Blog
Invasion of pretty good weather, cyclists, tour leaders, peach, pear, apricot blossoms, bugs and cycle-tourism!
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
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
Hello from Playa Gigante! Sorry for the long hiatus between posts. We havenĀ“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 farmĀ“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!
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 wasnāt a perfect environment I… Read More
Carpe takes Cusco
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
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
HOT TUNA’S CATCH OF THE WEEK YA’LL!!!
Its Hot Tuna here with ya’lls catch of the week from Featherston,NZ! We had a hoot of a time at dat racehorse lodge we stayed at. I just dont even know were to begin. Firstly it appeared to a few people dat the place we was stayin at was haunted of sorts, So da sage master decided to have a saging of sorts and done did send all da bad… Read More
Edirisa
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
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.
I have to say, I have had quite the time over the last two and a half months down here. Ā 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. Ā I had a couple bumps in the road getting there (a confused taxi driver, a lost wallet scare) but arrived in one piece. Ā I was… Read More
Week in the Marae – Brendan
Our last day staying at the Marae we where taken on a sailingĀ adventureĀ and hike! Ā The ferry ride from Wellington to the south island.SomeĀ sillinessĀ along the way to the hostel… Read More
Sterling from the Eco Farm in Nepal
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
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. Ā While theĀ beginningĀ of our trek was only a few dozen kilometers away in Yuksom, it still took hours to reach our hotel having toĀ navigateĀ the winding dirt roads of Sikkim. Arriving at Ejam Residency, we found ourselves in… Read More
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!
Happy Easter from Areaquipa! ItĀ“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 SemaƱa Santa has been quite the experience. On Holy Thrusday, we wandered around the streets of the city center doing the ĀØChruch Crawl.ĀØ We went from chruch to chruch attending Mass and sampling cow heart and fruit juices along… Read More
Pictures from Arequipa
Carpe students enjoy a pizza party with the girls from the orphanage Volcano “El Misti” towers over Arequipa The plaza de armas at Sunset Jackie and Lady with icing on their faces š… Read More
Sawadee kaaaa!
Iāve spent the last month and a half volunteering at the Childrenās Organization of Southeast Asia (COSA), located in the province of Mae Rim, just outside the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. COSA is an amazing organization dedicated to the prevention of human trafficking in the northern regions of the country. Iām living at the Baan Yuu Suk Shelter, which houses twenty sexually exploited, abused, or at-risk girls. As a… Read More
Helmets, Healing and Humility
After spending the week repelling, climbing and paddling our way through the mountains, forests and waters of the North Island, I am confident that I am speaking on behalf of the group when I say that we have all felt the minor physical repercussions of our unsure footing, busy arms, and in my case, apparent aversion to staying on the bike path. In our valiant (and successful) attempts to keep… Read More