tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83633175001152033162024-03-05T08:50:38.124-06:00The Adventure ContinuesWe started this blog when we thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2012. Since then, we have completed our hike, gotten married, and started a new adventure traveling South America. Follow our journey here!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-56187833004945922992013-12-15T10:08:00.001-06:002013-12-16T19:15:24.390-06:00Vilcabamba in Pictures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitzia Organic Market - our Saturday morning routine!</td></tr>
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We are excited to share the lovely pueblo of Vilcabamba, Ecuador with you all! I'm writing this from Chicago, as we've officially re-patriated and are back in the states for the foreseeable future, but Vilcabamba was so wonderful that we felt compelled to do it justice with one more post. Similar to the Galapagos, Vilcabamba is just so beautiful that it's best shared in pictures, so I'm including lots of our favorites here. <br />
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Nestled in southern Ecuador far from many of the major tourist attractions, Vilcabamba is not on every traveler's itinerary, but we think it should be! Out of all the amazing places we've seen in Ecuador, it's our favorite place to relax. If we are luckily enough to return to Ecuador some day, Vilcabamba will be on our list, hands down. <br />
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Vilcabamba is known among Ecuadorians for the health and longevity of its people. As such, there are all sorts of products marketed around what makes it such a healthy place - Vilcabamba bottled water, spice mixes, etc. After spending a month here, we suspect it's more the relaxed pace, abundance of organic/local food, and tons of walking/hiking that makes the locals here live so long. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some visuals of our cabin in Vilcabamba - a perfect place to relax!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our favorite local hiking trails</td></tr>
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Over the past decade, there's been a huge influx of foreigners to this little village, and the ratio of foreigners to locals is higher than anywhere else we've experienced in Ecuador. The vibe is an ever-interesting blend of hippies, yuppies, and locals - and we discovered that to be a good fit for us! There is a huge raw food movement here, our favorite manifestation of which is the <a href="http://www.vilcabambajuicefactory.com/#!" target="_blank">Vilcabamba Juice Factory</a>, which we are convinced has the best smoothies in the world. The "Goji Gone Wild", with Goji berries, Inca berries, black raspberries, cacao, natural yogurt, and spirulina gets the blue ribbon. <br />
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We spent our month in Vilcabamba in a cabin in the mountains with an open air kitchen and a porch with a view. After two months of constant travel in and out of noisy and hectic Quito, we were excited to slow our pace and relax a bit. We gratefully welcomed hiking, swimming, yoga, sunsets, and lots of reading into our daily routine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me taking a dip in our favorite swimming hole</td></tr>
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Our cabin was literally steps off one of the more popular hiking trails in the area, which leads to a waterfall and a mountain eco-farm. Our porch faced west, overlooking the valley and the farm that sources our beloved Juice Factory, and providing for stunning sunsets. It was an hour-long walk into town and we're proud to say that the whole month we lived there, we never took the option of a $3 cab ride, favoring the exercise we got from the walk instead. <br />
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We hope that these pictures convey the beauty of Vilcabamba. Despite how much we loved our travels, we are thrilled to be home for the holidays and back with friends and family. Missing everyone back home was definitely the toughest part of our trip, and while we're sad to leave Ecuador, we're happy that part is over!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cabin in Vilcabamba was next to a beautiful river where we've fallen in love with a few swimming holes. Freezing but completely refreshing after a hike in the Vilcabamba heat and humidity.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-394837787661060112013-12-04T14:48:00.001-06:002013-12-19T12:10:18.923-06:00A Brief Guide to Arbitrage - Why Long Term Travel is More Affordable than You Think<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since we started adventuring in 2012 with our 5 1/2 month sabbatical to hike the AT, we've heard countless people say "I wish I could afford to do what you're doing".......what we're doing being travel and adventure for extended periods of time. But the ironic truth is that they can, and we'd like to set this post aside to explain how.<br />
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Let's use the best example I know of - the Aussies. If you've ever traveled internationally, you've seen them. They are <i>absolutely everywhere. </i>Australians have a magical ability to live lives where they work for 6 months, and then travel all over the world the rest of the year - every year. It almost becomes comical to ask them about it....."oh, I'm just backpacking through South America for 15 months, or maybe I'll go to the states for awhile, I'm not sure yet." Seriously? How do they do it???<br />
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I think it all comes down to culture. This seems to be the best kept secret of all time - life in the US is extremely expensive, both of it's own right, and by the fact that our culture makes us feel like we need to spend a ton of money. In the same vein, our culture has taught us to make traveling and taking time off even more expensive than daily life. The crazy truth is that for many people, traveling is not necessarily more expensive than day-to-day life in the US. There are countless great books out there that are trying to get this truth out (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812992180/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812992180&linkCode=as2&tag=brianandkelly-20">Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=brianandkelly-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0812992180" style="border: none!important; margin: 0px!important;" width="1" /> by Rolf Potts and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307465357/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307465357&linkCode=as2&tag=brianandkelly-20">The 4-Hour Workweek</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=brianandkelly-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0307465357" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Tim Ferriss, to name a few), but since this discovery has made such a huge impact on our own lives, we want to do our part to share the message too.</div>
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On the whole, Americans treat vacations like a binge. We work hard for most of our waking hours 50 out of 52 weeks of the year (maybe 48 weeks if your job has a rocking vacation policy), and then we take the remaining 2 - 4 weeks, and cram into them a year's worth of holidays, weddings, visiting with friends, relaxation time, sightseeing, and travel. And because we only get to do this a few times a year, we feel justified to go all out - so we fly to Hawaii for a week, stay in an amazing hotel (or let's face, even a moderately-decent hotel there for a week can break the bank), eat out every night, drink some great wine, go parasailing, and suddenly, we've spent a small fortune on one wonderful but very expensive week. </div>
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An<span style="background-color: white;">d then we find ourselves asking the question "how can som</span>e people afford to travel so much???" Well, long story short, long-term travel is nothing like blowing a chunk of your savings on a typical vacation to Hawaii. To illustrate, let me share a few examples from our experience. Below are some sample cost comparisons from a few of our bigger monthly expenses on our adventures, side by side with those same expenses while living in downtown Chicago.<br />
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These aren't by any means comprehensive or exact figures, but they are a few realistic examples based on our experience, and I think they get the point across.<br />
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Sample Cost Comparisons</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Realistic Monthly Expenses for a Couple</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">AT Thru-Hike</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Traveling Ecuador</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Living in Downtown Chicago</span></div>
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Monthly Rent/Utilties</div>
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$0</div>
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$350</div>
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$1,300</div>
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Storage Unit</div>
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$50</div>
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$50</div>
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$0</div>
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Groceries</div>
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$350</div>
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$250</div>
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$600</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Monthly Total</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">$400</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">$650</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">$1,800</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">6 Month Total</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">$2,400</span></div>
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<b>$3,900</b></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">$10,800</span></div>
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As you can see, living in Chicago is relatively expensive. Once you factor in just the savings for these few bigger expenses (i.e., rent), you've got a whole lot of wiggle room to play with in terms of funding flights and other travel expenses. I would also like to emphasize that in Ecuador, we were doing anything but slumming it. For example, for $400/month, we had (with two roommates) a brand new three bedroom, three bathroom condo in the dead center of downtown Quito, including utilities, WIFI, 24-hour doorman, spa, gym, and a maid who cooked and cleaned all day for three days/week. There is NO WAY we could afford that in Chicago.<br />
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Proportionally, it may not cost much more to travel internationally for 3 months than it does to do the same thing for two weeks. In fact, renting an apartment for three months in Quito is cheaper than staying<i> just one week</i> at the Holiday Inn right down the street - true story!</div>
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Of course, a major consideration in all of this is income - sure hiking for 6 months may be cheaper than living in Chicago, but you still have to have some sort of income, or you'll eventually run out of money, right? There are several ways to address this, but first, it's important to try and accept one idea that for some reason many people have a hard time believing - there are a lot of other ways to make money outside of getting an office job and working 40 - 50 hours per week every week for the rest of your life. Some of the most common ways to fund long-term travel are outlined below:</div>
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<b>1.) Save Up and Request a Leave of Absence</b><br />
Take a page from the Aussie's book - work for a while, save some money<span style="background-color: white;">, and</span> then ask your employer for an extended leave of absence. That's what I did when we hiked the AT. Employers worth staying with will be happy to consider this. And it's amazing how quickly you can save money by cutting a few things that you think you "need", but actually make no impact on your happiness whatsoever. My favorites include:</div>
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<li>Drop your cable service and use Netflix, Hulu, and/or iTunes instead</li>
<li>Rent Kindle books from the library instead of buying them</li>
<li>Find an amazing, cheap, BYOB restaurant and make it your go-to if you love to eat out as much as we do. <a href="http://andysthaikitchen.com/" target="_blank">Andy's Thai Kitchen</a> in Chicago is ours! </li>
<li>If you have a gym membership you use less than once/week, ditch it and buy one-off classes at a yoga or cycling studio instead, or look for studio specials on Groupon. Super embarrassing, but I had one of these for a really, really long time. </li>
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These little things could easily save you more than $1,500 over a six-month period of time, which can go a long way toward a trip to somewhere like Ecuador. Not so painful, right? </div>
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<b>2.) Negotiate a Flexible Work Situation that Allows Simultaneous Travel/Work</b></div>
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If a leave of absence isn't your cup of tea, another option is to negotiate a remote, part-time work situation, and travel while you work. This is what Brian and I are currently doing; he's working part-time remotely for his US-based company, which is covering the cost of our travel in Ecuador. And this brings us back to the title of this post - arbitrage (or basically, making money by exploiting price or currency differences). By earning a US salary and spending your money in countries where things are much cheaper, your dollar goes a lot farther. As Tim Ferriss puts it in <i>The 4-Hour Workweek</i>, "Fun things happen when you earn dollars, live on pesos, and compensate in rupees."</div>
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<b>3.) Work Your Way Through Another Country</b></div>
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Another option - while you travel, use work-for-stay or volunteer-for-stay arrangements, teach English lessons, and find work along the way to fund your trip. In foreign countries there is often decent demand for native English speakers in the education and tourism industries. Our current Spanish tutor (yup, she's Australian) has been working her way through South America for over a year in this manner. </div>
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I will make one concession - I recognize that all of this is much easier to do being a (relatively) young, unattached couple without a mortgage, car, kids, or even pets to consider. But the basic principle applies to everyone just the same: <i>If you can afford daily life in the US, and especially if you can afford 2+ weeks of "binge vacations" every year, then you can afford long-term travel. </i>You just may have to think outside of the box a bit to make it happen. I know it's hard to believe, but I promise you it's true. We're living, breathing proof of it!</div>
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Kelly</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-5447778452506183232013-11-16T16:12:00.000-06:002013-12-19T12:12:26.828-06:00Vilcabamb-ahhhhhhh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After two months of being based out of the loud, crowded capital city of Quito and filling any of our free time with weekend trips to places like the Amazon rainforest, it was about time for some rest and relaxation. Enter the small village of Vilcabamba. Kelly’s cousin Alice stayed in Vilcabamba a few years ago (you can read about Alice’s travels in South America at her blog <a href="http://alicesanderson.blogspot.com/">http://alicesanderson.blogspot.com/</a>) and recommended it highly, and it sounded like just what we needed after all of our travel and city-living. Long story short, I am now typing this from the balcony of a small cabin overlooking the mountains, breathing in the fresh mountain air with only the noise of roosters, donkeys, and cows to disturb the soothing sound of the wind blowing through the trees. While nobody should underestimate just how much noise a rooster can make, it’s still an amazing change of pace from the honking horns and roaring bus engines in Quito.<br />
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Before I go on about how much we love our new home-for-the-month, I should probably back up a bit to describe the timeline between Quito and here. We booked a flight out of Quito and into Cuenca on a Sunday, and decided to take that Friday and Saturday to visit Quilotoa, a bright blue-ish green lake at the bottom of a giant crater surrounded by a hiking trail. Due to the lack of a direct and timely bus route to the lake, we had heard that the best way to get there was to rent a car. I now know that if the best way to get there in Ecuador is renting a car...there is no good way to get there. <br />
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Not to worry the mothers and the fathers, but Ecuadorian drivers are absolutely insane. No offense to Ecuadorians, but their behavior on the road crosses the line from risk-taking to just plain dumb. The specific behavior inspiring my outrage is the act of passing on blind curves when there is only one lane of traffic. It wasn’t uncommon for us to see a driver with his entire family in the back of his open bed pickup truck whiz around a car on a curvy mountain road when he clearly had no idea if anybody was approaching from the opposite direction. Ecuadorians aren’t known for their good punctuality, so why they feel the need to risk lives to gain a few minutes of time is beyond me.<br />
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Ecuador also ain’t the best at signage/maps, but to keep from griping too much I will just state that we got lost at least 6 times on the drive and it took us twice as long to get there as it should have.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeXwxpXDEOAjo2KjfUIWVkOTKR1z5vLZtat_xSx4kg6v-Cd10tmsldspwKqrH0rWqgBmYvhKaDshgHNgOrWqfE_sOT7o_5I6CsUe8IQmRwHw8quPYsNHbs7UfSc1wdPKjA3U-x-FQ2_I/s1600/quilotoa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeXwxpXDEOAjo2KjfUIWVkOTKR1z5vLZtat_xSx4kg6v-Cd10tmsldspwKqrH0rWqgBmYvhKaDshgHNgOrWqfE_sOT7o_5I6CsUe8IQmRwHw8quPYsNHbs7UfSc1wdPKjA3U-x-FQ2_I/s640/quilotoa.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This view was worth the nerve-racking drive</td></tr>
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Luckily, Quilotoa was absolutely beautiful, and we still had time to do a decent amount of hiking around the lake. We stayed at a cozy little hostel right near the lake that had a wood-burning stove in each room that they lit for their guests at night. Central heating is rare in Ecuador because the temperature rarely gets consistently low enough anywhere in the country to require it, but that night we were extremely thankful for the stove.<br />
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That Sunday we found our way back to Quito with less problems than we had finding Quilotoa, but it still wasn’t pretty. We flew to Cuenca, a small colonial city in the southern part of the country, where we spent 5 days. Cuenca was way more up our alley than Quito. It is much more quaint and quiet than Quito, with a beautiful river running through town and plenty of amazing and cheap restaurants. It feels more like a European city than anywhere else we’ve been, and it is obvious why Cuenca is gaining popularity as a retirement location for foreigners (primarily U.S. ex-pats).<br />
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Last Friday, we took a bus from Cuenca to our final destination before returning to the U.S. for the holidays…Vilcabamba. Since we don’t plan to do any more travelling for the next month, we’ll have plenty of time to dedicate an entire post to the sheer awesomeness of Vilcabamba and how much we love it here. For now, I will suffice it to say that there are multiple hiking trails literally right outside of our door, and a river about 5 minutes from our cabin that we have made it a point to take a dip in almost every day this week. The center of town is small and quaint, with multiple organic grocery stores and farmers’ markets. The area is full of people like us who came here for a vacation and never left. Don’t worry mom and dad, we’re coming home, but if this town existed in the U.S. we would move here in a heartbeat.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuxW6UUMu8Mvw1NO_cw89HSVoM9x0szqZ2tvyDqkR3oFe7wYXKFjz6NCX8o4KbSwBD9hRp-mLbLEw4av9nQFKalUD211fOLiOrbvD8TdtprplSEDKUQFNzGMpg1QVmRFjv2NEUFn3YgI/s1600/view+from+a+hike.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuxW6UUMu8Mvw1NO_cw89HSVoM9x0szqZ2tvyDqkR3oFe7wYXKFjz6NCX8o4KbSwBD9hRp-mLbLEw4av9nQFKalUD211fOLiOrbvD8TdtprplSEDKUQFNzGMpg1QVmRFjv2NEUFn3YgI/s640/view+from+a+hike.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of the many spectacular views just a short hike outside of our door</td></tr>
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That’s all for now, but hopefully our next post will have a picture of a beautiful waterfall that is about a two hour hike from our cabin. We’ve already tried to find it 3 times, and yes, I blame the lack of Ecuadorian signage and maps. Luckily what Ecuador lacks in logistics, it makes up for in beauty. </div>
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- Brian<br />
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PS – I feel like I ragged on Ecuador a lot in this post. But I must say that the only way we made it to Quilotoa was due to the friendliness, patience, and helpfulness of all of the Ecuadorians along the way who were kind enough to point us in the right direction. Ecuador, I hope you know I love you. Have I ever told you about how much I love your almuerzos? And have you lost weight?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-67641920783977557682013-10-31T11:51:00.000-05:002013-12-19T12:16:56.017-06:00Save the Rainforest!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We recently returned from a visit to the Cuyabeno Reserve, one of the deep Amazon rainforest areas that is accessible to tourists. Ecuador continues to amaze me in how incredibly diverse one small country (about the size of Colorado) can be. We boarded a flight in cold, dry Quito and stepped off the plane 30 minutes later in what felt like a steam room. I've never been anywhere so humid (and I'm from the midwest/worked in Houston). <br />
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To help illustrate, let me explain that we were visiting the Amazon in the middle of the "dry season", although that's a complete misnomer, and maybe they should have gone with "slightly less wet season". It poured - absolutely poured - every single day we were there. We hiked in knee-high rubber boots which *almost* always protected our lower bodies from the enormous puddles of mud and water pooling everywhere. One area we hiked through for several hours is apparently a "flooded forest" that is actually underwater six months of the year. </div>
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Having hiked the entire Appalachian Trail for five and a half months, weathering tornadoes, snow, wind, ran, hail, and a storm that killed two people in Virginia, I like to think that we have a pretty solid level of familiarity with the awesome power of mother nature. Hearing the thunder in the Amazon, however, was a new and amazing experience. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually said the words "It sounds like the Rainforest Cafe!".<br />
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A short plane ride, a two hour bus ride, and a two hour canoe ride later, we arrived at our rustic lodge on "Laguna Grande", or the big lake. From there, we spent four days exploring the rainforest by foot and canoe. We spotted caiman (like alligators), six different species of monkeys, a sloth, Amazonian pink river dolphins, and toucans (and countless wacky bugs and frogs). One couple in our group had the thrill of seeing a giant anaconda soaking up sun on a tree branch, which we missed out on, although there's still no way I was going swimming in that lake. </div>
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We visited the rainforest at a controversial time in Ecuador, as oil drilling has recently started in the Yasuni Reserve, one of the most unique and biodiverse places on this plant. There are more species of insects in one hectare of land in Yasuni than exists in the entire continent of North America. There are also indigenous tribes living there that voluntarily have no contact with the outside world and have killed missionaries and other indigenous people who try to contact them or inadvertently get too close. </div>
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In our two months of sitting around dinner tables at hostels and lodges with Ecuadorians, we've gotten a taste of how passionate people are about the Yasuni issue and the current President Rafael Correa's handling of it. Correa started his presidency with huge improvements to the country's poverty rates, healthcare systems, education, and crime rates. He also put forward what many considered a groundbreaking proposal surround the Yasuni Reserve, which sits atop billions of dollars worth of crude oil. For a poor but quickly developing country like Ecuador, where oil accounts for more than a third of public revenues, tapping into these oil reserves is almost irresistible. </div>
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In 2007, Correa proposed to international leaders that if he could raise $3.6B (about half of what Ecuador stands to make by drilling for oil in Yasuni), Ecuador would refrain from allowing drilling. The money raised would go into research and development of sustainable energy sources. Since then, only a fraction of the money has been pledged, and meanwhile, the drilling starts. More than one Ecuadorian has told us they cried when they heard the news that the oil companies were moving forward. Many others have criticized that the initial proposal was meant to garner support for Correa, and never meant to succeed. </div>
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Since Correa took office in 2006, he has taken drastic steps to increase his power, and some Ecuadorians fear that he is creeping steadily toward dictatorship. He has changed the constitution several times to oust opposition in congress and increase the number of terms he can serve (he's now in his third). In a series of battles with the press, he has ejected editors, closed newspapers, and filed lawsuits for crimes like "spreading false information" for criticism of his administration. Some Ecuadorians have told us that recently, they are most upset that he has prohibited peaceful protests through his control of the police and military. </div>
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So, unfortunately, you and I may never live to see the Yasuni reserve, a sad fact over which many Ecuadorians are understandably highly emotionally-charged. There are probably unknown species of birds, frogs, and insects there today that will never be discovered. And after witnessing the beauty and life of the Cuyabeno reserve last weekend, that makes me really, really sad. If I could have planned our time here over again, I would have sacrificed some sanity and squeezed in a trip to Yasuni. I feel your pain, Ecuador. </div>
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And now on a brighter note, I'll leave you with some pictures of this stunning place - enjoy!</div>
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Kelly</div>
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PS: If you're interested in learning more, here's a great <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/125-yasuni-national-park/wallace-text" target="_blank">National Geographic article</a> (credit for finding it to my Dad!) on the Yasuni crisis.</div>
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PPS: If you're interested in donating to help protect the rainforest, Rainforest Trust (www.rainforesttrust.org) is a wonderful organization and Brian and I will be donating our Honeyfund charity gifts from our wedding there, in honor of our love of all things outdoors.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKRskw-UkSU79rhgdKUnQkFRaVQaJDYajP8EtTFkWFUwj-ZG9V8cGetsSy1Nyqm3-AILKjGKGrR4YweSjvQd_TxFr9n6ldk-v9BkZeoDwg3Lv-W4Vntg0bejs3jLxNXBI6-NAkLbiHnvl/s1600/IMG_1567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKRskw-UkSU79rhgdKUnQkFRaVQaJDYajP8EtTFkWFUwj-ZG9V8cGetsSy1Nyqm3-AILKjGKGrR4YweSjvQd_TxFr9n6ldk-v9BkZeoDwg3Lv-W4Vntg0bejs3jLxNXBI6-NAkLbiHnvl/s400/IMG_1567.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles and miles of this in all directions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree frog hanging out on one of our hikes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_J7Rbk9Jlf0ieRPh4ztBINx4cSKAlKo1vi8oyk7R-m8_ZdCO9h2FnWdOILddm5xwzFyLMpk-fpniSMcv48B9FjlJsLPTK4JRSh4hpoSoSn7QbjS-dkWGjR6S6hkynTbloIHDWjXpu_suV/s1600/IMG_1619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_J7Rbk9Jlf0ieRPh4ztBINx4cSKAlKo1vi8oyk7R-m8_ZdCO9h2FnWdOILddm5xwzFyLMpk-fpniSMcv48B9FjlJsLPTK4JRSh4hpoSoSn7QbjS-dkWGjR6S6hkynTbloIHDWjXpu_suV/s400/IMG_1619.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The knee-high rubber boots in action. One couple in our group fell off the submerged log that Brian is standing on and got sucked into mud up to their knees. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiAC3jeQNk5yUR273kPct23aP9Ifzqq_JpgOE_ON2JZ1Uw7Vau689juB-Cads3mcaNpCWYdowlWHNoRZTq-vTyFl8uZbIX9Ntx_sbJSWHsJSMMHb870g3L7QTqMwxJgsyW71gcQQ8BDZ7/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiAC3jeQNk5yUR273kPct23aP9Ifzqq_JpgOE_ON2JZ1Uw7Vau689juB-Cads3mcaNpCWYdowlWHNoRZTq-vTyFl8uZbIX9Ntx_sbJSWHsJSMMHb870g3L7QTqMwxJgsyW71gcQQ8BDZ7/s400/IMG_1650.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome sunsets every night are just one of the many bonuses of all the clouds and rain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_j-L-rD1zCaXFnZkkwOoSX1aw1QS6IeQl-caYl6ItLJ4PaB9VJfl1cUnv1kTul1N4pqny04ouMJ-_VhPj4JDlbppZoxmb5ELLqj7ExDB7RmQ0tgkHtCv9i7qWSTebLvc1e2HSbX7c3D4/s1600/IMG_1669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_j-L-rD1zCaXFnZkkwOoSX1aw1QS6IeQl-caYl6ItLJ4PaB9VJfl1cUnv1kTul1N4pqny04ouMJ-_VhPj4JDlbppZoxmb5ELLqj7ExDB7RmQ0tgkHtCv9i7qWSTebLvc1e2HSbX7c3D4/s400/IMG_1669.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saki monkey (one of six species we saw from our canoe)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-GtE2Y8x-zcpF21My99TY6x1rQl5RWPOa0vQrsp1s11c17zhZuQPIOyQrTCYtwv1Edqik9_oGbpkbK5w93yfYFgZzo_DS4yfntGmi5uS-y9kG6ogc0VgJE5sXJGiAawXZammZ_Of5zTU/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-GtE2Y8x-zcpF21My99TY6x1rQl5RWPOa0vQrsp1s11c17zhZuQPIOyQrTCYtwv1Edqik9_oGbpkbK5w93yfYFgZzo_DS4yfntGmi5uS-y9kG6ogc0VgJE5sXJGiAawXZammZ_Of5zTU/s400/IMG_1715.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grating yucca as we learned how to make yucca bread from scratch with one of the indigenous tribes along the Cuyabeno River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80Z4p7qAQj1YV9nYpwA0cX3xAxiOA1T5WjrVr9fXe3lX5p5QGR_P9aGTpeMiJ3xO2XhoXyTqZeXc6Fm2hukPf36xAJ_vSjGXkXI5kVRTga-9MBsAld-mnDTtQMFg9ugEH2mNspolZBsF1/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80Z4p7qAQj1YV9nYpwA0cX3xAxiOA1T5WjrVr9fXe3lX5p5QGR_P9aGTpeMiJ3xO2XhoXyTqZeXc6Fm2hukPf36xAJ_vSjGXkXI5kVRTga-9MBsAld-mnDTtQMFg9ugEH2mNspolZBsF1/s400/IMG_1728.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All smiles grilling the yucca bread</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzrU0nAJs8haAJyWEybSvqzYgziwsJq3lte3spC1E9Iba3z6Dttfkg-j4cOcdxrP66MofeYEwt8UgkDTlJGCKC31staeX_GK3wSaBxmvXKwIpSda_BO7vvMP2MSrdtx8jbpxbcVJMQKhR/s1600/IMG_1745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzrU0nAJs8haAJyWEybSvqzYgziwsJq3lte3spC1E9Iba3z6Dttfkg-j4cOcdxrP66MofeYEwt8UgkDTlJGCKC31staeX_GK3wSaBxmvXKwIpSda_BO7vvMP2MSrdtx8jbpxbcVJMQKhR/s400/IMG_1745.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squirrel monkeys were the most common species of primates we saw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMFCZAS3aaMqUm_aklT0b3MKYZJfUce3S8E6ah6xrOjeOV_Jrp6JsIIv96qVrhuYyk2dXcg7nvnNZ50lIS5SFFJ_MHA5gojII4GBXQLGdshpIEd4RyUMY2Or0E5TdQ7IrqrJZEm7i0M-F/s1600/IMG_1791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMFCZAS3aaMqUm_aklT0b3MKYZJfUce3S8E6ah6xrOjeOV_Jrp6JsIIv96qVrhuYyk2dXcg7nvnNZ50lIS5SFFJ_MHA5gojII4GBXQLGdshpIEd4RyUMY2Or0E5TdQ7IrqrJZEm7i0M-F/s400/IMG_1791.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you tell that we're birding in this picture?</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-32473441342679924902013-10-24T18:17:00.002-05:002013-12-19T12:18:59.596-06:00Can you believe this ash-hole?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So you're going to think I'm just full of hot air, but last weekend* Kelly and I got to see an actual volcano erupt! We spent a long weekend in Banos, a beautiful city in central Ecuador known for its hot springs which are without question currently being peed in by at least 10 Ecuadorian children. You may gather that we didn't have the best experience at the hot springs, which are essentially warm, non-chlorinated, crowded public pools. But the real draw of this city for us was its natural beauty. Banos is home to more than 60 waterfalls, is known as the gateway to the Amazon (which we'll be hitting up in due time), and is located on the foothills of the very active Tungurahua volcano.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWD91HbdyY3oup2pHEyeEZVz-CmZMIR7wazA-G5rr1_YshAjkIdFRejTHu-7uDJXrLx3vOA-XP4hrDwfbyyzu0FZBWNnubrt-ThQx-ysD-6rGt7x1e1DUgw4F6m-fpN2c5QuBIUVaxhw/s1600/Ash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWD91HbdyY3oup2pHEyeEZVz-CmZMIR7wazA-G5rr1_YshAjkIdFRejTHu-7uDJXrLx3vOA-XP4hrDwfbyyzu0FZBWNnubrt-ThQx-ysD-6rGt7x1e1DUgw4F6m-fpN2c5QuBIUVaxhw/s400/Ash.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best picture due to the cloud cover, but that distinct black puff back there is volcanic ash.</td></tr>
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Our first day in town, we threw some snacks and rain gear into a pack and headed up the volcano. Throughout the day, we kept hearing what we assumed was thunder off in the distance. I joked to Kelly that maybe it was the inner rumblings of the volcano. We stopped for lunch at a small hostel/cafe/commune on the way back down the mountain, and just before our food arrived one of the locals popped his head in the door and motioned excitedly for us to come outside. He pointed up to the sky, and lo and behold there was a big black mushroom cloud of ash! After he did some explaining in the most basic Spanish possible for us gringos, we realized that the sound we had been hearing all day actually <i>was</i> the rumbling of the volcano. Apparently, the volcano has been fairly active since 1999, and once or twice a year it goes through eruptions of varying degrees. Luckily for us, this was just a very small eruption, and we were extremely thankful to be witnessing something so unique without being in danger.<br />
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Aside from volcano-viewing and pee-swimming, there is a ton to do in Banos. Most of it revolves around adventure sports like rafting, mountain-biking, zip-lining, and canyoning. We chose to do the latter two. Zip-lining over mountains, rivers, and waterfalls was obviously amazing, but for us, canyoning was the highlight of the trip. Canyoning is essentially repelling down waterfalls. For $30 per person, we were driven by a tour company out into the forest where there is a series of 3 waterfalls that are 50, 65, and 150 feet tall, respectively. I wanted to put an exclamation point there, but it just doesn't fit in after the word respectively. Not only was this an extremely beautiful setting, but we got to get right in the thick of it by donning wet suits and repelling down the waterfalls attached to a safety line. The 150 footer was admittedly a bit terrifying, but well worth the adrenaline rush that stuck with us for the rest of the day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuqZknKNovC1g7r_SM8Xrdb4e5SFEWrQ4XwHtRsdhjRKMYp9QGUsnCbQWWZy0tPOljSVUrJWIhfSsixqHiL9q9B2tBAhBBMFvx5UuFpIR1Iwz5INUOpw2gHpkC2I5yxH0Q9TjjITEAVo/s1600/ba%C3%B1os+de+ambato+357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuqZknKNovC1g7r_SM8Xrdb4e5SFEWrQ4XwHtRsdhjRKMYp9QGUsnCbQWWZy0tPOljSVUrJWIhfSsixqHiL9q9B2tBAhBBMFvx5UuFpIR1Iwz5INUOpw2gHpkC2I5yxH0Q9TjjITEAVo/s400/ba%C3%B1os+de+ambato+357.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 150 footer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWJ5IWwb68NPNDb1-TebUillcXvk5DSz_ws2V-ud0LV3JJB3VkwRMUEVBYCCby-Ssv4AmuSBQ7_8BaNqRQ30cs2YXU1SOSyrqbZesj5Ksoi3YBgkbumfejh2xYwADK3WvSB3mvqlAv_Q/s1600/Bear+in+the+water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWJ5IWwb68NPNDb1-TebUillcXvk5DSz_ws2V-ud0LV3JJB3VkwRMUEVBYCCby-Ssv4AmuSBQ7_8BaNqRQ30cs2YXU1SOSyrqbZesj5Ksoi3YBgkbumfejh2xYwADK3WvSB3mvqlAv_Q/s400/Bear+in+the+water.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No seriously, she's having a great time!</td></tr>
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As usual, Ecuador continues to amaze us and give us the opportunity to do incredible things at an extremely low cost compared to most other tourist destinations and the U.S. On the docket for the next two weekends...the cloud forest in Mindo and the Amazon rainforest, respectively!<br />
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*Editor's Note: I actually wrote this blog a week ago and forgot to post it, so Banos was two weekends ago, and we went to Mindo last weekend so we're a week behind. Which means we're going to the Amazon this weekend!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-24938607495890777612013-10-15T20:45:00.001-05:002013-12-19T12:22:04.738-06:00Ecuador in Pictures - Some Favorites!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been awhile since we've posted pictures, so I thought I would dedicate a post to some of our favorites so far (with a de-emphasis on my 500 pictures of Galapagos animals...you're welcome) . Ecuador is an incredibly beautiful and diverse place, and it's sometimes hard to describe it in words, so - photos will have to do. Enjoy!<br />
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Kelly<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q78QOe46ApzO3EbCNR7gNu6-KJ8vU9QRoppGceOOjsil7Pqr27KE6pzmbRYSdeY9Rm89vIGzUgl-s0tme4K1FeIycBWYVimMYlKL3UuFzzgig6zn5uounWC-7rpo9tOmEQ1Azoxt6BW5/s1600/IMG_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q78QOe46ApzO3EbCNR7gNu6-KJ8vU9QRoppGceOOjsil7Pqr27KE6pzmbRYSdeY9Rm89vIGzUgl-s0tme4K1FeIycBWYVimMYlKL3UuFzzgig6zn5uounWC-7rpo9tOmEQ1Azoxt6BW5/s640/IMG_0389.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun beginning to fade over Cumbaya Valley in Quito</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fx0_nsC8UmlB4s0G0W_VVPsBr8wNfTpLIl8vGQDXYB1aP2VWWN01dizNiEAdKVfwOBE3h0OjXslkW5Ysjoho2XP5iAeonlxcioh2zqZi41-MVtMGRxEERRy8n4S0KqjgRHW3dSXn9I8N/s1600/IMG_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fx0_nsC8UmlB4s0G0W_VVPsBr8wNfTpLIl8vGQDXYB1aP2VWWN01dizNiEAdKVfwOBE3h0OjXslkW5Ysjoho2XP5iAeonlxcioh2zqZi41-MVtMGRxEERRy8n4S0KqjgRHW3dSXn9I8N/s640/IMG_0497.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horses and tortoises grazing in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNToPtHzwHgL-A-pNFwwXFsq5darGCMDs7ABhE0Kl4d186otec0n3JlBnGGJM54S-YhNJSQRcLUy4fkmblmEwO2hyTFI8p99ragkBw4OwWl_AOSUfrY9-H7U29OoNDCsk3zg9l5XuRcAv/s1600/IMG_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNToPtHzwHgL-A-pNFwwXFsq5darGCMDs7ABhE0Kl4d186otec0n3JlBnGGJM54S-YhNJSQRcLUy4fkmblmEwO2hyTFI8p99ragkBw4OwWl_AOSUfrY9-H7U29OoNDCsk3zg9l5XuRcAv/s640/IMG_0518.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ecuadorians seem to love these like mini "scenes" and hang them up all over the place. I get it....they're pretty!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5p7v2OBxQNK2au2-RYNT965B1Yc6yf1BROaPovKfFSW8KNfZgPrdfB72-PBRIJERi3xsxTqE4LGYHeT4NGSQJkFOz680lx9MCBP26C2NBKSGWGrYhGXHyXCcy-xXxYXnTlHuGPXLTz8V/s1600/IMG_0530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5p7v2OBxQNK2au2-RYNT965B1Yc6yf1BROaPovKfFSW8KNfZgPrdfB72-PBRIJERi3xsxTqE4LGYHeT4NGSQJkFOz680lx9MCBP26C2NBKSGWGrYhGXHyXCcy-xXxYXnTlHuGPXLTz8V/s640/IMG_0530.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iguana food</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgec6GKaj8s9TxAJ-v0Y08fsCe7TkmHM9ch8p83yIM3PBfgSMFSPgpncdEWGS8tTHGmvAY7LJ7NAL_alUhXOGL4ytZgDEE45I4iOU4opzbGbUgKYG2aO_CuY2TVUbZxXJ6yeg0k1QY-XQF5/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgec6GKaj8s9TxAJ-v0Y08fsCe7TkmHM9ch8p83yIM3PBfgSMFSPgpncdEWGS8tTHGmvAY7LJ7NAL_alUhXOGL4ytZgDEE45I4iOU4opzbGbUgKYG2aO_CuY2TVUbZxXJ6yeg0k1QY-XQF5/s640/IMG_0544.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funky plant life on the Galapagos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTA_PQSSQJmgpxr7j5CyHj9RbhD_1KJ_LZSF1B0tMOOXFo6_dOy8t4ddK7KGKM8KSdXgLakHm27TvrK_2saStYh37MWYGXnXjlTDMxrEEhV7YSXQJGYi4iRGQlpxMpbIUGOVgClUFzL9p/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTA_PQSSQJmgpxr7j5CyHj9RbhD_1KJ_LZSF1B0tMOOXFo6_dOy8t4ddK7KGKM8KSdXgLakHm27TvrK_2saStYh37MWYGXnXjlTDMxrEEhV7YSXQJGYi4iRGQlpxMpbIUGOVgClUFzL9p/s640/IMG_0611.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea lion snoozing on the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTzhEyHfEJn-pHG4hULTjX6mFlxqvKVzYhxPCJw3FNdVRjh5S4KN6yrKbtH0hXFRQ4hOEaCKJHrk0IuJcOetrrPyFEiuiTeL5GCwImPsGDaikTZlrgFhZMNxGBmMxs0FCMa33XgiLwtM-/s1600/IMG_0620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTzhEyHfEJn-pHG4hULTjX6mFlxqvKVzYhxPCJw3FNdVRjh5S4KN6yrKbtH0hXFRQ4hOEaCKJHrk0IuJcOetrrPyFEiuiTeL5GCwImPsGDaikTZlrgFhZMNxGBmMxs0FCMa33XgiLwtM-/s640/IMG_0620.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My adorable husband :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHTuiKsJUke6up44vzJ6y6fYS52Glti-o82BLaVRP-qt4XJ4WaspgT79_zPnx52PsHEVy9VPpNBLLhMqYPmlIvqH6YkNCZIkt5oIjoRiLH92fCrQnxR5kKto3QA19xVXqtG_DtjVXUY2A/s1600/IMG_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHTuiKsJUke6up44vzJ6y6fYS52Glti-o82BLaVRP-qt4XJ4WaspgT79_zPnx52PsHEVy9VPpNBLLhMqYPmlIvqH6YkNCZIkt5oIjoRiLH92fCrQnxR5kKto3QA19xVXqtG_DtjVXUY2A/s640/IMG_0668.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lagoons and volcanoes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjdizTAv7_nYp86fH30fez7TrxTUQXLttxiDG1CDZodVsxomxdHFLtHqUWC03YTQqMrJ7JdqtTN0LKpLH0AMM2plPrzm9MMsddTB097mcNlhpHgPY_tPAta04ZfLqMcFIWjIWoVnThR_2/s1600/IMG_1069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjdizTAv7_nYp86fH30fez7TrxTUQXLttxiDG1CDZodVsxomxdHFLtHqUWC03YTQqMrJ7JdqtTN0LKpLH0AMM2plPrzm9MMsddTB097mcNlhpHgPY_tPAta04ZfLqMcFIWjIWoVnThR_2/s640/IMG_1069.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset boat ride</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaGZLXQFb4PWujdjxRjlJI_HTqmfXfG-Clfn205NHd5NdzIIOrIo8AXOGMNkJ8_oz6cUedNej_BFgVC5_TAPeJerWdEgKOuMEzSmPSwmmLanGgnVhCQto1PKsA_0TfVTi274qxMAirFZc/s1600/IMG_1092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaGZLXQFb4PWujdjxRjlJI_HTqmfXfG-Clfn205NHd5NdzIIOrIo8AXOGMNkJ8_oz6cUedNej_BFgVC5_TAPeJerWdEgKOuMEzSmPSwmmLanGgnVhCQto1PKsA_0TfVTi274qxMAirFZc/s640/IMG_1092.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian and I watching the sunrise in the Galapagos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLleHJDCpr9FRgt4gh4owtp3Zt6-td4nuY7-nrc8yoyey8fRxblKMzEP6c9V2D6mKkQX1m4m3qkN2eojmb8YUOAj-o5T287VHRuYB2aeA5YyKi82d-aS-3_bhLueUWDzudUqy0xhtU9Ac/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLleHJDCpr9FRgt4gh4owtp3Zt6-td4nuY7-nrc8yoyey8fRxblKMzEP6c9V2D6mKkQX1m4m3qkN2eojmb8YUOAj-o5T287VHRuYB2aeA5YyKi82d-aS-3_bhLueUWDzudUqy0xhtU9Ac/s640/IMG_1103.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I *think* this is a flower that blossoms on the cotton trees in the Galapagos. But I could be wrong.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O5_bdKPNsdyt8c-UCcup8dTr18sI4ebXcfYPJzYmFIVwFmESAuI8mjwC4dHUG1Cc6ZtsVzRyu7GDCuRLdl_6IC5RxkyiShV9ZXggIp4gaYMfabfJjFRwTk75_ER31YRgQaWqv4f-mHda/s1600/IMG_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O5_bdKPNsdyt8c-UCcup8dTr18sI4ebXcfYPJzYmFIVwFmESAuI8mjwC4dHUG1Cc6ZtsVzRyu7GDCuRLdl_6IC5RxkyiShV9ZXggIp4gaYMfabfJjFRwTk75_ER31YRgQaWqv4f-mHda/s640/IMG_1109.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this pictures - fond memories of our friends from the Galapagos trip!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkopTnbpWtLA-qGHr98wFe5OQpspuVfqGTWEqAee2FNbmqaI_pgk_rCtQiRsSqeQqq4ShqyMt-MuWiNLlIJ9IG-oNMvtZRtJMwBetmJRRx-oQog0Xc34VNMDHAPa-dlCB3ULbu_9xvgew/s1600/IMG_1231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJkopTnbpWtLA-qGHr98wFe5OQpspuVfqGTWEqAee2FNbmqaI_pgk_rCtQiRsSqeQqq4ShqyMt-MuWiNLlIJ9IG-oNMvtZRtJMwBetmJRRx-oQog0Xc34VNMDHAPa-dlCB3ULbu_9xvgew/s640/IMG_1231.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayak with a Magnificent Frigate Bird in the background</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJJc3uf-fH3RRPUoOm4LrkSpWBS9m3DocdwG-EQqkuOKgIJ0nDBf-aUA9-dFRVDzKq_HpzVQsD7v48d6iOLXIJ5_zPZ01QWqWL4fRwZjeE7W63RsY73xnlZmBMCBreKsivrzXiGE9894f/s1600/IMG_1297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJJc3uf-fH3RRPUoOm4LrkSpWBS9m3DocdwG-EQqkuOKgIJ0nDBf-aUA9-dFRVDzKq_HpzVQsD7v48d6iOLXIJ5_zPZ01QWqWL4fRwZjeE7W63RsY73xnlZmBMCBreKsivrzXiGE9894f/s640/IMG_1297.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lava Cactus (and some lava)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX-eLGJlpa7xaMXCe9O47tV5PPqGb6Bia7XnspMtP7u9vTuxm9sEdmoLTFP0kczPlCHRKcCPOa1X-nkEAVAOy_dwPUcA_c0RmQuo74mMt4K8B-KVOYQo91ovHOvsI4pCIRRL4jw6dxm5Z/s1600/IMG_1375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX-eLGJlpa7xaMXCe9O47tV5PPqGb6Bia7XnspMtP7u9vTuxm9sEdmoLTFP0kczPlCHRKcCPOa1X-nkEAVAOy_dwPUcA_c0RmQuo74mMt4K8B-KVOYQo91ovHOvsI4pCIRRL4jw6dxm5Z/s640/IMG_1375.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skeleton of an unlucky Flightless Cormorant in the Galapagos. I love this pictures because to me, it represents the havoc that the warm El Nino current wreaks on the Galapagos by destroying the rich marine life there that so many of the animals depend on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDcDCPxnbdQthCB7JqsmnzRwZWNpHWMNQfbb1DO4KEoXaGQvUHMBWr9QIpk3L0HJeyXbT0UylKhp4rtgxnPcpPxibu3BP3w6y0e3-_zmi6XjdUkOUXgkZ22F604V13Ht3vKgP4NZt13or/s1600/IMG_1484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDcDCPxnbdQthCB7JqsmnzRwZWNpHWMNQfbb1DO4KEoXaGQvUHMBWr9QIpk3L0HJeyXbT0UylKhp4rtgxnPcpPxibu3BP3w6y0e3-_zmi6XjdUkOUXgkZ22F604V13Ht3vKgP4NZt13or/s640/IMG_1484.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some old married people</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrS4ss_9WeHN5SxEBpQjYG9nURNMOZQgmnvs3CRCR1XutlhMghLLzdBKk5Tu5OSTTuNMglwnwZZgYtz-W3FkI67YMcxOieRtYEiPGXwD9qQhHGiJNVfb11jB7Xv5-Y_Kd95SFnNVHjkuv/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrS4ss_9WeHN5SxEBpQjYG9nURNMOZQgmnvs3CRCR1XutlhMghLLzdBKk5Tu5OSTTuNMglwnwZZgYtz-W3FkI67YMcxOieRtYEiPGXwD9qQhHGiJNVfb11jB7Xv5-Y_Kd95SFnNVHjkuv/s640/IMG_1510.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset over the ocean</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XNXxFdzoy4Q0GD96xz7F3nl0CPFquXYygNhJqMe7WHc_JyVAkxzQV_iovSk-wkIF9aOpC4fd9hj6asVPAuwIyI5_kOWtbaAMStP-OcjFr8OEw-hlLnOln7JSCaTTXhxr5DYFiohLdB-c/s1600/photo+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XNXxFdzoy4Q0GD96xz7F3nl0CPFquXYygNhJqMe7WHc_JyVAkxzQV_iovSk-wkIF9aOpC4fd9hj6asVPAuwIyI5_kOWtbaAMStP-OcjFr8OEw-hlLnOln7JSCaTTXhxr5DYFiohLdB-c/s640/photo+(4).JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers in Quito's botanical gardens (which we have visited not once, but twice!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWymjzplNlajcL31sLUDxNHiqzA4wj9fOBwdV5k_iW8bOu64N1UufmdF_lygcHdzYmtO9gM84LKbIvF3hMzBlSW3Ewxe_kxQGyrBY2dcMgl5AVaUy0eGx4tRNvStEjAjmIhwNDBOQppeX/s1600/photo+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWymjzplNlajcL31sLUDxNHiqzA4wj9fOBwdV5k_iW8bOu64N1UufmdF_lygcHdzYmtO9gM84LKbIvF3hMzBlSW3Ewxe_kxQGyrBY2dcMgl5AVaUy0eGx4tRNvStEjAjmIhwNDBOQppeX/s640/photo+(5).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The race track in Ibarra where our hosts, Jose and Ana, took us for a festival in which people chase a man dressed as Zoro (on horses) and try to grab his cape for a prize. Not a joke!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1b7WAJ1OQ54q07oX6BZPpJ-EMJwmiugpMmSFiWPGRYJwT6CVV2sWD_NiLp1CWDd1tkhPnUq6YWiAQt65xLg2cAI8ERHWJZgao0shD3fUQZS8P-vQTB8e7JzUiqwpagKIdgZlO8eVpc10/s1600/photo+(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1b7WAJ1OQ54q07oX6BZPpJ-EMJwmiugpMmSFiWPGRYJwT6CVV2sWD_NiLp1CWDd1tkhPnUq6YWiAQt65xLg2cAI8ERHWJZgao0shD3fUQZS8P-vQTB8e7JzUiqwpagKIdgZlO8eVpc10/s640/photo+(6).JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of La Plaza Grande in old town Quito, where there is literally ALWAYS a political gathering. The Presidential Palace is the long white building in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobKFJEF0nIZEcOBRsJbxDuJG_Hsppa9ANnQWIcPbXnx6ti2pFNRLejqV65F1nU1m5lEe-L4Y7ay4Ah6QLFDjq9CaCstjvUUQqydMwcAj014YHOlg49THRfZSw96ZOpEgxvguqrrZCHC5P/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobKFJEF0nIZEcOBRsJbxDuJG_Hsppa9ANnQWIcPbXnx6ti2pFNRLejqV65F1nU1m5lEe-L4Y7ay4Ah6QLFDjq9CaCstjvUUQqydMwcAj014YHOlg49THRfZSw96ZOpEgxvguqrrZCHC5P/s640/photo+(7).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our bedroom of the volcano Pichincha</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmnazYPP-dIqyvn66I8VGd-nZINte0wQ_lHEMFMdxn7sQTDpKtdRk3NWPS-OuAjeQZYO6cnKMmBBJImSz42Jc7eNc3-Pwv0XpYyV79IJTKLHCYH5j0vs4uTePC513N4AmAXzRqtOFGRD7/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmnazYPP-dIqyvn66I8VGd-nZINte0wQ_lHEMFMdxn7sQTDpKtdRk3NWPS-OuAjeQZYO6cnKMmBBJImSz42Jc7eNc3-Pwv0XpYyV79IJTKLHCYH5j0vs4uTePC513N4AmAXzRqtOFGRD7/s640/photo+(8).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Banos from the San Francisco bridge. You can participate in "puenting" (puente means "bridge" in Spanish) by jumping off in a harness. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvHqPAzqHF9vdOrWOm3MpEeqEGEI2qc8taEXPkxLwkn8lr25sejjMvt-ZgCIWRR5XANX_SQP9OddA-wirwrIUhzgtISPqr2UJIle0Zq0l2VSdKJQBuCuiUV0ktWW0_WILeTLz1BLF7lyy/s1600/photo+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvHqPAzqHF9vdOrWOm3MpEeqEGEI2qc8taEXPkxLwkn8lr25sejjMvt-ZgCIWRR5XANX_SQP9OddA-wirwrIUhzgtISPqr2UJIle0Zq0l2VSdKJQBuCuiUV0ktWW0_WILeTLz1BLF7lyy/s640/photo+(9).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic view of Banos from our hike up the volcano</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHLXIHZdDSAnjs_7R9aRin5JLu_NgdSi9bBeyLmhNHhXsd-IJO5xVUMX0SPx4c9jMj-V2kPIhgeM6eZy94PR6NbughmveIQfDUf2ujtfCyIOP7AS_QfAszEUFXaQQ1Xp0gBXN_YvZ1WEr/s1600/PA040459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHLXIHZdDSAnjs_7R9aRin5JLu_NgdSi9bBeyLmhNHhXsd-IJO5xVUMX0SPx4c9jMj-V2kPIhgeM6eZy94PR6NbughmveIQfDUf2ujtfCyIOP7AS_QfAszEUFXaQQ1Xp0gBXN_YvZ1WEr/s640/PA040459.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Quito and beyond from our hike up the volcano Pichincha<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaOfKpr7LsUvbDFZ8oEOnplpEwwSq_rwqCpxP4rxiUWVzXZ98hU9Bw70nXgctIPofocTfRIHw-Heove34wFkQjhyphenhyphenOuUDTCvdqSjnuDrtizqVIKACGLBrlq-I-WAD-LP0XzKTZ4Y1AVUX7/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaOfKpr7LsUvbDFZ8oEOnplpEwwSq_rwqCpxP4rxiUWVzXZ98hU9Bw70nXgctIPofocTfRIHw-Heove34wFkQjhyphenhyphenOuUDTCvdqSjnuDrtizqVIKACGLBrlq-I-WAD-LP0XzKTZ4Y1AVUX7/s640/photo+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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View from our hike up the Tungurahua volcano in Banos<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbTgnJzX9eOqmGxL3f51-ZE74AY7JLewkNrzSojRslaL6CG6CM8F5VC92HMElZ0e0VKR2_2cI4tsivbE3rHZvYHZglL4nt_8bA_5jM_gFX10Jijz3Xiw5wDWU0N8eIoREdQ_0TcUjLn2G/s1600/PA040463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbTgnJzX9eOqmGxL3f51-ZE74AY7JLewkNrzSojRslaL6CG6CM8F5VC92HMElZ0e0VKR2_2cI4tsivbE3rHZvYHZglL4nt_8bA_5jM_gFX10Jijz3Xiw5wDWU0N8eIoREdQ_0TcUjLn2G/s640/PA040463.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely alpine flora on the hike up the volcano Pichincha</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-58221723604328311772013-10-10T13:20:00.000-05:002013-12-19T12:24:05.783-06:00The Price is.....Weird: The Random Costs of Living in Ecuador<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whether we are getting together with our gringo friends or getting to know the locals, one of the most popular topics of conversation here is the cost of living. The reason this is so fun to talk about is that, compared with what we are used to in the US, prices here are really wacky (in either direction). This post is dedicated to a complete non-expert's unofficial observations on the Ecuadorian economy from a gringo's point of view.<br />
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Let's start off with the list of things that are randomly, abhorrently expensive here:</div>
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<li>Sunscreen - $25 for a small 4-5 oz. bottle</li>
<li>Liquor - $80 for a small bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label</li>
<li>Electronics - $1200 for an iPhone5 (yikes....guess I need to be careful about flashing those bad boys around....)</li>
<li>Ecuadorian chocolate - $9/bar</li>
<li>Touristy Travel - a week long trip to the Galapagos Islands can easily cost around $4000/person</li>
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Ecuador also has some very interesting trade relationships with other countries. Many items I expected to be cheap, because they are grown here in Ecuador or in nearby countries (coffee, chocolate, wine), are actually really expensive. While the backbone of Ecuador's economy is built upon exporting raw goods (chiefly oil, bananas, seafood, gold, and flowers), they don't do a lot of processing of those raw goods, so many things have to leave Ecuador and be imported back in at a higher cost. </div>
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The locals also tell us that the current President is all about making Ecuador more reliant on domestic business, so many imports are highly taxed. Because of this, what we as American's bring into Ecuador is highly scrutinized - one computer, phone, etc. per person. We even know a woman whose parents shipped her a box of clothes that was confiscated by customs and sold off, because apparently you can only bring in the clothes that will fit in your suitcases. They don't want people smuggling in these foreign items that are so expensive here to sell for profit (e.g., iphones, American-brand clothes). </div>
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And then, there's the list of things that are unbelievable cheap:</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Cabs - $2 can get you anywhere you want to go</li>
<li>Fresh meat/seafood (from the markets) - $2.5/pound fresh shrimp.....and Kelly's in heaven!</li>
<li>Fresh produce - You can always buy a bag of 25 oranges for a dollar on the street. What???</li>
<li>Public Transportation - buses in Quito are 25 cents without exception; long- distance, cross-country buses are $2-4 each way</li>
<li>Restaurants - there is a ridiculous number of decent (not amazing....just decent) restaurants that sell a four course lunch for $2-4. But that's all I will say about that, since Brian has already laid claim to a blog post fully dedicated to "almuerzo" (lunch).</li>
<li>The Help - private housekeeping costs between $10-20 per day. PER DAY.</li>
<li>Beer - there are about four types of local beer here, and they all cost about $4/six pack and $2 each at a decent bar/restaurant. Side note - they are all equally bad. </li>
<li>Gas - $1.40/gallon....not helping with your traffic problem, Quito!</li>
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The item from that list that has taken a lot of getting used to for us is private housekeeping. For the month of October, we are subletting a room in a 3 bedroom apartment in downtown Quito from a local couple. Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, they have a housekeeper come from around 8 am - 5 pm, and she spends the day cooking and serving elaborate breakfasts, lunches (each meal complete with fresh squeezed juice of some variety), packing up leftovers for dinners, doing the grocery shopping, doing the laundry, and excessively cleaning the entire apartment from top to bottom. While this has been wonderful, it's hard not to feel guilty and lazy when you feel like everything is being done for you. But in our hosts' eyes, it is a win-win situation; the housekeeper has steady, well-paying work and they get taken care of to the max. </div>
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After all is said and done, Ecuador is a country where you can definitely choose to live on the very-cheap, which is one reason for the large (and increasing) number of American ex-pats retiring here. Our own financial goal is to break even and completely fund our travel through Brian's remote, part-time work (my full-time job is comprised of grocery shopping, cooking, planning all of our travel, and being less awful than Brian at Spanish). After we see how these first few months shake out, I'll dedicate a post to our traveling budget, tips for traveling on the cheap, and the lessons we're learning along the way. </div>
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Until then - hasta luego amigos!</div>
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Kelly</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-1729861150678309792013-10-02T18:44:00.000-05:002013-12-19T12:28:55.863-06:00Turtle Recall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After coming down from the high that was the Galapagos Islands, and reviewing our 500 pictures of turtles, it's time to reflect upon the honeymoon.<br />
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Up until a few months ago, all I knew about the Galapagos Islands was that Chuck Darwin hung out there for awhile, studied some wildlife, and subsequently developed the theory of evolution. It never occurred to me that the islands were a place that people could actually go visit until we started researching Ecuador and realized that a trip to this exotic location was actually in the realm of possibility. We're considering this entire Ecuadorian/South American adventure an extended honeymoon, but since it's not everyday that we have the opportunity to prove to ourselves that something called a blue-footed booby actually exists, we decided to treat ourselves to a honeymoon within a honeymoon and booked an 8 day Galapagos cruise.<br />
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Booking the trip was a little bit stressful as there are a lot of different cruise options, and even the cheapest ones are pretty pricey. Luckily, since September is considered the off season, we were booking very last minute, and we were already in Ecuador, we were able to book a cruise on a beautiful 16 person motor yacht for nearly half price. Don't get me wrong, the amount we paid was still high enough to cause beads of sweat to accumulate on my ever-growing brow, but somewhere between snorkeling with playful sea lion pups and witnessing a Magnificent Frigatebird inflate it's red throat pouch to the size of a birthday balloon in the hopes of attracting a mate (I'll spare you the intimate details, but he succeeded), I decided that the price tag was more than justified.</div>
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A trip to the Galapagos is essentially a journey back in time to when your elementary science classes had you telling your parents that you wanted to be a marine biologist, geologist, or veterinarian when you grew up. It's impossible not to be excited by what you see and learn in this magical place. I'll get into the science of it all in a moment, but the main selling points of the trip include wildlife that is literally unfazed by your presence meaning you can get closer than you would ever imagine, exotic and downright weird species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, and other-worldly volcanic landscapes that give you a pretty good idea of what it would be like to walk on Mars.</div>
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The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador and are situated on a hot spot of volcanic activity. The islands are actually the tips of numerous volcanoes that are constantly being created and shifted slightly east towards the South American coast. Therefore, the eastern islands are the oldest, and the western islands are relatively new in geological terms. The word "new" has a slightly skewed meaning in a place where the maximum lifespan of the tortoises cannot be exactly pinned down due to the fact that whoever decides to start keeping track will inevitably die well before the tortoise. The islands were essentially created by magma bubbling out of the earth's crust underwater, hardening into solid land and gradually forming these gigantic volcanoes. Since the islands essentially just appeared on their own and didn't break off from the mainland, it is expected that the distant evolutionary cousins of the native wildlife somehow got blown off course to these islands and adapted into an entirely new species in order to survive in this strange, volcanic landscape. </div>
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Basically, a really long time ago, a distant ancestor of the Marine Iguana was sleeping on his favorite beach-side log and woke up to realize that the log had drifted out to sea and he was now floating in the middle of the ocean without the evolutionary ability to swim. After convincing himself this was not a nightmare, he sucked it up, slowed down his metabolism, and survived the 600 mile impromptu raft ride to the Galapagos. Upon finding himself on a relatively desolate island largely covered in solidified lava rather than soil, he learned to eat cactus despite the uncomfortable sensation on the roof of his mouth (I learned a similar lesson with Captain Crunch cereal as a child), and taught himself to swim so he could eat algae off of the ocean floor. Each of the endemic species has a similar story. The Galapagos Penguin figured out how to keep himself cool enough to maintain his status as the only penguin living north of the equator. The Flightless Cormorant devolved in a way, losing the ability to fly in favor of the ability to dive deep into the nutrient rich waters for his meals. The Galapagos Blog Reader evolved to skip to the next paragraph once he started reading too many tedious details about animals that he had never heard of.</div>
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For any animal that could not fly or swim, the only way to get to the island was to hitch a ride on a piece of floating debris and stick out the 600 mile journey. Since mammals don't really have the ability to slow down their metabolism long enough to survive the journey, herbivorous reptiles are the largest land based species resulting in a lack of natural predators on the islands. The reason I'm still going on about all of this scientific mumbo jumbo is to provide an explanation for the fact that most animals in the Galapagos have no reason to be afraid of any other animal. There is no risk of being eaten. This ability to get up close and personal without activating any evolutionary alarm systems is what made the trip so incredible. We were able to watch the Marine Iguana and Flightless Cormorant eat algae off the ocean floor while we snorkeled only a couple of feet away. A curious adolescent sea lion found a way to board our boat and playfully posed for pictures before we had to shoo him away after he tried to enter the cabin.</div>
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Close encounters with animal species that we never even knew existed became part of the daily routine. Each morning and/or afternoon there was an excursion to a rocky, hardened lava landscape where we would get within feet of rare birds, 600 pound tortoises, or Marine Iguanas huddled in piles to keep themselves warm while periodically launching salt water out of their nostrils to cleanse themselves from their last underwater foraging excursion. The islands are also a hotbed of sea life due to a unique combination of ocean currents that brings nutrient rich deep ocean water to the surface. So when we weren't exploring the geological features and land-based wildlife, we were snorkeling so close to sea lions, giant sea turtles, sting rays, sharks, and penguins that we practically had to dodge them. </div>
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All in all, for two nature-loving newlyweds, the Galapagos was an absolutely ideal honeymoon. In the interest of brevity I won't go into the details of our guide, crew, and fellow passengers, but they also played a huge role in making our honeymoon absolutely perfect. I will say that there was one family on board the cruise that made a lasting impression on us. They had decided to take a year off work and home-school their children (ages 8 and 10) for a year so that they could travel around the world. This reassured us that there is always a way to make room for adventure in our lives. And judging by how intelligent, funny, and outgoing their children were...it's probably best for everybody to veer off the beaten path every once in awhile.</div>
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- Brian</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-10081054769677637432013-09-28T15:12:00.001-05:002013-12-19T12:39:35.408-06:00I've got.....500 PICTURES OF TURTLES!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've just returned from our week-long cruise in the Galapagos, and it was one of the most incredible places we've ever experienced. It's so magical that it's hard to describe with words, so we've decided to post some of our favorite pictures and let them do the talking for now. <br />
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A friend from our cruise (Aaron) starting singing "I got.....five hundred pictures of turtles" to the tune of "One Way Ticket to Paradise" about midway through our trip, and it's been in our heads ever since. Very relevant to our trip and hopefully we don't bore you with our five hundred pictures of [insert specific animal here].<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwlg_cD0AfE6MHFFtH8oQxbmwk5y75QmgW0bB7p8Fs1ceJ4VHBO6_WXRUL6YUw2CyVmYIijHauBeKTVapXTrGb7yuy6tUuGfVymfz2FmH6G8zGMDnFX9KUZdkLrkJjgHTzl9dzyYNCtsB/s1600/IMG_1452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwlg_cD0AfE6MHFFtH8oQxbmwk5y75QmgW0bB7p8Fs1ceJ4VHBO6_WXRUL6YUw2CyVmYIijHauBeKTVapXTrGb7yuy6tUuGfVymfz2FmH6G8zGMDnFX9KUZdkLrkJjgHTzl9dzyYNCtsB/s640/IMG_1452.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby sea lion.....pretty. stinkin. cute.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40e97d98zoT7c3COOU79vURapphkcwAzh70s9UXLHQHa2SDvNs2Fja95sYwGUGBZ96oXl6UTdfuW0OiJiO9Z1hfBuNpC9OCT9lNjijKQnkZMxUkwaWduQlrExLsWSXZj3-lp9z6Fwel_Z/s1600/IMG_0863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40e97d98zoT7c3COOU79vURapphkcwAzh70s9UXLHQHa2SDvNs2Fja95sYwGUGBZ96oXl6UTdfuW0OiJiO9Z1hfBuNpC9OCT9lNjijKQnkZMxUkwaWduQlrExLsWSXZj3-lp9z6Fwel_Z/s640/IMG_0863.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Pa hoi hoi lava formation happens when the surface hardens and liquid [hot] magma keeps running underneath. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWt5jIjX6mCq7RVgxgDTsh99rA3qYIid3Jgr7IqmzW7dlJao0Ncwn120FdxM0X13Pcs46SFb3fvDHEAtsILyU4B8SDKFRIqE-q7QdFN5q7daGRmHTOpNETSj6at7zHafvbp-Nf1lWuY8R/s1600/IMG_0986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWt5jIjX6mCq7RVgxgDTsh99rA3qYIid3Jgr7IqmzW7dlJao0Ncwn120FdxM0X13Pcs46SFb3fvDHEAtsILyU4B8SDKFRIqE-q7QdFN5q7daGRmHTOpNETSj6at7zHafvbp-Nf1lWuY8R/s640/IMG_0986.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue footed boobie (insert boobie jokes here)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_Y05nJh_3osmJFxvZPCFhrnhIsGFfZ7mepQxSxWnaGg5-hn0rPY24peqW4MDNRloWhk9a8U1UngTtcs2Ruxkgd3DOajnnK1bdNrKMLggeETV5tAHRYuymvD-Kv6bCM6XyL-p62e1tN4X/s1600/IMG_1044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_Y05nJh_3osmJFxvZPCFhrnhIsGFfZ7mepQxSxWnaGg5-hn0rPY24peqW4MDNRloWhk9a8U1UngTtcs2Ruxkgd3DOajnnK1bdNrKMLggeETV5tAHRYuymvD-Kv6bCM6XyL-p62e1tN4X/s640/IMG_1044.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Green Sea Turtle coming up for air. 500 underwater pictures of turtles coming soon.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKQC1V1W_FlTZqktKFHk0cFytPZQ3FfAMmAj9RSFM-7CYLMixFNKMBYhmq9P_oVyBbmF6xtelu0pJLfKQqbWm0FEVEHFWhAYHENKjFnndJUtSrrZvCOC3yMaQFz9k4L2rxeV9TYn4Mpk3/s1600/IMG_0949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKQC1V1W_FlTZqktKFHk0cFytPZQ3FfAMmAj9RSFM-7CYLMixFNKMBYhmq9P_oVyBbmF6xtelu0pJLfKQqbWm0FEVEHFWhAYHENKjFnndJUtSrrZvCOC3yMaQFz9k4L2rxeV9TYn4Mpk3/s640/IMG_0949.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryde's Whale off the bow of our yacht.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07QcmIYBm8wIw4IopEwO8LZKbs6FBuF0OoV2B851Ghthy0RUZic0dnlYnj2Q64ssl26p3t9eYrUuytWqwhWlRA-GRA4fMmmohbbuF10TwSp-oQpXOymFOr-HUpy6siLXyBSnhyphenhyphen9OmJF9a/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07QcmIYBm8wIw4IopEwO8LZKbs6FBuF0OoV2B851Ghthy0RUZic0dnlYnj2Q64ssl26p3t9eYrUuytWqwhWlRA-GRA4fMmmohbbuF10TwSp-oQpXOymFOr-HUpy6siLXyBSnhyphenhyphen9OmJF9a/s640/IMG_0403.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've got....one picture of a giant tortoise....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Z8MWhjza13gKgWp1o5sLOOMp7p7QL9stLgqGKmrpD_RX7Pf65ZPU6njP-HlYpY58SmK3ElmxrO1ltpicauOfkrrB07KHVLy4VBUDDtbPwp6Xc2x93Ta0oyk5qKMtRcAkOi_eg5n9Cl_N/s1600/IMG_0450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Z8MWhjza13gKgWp1o5sLOOMp7p7QL9stLgqGKmrpD_RX7Pf65ZPU6njP-HlYpY58SmK3ElmxrO1ltpicauOfkrrB07KHVLy4VBUDDtbPwp6Xc2x93Ta0oyk5qKMtRcAkOi_eg5n9Cl_N/s640/IMG_0450.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.......two pictures of a giant tortoise......</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Zfi4owFLjlxsq40e9uwhsezEVEPgFBJq3e_r24NY3fNh5CeVmLthlRvOmuxz9w0-Nh2Js2uQStlvodAq1LgX_2qvuVgf0h_D4_MdZpOq9PDRSXorj1gsjsBEg0LrSk0mfCbj9T8sSvSj/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Zfi4owFLjlxsq40e9uwhsezEVEPgFBJq3e_r24NY3fNh5CeVmLthlRvOmuxz9w0-Nh2Js2uQStlvodAq1LgX_2qvuVgf0h_D4_MdZpOq9PDRSXorj1gsjsBEg0LrSk0mfCbj9T8sSvSj/s640/IMG_1299.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marine Iguanas are only found in the Galapagos and are the only lizard in the world that swims. We snorkeled with these guys!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmupDFKAhDB8aNH-7rhvVuOilNpEZZTWY_4GClHJv_RHA5mwucOt3YkXr52I-WGKSypq6m2iPTuuaT9hw8tBJ4ksPAX1I0Pnhlhbw6clEP6ry2exDk8UOaxEt5MSNhxeHjGXu-dXFFmUv/s1600/IMG_0570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmupDFKAhDB8aNH-7rhvVuOilNpEZZTWY_4GClHJv_RHA5mwucOt3YkXr52I-WGKSypq6m2iPTuuaT9hw8tBJ4ksPAX1I0Pnhlhbw6clEP6ry2exDk8UOaxEt5MSNhxeHjGXu-dXFFmUv/s640/IMG_0570.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally light foot crabs are absolutely everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqmZmLqdOrKn8V7Mdr06ENM8zUxWowliRG6xB_TJCBEEXvOON7TMboAy3TyMt5TzI6hkPOv-EHHGP7GJWmdH3qHHqadZnyNZWHUC8h4vgMm6bamAnbOvyDIpstXRlWXlO9UIcXgtT4U_j/s1600/IMG_1108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqmZmLqdOrKn8V7Mdr06ENM8zUxWowliRG6xB_TJCBEEXvOON7TMboAy3TyMt5TzI6hkPOv-EHHGP7GJWmdH3qHHqadZnyNZWHUC8h4vgMm6bamAnbOvyDIpstXRlWXlO9UIcXgtT4U_j/s640/IMG_1108.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land Iguana....and that's all I have to say about that.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREjkhSExHR_v2D9kwRpzhly7klMGPl7n5rXfmwIG5XiL4IS55Eo5ZzEHl_w7ZtCn66albZuNpDiGxFbaKVEqsrAgvWekH58F2uJlGC8cz09vf1uXEh2m0ldszhdoc5PoQNZaccuhOhWUL/s1600/IMG_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREjkhSExHR_v2D9kwRpzhly7klMGPl7n5rXfmwIG5XiL4IS55Eo5ZzEHl_w7ZtCn66albZuNpDiGxFbaKVEqsrAgvWekH58F2uJlGC8cz09vf1uXEh2m0ldszhdoc5PoQNZaccuhOhWUL/s640/IMG_1247.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">This sea lion pup climbed the ladder onto our deck and even tried to get into the cabin! It's super hard to say no to a baby sea lion....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk3YMmhw8MCaFe3rAKrmhLbt7UQ67GzMn9i2XR_LXPmFLLEGUC6873-GVM-gIU-s5WzFocKe2LuYt1R0vTSax256q7vvGfxn_gwv0BQnI_wqono1S8Nt6xE-OR2VQoy5hqSnTAR0upiAg/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk3YMmhw8MCaFe3rAKrmhLbt7UQ67GzMn9i2XR_LXPmFLLEGUC6873-GVM-gIU-s5WzFocKe2LuYt1R0vTSax256q7vvGfxn_gwv0BQnI_wqono1S8Nt6xE-OR2VQoy5hqSnTAR0upiAg/s640/IMG_1486.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Landscape from the top of Bartolome Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RwPoTQieu1M20KL-cNREBxls4Q60bKukNCNM6hPgOj2fCWe66EBUXiqJIVrKjvUoVp9680L14F67UDxNuDcWsDXa_eD_-jNdM6UntIexZjpKLUF5_PM_wsbugNI2Y7W3NElJ_PeqXQhN/s1600/IMG_0788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RwPoTQieu1M20KL-cNREBxls4Q60bKukNCNM6hPgOj2fCWe66EBUXiqJIVrKjvUoVp9680L14F67UDxNuDcWsDXa_eD_-jNdM6UntIexZjpKLUF5_PM_wsbugNI2Y7W3NElJ_PeqXQhN/s640/IMG_0788.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Pelican fishing at sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our guide spotted a school of common dolphins while watching our last sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Galapagos Penguin....we swam with these as well but they were way too fast to get underwater pictures of! Pretty cool to see a penguin so close to the equator.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A school of Golden Cow Rays sailing on by</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lava lizards were also everywhere.....between that and the camouflage, you really have to watch your step</td></tr>
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That's all for now......expect more on the Galapagos to come soon! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-24889771541553316282013-09-19T16:37:00.000-05:002013-12-19T12:42:11.650-06:00Tempered Expectations - Our 0 Latitude Attitude <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="line-height: 150%;">“Blessed is he who expects nothing,
for he shall never be disappointed.” </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> -</span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: right; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: right; text-indent: -0.25in;">Alexander Pope</span></i></div>
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Here we are again, after a year-long hiatus from
blogging. It’s good to be back! It has been a busy year….after completing our
Appalachian Trail thru-hike, we took a cross-country road trip and then settled
back into the grind. It took us a few
months, but we both realized we weren’t going to be happy with our former
work/life situations. We took a life lesson
from our AT experience (it’s not as scary as it seems to make a life change), and worked out arrangements with our employers to work part-time and from
home, and we couldn't be happier with our new lifestyle. We prefer working to live over living to
work. We got engaged, and five months
later got hitched on the lake in my parents’ backyard in Minnesota. And here we are, on our
next adventure and extended luna de miel (honeymoon) exploring South
America. </div>
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Which brings me back to the quote above about
expectations. After talking to others
who had either been to Ecuador or they knew what Ecuador would be like, I felt
obligated to temper my expectations for our trip. I was prepared for Quito to be a confusing,
noisy, dirty, unsafe city. I was prepared to be constantly harassed by
vendors and beggars. I was prepared to
let go of the many comforts and luxuries I enjoy in the US. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All of those expectations have worked
out really well for us so far, because our trip has been wonderful. I am surprised at how modern Quito is, and
how similar it feels to Chicago.
It feels more like home to me than most of the European cities I’ve
visited. Brian and I joke that we feel
much less harassed here than we do on Clark and Diversey near our apartment in
Chicago (someone with a clipboard asks you if you “have 30 seconds for orphaned
children” or “care about precious and helpless animals” literally every time
you cross the street). From the
countdowns on traffic lights to the “SuperMaxi” grocery store, Quito feels more
modern than many places in the US (although take that with a grain of salt, as
we did spend 6 months last year in small Appalachian Mountain towns where
grocery stores are a luxury). Sure….the
driving is crazy and every once in awhile we’re charged a “gringo tax” because
we’re obviously foreigners (if you can’t tell by looking at us, you sure can
tell once we try to start speaking Spanish)…..but it’s all about expectations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In no particular order, here are some pictures to show some of our favorite things about Quito so far:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5VdCRq2-xaYwkrT2L2nfZWNF-6sMVw64VIKaVWS6XSOErRv75eb2KzyavxCh_aNwVPZ1fVvJbQPAzIyuafsD7x2Pqh1NANsgniyHgV-1mssMAxO1zOoJ1rEQZPvGj5bgGTlgw_hN6LF4/s1600/fishmarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5VdCRq2-xaYwkrT2L2nfZWNF-6sMVw64VIKaVWS6XSOErRv75eb2KzyavxCh_aNwVPZ1fVvJbQPAzIyuafsD7x2Pqh1NANsgniyHgV-1mssMAxO1zOoJ1rEQZPvGj5bgGTlgw_hN6LF4/s320/fishmarket.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are fantastic markets in Quito throughout the week where you can buy fresh produce, fish, meat, or dairy for incredibly cheap. At El Mercado Americano, fresh shrimp is $1.80/pound and ahi tuna is $2/pound. Needless to say, as seafood lovers we eat pretty well here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkRlGY9NM-zEd2rVoDeAMb2DGscg57AcounFS878zlA_K_OPl1GsiWUTXYLY1Tn9RuzJ85B8WsR8E-UteLIvnVVVhWvmELsUcy-PpVdvqNMZBIFSeFh4st98Fb-x6eS9fzcQyOcpumhFY/s1600/Warmilunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkRlGY9NM-zEd2rVoDeAMb2DGscg57AcounFS878zlA_K_OPl1GsiWUTXYLY1Tn9RuzJ85B8WsR8E-UteLIvnVVVhWvmELsUcy-PpVdvqNMZBIFSeFh4st98Fb-x6eS9fzcQyOcpumhFY/s200/Warmilunch.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Everywhere we go, there is delicious food for dirt cheap. Lunch consists of 2 - 3 courses and costs between $2 and $5. Here is course #2 of my locally sourced, organic lunch today. Bonus.....every lunch comes with fresh squeezed juice (today's was cantalope)! I maintain that South America is far superior to anywhere else in the world when it comes to juicing.<br /> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU8FryZ1_F0veipdpZEPniKfGmnH63OjRU4ezQ1jsiaNmc8lqo2xXEWNTuNLbT4opgulVu-Re7gHQ_CY_4i5R6OY4Z0UBVAby9AjcVCtXezvCv5pnP6AkeSkglhqrlOIWzb0VGqQBaMhl/s1600/IMG_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU8FryZ1_F0veipdpZEPniKfGmnH63OjRU4ezQ1jsiaNmc8lqo2xXEWNTuNLbT4opgulVu-Re7gHQ_CY_4i5R6OY4Z0UBVAby9AjcVCtXezvCv5pnP6AkeSkglhqrlOIWzb0VGqQBaMhl/s400/IMG_0389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At 9,350 feet above sea level, Quito is a mess of mountains, valleys, and volcanoes and everywhere you look there's a stunning view. Michael and Madison's apartment looks over the Cumbaya Valley where they work, and on a clear day you can see the snow-covered volcano Cayumbe in the background.</td></tr>
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Our arrival here has already
re-taught us lessons we learned on the trail about how gracious and kind people
everywhere can be. At our wedding, my
cousin Noah (some of you may remember his dance moves involving break-dancing
around his beer bottle) told me he had to introduce me to his friends Michael and Madison, who had just moved to Quito to teach in an international
school. Two weeks and a long Facebook
message-chain later, Michael meets us at a hotel near their apartment at 12:30
am on a Thursday (well….Friday morning), escorts us to their home, and gives us
the grand tour. Madison wakes up when we
get home and comes out to introduce herself.
They offer us a homecooked meal, show us the filtered water, hand us
their apartment keys and one of their cell phones, walk us through a map of
Quito, and tell us that they will call to check in on us tomorrow from work and
that we have dinner plans tomorrow evening.
We’ve spent the past week touring Quito together and getting to know
them, and are so grateful for their kindness in taking us in and making our
first week here so pleasant. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To the dismay of many, we came
to Quito without much of a plan (and no, that won’t change if you ask us a
second or third time). For us, this is a
sort of personal development exercise in learning to let go of details and open
ourselves to new opportunities. In our week staying with Michael and Madison, we’ve
found a beautiful two bedroom apartment with a lovely couple (Jose is from
Columbia, and Ana is a local “Quiteña”).
We will be renting their spare bed and bathroom for the month of
October. Brian will be working part-time
during the weeks, and this location will be our spring board to explore Quito
and take day/weekend trips to some of the surrounding areas. Toward the end of the month, we will decide if
we want to stay in Quito or move on – Cuenca, a slightly smaller, colonial
city with a large population of ex pats is another option and we may relocate
there for November. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Starting tomorrow, though, we
take our REAL luna de miel – a week long cruise through the Galapagos Islands
with a naturalist guide. As nature
lovers this is one of the highlights we are most looking forward to in South
America, and we wanted to get it in before Brian goes back to work in
October. We’ll be pretty much off the
grid for a week, but stay tuned for pictures!
And don’t worry….we bit the bullet and had the painfully awkward
conversation to buy an underwater camera in Spanish (una
camara…….para el aqua? Podemos poner
esta camara……en el aqua? Abajo el agua?”) so hopefully we’ll get some marine shots as well!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16718901259739955226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-51236968412264564102012-09-27T12:03:00.001-05:002013-12-19T12:44:41.994-06:00Katah-done<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Sorry to leave you hanging, readers. By now you've probably assumed that we have either finished the trail or fallen to our doom off the side of a mountain. Don't worry, the former is the correct assumption. On Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at around 11:45 AM, we reached out and touched the sign we've been dreaming about ever since we left Springer Mountain, GA on April 3rd. On a windy, foggy day that will most likely go down in history as the most exciting Tuesday of my life, we stood atop Mount Katahdin with 2,184 miles of invaluable experiences, life lessons, and friendships behind us. I now type this post from an air-conditioned apartment in Chicago. I'm wearing a clean(ish) pair of jeans, have a neatly trimmed beard of socially acceptable length, and have showered every day for the past week. It's good to be back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The last few days of the trail served as a very fitting end to our epic journey. The trail ends with a stretch of terrain known as the 100 mile wilderness - so named for the lack of any easy road access to civilization for approximately 100 miles. It's reputation for being isolated and remote tends to overshadow the fact that it may also be the most beautiful 100 miles of the entire trail. This combined with the perfect week of weather and the fact that all of our hard work put us in a position to finally ease up our pace made for a wonderful end to our journey. We were able to enjoy sunrises and sunsets in some of the most serene settings that nature has to offer, lose track of time gazing into waterfalls during our lunch breaks, and swim in pristine lakes so remote that I didn't have to think twice about anybody witnessing how embarrassingly long it took me to completely submerge myself into the ice cold water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The 100 mile wildeness reminded us of all of the things we'll miss about the trail - the sound of a cascading stream easing you to sleep, snack breaks with views of endless mountains, and the all encompasing beauty of nature. </span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, as you may have guessed from prior blog posts, there are plenty of things that we won't miss about the trail - relentless bugs, seemingly endless hours of hiking, the list goes on. It seems that most thru-hikers tend to have these sort of mixed emotions regarding the completion of the trail. There is a mingling of elation and relief that you have finally achieved your goal, nostalgia for all of the unique and wonderful experiences that can only be had on the trail, and a hint of regret rooted in the notion that maybe you didn't take enough time or create enough mental space to enjoy the trail as much as you could have. This leads me to my inevitable philosophical pondering of the last 5 and a half months. It's gonna get kind of deep in the next few paragraphs, so please save all eye-rolling and gagging until the end of the post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The most important lesson I learned on the trail can best be illustrated by our experience in the first few days of the 100 mile wilderness. </span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">For someone who has already spent the last 5 months living in the woods, a long stretch of trail without any access to civilization is only daunting for one reason - the lack of food. We carefully prepared for this by ordering backpacker meals and Cliff bars online weeks in advance. But as usual, we underestimated our hunger. We immediately found ourselves having to ration food and go to bed hungry just so we'd have enough food to get through the rest of the wilderness. I'm not going to lie, the fear of being hungry for a week weighed on my mind quite a bit. However, while doing our planning we seemed to overlook a wonderful oasis in the middle of the wilderness called White House Landing - a little lodge/grill that picks you up by boat and takes you to their property where they sell hot meals and assorted trail food. This little spot pretty much saved the day by allowing us the opportunity to restock our food supply and inhale a 16 ounce burger while sharing a few laughs with some other hungry hikers. On top of that, the only time it rained the entire week was while we were inside White House Landing chowing down on our burgers. We could not have asked for a better resolution to the food situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, this needless worrying only to have things turn out just fine in the end was a common refrain throughout the hike. The last thing that my roommate and good friend Matt said to me before Kelly and I began this adventure was, "Remember...the journey is the reward." When I reflect on this little nugget of wisdom, I find that it is perhaps the best advice anybody can give. It is not the final destination or some imagined moment in the future that is the path to joy, relief, and fulfillment. It is the journey. Specifically, it is the step of the journey that you are taking at this exact moment that provides the path to all that is truly good. There is no moment more critical to your joy and well-being then right now. In fact, if you really think about, right now is all you really have. The past no longer exists, and the future is not guaranteed. Yet we all have a tendency to think way too much about the past and future with undue nostalgia, regret, fear, or hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Right now you're probably thinking, "Jeez, I just wanted to know whether or not they ever saw a moose and now this guy is getting all spacey on me." I apologize, and for the record we never did see that stupid moose. But I feel the need to share what for me was the most important lesson of the trip. It is a lesson that I will constantly be re-teaching myself for the rest of my life. Time spent thinking about whether or not we would run out of food, whether we would make it to camp before dark, whether we would actually make it to Katahdin...it was all wasted time. It was time in which I ignored how beautiful the foliage was, how refreshing the cool breeze felt, and how great it was to spend so much time with Kelly free from all of our real world responsibilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">So from now on, anytime that </span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">I find myself ignoring the present moment in favor of some imagined future or idealized past, I will remind myself to focus on the now. That's where I will find everything I'll ever need. And when you think about it, focusing on the current step ain't bad advice for a guy who still struggles not to trip over the guylines. Hopefully, if I can keep focusing on the current step of my journey, I'll trip a bit less with every new adventure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">PS - Just because we finished the trail does not mean the blog fun has to end. We still have more to share regarding the final days of the trip, reflections on our experience, and commentary on transitioning back into the real world. So stay tuned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">PSS/Anecdote worth mentioning that didn't fit into my ultra-serious narrative above - Five and a half months ago at the top of Springer Mountain, GA we met another hiker named Andrew who was also beginning a thru-hike. We exchanged pleasantries and took him up on his offer to take our photo in front of the Springer Mountain sign. We saw him on and off for the next couple of days, and then he blew by us never to be seen again (or so we thought). More than 5 months later in a hostel in Monson, ME, the last town before the 100 miles wilderness, we walked in the door to see a familiar face in a bright yellow shirt that stuck out like a sore thumb on the trail back in Georgia. It was none other than Andrew, now going by the trail name Dayglo due to the aforementioned shirt. We were lucky enough to be on pace with Dayglo for the next 100 miles, and sure enough when we got to the top of Katahdin there he was waiting to take the photo you see on this blog post. The same guy that took our first trail photo in Georgia, took our last photo in Maine 2,184 miles later. What are the odds?</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-30121462264667308932012-09-11T06:17:00.003-05:002013-09-19T15:16:35.914-05:00The Maine Attraction<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnqsBS9SqAeXgHel9ykQZNYUDJx_0hkXDGowFnCRV42fTTQrRfV69gypVox7fEac2X5hk8y7fmqnPk9tBrkS2gWBw-29UF7xumFGwD7ZPC3oe2X2Dw_lC-kC-AiI-Ylrb7OlZcHQD0WY/s1600/stunning+lake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnqsBS9SqAeXgHel9ykQZNYUDJx_0hkXDGowFnCRV42fTTQrRfV69gypVox7fEac2X5hk8y7fmqnPk9tBrkS2gWBw-29UF7xumFGwD7ZPC3oe2X2Dw_lC-kC-AiI-Ylrb7OlZcHQD0WY/s320/stunning+lake.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our campsite on Moxie Pond in Maine</td></tr>
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In his last post, Guyline promised a report on the White Mountains and Maine, and by golly you're going to get one. But first, a few words on where we are today:<br />
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We are on the homestretch, friends. With 114 miles to go, all that stands between us and Katahdin is a great expanse of wood and lakes known as the 100 mile wilderness. Tomorrow we will throw six days of food and fuel over our sagging shoulders and the next time you hear from us, we will (hopefully) be done with the whole affair.<br />
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The last 300 miles or so have been hands down the most physically challenging of our trip. For northbounders, the White Mountains and southern Maine are built up over months of trail rumors and warnings from southbounders and section hikers. Nearly everyone tells hikers that the White Mountains of New Hampshire are the hardest and most beautiful section of the AT. Countless hikers have told us this is their favorite part of the trail. Not so for Bearcub and Guyline. I'm going to voice an opinion now that is a bit controversial in the AT community: I don't like the Whites. (I suppose that statement is controversial in many communities).<br />
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First off, the AT in the Whites was so unnecessarily dangerous that it felt like we were being betrayed by the trail - like all of a sudden, it wanted us to get hurt. There were smooth, vertical rock faces to inch down and loose boulder fields with water running over them. The trail maintenance was lacking (presumably because no one wants to risk his or her life climbing up there with a chainsaw to keep things in order), so every time there was a slightly safer route along the edge of the trail with roots or trees to hold on to, we couldn't take it without getting a face full of pine needles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15eLzPvDF4eTGMQNm8jodJyVvxmy7znALQuS7Wpmi0D2OwYaZu-unA7IFnozT9BdfcSV06Q-Mvj0dnE3swG2r5r1zcgDgtri2y0Su1aZOtEx9kN1s2nLXsJXrMPxJIDsGj_hEWbKPfiw/s1600/bad+trail+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15eLzPvDF4eTGMQNm8jodJyVvxmy7znALQuS7Wpmi0D2OwYaZu-unA7IFnozT9BdfcSV06Q-Mvj0dnE3swG2r5r1zcgDgtri2y0Su1aZOtEx9kN1s2nLXsJXrMPxJIDsGj_hEWbKPfiw/s320/bad+trail+2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down, yes, that is the trail. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyKSJQxCPBVHZdD-vGEVkXoBGcmOh-uadG0oeTZsCgWwLGcmsBjr0pBhMY0bKo4Q8XiI9diEivWJGt_A6NfQZ0u0xnoOH5y38fw2dVd6X73N-kGBVdIOfRu0U-bOaaHdJOCTfB-FQ41o/s1600/bad+trail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyKSJQxCPBVHZdD-vGEVkXoBGcmOh-uadG0oeTZsCgWwLGcmsBjr0pBhMY0bKo4Q8XiI9diEivWJGt_A6NfQZ0u0xnoOH5y38fw2dVd6X73N-kGBVdIOfRu0U-bOaaHdJOCTfB-FQ41o/s320/bad+trail.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for the rock stairs, starting 6 feet above my head.</td></tr>
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The difficulty of the trail means that it takes hikers a very long time to get anywhere. Hikers like us who are used to cranking out 18 - 20 miles per day slow to a 10 - 13 mile per day pace. Because we are on a deadline, we had an aggressive schedule and averaged 13.4 miles per day, and let me tell you......that was on the trail by 7:30 am., as little break time as we could manage to get the water and food we needed, and usually hiking after dark (which was, frankly, terrifying). Full disclosure: in the Whites, I forgot all about my "Wipe Your Fears Away" post. I cried several times every day, usually when we came to a rock face I didn't know how to get down (or up) without breaking something. Guyline learned to hang back and wait it out until I sat down on my butt and got on with it (scooting was my primary hiking style in the Whites).<br />
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On top of the scary terrain, the Whites were crawling with tourists, day hikers, and my favorite, college orientation groups from Dartmouth and Harvard singing "Big Booty" as they hiked. This is all well and good, except that you can't camp anywhere in the National Forest except designated campsites....and with all this traffic, things were pretty full. Thru-hikers on the trail until dark have no chance of getting a campsite against day hikers who end their day around 3 or 4 pm., so we had a lot of nights on bumpy, uneven ground as well as a night we just flat out put our tent up in the middle of the AT. Not kosher, I know, but it was one of those "we've been inching down this mountain of rock for 12 hours and now it's been dark for an hour and Bearcub just fell and started crying again" moments.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioir-UzuCaQ0ZZWdB_xMnmCelRCumPzTkiRiw7caXp7DNzhtYBS1deSQQF5qX97V5o09knZ_zFEzDx5cA0XM7AdeK1N9LsM7t9s3aWA1nLXEcZXw7ZSI77GX6fJVguSoa2z1iEhonexXY/s1600/brian+shin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioir-UzuCaQ0ZZWdB_xMnmCelRCumPzTkiRiw7caXp7DNzhtYBS1deSQQF5qX97V5o09knZ_zFEzDx5cA0XM7AdeK1N9LsM7t9s3aWA1nLXEcZXw7ZSI77GX6fJVguSoa2z1iEhonexXY/s320/brian+shin.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guyline's shins have look like this for about a month now</td></tr>
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I'm not saying New Hampshire and its White Mountains aren't beautiful. I would love to go back there someday. But would I like to relive that part of an AT thru-hike? H - E - double hockey sticks NO.<br />
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When we crossed the border into Maine, it was like someone flipped a switch. The trail was still extremely difficult (26,000 feet of elevation change in 30 miles, yikes), but at least it wasn't terrifying. Suddenly, the air smelled like fresh pine, loon calls made the evening sound like a CD called "Songs of the North Country", bridges and handles and rebar helped us safely over mountains, and locals started introducing themselves to us/offering rides/offering food/asking how we like their trail work. About two miles into our 14th state, we emerged from the woods onto a green ridge line and felt like we were in a panoramic shot for a "Lord of the Rings" movie, and it has been just as beautiful since.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lByoahHpBJLeAqVMqtZwBmEJUl_ZUDM0IrcJx4a0BUQnCYwym0YVvPUFtXJGc6y6gUNgy8SmmL5I97Yt_OQoRljiyip5L3u3wxh3m9BYThdoaHdtFMFMeuqzXTQMvXHVaZWSODOSDto/s1600/state+line.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lByoahHpBJLeAqVMqtZwBmEJUl_ZUDM0IrcJx4a0BUQnCYwym0YVvPUFtXJGc6y6gUNgy8SmmL5I97Yt_OQoRljiyip5L3u3wxh3m9BYThdoaHdtFMFMeuqzXTQMvXHVaZWSODOSDto/s320/state+line.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking thrilled but a bit haggard as we crawl out of New Hampshire</td></tr>
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We had a lot of fun hiking Mahoosuc Notch, which our guide book refers to as "the most difficult or fun mile of the Appalachian Trail" and is comprised of a mile of hand over hand navigating through a field of car-sized boulders. We forded thigh-high rivers and took several bypass trails due to impassible rivers and "beavers flooding the trail" (I can't make this kind of stuff up, people). We have had three epic, all out falls since arriving in Maine: two "face in the mud, someone roll her over" gems by Bearcub and one "triple axel rock face dismount" by Guyline.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieR5kRNI9HlaxHu7PESngcTxYslSGjYGw2lh3tEA_aB3sliN7LUrtG35VAAcdZk4TiDi_CwOd5j-m58gQiRt978h2zjD_Ulm92VtAyC-4q72ERbtD1TZBkRcL_YoSzt0jfV0L7ISeuZLw/s1600/kelly+river.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieR5kRNI9HlaxHu7PESngcTxYslSGjYGw2lh3tEA_aB3sliN7LUrtG35VAAcdZk4TiDi_CwOd5j-m58gQiRt978h2zjD_Ulm92VtAyC-4q72ERbtD1TZBkRcL_YoSzt0jfV0L7ISeuZLw/s320/kelly+river.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That awful moment....when you step in a frigid lake for the first time on a crisp September morning</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fording rivers ain't no thang for Guyline and Bearcub</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beaver emergency<br />
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And then, a funny thing happened. It's kind of like the AT knew she's been mistreating us and she got all contrite and gets us an inappropriately lavish gift, begging our forgiveness. The trail goes from a difficulty level 10 to somewhere around a 2, and the last 130 miles are flat as a pancake, weaving in and out of lakes and ponds and other stunning but mercifully flat scenery.<br />
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So as we head out for our last hundred miles, our goal is to drink in as much of this beauty as we possibly can. And to see a moose (You hear that AT?? We want a MOOSE)!<br />
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BearcubUnknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-63469490280868016652012-09-01T17:22:00.001-05:002013-09-19T15:17:46.443-05:00A Day in the Hike<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9crewVOhF2xJ9DVC6CLzZNv2F9aUUA8cWgMjEVHb7oGIlDEFu9XOvGzNgn67Jnr1PpfCaNzdgTaQVWYyvv4pGlwCmqDcNCENbcRVwUjlMBkNnFAqGQe7frp7sOQ582WYDOP0DvU-NUo8/s1600/the+reward.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9crewVOhF2xJ9DVC6CLzZNv2F9aUUA8cWgMjEVHb7oGIlDEFu9XOvGzNgn67Jnr1PpfCaNzdgTaQVWYyvv4pGlwCmqDcNCENbcRVwUjlMBkNnFAqGQe7frp7sOQ582WYDOP0DvU-NUo8/s320/the+reward.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reward.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hard work.</td></tr>
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I know, I know...our posts are way too infrequent. We get it. I'm going to try to make up for it in this post by generically describing a typical day on the trail. But first I think I should give a quick update on what's going on in our lives. We recently finished the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and we are now about 30 miles into Maine. We have about 250 miles left and we're hoping to get it done in about 18 days, but who's counting? We are. We're so ready to be done. More on the White Mountains and a section of trail in Maine that is infamously known as the most difficult mile of the trail is "soon" to come in a later post, but for now I'll bore you with an example of a typical day on the trail. Maybe after reading this you'll be glad that we don't post more often.<br />
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6:00 AM - The alarm on my digital watch sounds. When we set off on this trip I pictured us waking up naturally with the sun every morning feeling refreshed and carefree. Not so.<br />
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6:01 AM - Team meeting to discuss the costs and benefits of sleeping for a few more minutes.<br />
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Anywhere between 6:01 and 6:30 AM - Begin to pack up all of our gear. Also called "breaking camp" if you're down with the lingo.<br />
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7:00 AM - Breakfast. Consists of 2 Cliff Bars each and either Green Tea or Coffee. Starbucks Via is a surprisingly delicious option for coffee on the trail. Favorite Cliff Bar flavors for me include Peanut Toffee Buzz, White Macadamia Nut, and the elusive Apricot. Are you guys bored yet?<br />
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7:30 AM - Start to hike. That's what we do. Hike, hike, hike.<br />
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9:00 AM - Start getting hungry and try really hard to focus on something else. Not a whole lot of stimuli to distract you on the trail, so this is tough.<br />
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10:00 AM - Snack Break. We usually try to snack near a beautiful view if possible, but often times we're just sitting on our packs in the middle of the woods. Snack consists of nuts, protein/granola bars, crackers, and fruit snacks. This helps to quell our hunger, but we're pretty much never full on the trail. We just can't carry enough food and still have our packs be a reasonable weight. <br />
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10:30 AM - Hike some more.<br />
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2:00 PMish - Lunch. You're probably thinking "Man, this guy is on an amazing adventure that he has dreamed about for years, and the only notable thing he can think to talk about is food." At this point of the trip...yeah, pretty much. Lunch is usually Velveeta shells and cheese, Ramen noodles, or a dehydrated backpacker meal if we're lucky enough to find an outfitter that carries them. We try to eat lunch near a water source so that we can replenish our supply and enjoy a powdered drink like a Gatorade or lemonade. If we're lucky we grab water from a crystal clear stream flowing across the trail. If we're unlucky, I have to hike half a mile down a mountain to a mud puddle, struggle to soak up enough water to get us through the day, and lug it back up the mountain where Bearcub is waiting for me with lunch all cooked up.<br />
<br />
2:45 PM - Dessert. We've been trying as many different types of candy bars as possible and rating them 1-10. Some surprise hits for me so far include Take 5 and Zero Bar. Snickers is pretty much the gold standard. This is how we entertain ourselves.<br />
<br />
3:00 PM - Hike some more. So much hiking.<br />
<br />
6:00 PM - Another small snack. Food...I just can't stop thinking about it.<br />
<br />
7:30 PM - By now we've either made it to our destination, or it's getting dark and we find a flattish spot on which to sleep.<br />
<br />
8:00 PM - Dinner (usually in the dark). Dinner food options are pretty much the same as lunch food. Dessert is always M&M's which are right up there on the scale with Snickers in the 9 range. I'm seriously worried about my post-trail eating habits.<br />
<br />
8:30 PM - Bear-bagging. I have a very complicated relationship with bear-bagging. In case you're not familiar with the term, bear-bagging is the process of hanging a bag that contains all of your food from a tree limb. The bag should be about 10 ft off the ground, and 4 ft from the trunk of the tree so that the tallest of bears can't get to the bag. Typically this is done by tying a rope to a rock, throwing the rock over a sturdy tree limb, replacing the rock with the bear bag, pulling the other end of the rope until the bear bag hangs high enough, and tying the rope to a tree. Sounds easy enough, but it can be surprisingly difficult to find a tree limb that will work. It's either too high, or not strong enough. If you haven't already guessed it, our food bag can get pretty heavy. I've broken many a tree limb trying to hang it. Sorry, nature. Not-So-Fun Fact: One guy on the trail this year broke his wrist bear-bagging when the rock he threw came back down on him. I'm telling you...it's harder than it sounds.<br />
<br />
9:00 PM - Read our Kindles for awhile. They are wonderful for this trip. I've spent most of the trip reading the Lord of the Rings series. Perfect reading for a backpacking trip. I like to think I'm the Samwise to Bearcub's Frodo.<br />
<br />
10:00 PM - Sleep.<br />
<br />
So there it is. This is why we don't post daily. I don't mean to sound jaded, but after 5 months on this trip, the days all start to blend together. And even though we get to see beautiful scenery and meet amazing people, we're still trying to accomplish a pretty difficult goal, and it's a lot of work. However, I must admit that it's also incredibly rewarding. Expect more philosophical insight as we get closer to the end. I'm gonna get all preachy and deep up in here!<br />
<br />
- Guyline<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-42027743781344547092012-08-17T19:53:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.554-05:00Wipe Your Fears AwayOne of the more common questions we get asked as thru-hikers is, "How has this trip changed you?". It's not an easy question to answer, and truly changing a person is not an easy thing to do. That being said, the trail has taught us ( and re-taught us, and re-taught us again) some lessons that I hope we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. One of those lessons is how we deal with fear (I'm going to lump fear/dread/avoidance all together for this one).
<br>
<br>Confession time: We didn't start philosophical discussion on fear because that's what we like to talk about over dinner. We started talking about fear after reading our friend Matt's blog post "Practicing Poverty and Other Lessons In Stoicism (AKA United Kingdom and Iceland Are Expensive!)". Matt is currently taking 7 months to explore Europe, and is keeping a fantastic blog that you can find at <a href="http://www.giveliveexplore.com">www.giveliveexplore.com</a>. In this particular post, Matt talks about how "Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions"......emotions like fear.
<br>
<br>On the trail, we experience fear in an outright and direct way more often than the average American probably does. We actually worry about threats like venomous snakes, Lyme disease, falling trees, water-bourne illness, lightning, protective bears, storms, falls, dehydration, hypothermia, heat stroke, hunger, drowning, hunters, and losing our way - these are things we think about on a daily basis (sorry Mom, I know that was a tough sentence but I figure you've already read "A Walk In The Woods"). And here's the amazing thing.....a good portion of those fears have already happened to us, and here we are, hiking New Hampshire and feeling great.
<br>
<br>The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote about overcoming the fear of poverty:
<br>
<br>"Set aside a certain number of days, during which you will be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: Is this the condition I feared?"
<br>
<br>In other words, once it happens, is it really that horrible, or is it just something different, and maybe uncomfortable, but something that we can adjust to?
<br>
<br>One fateful day, Guyline set out to answer this question - is the fear we feel worse than actually experiencing the things we fear? Was FDR right when he asserted his firm belief that "the only thing we have to fear itself"?
<br>
<br>Exhale, parents - Guyline didn't intentionally put himself in harm's way via any of the threats and fears I listed above. Why not start small? In actuality, the day he tested Seneca, FDR, and our friend Matt was the day - and the only day since - we realized we were going to run out of toilet paper in the middle of the woods.
<br>
<br>"Well," I said, shaking my head in disbelief at our oversight, "Maybe we won't even need to poop before town." (These types of things are perfectly acceptable, if not encouraged, topics of conversation with significant others, perfect strangers, etc. on the trail).
<br>
<br>Guyline looked back at me, his eyes blazing with determination and a hint of "Who are you kidding?", and declared, "No. I'm not letting this hang over me like that. Have you seen any sassafras bushes?".
<br>
<br>"Guyline!," I gasped in horror, "You don't need to do this! There are still at least 15 - 20 squares left!" (although inside, I was screaming silently, "please don't use it, you crazy fool, please don't use it......I could totally make it to town on this without you!").
<br>
<br>"Bearcub, I SAID, have you seen any sassafras?" he repeated, eyes still blazing.
<br>
<br>In disbelief at my good fortune and his bravery/stupidity, I helped him locate the "safe to touch" sassafras leaves and watched in amazement as he picked a healthy handful and headed toward the shelter's privy with his head held high. What a guy......rather than dread this over the next few days, he was taking the bull by the horns and willingly wiping his butt with leaves instead of toilet paper.
<br>
<br>"Well?" I asked tentatively when he returned, bracing myself for the worst.
<br>
<br>"It wasn't bad.....it was totally fine. It was just like Seneca said."
<br>
<br>Well there you have it, folks. It was fine. Just like Seneca said. And so it is with many of the things that we fear on the trail but also in everyday life - failure, being alone, being poor, feeling inferior, change. I'm not advocating that we all go stand on top of a mountain in a lightning storm and challenge the awesome power of Mother Nature to give us something to be fearful of.....but I am advocating that we start using a technique that Tim Ferriss (one of Guyline and Matt's heroes) encourages in his book "4 Hour Work Week"; imagine the worst case scenario - could you handle it? Sometimes, the worst case scenario may be: I will get struck by lightning twice and go into cardiac arrest, causing me to lose my balance and fall off a mountain, breaking both my legs. I will lay there in agony for days, too weak to call for help, while vultures circle and begin pecking at my head. Ok, so go ahead and be fearful for that one.
<br>
<br>But more often than not, the worst case scenario isn't that bad. Should I take a leave of absence to hike the Appalachian Trail? Worst case scenario - I fail and go home with my tail tucked between my legs, and everyone just has to get over it. People worth talking to will probably respect the fact that I even tried. Should I leave my safe job and try to start my own business? Worst case scenario - I fail, lose all my money, can't find another, and move into my parents' basement. Sounds lovely, Laun makes one hell of a quiche.
<br>
<br>The AT re-teaches me this lesson at least once a week....every time it rains. When my handy dandy iPhone actually has reception, the first thing I do is update the weather report, and the dread starts creeping in for any day with a chance of rain above 30% (about half the time). I spend my day praying for dry weather and dwelling on how terrible it will be to get soaked to the bones. And every time it happens, I realize that a.) all of those hours worrying didn't change anything, and b.) it's fine (just like Seneca said). I'm wet and slightly uncomfortable, but I'm fine.
<br>
<br>I recognize that fear has it's place, but next time you find yourself avoiding something, play the wort-case scenario game. You just might find yourself with a clean butt and a peaceful mind.
<br>
<br>BearcubUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-23365354277200942322012-08-08T11:43:00.001-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.539-05:00Stating the Facts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
To make up for the infrequency of blog posts throughout this trip, we
<br />
thought we'd give you a state by state rundown of the entire AT as we've
<br />
experienced it and as we anticipate it. Here's the catch...I like blogging
<br />
and you like reading, but we're both busy people. So rather than taking the
<br />
time to carefully craft a post that's both informational and easy to read,
<br />
I'm going to forget the rules of grammar and just shoot from the hip on
<br />
this one. I'm also including for each state the Appalachian Trail
<br />
Conservancy's difficulty range, the trail's distance, and our average daily
<br />
mileage. For the record I disagree with most of the ATC's difficulty
<br />
ratings. Sections of each state are harder they are rated. For example,
<br />
Pennsylvania has a very steep, incredibly rocky climb more difficult than
<br />
anything else we've done yet the difficulty rating is a 4.
<br />
<br />
*Georgia* - Difficulty 6 - Distance 76.4 - Mileage 8.23 - Bearcub's friend
<br />
Anne drops us off at the trail. We let out a collective gulp as we watch
<br />
her drive away. We're anxious, excited, nervous, and slightly scared. The
<br />
trail goes up and right back down again through the entire state. It's
<br />
rough on Bearcub's knees so we take a day off to play bar trivia with the
<br />
locals. We consider holing up in a hotel for 6 months writing fake blog
<br />
posts about the trials and tribulations of the AT, but instead we keep
<br />
hiking. Or do we?
<br />
<br />
*North Carolina* - Difficulty 3-6 - Distance 95.5 - Mileage 7.5 - The
<br />
terrain is still pretty up and down as if it was a bunch of mountains or
<br />
something. For some reason we didn't think it would be this hard. Bearcub's
<br />
knees are still acting up, so we take 2 zeroes and a few very short days.
<br />
We start to get a steady pace going as we reach the Smokies. This is the
<br />
time we meet everyone we'll be hiking around for the next 1,000 miles.
<br />
We're getting the hang of hiking and decide we might could keep doing it.
<br />
That's Carolina speak for we might be able to keep doing it.
<br />
<br />
*Tennessee* - Difficulty 5-6 - Distance 287.9 - Mileage 10.12- The trail
<br />
hugs the TN/NC border for miles. We never know what state we're in. Bearcub
<br />
comes down with what eventually becomes known among hikers as the Erwin
<br />
Sickness right outside of Erwin, TN. This sidelines us in the trail town
<br />
you least want to be sidelined in. Sorry, Erwin. Trail at the end of
<br />
Tennessee is beautiful and not too challenging. Our spirits are renewed.
<br />
<br />
*Virginia* - Difficulty 2-6 - Distance 550.3 - Mileage 12.19 - We're
<br />
excited to get to what we hear is the easy part of the trail. Disappointed
<br />
to find it's only slightly easier than the first part of the trail. The AT
<br />
reaches into its grab bag of ailments and hands Bearcub a healthy dose of
<br />
Giardia. This makes Virginia's 535 miles seem even longer. Nonetheless, we
<br />
finally get into a groove and start consistently logging decent miles.
<br />
However, we kiss the hopes of finishing before Bearcub's cousin's wedding
<br />
on Sep 23rd goodbye. We get our first visitors when Bearcub's aunt and
<br />
uncle, my family, and friends Anne and Sarika come to visit. Anne
<br />
henceforth not so secretly hopes for blog mentions. My mom makes it clear
<br />
that she doesn't like my beard. I tell her hopefully it will grow on her
<br />
like it did on me. Zing.
<br />
<br />
*West Virginia* - Difficulty 2-3 - Distance 4 - A tiny state that we're
<br />
happy to knock out quickly. Hit the psychological halfway point in Harpers
<br />
Ferry. They take our picture at ATC headquarters to prove we made it this
<br />
far. My eyes are closed in the photo. 1.017 miles wasted.
<br />
<br />
*Maryland* - Difficulty 2-3 - Distance 40.9 - Mileage 12.47 - Another tiny
<br />
state. I tease Bearcub in front of some friends about a previous fall she
<br />
took only to take a fall of my own seconds later. I stop teasing Bearcub.
<br />
<br />
*Pennsylvania* - Difficulty 2-4 - Distance 229.6 - Mileage 16.25 - It's
<br />
flat! For once, the trail is flat. We rejoice by catching the Sound of
<br />
Music at a resort/playhouse right off the trail. Not joking. Soon the flat
<br />
is negated by a hundred miles of jagged rocks and boulders. Fa - a long,
<br />
long way to walk on rocks. So - ready for our feet to stop hurting. In PA
<br />
we realize that if we really hustle, we may be able to finish before the
<br />
wedding. We decide to make like a Pizza Hut and Book It.
<br />
<br />
*New Jersey* - Difficulty 2-5 - Distance 72.2 - Mileage 16.06 - Overjoyed
<br />
to be done with PA. We face off with a protective mama bear. The wind
<br />
steals my trekking pole and throws it off a mountain. Not The Situation I
<br />
was hoping to encounter in Jersey.
<br />
<br />
*New York* - Difficulty 2-6 - Distance 88.4 - Mileage 17.38 - Unnecessarily
<br />
challenging trail takes us over every rocky incline in the entire state
<br />
even though there are plainly easier routes. Water sources are a far cry
<br />
from the crystal clear springs in the south. Luckily, trail angels provide
<br />
water, take us in for the night, and feed us. We don't know how they get
<br />
our laundry smelling so clean until we get poured on the next day and soap
<br />
suds start running down my legs.
<br />
<br />
*Connecticut* - Difficulty 4-5 - Distance 51.6 - Mileage 16.4 - pretty
<br />
trail, but difficult. Not much else to say about it other than the fact
<br />
that we got a free beer at a liquor store just for being thru-hikers.
<br />
<br />
*Massachusetts* - Difficulty 3-6 - Distance 90.2 - Mileage so far 17.1 -
<br />
similar to CT in that it's both beautiful and difficult. Dissimilar to CT
<br />
in that we're currently in it. Amazing visit from Bearcub's sister who
<br />
takes us to see the new Batman movie. The film is even more awe-inspiring
<br />
since we're so out of touch with reality that we think it's real.
<br />
<br />
*Vermont* - Difficulty 5-6 - Distance 149.8 - We've heard the trail in VT
<br />
is beautiful, but it looks pretty rough on the elevation map.
<br />
<br />
*New Hampshire* - Difficulty 6-10 - Distance - 160.9 - supposedly the most
<br />
difficult state, but a planned visit from Bearcub's mama and papa bear
<br />
should help to soften the blow. Also supposed to be amazing beautiful.
<br />
<br />
*Maine* - Difficulty 3-10 - Distance - 281.4 - also supposed to be
<br />
difficult, but we should be on cloud 9 knowing that the journey is almost
<br />
at its conclusion.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJYqBd6GKVFSmlRF9fBaGez6ls6Aqq4fLdPRMCFICxhWUAwBbT5LzhBw-xxw20uZueay8f7ueBsnOYgpBYi6X5Eqv1hKSdGk-CB75C38x8azLzQsKUgkT8IePW-c7xwEkM3DNQvNU9po/s1600/IMG_0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJYqBd6GKVFSmlRF9fBaGez6ls6Aqq4fLdPRMCFICxhWUAwBbT5LzhBw-xxw20uZueay8f7ueBsnOYgpBYi6X5Eqv1hKSdGk-CB75C38x8azLzQsKUgkT8IePW-c7xwEkM3DNQvNU9po/s320/IMG_0443.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guyline's eyes are closed - 1,017 miles wasted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvt2JC2TP5CkuMwkeSxiLMaLheWxj6wuj4fbs_iF58_1ApzZAZSx4eSLFUUnRkKsMupQEM7Vatev9zi1YZGixG8B2ZU8P3AdA5DwNocrcuZxaT0smPLy2h_UuixSsU6ZtFeNa34UlLJ0k/s1600/IMG_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvt2JC2TP5CkuMwkeSxiLMaLheWxj6wuj4fbs_iF58_1ApzZAZSx4eSLFUUnRkKsMupQEM7Vatev9zi1YZGixG8B2ZU8P3AdA5DwNocrcuZxaT0smPLy2h_UuixSsU6ZtFeNa34UlLJ0k/s320/IMG_0497.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocky trail of Pennsylvania</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPeP-6HWdw9EtPHBjXc9EbIALGXsOLQ8V03HAgNkrmLO5eYs5GyEQswv2jN2uIufEgCU0ere15jPwU_N6ciuNHJfcZIYdJ1oGuQT7p9iaShxOJwekuabH3nkpJ1c5u7qAOy5WmHixQNo/s1600/IMG_0549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPeP-6HWdw9EtPHBjXc9EbIALGXsOLQ8V03HAgNkrmLO5eYs5GyEQswv2jN2uIufEgCU0ere15jPwU_N6ciuNHJfcZIYdJ1oGuQT7p9iaShxOJwekuabH3nkpJ1c5u7qAOy5WmHixQNo/s320/IMG_0549.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody needed an extra rinse cycle<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ53IkKP5sJM2f9kKKSujyIgYRjWIsv_0syU90Dlgo5IRCwDvSur3KkmUMwyu-bWANOoVR8uLIlB-YIpiFMTalSu9c15AV0q4PIA_2bBe_yFWwaVzPNRxWwMiXUTJfdxkwAX53c4mLxrg/s1600/IMG_0569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ53IkKP5sJM2f9kKKSujyIgYRjWIsv_0syU90Dlgo5IRCwDvSur3KkmUMwyu-bWANOoVR8uLIlB-YIpiFMTalSu9c15AV0q4PIA_2bBe_yFWwaVzPNRxWwMiXUTJfdxkwAX53c4mLxrg/s320/IMG_0569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beer and wine shop in Cornwall Bridge, CT offers all thru hikers a free beer of their choice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
To be honest, at this point of the trip the state I'm most looking forward
<br />
to is Illinois. I hear Chicago is as flat as a pancake. Later, readers!
<br />
<br />
- Guyline<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-75240193330733383482012-07-29T07:14:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.572-05:00Trails and TribulationsHello our faithful blog readers, from New York! We have spent the last week wrapping up New Jersey and kicking off the Empire state, and it has been the best of times, and the worst of times.
<br>
<br>Unfortunately, rain has been in the forecast almost everyday. We've gotten lucky a few times and watched hail storms from the safety of a shelter, and we've also gotten caught in some pretty torrential downpours. When it rains, we just hope that we get a chance to dry out our things, either while we wear them (if it clears up) or hanging off our packs the next day. Moldy hiking clothes/gear is.....well, it's the worst, and our standards aren't that great to begin with.
<br>
<br>Our final day in New Jersey was one of our most eventful days on the trail.....we experienced our two scariest moments of the entire trip in one day of hiking. About 5 minutes into our day, we heard rustling and looked up to see a bear cub shimmying down a tree (he tumbled the last ten feet which made it even cuter). We watched from a safe distance and listened to his rustling as he left, presumably to find mama. Then we hung around hitting our trekking poles together and calling out to give the pair plenty of time to get away, and finally resumed hiking. About 30 yards up the trail, we turned a corner and I was face to face with momma, about 15 feet in front of me. She was the biggest AND closest bear we've seen yet, and her cub was nowhere in sight.
<br>
<br>Instinctively, I hit my trekking poles together, which usually sends bears running. She looked at me and pretty much told me with her expression, "I don't care what kinds of noises you can make.....where's my cub?". And then she started walking toward us. At this point, I panicked and Guyline immediately knew what I was going to do (obviously, I was about to run). He very calmly said, "Don't run. Just get behind me.". So I got behind him and we slowly backed away, avoiding eye contact with mama bear and talking in soft voices to show her we mean no harm. Although I must admit, my "slow backing up" was more like sideways speed-walking.
<br>
<br>Once we were at a safe distance, we waited and listened to the sounds of mama and cub finding each other and leaving the area before starting again, making plenty of noise to avoid a surprise. When we turned the corner again, they were about 50 feet away and didn't even look up at us.
<br>
<br>Later, about 15 miles into our day, we passed by a road with a creamery and enjoyed some ice cream and a lovely view. The weather forecast had said severe thunderstorms all day, but it had been clear so far. As we finished up our ice cream, we saw dark clouds on the horizon and decided to get going; we had just two miles left to the shelter which should have been enough time to beat the rain.
<br>
<br>About one mile in, we started hearing thunder in the distance, and figured we definitely had enough time to get in and set up camp before the rain hit. This part of the hike, like a lot of NJ and NY so far, was on an exposed ridge line with huge boulders you either walk along or climb over, and the storm hit within minutes of us first hearing the thunder. We heard the creaks, groans, and snaps of strong wind against the trees, and before we knew it, both of us were nearly knocked off the mountain.....one of Guyline's trekking poles blew off when he fell and flew off the side of the mountain, never to be seen again. Then came the pelting rain, lightening, and the loudest thunder I've ever heard in my life; within minutes we were soaking wet and freezing. We could literally see parts of trees flying off the mountain, the winds were so strong.
<br>
<br>We quickly decided we needed to get off the ridge, and scrambled down to safer ground. We remembered there was a bypass trail for hikers who wanted to skip the boulder climbing, and quickly found it and made our way to the shelter. I wish I had gotten a video of the storm, but it was no time to go fishing for a phone wrapped 4 layers deep in waterproofing.
<br>
<br>So, we've made it safely through some pretty hairy situations lately, but we've got our sights set on Mt. Katahdin now more than ever. With less than 800 miles left, we finally feel like we are counting down and not up. From here North, the terrain gets tougher, so we are girding our loins for the mountains to come. Bring it, AT!
<br>
<br>BearcubUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-38198843373452551432012-07-22T21:28:00.001-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.546-05:00Sometimes...I Love The ATSince my last post, we've been through a lot - 104 degree heat, multiple thunderstorms, the boot-destroying, foot-bruising rocks of Pennsylvania, and the most difficult climb of the hike so far. Not to mention the shame of the infamous Pizza Hut tick incident of 2012. Nevertheless, we're still here and stronger than ever. It's encouraging that we got through it all and made it out of PA and into Snooki country. I'm hoping that our next couple hundred miles will be a bit less trying if I throw some good karma out there. So without further ado, here are a few of the things that I love about the AT.<div> <br></div><div>Mornings - Waking up to the sounds of birds chirping, the cool morning breeze, and the angle at which the sunbeams peak through the trees make it hard not to love mornings on the AT. The first few hours of hiking are always my favorite.</div> <div><br></div><div>Simplicity - When all of your possessions fit into one bag and your only job is to walk, life is just less complicated. With less material clutter comes less mental clutter, and we are able to think and reflect more clearly than ever out here. </div> <div><br></div><div>Sense of Accomplishment - A beautiful view, a hot meal, or a hot shower is even more amazing when you know you worked your butt off for it. Crossing a state line or knocking off another hundred miles feels pretty darn good too.</div> <div><br></div><div>No Dietary Restrictions - Whenever we go to town, we go to a restaurant. Wait, reverse that. Boom. That's right. We can eat whatever we want and however much of it we want without sacrificing our girlish figures. I'm talking multiple pounds of M&M's a week here, people. Speaking of people...</div> <div><br></div><div>People - Not only were we not expecting the overwhelming kindness of everyone involved in the trail community (hostel owners, shuttle drivers, trail angels, etc.), but we weren't expecting to make so many friends on the trail. We've met many people that I hope we can stay close with even after the trail is over.</div> <div><br></div><div>QT - (That stands for quality time. I'm down with most of the hip abbreviations. Laugh out loudly.) If you'll allow me to get all sentimental up in here, my favorite part of the whole AT is unlimited quality time with Bearcub. Certain days when I seem to be overly focused on the hard parts of the trip, she always puts a smile on my face. Alright, alright...I'll stop now before I trigger your gag reflex. Just be glad I didn't make a QT with my QT pun. Oops.</div> <div><br></div>Okay, trail gods. Take that good karma and use it to flatten a mountain or two.<div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Guyline<span></span><br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div> </div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-28358270203358115812012-07-18T20:16:00.001-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.541-05:00"Ticks Dig Me"This just in...Guyline discovered and was forced to remove and destroy not one but two deer ticks in a Pizza Hut in Hamburg, PA. To Pizza Hut and all of the other lunch buffet patrons, we sincerely apologize.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-87365141374740402002012-07-12T10:05:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.578-05:00Company!Hold your horses Anne and Tony.....we're getting to you!<br />
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Over the past few weeks, we've had the pleasure of having plenty of company in Shenandoah National Park, as well as crossing some major trail milestones. All of this has helped lift our spirits and shed the "Virginia Blues" we'd started feeling as reflected in Guyline's last post. <br />
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My friends Anne and Sarika joined us in Waynesboro, Virginia for a wonderful weekend. We took a zero the day they arrived and went shopping at Target, had dinner at Outback, and saw a movie. These may seem like pretty routine activities but it was very, very different for us. The movie theater was packed (Friday night), and I almost had a meltdown waiting in a crowded line for popcorn.....it has been three months since I've been so close to so many people. Luckily, Anne has volunteered to create "Transition Plans" for Guyline and I to help us assimilate back into society after the trail. After witnessing Guyline's new beard length and habit for using a bandana hanky, she concluded that his plan may require a significantly longer time period than mine. <br />
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After our day of relaxing, we hit the trail where Anne and Sarika got the full AT experience and shared our first two days in Shenandoah National Park. They received the trail names "Eclipse" (for Anne's giant backpack that blocked the view of anyone behind her) and "Lockstep" (for the two giant, metal padlocks hanging off of Sarika's pack that we somehow missed in her shakedown). They saw a black bear and a barred owl, spent the night at a shelter, tasted how cold and delicious mountain spring water is, ate wild blueberries, and enjoyed a few vistas. We were so excited to share our trail life with friends. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lockstep picking wild blueberries....yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out the size of that pack on Eclipse! These ladies mean business.</td></tr>
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A few days later, my uncle Andrew called with news that he and my aunt Deb were vacationing in Virginia. They drove to the park the next day and picked us up, shuttled us around down, and treated us to a giant diner breakfast. Wow.....we could really get used to this company thing! It was great to see some family after three months without it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful sunset over the Shenandoah Valley</td></tr>
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After the visit from Andrew and Deb, we started seeing what looked like smoke in the distance. It turns out that the Shennies were following suit with the rest of the country, and lightning had started a forest fire in the park. The next day, the trail was re-routed around the fire and we had to walk 5 miles on Skyline Drive instead. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Shenandoah forest fires from a safe distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail was diverted for 5 miles around the fires</td></tr>
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Guyline's family met us shortly after we finished "the Shennies".......despite the huge storms, power outages, and a gas shortage, Terry, Tony, Amy and Jeff made their way to Front Royal, Virgina where we spent a few days visiting. The highlight of the trip was a quaint Italian restaurant with delicious food and wine. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying some Italian with the Italians</td></tr>
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Since all of our visits, we've hit some huge milestones. We've finished Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, and we're now about a quarter of the way through Pennsylvania. We've crossed the 1,000 mile mark and now the halfway point (YES!!!!!), and are feeling like we're now counting down the miles. We had a personal heat record of hiking in 104 degree heat, and are glad that the heatwave finally broke. We are so thankful for the 85 degree days we have now. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRGI95d9Jl1W3NCaXN-7EFmtH24biXF84iazonCmGgwTJIT8t0TnD2UWiU8e6JRZZeIIovWEEyUSdJoOv5YjVOuYT0fAMsKa3eaWGEyaw33pQpqka9ldNMJVX5WhfflqMQvdzEtN2G9o/s1600/WV1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRGI95d9Jl1W3NCaXN-7EFmtH24biXF84iazonCmGgwTJIT8t0TnD2UWiU8e6JRZZeIIovWEEyUSdJoOv5YjVOuYT0fAMsKa3eaWGEyaw33pQpqka9ldNMJVX5WhfflqMQvdzEtN2G9o/s320/WV1000.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Virgina and 1,000 miles....all in the same day!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halfway! Thank goodness.</td></tr>
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That's all for now......if you take one thing away from this post, take this: we love company and you should all come visit us!<br />
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Bearcub<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-58252065275815199492012-07-05T08:45:00.001-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.568-05:00Sometimes...I Hate the AT<div class="gmail_quote">So far up to this point, our blog posts have been pretty upbeat and positive even though we've had our fair share of challenges. However, in order to paint a clear and honest picture of our experience, I feel the need to vent a little bit. What I'm saying is...I'm gonna get real negative up in this blog. I feel that after hiking 1,017 miles in 5 states I've earned a bit of complaining. So if I haven't already alienated you with the body odor post, maybe this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Without further ado, below is a brief summary of everything that I hate about the AT. <div> <div><ul><li><u><b>Bugs</b></u> - In a way, we've become one with the fact that there are bugs everywhere. Bearcub no longer hesitates to pick up a giant spider in her boots and toss it into the woods. But sometimes it honestly just gets so ridiculous that a Zen master would flip out and scream obscenities in the middle of the trail. Gnats fly into our eyes, mouth, nose, and ears regularly during the day. Flies bite our arms and legs (even through our socks). It's not unusual to have an entire swarm of gnats or flies follow us on the trail for at least half a mile. If we get out of camp early and we're the first people to hike a section of the trail that day, we walk through at least 10 spider webs in the first half hour of hiking. And let me tell you, spider webs are not easy to remove from a 3 month beard. Apparently, spiders haven't realized that if they toil away all night on a luxurious web right across the trail, it will just be destroyed the next morning. It's like building a sandcastle too close to the tide. Yet I have to admire their persistence. The other night, as I sat down to dinner, I had the sensation that there were spider webs on multiple different parts of my legs. I figured I was just losing my mind, until I realized that there was a spider making a web between my legs at that exact moment. The sad part is, if you're a spider, anywhere in my general vicinity is actually a pretty efficient place to catch your dinner.</li> </ul><ul><li><u style="font-weight:bold">Stench</u> - I know we've been over this before, and it's true that I improved my hygiene habits, but there is just no way around it. Everything I own smells. My pack, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and every one of my few possessions has a funk that ranges from musty to foul. In an unexpected victory, the hand straps on my hiking poles win the grand prize for stinkiest gear.</li> </ul><ul> <li><b><u>Hiking</u></b> - I know, I know...I came out here because I love hiking. But we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad. It's not that I hate hiking, it's that I hate that I have to do it all day every day. One great thing about hiking is that it completely clears your mind, and you get all sorts of great ideas. You think of goals you'd like to accomplish, hobbies you'd like to take up, places you'd like to visit, etc. The catch is that you can't act on any of these ideas until you get back to the real world. It's a unique brand of torture that I felt was worth noting in this post.</li> </ul><ul> <li><u style="font-weight:bold">Town Stays</u> - I look forward to town stays for days, and it's sometimes all that gets me through a rough stretch of terrain. However, often times we get into town all excited to finally have some time to relax only to find that our chores consume all of our free time. Every time we hit a town, showers and laundry are our first priorities. Unfortunately, it's not unusual to have to carry our dirty laundry half way across town to a non-air-conditioned laundromat in the middle of a 90 degree day. If a laundromat ever opens near my house, I'm going to open one with air-conditioning right across the street. I'll make a fortune. People rarely look more miserable than some of the sweaty locals I've seen fanning themselves with a gossip magazine while waiting for their laundry. Once the laundry is done, then it's time to buy groceries, check email, pay bills, do other miscellaneous real world chores, try to write a blog (even these blog posts can be a groan inducing task on our to-do list), and hopefully squeeze in a hot meal at a decent restaurant. By the time all of that is done, we've got to go to bed so we can get back on the trail at a decent hour the next day.</li> </ul></div><div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"></blockquote>Wow. Okay, I guess I had some stuff pent up in there that I needed to get out. For that, I apologize. I would like to wrap up by saying that this is still an amazing trip. For the most part, I still really enjoy hiking: the scenery is beautiful, seeing all of the different trail towns is a truly unique experience, and our time in the woods makes things like taking a shower and watching TV more enjoyable than they've ever been. Any hardships I experience on this trip are just helping me to appreciate all of the bright spots even more. I promise I'll make it up to you with a post outlining everything that I love about the AT. <br> <blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"> <br></blockquote>So...are we still cool? You gonna come back and read more blog posts? I'll let Bearcub and her positive little self write the next one.<br><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"> <br></blockquote>- Guyline<br><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><br></blockquote></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"> <div><br></div><div><br></div></blockquote> </div> </div><br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-41500406358802905042012-06-17T20:44:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.552-05:00Giardia and Other Trail VocabularyIn conversations with friends and family back home, we've found that the trail has its own vernacular, which sounds like Greek to anyone outside of the trail community. So we thought we'd take a blog post to familiarize you with some of our trail lingo. <br />
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We'll start with Giardia, because it's particularly relevant to us these days. Giardia is a water-born intestinal bug common on the AT, with symptoms akin to what might happen if you ate street food in Mexico or drank water from the Ganges. It's also something that I picked up about two weeks ago, despite the fact that we treat every drop of water we drink (you can also get it from hand contact). Needless to say, we've been taking a lot of breaks during hiking and had some pretty rough days. Don't worry, we finally made it to a clinic and got antibiotics, so in a few weeks I should be as good as new and Giardia-free. Haha, AT, another foiled attempt to take down Bearcub!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first blue blaze - the Virginia Creeper Trail</td></tr>
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With Giardia out of the way, we can move on to some less graphic trail vocabulary. First, there's the "blaze vocab":<br />
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<ul>
<li>White Blazing - following the white blazes that mark the AT</li>
<li>Blue Blazing - following side trails that intersect or run parallel to the AT (marked with blue blazes); we blue-blazed when we took the "Virginia Creeper Trail" out of Damacus. We're glad we did it, because it was flatter, prettier, and because Guyline is a creeper (just kidding).</li>
<li>Aqua Blazing - canoeing rivers that run parallel to the AT rather than hiking that section; we are considering doing some aqua-blazing in the Shenandoahs since Laun instilled a love of canoeing in Bearcub at a young age.</li>
<li>Yellow Blazing - driving, shuttling, or hitching past a section of the trail; we have not done any yellow blazing but a lot of hikers do, which makes them hard to keep up with! There are also several large trails that intersect the AT, some of which are marked by actual yellow blazes. </li>
<li>Pink Blazing - hiking after a girl (we're in very high demand out here)</li>
<li>Brown Blazing - here's a hint, it goes hand in hand with having Giardia!</li>
<li>Ghost Blazing/Retro Blazing - hiking old sections of the AT after the trail has been relocated</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABnXIi43eroXkgNuW9IwDMREwaEB3hAnAlSAfQRyoZ0Gj2fP_OBrPIexv48uFlmvze9fYrPrPSB7C8Qfj7cY-9EegvMx5dds-bSbDR34Ia2SouC9rgLub3EjiJysL_9XXIa8EGmcgJ-g/s1600/batman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABnXIi43eroXkgNuW9IwDMREwaEB3hAnAlSAfQRyoZ0Gj2fP_OBrPIexv48uFlmvze9fYrPrPSB7C8Qfj7cY-9EegvMx5dds-bSbDR34Ia2SouC9rgLub3EjiJysL_9XXIa8EGmcgJ-g/s400/batman.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slack packing bonus - loaner Batman day pack</td></tr>
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<li>Rainbow Blazing - a hiker who follows all types of blazes on their hike (blue, yellow, white, etc.)</li>
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There are also names for different types of hikers:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Thru-hiker - hiking the entire trail in one calendar year</li>
<li>Section hiker - hiking the trail in small sections</li>
<li>Flip-flopper - flipping directions on a thru-hike, usually because of time commitments or weather (e.g., if we don't think we'll finish before Mt. Katahdyn closes for winter on 10/15, we could shuttle up to Maine and start hiking South)</li>
<li>Leapfrogging - skipping large sections of the trail with a plan to return and hike them later (sure you will, buster)</li>
<li>Slack packing - hiking with a day pack while a support crew shuttles your pack to you or you back to your pack. We did slack packing about a month ago; a hostel shuttled us ahead and we left our packs there and hiked back to the hostel. It was a rainy day and we were glad to be ending it somewhere warm and dry.</li>
<li>NOBO - North-bounder</li>
<li>SOBO - South-bounder</li>
<li>Blaze kisser/purist - a hiker with an unwavering commitment to hike past every white blaze</li>
<li>Hike Your Own Hike - a phrase/attitude that any kind of hiking is welcome</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiker aqua blazing on an unstable craft</td></tr>
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Hikers are always concerned with pack weight, so of course there is a set of vocab dedicated to that:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Base weight - also called dry weight; weight of the pack and gear, excluding consumables like food, water, and fuel</li>
<li>Pack weight - weight of the pack, gear, and consumables at the start of a trip</li>
<li>Skin-out base weight - base weight plus what the hiker is wearing</li>
<li>Light backpacking - base weight close to 20 pounds</li>
<li>Ultralight backpacking - base weight close to 10 pounds (I haven't weighed my pack in awhile, but with the purchase of a new 2 pound pack, I may be flirting with ultralight now!)</li>
<li>Gram-weenie - hiker who is obsessed with cutting weight, down to details like sawing off the end of a toothbrush</li>
<li>Gearhead - a hiker obsessed with gear</li>
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Finally, here's some miscellaneous terminology for you:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Hiker midnight - our absurdly early bedtime (usually shortly after dark)</li>
<li>Gorp - "good old raisins and peanuts"</li>
<li>Bouldering - free rock climbing; most of the good bouldering sites on the AT are up North</li>
<li>Bushwhacking - making your own trail</li>
<li>AYCE - All you can eat!!</li>
<li>Blowdowns - fallen trees from storms and high winds; Guyline and I have encountered new blowdowns and spent upwards of 5 minutes figuring out how to get through, over, around, or under them</li>
<li>Zero - day off from hiking</li>
<li>Nero - "nearly a zero"; a day when you hike very short miles, usually into or out of a town</li>
<li>PUD - "pointless ups and downs"; sections of the trail with huge elevation changes for no apparent reason such as water, roads, or views</li>
<li>Stealth camping - camping where you aren't supposed to camp</li>
<li>Trail magic - random acts of kindness toward hikers on the trail</li>
<li>Trail angel - someone who does trail magic</li>
<li>Triple crown - a hiker who has hiked all three of America's longest trails: the AT, the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail), and the CDT (Continental Divide Trail)</li>
<li>2,000 Miler - someone who has hiked the entire AT (although I feel a little cheated out of the other 186!)</li>
<li>Vitamin I - nickname for ibuprofen</li>
<li>Yogi-ing - begging without begging (e.g., arriving at a busy tourist parking lot sweaty and collapsing in a heap, proclaiming to yourself how hungry you are and how badly you need a ride)</li>
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Good....now, when you come visit us on the AT, you'll be all up to speed, right? </div>
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Bearcub</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-48424343449195971182012-06-12T21:37:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.561-05:00The Buck Stops Here?<div class="mobile-photo">
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In the past few days, we've had two interesting animal sightings we thought might make for good blogging. One of the encounters was pretty exciting, and the other was slightly terrifying.</div>
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<strong><u>Encounter #1</u></strong></div>
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As Bearcub and I were enjoying a rare stretch of flat trail, chatting since the terrain allowed us the lung capacity to do so, we heard a rustling in the woods down the ravine to our right. We both instantly fell silent and began visually scouring the woods for an animal. Apparently, when I visually scour I use my entire body, as I completely blocked every angle of Bearcub's view. So in a bittersweet moment, I caught a glimpse of a bear running through the woods, and Bearcub totally missed it. </div>
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We walked on for a couple of minutes in complete silence. Bearcub was disappointed that she missed the action, and I felt guilty for blocking the view. But then suddenly, we heard the rustling again, and we both got a clear view of the bear completing his escape! We were both as excited as kids on Christmas morning. Although most people may consider a bear sighting a frightening occurrence, the bear was clearly more frightened of us than we were of it. Unfortunately, not every animal on the AT shares that attitude. This is where our tale takes a dark turn...</div>
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<strong><u>Encounter #2</u></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtSgXbAYBmQ0E3WOsjKIf1rex6ZvFtZm_DipJYrBBo5GkprDeh6Ds13H1q_bdoztFpu3n6jxk2dqFVuSZEgUZu-r4pP-laoxmyuC1BTLVZG4mcPZb94XyDVjmqqfk9FGmcbsIuCJ2CHc/s1600/photo-787352.JPG" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5753345296135436594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtSgXbAYBmQ0E3WOsjKIf1rex6ZvFtZm_DipJYrBBo5GkprDeh6Ds13H1q_bdoztFpu3n6jxk2dqFVuSZEgUZu-r4pP-laoxmyuC1BTLVZG4mcPZb94XyDVjmqqfk9FGmcbsIuCJ2CHc/s320/photo-787352.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evil lurking in the woods</td></tr>
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Typically, Bearcub and I only hike a few steps apart and stay close at all times. However, occasionally if I have to make a stop, Bearcub will keep hiking ahead knowing that I'll catch up with her again in a few minutes. This meant that Bearcub encountered a cute little buck on the trail before I did. She noticed that he was strangely not very frightened by her presence, and stayed still long enough for her to snap a few photos. </div>
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A few minutes later, I passed the buck and also found it strange that he was not retreating into the woods. I hiked on not thinking too much about it until I heard a ruckus behind me. I assumed what I was hearing was a delayed retreat into the woods, but when I turned around I noticed that the buck was sprinting directly at me! I shouted "Hey!" at the buck assuming the noise would scare him away. He stopped, looked at me curiously, and just stood there. I figured that must have done the trick, and I kept hiking. I turned back again a few seconds later to notice that he was now on the trial and trotting after me! This whole scene played out for a solid 5 minutes and a few hundred yards. I would shout, bang my poles on trees, and do my best to look scary. He would stop for a second, look innocent, and then charge at me again a few minutes later. I'm not ashamed to admit (maybe slightly ashamed) that I was downright scared. I didn't really want to be body-checked and trampled by a deer no matter how cute of a murder it may have been. Finally, he must have gotten distracted by a particularly interesting sapling and he left me alone long enough that I could return to my protector, Bearcub. </div>
Long story short, I'm hoping now that we've seen one bear we've opened the flood gates to see a lot more. However, I'd be perfectly happy not to see another deer for a few hundred miles.<br />
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- Guy LineUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-15564195781886615922012-06-05T09:42:00.004-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.538-05:00And I Would Walk 500 Miles<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
......and I would walk 500 more! It has been awhile since we've given an actual update, and lots has happened:</div>
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• We are both happy, healthy, and still determined to finish this hike!<br />
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• We received several rides from Miss Janet, a local legend in the trail community. She is a trail angel who tirelessly drives hikers around during the season out of the goodness of her heart.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ1iok5J28mFPu9Nb_3zdkj7SWFOiyDpZSfrs81Pg79HMIeonMa8ch48ZxKZYQrA8zyBJMMtV3AVTRm7XpoS5DR0eFdYjqGzIzfx5EcC-aYDFZA6Weu9J57EGSmkYkmJtVTubvKTMggc/s1600/photo7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ1iok5J28mFPu9Nb_3zdkj7SWFOiyDpZSfrs81Pg79HMIeonMa8ch48ZxKZYQrA8zyBJMMtV3AVTRm7XpoS5DR0eFdYjqGzIzfx5EcC-aYDFZA6Weu9J57EGSmkYkmJtVTubvKTMggc/s320/photo7.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Miss Janet and the "Bounce Box" </td></tr>
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• On May 23rd, we FINALLY made it to Virginia</div>
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The Tennessee/Virginia state line</div>
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• On May 25th, we crossed the 500 mile mark, and a few days later officially completed 1/4 of the trail. As of now we are 630 miles in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SlAkl6YGlR-fCDGy9wkmEPQK2MqC0DJD4-oTuiScOpydXAtYAnKDRDNDbbGgW9lCQd_lMwSBHbqMjTcM2YWk704dMyMqCSLW7DrFMOLv4Qrz8Dhr2uIf93cenrn4rJ89XidlYEgaFGs/s1600/photo8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SlAkl6YGlR-fCDGy9wkmEPQK2MqC0DJD4-oTuiScOpydXAtYAnKDRDNDbbGgW9lCQd_lMwSBHbqMjTcM2YWk704dMyMqCSLW7DrFMOLv4Qrz8Dhr2uIf93cenrn4rJ89XidlYEgaFGs/s320/photo8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Reaching the 500 mile mark at the end of a long day...</div>
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• We took our first "for fun" zero days for the Trail Days festival in Damascus, VA. Highlights included the hiker parade/water fight, free showers, and a lot of relaxation time with fellow hikers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mhu0122ZwewYe2RTHPVaH-K_yUYB4B-dfnWv8QzqPi7UaiBHzPW_GSKYMzvRw3nViK_90QKff9bUyuKMBgvU83sc9rRtDx8WPhZH3F_Ly36jv33Q-18mc1FegwM0RnFfZnbSVJLwQws/s1600/photo3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mhu0122ZwewYe2RTHPVaH-K_yUYB4B-dfnWv8QzqPi7UaiBHzPW_GSKYMzvRw3nViK_90QKff9bUyuKMBgvU83sc9rRtDx8WPhZH3F_Ly36jv33Q-18mc1FegwM0RnFfZnbSVJLwQws/s320/photo3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water ballon assault on hikers heading to the parade</td></tr>
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• We happened to hike behind a trail maintenance crew that was re-routing a section of the AT. Along with our friends Spaniard and Mountain Goat, we were the first people to ever hike that section of trail.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">The new section of trail we got to hike....with a volunteer heading down the mountain in the background!</td></tr>
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• Since Trail days, we have received tons of trail magic....probably half of the road crossings we've hiked over have had coolers filled with cold drinks and snacks - makes our day every time!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trail Magic coming into Damascus.</td></tr>
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• We saw a bobcat on the trail one morning! We must have surprised him by our quiet, graceful hiking.... </div>
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• We are trying to crank up the mileage and make up some time, putting in between 15 and 20 miles a day. It is tiring but good so far!</div>
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• We passed through Grayson Highlands State Park and saw dozens of wild ponies</div>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTOKlME8x-zBTdGf3sFECj9gvYSznJCRv5iwCTQuq-l57bqH2h6Gortj6SXVddXT4LdG75lz1yWLtep0MQx6Y_CtOC9uyUSErj3ZbNuSIMNBBxjQS-jUf_RqiO0JMMgq_ZcoiFGQ8yTY/s1600/photo6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTOKlME8x-zBTdGf3sFECj9gvYSznJCRv5iwCTQuq-l57bqH2h6Gortj6SXVddXT4LdG75lz1yWLtep0MQx6Y_CtOC9uyUSErj3ZbNuSIMNBBxjQS-jUf_RqiO0JMMgq_ZcoiFGQ8yTY/s320/photo6.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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• Spaniard and Mountain Goat have inspired us to get creative to eat healthy on the trail. We've learned that Taco Bell makes pre-cooked black beans in a bag, two people can eat a bag of spinach in one day if they try hard, and broccoli florets last two days tucked deep in a backpack.</div>
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So far, we have avoided getting "the Virginia blues" (Virginia is over 500 miles long!!!!) and have enjoyed the slightly easier terrain and change of scenery. We walk through a cow pasture almost everyday which keeps us focused on avoiding giant cowpies. And we are excited for our friends Sarika and Anne to visit us in Shenandoah Natl Park in a few weeks.</div>
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For now, we'd better get cracking on that "500 more"......</div>
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Bearcub</div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-54847743582219120312012-06-01T18:13:00.001-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.566-05:00AT Quiz Answers!Alright all you bashful readers, we know you read the quiz blog because we have access to that kind of info (we've got spies everywhere), but it seems that only a few of you were brave enough to answer. Of those courageous few, we are officially proclaiming Littlefoot the champion. Congrats, Littlefoot! All of the answers are listed below.
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<br>1) There are roughly 165,000 white blazes marking the AT from Georgia to Maine. Volunteers all over the 14 trail states contribute to the blazing and maintenance of the trail.
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<br>2) At the time that we posted the quiz, we had hiked 531 miles. As of this post, we have hiked 587.
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<br>3) We have hiked in 4 different states - Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. We'll be in VA for about a month as about one fourth of the trail is in this state.
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<br>4) We have thankfully only dropped one item over the side of a mountain. It was only a quart-sized Gatorade bottle, but one would have guessed it was a prized possession if they had heard the way we shouted "Gatorade, noooooo!" as we watched it slowly roll down the mountain.
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<br>5) We saw 1 bobcat and we're pretty pumped about it. The bobcat is nearly as elusive on the trail as a clean-shaven, showered hiker.
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<br>6) We have seen 13 snakes, and Bearcub is nearly as big of a fan of them as she is of spiders.
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<br>7) We've seen 2 of those snakes trying to eat something alive. We saw one that had a lizard by the leg, and another was wrapped around a cute baby mouse. Bearcub was traumatized after that one. I admit it was a bit difficult to watch. Then again if a snake saw me eating wings he'd probably be a bit traumatized as well. Sometimes nature ain't pretty.
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<br>8) We have seen zero wild boar, so this answer is also kind of a bore.
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<br>9) It took 46.5 days for Jennifer Davis to complete the fastest thru-hike on record in 2011.
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<br>10) The AT goes through 14 states.
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<br>11) At the time of the quiz post, I had fallen twice and Bearcub had once. However, a few hours after that post, Bearcub evened the score with one of those slow motion falls where you know you're going down but there's nothing you can do about it. Luckily, the only thing hurt was her pride.
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<br>12) The highest elevation on the AT is at Clingman's Dome in the Smokies at 6,543 feet.
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<br>13) A liter of water weighs about 2.2 lbs. Since we start our hike everyday with 2 liters and drink most of it right before we get to the next water source, our pack weight can fluctuate by 4.4 lbs throughout the day without considering the weight of the food we eat each day (a lot).
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<br>14) Combined we carry about 4 liters or 8.8 lbs of water.
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<br>15) We are currently on our 3rd bear rope. We made a rookie mistake and got the 1st one stuck in a tree, and our 2nd one was low quality so we stripped it multiple times and had to replace it.
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<br>16) Combined we have lost 10 pounds of body weight. I've lost 10, and Bearcub has not lost any, but that's because she's gained muscle. We read that by the end of the hike, the men look like famine victims and the women look like super models. So far that seems accurate for us, but Bearcub already looked like a super model before we started. Brownie points!
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<br>17) At the time of the quiz post, we had been hiking 56 days. As of today, it has been 60 days.
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<br>Alright, I'm guessing that filled your appetite for tedious AT facts.
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<br>Until next time...
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<br>Guy LineUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363317500115203316.post-83989183611980230862012-05-28T08:44:00.000-05:002013-09-19T09:53:53.575-05:00By The Numbers: An AT QuizWe thought it might be fun for our readers to participate in a little quiz about our AT journey. Match the question numbers to the letter of the correct answer, and submit your answers by commenting on this post. We'll reveal the answers and the winner later. The grand prize will be pride and a brief distraction from your work day.<br />
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1) Roughly how many white blazes mark the AT from Georgia to Maine?<br />
2) How many miles have we hiked on the AT at the time of this post?<br />
3) How many states have we hiked in at the time of this post?<br />
4) How many items have we accidentally dropped over the side of a mountain?<br />
5) How many bobcats have we seen?<br />
6) How many snakes have we seen?<br />
7) How many snakes have we seen in the process of eating something alive?<br />
8) How many wild boar have we seen?<br />
9) How many days did it take to complete the fastest through hike on record? The real answer includes a decimal, but we rounded to the nearest day.<br />
10) How many states does the AT go through?<br />
11) How many times between the two of us have we fallen while hiking? Only complete falls count. If we catch ourselves with our hands and our butts don't touch the ground then that doesn't count. Still embarrassing, but it doesn't count.<br />
12) What's the highest elevation on the AT? Hint: We've been there and done that.<br />
13) What is the weight in pounds of 1 liter of water?<br />
14) How many liters of water do we carry combined?<br />
15) How many bear ropes have gone through either by misplacing or destroying them? This includes the bear rope we're currently using.<br />
16) How many combined pounds of body weight have we lost since the start of our hike?<br />
17) At the time of this post, how many days have we been hiking?<br />
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A) 0<br />
B) 4<br />
C) 6,543<br />
D) 56<br />
E) 1<br />
F) 13<br />
G) 14<br />
H) 3<br />
I) 4<br />
J) 1<br />
K) 531<br />
L) 3<br />
M) 2<br />
N) 2.2<br />
O) 165,000<br />
P) 47<br />
Q) 10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6