Am I no longer a traveler?

It's been about 3 weeks since I've officially settled in Santiago, Chile. In that time, amongst the sweltering summer sun, I've moved into two different apartments, started a full time job, practiced and taught yoga and even started training for a half marathon. When I stopped this weekend to reflect on my life in the Southern Hemisphere thus far, I was almost put off. Isn't this relatively the same life I had not much more than a year ago? Isn't this idea of a routine and daily grind what I wanted to get away from? Is this boring? I felt perplexed. Perhaps I hadn't gone about this right, was purely "living" in a foreign land enough of the adventure my wanderlust craved?

But then I spoke with a friend, who helped put things into perspective, and as I stared out my window looking into the distant Andes mountains and he said, "but Cara, you are living in Chile...." Ah yes, there it was. I may not be hostel hopping or trekking mountains, but this is a new kind of adventure. One where I try and make a life for myself in a foreign city, amongst a completely different culture, set of values and language from what I am used to. I'd call it a "challenge" adventure.

My birthday has just recently passed and as I think about my goals for the last year I have in this decade I can only hope that I continue to challenge myself and others around me. For without a thirst for adventure and a true intention to make ourselves better people we won't ever change and wouldn't that just be...boring.

Patagonia in 12 Days

I'm not usually one to recommend rushing through travel. I am so grateful for the gift of time in the past year to savor and experience all the wonderful places I've been able to see. However, after realizing I needed to get back to Santiago rather quickly to get started on various work projects, I had to plan a pretty strict itinerary in order to see the parts of Patagonia on my list. I thought that my itinerary might be helpful to share with others as well as it would certainly fit well into a 2-week vacation taken from the states. Patagonia is such a vast area comprising the southern area of both Argentina and Chile, there are so many beautiful places to see and things to do. The best time to visit is December-February as it is summer, and don't let the icebergs fool you, it really does feel like summer! You can start on either the Chile side or Argentina side, but since I was coming from Buenos Aires, I started on the Argentina side first and flew to Ushuaia, Argentina for my first stop.

Ushuaia

Ushuaia, known as the southernmost city in the world, is situated on a bay bordered by a mountain range to the north and the Beagle channel to the south. It is also where you can take a boat trip to Antarctica, but this is extremely costly and takes no less than 9 days (another trip!). Once I arrived, I opted to take a boat trip along the Beagle Channel where you stop at various smaller islands to see some of the indigenous animals and take in a spectacular view of the famous lighthouse (although this is actually not the most southern lighthouse I was informed). The following day, I took a bus to the national park where I was fortunate to meet two very nice Irish girls also traveling who I hiked with for the day and then later realized we were staying at the same hostel in the next town the following night. From Ushuaia, I took a morning flight to El Calafate, Argentina.

At the end of the world

El Calafate is a wonderfully quaint town with spectacular landscape. I really loved the hostel I stayed at here and found everyone to be very friendly, we even had an asado the first night I was there which was a great opportunity to meet fellow travelers, drink lots of Malbec and practice some Spanish. One of the most popular tourist sites to see is the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the only growing glaciers in Patagonia. It is also known for its spectacular ruptures caused by the pressure of the ice that creates small water dams in the lake and causing the ice to break off in grand, loud displays. It was a spectacular site and everyone cheered each time we witnessed an intense rupture. I did sign up to do a day tour of the glacier which included a guided mini trekking on the ice. I don't always love touristy attractions, but this was one not to be missed. The shear size of the glacier is really astounding.

Ice trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier

The next morning I took a bus to El Chalten (about 3 hours away). El Chalten is a small mountain village at the base of the Torre mountain, and its more famous neighbor, the Fitz Roy mountain. A small village indeed, there is basically two streets of quaint restaurants, hostels and lodges and the paths to both mountains start right from the town. The first day I hiked the Fitz Roy path, about 8 hours roundtrip, with a new friend I had met in Calafate. On the second day, I ventured out myself on one of the other shorter paths, and pretty exhausted, jumped back on a bus returning to El Calafate for the night.

View of Fitz Roy from the hiking trail

The following morning, I boarded a bus to Puerto Natales, Chile (about 5-6 hours) a small city in Patagonia Chile which is the primary tourist stop for those venturing into Torres del Paine National Park. I checked into a hostel and then hurried around town to rent camping equipment and purchase my food for the upcoming 5-day, 4-night trek I planned to take in Torres del Paine, known as the W trek. I was both excited and nervous for the trip as I figured it would be challenging (and certainly something I had never done before) and also I was a bit apprehensive to embark alone. Luckily for me, groups of travelers start the trek each day so it is quite easy to meet people that will take the same path as you for the duration of the hike. I was even more fortunate that I found some new friends I had met in El Calafate, the nicest couple from England, who offered to let me join up with them. We ended up having a great time, albeit extremely challenging. I really don't think I've done anything harder in my life to date. I think carrying everything on my back was really the hardest part, especially since we walked sometimes 25+ kilometers in one day! Even with the pain and exhaustion, it ended up being an experience I am so glad I took. The landscape is breathtaking and the adventure of the trip itself was a blast. Needless to say, I have never enjoyed a shower and warm bed as much as the night I returned back to Puerto Natales.

Torres del Paine

Camping for 1

unreal scenery

The next afternoon I hopped on a Sky Airlines (the best to use while traveling in Chile and surrounding) back to Santiago where I am now getting settled and putting together the pieces of my "living abroad life." I am excited to share what more is in store in the months ahead...

Sunrise the final day at Torres del Paine

Solo Traveling: Lonely or Liberating?

I first found out how much I enjoyed time to be alone when I moved into my own apartment in New York City. There, amidst the the craziness of NYC and the West Village buzz, I could have my own space to do what I wanted, when I wanted. It was certainly a freeing concept. I love being around people, I have always worked well with people and I have lots of friends, but there is something to be said about giving yourself some time to decompress, or read, or cook or really whatever you need to do for yourself. After getting comfortable with the concept of "being alone" I became more open to activities or events I would do by myself, whether it was a race in the park or going to a movie or sitting in a cafe. Sometimes, it was nice to have some internal peace and just be. I think many people have a lot of issues with being alone. Perhaps they get bored or anxious, but I think that really has to do with getting to know yourself and being comfortable with yourself. Yoga has helped me with this skill immensely. As I become more in tune to what's going on inside, physically, mentally, emotionally, I am able to better understand what my body needs. Perhaps it's a loud night out with a bunch of friends, or perhaps its taking a few minutes to meditate alone, but whatever it is, I am respecting myself. This notion of being alone has certainly come into play as I've been traveling and I have found that often people first ask if I'm traveling alone. This is an interesting concept to most. "That's so brave!" or "Aren't you lonely?" But I honestly have to say, I love it! You have the freedom to literally decide what you want to do at any point on any day, and it's not just about having a selfish itinerary. I enjoy the time alone to observe and reflect on these amazing experiences. Sure, there have been times where I've seen a ruckus family or a laughing group of friends or a couple sharing a moment, and maybe I was feeling a bit lonely that day so it does make you miss your own connections to the people back home. But, I have also found that being alone forces you to be even more outgoing. I can't even count how many more conversations I've struck up or people I've introduced myself to that I might otherwise have never met...and what's better than meeting new friends around the world? Maybe nothing, except taking a few minutes each day to be alone :)

A new year, a new adventure to begin

Well, it's 2013....amazing how this year has flown by. I feel like just yesterday I was packing up my New York City apartment in order to set out on a life-changing journey. One year later, I'm in South America, maybe to live for awhile, and with a new perspective and some new life goals as we move into a new year. A lot has certainly changed....

I arrived in Santiago a few weeks ago to begin settling into my new life and putting the pieces together of job prospects, apartment hunting and networking connections. After re-acquainting myself with some of the familiar spots, I headed to Buenos Aires to visit friends over the Christmas holiday. Being a predominantly catholic country I was surprised at how "un-christmas like" the city was. Few lights adorned apartments, stores were not bombarded with decorations and trees, people didn't seem to have that anxious holiday energy. Perhaps the Christmas frenzy exists only in the US? After a few sweltering days in the Argentina heat, we headed to Uruguay for some R&R in Punta del Este, one of the most famous southeastern coastal vacation spots in the country.

Punta is known to many as "the Hamptons of South America" where the tanned and beautiful roam the beaches by day and the clubs by night. This is certainly the case, but we opted for a more relaxed week of soaking in the sun and touring the various parts of the city and neighboring areas. Our residence, Casa Pueblo, was a vacation all in itself as it is a famous house of a Uruguayan artist, now a hotel, museum and restaurant attracting tourists to some of the best sunsets I have seen in my life to date. For new years eve, we attended a beautiful house party, where the DJ tunes gave way to dancing into sunrise of 2013.

Casa Pueblo

After a week of sun and fun, we divided up as a group and I continued on with my friend Jaclyn to another beach town, Punta del Diablo, just 3 hours north of Punta del Este along the coast. For those familiar with the New York city summer retreats: If Punta del Este is to the Hamptons, Punta del Diablo is to Fire Island, totally my vibe. The sleepy beach town is filled with holiday house rentals, loosely structured cabanas adorned with hammocks, hippie-like hostels and a strip of restaurants and bars in the "centro". Unfortunately, due to the high season, we weren't able to secure a place to sleep (aside from the beach) so we spent the day and then headed to Montevideo where we spent the next 2 days soaking up a few more rays along the city's coast.

Punta del Diablo

Now, back in Buenos Aires after a fantastic and relaxing start to the new year, I'm packing up my backpack once more to head south, very south, (to the end of the world to be exact) to begin an adventure through Patagonia. Sending much love to my friends and family around the world and a happy new year! more to come soon....besitos!!

My bags are packed…I'm (kind of) ready to go...

What a whirlwind few months it has been. Just as I had started to find a groove in the great city of Austin, Texas, I was swept up in changes again as I headed back to Chicago to pack up for the next journey ahead. It was truly bittersweet to leave Austin. Aside from the warm weather and the fun I was having living with my sister, I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training with the most special group of people and wonderful teacher. It was certainly a life-changing experience and one that I know will lead to life-long friends and a different sense of self as I take the intro to yoga studies I have learned on to the next chapter.

Although it felt a little like my time in Austin was cut short, I believe I will return and each time I feel apprehensive to move on to something unknown, I continually come back to a quote I heard at a speaking engagement a couple of years ago: "comfort and change will never coexist."   Now, I don't believe that one should constantly be running away from life, but rather continually put forth challenges and new opportunities that allow you to seize every moment. So, that's what I am going to do.

My next journey begins (tomorrow) with a one-way ticket to the Southern Hemisphere. I plan to be based in Santiago, Chile (employment and volunteer opportunities tbd), but first a little vacation over the holidays with some friends in Buenos Aires and Punta del Este, followed by some personal time backpacking through Patagonia. I've chosen Chile for a variety of reasons including the economic and political stability of the country as well as the opportunities that exist in areas I'm interested in, I am eager to keep everyone abreast of what the future holds for me there.

With the changes in my life and the changes of the season (we are entering a new age after all) I'm feeling a bit of organized chaos... But such is life and I am excited to enter into the Aquarian age and the new year with a new adventure and new perspective.

I'll be continuing the blog updates along the way so stay tuned for what becomes.  To all my family and friends around the world, wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season and sending love and joy as we enter 2013.

Un Beso Grande,
Cara

What's up with this 'travel' thing anyway?

image courtesy of Geology.com

I don't consider myself a travel expert by any means (yet…) But I can safely say, I know what it feels like to dip your toes in the ocean and definitely want to continue to ride the waves. I have been fortunate enough to create the time and funding necessary to explore other parts of the world earlier this year, and I am currently working toward doing the same in 2013. One of my favorite parts is meeting people, either on the road or here at home, that get it. That get how special it is to travel, to see amazing sights, meet wonderful and inspiring people, taste new flavors and learn much more than you could ever hope to learn in a classroom.

However, I always think it's interesting to talk to people (mostly here in the U.S) that can't comprehend how I am doing this, or even why I would want to. A lot of the misconceptions (I could never do that, isn't it dangerous, etc…) come from our culture. Isn't the American dream about building a career, making money, having a family and a home and a bunch of stuff we can talk about to other friends who have the same stuff? We aren't taught enough in school about other places and cultures in the world, we aren't encouraged to leave our well-educated, highly-paid lives to explore unknown regions, we aren't given more than a few weeks of time in a year to de-stress or travel in a way where we really go beyond a vacation.

I've been thinking more about this since I recently attended the Meet Plan Go event here in Austin. This is a nation-wide organization that helps assist people in taking a career break and offering the tools and resources to do so (I highly recommend checking it out for anyone looking for assistance). The event itself happens in several cities across the country and includes a main speaker with a life-changing travel story to share as well as a panel of various types who have taken a break from the everyday American way of life to set out for a longer period of time and explore the world. This year, I heard such inspiring stories ranging from battling a terminally ill sickness to going on to live a life of travel, stumbling upon a love of photography during a trip and developing a new career that takes you around the world and even parents wanting their family to grow up with a different type of education and value system and making it happen. The possibilities are truly endless.

Jefre Law, Keynote Speaker at Meet Plan Go Austin

I find these panels helpful and informative, not so much for me that I need the assistance to get to the traveling part, but more so to remind me that it's ok to do what I'm doing right now. It's ok if I am not sure what I want to do after, or if I want to make this an ongoing part of my life and career choices. It's the aspect of a community that understands, that accepts and that offers support to foster my dreams and many others.

I believe my recent experiences have truly changed who I am as a person and who I will become. It has led me on a path to study new things, meet new people and hope for a fulfilled life of adventure and joy. The world is a big place and I hope more people here will have the opportunity to explore it.

Couch Surfing in the U.S.A

So it's officially been just over 2 months since I permanently came back to US soil, and yet I still have managed to be in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Toronto and Austin, Texas in that time. I guess once a traveler, always a traveler and I certainly can't sit still for too long. The only bad part of this ongoing nomadic lifestyle…I don't really have an answer when people ask me where I live.

In Chicago, I'm lucky enough to have my mom with our house where the majority of my "things" still reside, and I even have my high school bedroom relatively in tact! Although, not sure how proud it is for parents to have their late-20's daughters moving back home, not to mention it isn't exactly why I decided to venture out on this adventure in the first place….so I moved on.

In New York, I was working with my old PR team on some projects. This was great to get back a taste of the corporate life, realize it might not be for me right now, but still get to see some of my favorite people in the world. My cousin and her fiance were gracious enough to host me on their pullout sofa during this time. I am so thankful for family, who I can also call friends, who will open their doors to a homeless post-backpacker and even provide a bed and closet on top of that! But that couldn't last forever...

So after New York, I came to Austin, Texas, where my sister has currently taken up a new life, and where I happily moved my computer, books and a suitcase into her den complete with the pull-out sofa from my NYC apartment. Here is where I'll call home for the next few months as I obtain my TESL certification, complete my 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training certification, work on my personal digital strategy consulting expertise and try and study for the GRE test in November.

All of these projects and ideas leading up to…what exactly? I haven't quite figured it all out, but I have decided to return to South America (Santiago, Chile to be exact) in December. For how long? I bought a one-way ticket, so we'll see where the Chilean winds blows...Perhaps I will find a place to call my home soon enough.