Written By David & Kai Buongiorno from Matera! This is David and Kai, this week’s leaders. On Wednesday, we finished up our stint in Abruzzo with a 7-hour hike that brought us up to 2,000 meters above sea level. At first, our views were obscured by omnipresent mist and fog; however, upon reaching the summit, we were awed by the majestic mountain view that appeared as the wind serendipitously cleared… Read More
Written By Amanda & Calvin Gather ‘round, gather your young and old and prepare your ears to listen to Carpe Aloha’s spinsters of tales, Amanda and Calvin!
Not too long ago, on Wednesday the 10th of November, the children trekked through highways and side roads to the magical lands of Auntie He (”hay”). There, they crouched low to the fragrant soil and ridded the ground of its petulant invaders. That… Read More
Written By Ian & Eli Hola from Camaronal National Wildlife refuge! Ian and Eli reporting from the scenic Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
We wrapped up our second week in Turrialba after 4 more Spanish classes. The group got their chef on as we had another cooking competition. On Sunday we planned meals and traded leftover foods between groups before going to the supermarket to get fresh ingredients. Ana and… Read More
Wednesday: Orti Dipinti and Treedom VisitThursday: Vineyard Tour and Exploring FlorenceFriday: Our Last Day at Orti Dipinti and Uffizi GallerySaturday: Traveling to Abruzzo MONDAY: Day HikeTuesday: Transfer from Pescasseroli to Civitella Alfedena and Visit to the Wolf Museum“Why are they playing on that? This is for children” – AndreaWednesday: Day Hike to Viewpoint of Civitella Alfedena… Read More
Written By Jill & Maya Hi everyone! As the cobble stone streets woke us up from our car ride naps, we entered the City of Quetzaltenango, otherwise known as Xela. We then settled into our hostel and took our first shot at wandering the slightly confusing city. We quickly found delicious hot chocolate, a Central Park, and the sweet smells drifting from Panaderias.
The next morning, we walked to the… Read More
Written by Maya S. When I first heard that the ferry from Italy to Greece was supposed to take 17 hours, I thought I was being pranked. But as it turns out, I was not. Now I’m not gonna lie, I was asleep for roughly 14 of those 17 hours, but I’m sure everyone had a great time. And the long boat turned out to be worth it because we… Read More
Written By Katharine & Gus Wassup from Katharine, and Gus.
Thursday morning was very relaxed. Katharine, Katie, Belle, and Cooper went with Rachel to fill up our water jugs while the rest of the group hung out at the campsite. On the water trip, they also stopped at the grocery store and made sure to get Vanessa her yerbs. In the afternoon, we headed down to the park and balled… Read More
Written By Rosa & Maddi Hola! Rosa and Maddi here.
We kicked off our second week at Long Way Home in festive style with spooky Halloween Murder Mystery Party. Each member of the group impersonated and dressed up as another member of the group as we played out a script written by Ryan, with Ethan’s character (actually Ryan) and Spencer’s character (actually Rosa) getting murdered! Many suspected Rachael (actually Maddi)… Read More
Written By Ana & Flannery Hello Everyone! Ana and Flannery here to share some stories. This week started off with an early rise and dark car ride to Guatemala City. With our last street lit hours in Guatemala we celebrated Halloween by switching clothing with a partner. This consisted of colorful pants, iconic sweaters, many laughs and countless double takes.
Eventually arriving in Turrialba Costa Rica we started to explore… Read More
Written by Mallory & Anna Terra group made their grand debut in Matera under cover of darkness. We first met our Matera liaisons Andrea and Birgit at 9 at night in a murky bus stop somewhere in Matera. They shepherded us to the farm, or Masseria, that would become our humble abode for the next seven days. We all piled into Andrea’s van that would also become our home away… Read More
Written By Ava & Alesh Hola chicas! It’s your student leaders, Ava and Alesh updating you about our epic student directed travel week! Leaving the beautiful town of Tzununa at Lago Atitlan, our adventure began with a 4 hour bus ride to the riverside docks of the Acome river. As we stepped out the bus onto the banks of the mangrove forest lined river, we were instantly hit by a… Read More
Written By Vanessa & Belle Aloha from Vanessa and Belle
Last time we blogged we had just finished out a day of tree planting the local farmstay. For our final day on Maui, we worked on Uncles George’s farm. We had the opportunity to work with some animals, including horses, goats, sheep, cows, chickens, and pigs. Belle even got the chance to tangle a small pig that had escaped its… Read More
Written by Emma & Spencer Hi guys! Emma and Spencer here. We have now successfully finished our first week at Long Way Home in what is known as the “Florence of Guatemala,” the vibrant town of Comalapa. Our first night in Comalapa we settled into the innovative and beautiful Long Way Home Lodge, only a stones throw away from the Heroes School which is the main focus of the Long… Read More
Written By Maya & Ian Hola from Lake Atitlan! Students leaders of the week here: Maya and Ian here for your weekly update of our exciting adventures. This week’s adventure began early at 4am with a trek up to a lookout spot over the beautiful Lake Atitlan to watch the sunrise. Students fell in love with the sight of the lake and were eager to trek down making our descent… Read More
Written by Aidan & Mackenzie Greetings from Italy! When you left us, we were traveling to Mondeggi from our week in Bologna: this week, as you may expect, we are in Mondeggi. From the first, we were welcomed into the communal farm with open arms, surprisingly good English, and lots of cats. The next few days consisted mainly of getting to know the flow of Mondeggi. On Wednesday, we spent… Read More
Written By Vanessa & Belle Greetings from Vanessa and Belle
When we arrived at our new placement (a local organic farm), Katie gasped at the site of a refrigerator. Evan, our host, graciously prepared a covered kitchen and living area. We spent our first day getting aquatinted with the land through a short tour and setup of our camp site in the fruit forest. In the afternoon, we had the… Read More
Written by Alex & Claire Hey Quetzal Family & Friends! It’s Alex and Claire, here to update you about our last week in Costa Rica- one of our busiest weeks yet!
After saying goodbye to our man Stwarth and all the turtles with a final “Turtle Vibes!” chant, we had a pretty short drive to Samara. The group had an hour of free time to explore the city before meeting… Read More
Written By Emma L. Where to even begin. This week was one of the most beautiful ones yet and I think we all enjoyed being more connected to nature with some of the crispest air I’ve ever consumed.
Starting on day one, another tough travel day. Shuttle to bus to train to train to bus to walk, Carpe has us absolutely mastering the Italian public transportation system. Arriving in a… Read More
Written By Gracie Where to even begin… We arrived on October 8th, after two bus rides we made it to the city of Siena, for about an hour we explored the winding roads and got lunch. My classic plate of straight meat never disappoints. After lunch, we returned to the bus station and boarded a van to Spannocchia. Let me just start by saying, it was nothing we could ever… Read More
