Portugal

Portugal travels – June 10 – June 17, 2016

 

I absolutely love traveling. It gives me such an immense sense of joy and peace, and a feeling of belonging to a greater world than the one that I experience day to day. I am challenged when I travel, and in so many ways. At first it was the challenge of finding my way in foreign places, or being able to adjust to a hostel setting when I’m so used to private space. I’ve learned how to overcome language barriers, and to gain the confidence to depart on a journey alone. However, even though I’ve become comfortable with those things, there’s always something more that pushes me outside of my comfort zone. This time it was about my beliefs about work and success. They are constantly scrutinized by fellow hostellers, some of which are backpacking around the world, others are taking a break from their 35-40 hour jobs. All believe that the hours which I work are “not a way to live.” And yet, rather than discourage me from pursuing my career, it just reminds me that I must live life in balance of mind, body and soul and with intention to make each moment meaningful. This trinity pervades throughout my life. Mind – to seek solutions to problems, to be constantly challenged to stretch my capacity to understand new things, to add structure to the obscure, and to communicate my thoughts eloquently. Body – to stay in tune with the structure that carries me, to treat it with respect and love, and to push the limits on what I believe to be my physical boundaries. Rarely am I more at peace with the world than when I am pushing myself to try a new sport like surfing, or working up the balance and courage to twist my body into a new aerial. And soul – the core of my being and the source of connection to the rest of the world (and the hardest one to keep satisfied). It can be hard to feed my soul when I am indexing too heavily on flexing my mind and strengthening my body, but that’s where travel comes in. There is little (besides volunteering with people who can show you a different perspective) that can feed my soul so forcefully as experiencing a new culture with new people. So, although my typical week allows me less time to focus on balancing my soul, the travels that I pursue can turbo-charge the void. Thus, the incredible importance I place on getting out and experiencing new places.

 

If you know me personally you’ll know that I absolutely LOVE hostels. Despite being a platinum member of SPG (Starwood Preferred Group) hotels, if I am taking a trip for myself to a foreign place I will choose to stay in a hostel. I love them because of the people who also stay there. They have passion, goals, ambition and appreciation for the world – and they pursue travel as a top priority for personal growth. When I travel alone (as I have become quite fond of doing lately), I find instant friends in the hostel, even though most people live in different countries, studied different things (or didn’t study at all), and make a living in a different way. Everyone lives in the moment when they are traveling, and they treat their surroundings with their full attention and respect. I always feel honored to be a part of that moment.

 

2016 has been full of pretty incredible travel – I went to Colombia and Norway with work friends and was able to experience unbelievable adventures, and I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Brazil and Germany for work, where I spent the weekends hosteling and having a blast. However, taking this full week in Portugal by myself has been one of the best decisions of the year. I have had the time to recharge my soul and to appreciate the finer things in life, while regaining energy and motivation for pursuing the career that I have chosen. Further, I have been able to fill my trip with adventures that I love doing – even though many others would choose to spend their time in a different way. Accommodating and being flexible with a group is an incredible and important skill to have, but when your time is limited and your soul is seeking adventure, you better go and listen to it. So, without further ado, I will share with you some of my adventures this week has brought me in Portugal.

 

Lisbon – Day 1: I arrived in Lisbon early in the morning, and was able to make it to the hostel by 10 a.m. I met a friend when I was traveling in Germany who decided to travel to meet me for the weekend, and so as soon as I arrived we embarked to get to know the city. We walked through the streets, enjoying the smells of the bakeries and the vibrant energy of the people. The architecture in Lisbon was also just stunning – the houses are bright, painted in yellows, blues and purples, and arches are prominent in public buildings and roads. As we were walking we happened upon a scooter rental place, and without a second thought decided to rent one for the afternoon. We traveled up the coast to Belem, a very beautiful part of the city, and gawked at the beauty of the Lisbon bridge (which, oddly, looks quite like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco) and the marinas full of sail boats. Belem has two stunning attractions as well, the monastery and the giant statue that pays tribute to the explorers. Apparently the monastery is where each explorer would stay the night before departing on his voyage in the 1400s, and it would also host a mass to bless the journey. The architecture is absolutely stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our adventures in Belem we continued up the coast to Cascais, which is where I have been attending surf camp for the last three days. We only drove along the coast, but there are some beautiful beaches, fortresses on the water, marinas, and terribly expensive hotels (like the Farol Hotel, which is a part of SPG’s Design Hotels portfolio). If I ever outgrow hostel life, these place looked like an absolutely incredible escape. I had heard that Portugal had some beautiful natural parks, and so we drove until we left the city, and ended up at a beautiful park by the sea. It’s hard to explain the beauty of it, so I’ll just leave a picture for you…

 

We made it back to the rental shop in one piece, and went back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. My boss had recommended a couple of restaurants, so we had a reservation at one of the restaurants she had recommended. It was a nicer place, so we made sure to dress up a bit before heading out. The food was fantastic, and we were lucky enough to be there on a night when the original chef was in the kitchen. After dinner we went back to the hostel and joined a pub crawl. The world became a lot smaller when, while on the pub crawl, I ran into a friend’s boyfriend and his med school classmates from Houston. There were literally 15 people on this tour, and half were Texans. I love it when that happens.

 

The pub crawl was fun, but nothing crazy. Which was good, because while we were there Lisbon was celebrating a HUGE festival honoring Santo Antonio, the patron saint of the city. The big festivities were on Sunday, so we needed to save our energy.

 

Lisbon Day 2: What an epic day. We slept in a little bit (after all, we had been out till about 4 and I was still recovering from my overnight flight from the US), but all in all my sleep count didn’t exceed 6 hours. When we left I realized that I needed better shoes to make the walk for the day, so I acquired a pair of nifty Adidas, and we set off on a 3 mile hike to get the “Pasteis de Nata” that my boss had recommended from the original bakery. About 2/3 of the way we ran across a bike rental shop and decided that the remainder of the journey would best be done by bicycle. It was a great decision. I haven’t been on a bike in years, so the experience of merely riding it was joyful. We made it back to Belem and the statue (where I stopped for a Portuguese Hot Dog – which is SO good, the toppings are extremely different from the U.S., and include corn, lettuce, crisps, and a variety of different sauces), and then made our way to the original bakery “Pasteis de Belem”. The line was super long, and it reminded me a ton of “Café du Monde” in New Orleans. However, the line went by quickly and the wait was well worth it. The tarts were UNBELIEVABLE. It was a heavenly experience. Thanks Nai for the recommendation!

Afterwards we kept the bikes, because we still had a ways to travel before our next destination – our 15 minute helicopter tour. It was my friend’s idea. While I wouldn’t have chosen it for myself per say, I’m glad he did, because it was a delightful experience. I fly commercially almost every week for work, but in the helicopter I actually felt like I was hovering above the earth. It was a very similar sensation that I get while scuba diving, to know that I can be a part of the layers of the world that are so often unexplored. The views were also incredible. I’ve posted a few of my favorite photos below....

 

 

 

After the tour we were pretty short on time, so we grabbed a cab back to the hostel and rushed to get ready in time to depart the hostel with the staff and all of the other guests for the festival. The entire city was partying in the streets, and there were food stands selling sardines (practically the national symbol of Portugal), and other treats. There were also vendors EVERYWHERE selling sangria and beer. The one thing that wasn’t readily available… bathrooms. That part kind of sucked. The night was awesome though. We hung out with all of the different people from the hostel, got to chill on a hill top overlooking the bridge, and saw an outdoor concert by a popular Portuguese band. I would say the night rated 10/10. Again, I didn’t get to sleep until 4. Europe, you kill me.

 

Lisbon/Cascais Day 3: Recovery day needed. Not really from a hangover, which was awesome, but rather from an immense lack of sleep. 10 hours is my natural cadence, and I had been getting less than 6 for the past 4 days. Rough. Times. But, day 3 was a Monday and a transition day, so it was a great time for rest. I took an uber from the hostel in Lisbon to my surf hostel in Cascais, got to know my new friends for the week, rested, and took a leisurely walk around the city. No big adventure, but it was a lovely day.

 

 

Cascais Day 4: Sore throat… no fun. I deserved it though with the pace I was taking. Luckily this was the first surf day, so I really didn’t have to dedicate my day to much else. I rested and surfed, and it was glorious. Day 1 of surfing went pretty well! I got up a number of times, but there were a couple of things with my form that could use some adjusting – I didn’t bend my knees enough, my front foot was often straight, and my back wasn’t straight enough. Luckily we had good instructors, so I left the day knowing what I could work on for the next day. We had a group dinner at the hostel where I got to know a woman from Norway who was traveling with her husband and her 9 year old daughter. I really appreciated her world view, and it was great to learn from her attitude about travel and raising kids.

 

Cascais Day 5:  I slept 12 hours. Win. Also, I made a lot more friends at the hostel. There are two other girls who are solo travelers. Our ages are 22, 24 and 26, and we seem to have a nice balance with each other. All of us are from different backgrounds but we seem to appreciate travel in a similar manner. Also, tons of confidence. Girl power. Surfing was much better – I wasn’t feeling as crummy, and was starting to catch a few waves with more stability. I went to dinner with one of the girls, and then chatted with a couple of other people over drinks back at the hostel. Another early night, because, you know, vacation.

Cascias Day 6: The best day! We woke up early and caught an uber to Sintra, a small town about 30 minutes from Cascais known for its beautiful castles. Apparently it was a summer vacation spot for a lot of Europe’s nobility in the 16-1900s. While there are ~8 castles in Sintra, we decided to only see one since our surf lesson started at 2. We couldn’t have picked a better castle. We choose Quinta da Regaleira, and it was SO EPIC. The architecture was fantastic, and we could even go inside to see the beautiful mantle work, wooden ceilings and innovative library design. We were also able to climb a tower 3 stories up to the roof and caught an incredible view of the entire town – we could even see the sea! My favorite part, however, were the gardens. They were, by far, the coolest gardens I have ever seen. At one point, we were hopping across stones in a pond with a waterfall in the background, only to walk through cave tunnels to end up in the bottom of an ornament well. I told you – awesome. The gardens blended human design and nature so beautifully, and it truly felt like an adventure getting to explore them all. Some of the cave tunnels were not lighted, and so we had to feel our way along the wall until we made it to the end. There were a number of different structures on the property as well, from stables to a chapel, “the virgin’s grotto” and the “initiation well.” All blended together with the gardens and the mountain beautifully. Oh yeah – from the roof and some of the other points in the garden we could also see 3 of the other castles on the hill – which was nice, because the castles were all really spread out from one another (about a 55 minute walk), and we didn’t have time to see each one individually. After exploring the grounds we had a quick bite to eat, and then RACED to catch our bus back to the hostel in time for our surf lesson. We literally sprinted up a couple of hills to make it in time, but we succeeded. We are champions.

 

 

The surf lesson today was GREAT! I got to surf with my friends, and we all progressed a ton. I was able to get up on almost every wave, ride stably, and make a few turns. It was a great last day. I’m sitting in the park by my hostel in my hammock writing as the sun goes down, waiting for the big BBQ tonight. Life is pretty darn good. Tomorrow morning I head to the airport and take off for Brussels and Bain World Cup, where I will be playing on the Texas-LA soccer team. Fingers crossed my surfing skills can translate a bit to the field J

 

Norway

February 15, 2016

At this point, the most common question that people as me is “Do you even work?” This is because over the past 6 weeks, I have traveled on 26 different flight segments. I’ve been on 3 continents, in 12 unique cities, and on countless adventures.

To answer their question, yes, I do work (a lot). The thing that I’m sacrificing the most is sleep and exercise. Luckily, while my typical routine is a bit out of sorts, I remain balanced between mind, body and soul as this travel energizes me like very little else can in the world.

As I write, I am sitting in an airport in the Artic Circle (Tromso, Norway to be exact). My eyelids are heavy and my finger joints ache, but the past three days have been absolutely unbelievable. I am traveling with 6 coworkers, and together we have experienced the most amazing things: Northern lights, dog sledding, fjord cruising and whale watching, and reindeer sledding. How have we done so much in so little time? By having only 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

Our travel has been hard and fast. It took us almost two full days to get to Tromso from Dallas. We traveled Dallas > NYC, spent a couple of hours in New York (leaving the airport to have a great dinner in Brooklyn with Hannah’s friend from High School), then flew on a red eye from New York to Oslo, spent a couple of hours in the Oslo airport, and then flew to Tromso. We landed with just enough time to drop our things off at the hotel and get dressed for our first excursion.

It seems like almost everything has been going our way in Norway, beginning with the very first activity we had – taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel. We stood in a very long taxi line, and since our group is 7 we knew we would have to take two separate cars to get to the hotel. Everything that came before us was a small sedan. However, when we made it to the front of the line, a MASSIVE mini-bus taxi pulled up next in line. We got onboard, and they had the exact amount of seats that our party needed. It was fated, and a really good start to our trip.

Our first excursion was a guided Northern Lights trip. We were picked up at our hotel by a guide named Stefunny in a mini-van and driven to a warehouse where they suited us up in full-body thermal suits, massive snow boots, and hats and mittens. Along the way we learned that Stefunny was 28, Italian, and had spent the last year in Norway as a part of her continuous travels. As we had to drive for about 2 hours after suiting up to get to the optimal spot for light watching, we were able to entertain ourselves by hearing stories of her travels, odd jobs, and friendships with the expat community in Tromso. I loved hearing about her solo travels and perspective on living life where you can follow your passions and continuously learn new skills.

Although the distance we traveled was far, the drive didn’t seem all that long. At one point Stefunny pulled over the van and hoped out of the car to “check the weather.” She got back in and exclaimed that we were a lucky group, for the lights were out. We all jumped out of the van and gazed towards the sky to see a big streak of green cutting across it. The lights didn’t fill the sky, but in the green band we could make out distinct vertical lines that “danced” across the sky as the lights shifted and traveled. Unfortunately there was a little light pollution, as we stopped at the side of the highway, but it was still a marvelous site. Two of the girls in our group brought nice cameras, so Stefunny took the time to help set them up with tripods and correct their camera settings as to capture the best images. It was one of the small details about the trip that we found to be incredibly high value and quality about this tour group (Artic Explorers). The lights are dynamic, and don’t last long in the sky when they’re the most vibrant. As the green faded and the streak shrunk, we loaded back into the van to seek our destination for the evening.

We stopped at a frozen lake in the middle of a mountain pass where there were no lights or people around. As we were inland, the temperature had dropped and it was about -11 degrees Celsius (~12 degrees Fahrenheit). Even though we were bundled in thick thermal suits, two pairs of socks and big boots, I still found the experience to be absolutely freezing. The majority of our group lounged around on yoga mats staring up at the sky, but I had to keep walking in order to stay warm. I found that it took about 4 lengths of the frozen lake for my muscles to work up enough heat to allow me enough comfort to be able to sit down for a couple of minutes. We stayed out on the lake from about 9 or 10 p.m. until 1 a.m., so I completed many laps. Towards the middle of our night we built a fire, and the guys in our group attempted to help our guide cut the firewood. They only partly succeeded, but watching their attempts (and failures) was one of the funniest parts of the whole weekend. To be fair, the axe wasn’t the sharpest thing in the world, but nonetheless it was hilarious watching everyone try to split the thick logs of wood.

The lights were pretty dim the rest of the night, but we could still see streaks of green in the sky. At 1 a.m. we loaded the van back up to head back into town, and after stopping back at the warehouse where we were outfitted, we made it back to the hotel at 4 a.m. for a maximum of 5 hours of sleep before our next excursion (after our two full days of travel…)

The next morning’s wake up was the most difficult I have ever experienced. I was already sleep deprived from my travel to Brazil and week of case work, and layering on the 2 days of travel to Norway and late night did nothing to improve my situation. It was TOUGH, and I had a very grumpy morning. We were picked up at 9:45 from our hotel to go dogsledding. I slept most of the way to the site, but quickly woke up when we arrived from the excitement. There were literally hundreds of huskies that were ours for the petting! If you know me at all you’ll know how big of a dog lover I am, so it was a dream come true. The dogs were beautiful, playful and sweet, and were eager to jump on you, give you a hug, or a lick. We even got to see 2 week old puppies!

The dogsledding place also outfitted us with full thermal suits, so we looked like marshmallows once again. The actual sledding was really cool. They allocated two guests per sled, and one guest “drove” while the other was a passenger, and we switched places halfway through the track. I started as a driver, or technically, a musher. I had a team of 8 dogs, organized as 4 sets of 2 in a line. We were positioned between two guides and their teams, so while I helped to brake the sled when we traveled downhill, I really didn’t have to do that much directing. We traveled pretty fast, and the landscape around us was absolutely breathtaking. It was pretty thrilling when we traveled downhill or around a sharp corner. Although I thought that I would prefer mushing, being a passenger was also a fun experience. The ride in the sled was much smoother than I had anticipated, and it was nice to just sit and relax for a moment.

After we finished sledding the tour fed us a lunch of reindeer soup. Many of the people in my group had tried reindeer soup on the excursion the night before and had liked it, but this one received only a lukewarm reception. The meat is like beef, but gamier. Hannah described it as being in between beef and venison. I was just grateful for some warm food and a nice fire after the cold.

We made it back to our hotel around 3 p.m., and had our next pick up for the excursion at 6:20. While the others went out to explore the town, I took a long nap. It was just necessary. When I woke up I took a stroll through the main street on my own, and grabbed a kebab from a stand in order to get some food in my belly before another long cold night. Our second night excursion was the same type of trip as the first, with only a few modifications: 1) I wore an extra layer everywhere (3 socks, 4 pants, 4 jackets, and 2 headpieces), 2) we had a different guide, and 3) we went north and along the coast instead of inland.

Our guide’s name was Iga and she is best friends with Stefunny. She grew up in Poland, but is a serial traveler as well. She told us stories of traveling alone in the Cuban jungle, through Egypt, and in the slums of San Francisco. She had many stories about almost bad encounters, but shared how she was able to defend herself with a cool and friendly attitude and self-defense skills. I thought that I was a big traveler until I heard her stories… Mom – in comparison I travel extremely safely J

The night was a bit cloudy, and the KP index (the index that judges the propensity for lights) was low. It wasn’t looking that likely that we would get to see them, but after driving about 2.5 hours, I spotted some from the window of the van. We stopped on the shore of the coast, trudged through 2 feet of snow downhill to make camp, and experienced some amazing lights. At one point they lit up, crossed the sky, and danced, which just took my breath away. The whole group let out shouts of excitement and gratitude that we had found such beauty. Our camp fire on the beach was lovely, and we told all sorts of funny stories. My favorite was hearing about Iga’s past tourists who were convinced by an ancient Japanese legend that if you conceive under the northern lights that your child would have super powers. Crazily enough, she said that many couples tried. Sounds pretty darn cold (and absurd) to me.

Although we had started the night with the intent of getting home earlier than the previous night, we only beat our record by about 30 minutes, and it wasn’t until 3:45 that we were falling asleep. Unfortunately the next morning’s excursion picked up at 8, so we had an alarm go off at 7:30 to give us enough time to dress and eat breakfast before departing.

Our next excursion was a fjord tour with the same company. Our guide, funnily enough, was another foreigner (from Portugal), and was also very close to Stefunny and Iga. He was a little annoyed that we all kept falling asleep on the car ride to the boat, but when we explained that we had done so many other tours he understood. The fjord cruise was awesome. We loaded up onto a pretty small boat, but it was also really nice. It had an interior cabin that could sleep 6, and exterior walkways that went all the way around the boat. I tried to stay outside for most of the time, and I was super grateful for the (new) thermal suits/flotation suits that they gave us for the trip. Oh yeah – we went back to that same warehouse for the 5^th time on the trip in 2 days. We were pros by the end.

 The scenery on the fjord cruise was amazing. We were surrounded by frozen islands and small mountains, and very few homes or signs of civilization. The absolute best part of the trip, however, was seeing three hump back whales swimming in the fjord. Our guide spotted them from far away, and I was convinced that they were just dolphins. However, as we got closer it was easy to see the spray from their breathing, and once we saw the sheer size of them it was clear that they were, indeed, whales. I geeked out. We got within 10 feet of them, and the three of them flipped and played as we watched. They are such majestic creatures. We were there during the whale low-season, as most had migrated south for the winter, so I felt really lucky to have still had the opportunity to see them. During December, when the whales are most prevalent, apparently there are so many in the fjord that the boats have to idle for risk of hitting them. I could only imagine what a site that would be. The rest of the tour was very scenic and fun, and we had lunch on an island that had only 100 inhabitants. It was a big fishing island, so we got to watch a crew unload a fishing vessel when we docked. I slept most of the way back to the car, and then again on the ride back to the warehouse and our hotel.

My poor attempt at photographing the whales with my iPhone 5 

Last night we did a reindeer sledding tour at a new location. The bus ride was about an hour and a half before getting there, and it was a MUCH larger group than any of the ones we had before. Reindeer sledding itself was actually a little boring, but Shaurya and I were kept on the edge since our sled was in front of a very large and grumpy reindeer who kept looking like he was going to charge us. At one point he did dip his antlers to make contact, but it was a soft blow and only hit my boots. We also had the opportunity to learn from our guide about the Sami culture and what it took to herd the reindeer down the different migration paths. Each family is allowed a heard of around 1000 – 5000 reindeer, and they must slaughter each autumn in order to keep their total count below the enforced threshold. When the Sami slaughter for their family, they use every bit of the reindeer for food (save for the tip of the tongue, which, if eaten, makes you a liar). They made bread out of the blood and brains, eat the eye balls, and fry the heart. The skin is used for clothing and mats, and the horns are used to make lasso rings and other utensils. I was really impressed by how in balance with nature the Sami are. Our guide mentioned finding the beauty in -50 degree Celsius weather, running down the ice and swimming in the newly thawed lakes in June, and living off the grid with the herds. It seemed as if he knew true happiness and could find joy in any moment. He also expressed the fear that the next generation will not take up the reins of herding, and shared how that would affect their culture. He let us try lassoing reindeer antlers, and then gave us moss to feed the reindeer with after they were re-penned once the sleigh rides were complete.

After that we went back up to the main camp for dinner. I got really lucky and got to ride with our guide on the snowmobile while everyone else took the bus. We hit 120 KPH! It was one of the most fun things I did all trip. Dinner was (surprise!) reindeer soup, but it was pretty tasty. During dinner the crew announced that the lights were out, and I stepped outside to see another beautiful sky full of green. On our bus ride back, we saw the best lights yet – they spanned the sky and spiraled town to the horizon, so as to kiss the city with its green lips. It was breathtaking, and the type of lights that you see in pictures. We got back at midnight. Shaurya and I grabbed a beer at the pub across the street and watched some live music, but then everyone went to sleep for a full 6 hours!

Today we’re traveling to Bergen for the final leg of our adventure. I’m finally only wearing one layer, and it feels great. We’re all looking forward to a nice dinner and some leisure time to explore the town. We head back to NYC tomorrow, and Dallas the next morning (on a 6 a.m. flight…). It’s going to be a tough trip to recover from, but it’s so worth it.

 

February 17, 2015

 

On the flight home! Our trip to Bergen was great, but quite the whirlwind. We sprinted through the Oslo airport to make our connection, and once in the town we walked around with high speed and ferocity to ensure that we would capture the essence of the town before the sun set on us. Bergen is beautiful – the buildings are all painted different colors, and because the city is nestled in the mountains almost every home had some sort of a view. On our hike we found a number of great high points in town where we could have a 360 degree view of our surroundings.

This was also our first night to have a meal out together (literally every other dinner had been packaged reindeer soup). We went to one of the top rated restaurants on Trip Advisor, and it didn’t disappoint. They offered a three course pre-fix menu that my friends enjoyed that included all sorts of seafood and game, and I had the local turkey dish. It was by far our best meal of the trip, and it was a fun way to celebrate the adventures we had all had together.

Yesterday we began our journey home. We took a scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo that departed early in the morning (within the theme of no sleep). The sites were beautiful, but the train ride was 6 hours long. I spent a fair bit of it sleeping. When we got to Oslo we took an immediate transfer train to the airport, and from there pretty much went straight to the gate after passing through security and passport control. The flight from Oslo to NYC was 8.5 hours long, and to avoid too much jet lag we tried to not sleep the full time. I still think I got about 4 hours of sleep, just to help my body counteract what I had done to it the previous few days. We landed in NYC at 8 p.m., grabbed a hotel for the night, and departed again on a SW flight at 6 a.m. Again – who needs sleep?

 

This trip was a whirlwind, but one of the most fun and adventurous I’ve ever taken. I’m so grateful for the wonderful friends I have to travel with.

Brazil

Brazil blog

February 4, 2016 

My 2016 travels have been off to a great start, and I was able to take a BONUS trip that was completely unplanned – to Brazil! Through my role as a management consultant I often travel to the site of our clients, and this case happens to include clients Tin Porto Alegre, Brazil that we were able to go and speak with.

Unfortunately my job also demands long hours, so I knew that in order to actually see Brazil, I would need to spend my weekends there as well. As I write this section I am in a cab on my way to my hostel in Rio, and have already been in Brazil for 6 days. Morgan (a colleague) and I flew into Sao Paolo on Saturday afternoon, then continued to Porto Alegre on Monday morning for work. The travel work week has ended, so I’m on to my next stage of the journey to Rio on my own.

Sao Paulo was a really fun experience, but what strikes me the most about the city is just the pure size of it. I have NEVER seen such a populous place. You cannot pick out a skyline in Sao Paulo because there simply are too many tall buildings. It’s one big concrete jungle, composed of many different neighborhoods and ethnic groups.

We stayed on Av. Paulista, which is known as a nicer area of town. On Saturday we walked down the street, ate lunch at a street food vendor, and then walked around in search of a “bloco” – the pre-party street festivals to Carnaval. Carnaval is Brazil’s biggest holiday and celebration, and it’s similar to Madi Gras in New Orleans. We were told by the hotel that there were many blocos in the area, because our language skills were limited we had a very difficult time actually finding them. Finally, we gave up on trying to map one out and just looked in the street for people wearing costumes. We figured that if we just followed them, or someone who was drunk from all of the day drinking, that we would eventually happen upon a party. We were right!

We stumbled upon a small Bloco about 5 blocks away from our hotel. The street was shut down, there were streamers and banners hung between the buildings and draping across the road, and there were very jolly people dancing and singing in the street. And, there were drinks. It reminded me of a frat party at UT to an extent, and it even had a bit of a Round Up flare to it. The street was full of discarded beer cans, and the bar on the corner looked as if an elephant had trodden into it. Needless to say, it promised of a good time but was also a bit intimidating – this group was active and liked to have fun, and we didn’t speak the language.

However, I’m not one to let little barriers prevent me from playing, so I grabbed a beer and jumped in the street and started dancing. I was a little timid and stayed near the sidewalk, since everyone else was wearing matching shirts and clearly dressed in costume, but Morgan and I still had fun. At one point the music stopped, and all of a sudden a band emerged with trumpets, trombones, and drums! I thought that they were just going to play in the square that we had been dancing in, but instead that lead the entire group from our block on a march! We walked all around the neighborhood singing, dancing and chanting. I was able to pick up on a few of the words, and luckily we made a group of friends. There were about five guys who were just CRUSHING it with their dance moves who were kind enough to befriend the awkward Americans. They danced with a small rainbow umbrella, and would keep passing it to us and telling us to dance with it. By the end of the night, Morgan got to keep it! We also learned how to flave (a popular dance move). Only one of them spoke a little English, but I learned that Daniel had lived in Spain and was able to have a conversation with him in Spanish. After the bloco ended, they took Morgan and me to get ice cream at a place called “Alaska” and then treated us to Arabic street food from the restaurant down the street. We said our good byes around 9 and planned to meet up the next day at another party. 

Sadly, Morgan and I were not able to find them on Sunday. Instead, we had lunch at a GREAT restaurant with a GIANT fig tree in the middle of it, and then walked about 10 miles in search of the meeting spot with the guys. We found it, but not them. On our way home we stopped at another bloco, which was actually a massive street party with thousands of people. It was a little too crowded for my taste, and our state was far more sober than the crowd’s, so we didn’t stick around for too long. We had dinner at a recommended pizza place, which apparently Sao Paulo is famous for, and then called it a night. Very fun weekend, and a great introduction to our time in Brazil.

In Porto Allegre we actually didn’t do that much in the city. We worked our tails off from the morning until late at night. Morgan and I went out for food twice, but each meal was within a block of the hotel and lasted under an hour. The city was really cool though, it was located on really large rivers and when you crossed them everything was completely natural – no buildings, huts, or man-made developments of any kind for large stretches of space. We also caught a couple of beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the river while we were commuting to and from the client site. Definitely a nice pick-me-up after a long day.

February 8, 2016

I’m home! My trip to Rio was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better two days. After our really long week of work it felt great to kick back and enjoy the sun, the parties, and new friends.

I arrived at my hostel on Thursday night and quickly made new friends who were hanging out in the lobby area. They were going out to a girls night at one of the clubs that night and invited me to join. The club was fun, not the best I’ve ever been to, but good music and plenty of dancing. For some reason I thrive in environments where I don’t know anyone. I guess it’s because I like the challenge of needing to get out there and make new friends. There were a couple of dance circles happening that made me flash back to my middle school days. The highlight of the night was when an older couple (50-60 yrs old) made it into the circle and just crushed it with some old school moves. There daughters were there with them, and had pushed them into the circle to perform. What cool parents.

We made it back to the hostel pretty late, but I was up again by nine the next morning ready to explore. As I walked down into the lobby, however, my plans changed. I ran into a guy who asked what I was doing that day and said that he was taking a group out surfing. I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf, so it wasn’t too difficult to persuade me to join. The group took a while to form (Oh Brazil time), but once it did we set off towards West Rio to a number of beaches that are visited only by the locals. The first place we stopped to surf had the perfect riding conditions with the smooth water and well spaced waves, but unfortunately it was a pretty crowded beach. Instead, we went a little further down to the coast to a spot that was practically abandoned. The scenery here was much more beautiful than the other spot. Across the road from the beach was a nature preserve, and in the waters off the cost were a couple of different islands. Just feeling the summer sun on my skin was enough to make me ecstatic, but the water and nature made it even better. There were two guides for 5 of us, and we had paddle boards and surf boards to use. Two of the group started out on the paddle boards, so the remaining three of us started surfing. The two guys with me got one instructor and I got the other, so I ended up with a private lesson! My coach was great, and helped me to navigate the rough waters and learn the right board positions. After one missed attempt I was able to pop up on the board and ride the wave into shore. Once I was up it felt a lot like wake surfing, but getting out into the line up and paddling to catch the wave are very different experiences. I was surfing on a big long board, so I wasn’t able to turn it well, and most of the waves I rode straight towards shore instead of along the base of the wave horizontally. Oh well, I have something to work on next time. The feeling of riding the wave was amazing, but it’s definitely not without work. The area we were surfing in was really windy, so we battled a lot of chop getting out into the lineup. Most of the times it was ok, but every once in a while I would be hit by a wave with such force that it knocked me off the board and sent snakes of salt water throughout my entire body. After about an hour and a half of trying, I was satisfied with my progress and ready to spend some time on the beach. The rest of the afternoon passed without too much excitement, and was full of relaxation.

I worked when I got back to the hostel, but that night we all went out together to the Bloco down the street. Upon arriving I wasn’t sure if it was something that I really wanted to participate in – the street was packed full of people, and countless sweaty groups of individuals kept pushing their way past us. It was a little bit overwhelming. However, once the parade became parallel with us, we started to walk with it and the crowd. We could hear the music from the band better, so each step was accompanied with a bit of a samba. I learned that apparently in Brazil kissing complete strangers that walk past you during carnival is a common practice…

The Bloco ended at Ipanema beach, so we spent some time hanging out by the water and then dancing by a DJ in the sand. Around 1:30 or 2:00 we decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel.

Saturday morning was tough. Not from a hangover, but from the sunburn that I got while surfing the day before. I was RED. What made things worse was that one of the friends I had made in Rio wanted to meet up for the day… at the beach. Friendship trumps skincare, so I made my way down to the waterfront and enjoyed a second day of sand, sun and waves. While we were there we meet up with another group of people from Australia, and created an impressive fort of sorts with our chairs and umbrellas that we had rented from the vendors. I was content to stay there all day, but I realized that while I had enjoyed the vast beauty of Brazil’s beaches, I hadn’t yet seen the city. With only a couple of hours left during my trip, I decided to leave the group and head back to the hostel to regroup for exploring the town. Crazily enough, there were two guys from my high school who were in Rio at the same time. Luckily things aligned with wifi and we were able to get in touch to meet up. They came to my hostel and we set out to explore the Lapa stairs. We attempted to go via the subway, but quickly learned that it wasn’t the best idea – the subways were completely flooded with people chanting and singing traveling to the different parties. We even witnessed a couple of different fights among men who were waiting in line and somehow managed to insult one another. It was exciting in a way, but also pretty overwhelming. What made it worse was the fact that there wasn’t a way to purchase tickets down in the subway station, and so after our attempt to travel with the crowds we found that our entrance was blocked and had to back track about a quarter of a mile in order to go back above land and purchase tickets. Instead, we decided to just splurge on a cab.

Lapa was a really cool part of town. There was beautiful architecture, impressive street art, and a completely different demographic of people. We immediately ran into a bloco that was a completely different style than the ones we had been to before: people were older, there was a live band playing local favorites, and the party was stationary. We even tripped a couple of times over people’s lawn chairs that they had set out to enjoy the show. Despite the demographical differences, this party was just as packed as all the others, so we didn’t stick around terribly long. Instead, we grabbed a seat at sidewalk café to enjoy a pizza and a couple of beers while comfortably watching the madness of Carnaval.

After dinner we finally found our way to the steps. The neighborhood they were tucked into was slightly shady, but we met other tourists along the way and had a large enough group to be able to avoid any harm. The steps themselves were really cool. They are much larger than I had thought, and the art work is a really unique blend of local artists and tributes to the travelers who have visited them. You can see tiles that pay homage to Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other far places. I really appreciated how collective of a space it was. Beyond the inclusive artwork, the steps also presented an eclectic mix of locals and travelers. People lined the stairs hanging out, drinking and talking with one another. It was more than art, it was a place that people could congregate, share stories, and feel the energy of community.

The Lapa steps were the last big adventure I had in Rio – we returned home by subway (after figuring out how to buy tickets and go with the flow of the crowds), and I left for the airport after a couple last hours hanging out at the hostel. Having the opportunity to travel to Brazil was an amazing experience. I got to work with people from other cultures, adventure to new places, and try new things. Mostly, I was invigorated by the energy and aspirations of the other travelers I met on my journey. Travelers take risks, cultivate empathy, seek adventure, and constantly refine perspectives. They understand that life is malleable, but also have a great appreciation for the challenges that it can present and the obstacles that prevail. A traveler has grit like few others, and understands the balance between struggle and reward. Yet, when all is said and done, the experiences one has while traveling alone shapes who they are far beyond the trip. For these things I am constantly grateful, especially when this type of opportunity comes as a result of work.

Colombia!

Colombia Day 1 – January 15, 2016

 

I’m on my next adventure – in Colombia!

My parents weren’t the most excited about this trip, as Colombia hasn’t always been the most traditional tourist destination. However, over the past five years the tourism industry has really picked up, and I know about 10 friends who have visited Bogota and Cartagena over the past two years from Texas who have absolutely loved it.

I am traveling with three of my colleagues from work, and so far, it’s been an awesome trip. We departed DFW Thursday afternoon to arrive in Colombia at midnight. The flight was actually really short – only about 5 hours! A perfect length for 2 movies and an airplane meal.

Since we arrived so late we went straight to the hotel (no hostels this trip) and decided that we would regroup at 11 the next morning to begin our adventure. The accommodations are really nice, and we managed having 2 rooms for 4 people, so I feel like I’m traveling in complete luxury. What made it all the more luxurious was getting a knock on our door at 2 a.m. with a welcome cheese platter from the front desk. WHAT? It was the most random thing ever, but I can’t say that I complained. It was tasty.

So, it’s Friday night now and I’m sitting with my complimentary drink in the hotel lobby super satisfied with our first day in Bogota. We may not have seen a ton of things, but the day was fluid, exciting, beautiful and adventurous.

We began by having lunch at a spot recommended by another colleague from this area – Andres Carne De Res. The meal ended up being THREE HOURS long, and it was nothing but relaxing and delicious. We were served a platter of fruits to munch on as we perused the 60 page menu, and then enjoyed delicious Colombian coffee with milk, followed by empanadas, a cheese platter, filet minion, and desert. The biggest surprise was how affordable it all was. We were undoubtedly at one of the more popular restaurants in the area, yet after all was said and done, it came out to no more than $25 per person. The portions were also huge. When I ordered my steak I thought that I would get a small piece of meat, and I ended up with 4 medallions of choice cut steak. I would recommend it to anyone visiting Bogota! The environment and music made it all even better.

After lunch we walked around the area and enjoyed looking at some of the street art, small shops and handicrafts being sold by the locals. It was a very pedestrian part of town, so walking around was easy and enjoyable. We hopped in a cab around 3:30 to head to the south part of town where the museums are, and ended up forgetting to go to them all together. When we arrived, we had intended to walk into the gold museum, but ended up seeing an outdoor market with souvenirs instead that we wandered around. There were some sick kicks in the shops – I may come home with some hand woven booties. When we were there, one of the shop owners told us about the church on top of the mountain – Monseratte – and we decided that we absolutely had to go. Side note – no one speaks English here so our Spanish skills have really sharpened up quickly! We abandoned the museum and walked up the street to where we thought the station was for the gondola up the mountain. It was a bit of an adventure actually finding the station… but after conversing (in Spanish) with many university students, and finally finding some tourists (who happened to have gone to school in Texas!!!), we made it. The ride up was really fun for me since I’m a huge fan of heights, but some of the girls I were traveling with weren’t as big of fans. However, it was undeniable that the view from the top was well worth it. You could even tell how much the air had thinned.

While on top we met a couple of other travelers – 2 guys from Austin who I had recognized from my flight, and a girl who was backpacking by herself through South America from England. We had a wonderful conversation about travel while watching the sun set over the entire city. It was a beautiful sight.

After the sun set we decided to all grab dinner together. It was a challenge to get a cab big enough for the 7 of us, so we walked through town for a while hoping to find better luck. In the process we ended up stopping at the girl’s hostel (!!! My favorite places), and enjoyed a beer while meeting some of the other travelers from California, England, and Croatia. None of us had much of a hunger after lunch for a big dinner, so we settled for a quick Mediterranean meal and then headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are departing for Cartagena in the morning for some beach time! Until then…

Cartagena – January 19, 2016

As I write this I am sitting in the airport in Cartagena about to board a plane back to Bogota, where we will spend a final 10 hours exploring the city before taking off in the middle of the night to fly back to Dallas to re-enter the real world.

We have been in Cartagena for about 3 full days. The Walled City (old town) in Cartagena was breathtaking – and it, combined with the beauty of the islands off the coast, makes the city one of the top attractions for travelers in Colombia. During our stay we met people from across Europe, Brazil and the U.S., but it is also clearly a favorite vacation destination for Colombians who live elsewhere. Language barriers were still quite present, but for more expensive activities (scuba diving, island tours, very nice restaurants), we were able to find decent English speakers. However, most of the city’s inhabitants spoke only Spanish.

Our first day in the city we spent our time exploring the Walled City. We arrived at our hotel from the airport around 11 a.m., and after spending a fair amount of time ooh-ing and ahh-ing at how pretty the property was and settling in, we took off for our first taste of the city. The walled city was only about a quarter of a mile from our hotel, and its entrance is marked by a grand yellow clock tower. Within the walled city are many parks, public squares, cathedrals, theaters, shops and restaurants galore. There were also a number of street vendors and street performers – however, most performers came out at night. There were young kids trying to start a career as rappers, a “headless” man who would scare big groups of people walking by, a man hovering in mid-air holding only a staff, and countless groups of musicians and dancers. The architecture is also beautiful – each house is painted a different color, and the balconies are all draped in a bounty of bright flowers. The streets are narrow, and at night time they ring with the sound of horses hoofs as they pull carriages through the town.

We struck out our first day when it came to food – our service was terrible and slow, and the food was bland. We went for dinner at a place called Café Del Mar that was perched atop the wall with a beautiful view of the sunset, but unfortunately we got our drinks slowly and the food menu was scarce. It actually took us about 2 hours to get a basket of bread. The view and environment was great, but if you ever choose to go here, I recommend drinks only.

 

The second day of our stay I went scuba diving. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, as I had found the dive shop online while in the states, but it ended up being a wonderful day. We met at the dive shop at 8 a.m., and I joined a group that consisted of citizens from Canada, Denmark, Holland, Germany, and Colombia. Everyone was quite friendly, and I had the opportunity to have conversations with each over the course of the day about travel, fear of the unknown, how terrorism is affecting our home countries, and how to travel with a career. It was a stimulating day both intellectually and aesthetically. From the dive shop we went to the port of Cartagena and boarded a speed boat with about 20 other people to take out to the national park in the Islas Rosaria. The boat took us through the bay and open sea for about an hour before delivering us to the Isla de Pirates, where our companions departed. The divers took a second boat to a different hotel where we got our fins and masks, then boarded the dive boat to travel out to the reefs. We did two dives, and each were very satisfying. The visibility was amazing, and the reefs were extensive. I saw lobsters, groupers, schools of bright fish, angel fish, rainbow fish, clams, urchins and more. The best, however, was being able to swim right in the middle of a school of bright blue fish. It almost felt as if I were one of them (if only for a split second). My diving skills improved over the course of the day as I figured out my balance and adjusted my pace of breathing to preserve more air. I’m convinced that there is no better form of meditation in the world than diving, as each breath is critical, and your senses are restricted to what is right in front of you. It is you, and your breath, and the sea, in a world that very few other people ever get to see.

My diving day passed as if it were a dream, and by 5 p.m. I was back at the hotel showering off and preparing for dinner. Our group asked the hotel for a reservation, and went to meet two travelers we had met in Bogota at Café del Santisimo. The food was incredible. Hands down the best meal we had in Colombia. I would highly recommend it to anyone passing through.

The next day our full group went back to the islands for a day of snorkeling and relaxing on the beaches. The water was a clear as the day before – painted with streaks of aqua, teal, bright blue, and splashes of darker colors. The boat ride out was just as relaxing, and the snorkeling proved to be almost as bountiful. The only bad thing was the size of the group – there were so many people that it was hard to avoid getting kicked in the head. I got to practice my under water dives, and frolicked below the surface with the fishies – even if only for a second or two.

Our boat ride back to the city was a little bit more eventful – the waters in the sea had become violently rough, so we took an alternate route back, which led us through a river instead. We were able to see a number of small villages on the banks, as well as a more industrial part of the city where the oil was refined. There were small barge boats that carried motorcycles across the water, and only one bridge that crossed the expanse for about 20 miles. The bird watching on the river was incredible, and we saw many pelicans, ducks, and more.

By the time we got back we only had time for some quick shopping before heading to the hotel to prepare for dinner. Amanda and I picked up a few swimsuits, but otherwise didn’t spend much time in the walled city. We ate at Cande Restaurante, but the fare was not as good as the night before. What was interesting, however, were the dancers in the restaurant. About every 20 minutes tribal music would play, and a male and female dancer would spring into the middle of the restaurant to perform a lyrical dance. Some were beautiful, but others were frightening. The last dance began with the man wearing a scary mask and walking through the crowd “licking” them (with the plastic tongue of the mask). He then seized the woman, and appeared to abduct her. I thought it would give me nightmares, but I seemed to have escaped them. We think that the dances may have been a progression through time, and that this marked the very beginning. Otherwise, it may have had a mythical component to it that we just didn’t understand because of the cultural differences. Regardless, it was interesting entertainment for a good meal.

My time is Colombia has been great. We’ve traveled in a little bit more style than I am used to, but the currency exchange has afforded us a lot of luxury. However, there are a number of hostels in the city, and it is possible to do this trip extremely affordably. I have never felt unsafe here – at least no more than I have in any other developing country, or even in some parts of my home towns in Austin or Dallas. Through conversations with locals I have learned that the drug threat is much diminished, but that “Mexico is now what Colombia used to be.” It is the dawn of a new age of tourism for this country. The islands offer immense beauty, the country is affordable, and the cities are artistic and cultural. There are still problems in some of the rural areas, and it is important to travel between cities by air and to avoid public transportation between cities, but from our experience and that of many others I have spoken with, Colombia is a great destination for a South American vacation.