043 - Bolivia - Oruro 02/06/09 - 03/01/09 Volunteering in Bolivia: Give a little, receive a lot A wise man once said, 'Give, and give freely, and you will receive tenfold more than that which you gave'. Such was the story of our time in Oruro, Bolivia; volunteering at a soup kitchen for underprivileged children and at a girls orphanage, and ultimately, experiencing a love and affection so pure that it brought both of us to tears upon leaving. We were extremely blessed to have a contact in Oruro. Not just a contact, but the best possible friend you could want [View Full Entry]

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042 - Bolivia - Tupiza 01/30/09 - 02/06/09 A Bolivian Safari: The most diverse terrain per square mile in the world Imagine driving past a deep-red lake with Mars-like rocks in abundance, through a desert with boulders named after the artist Salvatore Dali, and onto another lake, this one white with yellow streaks from the salt and borax deposits. All this, from the comfort of your Land Cruiser, and seen in less than one hour! Add in a few more days of exploring and you'll see active volcanoes, hot springs, natural geysers, and the largest salt plane in the world. Welcome [View Full Entry]

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041 - Argentina - Cordoba 01/19/09 - 01/30/09 Argentina: Cordoba Culture, Iguazu Falls, and a Castle in Salta written by Hannah Argentina is enormous and wonderfully western. We crossed the border from 'hot dog obsessed' Chile and traversed through the mighty Andes on our way to the cultural center of the Americas - Cordoba, Argentina. On the 20+ hr trip we met a new friend, Renee, from Australia and spent the next few weeks exploring Argentina with her. The day we arrived just happened to be the International Day of Hope...otherwise knonw as Inaguration Day... the day [View Full Entry]

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040 - Chile - Ancud 01/08/09 - 01/19/09 Unexpected Chile Here's a little travel hint from the 'engineer half' of Do It Like The Locals: a little spontaneity can add some much needed spice to your travels. Also, don't believe everything you hear or read about a place. Okay, that's two travel hints, I admit, but that's what Chile was for us: spontaneous and quite unexpected. First, Bariloche (Argentina), a town prime with Argentinian tourists from Buenos Aires and other parts of the country. Getting to Bariloche consisted of a 22-hour non-stop bus ride that couldn't have ended [View Full Entry]

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039 - Uruguay - La Paloma 12/24/08 - 01/08/08 Bienvenidos a las Americas Arriving in Argentina after spending over a month in the Middle East is a like relaxing to an ice cold beer in your apartment after a journey across the desert. Your couch and the Corona are familiar enough, but the fact that they come after such toil makes your apartment feel like the Ritz Carlton and the beer taste like liquid gold snowflakes pouring into your mouth! Such was the contrast for us: leisurely strolling the boardwalks of Puerto Madero without getting hassled by taxi drivers, eating fantastic [View Full Entry]

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038 - Jordan - Petra 12/10/08 - 12/24/08 Caught between a rock, a dead sea, and a hard to find work place Rocks all around us! Salt rocks in the Dead Sea, Masada's rock fortress perched on a hill, a city in Jordan whose name literally means 'rock', and the vibrant coral of Sinai's Red Sea (yes, I know the difference between rock and coral). First stop, the lowest place on earth: The Dead Sea. A body of water so full of salt and minerals that you literally can't sink! If you don't know how to swim (or float for that [View Full Entry]

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037 - Israel - Tel Aviv 11/30/08 - 12/09/08 Sweet and Sour Holy Land written by Hannah Israel and the Palestinian territories are home and holy site to the 3 major monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How sweet it is to see a harmonious coexisting of these three in a country that has over 4,000 years of wars, possessions, and rulers. One of our favorite things about traveling is the first-hand education you receive in country. Israel really shocked me though: like the city of Nazareth (known as being Jesus' childhood home) is a Muslim city! The Jew [View Full Entry]

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036 - Cyprus - Lefkosia 11/25/08 - 11/30/08 Cyprus Souvlaki Cyprus is the daughter island of divorced parents Greece and Turkey, and is currently caught in a bitter custody battle between the two. The island boasts some amazing beaches and scenic views, and its citizens have a bit of a 'horio' (village life) attitude that gives them a more relaxed demeanor than Athenians. Hannah and I stayed with my uncle Mike and his wife Ioanna who graciously hosted us with lodging, a car to drive around in, and all the souvlaki our bellies could digest in just under a week! Cyprus' [View Full Entry]

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Some photo highlights from Milan... [View Full Entry]

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035 - Switzerland - Lugano 11/12/08 - 11/22/08 Banking with the Brooks in the land of chocolate watches Okay, the title is misleading since we didn't really do any banking, eat any chocolate, or buy any watches... but we did hang out with our friends Jane and Darren Brooks, and newly born Matthew, a.k.a. 'Lil' Baby Nug', in scenic Lugano, Switzerland. First, Hannah and I flew into Milan and unanimously decided that Italy IS our favorite European country. People are what make a place for us, and Italians are the type of people we love: friendly, warm, grateful, and with an [View Full Entry]

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