4 feet 2 mouths

walking and eating our way around the world

Archive for the tag “Adventure”

14 Dec 2012
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Making The Most Of 100 Posts! (by N&C)

100 Posts!

100 Posts!

We made it to 100 posts!  The genesis of this blog was simple.  The initial conversation went something like this:

Carmen: Hey, why don’t we start a blog? That way we won’t have to write all those emails to family and friends letting them know what we are up to.
Nathan: OK (with approving shoulder shrug)

What began as an easy method to update loved ones quickly morphed into a full on photo and text journalist exercise.  Neither of us realized the amount of work we would end up putting into the blog, but as we put pen to paper we became enthusiastic to share our stories.  With over 100,000 words and 1,300 images the blog has become a medium for us to relive, share and promote our exploration of the world.  Our efforts felt particularly recognized when our blog was featured on the WordPress Freshly Pressed site, which highlights top blog posts..

4feet2mouths is Freshly Pressed!

4feet2mouths is Freshly Pressed!

Beyond journaling, the blog has even become a way to connect with other travelers and travel fantasizers.  The feedback we received through your comments is much appreciated. (A special shout out to our most frequent commenter, Manish!) On our 100th post, we would like to simply say thank you to all our readers for joining this exciting journey with us.

Machu Picchu friends

Machu Picchu friends

Looking back at the past 10 months it’s hard to believe the incredible journey we’ve had.  As we reviewed pictures for this post we kept thinking,”Wow, did we really get to do all that? Did that really taste as good as I remember?” People often ask us what our favorite places have been but honestly we’ve enjoyed pretty much all of it.  Perhaps we can describe a few favorite moments, though.

And that is truly just a handful.  We are incredibly excited for what is to come – more great memories and mouth-watering food.  Our journey continues through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand as we make a counter-clockwise loop through southeast Asia. From Bangkok we fly to China where we will spend the last part of our trip.

Two hikers

Two hikers

The next biggest question we receive is how we can afford to travel for over a year. This is a challenging to answer simply and we will be writing a series of blog articles to encourage and mobilize the average traveler into the world.  The key reality is that vacation and long-term budget travel are very different activities.  Negotiating with a taxi driver to save $1 or finding a $6 room because it is without air conditioning, hot water or windows or eating food from street carts are daily activities for us.  There is an art to traveling the world, it is a frugal expression, but it is possible.  We have no bills, no mortgage, no car and only one mobile phone.  Simple world travel is cheaper than when we lived in Berkeley!  Most of all we had friends and family that supported us.  We had the great fortune to gain college degrees with stable salary.  After saving for several years, we took a leap of faith to sell everything and travel the world.

Buenos Aires Food

Buenos Aires Food

“Why are you not fat?” Well, our families tell us in amazement that we are looking thin.  We eat a light breakfast and simple lunches and dinners.  We search out great food and when it is good, we photograph it and put it on the blog.  When it is bad, you don’t hear about it.   Ten months of eating is a large number of meals, and we only have the best for you.  Tasting the world is part of our journey and our passions, so if you are hungry when you finish reading- good.  We also only choose the most slimming of photos of course!

Thank you for hopping on our Rickshaw Roller Coaster to see Camino Miracles and Carved Canyons.  We hope you will be able to join us for the next few months as we trek across Southern Asia, return to the U.S. and search for jobs in Europe.  Cheers to more great adventures!

Posted in Europe, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, United States and tagged , , ,
25 Jul 2012
1 Comment

The Cooler Side of Grand Canyon on the North Rim (by Carmen)

The open road

Rim to rim, the Grand Cayon is eight to ten miles wide as the crow flies.  But as our car drives, it is a 200 mile route that takes 4.5 hours.  That’s because you have to drive to the very beginning of the canyon, where it becomes narrow enough to create a simple bridge over it.

Striped hillside along the route to the North Rim

But it is a beautiful drive.  We were making our way at sunset which gave the landscape a golden glow.  I couldn’t help but think that this what American road trips are all about.

View of the mighty Colorado River from the bridge

We eventually crossed the bridge and headed just a few miles north of it, to Lee’s Ferry.  This is a historical site that marks the first ferry crossing in the area.  It was created in 1871 by a mormon family to help other mormons settle what is now Arizona.  These days it is the launching point for the thousands of adventurous souls that raft down the canyon each summer.  We took advantage of a small campground there to take refuge for the night.

Historical fruit orchard

The next morning we explored the area where there are still some cabins built by the original settlers.  They even have a small graveyard for all those that perished in the settlement or while crossing.  Another one of their legacies is a beautiful fruit orchard that stands out like an oasis in the red desert.

Nathan with a rock formation

There are also these funky rock formations that are the result of a rock slide thousands of years ago.  As the softer ground erodes away around the boulder, it forms a sort of tree shape.  It was a reminder that this area of the southwest is truely a geologist’s dream.

View from the North

As we made our way to the north rim, the landscape changed dramatically.  Tall pines and aspens took over the red dusty earth.  There were grassy meadows and small ponds.  The North Rim is actually closed October to May due to snow.  It was amazing what 1500 feet in elevation could do.  This limited access also meant that fewer people visited the North Rim, which made for a calmer, more tranquil visit.  If I could only visit one side, I’d opt for the north.

Aspens above our camp in the Kaibab National Forest

The aspens were particularly pretty.  They were particularly prevalent because of a massive fire that swept through the area 20 years ago.  The aspens are the first to recover and provide shade so that the baby pines can grow.  Eventually the pines will become taller than the aspens, which will die out from too much shade.

Picnic table at Tiyo Point

View from Tiyo Point

After our arduous hikes on the south side of the Grand Canyon, I was ready to take it easy.  But, of course, Nathan had other ideas.  He was already ready for more hikes and backpacking.  So we compromised with an overnight backpack trip that was 12 miles out and back to Tiyo Point.  The hike did not dip into the canyon and instead remained on the rim.  Therefore, it differed from inner canyon hike in three glorious ways: it was flat, shady and cool.

Clouds over Cape Final

Tent on the edge

On our last night in the canyon, we made our way to Cape Final.  This was a special campsite, only 4 miles out and back.  It’s a popular day hike but for an even better experience it has just one little campsite sitting on the rim.

Nathan cooking up some din-din

We cooked our dinner (indian curried veggies with couscous) right on the point.  Meanwhile, we struck up a conversation with a day hiker who told us his inspiring stories of hiking in Nepal.  Someday…

Me doing a morning stretch with my oatmeal

Our last morning we woke up with the sun and watched it rise over the canyon with no one else around.  Spending a full week in the canyon was a wonderful opportunity, but it was time to move on north for more adventures.

Nathan couldn’t get enough of the Grand Canyon

Posted in Southwest, United States and tagged , , , , , ,
18 Jul 2012
1 Comment

My South America Favorites + Returning “Home” (by Carmen)

17th century map of South America

Our South America trip was better than I could have ever expected.  I loved practicing my Spanish, scouting out local cuisine, imbibing lots of caipirinhas and red wine, and observing the mix of old world and new world traditions.  One thing I hadn’t quite expected was the jaw dropping natural beauty, from jungles and beaches to arid, bushy plains; from huge cacti growing out of red rocks to stark Andean mountainscapes.  It was a collection of unforgettable experiences.

With that in mind, I thought I would get through some FAQs.  These generally begin with “what was your favorite…”.  So here are a selection of my favorites from my fifteen weeks down south.

Cafe Tortoni in Buenos Aires

Nathan grilling up some lomito

Sifones used to store soda water

Fútbol fanáticos

Favorite City: Buenos Aires.  The city has a special lived in elegance to it.  I enjoyed the cafe culture, the pretty parks, and the slightly rough around the edges feel to it.  And the Argentinian accent, which uses a lot of soft “j” sounds, was incredibly endearing.

Cafayate View

Last rays of sun in the Cafayate canyons

Favorite Town: Cafayate. Good wine, yummy empanadas, an alfajores factory, a spacious main plaza, beautiful scenery and wine flavored ice cream…Cafayate instantly welcomed us.

Pasta, wine, yum…at Pierinos

Quinoa salad at Market in Rio de Janeiro

Artemisia in Buenos Aires

Favorite Restaurant: Pierinos.  I love pasta.  This is the third time I’ve mentioned it in this blog but the slow cooked sauces Pierinos slathers on its homemade pasta steal my heart.  Other favorite eats include Artemesia‘s mostly vegetarian fare, the fresh salads and smoothies at Market, any buffet in Brazil, and fresh ceviche in Peru.

Delicious fried trucha

Chicharron sandwich stand in Arequipa

Favorite Hole in the Wall: Trucha stands on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. So simple but so good with the fresh caught trout fried to perfection in garlic and oil. El Cuartito served my favorite pizza in Buenos Aires.  The lomito sandwich in cordoba wasn’t much to look at but was delicious and big enough for the both of us.  And then there was the chicharron sandwich Arequipa. Fried pork with spicy coleslaw is always a winner.

The spectacular Salar de Uyuni trip

Nathan and me enjoying Bolivian scenery

Nathan the mountaineer on Salkantay

Favorite Sight:  Salar de Uyuni and Salkantay Mountain. We saw so many beautiful sights but it is the people you share it with that make it even better.  Therefore it’s a tie between the non-stop excitement of the salar de uyuni trip and the first view of Salkantay with old friends from San Francisco. Oh and Iguazu Falls too!

Wine and Cheese in Tafí del Valle

Schwarzwald beer hall in Curitiba, Brazil – I loved the mini stein in the big stein!

Favorite Drinking Experience: Wine and cheese in Tafí del Valle.  We brought a wonderful Malbec from Mendoza, sliced up some local cheese and sat on the porch of the historic villa we stayed at. Heaven.  I also loved collecting mini beer steins at the convivial German beer hall Schwarzwald.  And the most delicious caipirinhas I tasted were made by a Peruvian at Pepe’s Bar in Foz de Iguazu.

Bossa Nova in Rio de Janeiro

Marching band in Copacabana

Favorite Live Music: Los Tabaleros performing at the hidden restaurant. The chef and his friends played the show at the secret restaurant my classmate’s roommates hosted.  I’m still happy I won the cd! Also enjoyed the classic bossa nova in Ipanema and the parade music at Copacabana’s festival.

Church roof in Potosí

Potato peddlers in Sucre

Best Place to Go If You’ve Only Got a Couple Weeks: Bolivia.  The variety of the sights here is incredible!  You can enjoy lush jungles or cold windy mountains.  The people are friendly and helpful.  They keep the traditional culture alive and well.  And, importanly, it’s inexpensive to get around.

Chandelier in Argentina’s congress building

All the places we went and sights we saw, and there is still more to see.  I was sad to leave South America when there is so much more to explore. On the other hand, adventures in other parts of the world beckoned.

Dewy rose in Tafí del Valle

From Peru we returned “home” to California but that’s a tricky word for me.  If home is where the heart is, mine is rather split up. Immediate family in Southern California, close friends in San Francisco, extended family in Chicago.  And then there’s the part of my heart passionate about travel, which creates an itch to make a home in new places.

So the final and most popular FAQ, “What’s next?” Should we travel for the entire year? You’ll have to read the next post to find out.

Where oh where will we go from here?

Posted in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Latin America, Peru and tagged , , , ,
16 Jul 2012
3 Comments

Northern Migration (by Nathan)

Recoleta Cemetary

In January I began my southern migration. I escaped the constant 60 degrees of San Francisco for the sun and summertime of South America. I was excited to begin work on improving my Spanish and I was ready to live and travel through countries and cultures of which I had only a cursory knowledge.  The plan was to roam from city to city with an open mind, a loose pocket book and a constant curiosity to explore and enjoy the differences in these countries.  After four months of adventure, Carmen and I would return to California ready to embark on another journey.

Fugazza and Faina Pizza

Açai breakfast

Our trip began in Buenos Aires with food, activities and cultures that stood up to any great city. The fugazza pizza was deliciously unique with thick doughy crust, creamy cheese and heaps of oven caramelized onions.  El Cuartito was the best, and I think Rick agreed. I would return for the pizza and empanadas and all the beautiful streets that BsAs has to offer.

Sunset on Ipanema Beach, Rio

Carmen and the sands of Rio

We traveled through Uruguay and into Brazil. Rio de Janiero was everything that I love in a travel destination. Beaches stretched endlessly with the urban landscape pressed right up against the sand.  The culture is vibrant with dance, music and tropical foods.  The açai and fresh fruit drinks stand out as an epitome of fresh summertime delights. The country is a mix of indigenous, Europeans, Africans and Asians, a familiar mix to the United States so we felt welcomed as foreigners.  We could swim, climb a mountain and go dancing all in one day.  I enjoyed gaining a better understanding of the favelas as well as peering down into the city from the many vistas.

Fun at Lapa steps

Iguazú Waterfalls

We worked our way through Brazil’s vast landscape.  We visited the breathtaking waterfalls in Iguazú that roared unbelievably over the cliffs edge. We baked in in the sun on Ihla do Mel on coastal Brazil and we jointed friends in Santiago Chile.  We bussed our way over the Andes into Mendoza for a day or two (or three) of wineries, biking and empanadas. We explored German settled villages and the bigger cities of Córdoba and Salta. It was the canyons that really captured my heart.

Fun light fixture at our hostel

El castillo en Quebrada de Cafayate

Another one of my favorite cities was the charming Cafayate in Argentina.  We sipped wine at several walk able bodegas. We hiked through beautiful canyons and cliff formations.  And most often, we enjoyed strolling through the cozy town.  With a simple town square and food market our time here was relaxing and satisfying.

Jumping off rocks at valle de rocas

Fun on the salt flats

Another bus brought us into Bolivia. The country is poor with struggle, but thriving with cheap delicious food, unforgettable sights and nice helpful people.  One of my favorite experiences of the entire trip was the four day trek into the Salar De Uyuni.We visited brightly colored lagoons, spectacular volcanic rocks and salt flats that made us act silly with our new friends. The home-cooked Bolivian food was excellent and every day I wanted to take the little woman home with me to teach me everything she knows in the kitchen.

Painted desert in Bolivia

Salt harvesting

We continued high into the mountains. The cities of Potosí and Sucre were wonderful places to learn about Bolivia, South America and the indigenous people that lived here for thousands of years.  La Paz contained the best market that we experienced in South America.  This was because the stalls could not be contained by any building and instead flowed out on the streets in every direction.  It was mayhem and delight simultaneously. I loved it!

The best market streets is in La Paz

We biked down mountains in La Paz and hiked islands of Lake Titicaca. A festival in Copacabana engaged our feet and sent us running for cover from fireworks.  Bolivia has a rustic, untamed, and raw quality to it that flaunts colorful traditions with people that are genuine and kind.

Street in Arequipa

When we had finally made our way into Peru our bellies began being stuffed to the brim with constant feasts of amazing food.  Arequipa was the best food city we went to in South America.  There was ceviche, alpaca, rocoto rellenos, chicharrones and fresh fruit smoothies. We found something delicious everywhere we went.  The city had beautiful architecture and the nearby Colca Canyon was great for hiking.

Arequipa food market

Our history lesson continued when we finally arrived in Cusco.  The city is packed with nearby ruins and a brutal history where the mighty Incas were decimated by the Spanish. One downfall of Cusco and Peru is that very few sights have accessible tourist information.  There are an abundance of guides, that costs, entry fees are high and there are many sights to see which makes Peru a challenge for tourists on a budget.  But with friends it is all worth it.

Machu Picchu

On our Machu Picchu trek we went all out with excellent cooks, porters, equipment and a guide.  I think I liked the walking and hiking just as much as the ruins.  We walked for six days climbing snow covered passes, jungles and high altitude wetlands.  We stuffed ourselves on Peruvian favorites and we laughed until we hurt playing card games into the night.  We wondered around countless ruins out doing one another in jumping photos and we caravanned up and down the mountainsides. Machu Picchu in itself is a spectacular piece of history and archeology.  We combined it with Salkantay, the Inca Trail and friends for an unforgettable adventure.

Carmen patiently waiting for me to finish the photo

Our final city in Peru was Lima.  The time spent there was brief, but the amounts of ceviche consumed copious.  Ponte de Azul ceviche stands out as one of my favorite meals.  The fish was firm and fresh and the juice sour and spicy.  In the blink of an eye Lima was over and we were boarding a plane saying goodbye to this Lima, Peru and South America.

Every vacation involves exploring new places, having adventures and creating memories.  The challenge and fun of any vacation for Carmen and me is that we leave with a longer list of places to see and immerse ourselves into next time.  Our next trip to South America would focus on exploring the natural side of this continent.  Patagonia tops our list of “must sees.”  We did not want to lug around our carpas and sacos de dormir (tents and sleeping bags) this trip.  So next time we plan on several weeks of hiking and back-country camping.  We want to see the coasts of Peru and Colombia known for beautiful beaches.  And finally we want to see more of Brazil- Belem is supposedly vibrant and bountiful with Amazonian foods and culture.  In no way did we calm our enjoyment of Brazilian rhythms and dance; we want more samba!

Outside the airport, our last minutes in Peru

There are so many places to visit; each city or village opens new possibilities of adventure.  We walk everywhere and we eat everything; that is what 4feet2mouths is all about.  Our love for travel has taken us to the other side of the world.  And as fall sets on South America we land in Los Angeles ready for new adventures, more exotic countries, more tiring hikes and street food that will leave our mouths searing and tingling.  Traveling is too much fun to stop now.  Do you want to join us?

One of my favorite photos: Congresso reflection, BsAs

Posted in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Latin America, Peru, Uruguay and tagged , , , ,

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