Qinghai Lake, written as 青海湖 translates literally as ‘blue sea lake’. It is the largest lake in China. The reason it’s often referred to as a “sea” is that this lake, which sits at 10,515 feet elevation, is SALTY! This lake also happens to be the largest body of saline water found in China. The lake is famous for it’s almost surreal turquoise glow. The color of the water is one of the most unique I’ve ever seen, caused by the low oxygen levels in the lake. Or by the nuclear testing done back in the ’50s and ’60s… either way it’s an out of this world view.

Qinghai Lake at 10,500ft

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to travel to this remote “wild west” region of China for a couple of days with my Dad. I was living in Shanghai for a few months at the time and he was in the country on business. Heading west together we got to explore a whole new face of China, a world away from the bustling smog enshrined metropolis of Beijing and Shanghai, together.

Qinghai is the western most (un)official providence in China. To it’s northwest is the  Xianiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and to it’s southwest is the famous Tibet Autonomous Region. There are a few don’t miss places to see while in the area, the Blue Sea Lake and the Kumbum Monastery. Today, let me take you around the lake district.

To get to the lake we rode on a min-van across vibrantly green plateaus for an hour or two, stopping off at a Tibetan Buddhist shrine built on a hill in the middle of no-where to stretch our legs.

A Small Village We Passed By, The Yellow Flowers Are Harvested For It’s Oil

I don’t recall the name of this small shrine, but I do know that it was built for an important female deity. Though there are only a few building that might house people in sight along the horizon, the shrine happens to be right off the two lane highway to the lake. It is a big enough tourist bus stop to ensure roadside vendors, entry ticket salesmen, and locals dressed in traditional clothing either selling the clothing or selling the opportunity to take a picture with them.

Ticket Vendors. The Traditional Coats That The Locals Wore Are Perfect For The Climate, Thick And Warm (Plus Great Style)

It’s definitely worth the stop! Not just to stretch your legs but to walk up the little hill and take in the scenery, colors, and the beautifully ornate temple. There are yaks laying about with their traditional Tibetan outfits on (pay per snap), and several local merchants to buy the ornate jackets from. The air is so much thinner up at those heights that I remember feeling out of breath just from the short hike up. Also it was quite chilly, even during mid-summer, and the strong winds were a never-abating!

After the short lay-over at the temple we headed on ward towards the “Ocean In The Sky.” The pictures really don’t do it justice, as the color of the water seemed to glow, it reminded me of blue kryptonite for some reason….

This used to be an atomic bomb test site back in the ‘50-60s as well, might explain the glow in the water…

A Camel by a salty lake 10,500ft up, not a sight you see everyday

Tibetan Prayer Flags

Tibetan Child “model”

I took that last picture of this amazingly beautiful little child, only to find out that I owed her money…and was then surrounded by another ten kids offering to pose with me. Turns out they are here to pose with tourists, and they can be VERY persistent so either have some change ready or hide your camera.

Once at the lake you can take ferry rides out to exposed sand dunes in scattered throughout the lake. On our ride over we met a very interesting elderly couple, who were both so sharply dressed in their own style in a way I wished I could pull of. Turns out this was their first vacation, and first time leaving their village to the east. They spoke a very strong dialect and even our friend who spoke fluent Chinese had a hard time understanding them. The most amazing thing about meeting them was once again finding out how small the world is. Though they had never left their small village in rural China it turns out that their son is currently living in Seattle…as a computer programmer! Guess which company..? They were planning on visiting him and flying for the first time later that year.

The Coolest Grandparent’s

Loved Her Look!

On the way out of the designated lake viewing area there are display tents from the regional nomadic tribes. Though these are for tourists, we saw communities of nomads who had set up their tents along the waterfront on the way in. The number of nomadic people are dwindling, part economic pressures to migrate to the city and also in part by a concentrated effort by the government who have built cities for the sole purpose of relocating the nomadic people to a permanent location.

Nomadic tribes camped out for spring

Set Up For Tourists To Tour

Another interesting thing to check out while you are in the area is the Tibetan Mastiffs. These are huge, woolly, adorable looking, but at times vicious guard dogs of the region. There are a several pens where the dogs are housed. When I was there there were a few teen pups that made you forget how tough these fighting dogs can get.

They Have Been Bred To Be Strong & Ferocious When Needed

But How Cute Is This?

Next post will be about the Kumbum monastery and temple. If anyone has been to this area or to the monastery please feel free to add any additional information or tips you might have come across. There is not that much accurate info on the web for this region.

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Today, we want to tell you about two really fantastic people who are currently sailing in the south Pacific. Otto and Lili are two very good friends Alyson and I made while traveling through the southern Caribbean. Unlike us, they have their own boat named Vagabond. Its a 46′ Dix sailboat that Otto built himself. They left from South Africa on Vagabond over 3 years ago and have been sailing their way around the world ever since.

Otto, Lili, and Alyson reveling during the Colombian Independence Day Festivals in Cartagena.

Alyson and I last saw Otto and Lili in Cartagena, Colombia where we all spent several weeks enjoying festivals, playing backgammon tournaments and exploring the city. Since then Vagabond has sailed through the San Blas Islands of Panama and on through the canal. Yesterday, we received an email with some fun and amazing photos of their current location, the Galapagos Islands. We thought you guys would enjoy these!

From Lili and Otto:

“Hola amigos & amigas

Yesterday we went on a tour of the island and the attached pictures tell a story. We are incredibly impressed how things are done here – very eco friendly and tastefully laid out. Everywhere you go, there are signs carved out of wood that are very informative and loads of benches to rest ones weary feet from all the walking in the heat. We absolutely love it here – the wildlife is amazing and we are having such fun swimming and frolicking with the sea lions, especially the pups, in the water.

Today and tomorrow we will spend refuelling with diesel and then we are going to go diving in a place that is notorious for its viewing of hammerhead sharks, the following day we will take a ferry to the next island over called Santa Cruz where we will visit the Charles Darwin Scientific Research Centre and then we will just hang around for a few more days to enjoy the wonderful snorkelling and other sites. It’s so nice being a tourist again.”

At the Volcano Crater with our guide Carlos.

Benches in the Park.

Galapagos Land Tortoise.

Galapagos Marine Iguana.

Lil in the Tortoise Sanctuary.

Looking down from the Volcano

Otto, the photographer.

Signs in the Sanctuary.

More Signs.

Sea Lions doing Yoga.

Maureen making friends.

Sea Lion Pup.

More Yoga.

Playtime.

The Scenery.

Crewing with Otto and Lili is a fellow travel blogger, Ursula at Abroad Aboard. Her stories of their trip from Panama to the Galapagos are fun, insightful and hilarious. Here is a short excerpt from her post about dealing with sea lions during their second day in the Galapagos.

“A HUGE male seal stank the whole stern up this morning, and THEN he shit…. the smell was intolerable. Otto fixed a rope, lightly tied, to dangle onto the seal, like a bad itch that won’t go away, and well, he left. Maybe it is that simple to get rid of them? They are ALL OVER the anchorage & the dock & jetty & jetty pathway…. Over coffee this morning, Otto & Lili tell me that they discovered seals snort, fart, cough, whistle, honk etc & smell bad through the night, they are nocturnal! “

To read more about their adventures check out Ursula’s blog at Abroad Aboard.

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Excerpt from Travelouge April 1st, 2010

We were now somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Paria. Alyson and I were both uneasy. Neither of us had stopped scanning the horizon since we had entered the “Boca del Serpiente” Channel just before sunrise. The Paria is a small body of water separating the isle of Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland, and it’s notorious for pirate attacks. Passage through the gulf can only be made through the two separate channels leading in and out of the Paria. Entry from the south via the Mouth of the Serpent and from the north by the Mouth of the Dragon.

“In the mouth of the snake and out the mouth of the dragon.”

A route we would rather have avoided, but weather conditions dictated that we had to sail today…and this was the quickest passage. Sometimes it is hard to decide who to fear more…man or Mother Nature. Hopefully, if all went well we would be passing out of the “Boca del Dragon” Channel in a couple of hours.

The winds had been picking up steadily since day break. A 20 knot breeze out of the southeast kept us on a broad reach making between 6-8 knots. Despite the increasing winds, we carried on under full genoa and main. We were anxious to put the Paria and its rumors of pirates to our stern.

We hadn’t been in the gulf long, but it had already seemed like an eternity. We tried to relax our tensions by joking about swinging over to Trinidad to pick up some rum.

“Maybe some coffee will help to ease our tensions…” Alyson suggested as she made her way below to the galley.

“Shhh! Do you hear that?”

The barely audible buzz of an outboard motor could be heard in the air. I grabbed the binoculars and started scanning the horizon as Alyson scurried back into the cockpit.

“There!” she shouted pointing to off our port bow.

Sure enough, the small silhouette of a pirro boat could be seen thudding over the waves.

“Probably, just a fishing boat” Alyson tried to assure us. Usually, that would be the case. Small fishing boats of locals and islanders was not an uncommon sight. But here… in the infamous Paria…it seemed unlikely.

As they approached closer we got a much better look at them…and unfortunately, they got a much better look at us. They were a swarthy looking group, leering at us with malicious intent as they slowly cruised by. Alyson grabbed my hand. We could spot their automatic weapons lying low in their boat. The sight of two white gringos alone on board sent them into a frenzy. They smiled at such easy victims and shouted taunts at us while waving their machetes in the air.

The rusty outboard of the pirro boat rattled with acceleration. The pirates passed to our stern and began to loop around to our starboard side. Soon we would be boarded, and then…?

We had seconds to act.

I reached to the cockpit locker to grab our handheld VHF radio. Maybe the Trinidadian Coast Guard could get here in time, but it was highly doubtful. As I threw open the lid I was struck by a sour odor. Some of bottles from our stash of beer had busted, and the entire locker was filled with a foul stench of beer, salt water, & gasoline. Then I spotted our one weapon we kept on board…our emergency flare gun. An idea began to quickly develop in my mind.

The pirates were now coming along side. I could hear their sinister voices and the outboard’s rev getting louder. I handed the flare gun to Alyson and took the helm.

“What’s this for?!?” she asked in surprise.

As the pirate vessel came along side, I pulled hard on the tiller. Our little boat “the Jaunt” turned quick on a beam reach ramming the side of the wooden fishing boat. The pirates were pissed. Alyson quickly trimmed in the sails and the Jaunt heeled over dramatically raising our starboard topside. A clever move that shielded us from the pirates momentarily.
The angry pirates fired on the Jaunt putting a few bullet holes in our hull and ripping the main sail before looping around to make another pass on us.

Taking advantage of the situation, I grabbed the gas can and a couple of empty beer bottles from the cockpit locker. “Fill” I told Alyson. The pirates were looping behind us once again. This time making an approach to our port side. The cockpit floor filled with gasoline while Alyson dumped the contents of our gas reserve into the two empty beer bottles.

We were both crouched low in the cockpit now. As we heard the pirates near the boat, I passed her the flare gun. “On my signal, shoot! Got it!”

Just at that moment, one of the pirates peered over into our boat. They were coming aboard. He spotted the flare gun in Alyson’s hands and the makeshift Molotov Cocktails. His eyes widened. He turned to shout something to his comrades in the boat alongside. Before, he could open his mouth I grabbed an oar. With as much force as I could muster I jabbed the oar into his throat, and sent the pirate reeling backwards into the Paria’s waters.

The commotion of a man overboard distracted the pirates. This was the moment. I nodded to Alyson. We both took a deep breath and time seemed to stand still.

“Now!”

We both leaped up from the cockpit floor. I took sight of the pirro and hurled the gasoline-filled beer bottle at the fuel tank of their outboard engine. It shattered into pieces sending glass and gasoline in every direction. The startled pirates looked up to stare at us in disbelief and then…

the small click of the flare gun trigger…

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Roadside attractions and road-trips in America. The concept alone fills one’s imagination with nostalgic images of family road trips in station wagons, Route 66, and a whole assortment of 50s era postcards. I even get this image, and I really can’t be that nostalgic for an era that I was never alive in. But the icons and myths of America’s favorite pass-time is still alive and strong today, even if we mostly just drive on the interstate. John loves the idea of a road-trip, for him a dream trip would involve a classic car, a tear-drop camper and driving across the States stopping at all the classic spots. I love the image of such a trip, especially if we actually had a classic car or a cool camper, but the truth is I hate sitting in the car for more than an hour or two at a time. I don’t know if I’ve just become jaded from seeing so many places but for me the scene out of the car looks the same 99% of the time. Luckily I don’t get car sick so I always try to bring some “toys” with me to keep me occupied. If it’s a long trip my side of the car would feature books, sketch pads, camera, phone, and anything else that might distract me for a period of time.

However, since we are back in the USA for a period of time, I have decided to learn to love the road-trip. Specially since driving is still one of the easiest ways to maneuver around this giant country. In order to have a road-trip you really need a destination. But to have an even better road-trip you need some awesomely corny road-side attractions. These are harder to come by, so a little planning and research will go a long way to making your next road-trip a postcard worthy one. Check this website out for weird and bizarre things to see in your area: Roadside America. This is the site where I learned that in Gibsland LA, there is a museum and marker for where Bonnie and Clyde got ambushed and that in Fort Worth there is a tree full of Bicycles. Random? Yes, but the fun of looking for these odd-ball attractions can keep your road-trip entertaining and comment worthy!

A couple of weeks ago John and I were driving to see some friends who live in Hattiesburg, MS, my old college town. On the way there we had decided to stop just outside of Mobile, AL where years ago we had found the perfect road-side attraction: a backyard zoo! I’ve actually grown up hearing about homemade zoos, as my father’s family ran a road-side zoo from their home in Florida back in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. On our road-trips in Japan, my sister and I would always ask for the “animal farm” stories. That could be one of the reasons I have also always wanted either a monkey or a tiger cub for a pet.

The Mobile Zoo!

This zoo in Mobile, aptly named the Mobile Zoo is down a country road off of Highway 98. The main entry building is a cute barn where you pay $7 to get in and a few extra dollars buys you a big brown bag full of peanuts to feed the animals with. And TRUST me on this when I say DON’T eat the peanuts…

The zoo is much like any other farm in the area, just that instead of just having cows there are also deer, llamas, buffalo, miniature Sicilian donkeys, monkeys, bears, tigers, and lions. The surprising thing about this zoo is the amount and variety of animals it actually has!

Some Animals From Around The Area Are To Be Found As Well, Maybe He Jumped In For The Peanuts

So Graceful

These Sicilian Miniature Donkeys Were As Small As My Dog! (OK The Dog IS Rather Large…)

It’s Pre-Historic!

…And Quite Friendly

John Getting A Little Too Friendly With The Deer

I Just Loved This Guy’s Face, Too Cute To Be A Bull!

Pacing

A Curious Monkey

Snack Time!

There’s No Sign Saying NOT TO Go…

An Abandoned Fake Old West Movie Set???

Where’s Our Dueling Pistols When We Need Them?

Years ago when we first found this place there was also a Renaissance Town set up in one of the fields, though we hiked through several overgrown fields we couldn’t find it anywhere…

I would recommend anyone passing through the area to take the time to stop by Mobile Zoo, there’s just not that many backyard zoos like this anymore. But beware of the uber pissed-off Llama that had his mind set on messing with John. Here’s a video of John trying to give the llama some peanuts, only to be sneezed at, spitted upon and ultimately have the peanut thrown back at his face….Enjoy!

Any funky road-side stops you’d recommend?

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8 years ago today John and I met. Well, technically we were in the same class the entire semester already but I hadn’t noticed. Luckily he had! This could of been a classically romantic tale but the truth is he noticed me, not for my drop-dead gorgeousness (HE better say so!) but because I have a nemesis called gravity. For the entire month, twice a week, I would come to our water-color class, fill my water jug and, like everyone else, placed it on my table so I could paint….well unlike everyone else I would then promptly spill the entire jug of water all over myself, my desk, and the floor! Come on! It’s an art desk, it’s tilted, why was gravity only working on me?? My car was in the shop that day and I was roaming around the room after class trying to bum a free ride home when John picked his opportunity and offered me a ride.  As it turned out not only did I get a ride home but a date for that weekend as well.

When John and I met, I had just moved to his home town in south Alabama from the Caribbean and Argentina. He had never left the country nor flown in an airplane. But we got along like two peas in a pod and soon we were hanging out all the time. About six months after we started dating, my family moved to New Zealand. Yes, I know, but please hold the questions till later. We were only in New Zealand for three months before heading back to Japan where we were going to revisit our “hometown” of Nagayo. My sister and I had spent our childhood growing up in that small town outside of Nagasaki.

As My Mother Frantically Yells “Which One Is Mine?!”

We were the only foreign family in the neighborhood, my dad worked in a Japanese company, and my sister and I went to the local kindergarten and elementary schools (except for the two years where Mom home schooled us in English as we were in danger of forgetting). While there, John decided to make his first overseas trip and visit me. He got his first passport, bought his first plane ticket, flew across his first ocean, and navigated through three Japanese airports on his own.  Not only did this experience open up John to a whole new view on the world but it also allowed me to experience something I had almost forgotten, the absolute thrill of experiencing a new place for the first time!

A Ninja, what more can be said?

Just another normal day in Japan…

Keep going, the top ten tips for staying a happy team/couple coming right up!

After Japan my family moved to Cebu, Philippines for about a year where John came for a visit as well. Hop & Jaunt never would have existed had not the most convenient of coincidences happened! It just so happened that when my family moved back to the States, the town we moved to was only an hour and a half drive from John’s college town. So as history shows we picked up where we left off, not without a few awkward re-introductory conversations. Ever since then, while at university and while toiling away at our first real jobs, we talked about how great it could be if we could go traveling together. And as you can see from this blog, we finally did embark on not only a trip but a whole new lifestyle!

Since last April we traveled together for 8 months, that’s roughly 240 days, or some 5,760 hours within reach, sight and smell of each other! How did we do it? And more importantly would you want to do it? Would we do it again? Yes we would, and here are ten tips for a happy trip before, during, and after with that special someone:

Tips For Traveling Couples (or for people that spend an exorbitant amount of time together)

#10: Make Sure You Actually Like Each Other

Cannot over stress this point, there is nothing more fulfilling than sharing the best time of your life with your significant other while traveling. But there is hardly anything worse than finding out you can’t stand each other three weeks into a sixteen month round the world trip with ticket already purchased. That may be an extreme case, but trust me; you’ll be spending most of your waking (and sleeping) moments within inches of each other. That “cute” habit he/she has better be cute, because your partner’s little tics are going be magnified over and over again. But the same applies about that weird thing you do. So have some patience with each other, and make sure you like to spend time with your partner before heading out into the sunset.

#9: Agree On Your Traveling-Lifestyle Before You Go

Make sure you both have a good understanding of how you’re going to travel. The budget would be a huge factor in this issue but so is each partner’s personality. Are you a couch-surfing, backpack toting, not a hot shower in sight type of traveler? How about your partner? Or are you more into seeing the sites with swank and style with a cocktail at the rooftop club for a night cap?  Is your partner not happy unless their “doing” something every waking moment? Or is chilling at the cafe by the plaza all day suit them fine? Being frank about your expectations for your travel life-style is a biggie. I’ve seen some unhappy spouses either being dragged around or trying to drag around their partners.

Living The Good Life…We Named The Mouse Jenkins

#8: There’s Two Of You: But Not Everything Has To Be Doubled!

One of the not so pleasant aspects of traveling together is that you’re paying for everything twice. Specially if you’re already at the stage where it’s all just one account anyway. Things can add up quickly. So when you get a chance to get two for the price of one, you’ve gotta jump at it. Yes, we can share that American sized dinner! And this fugal planning applies not only to deals on the street but for how you pack as well. While you need to both pack your essentials, you also have more space if you share. You only need one medical kit, one clothesline, one camera, one laptop, and one set of shampoo-conditioner. While if you were alone you would also need the same things with two people you get extra space for some more goodies. But do bring your own toothbrush…

#7: Don’t Forget The Couple Shot!

When traveling with a partner it’s easy to get your picture next to that amazing site. It’ll be my profile pic! However, don’t overlook the obvious; get someone to take your picture together! I know that sounds dumb, but trust us, when we got back from our trip with several thousand photos and we were to be interviewed they requested a photo of the two of us on a boat. Well we did spend 7months of the trip on a boat, and we have several hundred of either one of us on a boat…but did we have a couple shot? No.

One of the few Couples Shots we took together

#6: Make Some Friends!

Meeting new people is one of the best things about going to new places, however many couples have a hard time “meeting” people when they are together. Make an additional effort to open up and talk to new people, and keep your jealous tendencies at bay. The good thing about part of a “couple”  is that it already takes off the whole social pressure between gals and guys. You can start making friends without thinking too deeply about every comment they make. Other couple friends can actually come in handy in places where it may not be wise to roam alone, you just pair off and let the girls go do their thing and the guys their own. We knew of two couples that both traveled with kids and they had it worked out perfectly where they could swap off kids and spouses depending on who needed to get away. Some nights the ladies watched the kids and hung out, other nights the girls would hit the town while the guys watched the kids. Or when a couple needed a night out on their own, voila instant baby-sitters! All I am saying is don’t let the fact that you’re both together keep you two from making new friends. We’ve made some of the best friends in our life while traveling.

#5: Space, Give Me SPACE!!!

There are times in a person’s life when you just need to be alone. These times could be for emotional and mental reasons, or it could be for very practical ones like going to the bathroom. Either way when traveling together, especially in a new area it’s natural that you spend the time together. After all, that’s why you bothered coming together, right? Try adding quality alone time in to your routine. John is a morning person, and to put it extremely light I AM NOT. So many mornings John would have his alone time just because I was “out” sleeping. Or on the nights when the insomniac in me re-surfaces I get hours of alone time when he’s out. The only down side is that John has no problem with waking me up after he is done with his quality time!

When We Had The Balcony This Would Be The "Quiet" Spot

We’d Take Turns!

#4: Learn New Things Together!

The whole fun of traveling with a partner is to share the experiences together. While at home most couples have their own hobbies and things “they do”, while out of your normal habitat learn something new together. Whether it be a new language so you can both navigate the country better or a new sport that you’d never think about trying back home. Not only will you have a shared experience but something you can keep sharing together long after the trip may be done. John and I took windsurfing lessons together and had so much fun laughing at each other just trying to stand up. Eventually we got to where we were trying to race around each other, and that’s more fun when you’ve got friendly competition!

#3: Plan Together Then Delegate!

The planning stage is exciting. You’re researching all the different things you would like to see and do. You’re making plans and saving, you have a million things to take care of before the day. This is where having a partner can be so great. You’ve both got different skills and temperaments, think like a pro-team and start lining up your strongest players for the different tasks (don’t ask me which sport I am referring to here, people it’s a metaphorical metaphor! Just go with it.) I’m more of a “big, over-the-top, the sky is not even close to the limit” type of dreamer and planner, while John actually lives in the real world so he’s just naturally better at planning the more mundane, ahem, detailed tasks.

#2: Don’t Forget To Date!

Sure you’re together 24/7 and you feel like you can hear his/her thoughts in your head, but step back and take the time to be a ‘normal’ couple. Make sure you budget to be able to splurge on date nights once in a while. There’s nothing more refreshing than getting a bit spruced up and dining out at a nice restaurant, or to watch a new movie with air-conditioning, or to just get a room at a swanky hotel that has running hot water to re-kindle the spirit and your relationship.

A Horse Drawn Carriage Ride Is A Good Date Night Option!

Or a Lobster Dinner Right On The Fisherman’s Porch!

#1: Laugh, A Lot, Even At The Worst Of Times!

Traveling, exploring, and experiencing new sights and sounds is supposed to be fun, or why do it? Don’t forget your sense of humor at home. Traveling is not always exciting, it can be downright horrible at times. Things go wrong, it’s difficult at times, and it can become very stressful as well. When your alone you have to deal with these emotions too, but if you’ve got a partner you can share the burden, so do it! Realize that it’ll get better and find something to laugh about, it’ll make the otherwise tedious moments fly by!

John Riding Around On His Red Macho Scooter Still Makes Me Laugh!

I hope that these traveling couples tips will help you and your partner not only weather the hard times but to enjoy the best of times together happily ever after! Happy Belated Valentines!

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What happens to travelers when they finally “go home?” After all the planning, saving, determination, downsizing, chaos and sometimes sheer terror of leaving everything behind. After traveling, backpacking, sailing, or living in another country is done and you find your self back in your hometown. Some may be lucky enough to have a home and job waiting for them but for the most of us we will need to re-build our lives. Many people might find this stage un-nerving enough to not want to leave in the first place. What we have found is that the things we learned about ourselves while traveling and living overseas has shaped us in more ways than we expected, including being mentally ready for this next phase in our lives. In the past year, between getting ready to go and actually being out there we have gained a whole new level of confidence in ourselves and what we are capable of. It also allowed us to meet many people that by sharing their stories and being by them we have learned a lot of valuable lessons that might have otherwise taken years to learn. One of the most important things that we actually might have learned is simply to actually start believing that we could be and do anything we wanted, as long as we were committed and willing to work our butts off. Today I’ll look at what a few of us “travelers” are up to when they find themselves back “home.”

John and I have been back since Christmas and we’re staying at his family home in Andalusia with his parents. We are not sitting around watching TV though, we are starting on phase II of operation Hop & Jaunt world domination via friendly fire! Long name but basically it means we have finally found the cojones to start a project we’ve always dreamed of doing: starting our own design and advertising business. Initially a home business but hoping to take make virtually anywhere with us with the power of the internet! The goal is to be location independent and to try and make money online as much as possible. We’ve always been designers, both of us having been caught doodeling on our notebooks since grammar school. Until recently we just thought we needed to be “grown-ups” and have a regular office job with an actual paycheck, insurance, and a commute, preferably with a cranky boss or two thrown in. It was while we were out that we had a chance to meet other designers , bartered with our work, dabbled in freelance, and slowly but surely realized that our parents were right, we were pretty good at this. Most importantly we realized that we CAN do it. So starting this year we have made concrete steps to open up our own free-lance design shop and on-line business! Our ultimate goal is to become our tagline:
“traveling designers.” Setting up shop where ever our laptops plug in, preferably in tropical climates but we’ll start one step at a time. 2010 the year that shall Hop & Jaunt!

Current Office Of Hop & Jaunt: Aly Planning The Next Adventure During Break! Don’t Ask Why There’s Milk AND Wine On My Desk..

We’re Back In America

For those of you who have been following our blog for a while you might recall that the first sailboat we were on, Quercus, was my parent’s sailboat. We had met up with them in Grenada and sailed together through the Venezuelan Islands to Curacao. While in Curacao they sold Quercus and headed back to the good ‘ol U.S. of A. Once I get a hold of our old photos I will introduce you to my family but let’s just say for now that my parents are one of the original adventurers, having sailed, lived, and traveled around the world for the past 25+ years. My parents bought a small wooden boat in the middle of the Pacific, and in 1986 when I was two and my sister was still in my Mom’s belly they packed their suitcases for the first of a thousand time.

In the Micronesian Islands, Carolina Islands, on a small remote island called Yap my sister was born. She was the second white baby to be born there and the first white girl, there was a French missionary boy born there some decades earlier. From there they sailed to Japan, where a short visit turned into a ten years. Argentina, Caribbean, New Zealand, Philippines, and another three sailboats and fifteen years later they find themselves in South Carolina. Mom is an avid and very talented photographer and she’s got some amazing photos from the Caribbean and around the U.S. on her website here.  My father is now beginning another new adventure, where he will combine his business savvy and never ending wealth of knowledge about everything sailing, cruising and boats to become a yacht-broker in Charleston, South Caroline. So all of you future world cruisers, you know where to go to get started on your own adventure on the high seas!

Here’s Donna! Aly’s Mom

Skipper On Watch

s/y Quercus

One Of Our Favorite Pics By My Momma!

All the photos were taken by Donna (except for the one where she’s in the photo of course, but it was taken with her camera!), check out her mouth watering photos from the Caribbean here.

The travel bug is infectous, and once you catch it, it’s in your system for good. Many have become expats after their first taste of the world around them. My family has lived in roughly a half a dozen countries while I was growing up, other travel bloggers I know online have also chose this lifestyle after not being able cure their wonderlust. Abby Tegnelia left Los Angeles to live in a small beach side town in Costa Rica where she is a writer for over 15 magazines as well as for her fun blog, The Jungle “Princess.” Freelance writing is a popular, if not extremely difficult, method to have the freedom to live where and how you like. Many popular travel bloggers and writers never seem to be in the same spot for more than a min. before their off again! Matt,  from Nomadic Matt and Craig and Linda from Indie Travel Podcast come to mind.

Cruisers are a group of travelers in their own category, much like the RV-ers,  as they are able to take their home with them where ever they go. Some are just wondering, others, like our South African friends were sailing for the purpose of looking for land to live on one day. Patrycja and Mikolaj, a Polish couple we met in Curacao had hitch-hiked from Europe to the Caribbean on sailboats and found work until they were able to buy their own little floating home: s/y You-You!

The lesson to be learned is that it’s not really just about the travel, or what you see, it’s about how the combined experiences affect you. You don’t have to cross the Sahara on a camel to change your life (though that would be amazing..), it’s not even about the traveling so much as creating a mindset that opens you to new experiences.

If you are thinking of ,or ever wanted to try, going off into the big blue world for a while, don’t let the doubts about the future put you off. The actions you take to get there will naturally cause the reactions that will open up new doors!

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Life Aboard & Abroad

Since we’ve been back stateside, we have had plenty of questions about life aboard a sailboat.  So we’ve decided to answer some of those questions in todays blog by describing what life aboard was like for us.  Feel free to post new questions in the comment area below and don’t forget to help us win a trip to Argentina by clicking here!

Life Aboard:  The Day Begins

The sun is nature’s Alarm Clock.  It happened every morning despite our best efforts to crawl further into the shadows of our bunks.  Still, there was no hiding from the sun once it rose high enough to shine through the open hatches.  But it was a nice, gradual way of waking up.  Nothing like the annoying screaming of my alarm clock now.  But thinking back on the size of my small quarter berth, I don’t think I’ll ever complain about having a small apartment again.

Sleeping soundly in my bunk.

Once we had crawled out of our bunks and had a good stretch it was time for a shower.  Nothing shocks you awake like diving off the boat into cool Caribbean waters.  I miss personal hygiene being this simple.  It was as easy as falling over board.  Since most bathing was done outdoors, modesty really wasn’t a practiced concept in most anchorages.  Eventually, we got used to seeing our neighbors’ bare asses …and having them see ours.

Our morning shower. Photo courtesy of www.djkphotos.com

Shave Optional:  On days that I deemed a good shave necessary I would shave with a bucket of saltwater and a dull razor.  I definitely don’t miss this.  Its unbelievable the amount of hair that gathers all over the boat.  It was a daily chore just having to sweep it all up.  So it was just easier to do all my shaving over a bucket.  Thats probably why I didn’t shave so much.  And I have no idea how Alyson managed all her shaving.

Next comes a saltwater shave from a bucket.

Transportation:  Life without a car

Its strange.  I love to drive, and I drive a lot.  My ole pick-up truck has covered a lot of ground in the past 10 years, and I would definitely rather drive 1000 miles than fly the same distance.  That being said, I didn’t really miss having a car at all.  As a matter of fact, life without a car forced us to plan better, be more resourceful and more outgoing.  Which in turn, led to new friendships and experiences we would not have made otherwise.

the Dinghy:  Our dry way of getting to shore.  Even though we got along fine without a car, there was no living aboard without a dinghy.

Going for a Sunday drive.

There never seems to be any good, free dinghy docks in the Caribbean.  Most are dangerous, falling apart, or costly.  Even though this one in Curacao was so small, it was probably one of the best kept we saw.  Trying to get a parking spot here on grocery day was a nightmare though.

Trying to find a parking spot.

We always did a ton of walking which we really enjoyed.  Especially since we didn’t have a busy schedule we could take all the time we wanted to explore on foot.  As long as we made it back by sunset.   Even now Alyson and I look for excuses to walk places instead of driving.

Going to town.

Public Transportation in the southern Caribbean and South America rocked! Although we had to learn to be more patient and arrange our plans a little better, it was still a nice way to get around. We survived off the bus systems in Curacao, and the Maxi-Taxis in Grenada are great, but no one could beat the efficiency and cheap prices of taxis in Cartagena.

We literally spent hours a day waiting for buses.

After months of travel, distance became a relative concept. It wasn’t long before walking miles for even the smallest things became no big deal.

Here we walked nearly 2 miles to get a cold drink.

And for those occasions when we needed to cover great distances, we could always rent a car or scooter.  It was on these days that we got the need for speed out of our systems.

Alyson with our rented scooter. Photo courtesy of www.djkphotos.com

The Bare Necessities

The most basic necessity of life:  Water…for coffee

Every few days (depending on fresh water showers and consumption) was water day.  This meant having to replenish the boat’s water tanks with clean, fresh drinking water brought from shore.  This experience really taught me a lot about the importance of water conservation.  Especially, since I was the guy having to haul all the water back to the boat.  Here I am topping up the tanks.

Doing laundry on a boat is all about how long can you go without having to do it.  Its a hassle.  It takes up a lot of fresh water if you do it aboard, and still doesn’t come out that clean.  And if you take it to the laundry mats ashore you could end up spending a bundle…because you’ve waited so long to do laundry that you have to wash all your clothes now.

For this reason, many sailors prefer to just stay naked when aboard.  Or at the very most they just wear a  swim suit each day.  A few times, Alyson and I were able to do some impromptu laundry during the afternoon rain showers in Curacao.

Alyson doing our laundry.

We get a lot of questions about buying food. We just went to the grocery store and purchased food with our debit cards. The same as anywhere else. Every once in a while, we would visit the open air markets to find new and interesting delicacies. The brown root looking vegetable in the photo below is a Yucca plant, and it tastes amazing when cooked like a fried potato.

Going to Market.

We ate pretty well, but most often when other people cooked.  On the days when we felt ambitious enough, we would make some pretty good meals in the galley though (including Hayashi-Chuyuka, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Po-Boy Sandwiches.)

Alyson pulling one of her homemade pizzas from the oven.

We ate a lot of seafood.  Catching fish off the boat is like having a pizza delivered for dinner.  Free food without even having to leave the house.  One of our favorite ways of preparing the fish was Sashimi style.  This eliminates even having to cook it. Bonus!

Fishing with Paul on SunRunner.

Here are three pretty Bonitas caught, cleaned and ready for the cook.

An easy supper tonight!

And on nights when cooking on board was too much of a hassle, we could just go out to eat.

Going out to eat.

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Today’s post is a little different. Instead of me droning on for an hour, for you slow readers, or twenty-eight seconds, for those realizing they got the wrong site, I would like to present you with a cinematic master piece. A MONTAGE!!!

But before you cringe let me also say that it has music, and dolphins jumping, and oceans, and an amazing car race with scantly clad women….OK the last part is a lie.

It’s a video re-cap of our sailing journey across the southern Caribbean from Grenada to Colombia, over 1000 nautical miles, 7 months, and 2 sailboats later.

So go pop some pop-corn, sit back and relax!

Sailing The Southern Caribbean from Hop & Jaunt on Vimeo.

It’s also on YouTube if you have a preference.

I think your pop-corn is ready now.

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 The Hop & Jaunt crew explore the largest fortress of the Spanish Main.

Its been nearly a month since we left Colombia.  Alyson and I are really missing the tropically warm climates and bustling city life.  So today we are blogging about one of our favorite afternoons in Cartagena when we visited the “Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas:  The largest Spanish Fortress in the World!”

The fortress is really an impressive structure.  It can be seen towering on its hill looming over the old city and water front.  It’s a massive construction, but it needed to be.  In the days of Spanish Conquisition in the New World, Cartagena was THE major port for exporting gold back to Spain.  That meant that nearly all the gold in South America had to come through Cartagena to make the jump to Europe.  As anyone can imagine, this made Cartagena the jackpot for pirating.  Pirates plundered and attacked the city numerous times.  Most notoriously was Sir Francis Drake, the famed English privateer.  Eventually after numerous attacks and ship loads of stolen gold King Ferdinand of Spain ordered the fortress to be built.

It took over 200 years to build it.

Although you can see the castle from anywhere in town we did have some trouble getting to it.  First off, we didn’t know the actual name of Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas.  We just called it the Big Fort.  So when we got into a taxi cab we had trouble giving directions to the driver.  Neither of us knew the Spanish word for “Fort”.  We drove around in circles for nearly 15 minutes babbling to the driver about how we wanted to go to the “Big, Old, Building”.  The poor guy was so confused.  He kept staring at us through the rear view mirror asking, “Que?”  Finally, I remembered the word Castillo and he instantly knew what we were talking about.  He had a pretty good sense of humor about it.

Entry into the fort is about $5 US dollars and its definitely worth it.  One great way to spend an afternoon in Cartagena is just walking around taking pictures, and the Castillo is a pretty awesome place to explore. 

Alyson camera ready at Castillo de San Felipe. Our photo tour begins.

Guard tower at the corner of the wall.

At the top of the wall, there are several entrances into the fortress.

After climbing the long pathway to the top of the fortress you are free to explore as you like.  There are several door ways which will lead you into the different tunnels and passageways of the castle.  Some tunnels lead to other entry points on the top wall.  Others lead deep, deep down into the dark, damp recesses of the castle’s underground.  Definitely, make sure you bring a flash light.

This place would make a great hideout in the event of a zombie uprising.

Ain't no zombies gonna get me in here.

Down we go into the inner passages.

Into the depths we descend. Notice how steep is the stairway.

The cool dark tunnels are a great escape from the midday heat.

Its fun to explore the ghosty old tunnels.

Alyson has the camera, but I'm taking all the pictures.

The tunnels were designed so that rain water would run down into them via brick gutters along the top wall.  The water in the tunnels increased the acoustics of the passages so that the footsteps of approaching persons can be heard from great distances.  Also so that military orders could be yelled from one end of a tunnel and easily heard at the opposite end.

Check out these videos:

The tunnels lead us out onto a large open expanse of the wall over looking the city.  The view was incredible.  I have to say that I really miss that Caribbean winter weather.

Overlooking the city

A nice view of the city.

Cannons, like this one, surrounded the fort's top wall giving them a near 360 degree area of fire.

The soldiers' barracks...or something like that.

The mighty fortress

Alyson checking the map.

Eventually, we found our way back inside. We decided to explore the deepest depths of the tunnel.  Its rumored that the underground tunnels run all beneath the city.  Hidden passageways, so people could flee a burning city during a pirate attack, lead from the old town to the fort and possibly up into the hills.  I believe they recently discovered an new hidden passage beneath one of the cathedrals within the old city.  We wanted to see what we could find.  I expected the interior of the fort to contain some giant rooms.  Its what I expected from its enormous size, but the most we found were a maze work of tunnels aligned with storage rooms for ammunition and soldiers.  

We sneak away from the crowds to explore some unlit tunnels on our own.

The passages go down, down, down. The air gets stuffy and the temperature drops dramatically.

The underground network of tunnels.

Leading the way.

These ducts for air and water show how far down we've gone.

Eventually, we reached a level that wasn’t intended for tour use.  There were no more electric lights installed and the passage ways were as dark as pitch.  We couldn’t see anything.  We had to maneuver our way through by feeling the wall and flashing our camera every few feet.  It was pretty erie.  We kept wondering if something startling would appear before us when we next flashed our camera.  Definitely, if I go back I will take a flash light. 

One dark tunnel way came to this dead end with some ray of sun light. We literally followed the light at the end of the tunnel.

Eventually, we had to give up our exploration and return to the above world.  The floors of the tunnel were flooded with water up to our ankles and brick work in the floor was less and less stable.  Plus, not being able to see anything was starting to freak us out.  It was kind of a thrill though.

When we re-emerged above we noticed that people were setting up for a dinner party.  The whole fort was being decorated for what must surely be one of the most expensive weddings ever.  A good choice on location though.  Cartagena is reknowned worldwide for its beautiful wedding scenery, and people from all over the world come here to tie the knot.

Wedding Feast

and concert...it must be incredible to party up here at night.

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed.

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Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop & Jaunt Travelouges!  We’re excited about the new adventures and travels that lay ahead in 2010.  But before we jaunt into the last year of the decade, lets hop back and take a look at some of our favorite experiences from the past year.   Its Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten Favorite Adventures of 2009.

10.)  Beach Bumming at Roger’s Bar on Hog Island, Grenada

Roger's Beach Bar - Hog Island, Grenada

Roger’s Bar on Hog Island was our first Caribbean experience after joining Alyson’s parents on Quercus.  Roger’s ramshackle beach shack not only had the appearance of being thrown together with driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, but it literally was put together with nothing more than driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Many afternoon ’sundowners’ turned into late night ‘howl at the moon’ sessions underneath the glow of the single 12 Volt powered light bulb.  Live reggae music, sand between your toes and always a cold beer set the perfect mood for mingling and socializing with the  locals and sailors from around the world.  To read more click here.

9.)  Baby Sitting a Whale in Curacao

Giving baby Sully a tummy rub.

While boat sitting in Curacao we decided to try a little baby sitting as well.  We volunteered to watch after a 10 foot baby pilot whale that was being nursed back to health.  Sully the pilot whale was beached by his family after becoming too ill to keep up with the rest of his pod.  Efforts by local marine biologist and volunteers helped to restore the baby whale back to full health.  We spent a few nights lying by Sully’s pen keeping him company as he vied for our attention by requesting several belly rubs.  It was an experience we will always remember.  Unfortunately efforts to integrate Sully back into the wild have failed, and there are talks that he will be moved to a tank in Sea World, San Diego.  For more click here.

8.)  Oil Down in the Jungle

Hiking into the Jungle for an Oil Down Party

One of the most authentically local island days we’ve had. We joined a young group of locals and sailors for a cook out by the jungle rivers up in the mountains of Grenada. The dish we cooked was a local delicacy called an “oil down” because the different oils sink to the bottom of the pot.  As Grenada is one of the famed ’spice isles’ we drove through the island picking up our fresh ingredients from along the road, people’s yards, and in the trees.  After a hike through the jungle with our pots pots, herbs, and breadfruit we jumped in the river to cool down before building a fire and cooking our very own “oil down” in the jungle. Click here to read more.

Cooking Oil Down in the Jungle

7.)  Windsurfing in Curacao

Windsurf Curacao

While anchored in Spanish Waters in Curacao, we were constantly watching windsurfers whizz by us.  So when we were given the opportunity to learn ourselves, we jumped all over it! Though I would not say we were exactly graceful during our first lessons we did manage to pick up the basics and enjoyed surfing past our friends on the sailboats.  To read more click here.

6.)  Scootering Around Bonaire

Our Macho Scooter from Bonaire

One of our most favorite days was just riding around the small Dutch island of Bonaire on our rented scooter.  Speeding on the curvy roads alongside breathtaking cliffs that plunge down into the blue-green sea was an incredible way to see the island.  We spotted ponds of flamingos, scattering iguanas, and the occasional wild donkey.  Nothing like having the salty sea wind whip by your face as you race full speed through the desert.  We also enjoyed Bonaire for the unbelievable snorkeling.  The underwater wildlife was other-worldly yet beautiful.  Its definitely somewhere we would like to visit again.  For more photos and video click here.

5.)  Scuba Diving in Curacao

Spotted Eagle Ray

Speaking of breathtaking sea life we can’t forget to mention our scuba excursions off the coast of Curacao.  Thanks to our good friend and dive instructor Andy along with some money earned by cleaning boat bottoms, we were able to obtain our Scuba certifications.  The sensation of being 65 feet below the sea’s surface is both tranquil and intense.  The imagery we saw would be difficult to explain in words.  I can only recommend that you do it for yourself.  The fish and coral are like living works of art.  One moment in particular that stands out for us was our very first time diving together.  It was just Alyson and I…and one curious Spotted Eagle Ray.  The sight of that giant ray gracefully flying through the water as he circled us was awesome.  For more Curacao adventures click here.

4.)  Festivals in Cartagena

Festival Parade in Cartagena

Everyone loves a good party, and no one does it quite like Cartagena.  The beautiful old world city is the perfect setting for the week long celebration of parades, fireworks, and concerts.  We had a blast hanging out with our good friends as we all joined in the fun.  The festivities were filled with amazing costumes and dances with plenty of good food and beer, not to mention the all out foam wars.  A not to miss for those energetic enough to last the never ending fiestas.  Plenty of photos and videos here.

3.)  Sailing the Seas

Alyson tanning on deck.

The only way to travel, there is nothing like coming into port by sailboat.  While we have been to some amazing places and done some pretty cool things, one of our favorite parts was just getting from point  A to B.  At times it was relaxing and easy going.  Other times we were wet, tired, and struggling to keep wind in the sails.  Still we love it.  The splashing of dolphins on the bow.  Catching fish underway.  And being alone in the cockpit on a late night watch with just the millions of brilliant stars above.  If you ever want to have an experience of a lifetime…then go to sea.

Click here for more tales of the Spanish Main.

2.)  Turtle Watching in Los Testigos

Watching the Turtles Lay Eggs

We will always remember that dark night on the east coast of Testigos when we watched the giant, dinosaur-like sea turtles emerge from the crashing sea waves.  Their immense size and prehistoric appearance reminded us of how enormous and old the world really is.  Its important to have moments like that every once in a while.  We were also surprised by the gentle nature and careful precision of such an odd and slow animal.  These turtle mothers plan their nests with the most patient manner.  They are actually quite capable of digging with incredible accuracy.  Not to mention the delicate care they treat each egg with.  The whole experience was in a word…beautiful.

Click here to read more.

1.)  Our Secret Cove

Alyson Drinking Coconut Milk at Secret Cove

Everyone out traveling and sailing is looking for that one paradise spot.  The one isolated, remote, and private place that makes you say, “this will always be our spot”, and from then on when you think of paradise its the image that comes to mind.  Ours was secret cove.  Sailing along the Colombian coast and through the morning mist we were awed by the landscape before us:  Beaches, rainforests, water falls, and snow capped mountains.  We spent nearly a week in Secret Cove enjoying the snorkeling, dinghy sailing, beach BBQs, midnight rows, and being away from the rest of the world. You know, this spot actually has it’s own name, but it will always be our secret cove.

See more amazing photos and video of ‘Our Secret Cove’ here.

Beach BBQ at Secret Cove

If you would like to go back and read the blogs about each of these places just click on the link after each paragraph.  Thanks to all our readers who have followed us this year and to all our good friends we’ve made along the way.  We hope you all have a Happy New Years and look forward to seeing you again soon in 2010.

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