Breath in, breath out. Feel the oxygen fill your lungs completely. Take a moment to clear your head of all thoughts. On that note, let me say a few things about our time in the Sacred Valley at the Sradhavan yoga retreat. After the exhausting days of Cusco, a retreat was exactly what all of us needed. I really wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. I imagined… Read More
Since leaving the Dharma Center we went far South and a little east and ended up in a little town called Ayutthaya. It was really hot. We rented bikes for the day and rode around to all the old temples. After an exhausting day we went to the hostel expecting to sleep but unfortunately for us they played live music downstairs until 12. The next morning we had to catch… Read More
Namaste everybody!
Sarahji here telling you guys all about our AMAZING time at the Taj Mahal! We all wanted to see the Taj at sunrise so we started off our day waking up at the crack of dawn to go get in line. Tully and I thought what a better opportunity to wear our saree’s than at the Taj Mahal! Thakfully Kaila knew how to wrap a saree (she learned… Read More
Hello to all of our friends and family! We have just arrived in Jinja, Uganda, back from our 5 day volunteering project at the Mawoito school. We successfully completed our project of painting a block of three classrooms. Today we were thanked by the teachers and students with a performance of local songs and dances and many speeches by school board members and the head master of the primary school.… Read More
Hello from Carpe HQ! While the group wasn’t able to post these photos while they were in Ecuador, they recently were able to email them to me and I thought all the South America blog followers would appreciate them. (You can keep clicking on individual photos to see the larger versions.) Enjoy!
… Read More
Greetings all from Sydney Australia! Its hard to believe that we are now in our 3rd and final Country.
We had an incredible free travel week, a week completely planned by the students, to close up our time in New Zealand. We kicked off our week with a beautiful ferry ride from Wellington to the scenic south island! Our ferry arrived taking us through a maze of small islands in… Read More
This is a bit late as the group is already about to leave our first city in Nicaragua (Leon), but better late then never. Looking back on San Marcos our time was both amazing but also a bit detrimental. While in that kind of environment, I, aswell as many of the group members found it difficult not to slip into the tourist mentality. I know personally my Spanish was rarely… Read More
Everyone who was able to participate would agree that our White Water Rafting Trip was an experience that we will never forget. From the moment we arrived at the rafting company’s office, we knew we would enjoy ourselves, as we were greeted by the friendly rafting guides and a hearty breakfast. Then, we traveled about an hour through the village to our start point on the Nile River–a place most… Read More
Hi there people we love! Hola from Nicaragua!!! We are all SO excited to be continuing our adventure in a brand new country, especially one as intriguing as Nicaragua. On Monday, we arrived at the airport in Managua, Nicaragua and then took a bus to the big city off Leon, where we are doing our very last week of spanish school. We have school weekday mornings from 8-12, and after… Read More
Imagine yourself in a comfy bed, warm, relaxed, and at peace after having been lulled to sleep by the musings of the nearby Ganga coupled with the silence of an ashram. Now, you hear the sound of a gong being rung and the vibrations reverberating within you. It’s dark, cold, and a little windy outside as you slip out of your bed and walk to the yoga hall in silence.… Read More
Hello friends and family! What an awesome trip it’s been so far. About a week ago we took a 3 hour ferry ride from the northern island to the southern island and stayed in Wellington for a couple nights. I didn’t think New Zealand could get any more beautiful but the southern island is proving me wrong. Right outside the hostel I’m typing this from I can see vibrant bright… Read More
To kick off our second week in Cusco, Sunday morning´s breakfast featured crepes, made by our favorite French Canadian Claudelle, and topped with various fruits and some improvised chocolate sauce. The rest of the weekend consisted of intensive chilling out (any grand ideas for activities around the city were put to rest by the low energy levels resultant of so much Spanish and loveable, if rather hyperactive children) and cleaning… Read More
Hello family and friends of Carpe Diem’s Central America groups!
I hope you are all well and have been enjoying following along with all the groups adventures so far. I just wanted to touch base in the wake of the earthquake in Guatemala and reassure you that both groups were safely in Nicaragua at the time and have not been affected.
I also want to clarify that the affected area… Read More
Our stay at the Dharma Center was eye-opening. Our guide, Laurie was a very nice, funny, wise, old man from Australia. It was our first time with an English translator at a temple so it was inspiring to learn the history and true methods of Buddhism.
The first day we traveled to the border of Burma and learned about the history of conflict between the different villages. We saw… Read More
So this blog post is a little late. but we spent a week at the Sam Fan Orphanage with some orphans from Thailand. They were all great kids and have very bright futures. they are getting valuable life skills from living there. We helped the kids every morning doing their chores, making compost and playing with them. One day we went on a hike up a creek to a place… Read More
Hey there Itza friends and family! Tom here, just wanted to give a little insight on what our time on Lago Atitlan entailed.
After much deliberation and last minute planning, we had to cancel our 3 day trek. However, we were still able to do a 2 hour hike down the Indians Head mountain which had constant photo ops and a beautiful look over lago Atitlan. The view alone… Read More
Greetings from Kampala!
After a few unforeseen events, the group decided to spend some extra nights in Kigali, Rwanda. This extended stay, however uexpected, allowed us more time to explore the city. We were pleasantly surprised by Kigali’s immense cleanliness and modernity, which made us feel quite safe and welcome. We treated ourselves to coffee, Rwanda’s specialty, and even checked out the local arts scene.
Now, after a long bus… Read More
October 28-November3
We kicked off our week twisting through reservation roads fraught with potholes and washboard, our destination the Johnson’s Ranch in Cornfields. Elizabeth and Justin Johnson met us with much hospitality and welcome. They told us about the history of their Ranch going back to their parents, the work of their local chapter and its impact on the community (Local form or Navajo government), and the struggles and… Read More
Yah T’eh Friends, Family, and Loved Ones!
On October 20th we embarked on our hike into Canyon del Muerto (one portion of Canyon de Chelly) near Chinle, Navajo. We went with a wonderful and informative guide named Colleen, who recounted history, personal stories, and various information about plants, animals, traditions, and more. As we walked along, we were amazed at the fresh beauty of the canyon as the cottonwood leaves… Read More
Friends and Family,
It has been quiet an adventure over the last few days trying to get to Uganda! A few setbacks have required the group to temporarily return to Kigali, but they will be back on the road first thing tomorrow morning on a bus for Kampala.
Because of the unanticipated circumstances, the itinerary over the next couple weeks will be adapted to meet the changing needs of the… Read More
