Pro-Soup Propaganda

Heading To Argentina and Antarctica Today - Want To See My Carry-On Items?

2014-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Tips of Travelling for the image!

Holy. Cow.

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!

The trip that I have planned for for the past several years is finally happening.

Much like I did with my trip for three weeks in Peru and Easter Island, I thought I would share what I am bringing with me for the next month. Let's recap: I get to DFW tonight and fly all night to Buenos Aires, spending all day Thursday there, and then heading to the airport in the wee hours to take a 4:45am trip to Ushuaia, Argentina, aka "The Southernmost City in the World." I officially leave on Saturday at 4pm on the M/S Expedition for three weeks with the goal of getting to Antarctica! After returning to Ushuaia on January 30 I will stay at a B&B until I leave on February 4 to return to Portland. Whew!

Like my last trip to South America, I will be carrying everything in my Patagonia MLC Bag and REI Purse. Surprisingly, my bag feels a lot lighter than it did when I went to Peru. I would be surprised if my bag was even ten pounds, seriously. So what *am* I bringing?

Clothes and Layers

Columbia Women's Back Beauty Pants

Smartwool NTS Midweight 250 Zip-Neck Sweater x 2

Patagonia Piton Pants (Currently on sale for 25% off on Backcountry!)
Patagonia Capilene 4 Pants (Currently also on sale!) (I wrote a love letter to these!)
Patagonia Capilene 3 top x2
3 Bras and 3 pairs undies
Columbia Hiking Shoes for bumming around ship (I need non-slip soles)
Patagonia R-1 Jacket
Patagonia Winter Sun Hoody
Patagonia Triolet Jacket
Patagonia Triolet Pants
Patagonia Better Sweater Hat
Mountain Hardware Windproof Gloves
North Face Apex Gloves
Merino wool buff
SmartWool Socks
Patagonia Merino Socks
Darn Tough Merino Socks
Swimsuit (Polar Plunge, baby!!) (There's also a sauna onboard!)

Electronics

Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Camera

Panasonic Lumix Shockproof and Waterproof Camera

Extra camera batteries

Travel adapter

iPhone & charger
Moto X & charger
MacBook Air & charger
Kobo Touch & charger
Camera & phone waterproof cases

Miscellaneous

Water bottle

Personal toiletries

Cash for M/S Expedition personnel tips and Argentina spending money

Tickets/travel insurance documents/trip details info

Passport (duh)

Rite in the Rain notebook & pens
Earplugs

If you want to follow along online, check out my Instagram here, or check out the M/S Expedition's Instagram! Or if you would like to see this adventure from Frank the Travel Cat's point of view, here is her Instagram! Here are some pictures of other adventures we've been on. I can't wait to update her map!

Seriously, though, a HUGE THANK YOU to anyone who donated money to my trip fund, hired me, paid for something, or what-EVER to help make this trip happen! I have been saving for this trip since 2011 and to actually be leaving on it today, fulfilling a freaking HUGE LIFE GOAL, is kind of nutty. So thank you!! :o)

Pro-Soup Propaganda's 2013 Year in Review

2013-12-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Oh, 2013, what a funny, weird, great, horrible year you were.

I did some pretty awesome stuff this year.

*I did a fair amount of hiking! I did some nice walks at Mt. Tabor, other hikes around Portland, went to some parks, hiked up Multnomah Falls, and hiked (and camped!) in Central Oregon's high desert, to name a few.

*I met Lil Bub, Internet Cat Sensation!

*Jonathan and I finally kayaked and it was awesome!

*I got laid-off from my "main" job and all of my side-hustles soon became my job! Luckily I am making a bunch of money and am able to put a ton of it into savings.

*I saw Michael Pollan speak for the second time.

*Jonathan and I went whale-watching at the coast and it was awesome!

*I had a great, well-earned sandwich at the top of Mt Waynapicchu.

*I went to Ketchikan to work a lot and saw some bears, went to Easter Island and saw a lot of moai, saw the Nazca Lines, hiked the Sun Gate Trail, was forgotten by the train in middle-of-nowhere Peru and hiked back to Machu Picchu Pueblo in the dark (still one of my top favorite travel memories!), explored Machu-freaking-Picchu!, and explored Cusco.

*We adopted the weirdest member of our family, hands down. Welcome, FunCat, we are glad to have you, even though you may be a small evil orange wizard, but we are glad you live in the Fortress of Joy with us!

*I made a packing list of my carry-on bag for my three weeks in South America. Maybe it will inspire or help you?

*Amy and I had some amazing conversations.

*Jonathan and I only snowshoed once this year. We tried to go again last week, but Mt. Hood doesn't have enough snow on it. Boo!

*I thought I helped co-create #slothing but apparently it's been the rage on the internet already.

*I fulfilled some Gob Bluth wannabe-ness and rode a Segway!

*I cooked some of my favorite recipes that I still love to make: Chicken Vegetable Soup, Thai Coconut Soup, Basil Garbanzo Beans and Quinoa, Curry-Fried Quinoa, and the best Chicken and Veggie Noodle Soup ever!

*I visited a U-Pick farm with Amy and look forward to returning!

While there were more many happy memories this year than not, this was a really painful year in parts. I had some personal life issues that took several months to deal with. I'm still dealing with them, really. I'm doing my best to focus on the now and look forward to healing and feeling better, but sometimes it sucks. I feel kind of lost and floundery sometimes (like I'm floundering, not like this guy, cute as he is). I know things will get better and I'm doing the best I can, but I am really excited to go to Antarctica and focus on me for a bit. I have been working my butt off the past two months and am looking forward to reaping the benefits.

This was my list of 2013 Resolutions. While I actually did pretty good on that stuff (yay reading lots of books and saving money!), there is stuff that didn't really happen (going to the Japanese Garden and yoga).

This new year is going to be called "Year of the Radical." (2013 was "Year of the Waffle." It was a delicious year.) There are going to be some radical changes. Things are going to be shaken up. Amy is going to be moving in with us quite soon, which will help both her and us with our respective money situations. I will be going on my big adventures. Jonathan and I will both be getting mountain bikes. We want to go on more bigger adventures together. I no longer need to totally kill myself with trying to earn money to pay for my trips. I will still be hustling but I would like to think that now I don't have to drive myself crazy with Making All The Money, but, who am I kidding myself, it IS nice to have it. ;o)

Brendan Leonard's post "Do Things And Make Things Next Year" really resonated with me. His goals for next year? "Do Things" and "Make Things." After being SO busy this year and having it jam-packed with everything, I am looking forward to a little bit of downtime. I want time to do stuff and time to make stuff. What will those things be? I don't know, but I look forward to finding out.

A Love Letter To My Long Underwear

2013-12-12T07:31:00.002-08:00

Image from Patagonia.

Dear Patagonia Capilene 4 longjohns,

Hello, my friend!

Despite us not knowing each other for long, I just wanted to say a hearty "thank you" for being you. We have known each other for only a month and already I know that you are the one I want to spend more time with. You keep me cozy on the frigidly cold days and snug on the coldest nights we've been having here in Portland. You effortlessly slide beneath even my skinniest jeans to keep me warm with your checkered fleeciness. I especially love pairing you with my Piton Pants and a hip warmer for a little bit of toasty cuteness when I'm working outdoors at the Portland Saturday Market. Thanks for also coming along when I went hiking last month in Oregon's central desert and when planting trees in gusty 30* weather.

Cap 4 pants, I'm glad I met you and I hope you'll stick around awhile.

With warm love,

Brittany

*There are affiliate links in this post that help support my outdoor adventures, so if you use them, thanks!

A Little Bit of Catchup

2013-12-06T16:39:00.003-08:00

That's pretty much how I feel about Portland's snow today. Woo wo, indeed!

I'm writing this post from the house I started house-sitting today. I'll pretty much be house-sitting from today through the next month at various places, so my schedule is pretty darn full. November was INSANE. I earned three times in that month working for myself and STILL having more free time than I ever did having my full-time desk job. Awesome. This month is looking like I'll maybe be making a little less, but not by much! Hopefully this trend keeps up because I really like being able to adventure more often!

Speaking of adventures... I leave for my Antarctica trip IN A MONTH!!!! I really can't believe that this adventure that I have been saving for for what feels like forever is finally happening. I started to follow the ship that I'll be on, the M/V Expedition on both Twitter and Instagram, and have been enthralled with what I've been seeing. I truly can't believe that I'll soon be on that very boat seeing those very things. I've been mentally preparing myself over the past month trying to think of any last items I may need. I'm kind of thinking of getting Patagonia's Triolet pants to go with my jacket, but that's really the last thing I'm thinking. Having windproof and waterproof outerwear is a good idea in those cold , variable climates so I'm leaning toward yes. That will also help me for my Patagonia trip with all the windiness there! (Finding that post makes me think that I should probably write a post expanding about the fact that I'm going to volunteer at Torres del Paine National Park in freaking Patagonia in March, 2014!!)

I celebrated my 31st birthday on Sunday, which is kinda crazy. I feel like I should either feel older or something, but I don't. I still love that I get carded and people are like, "You're a decade older than the carding age?!" Ha!

And that's about what I've been up to! Just trying to keep my nose to the grindstone and make some money to pay for my Patagonia trip!

What's new with you?

Hiking Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

2013-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Back in August, Sofia and I decided to do a hike that neither of us had done before, even though it is so close to Portland - Multnomah Falls! Only about half an hour from Portland, Multnomah Falls is definitely a sight to see. It's the tallest waterfall in Oregon and the second tallest year-round waterfall in the U.S. I love driving through the Gorge and seeing Multnomah Falls on the way by. I've hiked around the area quite a bit, but never have I hiked to the top of the waterfall.

The hike itself is fairly easy overall and is only 1.1 miles long with 700 feet of elevation gain, but get ready for lots of switchbacks - 11 of them! Be sure and wear good footwear because we saw people in both flip flops and heels. Ouch!

I'm glad Sofia went with me! The weather was beautiful and we had a great time!

This picture was taken from the top of the first section, looking out over the bottom. We still had many switchbacks to go to get to the top!

The view from the top!

Are there any other Gorge hikes you'd recommend? I've done quite a few, but it seems like there are always more to do!

Three Easy Hikes in Portland, Oregon

2013-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here in Portland we're really lucky to have such great access to the outdoors. There are many trails right here in the city and I've been able to hike a few of them lately, so I thought I'd share some photos. I've been to Powell Butte, Forest Park, and Mt Tabor recently. They're some of the more popular hikes, as they're located directly in the city, not too far from anything.

Powell Butte

Powell Butte is an extinct volcano cinder cone, one of several in the surrounding area. It's fairly good-sized with over 600 acres to it. It's mostly meadow but has a good chunk of forested area, which is my favorite part! It's easy to get in the middle of "nowhere" and to not see people for awhile, which is pretty great, considering it's right in town. There is also a LOT of wildlife there and I've seen deer almost every time I've been there, including this day!

Andi and I went there with her dog, Chief, and Artoo last week and had a great time! The dogs got in lots of sniffing and stick-chasing and we had the park to ourselves. The weather was nice and cool in the morning, so we didn't overheat. It was a perfect day!

Ta da, we saw a deer!

Forest Park

Forest Park is GIANT! According to Portland Parks and Rec's website, "Forest Park now includes over 5,100 wooded acres making it the largest forested natural area within the city limits in the United States." Bam! That's so awesome that we have claim to that! Jonathan and I love to take Artoo there and beat around a little bit. We usually walk around on the Germantown Road access side. I'd love to go spend an entire day and really thoroughly explore it some day!

Mount Tabor

Totaling 1.6 square miles, Mt. Tabor is a fairly good-sized little oasis within the east side of the city. Like Powell Butte, it is a volcanic cinder cone. Before joining Portland proper in 1905, the area was a rural farming community dating all the way back to the 1850s. (I once bought some CraigsList items from a woman in a house in the neighbourhood and she said it was one of the original houses and it had been in her family since the 1800s! There are apparently pictures of the house surrounded by nothing but farmland, which I imagine would be so beautiful.)

Mt. Tabor's trails go alllllll around the park and there are a LOT of them. It also features an off-leash dog park area, which is pretty nice. On Wednesdays they close and lock the main gates so no vehicles can enter the park. It's a perfect time for bikers, dog walkers, and joggers to get out and get on the road and not have to worry about competing with traffic. Andi and I have been doing this every Wednesday for quite a little while now and it's one of the highlights of my week!

What are some other great Portland walks or hikes that I should get out and try? I love exploring new areas!

Hiking and Camping in Central Oregon's High Desert

2013-11-18T00:01:00.001-08:00

In the past month I've been lucky enough to camp and hike in Central Oregon's high desert a couple of times. Because Portland is a temperate oceanic climate and the woods around Portland often look like Southeastern Alaska's temperate rainforest I'm pretty much used to a damp climate, so it's always kind of weird and special for me to go to deserts. It doesn't happen often, so it's exciting when it does!

In October and November I've gone to Bend, camped in Tumalo State Park, and climbed Smith Rock twice each. I also got to stay at the Prineville Reservoir in October, which was gorgeous. These photos are all from the October trip. The weather was pretty warm still and I felt like dying of heat and exertion while climbing Smith Rock, but it was still worth it to see the view at the top!

The drive to Bend is about three hours from Portland. Plus, it's beautiful! Tumalo State Park is fifteen minutes or so outside downtown Bend. I've stayed in both my tent and a yurt there and, I gotta say, the yurts there are the fanciest I've stayed in! Fancy because the heaters are really good and when you are arriving at night in low-30s temps, having a blast of heat when you enter the yurt is kinda nice!

The drive from Bend to Prineville is a little less than an hour but driving to the reservoir adds some time, about half an hour. It's a slow and windy road, but worth it when you see the views of the reservoir. It's gorgeous! We had reserved a tent site back in the lot but were lucky enough to change to a spot looking right out over the water. Pretty spectacular!

Getting to Smith Rock was easy from both Bend and the reservoir, a little less than an hour from both places. Smith Rock's highest point is around 3000' in elevation. I've now gone on the Misery Ridge trail on both visits and it's pretty awesome. I've started both ways and I prefer going the way that starts to the right of the footbridge you have to cross over. It's steep all the way to the summit, but then you don't have to deal with all the switchbacks otherwise. But it's all beautiful so just go check it out for yourself!

Prineville Reservoir

Sunset over the reservoir was gorgeous, as you can see!

Early afternoon at Smith Rock was gorgeous!!

Monkey Face rock - do you see it?

Success!

I had a wonderful time and I definitely can't wait to go back and adventure more in Central Oregon!

August's Ketchikan Trip - Bears, Flying, and Beaches

2013-10-30T14:36:00.001-07:00

Back in August I went to Ketchikan for two weeks to work. I stayed with my friend Katie and her glorious cat Bella and it was AWESOME. It was when I was having some life problems and it was nice to be around a girlfriend for two full weeks. I ended up working almost every day that I was there, which wasn't what I expected but it was really nice to earn some money and keep my mind busy.

One of the fun things I got to do was go on Promech's Neet's Bay bear tour. The planes fly out and drop people off at the Neet's Bay salmon hatchery where bears love to congregate. The bears are too busy gorging themselves on salmon to notice there's a bunch of people watching them, so it's good times for all! It was awesome that my dad was able to get me on one of his flights! The weather that day started out horribly rainy and eventually got super sunny and warm. In sum, it was a pretty darn good day and fun to hang out with my dad!

See the family resemblance? ;o)

Back Island submarine test facility

Approaching Neet's Bay

I ate crab on this houseboat in Nakat Inlet years ago! So surprised to see it here!

Puck, our guide, explains "bear trees" to people. Bears like to scratch them, which gives information to the other bears, such as how big they are.

A bear den

Yay! We saw a bear!

This guy hung out for just a little bit, checking out the creek. No salmon at this time, though!

The day that I was leaving I had time that morning to use Katie's car, so I drove to my two favorite beaches in Ketchikan, South Point Higgins and Refuge Cove, and spent some much needed thinking time there. It was another gorgeous Alaskan day, as you can see!

Even though I didn't hardly get to see people and have many adventures, it was still a GREAT trip! I can't believe it was my first trip home since I was there for a month last fall! I just can't wait to go back again. So much travel happening in the next year!

Transitions

2013-10-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

My birthday card from Amy last year...little did we know that 2013 WOULD be worse than 2012. ;o)

Man, this year, I tell ya.

I did not plan for two months to pass between my last post. The past three months or so have been the worst, most stressful months I've ever had. My life turned completely upside-down for awhile. It's finally getting back to being normal again. I did have some adventures during this time period that I'll be blogging about. I went to Ketchikan for two weeks and worked my butt off. I went camping in central Oregon's high desert and hiked to the top of Smith Rock. I paid my Antarctica trip (!!!) and got accepted to Conservation VIP's Torres del Paine volunteer trip, which means I'll be heading to Patagonia in March for two weeks!!! (Checking off TWO life dreams next year!)

I really do think life is finally back on the up and up. It feels good to be back.

Don't Panic

2013-08-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the radio silence as of late. I've had a heck of a past couple of weeks. I think I have run the full gamut of emotions. But you know what? Life is good. I have a lot to be thankful for right now. I've actually been back in Ketchikan the past week and have been working a ton, which is great since I could use the money. Tonight when I got off from working my second job of the day I took a long walk around town in the rain by myself and did a lot of thinking. Even though sometimes life doesn't pan out how you thought it would, that's okay. Sometimes there's a lot of uncertainty and that's okay, too. Things always have a way of working out for me and I just roll with it. I don't need to plan everything. I don't need to know what's going on every second. I just need to do what I need to to be happy and focus on myself a bit right now. And sometimes that includes long walks in the rain at night.

Today Is My Fifth Portlandiversary (And I'm Spending it in Canada)

2013-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Image by Steve Morgan

I did it, kids!

Today marks my fifth year of living in Portland, Oregon, also known as Bridgetown, the City of Roses, Beervana, Stumptown, and Rip City. It was five years ago today that I landed in Bellingham, WA, on a 36 hour ferry ride from Ketchikan, and then drove down to Portland to begin my new life with Jonathan. You can see two past posts about previous Portlandiversaries here (from 2010) and here (from 2011).

This weekend we are in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, celebrating the wedding of one of my favorite people, Stina, to her awesome wonderful new husband, Ben! It has been about two years since I've seen Stina, I believe, so it's been AWESOME to spend time with her and I think this is a pretty good reason to be out of Portland on my fifth Portlandiversary.

In honor of five glorious and weird Portland years I give you five of my favorite things about PDX.

1. Hiking!

Weekend Adventure: Forest Park, Cathedral Park, and Washington Park

My First Big Hike of the Year in 2012

Hiking at Powell Butte

Weekend Walkabout at Mount Tabor

Hiking Wahkeena Falls in the Gorge

Hiking Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Hiking Beacon Rock and Going to the Coast with my Dad and Grandma

Hiking the Wahkeena Falls to Multnomah Falls Loop

2. The Oregon Coast!

Cape Lookout Whale Watching Adventure

How I Spent New Year's Day in 2012 (This also has us at Fort George Brewery in Astoria)

Team Brittanathan Coast Windstorm Adventure (in which I bribed Jonathan with fish tacos)

Team Brittanathan North Jetty Adventure

Team Brittanathan's Five Year Anniversary: Newport Edition

3. Beer! (Though mentioned many times on the blog, PDX is a good place to start a drive from!)

Festival of the Dark Arts in Astoria

Fourth of July Spring Break in Hood River

The Little Woody Cask-Brewed Beer Festival in Bend

The Little Woody - Year Two

4. Mount Hood Adventures!

Mount Hood Snowshoe Adventure

How I Spent New Year's Eve Day in 2011

(Wow, I know we've had lots of other Mt Hood adventures that I apparently never blogged!)

5. Random Adventures

Dana & I's Downtown Portland Segway Tour Adventure

Kayaking at Sauvie Island with Next Adventure

Meeting Lil Bub: Internet Cat Sensation

Adventurers Who Love Cats & Cocktails Sauvie Island Adventure

Here's to another five years in Portland! ;o)

Hoyt Arboretum: A Woodland Dream in Portland

2013-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

The latest house I've been house-sitting is near Hoyt Arboretum. Like, it's the backyard of the house practically. My new dog friend Zach and I have been spending many glorious nature-filled hours exploring all over the arboretum in the past few days, so I thought I'd share some pictures. The arboretum boasts twelve miles of trails over almost 200 acres! As you can imagine, there's a lot to see!

I tend to stick to the more tree-filled areas because it reminds me of home, but walking through the flower and shrub areas always makes me find something new! Also, there are more than 6,000 specimens and 1,400 species, which are labeled so you can easily identify them. There's birches, oaks, redwoods, spruces, cedars, all sorts of trees!

If you like nature and haven't been to the arboretum, I highly suggest you go! It would also be a lovely place for a visitor of Portland to see also. You can get there by TriMet (both MAX and bus), car, or foot. Basically, what I'm getting at in this post, is that it's amazing and you should go. :o)

These were all taken with my iPhone 4.

Saving Money and Having Fun: Visiting a U-Pick Farm in Portland

2013-08-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Amy, for the cute pic of myself!

On Friday I got to do something that I've only done one other time since I've lived in Oregon, which is visit a u-pick farm. What's a u-pick farm, you ask? Well, it's a farm where you get to go pick all the fruits, vegetables, and flowers you want and it's cheaper that way because you're doing the work yourself! I coerced Amy to go with me right when Sauvie Island Farms opened because I wanted to get out there and get pickin' before the sun got super hot. Luckily she was game (after a yummy coffee) and we had a great time!

My main goal was to pick a bunch of blueberries, but I was open to getting other fruits or berries, as well. Jonathan makes smoothies every morning and fruit really adds up in cost! Since it's something we use daily I wanted to stock up. Blueberries, marionberries (a kind of blackberry that only grows in Oregon), and blackberries at the farm were only $2 a pound! We also ended up getting broccoli ($1/lb), kale ($3/lb), beets (don't remember price), corn on the cob (25 cents an ear), and more! We spent four hours at the farm and picked.....

wait for it.....

35lbs of berries!

After getting home I began the task of cleaning and processing everything. This has taken a few days, because it takes time to freeze things in batches. You have to freeze the blackberries and broccoli on cookie sheets and then transfer them into bags or containers because otherwise you end up with a large chunk of plant matter frozen together and it's hard to get it out later for use. Also, vegetables contain an enzyme that makes the plant mushy if you don't blanch them before you freeze, so I've had to do the corn and broccoli in small batches because there is only so much room in our freezer. But Amy and I had a great time and I'm happy to save money and do something fun with my friend!

Back at home I processed the berries first since they are the most delicate. Sunday afternoon I started in on the broccoli. I had to trim all of it and clean it. I ended up only being able to blanch and freeze one bowl's worth, so I'll have to do the rest later.

This is what our freezer is currently looking like. It's getting more and more filled and soon will be lined with containers full of fruit and vegetables and in a few days I'll be stocking up on chickens and those will be in the freezer as well!

Everything I bought ended up costing $66, which sounds like a lot until you think about how much this can all cost at the grocery store. Blueberries are usually $4-6 per pound, broccoli is usually a couple bucks, and those are foods we eat quite a bit. I have bought several 2lb bags of blackberries at New Seasons and Whole Foods that are in the $9-10 range! I'm hoping to go get more fruits and veggies later but will have to see how full our freezer is first.

Have you ever done a u-pick farm? Would you ever do one?

I Got Laid Off On Thursday (And That's Okay)

2013-08-06T10:01:00.002-07:00

As you may have heard online, I got laid off from my job on Thursday this past week. Yes, it was out of the blue, but it was also not a huge surprise either, really. I had felt something was up for awhile and hadn't been truly happy at work for quite a bit. I had just that morning tweeted that I was making as much in side hustles right now as I was in working full time. The thought of something new and working for myself had been on my mind since World Domination Summit, but wasn't 100% sure how to make that happen. Well, life is funny sometimes, isn't it? ;o)

I am thankful that I worked for the company I had the pleasure of working for and I really liked my boss and coworkers, but the job itself was not great for me. I had a whole lot of downtime and not enough projects to keep me busy. I tried to create projects for myself but even then there wasn't always much to them. (I should mention that this job was not the one I applied for and originally got. I started out as the HR & office assistant and got promoted to receptionist because the receptionist at that time got promoted, as well. It was either become receptionist or be laid off from being the assistant, so I took the receptionist job!)

So now what?

I did get to leave with a bit of a "severance package" so I used that to pay many bills in advance from now through February. I did this for a couple reasons. First, I will be gone through January, so that gives me through February to start getting money saved up again. Also, I knocked the bills down so that Jonathan and I are able to live off his income from now through February. I am thankful we do not have any debt AND that I'm a rockstar at saving money.

While I do have my money from side hustles it was all being saved to go to Antarctica in January, so since many bills are now paid off for awhile, I am going to save my side hustle income the way I used to. I put 10% of it into my Vanguard stocks, 10% into one of Jonathan and I's shared savings accounts, and then the remaining amount into my Smarty Pig fund. I'll still have to take a little bit out of my don't-want-to-touch savings, but it's better than not going to Antarctica at all!

Also, because of this new direction my life took me I'm going to hold off on going to Patagonia until later, which I'm also okay with. Ever since I did Conservation VIP's Peru volunteer vacation I have been wanting to do their Torres del Paine volunteer vacation, but since I was already registered for the first Patagonia trip I was just going to do the volunteer trip another time. Now I can do it whenever I'm able! So that is awesome. (Although I really, really wish I could do the Patagonia volunteer trip in March because it would be the best time of year for me to go out of town for awhile. I wish I could snap my fingers and make $5,000 appear!!)

So what's happening with me, folks! Lots of pet-sitting is happening and figuring out ways to make money. It's nice to not have to drive to Clackamas every day. I was so busy recently that I had almost zero free time to myself, so suddenly having time to take walks, work on projects, read, and nap is really nice! I know things will work out for me, because they always do. As Louis Pasteur said, "...Chance only favors the prepared mind."

Curry Fried Quinoa

2013-07-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe awhile back and always meant to post it and hadn't yet, so here it is! I had never thought to do curry-fried quinoa, thinking that it might not be that different from rice, but let me tell you what. Once you make this you'll never go back to rice again! The quinoa gives that extra punch of protein, vitamins, and minerals, and it soaks up more of the flavor. Man, it's good! Even better after a couple days if you can stand to keep delicious leftovers around!

You will need:

1 pot to cook quinoa

1 large tall-sided skillet that can hold your quinoa and veggie mixture

1 cup of uncooked quinoa

2 cups of water

2-3 tbsp coconut oil (you could also use olive oil, but coconut oil has magical properties!)

2 diced bell peppers (I used red and orange)

1 diced large red onion

2 eggs

2 tbsp minced ginger (because I LOVE ginger, you could try 1 tsp if you wanted less)

6 cloves minced garlic (again, less if you don't like garlic a ton, but then I think you're crazy ;o)

10oz bag of frozen peas

2 stalks of green onions, diced

2 tbsp of curry powder

1 tbsp of turmeric (it's SO good for you! Dooo it!)

2 tsp of chili powder

2 tbsp soy sauce (I used shoyu, you could use coconut aminos or liquid aminos, too)

First, start your quinoa. Boil your two cups of water and add the quinoa. Cover it and turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer and the quinoa soak up the water. This will take about 15 minutes, giving you time to finish the rest of the recipe.

Heat the coconut oil until it melts and add the garlic and ginger, sautéing for a minute or two. Add the diced bell peppers and red onion for 6-8 minutes and then add the peas and half of your diced green onions. It's okay that the peas are frozen, because they'll quickly defrost. Add the curry powder, turmeric, chili powder, and your soy sauce of choice and let cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Whisk your two eggs together in a bowl and add to the skillet of veggies.

Sauté for 1-2 minutes, just enough to let the eggs cook a bit, and stir frequently. Your quinoa should be done and hot by this point. Transfer the quinoa into your veggie mixture and stir together.

Serve up your delicious bowl of healthy goodness and top with more of the diced green onions. BAM! You've made a quick, simple, healthy dinner with a rainbow of veggies!

(This would also be good with shrimp or chicken, but it's good enough as vegetarian, I promise.)

My Carry-On Gear For Three Weeks in South America

2013-07-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Note: This post has been updated July 22, 2013, to reflect what I did not use or need.

I had a couple people ask me what I was taking on my trip since I will be both in the mountains for days and then in much warmer weather later in my trip, so I figured I'd just blog about it to share with anyone else who might be interested. (If you are just tuning in, I am going to Cusco/Machu Picchu, Peru for ten days, Lima for three more, then Easter Island for a week.) I will be carrying my things in Patagonia's MLC Carry-On bag and REI Purse (not this one but similar).

Clothes

2 Columbia sleeveless shirts - this shirt is very similar to what I own
1 Patagonia Capilene 1 stretchy long-sleeve shirt
2 Patagonia Capilene 1 stretchy t-shirts
Columbia Back Beauty pants
Columbia Back Beauty capris
Patagonia Houdini jacket
North Face Venture rain jacket
North Face Venture rain pants
SmartWool NTS Mid 250 zip-neck sweater
SmartWool NTS Micro 150 bottoms
Columbia Global Adventure dress - (Update: ended up wearing this once, so I could do laundry)
Board shorts - bought in HI
4 pairs Patagonia Capilene Underwear
Columbia hiking shoes - no longer in stock, but they're Omni-Tech hiking shoes
Teva sandals - no longer in stock, but they are water sandals
Swim suit
3 bras
Socks
Patagonia Better Sweater hat
iTap gloves

Cameras & Electronics

Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Camera - Not seen, taking these pictures ;o)

Extra camera batteries

Diana F+ Camera

LCA+ Camera

4 rolls of 120 film

14 rolls of 35mm film (Update: did not use all of it because my LCA+ wrist strap broke.)

Kobo Touch

iPad

Travel adapter

Miscellaneous

Frank is a necessity!! I look forward to updating her photo stream and map!

Lots and lots of sunblock :o) (Update: did not end up liking this sunblock much.)

Extra quart-size bag

Cash

Water bottle

Toothbrush

Headlamp
Insect repellant (Update: do Peruvian bugs not realize what bug dope is? This stuff didn't work.)
Deodorant
Cellphone charger
Passport and holder (Update: passport holders are cute, but I didn't use it.)
Trip papers (copy of passport, copies of trip info, etc)
Sunglasses
Lady time stuff
Coconut oil
Toothpaste
Mascara
Headphones (Update: did not end up using these at all.)
Razor
Earplugs
Dr. Bronner's liquid soap

I'm also bringing two pairs of work gloves, protective eyewear, and knee pads for the Machu Picchu part of the trip. (The ranger ladies at SERNANP ended up being SO thankful to have the gear donations from those of us who didn't need to keep our things. It made me feel good that they were appreciated.)

Snacks!

Note on the snacks: I didn't end up eating a lot of this stuff because we had so much food on the trip anyway, so maybe less snacks would be good.

ProBars
Chocolate chips
Dried apples (Update: I wish I'd had more of these! When hiking Waynapicchu these were PERFECT.)
Packets of almond and peanut butter
Almonds, both raw and wasabi-seasoned

Voila!

My bag weighs exactly 17lbs, which is the amount I can take as carry-on on LAN Airlines. I know it will be a bit lighter on the way back because I will have eaten all the snacks and will leave the stuff I used at Machu Picchu for someone else to use, as I have no use for it at home.

There you go! Everything I am bringing with me for three weeks in South America!

Update: So how do you think I did? I think I did pretty good as to figuring out what I would use or not. There were only a few items I didn't use at all. What would you have done differently?

There are affiliate links in this post. If you click through them and place an order I will get a very small commission, which goes toward my Antarctica trip in January!

Kayaking at Sauvie Island with Next Adventure

2013-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I kayaking together - yippee!

On Saturday Jonathan and I got to do something that I have been wanting to do since I moved to Portland and that's go kayaking! When we first got together, he wasn't really into it, but he has since changed his mind and wanted to go with me. When I was living in Ketchikan for those seven months in 2011 I tried to go kayaking many, many times and it never worked out (as mentioned in this post and this post). I did a kayak safety class in June that year, but that's the only kayaking I got to do! So this year I was bound to kayak and, thanks to Jonathan who for Christmas got me Merc Perk rewards (like Groupon but for local stuff) for Next Adventure, we finally got to go!

We met up with our group at Next Adventure at 9am. Our guides Wrenna and Troy were super great. They were really helpful and upbeat and I could tell it was going to be a good trip. I think there were seven or eight other people in our group, not counting Jonathan and I, but they managed to keep everyone all together!

The weather started out cool and then got progressively sunnier as we continued throughout the day, eventually getting to be pretty hot. I didn't sunblock my legs as well as I should have and got pretty burnt, so note to self: SUNBLOCK. DO IT. Up top I was wearing my Patagonia Capilene 1 Silkweight shirt, which I'm super thankful for. It kept the sun off my arms and kept me cool. Love it!

I had my camera in my new Dicapac WP-ONE waterproof camera case for the first time and, while it was a little awkward, it worked and didn't cost as much as the Canon waterproof case for my camera. I just wanted something to not get water on the camera, not necessarily something that I could scuba with, so I think it worked just fine. The only drawback is that some of the shots have the black ring around the top or bottom from the lens, so maybe if I play with it a bit I can get it to where it's centered better.

I believe we started going down the Gilbert River and ending up in Sturgeon Lake, paddling through McNary Lake and finishing at Little McNary. All in all, the trip took about six or seven hours and we paddled over ten miles. Jonathan did great and was totally into it, telling me that he can't wait to go again. SUCCESS! I had a great day, as well, and I want to get back onto the water soon!

Here's a link to the trip we did. I can't recommend it enough!

Adventure-mobile!

Fitting people to their kayaks

Lookin' good!

Resting the feets

Happy girl!

What did you get up to this weekend?

Disclaimer: there are some affiliate links in this post. Your clicking through them and purchasing something provides me with a small commission that goes toward my Antarctica fund. Thanks!

The Official List of Books Read in June

2013-07-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

My library book hold stack I picked up last week!

26. "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation" by Michael Pollan
27. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence
28. "The Jungle Effect: Healthiest Diets from Around the World--Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You" by Daphne Miller
29. "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells

I feel like I read a couple other books in June, but can't think of which ones they may have been, so maybe I didn't. But I sure did read a heck of a lot while I was on vacation, especially on Easter Island since we didn't have internet access.

I think my favorite book was Michael Pollan's "Cooked." As you may remember, I went to see him speak back in May about this book and he was fabulous! To finally be able to read the book was exciting. It covers how the powers of the four elements - air, fire, earth, and water - transform food from a base state into something providing nourishment for us. It was really fascinating and had his usual amount of historical context and research. Pretty great!

I also really liked Daphne Miller's "Jungle Effect" and found it fascinating. I think I even liked it a little more than the other book of hers I read, "Farmacology," which was pretty great, as well. I just really like reading about science and food!

What books have you read lately that you'd recommend to me?

Past months of books read: January, February, March, April, May.

Note: There are affiliate links in this post. I don't intend to become a millionaire, but the small amount of money I earn goes toward travel toward Antarctica!

Totally Missing the Best Sandwich Ever

2013-07-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

It was so good because I earned it after hiking Waynapicchu in Peru in June. It was just whole wheat bread, dry, with mashed avocado, salami, and "lunch cheese" (yup, that's what kind of cheese it was) on it, but at that time it was the best sandwich ever.

Can you tell I'm dreaming of my next adventure?

Side Hustles vs. Relationships: My Experience

2013-07-17T00:01:00.001-07:00

I gotta thank my girl DoOrDebt for her post "Side Hustles vs. Relationships" that she posted earlier this week. It really resonated with me in thinking about HOW much I've been side-hustling lately.

In the past year I have...

Helped Amy with Little Bright Studio

Helped Shawn with Pixel Party

Worked at a curios shop in Ketchikan

Dog-sat

Tested wares at Ketchikan Dry Goods

Worked at Saturday Market for Karina

Sold soap

And mooore!

That's a LOT of side hustles and I'm not even naming all of them. DoorDebt's post is about her struggle between needing to pay down her debt and spending time with her partner. She turned down a $20 an hour job to stay in for some much-needed down time. She comes to the realization that she would rather foster her relationship with her partner than earn the money. Her take is that, while she needs the money, there are only so many moments in life and she is tired of their conversations being short nuggets of information and her coming home when he is sleeping and vice versa. I totally respect that, but what if you're me and you have a really expensive trip to Antarctica coming up?

For me, I would have taken the job BUT only because my trip is so much closer. I have a LOT of money I need to be earning (like $10,000+) before my trip starts in January. And that's just paying for the trip. It's not even counting the amount of work that I will be missing out on for three weeks. (I think I will have two weeks of vacation time then?)

Yes, working a ton on alllll these side hustles means I have less time to spend with friends and family. It makes me slightly neurotic sometimes to think of how much money I need to save so that I have to take less money out of my do-not-touch savings. (I already realize there would have to be a miracle for me to earn all the money I need in this amount of time and I have been slaving my butt off.) I would sometimes just like to buy something I don't need just because I want to. I would love to go out and have dinner and drinks with friends sometimes and not worry about spending the money.

It's only temporary.

That's what I just have to keep telling myself.

I am working my butt off and I would love to spend some time at home, but until my trip is over I need to keep my head down and eyes on the prize. I'm thankful that Jonathan is so supportive of this trip and my dreams and whatever I need to do. It also helps that we both really value our alone time and we're not co-dependent on each other.

The take-away from this? When I am on a five week trip of a lifetime I'm going to be SO thankful that I worked so hard for 2+ years. It's going to be totally worth it. Will I spend this much time earning money in the future? I don't know. It IS kind of addicting to have a bunch of money in savings. My stocks are doing good and it would be nice to put a bunch more $$$ in them. I don't know if I could ever be one of those people that is able to retire when I'm 40 or something, but it would be kinda neat. ;o)

What would you do if you were in my situation?

P.S. I found a trip to the North Pole that is "only" $24,999! But it includes helicopter and hot air balloon tours, so it's totally worth it, right? :oD Anyone want to buy it for me??

Chile: Exploring the Mysteries and History of Easter Island

2013-07-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite photos of myself!

Last week was Peru Week on Pro-Soup Propaganda. Well, my adventures didn't end with Peru. After two weeks there I met up with Jonathan at the Santiago airport and we headed on to Easter Island for five days of adventure! We stayed at a little bungalow I found on AirBnB. It was exactly what we needed and the only thing that could have made it better was a little kitchen so we could have cooked for ourselves. Food is REALLY expensive and we ended up eating a lot of $5 (absolutely delicious) empanadas.

I had scheduled two full day tours with Marc of Green Island Tours and I am SO thankful I did. He was awesome! I learned a lot about the island and we got to see a lot of little nooks and crannies that I don't think we would have other wise. After our two days with him we spent two days exploring on our own.

Easter Island is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I definitely suggest a trip there, but I do think that four days sandwiched by two half days was a little too long to be there (for me, at least). I began to get a little restless and was happy when we left. Also, having to eat out for every meal was kind of sucky. We did eat some amazing food there and did splurge on a few nice meals, but I would have really rather cooked for myself.

Overall, if you have the chance, go to the island and see it for yourself! As you can see from the pictures below it's pretty stunning and hard to take a bad photo of anything!

Sunset our first night

The quarry where all the moai came from

Goofing around at Rono Raraku

Ahu Tongariki

Birdman carved in the rock

The "Naval of the Earth" - a cool magnetic rock!

Rano Kau crater

We saw a turtle sunning on the beach one afternoon!

Super splashy waves here!

Home is only 7714mn from us!

Sunset on our last night from a GREAT restaurant

Past posts:
Monday: Exploring Cusco and Sacsaywaman
Tuesday: Exploring Machu Picchu
Wednesday: Volunteering at Chachabamba and Being Forgotten By the Train
Thursday: Hiking the Sun Gate Trail and Exploring Ollantaytambo
Friday: Exploring Lima and the Nazca Lines

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip here!

Love reading about my adventures? Consider donating to my Smarty Pig fund! I'm saving up for a six week trip to Antarctica, Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile in January and February, 2014. Your donation can help me continue these adventures!

Peru: Exploring Lima and the Nazca Lines

2013-07-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Paracas boat dock

Welcome to Peru Week on Pro-Soup Propaganda! In case you missed it, this week I'm talking about my recent volunteer vacation to Peru with Conservation VIP and REI!

On Friday, June 19th, I arrived in Lima around 11:30am and took a taxi to my flat I'd rented through AirBnb. All I have to say is WOW! My flat was beautiful and well-priced and in a great location. I was pretty much right across the street from Punta Sol, a popular cevicheria, and across another street from the park where there was paragliding! I hung out in the beautiful sunshine after a delicious lunch of tuna ceviche and was feeling pretty happy. Later in the evening I was able to meet up with Armida, who was on my first trip with me! We walked around quite a bit and enjoyed the Lima evening.

I had to leave her a bit early because I was being picked up at 3am for my Ballestas Islands and Nazca Lines tour! I was taken to the bus station and put on a super bus for three hours down to Paracas. Upon my arrival there I was taken to a boat dock to wait for other groups to show up to take the Ballestas Island tour. I was fine waiting a bit because the morning was so beautiful!

The bad part is that the weather outside of the bay was apparently too rough for the boat and so we had to wait for it to calm down before we could leave. We sat and we sat and then we sat a little more. Finally I was told that we still hadn't gotten approval to go out and that I didn't have time to do any of the other tours because I had my 11am flight scheduled. So this meant I sat at the boat dock from around 7:30am until 10am and was then taken to another downtown area to wait for another shuttle, which didn't pick me up until 10:40am. I was taken with a group to do the Nazca Lines tour and was so happy when I finally was able to make it on the airplane!

Seeing the Nazca Lines was SO AWESOME. Besides the well-known figures there are all sorts of lines crisscrossing the desert. Some were giant, parallel lines that were so giant and straight that they looked like survey crews made them and they stretched all the way to the horizon. It was pretty awesome to see! The bad part is that everyone got a little sick-ish because the pilot would bank the plane hard to the left so all the people on the left could see the figures and then he'd bank it hard to the right so the people on the other side could see them. Do that about eight times and you've got an upset stomach! For me what sucked is that my right ear got plugged from the pressure and sinus congestion and it didn't end up getting unplugged for two days. I was so snarfly and coughy as is and it didn't help!

After the flight I got taken to have lunch and was then picked up again to be taken back to the bus station for another three hour ride back to Lima and then another hour shuttle ride (due to traffic) back to my flat. I was so exhausted and not feeling well at all after the day that I ended up spending most of all the next day and a half in bed. Yup, here I was in a beautiful city and I didn't take advantage at all of doing any sightseeing. BUT I will be coming back to Peru and will happily make up for my Lima trip then!

The only really awesome thing I did on my own while I was in Lima (aside from seeing Armida, obviously) was meeting Heather Thorkelson of Republic of Freedom! She lives not far from where I was staying, so we met at a cute little restaurant for lunch. She was so nice and super fun to talk to. She gave me some great information and I am so thankful I got to meet her!

All in all, Peru was great. I am so glad I got to spend a full two weeks there and do and see SO MUCH! However, check back in on Monday and find out about my trip to Easter Island! I hope y'all enjoyed reading about my trip and that maybe it will inspire you at all to take a volunteer vacation!

The park in Miraflores across the street from my building

The sun begins to set in Lima

Cool fountain downtown!

Early morning Paracas harbor

Peruvian pelican!

I accidentally took this picture, but it looks neat!

Fishing boats as seen from the sky

I altered the following photos so you could more easily try and see the figures!

The Whale

The Astronaut

Random giant parallel lines

The Monkey

The Dog

The Hummingbird

The Hummingbird again - it's my favorite!

The Condor

The Condor again

The Spider

The Tree and the Hands

Paracas sails

Thanks again for reading!

Past posts:
Monday: Exploring Cusco and Sacsaywaman
Tuesday: Exploring Machu Picchu
Wednesday: Volunteering at Chachabamba and Being Forgotten by the Train
Thursday: Hiking the Sun Gate Trail and Exploring Ollantaytambo

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip here!

Love reading about my adventures? Consider donating to my Smarty Pig fund! I'm saving up for a six week trip to Antarctica, Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile in January and February, 2014. Your donation can help me continue these adventures!

Peru: Hiking the Sun Gate Trail and Exploring Ollantaytambo

2013-07-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Peru Week on Pro-Soup Propaganda! In case you missed it, this week I'm talking about my recent volunteer vacation to Peru with Conservation VIP and REI! Monday of next week I'll cover Jonathan and I's week on Easter Island.

Our time together was winding down by this time. These days were going to be the last full days that we were going to have together. I wanted to have fun every minute of it!

Sunday was our free day and several of us decided to hike Intipunku, the Sun Gate Trail. This is the last part of the Inca Trail, so it is often pretty busy with hikers and their porters. It's not too long, maybe just over a mile, but since the trail is alongside the mountain and out in the open, we knew it would be pretty hot. I was actually already not feeling well. I'd had a sore throat for a few days, but tried to rally myself and feel better.

The hike in the beginning goes up...up...up...and then flattens out. We were calling it the "Shade to Shade" trail because we'd scurry from each shaded spot to the next, taking mini breaks along the way! The view was amazing because we were so high up! It was also the most clear morning that John from CVIP said he'd ever seen on these trips, so we felt pretty lucky since the last time we were at Machu Picchu it was so cloudy and foggy most of the day.

By the time we made it to the top I was feeling pretty bad, but successful because I'd still managed to do the hike with everyone. We got some great photos, as well. Unfortunately, the longer we hiked the worse I felt so while the rest of the group ended up staying the rest of the day at Machu Picchu I headed back to town and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. The next day my throat hurt so badly and I was spending so much time coughing that I stayed in bed most of the day, which was a bummer because the rest of the group did volunteer work in a local orchid garden and they said it was really pretty!

On our last full day together we started off by adventuring around Ollantaytambo. It was built by the Emperor Pachacuti in the mid-1400s. He took over the region and started building beautiful terraces and a temple containing the Wall of Six Monoliths. Royal families would come stay, so one can imagine how pretty the area is. If it's good enough for Inca royalty it's good enough for me! (I definitely suggest clicking on the Wikipedia link there and checking it out because the page is so interesting.)

We walked to the top of the terraces to the temple area. The most impressive part is the Wall of Six Monoliths, giant stone slabs perfectly connected together. We looked around the area for awhile and then headed back down into the town to do some sightseeing and find the guinea pig house.

Yup, you heard me right, we went to a house that was full of guinea pigs that we got to feed! The family that lives there were really nice and showed us many neat things, such as the stone that the woman used to grind seeds and grain into flour to cook or bake with. When we arrived at the house and stepped inside all of the guinea pigs went, "CUY! CUY!" which is why they are called cuys!

After we all had a chance to feed grass to the guinea pigs we left Ollantaytambo to head to Awana Kancha, a co-op on the way back to Cusco. Upon arrival we got to feed llamas, alpacas, and vicunas! They galloped up to us upon our arrival and greedily started snatching grass from our hands. After we ran out of grass they lost interest and left us alone. Fine!

My favorite part of being at the co-op was listening to a woman there speak about all of the natural things they use as dyes for the alpaca wool. I didn't realize that there were SO many colors that could be made from natural ingredients! She spoke beautiful Spanish and was very interesting and informative, even though I couldn't understand all of what she was saying. She was very emotive with her hands and you could easily follow along. After we heard her speak we went into the co-op's shop to look at all of the beautiful handmade textiles. If I wasn't saving for Antarctica I could have easily picked up a few of the sweaters and bedspreads I saw there! (And scarves, hats, gloves, etc...) I will just have to go back someday with some spending money!!

As we drove back to Cusco the sun was beginning to set. It was so beautiful and I had had such an amazing time with these people. I'm so thankful I was able to do this trip and learn about and see all the things we got to see and do!

We got back to the hotel and freshened up a bit before dinner. We had our last meal at a restaurant we'd enjoyed previously. It was sad to know that this was my last night with these people, but hopefully I am able to remain friends with them in the future and even travel with them!

If you have ever considered going to another country and volunteering, CHECK THIS TRIP OUT. I think about going back to Peru on a daily basis now and just need to figure out how I can make it happen! You will not be sorry you took a trip with CVIP and REI (or any other volunteer vacation, but I'm just stating my totally awesome experience ;o).

If anyone has any questions about the trip I'd be happy to answer them!

The sun shines over Putucusi!

Made it!! (Just barely.)

I am sweaty and feel like dying here. Totally nervous.

Armida, picture of serenity!

Ollantaytambo terraces

Giant bromeliads

Wall of Six Monoliths

Hands down, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been

Obligatory tourist photo

This block was in the process of being smoothed

Mountain on the other side of Ollantaytambo

The museum and Inca gutters

Inca "barbed wire"

GUINEA. PIGS.

Nom nom nom!

Showing us how she grinds grain on her table

Pondering how awesome life is and how I can travel more...

Woolie buddies at the Awana Kancha!

Baby vicuna was very nervous but still managed to grab a little greens!

All of these wools were dyed with natural ingredients! AMAZING!!

The cochineal beetle that carmine is made from

Different things such as saliva and lime juice can make the carmine different colors

Driving back to Cusco

I'll miss you Cusco!

Tomorrow's post is about my solo trip to Lima for a few days! I got to meet an internet friend and see the Nazca Lines!!

Past posts:
Monday: Exploring Cusco and Sacsaywaman
Tuesday: Exploring Machu Picchu
Wednesday: Volunteering at Chachabamba and Being Forgotten by the Train

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip here!

Love reading about my adventures? Consider donating to my Smarty Pig fund! I'm saving up for a six week trip to Antarctica, Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile in January and February, 2014. Your donation can help me continue these adventures!

Peru: Volunteering at Chachabamba and Being Forgotten By the Train

2013-07-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Peru Week on Pro-Soup Propaganda! In case you missed it, this week I'm talking about my recent volunteer vacation to Peru with Conservation VIP and REI!

After having such a great time exploring with our group I was so excited to start volunteering! We spent two days volunteering at Chachabamba, which I believe was an ancient Inca religious site. Our first day we got there on the train from Machu Picchu early in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We didn't know what was in store for us to do. We got told we would be scraping moss off the ruins with sharpened sticks and then later helping clear brush from part of the plant nursery area.

Spending the morning scraping moss was not as boring as it sounds, to be honest. The moss and lichen that grows on the ruins must be taken off because it eats away at the rock and mortar and without someone removing it the rocks would eventually degrade and the ruins would fall. After seeing this beautiful place and knowing how easy it was to help, I would hope more people would step up to the challenge and help out!

Scraping was kind of like a zen meditation. Scrape scrape scrape scrape, a little brushing here and there to move away all the moss and plants you just scraped off, scrape scrape scrape. Stop to admire the beautiful view and feel totally thankful you are in such an amazing place and being able to help. Scrape scrape scrape.

We cleaned the ruins for the first part of the day and then ate lunch. Our second part of the day was to help clear brush away from the nursery and to not lop down any of the orchid plants. This part, to be honest, was not my favorite. There were giant ants and spiders and I kept having to make sure I was not standing in an ant nest. That being said, it was a small aggravation in the big scheme of things, so I pulled up my big girl pants and dealt with it and didn't let it bother me (too much)! Knowing we were making such a difference made me not sweat it and it was a temporary, short aspect to a much bigger positive day!

As we left that day to head to wait for the train to pick us up we all day such big smiles. It was a hard day, but we felt good about the amount of moss we had scraped and the giant brush pile of weeds and invasive plants that we'd helped create. We walked back to the train tracks and began our wait.

We waited.

And we waited.

We watched a train go by heading back to Ollantaytambo.

Then we waited a little bit more. It was beginning to get dark. (Remember, it's winter there now!)

FINALLY we heard a train coming our way and it was going the right direction so we hurriedly put our packs on and stood by the tracks in anticipation. We saw the train coming around the bend and...

What?

WHAT!

WHY IS THE TRAIN NOT SLOWING DOWN??

The train hauled ass by us, whistle blowing and lights flashing, all the people inside lazily dreaming about arriving at Machu Picchu.

THE TRAIN DID NOT STOP FOR US.

After the train passed us we were all in a state of shock. What, what, WHAT? The train didn't stop for us! There must be another train, but no! Think, THINK. Is there another train coming by? Could that have somehow NOT been our train? No, THAT WAS OUR TRAIN.

It kind of all clicked to us at the same time that we were going to have to walk back to Machu Picchu along the train tracks...in the dark.

And that's what we did.

There were ten of us with four flashlights between us, one of which failed after the first twenty minutes or so. Thankfully, the weather was lovely and warm. The stars were out. The moon came out. We began to walk.

We walked single-file along the tracks. The first person would say, "Rock on the left!" if there was a rock that the rest of us should look out for. We chitchatted a bit while we walked, but mostly we were silent. It was a beautiful evening and we were mostly just in our own heads. I did get to see lightning bugs for the first time! Seeing the constellations was pretty amazing, too, and I'm happy that I have now seen the Southern Cross to many times.

As we walked other trains leaving from Machu Picchu passed by us. As the first couple passed everyone stood far back from the trains. By the fourth train we just stopped being spooked by them. (Not like we were unsafe but at some point we knew where the trains were and they weren't going to "get" us!)

It took us almost exactly two hours to do the 6km walk, 3.7 miles, in the dark. When we started seeing the lights of Machu Picchu getting closer, the trail alongside the tracks getting wider and wider, and more residences closer together we began to feel so relieved because we were almost there!

Finally we made it and that, my friends, felt so good. We all made it safely and no one got hurt in the dark. (I had fears of a sprained ankle or someone tripping.) As we stumbled back through town we were all pretty much excited to eat and go to bed. Once that happened and I was tucked in, waiting to fall asleep, I realized that night was amazing and our group was so awesome. No one complained about having to do our night walk, everyone just realized that, yup, that's what was going to have to happen so let's do it. When we got to MP everyone was happy and excited and cheerful still. Everyone was nice to each other and no one was hangry. ;o) The memory of walking back to the city is still my absolute favorite of the trip and I will cherish it as a great adventure!

But that still didn't mean that we didn't have to get up early the next morning so we could go back to Chachabamba and do more volunteering. We all met up, ate, and packed lunches, perhaps a little slower than usual. We had people in the background figuring out what the heck happened and who dropped the ball in picking us up. But we were still all smiles as we got off the train in Chachabamba again. This day, thankfully, we got to scrape moss and lichen all day. We were all pretty tired and the thought of having to haul armloads of plants, well, let's just say I was pretty happy for the scraping!

In the afternoon we did take a short field trip to a creek near the site. It felt so nice to splash around in the water a bit, which was surprisingly warm. And there was real sand in parts of the creek! Standing in the water with soft sand under my feet, warm sunshine on my face, listening to my new friends laugh amongst each other was such a treat and definitely something I'll always remember.

As we got back to the site we had a little bit of time with the SERNANP workers before we had to leave. We took a few group shots as the sun began to set behind the mountains. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the Peruvian workers made my heart sing. They were so thankful to have a group of volunteers come take part of a site that's important to their national heritage. You don't have to speak the same language to feel like you're part of something big. I was grateful for everything I learned from them, as well. It was just such an amazing experience and I just glowed with happiness!

To our delight, we were not only picked up by the train that night, but had two bottles of champagne and a handwritten note waiting for us, only to find out we were also going to be treated to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town, InkaTerra! Having this happen was a great end to a great two days in Chachabamba!

Urubamba River

All smiles first thing in the morning!

The amazing ruins

This water felt so good!

Hi, John!

Genie's quiet moment on the bridge

Tourists, ha!

John ponders the fountains

Beebee air plant

Me and my trusty stick!

(You can tell the area I was too short to clean on the wall, ha ha!)

The amount of care for this one tiny sapling made me smile!

Last little bit of relaxing before we had to go

Dr. Bill waits for the train...which DID pick us up that night!

Past posts:
Monday: Exploring Cusco and Sacsaywaman
Tuesday: Exploring Machu Picchu

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip here!

Love reading about my adventures? Consider donating to my Smarty Pig fund! I'm saving up for a six week trip to Antarctica, Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile in January and February, 2014. Your donation can help me continue these adventures!

Peru: Exploring Machu Picchu

2013-07-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

The ladies of our group... :o)

Welcome to Peru week on Pro-Soup Propaganda! In case you missed it, this week I'm talking about my recent volunteer vacation to Peru with Conservation VIP and REI! Monday of next week I'll cover Jonathan and I's week on Easter Island.

Today I'm covering our travel to and around Machu Picchu! It was so exciting I could hardly stand it. Yesterday I covered getting to Cusco, meeting my new group, and our first explorations together, but today we made it to the big MP.

We got up early in the morning and met in the hotel lobby. A mini-bus was picking us up to take us to Ollantaytambo to catch the Peru Rain trail to take us to Machu Picchu. The train ride was a little over two hours long and when we got to the train station we were all thrilled. We walked the few blocks to our hotel, waited a bit to check in, and then got our rooms. We stayed at the El Mapi by Inkaterra and it was beautiful. We got ourselves settled and found out that happy hour was at 5:30pm every night, something that we were determined to keep, and life was good.

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast, packed our lunches, and headed to Machu Picchu. Seeing the beautiful sight that I have seen for years in photos was absolutely amazing. Knowing that we were going to spend a lot of time in the area was pretty great. We hiked a little bit and then talked about what we would do while we were staying at Machu Picchu Pueblo and then some of us had to get ready because we were going to hike Waynapicchu.

What IS Waynapicchu, you ask?

Waynapicchu is the tall mountain behind Machu Picchu. It is a 2720m mountain that legend has it was the residence of the high priest and the local virgins. These days it is a very steep hike up Inca trail that sometimes requires the use of steel cables to pull oneself up. It took our group a little over an hour to climb and we frequently had to stop and rest and let others by, but the views...the views were totally worth it! We ate lunch up there and snapped a few photos and then it was time to head back down. Only 400 people are allowed up the mountain per day and we needed to get back by 2pm.

After we got back we continued our sightseeing. Hearing about Machu Picchu from Dr. Bill the archaeologist and Santiago, our local guide, was SO interesting. I feel so very thankful that we had both of them there to tell us all about MP! When the park finally closed at 5pm we loaded into the buses back to town, very thoughtful with everything we'd learned, ate a delicious dinner, and headed to bed, as we had a very exciting and long day ahead of us the next day, although we didn't know it yet...

At a viewpoint on our way to the train station

Rainbow over the Urubamba River

Beautiful Inca terraces! See those zig-zaggy floating stairs on the left?

Made it!!

Oh, YEAH!!

View from the hotel room of Putucusi

Our first Inca stairs! Beginning to hike part of Putucusi...

Machu Picchu Pueblo is a beautiful little city!

Frank is at Machu Picchu!!

Listening to Dr. Bill

Nikki's almost to the summit of Waynapicchu! Last little cave!

A well-earned sandwich!! Best lunch view ever!

These ladies were amazing!

Our little group who climbed! So proud of us!

Machu Picchu from Waynapicchu looks very small

We could have done Huchuypicchu, a beebee mountain, but why not go big?

Ancient storehouses

Baby alpaca!!

Beautiful Inca wall!!

Cutey biscacha!

Funny, Waynapicchu doesn't LOOK so high here...

Past posts:
Monday: Exploring Cusco and Sacsaywaman

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip here!

Love reading about my adventures? Consider donating to my Smarty Pig fund! I'm saving up for a six week trip to Antarctica, Patagonia, Argentina, and Chile in January and February, 2014. Your donation can help me continue these adventures!