Sorry it’s been a while since we’ve posted an update. We’ve been really getting into the swing of our life on the road these last two weeks and nothing has particularly seemed blog-worthy in its own right. But now that so much time, and so many activities, have passed, we thought we’d put together a montage of sorts to show you what we’ve been up to. We’ll call it: reading in a hammock while looking at a volcano, talking to dogs and slowly befriending a very dubious llama. Continue reading
Yesterday we arrived via bus to Otavalo, about an hour and a half north of Quito. For the next three weeks we’re staying just out of town, at Peter and Sarah’s house on the grounds of Casa Mojanda. Aside from having all the comforts of home, it is insanely beautiful. Every window boasts an expansive view of farmland, two volcanoes (Cotacachi and Imbabura), and rolling hills full of shining blue Eucalyptus. Otavalo has a rich cultural and political history, which we will delve into in a future post.
Today we decided to take “the back way” into town to buy some food at the market. The hike felt as though we walked right into a children’s book–idyllic farmland scenery, people tending crops, and the usual: the cow goes moo, the pig goes oink, the rooster goes cock a doodle doo.
On our walk, we were struck by the juxtaposition of the hard work of sustenance farming, and impoverished living conditions, with the utter serenity that surrounds. We took a taxi home with our bags full.
This trip will be about many things for us. One that stands out is our abundant privilege to be able to undertake this journey, and the learning experiences we will have in such beautiful, albeit complex, locations.
Here’s where we are right now:
(Peter & Sarah’s House, Otavalo)
We’re outta town. That’s right, we quit our jobs, signed our lovely Brooklyn apartment over to a subletter and left. But let’s start from the beginning…
In October 2010 we went to Ecuador for a two-week vacation. While in Otavalo staying at Eric’s cousin’s house (thanks Peter and Sarah!) we met this couple. They had walked away from big tech jobs, sold all their worldly possessions (including a house and car) and were traveling the world with just a backpack each for four years. We were intrigued.
About a year later, we got married. We had saved up to make it happen. We were excited to be starting our life together but, as time went on, some aspects weren’t all pie in the sky. Both of us felt a bit stagnant at work and were facing big personal questions about whether or not we were ready to make some moves. We wanted to buy a house some day. We wanted to have kids some day. But in the immediate future, we kind of felt like taking off and discovering something new. By doing something, anything, other than what we were currently doing, we could gain a little perspective–find challenges outside of the nine-to-five and, hopefully, thrive both together and individually. Then, a conversation sort of like this happened:
Wow, if we keep saving like this, we could buy a house or something.
Yeah but that would require a LOT more years of saving.
We could quit our jobs and travel like those married with luggage people instead.
Seriously?
Yeah?
Yeah!
About a zillion trips to REI later, we’ve got our one backpack each and flights booked to Ecuador, where we’ll start, again, at Peter and Sarah’s house in Otavalo. From there we’ll visit Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and fly home from Argentina, documenting as much as we can right here. We’re hoping to find mountains, beaches, cities, towns, interesting people, scrumptious food, and maybe a life plan along the way. You can count on seeing most of that right here in photos and a map of where we’ve been. We hope you’ll keep in touch with us, especially if you know someone with a couch we can surf in South America.
Here’s where we are right now:
(Eric’s parents’ house)