Peru: Machu, the Amazon and Beyond

Once the Brazilian adventure was done it was off on a two week tour of Peru. I was doing Peru as Solo travel and had the dream of seeing both Machu Picchu and the Amazon on the same trip. I was able to find a tour company who offered a two week tour from Cusco that would take you to both sites with some quad biking and white water rafting in between! It was the perfect set up and I couldn’t be happier with the decision.

At the end of the Brazil trip I caught a bit of a cold so I was arriving in Peru a little under the weather. I thought the cold was bad…until I was hit with splitting headaches from the altitude. Cusco is located at about 3,400 meters above sea level. And evidently I was not prepared for what this meant. The first adventure of the trip was a hike that would lead to Machu Picchu. It was the Lares Trek and would be 4 days and 3 nights of hiking and camping. The night before I was feeling pretty rough and having my doubts.

When I woke up for the trek I was thinking about pushing it back. Was not feeling my best and hiking/camping was going to be tough especially when we would be reaching a summit at 4,500 meters!!! In the end I pushed through and got on the trial. I was joined by three Aussies, Blake, Mitch, and Ben, who were all the same age as me and ended up being great travel companions. When we got on the trail it wasn’t difficult terrain but even after a few steps you felt like you needed a break. We hiked 3 hours the first day before setting up camp. The second day was the killer. It was only about 6 hours of hiking but this day we reached the 4,500 meter summit and the group was in pain. As we walked through it was hard not to be amazed by the scenery. We were the only ones out there walking through remote villages with tribes wearing colorful clothing. We were passing groups of Alpacas and Llamas roaming the mountainside. And feeling the fresh air across as faces as we were gasping for more oxygen. Once we made it to our camp for the night we decided to go down about 1,000 meters to a lower camp site on a local bus to get away from the altitude…it was a great decision all around. 

 

After our second camping night we started to make our way to Machu Picchu. We took a train to Machu Picchu town to spend the night before waking up to catch sunrise at one of the World Wonders. When we got up to make our way to Machu we were shocked at how many tourists there were. Even at 5am there were hundreds waiting in line for buses to get to the site. Once we were there the site’s massive size drowned out some of the crowds and we were awestruck. Truly a city in the sky. Our guide Frank, who was legendary, gave us the full tour before we were able to explore on our own. I will say that Machu did not disappoint, not one bit. It was even better than advertised and once I was back in Cusco it was time for part two of the trip…the Amazon!

My portal to the Amazon was through Porto Maldonado. I took a 10 hour overnight bus from Cusco to get there and spent 4 days and 3 nights in the jungle. To get to my lodge I actually took a one hour boat ride on the Amazon River where we pulled off on a bank and had to walk across planks of wood in the mud to get to our huts. The resort was full of little bungalows, a communal eating area for all meals, and even had a pet monkey and macaw on site! While I was there we had different activities each day that included jungle walks, a trip to a nature lake, searching for caimans (Amazon crocodiles), finding tarantulas, bird watching, and more. The wildlife was amazing and it was refreshing to see how undeveloped the whole area was. You definitely felt like you were away from everything and it lived up to its reputation. 

 

This trip was the longest solo trip that I have ever done and there are definitely highs and lows that come with that. It is liberating to be able to do whatever you want, wander around, and constantly meet new people. But when traveling you don’t realize just how much down time there is. This is usually filled with small conversation, card games, sharing a meal, etc. But when you are traveling alone sometimes you just want to share the experience with someone. Particularly being part of tour groups and staying in hostels you aren’t hard pressed to find people to spend time with but by the end of the two weeks I was ready to get back to Doha for some familiar faces and places.

I could go on and on about both Peru and Brazil but this offers a good snapshot. My time in Doha has been short…about 48 hours…as tonight I head to Ireland to see the one and the only William Nestor. I will be joined once again by Kevin but Brandon is flying out from the US as well!!! Can’t wait to get there and have everyone together. I will post photos from all the trips post-Ireland. Until then!!! Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak!!!

 

Need Tickets?! World Cup 2014

The World Cup only happens every four years. It is a time where the whole world puts everything on hold to celebrate the great sport of football (yes I will refer to it as football…) on the global stage. Attending a World Cup has been a dream of mine for years now, and what better place to see one than in the football-crazed nation of Brazil?! When looking at summer travel for this year the dates lined up perfectly for a full on South America adventure. The first stop was Rio de Janeiro.

On the trip I ended up in Rio twice. The first stop was quite short but I was able to meet up with a buddy from JMU, Shawn McEvoy, and his friend Lara who lived in Brazil and was a great host. We were able to tour around some of the main sites while we were together. We were also able to catch a US match and Brazil match at the “Fan Fest” which was basically a giant TV on Copacabana Beach with 25,000 screaming fans. It was the next best thing to being at the match. We also got up to Sugar Loaf Mountain for some incredible views of the city. Time was short because my friend Kevin and some of his buddies were waiting for me up in Recife for us to see the US play their final group match against German.

This is where the story gets sad for a moment. June 26 is a day that will live in infamy. US v. Germany. The match we were all waiting for. It would determine if the US would advance. Germany was looking like a serious contender. And we had tickets in hand (well two out of the four). The

match was at 1pm but we were an hour south of the stadium. So we were on the road by 8am to get to the US tailgate early to score two tickets and start the party. Only problem? Rain. Lots of. Well rain and lack of drainage systems. The road to the stadium was flooded. We are talking waist high water not once, not twice, but 6 separate areas. We had a Chevy Cobalt rental which miraculously was able to drive through these rivers time and time again. The issue was traffic. After over 4 hours in traffic we had no shot of making it to the game. With tickets in hand we made the executive decision to bail out and watch at a local bar. Such a frustrating day from start to finish but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. In the end I didn’t get to actually see any of the World Cup matches which I am actually ok with. More on that later.

After Recife, Kevin’s friends Rob and Eric went back to the States. Kevin went to Vittoria to see family, where I would meet him a few days later. I spent the next three days in a town called Olinda right next to Vittoria. It was my redemption for June 26. Olinda is an old colorful cobblestone

colonial town. It was incredible to walk the streets and get lost with different churches, historic sites, art galleries, and street vendors. I had an incredible time there and had the opposite experience from Fan Fest as I watched matches on plastic chairs at local corner bars. Equally as fun as the 25,000 mob at CopaCabana.

In Vittoria Kevin has quite the family contingent. We stayed with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin in their beautiful home and were more than taken care of. Three elaborate meals a day. Being carted around to different family members. And able to relax from the hectic travels we had up to that point. Communication was a bit challenging as our Portuguese was severely limited and his Aunt and Uncle had limited English. Luckily Kevin’s cousin translated for us most of the time and we were able to joke, tell stories, and have a great time.

The last Brazil stop was back in Rio with Kevin this time. The highlight was absolutely the 4^th of July. Not only was it Denise Witt’s Birthday (and America too I guess…) but it was the quarter finals and there was a match in Rio. Kevin and I arrived early at the stadiums wearing USA jerseys, flags, and top hats. All with the accessory sign that said simply “Need Tickets”. To say the least it was a seller’s market. Tickets were going for about $1,000 USD for one. We spent all morning trying to get

tickets and were able to get one for $250!!! In the process we had dozens of people come to take pictures with the silly Americans celebrating our countries independence day. One ticket wasn’t good enough because it was two or nothing. So as the start time approached we decided to flip our ticket and call it a day. We ended up selling it for $500 and basically getting paid for our morning! Not a bad day at all but this was my last official chance to see a World Cup game. I am hoping to get to another World Cup in the future and next time? I will have tickets in hand for sure.

Kevin flew out from Brazil the following morning back to Doha but my adventure would continue. Next it was off to Peru for Maccu Picchu and the Amazon Rainforest. But I will leave those stories for the next posting.

A&E: The Land of the Pharaohs

This is not Egypt. But this is where the adventure started, at the new Hamad International Airport. Now I have been incredibly lucky to have so many visitors here in Doha, but this place gives reason to come back!!! Although the project had significant delays and was wildly over budget, the new Doha airport is incredibly impressive and makes travel that much more appealing.

Amrou and I have been talking about a trip to Egypt essentially since we met 8 years ago. Talking about how it was going to be a MADE reunion, or how I could tag along with his family sometime, and this year the opportunity finally arrived. He finishing his time in Cairo, and me being only a 3 hours flight away. While I have been in Doha Amrou and I have rarely had time to catch up or see each other so it truly was reuniting of the global force that is A&E.

The trip got off to a slow start, with a delayed flight leaving from Doha. I got into Cairo an hour later than planned which set us back a bit. Amrou and I were banking on rides from a few different friends to various beach areas around Egypt for the weekend and were incredibly lucky that his friend Aly was able to hang back and wait for us. Once I landed we took cabs to grab Amrou's stuff and straight to Aly's. We drove for about 4 hours to a sleepy beach town on the North Coast, about 60km from Alexandria. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen with Kristal clear waters, soft sand, and we had it to ourselves as the beach season has yet to open.

One of their friends gave us keys to his beach house for the weekend which was AWESOME minus one small detail. When they closed the house the last time they were there, several weeks ago, they turned off one of the refigerators that still had food in it. When we got there we were welcomed by a faint smell of bad seafood that only got stronger as we approached the fridge. When we get there (we being Amrou and Abys) there were screams of horror as one of the worst smells humanly possible wafted out of the fridgerator. The rotted food was crawling in maggots and it took us about 30 minutes to just clear the area. The kitchen had a terrible smell the rest of the weekend and was barely able to be used...After that rough start it was a smooth weekend all around.

On Sunday we headed back to Cairo and straight to the Pyramids at Giza. As one of the main attaractions I had to go while I was there, but I was prepared for the worst. Tough bargaining, people selling you useless replicas, and huge crowds. The day we went was President Sisi's innaguaration day, national holiday, so we were one of the only people there. It was incredible to have one of the world wonders all to ourselves. After the pyramids we went back into the main city and sat in various cafes, visited some of Amrou's favorite spots, and met up with the group for one last night. The city was buzzing with the celebration of Sisi but we found ourselves in some trouble at night coming back home. We had to cross through Tahrir Square around 1am on the day of the inauguration. The scene was something out of a movie. Fireworks. Sirens. Loud noises. Huge crowds, mostly men. We thought we saw someone getting beaten and a mob mentality was beginning to take place. We decided it was time to leave and at that moment a large group starts scurrying towards us. Not knowing what to do, we sprint to one of the side streets off the square and its blocked off. We look back and the group is running towards the same place. We quickly see a fence on the other side of the street that leads to the sidewalk. So we run to the fence, jump it, get to the sidewalk and jog down the street. Now we don't know exactly what happened back at the Square but a few minutes and we could have been caught in it. We were relieved to get back to Amrou's flat and ended the night chatting with his flatmate about the experience.

Our last day we took in some more major sites like the Hussein Mosque, Khan al Khalil Bazaar, the Citadel and Egyptian Museum. Although we didn't have much time this was one of my favorite parts because we got out of the city center areas into more historic neighborhoods. Cairo is a tough and run down city. I was very lucky to have Amrou there as a guide and translator, it would have been very difficult travel otherwise. Especially as someone who isn't huge on cities, I am not sure I will be back in Cairo in the near future. Egypt has so many other places to offer like Alexandria, Luxor, and Sharm el Sheikh. Future trips will likely be to those areas and not to the chaos that is Cairo.

 Overall it was a great trip but I was happy returning back to Doha. Amrou was an amazing guide and it was refreshing to see him in his element having made Cairo his home. He is finishing his time there and job searching after finishing grad school in May. There's a chance Doha is on his list of places to move so I have my fingers crossed!!! Here in Doha I am winding down work before summer travel. The World Cup is calling my name but before I go I have to wrap up planning for August programs and Orientation. A week from today I fly to Rio to meet up with my friend Kevin to spend 2 weeks in Brazil before heading to Peru for two weeks on solo travel. Incredible adventure awaits! Talk soon.

Outward Bound Oman

Well this post is coming quite a bit late but wanted to make sure I gave the update from the latest program for work. From May 12-16 I had the privilege of bringing 22 Education City students to Oman for an Outward Bound program. Outward Bound was founded in the UK in 1941 and is a program that challenges youth towards personal development through outdoor education. There are Outward Bound schools in 33 different countries including Oman. Outward Bound Oman (http://www.outwardboundoman.com/) has been around for 5 years and is the only school in an Arabic speaking country. I have been working with them since September to get a group from Qatar to join in their program.

We traveled to Oman on May 12 as a group and arrived in Muscat in the morning. Once we arrived we went directly to Jebel Akhdar (the Green Mountain) where we would spend the next 4 days. The students we brought were separated into a male group and a female group. This not only honored local culture but provided fewer distractions in an already challenging environment. We would be hiking and camping for 4 days and 3 nights without running water, no showers, no proper toilets, and making all of our meals. For most students this was a trip of first. First time traveling without family, first time cooking, first time cleaning, first time camping, first time hiking. It created a very challenging environment but I was VERY impressed with how they rose to the occasion. Outward Bound Oman and their staff ran an incredibly organized and thoughtful program. My role was just as an observer and it was great to sit back and learn.

Over the course of the 4 days you saw noticeable change within the students. They were more responsible, more proactive, worked together more efficiently, and most importantly learned how to manage their time. We ran on a tight schedule and there was a lot that had to get done each day. We would wake up every morning at 6am, needed to have tents broken down by 6:30am, breakfast finished by 7am, and we were having the morning brief before 8am. Being out in the wilderness during the program was just amazing. I felt very lucky to have this kind of opportunity and was very proud to see the vision for the program become a reality. It did an amazing job highlighting another GCC country and I believe that students had a transformative experience. As we have gotten reviews and feedback about the program, it is one of the most successful we have done this year. It was a great way to end the year for programming and I can't wait to go again next year!

Summer is quickly approaching in Doha and might even already be here. Temperatures are upwards of 115-120 degrees each day and people are just beginning to leave for summer holidays. Next weekend I will be in Egypt visiting Amrou before my big trip to South America that I leave for on June 21. This is going to be the summer of a lifetime and can't wait to share my adventures with you. Talk soon!

 

Return to the Lonestar State and the Frigid North

Ever since moving to Doha, America has called my name more times than I thought it would. Whether it is for conferences, graduations, or in this case weddings. I was lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of Miss Erin Lavey (now Erin Andrews...but not the one you are thinking of) and Mister Kyle Andrews. Not only was I invited but I had my second go-around as a "Bridesman" along with Brennan Biddle and Mister Michael Shea Kelly. While I was in the US I figured it would be a good idea to spend some time at home so I made a little trip of it.

The trip started with visiting my parents on Long Island for Easter. Brandon was able to work from home a few days so we had a long weekend together in Massapequa. It was great having some quality time with them, much less rushed than my previous visits home had been. While I was home I had the chance to catch up with fiends, family, and even my high school guidance counselor (many of whom I had not seen in over a year). Felt great to be back on the old stomping grounds but things really got going once I arrived in Austin.

I got to Austin on a Wednesday morning. I was picked up at the airport by Erin, Kyle, and Brennan. Once in the car we went immediately to the cowboy boot and hat warehouse. I picked out my attire for the rest of the week, a pair of brown cowboy boots and white cowboy hat. It was perfect. After a few hours Kristal arrived from New Zealand (some 33 hours of travel to get there...and with a smile on her face no less) and we could properly begin celebrating. The first big story from the trip was the Air BnB room that Kristal and I stayed in. We have used Air BnB on nearly even trip we have taken and have had great experiences. This time we couldn't find a private apartment or home so we rented a room in a house of two girls, Iris and Hope. They were incredibly kind, had a quaint little house, but the decorations were a bit odd. The entire
house was covered in Dia de lost Muertos dolls, which was fine enough until we got to the bedroom. Over the closet door, written in chalk was REDRUM (shout-out to Jack Nicholson). I even tried to erase it before Kristal arrived so it wouldn't freak her out, and it wouldn't erase. The rest of the week we referred to it as the "Murder" room and actually did stay there. We survived two nights before checking in to our cabin with the rest of the crew for the wedding.


Speaking of the wedding, Erin and Kyle have set the bar incredibly high for any future wedding I attend. Not only was this a 2 day, 2 night affair...they also had a food truck serve on sight, had a full catered BBQ from Salt Lick, had us float the river the day of the rehersal, had corn hole and ladder golf, had cabins for all the guests, and Erin even wore Cowboy boots with her wedding dress!!! It was incredible. Not only was the wedding a huge hit but it was the first time in YEARS that myself, Matt, Brennan, and Shea were all in the same place. Brennan, I get to see all the time. But Shea and Matt?!?! It had been too long. I wish the wedding could have lasted a week, but like all other good things it came to an end. 

 

After Austin, Kristal and I made our way back up to NY to start celebrating her birthday week. Her birthday was May 6th so we figured might as well start the celebrations in NY! We had dinner with Uncle Bill and Aunt Eileen, we made dinner for my parents, we visited vineyards and farm stands, we saw the statue of liberty, we rode a broadway bus through times square, and even trucked through freezing rain and winds all day in NYC!!!! Kristal, being the small town girl that she is, just LOVES New York City and it was so much fun watching her light up even when the weather was miserable. It was a huge contrast from the hot and humid Austin we had been in days before. As our time in NY came to a close it was time for Kristal to head off to Minnesota and me to make my way back to Doha.

 

I am so privileged and thankful for being able to visit home as much as I have and still be part of the lives of friends and family back in the states. It was an amazing trip and definitely made me miss home and the people that are there. My hope is to come home from the Christmas holidays next and do my best to see people I didn't get the chance to see while I was stateside this time. My next adventures on this side of the world are taking a group of students to Oman for an Outward Bound trip next week (http://www.outwardboundoman.com/), followed by a potential visit to Egypt to visit the one and only Amrou Kotb as he finishes his time in Cairo. Thanks for checking in and until next time!!!