Two Wild Coasts

From the Bulungula Lodge website

Magge and I had never heard of South Africa's Wild Coast before coming to this country, but after reading about it we were eager to visit.  Located on the southeast in a section formerly known as the Transkei, this rural and poor area receives far fewer tourists and backpackers than the more famed Garden Route.  This lack of British and German 19 year olds was actually a drawing card.  After a little research, we decided to stay in two places: Bulungula Lodge in the small village of Nqileni, and the Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay.  They ended up providing very different experiences.

One Month in Paris

It can be difficult to resist the temptation to see as much as you can when you're traveling.  There is so much to see, and you feel like you're cheating yourself if you don't see it all.  However, it often pays to slow down and experience a place instead of seeing the sights.  Although Magge and I had felt that we were doing a good job of mixing the two approaches, we wanted to pick a city where we could plant roots for a while and lean more towards experiencing.

Paris seemed the ideal place for this, so we rented an apartment for a month.  For roughly the same price as getting two dorm beds in a hostel (and much cheaper than getting a private room in a hostel), we were able to rent a small room in a great neighborhood.  We're staying in a quiet residential area of Montmartre, away from the waves of tourists that pack the Sacre Coeur Basilica and Place du Tertre.  It's a tree lined neighborhood that reminds us a lot of the West Village area where we lived in NYC, except without the 4am cross dressers.

So what are we going to do for a month?  We'll still take in the sights, of course, but we'll also to do things Parisians do: shop at local food markets, hang out in cafes, eat lunch in the park, hopefully get to know our local baker and butcher.  Maybe we'll even participate in a strike.  We won't be working, but the French don't do much of that anyway.

Our art deco apartment building below.

More apartment and neighborhood pictures in the full post.

Wild Things

We had the opportunity to visit the Amazon Basin while we were in Peru, but passed because of the cost and logistics. While it was the right decision, we were both disappointed that we would miss out on spending a few days in the rainforest. It turns out that it wasn't our last chance to get into the jungle, as Borneo offers multiple areas with interesting flora and fauna. After quickly researching our options, we settled on a three day, two night stay at a jungle camp on the muddy Kinabatangan River. The camp warned us in advance that accommodations were spartan, but with the chance to see animals that are rarely or never seen in the wild anywhere else in the world, we were more than willing to accept that.

The Honeymoon Portion of the Honeymoon

Ever since Jeff and I first decided we would be doing our trip, people seemed to be confused that a year of backpacking was going to be our honeymoon. I was amazed at how many people asked me if we would be going on a separate honeymoon prior to our departure. Jeff and my mother keep insisting money does not grow on trees (I'm still not entirely sure I believe them), so a separate honeymoon before the honeymoon was not really a financial possibility. Unfortunately, in order to make our trip from Easter Island to New Zealand with our Around the World Ticket, we had to stop in Tahiti (life is so unfair). In an attempt to appease me for not having a traditional honeymoon, Jeff said Tahiti could be our honeymoon portion of the trip. Not overly disgruntled by the prospect of spending a year backpacking around the world to begin with, I happily accepted the offer.

Room With a View

Our accommodations at the Paine Grande Lodge were the most expensive of our trip so far, even more so than the much more upscale and comfortable Hotel Santa Lucia in Cuenca.  What did we get for the money?  A room shared with four strangers (three bunk beds squeezed into a small room), a communal bathroom, no bed sheets (had to rent sleeping bags) and rude and inefficient staff.  But we did get this view, which made it worth it:

More on our trip to Torres del Paine coming up.

Lake Titicaca (We can't say it with a straight face either)

Disclaimer: As I sit here in Puno writing this post, one of Peru's at least once-weekly parades is occurring outside. One thing Jeff and I have learned during our time in this country is that Peruvians love a parade - the louder, the better. So, as irreparable damage is being done to my hearing, I will try my best to concentrate and get this post done.

Left: The ridiculous parade going on outside right now

Colca Canyon Trek

Last Friday, Jeff and I embarked on a three-day trip to the Colca Canyon.  It was a rigorous journey, but well worth it.  While the canyon was a treat in itself, one of our companions, unwittingly, provided us with a great deal of entertainment as well.  Jeff has already written a post profiling our friend, Highlander (There can be only one!), so I will keep my refernces to him at a minimum.  The following post is a glimpse of our time on the trail. (Please note that I am very sorry there are no photos. It looks as though we may have lost thousands of pictures because one of our memory cards got messed up.  The picture to the right is from Wikipedia).

I'm Dreaming of an Andean Christmas

While I would never for a minute contest the fact that I am the luckiest girl in the world to be able to spend 13 months traveling (with my love), there are most certainly some drawbacks. Probably the greatest of these is not being able to spend the holidays with our families. My mother, knowing this time would be difficult for Jeff and me, and also knowing how much her daughter likes a comfy bed and a nice shower, generously offered to pay for a nice place for us to stay for Christmas.

Hotel Santa Lucia

As many of you saw in my rankings, one of the top activities to which I was looking forward was our stay at the Santa Lucia Hotel in Cuenca (a beautiful old city that is one of Ecuador's four UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Nan and Mark kindly gave us this as a gift for our wedding. Well, it was amazing! As is the case with many buildings here in Cuenca, the lobby is a converted courtyard that absolutely takes your breath away as you enter. When we arrived, we were greeted with some yummy fruity drinks that tasted as though they had a hint of rose petals. Poor Jeff didn´t get very much because I quickly finished mine and then went ahead and had his as well. They insisted on carrying our bags everywhere, which is really nice after lugging those heavy things around much of Ecuador! The beds were amazingly comfortable – I will admit to watching a couple movies yesterday evening. I haven´t had many chances to watch TV! To really put things over the edge, we were brought a wonderful plate of fruit in the evening, filled with strawberries, pineapple and papaya (Ok, I admit we didn´t eat the papaya). Jeff had to carry me out kicking and screaming today at 11:58 (checkout was at noon).

It was difficult to get our thank you sign and the hotel sign in the same picture, so we had to do a separate close up.  I spent more time on the sign than I'd like to admit.  One more picture in the full post.