Monday, July 23, 2012

The next phase...


As I approach my 6-month mark of beginning this journey and think about the 55,000+ miles traveled around the world, I can't help but feel grateful for the experiences and both a sense of happiness and freedom that I made this life-changing decision to set out and explore the world. Although my globe-trotting for 2012 might have come to an end, I know that this adventure has changed the way I see the world and how I want to live my life moving forward. I'll be keeping the blog space as a way to record the next phase, without time constraints, rather a life journey that I hope will continue to involve travel, teaching, learning, yoga, new experiences, new friendships and, of course, a constant adventure.


Over the next six months I'll be back in Chicago, working and re-visiting the greatest city in the world, New York, and finally moving to Austin, Texas where I'll be settling in for a few months with my sister to explore a new part of the states. From there, the future isn't quite crystal clear, but the haziness suggests a return to South America for teaching and volunteer work. Time will tell, and I'm sure, plans will continue to evolve.
Thank you for all your kind words, motivation, love and support throughout this journey.
With Love and Light, Cara

In the words of Ray LaMontagne, "Just got to get me somewhere, somewhere that I can feel free…"

Friday, July 20, 2012

Olympic Fever


On my way home from South Africa, I broke up my trip with a short stop-over in London. (Thank you to my friend Carolyn for being such a lovely host!) While there, I had to check out Olympic Park and let me tell you, the energy around the city and the motivational signage everywhere sure made me excited for July 27!!

View of the grounds

Here is what I'm most looking forward to in the games ahead:

* Women's gymnastics
* Michael Phelps beating all-time Olympic record of most medals won, ever
* Team USA Basketball: Kobe, LeBron, Tyson…enough said
* Watching fellow former-OSRUI camper Garrett Weber-Gale kick ass in the pool
* Witnessing the wonder that is Usain Bolt
* Cheering on Baker and ETHS-alum Andrew Pink on the volleyball court
* Ryan Lochte in a speedo

Despite all the issues and finances surrounding the Olympics, I think it is really something special for the world to come together, compete and develop camaraderie around a common goal. With that said, I just signed up for a 5k…need to get back into that whole "workout thing" now that hiking mountains and canoeing through the rainforest isn't on my daily itinerary…. and what better time than when we can watch lean, mean athletes tear it up in all types of sporting events.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Getting Wild in Africa


Ok, excuse the cheesiness of the headline, but how else to describe a safari in Africa??! It was truly a wild and spectacular experience. At the end of our South Africa trip we stayed at Naledi Bushcamp on a private nature reserve bordering Kruger National Park and had a few days of a pretty authentic safari. The beauty of the bush at dusk and dawn was a sight in itself, that coupled with roaming wild animals felt right out of a travel magazine.

Sunrise
Sunset


Although we unfortunately didn't see any cats (I was a bit disappointed), it was one of the most fun activities I've done in my 6-month journey, definitely not an experience to miss while traveling in Africa.

Falling in love with Capetown


Perhaps it was a result of the most spectacular love-filled wedding weekend on the Umtamvuna River, perhaps it was the fascinating mix of cultures, religions, colors and landscape co-habitating together in a cosmopolitan urban oasis, or perhaps it was the strikingly beautiful and interesting men roaming the streets….whatever the cause I fell… hard for Capetown and I have a hunch this feeling might linger.


After a wonderful wedding celebration for Tina and Chris outside of Durban, I made my way to the other side of South Africa to meet up with my mom and sister who would continue on the African journey with me. We began our trip towards Capetown driving along the "Garden Route" and stopping in a few quaint towns along the coast on the way.

Bride and Groom

Driving on the other side
beautiful coast of Hermanus
playing with elephants in Knysna
Once we arrived in Capetown, I could feel the energy of the city already and it wasn't just the chill from the mid-winter breeze. Our hotel, centrally located in the city, was the perfect homebase from which to set out exploring everything from fine dining to live music, local artisan crafts, one-of-a-kind handmade shoes, museums, colorful neighborhoods, tourist attractions and everything in between. I hadn't had much of an idea for what the city had to offer and any expectations I had were certainly exceeded. I loved the mix of urban culture with a laid-back vibe. It was a big-enough city yet felt manageable, the people were friendly, the neighborhoods each had their unique distinctions and life overall seemed to be good. Now of course, you can't know a city in 5 days, but I have to say Capetown…you have my heart, I'll be seeing you soon…


on top of tabletop mountain
Bo-Kaap neighborhood
Grandt Mason Original Shoes showroom
view of the city

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Vegetarian eating tips in South America


I meant to write about my experiences navigating a vegetarian diet in South America (a continent largely focused around meat). However, I came across a fantastic travel planning and guide website, SmarterTravel.com who was looking for guest bloggers so I submitted my Veg eating tips and they were published!

Check out my article here: http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/navigating-vegetarian-diet-on-meat-centric-continent.html?id=11777297

Message me for questions on veg-specific restaurants in the countries I visited, I am sure I tried most of them…


Discovering Northern Vietnam: Planes, Trains and an Indochina Junk



Thailand had always been on the top of my travel bucket list so when I finally figured out the plan to get there, I figured I had to try and see at least one other country in Southeast Asia (looking back I wish I had figured out a way to stay longer and see more!). When I decided I wanted to travel in Vietnam it was met with mixed responses. Many traveler friends raved about some of the beautiful landscape and interesting culture they experienced, while others, namely those of my parents' generation, were skeptical. "Why Vietnam? What did you want to see there? The people are very unfriendly, don't tell anyone your American…." No one can blame those for their judgements, after all, there were a few generations before me that lived through a time where Vietnam did have a lot of negative connotation. However, something about this country and these people intrigued me. After making some choices about the areas of the country I most wanted to see, it seemed it was all concentrated in the north of the country so we flew in and out of Hanoi from Bangkok and unfortunately did not make it to Saigon, which I do regret a bit. The beauty of the North, even amidst the absolute insanity of Hanoi, proved to be a great choice for our short visit.


Hanoi, definitely another world... Let's just say there are about 6 million people and 5 million motorbikes if that gives you an idea of the buzzing streets. That, coupled with no street lights/stop signs and apparently no speed limits proved to be an exercise in both extreme patience so as not to drive yourself mad from noise and extreme bravery to avoid death by crossing the street. Despite the strangling heat and humidity we made the most of the 2 short days we had to explore the city visiting main tourist highlights, walking the old city streets, eating delicious pho for almost every meal on the street and even finding a nice yoga studio geared towards ex-pats.

streets of the old city neighborhood
street vendors
excited to find pho with tofu!
One of the most interesting places we visited in the city was the Hoa Lo prison, now turned into a museum. This prison, which originally was used by the French to torture and hold Vietnamese political prisoners beginning in the early 1900's, is probably most famous for its role in the Vietnam war when it was used to hold and torture captured American pilots and other POWs. It was fascinating to view the museum, which holds articles such as a pilot uniform worn by John McCain, and witness the war propaganda videos shown as well as read the strong, one-sided point of view of how prisoners were treated there. The prison, sarcastically dubbed "Hanoi Hilton", is portrayed as a place where the shot-down pilots were simply "held" until their release at the end of the war. There are images of holidays celebrated and games played in the prison yard. There is no mention of torture and actually, quite the opposite, mention of how civilized the treatment was. I am not an expert on all the history and facts of the Vietnam war, but I have a hunch many Americans might disagree with this portrayal. I found the whole experience very informative, it's always educating to hear different points of view on important moments in history.


belonged to John McCain
From Hanoi, we took a 2-day, 1-night trip on Halong Bay with the highly recommended Handspan travel. Halong Bay is a bay in northeast Vietnam consisting of dense clusters of thousands of limestone monolithic islands topped with lush vegetation. Certainly a breathtaking site to view for 2 leisurely days aboard a luxury boat (referred to as a Junk). On the boat we met up with another sibling backpack team and had a great time together relaxing, hiking and kayaking during the short trip. Following Halong Bay, we made our way back to Hanoi and departed later that night for an overnight train to the north-west for a 2-day trip to Sapa.

gorgeous views
new friends


Sapa, near the border of China, was quite different from both places we had previously seen in Vietnam. The rolling lush green hills and terraced rice fields were a beautiful sight and perfect setting for daily trekking. What was also very interesting about Sapa were the indigenous minority groups that inhabit the small town. There are 5 main minority groups: Hmong, Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho and each is known for a particular trade or craft and identified by the clothing colors and "uniform" they wear. Although tourism and the making and selling of handicrafts is improving the way of life for many of the minority groups, Sapa is still an agricultural-based community and most inhabitants live in near-poverty or worse. It was heartbreaking at times to see all of the beautiful small children running around without proper clothes or shoes and covered in dirt. Unfortunately as a gringo it is also difficult to make it down any road without getting accosted by young girls trying to sell their wares.

breathtaking views

women making handicrafts to sell


terraced rice fields

new friends

From Sapa, we took an overnight train back to Hanoi and flew back to Bangkok where we ended our Southeast Asia trip. It was such a remarkable experience, the culture and places so unlike anywhere I have ever been before. I definitely think my time exploring the East is far from over…..


Monday, July 16, 2012

Backtracking: thoughts on Bolivia


So I realized I never wrote about my incredible 5 day experience in Bolivia towards the end of my South American journey. Truth is, it was a stop I hadn't planned on, yet turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the overall trip. I love when people or places surprise you in that way that your expectations are completely exceeded and that is certainly what happened on my Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats of Uyuni) 3-day Jeep tour. During my earlier travels in South America I had met many backpackers who raved about the Salar de Uyuni, so I filed it as something I wanted to try and do if time permitted. When I realized after Brazil, I would have a couple of weeks before I needed to head back to Santiago, I thought that it seemed like the ideal time. My original plan was to come in from Sao Paolo to Santa Cruz (there is a non-stop flight on a budget airline offered daily) and then make my way to Sucre as I had read about it on travel sites and in books and thought it sounded like a perfect stop over. From Sucre I would bus it to Uyuni to begin the tour. Unfortunately, as I've learned now multiple times, traveling (especially by plane) rarely goes how you'd like or expect and when my flight was delayed an extra day from Brazil I found myself making choices about where I would stop over before Uyuni. What became the best option was to get to La Paz since I could do that from Santa Cruz on the same night, stay over in La Paz and then take an overnight bus the next night to Uyuni. I wasn't thrilled about this new plan because A. I was missing out on Sucre and B. I had not wanted to go to La Paz at all, especially by myself, as I have heard many friends experiencing safety issues while traveling there. Needless to say, things happen for a reason and I made a fellow traveler friend who had also been stranded in Brazil and was planning the same route so we bunked up in La Paz, took the bus the following night to Uyuni and joined up on the same jeep tour. The experience the next 3 days completely made up for the travel horrors and unplanned stop in La Paz. The company I chose to go with, Red Planet, was fantastic. Our guide was awesome, the drivers were sober (seriously this is an issue with others), the group had a great dynamic and the tour itself was incredible. I never knew that Bolivia was such a breathtakingly beautiful country. It was truly a special treat of salt flats, lagoons, mountains, deserts and hot springs. At the end of the 3 days, I crossed the border into Chile for my final few weeks in South America, definitely a trip I would recommend to others.



The group at the Salt Flats



Hot springs

Green Lagoon

Now, why did I start thinking about my time in Bolivia and decide to post months later. Well, I recently read a book called Marching Powder, by Rusty Young told in the words of Thomas McFadden, a convicted drug smuggler who was sentenced to 6 years time in San Pedro Prison in La Paz, Bolivia. Thomas' story was absolutely incredible and shed new light on what I already knew to be a corrupt society in Bolivia. San Pedro prison is like nothing you've ever heard of before. The prisoners essentially run and control the entire facility. New inmates must pay for a cell and it is not uncommon for families to live inside the prison with their inmate relative, insane right?! The story told in Marching Powder describes the unbelievable life in San Pedro filled with drugs, fear and knowing who to compensate inside. When Thomas was living in San Pedro, he began offering tours to visitors. No joke, it was even featured in Lonely Planet as "one of the world's most bizarre tourist attractions". Since he was freed apparently the tours aren't quite as legit/safe/legal so it is not as common these days. I couldn't help think of the incredible stories the backpackers who toured the prison and spent the night probably had...unlike anything you'd ever experience in a lifetime. I was very fascinated with Thomas' story and the whole idea of a place like this that exists and would highly suggest it for your future reading list, although I heard they are making a movie if you don't get to it….



Namaste Series: deepening Ashtanga practice in Thailand



During my practice of yoga in the last 6 years or so, I have found teachers I have been drawn to and types of classes that suit me best. Personally, I like a challenge, so getting sweaty and utilizing the class as a workout is definitely a plus. On the other hand, one of the reasons I grew to love yoga is because of its inherent relaxation properties and meditation work. The ideal for me is to find a challenging, invigorating class with an energetic and helpful teacher. Ashtanga yoga, in simple terms is a set series of yoga popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois and directly responsible for the western craze of "power yoga." Typically, the class is 90 minutes to 2 hours and quite challenging involving a majority of vinyasa flow and deep asanas. I had never specifically practiced at an ashtanga class, however, many of the studios I have attended over the years adopt a modified version and I was always interested in learning about this style in greater detail. When I came to Chiang Mai, and met up with some old friends from home, they could not stop talking about this intense ashtanga class at a nearby studio, Wild Rose, with a kick-ass instructor.  I was totally sold and had to check it out. The 2+ hour session certainly did not disappoint. The instructor, Vari (a former New Yorker), had both the skills to teach for all levels as well as the positive energy and words to motivate all the students. His class was a modified version of the exact Ashtanga series from India, however, I definitely noticed differences from previous classes and was very happy to take on a new challenge. One of my favorite parts of Chiang Mai is the laid-back, community atmosphere and Wild Rose Yoga certainly fits right into this. Following the intense class, everyone was on a serious high and hung around together for fresh juices at the restaurant next door. An ideal afternoon if I've ever experienced one. I can certainly see how one might come to Chiang Mai and stay for awhile….Namaste.