Become a Minimalist Through Long Term Travel

from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-cagen/how-longterm-travel-turne_b_932702....

Living out of a backpack for a year really does change you. It changed me: I'm a born-again minimalist.

During my year-plus churn through South America and Europe, I lived out of a small black backpack. I loved having so few possessions, just a few outfits, a tiny netbook, a camera, a nightgown, and reading materials on my iPhone.

Now that I'm back in the States, I'm on a continual stuff diet. I want only books that feel current, shampoo that doesn't make my hair frizzy, clothes I wear and love, towels that feel good. Losing stuff is like losing weight. It's a long-term process.

My purge began almost two years ago when I decided to go on a walkabout for four months in Brazil. Four months turned into more than a year of traveling and hanging out getting to know people and places in Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina. That's a longer story that I am writing in memoir form.

Before I leapt into travel mode, I had been living in a San Francisco apartment for four years with two roommates. Four years equals a lot of stuff! Moving always caused me to sink into temporary holes of depression. The process always seemed more emotional than seemed warranted. I was forced to stare at things I acquired in the heat of the moment and then see them with fresh eyes.

What is this junk and why do I have to pack it up with me? This cheap costume wig that is so mangled I can't even comb it, this unflattering schwag t-shirt? I could think of one thing with value: a juicer that could easily juice a beet.

If my stuff was a reflection of life, my life seemed to be filled with junk. Thus began the purge that continues to this day. I began in Brazil with a bloated bag of dresses and skirts and quickly realized the weight was too much. I spent $80 to send clothes back.

(Advice for anyone embarking on long-term travel: Don't worry about clothing. Shoes are a different story, but you will get the appropriate clothing anywhere you go and understand better what you actually need.)

Now that I'm back in the States—and considering future adventures abroad—I want to remain buoyant and light. I think wistfully back to the days when there was so little laundry to do. I bundled up the bag more frequently but it wasn't so laborious and heavy.

My stuff was stored in a storage unit for over a year. Like most people, I had no desire to deal with it. If I had survived without those boxes for 16 months, what did I need them for? But I was paying a ghastly monthly fee. I didn't want to be one of those Americans who pays to store junk in storage for the rest of my life. The storage industry now exceeds the revenues of Hollywood.

Since those cardboard boxes came back into my life, I've been purging. It's funny how I still feel a sense of loss when I pick up the pair of tango heels that are unstable—no matter how many times I brought them to a cobbler—and then put them on a bag on the street. It's a loss, and then a joy—I'm free of that problem now!

I get a buzz out of giving away CDs, books and dishes. I work on wearing every piece of clothing in my wardrobe, and if I don't wear it within three months, it goes out on the street to someone who will love it more. I hope these objects will be received with joy by someone else.

Ever since I came back from my travels, shopping is no longer therapy. I no longer acquire clothes as a hobby. That's pretty amazing since I spent 30 percent of my free time in junior high school and high school in malls! I take this as a sign that I have more fulfillment in my life—I don't need to seek fulfillment in shopping because there are other things I want to spend money on, like travel and tango.

Over the last six months, I spent $100 on new clothes for practicing or dancing tango. Here's a fascinating statistic that makes this accomplishment feel bigger: "By 2005, according to the Boston College sociologist Juliet B. Schor, the average [American] consumer purchased one new piece of clothing every five and a half days."

Steadily getting rid of possessions brings me a lightness and joy that's hard to name. It's easier to create order when I am surrounded by fewer objects to organize. A simple home reflects a calm mind.

My desire for simplicity doesn't stop with possessions. I also want less in my information diet. I want to be informed. I do not want the debt ceiling limit to result in seniors not being able to get health care, for example. But there are limits to how much information I can take in. I was a perpetual NPR listener in my previous life, and now I am more likely to intersperse silence and music on college radio.

The news can be a barrage, and my brain can't hold on to all the threads. The voices become noise after a while and noise is clutter. I lived without an iPhone while I was in South America and it was a joy to be free of the distraction.

My goal is to be simple in all ways. How can we be sustainably simple in this "crazy" world in the United States? I am always struck how people call their days "crazy" in the U.S., and I don't want "crazy" days whether I am living here or abroad. I want simple, love-fueled days. I want to keep the light, well-edited minimalism of travel with me now always.

Sasha Cagen is an author, entrepreneur, and life coach who splits her time between the U.S. and South America. Check out her site at sashacagen.com. Follow Sasha Cagen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sashacagen

Mexico for your Gap Year?

from:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/aug/19/gap-year-trips-itineraries?cat=tra...

Mexico is brilliant for short-term travelling. Flights are relatively cheap, you'll meet other travellers and it's a good first time trip to Latin America.

Fly into cheap holiday hotspot Cancún, then get the hell out, travelling south through the Yucatán peninsula (amazing ruins!), west into Campeche (untouristy!) and Chiapas (amazing colonial towns!), even as far as Oaxaca (for amazing food!). Or start at Mexico City and head to the colonial and mining towns in the north and the Pacific coast

Want other options for your Gap Year, go here: http://m.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/aug/19/gap-year-trips-itineraries?cat=tra...

Vegan South America: Top 10 Tips For Vegan Travel

from: http://www.volunteerlatinamericablog.com/ten-tips-for-vegan-travel-in-south-a...

For many vegans, travel can be something of a challenge. If you’re worried about vegan travel in South America, you’ll be surprised at how easy it can be if you are prepared and go to the right spots.

Basically, it’s about doing your homework and learning how to keep up your vegan lifestyle while travelling. It may seem difficult at first, especially when in a foreign country, but you can master travelling as vegan in the same way you mastered being a vegan at home.

Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction before your pack your bags and hit the road. Use these tips and you’ll find it’s not hard to maintain a vegan diet while travelling in South America. The more exciting things may be harder to come by but the healthy, whole food options are always available. If after reading these tips you have any doubts about vegan travel in South America, let us assure you it’s possible. It does take a little extra planning and preparation but it’s worth it, not just for you but for the animals.

1. Do Your Research

Get online and search for vegan restaurants and health food stores. One of the best places to start is Happy Cow (www.happycow.net); an online directory of restaurants and health food stores that have vegan and vegetarian options. You can search for any city or address (like your hostel or hotel) and it will return a list of vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants nearby. Happy cow (like other vegan restaurant lookup sites) also returns a list of health food stores that carry vegan foods or vegan products.

Whenever you would like a vegan meal or snack for your hotel room, lengthy bus trip, or souvenirs to take home with you, a visit to one of these international health food stores is a nice convenience. You should also look online for local vegetarian or vegan associations, where restaurant and health food shop listings tend to be up to date. To find local associations, do a quick Google search for the city name and ‘vegan society’ or ‘vegan association.’ Don’t be scared away if the content isn’t in English, that’s what Google Translator is for. Between these online resources, you should be able to compile a list of places to find vegan food.

2. Connect with Other Vegans

To find possible places to eat you could ask local vegans for recommendations. They’ll know which bakeries have vegan treats and which cafes serve the best weekend brunch. Online resources can only get you so far. The best knowledge is local knowledge. To find local vegans, or get recommendations from vegans who have recently visited the city, start with a Google search. You can usually find them by Googling the city name and ‘vegan.’ With this approach, you’re likely to find a blog by a local vegan or reviews by vegan visitors. You can also connect with vegans on Twitter and Facebook, by searching for the city name and ‘vegan.’

There are also online and offline communities, like the Vegan Around the World Network and Vegan Meet up Groups, that help connect vegans in faraway places. A really good place to search for vegans is Couch Surfing (www.couchsurfing.com), a website where people offer up their sofas, air mattresses, floors and spare rooms to travellers. It’s a free service, where no money is exchanged. You can filter your results by including ‘vegan’ in the keyword search. There is also a Couch Surfing group for vegan and vegetarian members.

Some large and vegan-friendly cities have their own vegan and vegetarian groups. If you don’t like the idea of sleeping in a strangers house, you can always ask people from Couch Surfing to meet for a drink or meal. At the very least, ask a local vegan you met through Couch Surfing for recommendations on restaurants, supermarkets, and health food stores.

3. Carry Snacks

It’s very important to pack food when travelling as a vegan. At the very least, don’t leave home without some snacks for the airplane, bus, train or car ride. You never know when unexpected delays will leave you in a place where vegan options are scarce.

Pack easy snacks like apples, bananas, nuts, seeds, homemade sandwiches, granola bars, carrot sticks, bread, pitas, nuts, crackers, peanut butter or hummus. If you’re travelling for more than a week or two, don’t try to pack your entire food supply, just plan to make the local supermarket your first stop.

Carrying a small stash of food with you isn’t a recommendation, it’s a requirement for vegan travellers. Unless, of course, you don’t mind skipping a meal or eating something that you’re unsure about. At some point during your travels, you’re bound to find yourself in transit, lost or far away from any vegan restaurants.

4. Find a Kitchen

If you’re travelling to a destination that doesn’t have a lot of vegan restaurants, plan to stay in a hostel or hotel where you’ll have access to a kitchen. This way you can prepare your own meals and have full control over what you eat. Without access to a kitchen, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy vegan diet when travelling to some destinations.

If you’re not worried about the weight of your luggage, you can also bring along some kitchen essentials like a good knife, cutting board, travel blender, bowls and utensils. A small Tupperware container and a fork/spoon go a long way, making it easy to take homemade food or leftovers on the road. If you plan to make a lot of your own food on the road while staying in hostels or couch surfing, and you like spices, it is a good idea to premix some dried herbs and spices and take them with you.

5. Pack a Vegan Passport

If your travels take you to a place where you don’t know how to speak the local language, the best thing you can do is learn a few key words before leaving home.

If this isn’t possible, and you’re not staying long enough to take lessons once you arrive, the next best thing is to pack a copy of the Vegan Passport. In 73 different languages, this little booklet explains what it means to be a vegan, lists items you can eat, and recommends some simple dishes that can be made vegan. You can show this to people at restaurants to give them an idea of what you’re looking for.

6. Learn the Lingo

Your life will be easier if you can speak some Spanish or Portuguese to explain your eating requirements and check if a meal contains meat or dairy products. Without knowing the local words for things like chicken, milk, eggs, cheese or butter, it will be hard to determine whether or not a food item is suitable for vegans. You can look keywords up online, write down some vegan phrases or carry the Vegan Passport, a handy book that can be used to help communicate your dietary needs at restaurants and stores around the world.

Don’t worry too much about the language barrier when you first start travelling as things seem to just fall into place. It won’t be too long before you can say you don’t eat meat or milk or cheese or butter in Spanish or Portuguese. If you have time you should take some language classes on arrival in South America.

7. Go Raw

Whenever you think you can’t find vegan options, go raw. Just get yourself to a grocery, local market, health food store, salad bar, or even a convenience store and find the raw items. You can easily survive on salad, fruit, and nuts for a few days. (And maybe you’ll even decide to go raw more often). As other travellers can testify, there is an abundance of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds in South America.

8. Tell People You’re Vegan

Make sure you book a vegan meal on your flight. Remind the flight attendants when you board. Tell your hosts that you’re vegan and remind them what that means. They may have suggestions for you. Mention that you’re vegan to the hotel concierge or check-in clerk. They can often recommend a restaurant or know someone else who can.

9. Make it Easy for Others

Don’t walk into a regular restaurant, cafe, bakery or supermarket and ask a staff member to point you in the direction of their vegan options. Don’t expect people to even know what vegan food is. Vegans will have a more difficult time than vegetarians and though some South Americans understand the concept of not eating meat and consider it to be a healthful lifestyle, those who don’t consume any animal products at all may meet with incomprehension.

Make things easy for them by asking if they can customize a menu item that’s almost vegan. For example, ask for cheese to be removed from pizza, pasta or a sandwich. If you’re in a bakery, don’t ask if a loaf of bread is vegan, ask if it contains or has been glazed with milk, butter, eggs, lard or any other animal product. If you’re cooking with people who don’t have experience making vegan food, give them specific ideas, share recipes, or offer to prepare a dish for them.

Often, people get confused about what is okay, and what’s not. They don’t want to offend you by accidentally adding something you can’t eat. Don’t be afraid to help and answer questions. In the end, hopefully everyone will forget about the missing animal ingredients and enjoy the dish as part of a healthy and tasty meal.

10. Make a List of Vegan Restaurants

Though the prospect of finding vegan food in South America can be daunting, the experience is definitely worth it. Make a list of all the vegan restaurants you found on Happy Cow, TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), or elsewhere, and pack it in your luggage. Below you’ll find some great South American vegan restaurants to start your list. If you find yourself in an omnivore restaurant, it’s important to be careful when ordering and vegan travellers should make every effort to be prepared.

Making a set of vegan translation cards is a good idea if you have a low level of Spanish and/or Portuguese, or don’t have a vegan passport. Though finding food can be a struggle outside of vegan, vegan friendly-only restaurants, it isn’t impossible.

Top Vegan Restaurants in South America: AlmaZen (Lima, Peru) Casa Felix (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Entre Indyas (Salta, Argentina) Buenos Aires Verde (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Namaste (La Paz, Bolivia) Verde Gourmet (Colon, Argentina) Mug Cafe (Santiago, Chile) Arte Sano (Buenos Aires, Argentina) El Huerto (Santiago, Chile) Bio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Verdellama (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Kensho (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Azahares (Mendoza, Argentina) Cada Dia (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) Bonobo (Porto Alegre, Brazil) Refeitorio Organico (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) Epif Cafe Vegetariano (Valparaiso, Chile) Ramy (Barranquilla, Colombia) La Esquina Vegetariana (Bogota, Colombia) Restaurante Manantial (Quito, Ecuador) Vegan Vegan (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) El Gourmet Vegetariano (Caracas, Venezuela) Imaymana (Bogota, Colombia)

Travel South America on a Budget: Teach or Volunteer

from: http://southamericatravelnews.com/2011/08/04/south-america-travel-news-8-grea...

Interested in traveling to South America, but not in a tour group? Maybe you want to take your time to get to know the continent, or a tiny speck of it.

Many foreigners with a gap year – or at least, a few months – at their disposal want to spend their time using their skills to help others.

Check out these 8 great ways to travel to South America by teaching or volunteering. Please note, these are recommendations only; SouthAmerica.travel does not endorse or have any affiliation with any of the organizations mentioned below.

1) Teach English. If you speak English, chances are you can land a job, internship, or volunteer position in just about any corner of South America. Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Lima, Peru, are two of the most popular places for English-teaching jobs, but there are plenty more.

Interested in a specific city? Do a quick search online to see if there are any advertisements for English teachers. Or better yet, visit the city itself and ask around. Even remote cities and towns are looking for English teachers, and not all require certification, although the highest-paying organizations will require it.

Don’t plan on making it rich in South America; many schools will pay the bare minimum, or provide only room and board. Some organizations ask that you pay a volunteer fee.

One unique opportunitiy for teaching English is Intercambio Selvatico, or Jungle Language Exchange. This organization in the Amazon of Ecuador offers teaching volunteerships for those who want a jungle experience and want to teach English to indigenous communities in the Amazon. No certification is required, and only a month-long commitment. There is a volunteer fee.

2) Teach other subjects like math or computer skills. Do you know how to build a website? Are you a professional architect? Lend your knowledge and skills to others in the developing world. Oftentimes positions such as these require basic or intermediate Spanish language skills, so brush up on your Rosetta Stone.

There are scores of organizations that bring together skilled workers to donate time, energy, and resources to the developing world, so you can join in one of those efforts. Architects Without Borders, for instance, joins skilled architects with slum settlements and other building projects.

Or, if you prefer to fly solo, approach an organization on your own and ask if they need a helping hand. Chances are, they do – or know someone who does. The Amauta Spanish School offers volunteer positions in exchange for free Spanish classes and/or room and board. Volunteer opportunities depend on skill sets, including teaching English, teaching computer skills, working on their website, or helping their marketing efforts. They ask for a commitment of 4-12 weeks, and require low to intermediate Spanish speaking skills. Positions are available in Lima and Cuzco, Peru, and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

3) Work for environmental causes. Passionate about preserving the globe? Or just love being outside? An environmental cause may be the perfect way for you to travel to South America. Hopefully, South American governments will begin to realize that sustainable tourism is an integral part of their economic success, and will be more friendly to environmental causes that promote sustainable tourism.

An ambitious and wonderful environmental cause is already underway in Patagonia, where the owners of the North Face and Patagonia companies have made great strides in restoring the landscapes of wild Patagonia. Conservacion Patagonica, the organization responsible for opening Patagonia National Park, has an internship program as well as a volunteer program, allowing travelers participate in the hard work that is necessary to restoring Patagonia lands.

4) Be a receptionist for a hostel. If you are willing to brave the cold showers, lumpy mattresses, and noisy roommates, consider volunteering in a hostel. Many times hostels are looking for reliable volunteers to check in newcomers late at night. Many chain hostels are not so bad either; the only difference between a hostel and a hotel is the shared sleeping quarters. In return, you get free rent, and sometimes other perks. You should probably be able to speak some Spanish, be willing to do late nights, and stay at least a week, but it all depends on the hostel. Hostel chains like Loki Hostels has volunteer positions in all their hostels in Peru and Bolivia, so you can pick and choose where you want to stay. In return for a few shifts each week behind the bar and the reception desk, you get free rent, free dinner, and discounts on tours and events planned by the hostel. Minimum stay of one month. Loki Hostels also have longer-term positions available.

5) Write for an English-speaking organization. If you know how to put together a good sentence in English, chances are you are employable in South America. Offer your time and expertise to an organization that needs more English content on its website, a better brochure, a social media guru or blogger, or other marketing materials.

There are plenty of English-speaking news organizations, blogs, schools, and travel agencies that are looking for English writers. The South American Explorers Club is always looking for more writerly interns. The club is dedicated to providing affordable services and events for independent travelers. They put on weekly events, Spanish classes, book exchanges, and provide trip reports and maps for travelers. They have offices in Lima and Cuzco, Peru, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Quito, Ecuador. These unpaid internships often include free or discounted rent and free club memberships as well as other perks.

6) Work for a social cause. There are a slew of organizations in South America dedicated to helping the less fortunate. Work with children, impoverished families, communities, and hospitals are always available, and will take anyone willing to lend a helping hand – regardless of whether you can speak a word of Spanish or if you can only commit to a couple of days.

If you can speak the language, and/or have a skill that you would like to share, even better. Whether its a girls sports camp in Cuzco, Peru, or a larger organization building houses for impoverished communities like Habitat for Humanity, there’s probably an opening for you.

7) Join a religious cause. Plenty of churches are looking for volunteers to help them reach out to their communities. Sometimes its helping the church in practical ways, like building a new roof or running a health clinic, or sometimes it just means helping English learners practice their language skills on native speakers. Calvary Church English Service Lima in Lima, Peru, holds an English Camp every summer, and has English speakers from the US visit Peru and talk and hangout with Peruvians, who are encouraged not to speak a lick of Spanish throughout the camp.

Get creative. Something else caught your eye? Maybe its a specific company or just a general interest, but if you can get specific enough about what it is that you want to do while you’re in South America, you can probably find someone or some organization that’s looking for help.

Think about what skill sets you have, and then identify what organizations might need those skills the most. And if the place you’ve got your eye on doesn’t seem to have any volunteer or internship opportunities, don’t be afraid to ask!

A few South America volunteer websites: Volunteersouthamerica.net Volunteerlatinamerica.com i-to-i.com rainforestconcern.org volunteerbolivia.org peacebrigades.org arcoiris.org.ec jatunsacha.org fnatura.org transitionsabroad.com

South America Bus Travel: Tips & Lessons Learnt

Here's a great article on bus travel in South America that I found from: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/08/03/bus.travel.south.america/

(CNN) -- After a couple of hours standing in the stairwell of a bus, staring out a foggy window at the blue predawn Pampas streaming by, I start to compile the lessons I've learned about long-haul bus travel.

I'm standing up because this bus filled up somewhere in the middle of Argentina, and my ticket is for a seat No. 9 on a bus that has no seat No. 9. I'm on this bus because I missed the Mendoza-to-Buenos Aires bus I bought a ticket for. All this because I was planning in the wrong time zone.

So, lesson No. 1:
Pay attention to when you depart, and be aware of the local time. I arrived at the Mendoza bus station about 10 minutes after my original bus left, which I thought was 50 minutes early.

Research the time zones you may cross in your travels beforehand. I had just crossed time zones from Chile to Argentina the day before I missed the bus. I even checked the time I had on my phone with the hotel concierge; he incorrectly confirmed it. (I'm looking at you, blond guy at Alcor Hotel in Mendoza.)

Lesson No. 2:
Pay attention to when your bus arrives at your destination, especially if you are headed somewhere new. You don't want to get into a strange city in the middle of the night. It is less safe, harder to navigate, and services like the metro may be unavailable. Buses from Chile wait to go through customs at an Argentine border outpost.

Lesson No. 3:
Have your documents in order. Crossing national borders by bus can happen one of two ways: You'll either take the same bus, or you'll have to change. If it's the former, the bus stops and lets all the passengers off to go though customs and get stamped; the bus is checked, and then you get back on. In the latter case, you're dropped off by one bus, go through customs and board another bus on the other side of the border.

The catch here is that there actually needs to be another bus on the other side. I once took a bus from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Cairo, Egypt, and after we passed through Egyptian customs, there was no bus. The company rep negotiated with local drivers and eventually secured transportation to Cairo, hours later.

Lesson No. 4:
Speaking the local language is a big advantage, but if you don't, arrive extra early and triple check when your bus is supposed to arrive and where it's supposed to be.

Bus stations simply don't often have the information displays that train stations and airports offer. If you think a bus might be your bus but it doesn't come to the platform you expect, just show your ticket and try to get on. The conductor won't let you on if it's the wrong bus, but if your bus is at a different platform, nobody is going to come find you and ask you to get on the bus.

Lesson No. 5:
Consider the view. Interesting terrain is much more enjoyable than an endless flat expanse. The ride from the Chilean coast through the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina, is beautiful. The ride from Mendoza to Buenos Aires is grindingly monotonous. The flip side is that accidents are more likely to occur on mountain roads, which may be a concern in less developed countries with poor infrastructure.

Lesson No. 6:
There might be movie service, but that doesn't mean it's good. Horrible, violent "B" movies may be played over the speakers. Think about packing earplugs. Why deal with the bus at all? I like to cover a lot of territory on international trips, often booking open-jaw flights.

Also being something of a budget traveler, I don't usually fly between destinations within a trip. I love boats and trains, if they're available. But outside of Europe and a few other places with advanced rail -- east Asia in particular -- I usually end up on the bus. In South America, buses are a primary means of intercity travel, and many companies compete for business, offering a range of classes of service.

Some luxury buses have cubicles with what look like giant recliners with personal entertainment centers and multiple meal services. The majority of buses are divided by "cama" (bed) and "semi-cama" status. If you can sleep on a plane, semi-cama will be good enough for you because these seats recline more and are more comfortable than most coach airline seats.

Bring patience and a positive outlook. Bus travel often carries more risk of hassle and takes longer, but you'll save money, and a bus trip is usually more of an adventure than a flight between the same points.