After a week of jungle life, it was time to begin our student directed travel. We stayed in Puerto Maldonado for a couple of days in what became known amongst the group as `Monkey Palace`. Monkey Palace is the beautiful hostal we stayed in, filled with adorable (but sneaky) monkeys. After Puerto Maldonado, we took a 10 hour night bus to Cusco, and from there, a 2 hour bus ride… Read More
L’Esperance, the hilltop orphanage in Rwanda across an expansive lake from dual Congolese volcanoes.
We began our week of forestry, frolicking with children, and painting with the not-so steady boat ride into the beachfront property of the L’esperance Orphanage. After the 45 minute walk up to the colorful orphanage we arrived to find something of a paradise. Victor, the Guatemalan director of L’Esperance opened his home to us and among… Read More
Blog from Sarah P. Hello friends and family!
We are now in Rwanda after an amazing few days on a canoe trek around Lake Bunyonyi.
On the canoe trek we spent the first day canoeing and exploring the islands around the lake. It was really beautiful, and nice to be back on the water. We were in dugout canoes that are made by hand by various people around the lake.… Read More
G’Day family and friends of the Carpe Hongi group!
We just arrived back in Alice Springs from an exhausting, yet liberating week in the Australian outback. This week has pushed us in ways we didn’t even know we could be pushed, both emotionally and physically. From a 25 hour train ride all the way to swimming in between million year old rocks.
Our bodies were tired, dripping with sweat and… Read More
I could see the apprehension in Benji’s eyes at the first whispers of a Thanksgiving feast, hours after finishing a four day trek. But once Katrina and I secured a kitchen, the wheels of holiday cheer were in motion and there was no stopping us. Over the next few days, all eight of us brainstormed different dishes to serve and thought up strategies on how to execute an eight-dish meal… Read More
