memories - i should log off

Dreaming of Prague

August 30, 2016 By Jillian

Souvenirs are like tiny memory capsules for me. When I hold the object in my hand I am instantly taken back to the moment of purchase. My favorite souvenirs are earrings – small, easy to carry, and as unique as the market in which they were purchased.

Earlier this month we moved into a new house and as I unpacked my earrings one by one to put them in my jewelry box I took a trip down memory lane. Wooden beads from Bolivia, earrings made of cowrie shells from Africa, and finally a set of hammered copper earrings from Prague.

I laughed holding the Prague earrings in my hand. Unlike most of the other earrings in my collection which had come from back woods type of markets or handi-craft stalls, these were purchased on perhaps the most touristy place in Prague – the Charles Bridge. Somewhere over the Vltava River on the way to see a smaller bridge covered in locks I decided I needed these, and the matching necklace. My husband of course, obliged willingly. 🙂

If you’ve never been on the Charles Bridge it is famous for the numerous statues of saints that line the bridge. Connecting the two sides of Prague, the Castle looks over the bridge, giving the whole area a medieval feeling. It’s also covered in buskers, artisans, painters, and any kind of performer you could ask for – it’s almost like a carnival during peak season as hordes of tourist move from one side of Prague to the other. Many hotels in Prague offer city tours that include the bridge, so you also have a lot of tour guides stopping along the way giving a historical perspective on the bridge, the statues and the city.

Holding the earring in my hand I was taken back to a very sunny day along the Vltava when we climbed to Prague Castle, picnicked in the park, watched street performers do magic, visited the clock tower, and did the traditional “tourist” Prague experience. It was an unusual day for the two of us, who generally like to stay off the beaten path. The rest of the time in Prague we did get off the beaten path, exploring neighborhoods, visiting outlying areas to see soviet era architecture and taking the Prague metro everywhere.

After several moves and three kids only one of the earrings remains in my jewelry box, but the memory of Prague lives on every time I hold it.

Good, Bad and Ugly- Sleep

May 17, 2012 By Jillian

Adventure travel often leads to some rather interesting places to sleep. In 21 months of travel, we slept on more modes of transportation than I care to admit- more inexpensive small hotels than you can imagine and inside more mosquito nets than I ever dreamed, even when I wanted to be a fairy princess. To travel you have to be a good sleeper – you have to be willing to make an adventure out of sleeping under an open sky, to see the silver lining of a noisy hostel dorm and be willing to give up a few creature comforts for a few amazing sunrises. If you aren’t a good sleeper, give it a few days on the road and you’ll be snoozing like the best of them!

Here are our favorite “nights” of sleep from our journey around the world:

The Good Sleep

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one night. The best night of sleep I had on the whole trip was probably in Buenos Aires, in an apartment Danny’s parents rented – I was horribly sick and needed the creature comforts of home. But the most memorable night of sleep? I’d have to say it was camping in South Africa’s Kalahari National Park listening to the lions roar throughout the night. Earlier in the day they had wandered within a few meters of the camp’s electric fence while Danny was cooking dinner – a crazy experience to say the least. Drifting off to sleep in the middle of nowhere under an African sky listening to lions, it was like a surreal dream. I won’t say I wasn’t a bit anxious about the whole thing, but I slept surprisingly well and it’s a night of sleep I’ll never forget.

The Bad Sleep

Have you ever been in a flooded tent? When we pulled into the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho we set up our tent in an area that looked safe from water. The caretaker told us we’d be find in water – perhaps it was a question lost in translation or perhaps the downpour was just unusual- but at some point in the night it began to rain. A few drops turned into buckets, and we awoke soaked from the ground up. We’ve probably camped hundreds of nights out in the woods, never have I ever woken up to inches of rain inside the tent. Scrambling to a) get out of the tent and b) to save our worldly possessions we looked like a 1930s comedy act. The two stooges. Chalk it up to being half asleep, but we managed to get out of the tent, get into a small unlocked rondavel and crawl into two warm, dry beds. In the morning we dried everything out on the grass- you can bet we didn’t stake up there the next night.

The Ugly Sleep

If you thing something small can’t have a big impact, think about the mosquito. Our night in Harar, Ethiopia will forever be the worst night of sleep in my life. Earlier in the evening Danny had suffered from some digestion issues that left him feverish, shaking and slightly delirious. With the water out at the hotel, I spent the evening running buckets of water back and forth from our room to the cistern in order to force flush the toilet. Without our mosquito net and first aid kit, we had broken the two rules of backcountry camping – we had left our survival gear behind. Needless to say, Danny spent the night feverishly running to the bathroom to kill all assortment of bugs when the lights turned on, only to return to bed to be bothered by mosquitoes. Zipping around the room all night it felt like we were at war and Danny was the walking wounded. Getting up for a 3am is generally not easy, but that morning we were all too happy to evacuate and get out of Harar.

Ever had a truly memorably night of sleep on the road? What about a bad? Ever suffered an ugly night of sleep? Make us feel better about our GBU, share yours!

Flashback: Argentina

January 17, 2012 By Jillian

Our visit to Argentina was a bit like the children’s tale about Goldilocks. In the North we were a bit too late- the melting had begun and the rivers were swollen and in the South we were alittle too early- the show hadn’t yet melted. Somewhere in between things were just right.

We arrived in Argentina just as spring broke across the continent, or the period of time that the guidebooks refer to as “shoulder season”. For Argentina, that meant that most of the cities and sites we visited were without the summer crowds, but it also meant that in the upper altitudes and to the far south, heavy snow still remained and trails, roads and even sites were still closed. Patagonia to us, lived up to it’s stereotype- cold, windy and inhospitable. To the far south, the nights in Ushuaia were frigid and the hiking trails through Tierra del Fuego National Park required waterproof snow boots.

On the other hand, in the north, the weather was a bit balmy still and the summer’s rains had increased the water level at Iguazu Falls so much that the river had reached historic flood stages and some of the walking paths and overlooks were closed. We were probably a bit too late on the scene, but thankfully we avoided the summer mosquitoes and crowds.

Too early, and too late and yet ironically at the same time– just right. The seasonal weather change had a tremendous impact on our month in Argentina, but in true Goldilocks fashion somethings we caught just right. Like the penguins, who were still nesting on the beaches of Punto Tumbo and Puerto Madryn- the oceans not yet warm enough for their chicks to continue south.

The boats to Antarctica were just starting to leave Ushuaia, so the hotels and restaurants were open for the season. And Bariloche still had plenty of chocolate! The weather was perfect for biking through Argentina’s wine country and we were able to spend time at Perito Moreno without hordes of tour buses.

It’s hard to not have a good time in Argentina. There’s no short supply of Alfajores, chocolate, good wine, and carne asada. No matter where you are in the country the people are hospitable and there’s enough to do to keep you occupied for more than a month, no matter the season. So what can I say, it was the definition of shoulder season and for us, and things were just right. Check out our guide to traveling in Argentina for more details!

Good, Bad, Ugly: Authentic Experiences

September 15, 2011 By Jillian

Many travelers are in search of the most authentic experiences possible. Some will boast about roughing it or being invited into a stranger’s home, others will stay put in a small rural village for days and weeks, board out of their minds, only to prove their determination to get under the skin of a particular place. All of us crave finding those experiences that are both real and different from what we’re accustomed at home, that’s why we travel.

The Good: Lesotho. We drove our way into Lesotho to enjoy a few days in the mountains with the intention of finding the authentic Lesotho experience. We certainly had no idea what that might be but we happened upon the Malealea Lodge in Lesotho (at the direction of EVERY guidebook we found) and wondered how it could be considered an authentic experience when everyone went to the same place. When we arrived we found a lodge nestled in the mountains, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, co-existing with the local village in a way we didn’t find anywhere else in the world. This lodge employed local people, offered ways to meet and talk to local villagers, and give back without harming the community. When four of us decided to go on a hike without a guide eventually got quite lost and were ultimately forced to ask for help in returning home. The man we got that help from wore full ‘tribal’ clothes, spoke no English, and communicated with us using and signals and gestures. Still we were able to share jokes and take photos together, perhaps enriching his memories as much as our own. It was a complete The Gods Must be Crazy experience and one that I will never forget.

The Bad: China. Tibet is one of those magical places that captures the soul of everyone who has ever uttered its name. We wanted to go to Tibet with a burning passion but the realities of Chinese politics make that extremely difficult. We planned to try our luck anyway when we began to learn of Tibetan villages and cities outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region. We were able to work a visit to these areas into our trip and once there really felt as though we were in Tibet. One city, Xi’ahe, holds one of the most important monasteries for Tibetan Buddhism and we were able to tour its riches and see for ourselves every bit of the Tibet shown to us in Brad Pitt’s Seven Years in Tibet. Why is this in the “bad” section of this post, you might be asking? That’s because we felt the grip of the government and saw repression in action. A people who received a new road so they could watch the army come to town. Over a dozen police officers barging into our hostel to harass the owners for paperwork, no doubt related to our presence. A history of foreigners being run out of town by the officials for fear of seeing what happens on a bad day.

The Ugly: India – Sometimes we have a tendency to dwell this ugly section and put only completely negative experiences here. In hindsight, this experience is one of courage, determination and outright stupidity. We rode the trains in Mumbai! We rode them at rush hour, in the morning and in the night. Dozens of urban commuters packed like sardines in a space meant for ten. Pressed human mass that joins together like the water in a wave to spit people out at the appropriate stops. It took strength to push through that sweaty multitude of flesh and a good bath to cleanse myself and get ready to do it the next day. I played Rugby nearly the entire time I was in college, I think to prepare for the three days I spent riding the trains of Mumbai.

This column of ishouldlogoff.com aims to answer those questions that we always get asked. What was your favorite this, or your worst that. We aim to highlight a new topic and will do so until we run out of ideas. If you have an idea for a Good-Bad-Ugly post, feel free to tell us in the comment section below or send us an email. To read all of them, click here.

Indian Train Photo Courtesy of flickr user archer10 through a creative commons license.

Photo Credit: Train station by Flickr user Biel Calderon

To miss and be missed

March 16, 2011 By Jillian

Traveling gave us plenty of time to think about things at home. The prospect of another bathroom without toilet paper made me dream of the two ply ultra plush charmin that I’m always talking about, but there were plenty of other things we missed about home. Now that we’re home and on the other side of the coin, I can’t stop thinking about the things I miss about travel. Since this week celebrates our second RTW anniversary, here’s looking back at the things we miss, past and present.

Things We Missed about Home

Diversity
In all its forms, we missed diversity. Of ideas, of cuisines and of people. Although Mexican food in Mexico is delicious, we missed the variety of cuisine on offer in Washington, D.C. Somewhere around week 3 we broke, went running for hummus and falafel when we found it. We also missed the diversity of people, idea and cultures. We were surprised how homogeneous much of the world is.

Infrastructure
Say what you want about the traffic jams and potholes, but trust me, we have a darn good system of infrastructure here. We sat on a parked bus in Argentina all night long waiting for some road work to allow traffic to pass. The backups in China were epic and I’m fairly certain we walked faster than any tuk-tuk in Bangkok. Oh yea and remember the Marsabit to Moyale road? Enough said.

Western Junk Food
Whenever we found western junk food we hit it hard and honestly I have no idea why. We don’t really eat this stuff at home, but I guess it was a form of homesickness. I think I stopped in every Thai 7-11 I passed for a coke slurpee. I hit the oreos pretty hard on bus rides in China, especially after I discovered the half peanut butter half chocolate ones. Let’s not forget the damage we did in Kuala Lumpur. We went through a box of Cheerios, a bag of doritos, a bag of real Pennsylvania sourdough hard pretzels and a jar of peanut butter in a few hours. We felt sick and yet it was delicious.

Tap Water
We mostly used the Steri-Pen to purify tap water, but I missed not being able to get cold, fresh and decently tasting water from the tap. Sure it only took 90 seconds to clean, but that never removed the nasty taste or discoloration we sometimes encountered. Or the fish we caught in our water bottle while hiking in Peru.

Clothes
I’m the opposite of a fashionista, but I missed my clothes. I take that back, I missed the option of having clothes. I usually carried three bottoms with me- my ubiquitous black workout pants, my zippy pants and my long black skirt. The zippy pants were pretty much inappropriate outside of Africa or on the trail, and while I had a 4 tops, almost all were in shades of blue and it never felt like I had options. Sometimes I missed having a closet. Mostly though, I missed my jeans and hoodies.

Customer Service
I hated having to play “angry (insert euphemism for white person here) woman” in order to get someone to do what they said they would. I hated having to ask for clarification 1000 times before we paid for a trip, tour or excursion so that we wouldn’t get screwed. Basically, I hated having to doubt people’s word.

What we now miss

Third World Convenience
I knew I would miss this right away. Although it took some getting used to, I miss the regular appearance of street food on transportation and it’s friend the cold soda. Heading up the metro escalator in DC the other day, it was pouring buckets of rain and we were without an umbrella. I told Danny we’d buy an umbrella from the vendor at the top. Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone. Had this been Latin America, there’d be three guys selling ponchos and umbrellas. I miss those guys.

Surprises
These were usually annoying on the road, but now I miss them. Surprise! This bus only goes halfway to your destination. Surprise! Today is a very important national holiday that we forgot to mention. Surprise! The border is closed today. Surprise! The man sitting across from me at the medical clinic in Addis Abbaba lives in DC. Surprise! Thai food in Thailand is actually as good as you imagine. Yes, they could be annoying, but it kept things interesting and I miss those instances where there was nothing to do but to laugh and be flexible.

Freedom
I miss being able to pick up and move across a country whenever we felt like it. I miss the freedom to go wherever whenever I wanted. Sure, I can still do that now, but it’s much more expensive, which brings me to my next point.

Feeling Rich
It’s hard not to feel this way in developing countries where you can buy whatever you want whenever you want despite a tight budget. It was really nice to travel when we didn’t have to worry about the budget and could order whatever we wanted off a menu. Sounds awful, but it was nice to feel rich.

People
What I miss most about traveling is the people. I miss their hospitality, curiosity and genuine friendship. I miss their offers to help us whether we wanted it or not, and their kindness. The world is an amazing place and we were overwhelmed by the generosity we were shown. I miss the way a train conversation would morph into a discussion spanning the entire car about our predicament or how passing peanuts to the back of a shared taxi elicited a joke that made every passenger burst into laughter. I miss meeting these incredible people.