We made our way to Huay Xai, a border town on the Thailand/Laos border, so that we could enjoy the Gibbon Experience. Getting to Huay Xai was quite the adventure as it required taking a 14 hour bus ride. We all boarded the bus at 7pm and prepared ourselves for our travel into the night. The bus wasn’t very crowded which was quite nice as it allowed us to spread… Read More
We descended from the hills of Lao into our home base of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage City, looking ahead to three days of relax and exploration before traveling onwards towards the Thai border. We had a good meal and rest in preparation for the next morning when we made our way to a set of brilliant clear blue waterfalls. Tessa and Amanda chose to pump their way to… Read More
We arrived in the Hindu Holy city of Varanasi after a short train ride from Bodhgaya the night of the 12th, welcomed by dry air, refreshing bright lights, and freedom from constant threat of mosquito attack. The city is, in my personal opinion, lovely – it sits comfortably on the river Ganga and is filled with more half dressed holy men than I ever thought possible. The river is really… Read More
This cloudy friday morning finds us once again happily settled in the mountain town of Otavalo. We´ve spent the week attending spanish school, practicing spanish with our new found ecuadorian families members, hiking liberally around the area, and imitating bird calls in an attempt to tease flight out of Andean Condors. We eagrly await reuniting with our group mates, now lost amongst the forest of clouds. This weekend there is… Read More
just so you know who is who….(from left to right)Dan, Bobby, Celia, Heidi, Karen, Alex, Max, Andy, and Kaise (pronounced like kai-eees like pie)… Read More
Because of popular demand, mainly my dad, we have a photobucket account for your viewing pleasure.
http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv97/cam09album/
lovebobby… Read More
Carpe Diem is the name of our group.Crammin 25 in a 14 seater, as if were in a coop.Going nation to nation,on the road agin to a fresh destination.Bags packed, domes in tacked, onwards in our adventure yo, no hesitation.Were naturally nomatic,scratch that flomatic, no static, on the road wreaking havoc.Back at it cause were a traveling addict.Just left Jam bamboo, all night long played teh drums with you.Were one… Read More
After reading this blog families, friends, and loved ones will understand why it has been such a long time since our last post. Today is our first full day in the lovely metropolis of Quetzaltenango aka Xela, but before i delve too much into our current activities let me inform you all of what our group has been doing the past several days. The last post we shared that we… Read More
Tonight we leave Kolkata; when the group left Sikkim I thought it impossible that I would be able to fall in love with any other part of India. But I have, and I will truly miss the home I’ve made for myself here. Before leaving for India, I was told by anyone that had ever been here that this country was full of contradiction. I believe I love Kolkata because… Read More
The trek….Let us give you a break down each day of the 5 day trek and 2 day water rafting in Laung Prabang…..
Day one,we got into several different moving vehicles and meet our guides Mong and Mr.Jim. What wonderful men they were and they treated us so well along the trip. One hour later finally making it to where we begin. Hiking through many river, rice fields, mud, climbing… Read More
Today we encountered our first mountainous obstacle as a team…literally. We climbed a mountian. We scaled one of the largest mountains in the area around Otavalo, a mountain by the name of Fuya Fuya. The views were incedible and the acsent steep, but we enjoyed every second of it, relishing in the challenge. At the top the clouds wisped up the mountain and enveloped us like a blanket left out… Read More
So as the trip reaches its 3 week mark we are in Fort Portal, Uganda volunteering our time to an NGO. This NGO, Youth Encouragement Services, works with children who are HIV / AIDS positive or have lost all family to the disease. Talking to Carrol (the founder of the organization) truly showed us what situations this children were in before they were helped. Some of the kids were living… Read More
Due to complications with Flickr, we created a brand spankin´ new account through shutterfly, which allows all of us to sign in under 1 username. Here´s the link, check us out: http://www.samcarpediem2009.shutterfly.com… Read More
Sitting here in Darjeeling, it seems quite a feat looking back on the arduous trek the group and I just accomplished. From Yuksam at 6,000 ft. to Dzongri at 13,200 ft., we were out in the Himalayas for a good 7 days; days full of ups and downs, challenges and rewards, pain and beauty. I believe the trek was much harder than most of us expected, and in that sense,… Read More
So we’re back in Jinja for the night after spending an AMAZING week working with the Mirembe (meaning peace) Kawomera Coffee Co-op in a small village just outside of Mbale. Mirembe in unique in the way that in combines the three major faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, to promote a message of peace between faiths and throughout the world. We lived with the founder of the Co Op, JJ Keki,… Read More
This dark saturday eve finds us nestled in between mamma and pappa volcanoes in the ever magnificent Otavalo Ecuador. After two weeks spent working the farm at Rio Muchacho, today we were able to satisfy our insatiable American need to consume, storming one of the largest handicraft markets in South America, scouring the streets for gifts, plauging store owners for their unnescesary knick knacks made of alpaca hair. We now… Read More
We are wrapping it up here in San Andres, spending some time with our families and preparing some thankyou gifts. We have been emmersed into some of the historical Myan beliefs of San Andres, including a visit to a Curandera(a shamanistic herbal healer.)At the Curandera we learned about some of the common sicknesses amongest children and ways of healing them. One of the illnesses is caused from the transfer of… Read More
Hey There everyone.SOO much has happened its difficult to recap it. Some highlights are as follows: Our group did a Tuk-Tuk ride for peace on International day of peace in Battam Bamg(No idea if that’s the correct spelling, seen many version for the name of this city). Lots of fun, we got some advice there from a Buddhist Monk. He guided us through mediation telling us the the importance of… Read More
Its our third day at our second homestay, in San Andres. We apologize for the lack of blogs thus far. We thourghly enjoiyed ourselves in Poptuon and were fortunate enough to have participated in the local Guatemalan Independence Day festivities. These festivities included, sack races, music, a compatition with horses and a scramble up a 30 foot tall, lard covered log. Alex and Robert were champs and participated in the… Read More
Hey, this is Zach.
Alright so the last few days in Africa have been long, tiring and paintfilled but none the less a blast. We just finished up painting the classrooms with Soft Power in Bubugo and are now chilling at the NRE hostel just outside of Jinja. Working at Bubugo was challenging but incredibly rewarding and fun. In the mornings we split up into two crews. The first (Britt,… Read More
