Sean and Gina Adventures

17/03/2023

I have reached 200 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

03/12/2022

The plane landed in Quito, Ecuador. After more than 16 hours of traveling we were all tired, but we still had another 3 hours to go before we arrived at our final destination, a small town of 7,500 named Cotacachi nestled between the Imbabura and Cotacachi volcanos in Northern Ecuador. It was spring...

03/12/2022

https://sandgadventures.com/2022/12/03/simple-luxuries/

The plane landed in Quito, Ecuador. After more than 16 hours of traveling we were all tired, but we still had another 3 hours to go before we arrived at our final destination, a small town of 7,500 named Cotacachi nestled between the Imbabura and Cotacachi volcanos in Northern Ecuador. It was spring...

03/08/2022

I captured this photo on the last night of our stay in Salamanca, Spain. Just a few days later we were introduced to Covid-19, as restaurants, hotels, and stores shut-down, and eventually the country closed their borders. We scrambled to figure out how to best handle the crazy situation we found ourselves.

We had arranged to return to our small apartment just across this bridge as a solution to "ride it out" - but eventually deciding to make a run back to U.S. & after several attempts we were able to get a flight out of Madrid.

Spain was a destination that we had wanted to visit all our lives, and our plans included 7 weeks driving throughout Spain & Portugal. We were 2 weeks into the trip of a lifetime...dooh! 😜🤣

01/08/2022

Found a few pix circa April 2008 Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia.

I am so thankful that we have these images to remember that trip, a year spent travelling throughout Central & South America as a family...priceless. Bolivia is an amazingly rugged & beautiful country that constantly attack your senses with her stark contrasts.

The Altiplano 'high plains' is the most extensive High Plateau on earth outside Tibet. We spent the coldest night of our lives at 16,000 ft sleeping on 'cement beds' - its a maze of active volcanoes that rise from the plateau to heights exceeding 20,000 ft. and looking at the sky at night it feels as if you are draped in a blanket of stars.

I think Gigi just turned 8 and Grant was about a week from his 13th Birthday, which took place crossing the Bolivian border into Argentina taking a 2 a.m. train through the Andes and walking across the border into Argentina. That is my 'reluctant adventurer' at 40 years old jumping off salt mounds...well, because they were there!!

28/11/2021

We spend part of our morning in our garden in Cotacachi Ecuador on a beautiful day in the Andes

30/10/2021

Every year, on November 2, Ecuadorians convene in local cemeteries to celebrate Día de los Difuntos, or Day of the Deceased. While the holiday holds similar ...

29/10/2021

https://seanlannin.com/guests-of-honor/

Why do we find ourselves in these situations?  I don’t know exactly, we don’t approach things any differently than we do any other time, but time & again we find ourselves at events where we are the only ‘gringos’ & almost always the only English language speakers. This time we were guests ...

22/10/2021

Took a short ride up a steep mountain to see what we could see. ⛰👀 We were hoping to discover the source of the Pan de Yuca, alas, no bueno. 🍞😪

The views were magnificent, the smiles infectious, we made new friends, and the walk down the cobblestone (ish) road destroyed the front of my body, from hips to ankles. 🤣

It's good to be alive, & I am grateful for these adventures 🙏







1d

13/10/2021

Exploring the gift of time in Ecuador. How strange to write about the topic of Time, I've never attempted before, but in the spirit of 'keeping it real' we'll explore my thoughts and see what comes if it.

10/10/2021

We visited an amazing indigenous textile market in Otavalo, Ecuador & found us a couple of hats to help keep the sun off our heads.

We spent the morning visiting the indigenous textile market in Otavalo, looking for hats to keep the sun off of our heads.

27/09/2021

Salazar Family Go Fund Me

Meet the Salazar Family; Dad Israel, Mom Samanta, Adrian with the ball cap, & his sister Renata, and Tuza & Blakey the guard chihuahua's. They are from Puebla, Mexico on the mainland, but we had the pleasure of meeting them at Playa Tecolote outside of La Paz when they set up shop down the beach from us and started cooking shrimp hamburgers.

Never had a Shrimp Hamburger? Neither had we & we certainly weren't expecting this type of gastronomic masterpiece when we pulled into the playa to boondock for the weekend. Wholly molly, what a burger! Gina says its the best burger she has ever eaten, & I certainly would not argue with that culinary wisdom.

No Joke, we walked away from our first experience a little weak-kneed back to the truck camper, both shaking our heads, trying to make sense of what we just ate...& the beautiful family that made this memorable meal, in a memorable location, out of a customized Blue 1978 VW Van.

This is the reason we travel!

Economic Tourism Collapse

Like many areas around the globe, Baja California was crushed by the closing of the United States & Canadian borders. We were fortunate enough to spend 5 months in Baja last winter & saw the economic struggles first hand, where usually there were Canadians, nada! Empty beaches, empty RV parks, empty rentals.

The biggest difference we see between "poor countries" & their rich neighbors is the lack of 'safety nets' when things don't go according to plan. It's difficult for a young family any time, but when the economic carpet is pulled out from under you it is near impossible to find the space to take a breath and crisis mode takes over. This is no way to live.

Sean & Gina destroying a couple Shrimp Burgers.
Hey, who took this picture of us? LOL

We did not know this picture of us existed until Adrian wrote us to share his family's current situation & history. Adrian is an amazing young man! Besides being a ray of light with a smile that will melt your heart, he has many talents, including tracking down strangers on social media. Here is the message that Adrian sent us:

hello, I'm Adrian the son of the blue van that sells shrimp empanadas on Tecolote beach in Baja remember me?
I tell you our story
we are a family of 6, my dad Israel Salazar 36 years old, my mom Samanta Jurado 36 years old, my sister Renata 8 years old, Tuza and Blaky 5 and 3 years old my pets and I adrian I am 13 years old
we are from Puebla, in Mexico, we migrated to La Paz Baja in November 2020 in our van year 1978
it is an old van that we have had many mechanical and aesthetic problems with it, it has broken down many times but we love it very much, it is broken now and we can not go to work, my dad thinks about selling it, but we love the beach
I learned to do magic tricks, with which I like to do tricks to tourists and have a tip to buy candys and video games
when we left Puebla we sold everything we had except the van
I would like your help to make a gofundme to raise funds and make it work again since in my country it does not work
make possible our dream of having a small restaurant in La Paz Baja and never having to sell the van
we rent a house In La Paz and my sister and I go to school, she in third year of primary school and I in second year of secondary school
sorry for the translation use google translate and thank you very much, I hope news soon
I forgot my dad, my grandfather and I built the van, that's why it's important to us

How YOU can help

It is not possible to create a GoFundMe account as a resident of Mexico. We did not know that, but turns out that there are only a few countries that they are authorized to do business. Sean & Gina have set up the Help the Salazar family repair their VW Van GoFundMe page, we will help raise funds for the family & then figure out a way to get the funds to the family. Times are tough for everyone & if giving funds is not within your budget, please consider sharing the Salazar Family story with friends & family that may be in a better economic position to help, or simply give the family some love & positive blessings. We appreciate taking the time to read.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-salazar-family-repair-their-vw-van?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

With love,

Sean & Gina

05/01/2021

Sean grew his beard this year in order to play Santa in Mexico. This was the best few hours ever! Kids were pulling on his beard to see if it was real; children rock star screaming with joy and jumping up and down and, Mom's stopping the truck to pull over for pics with Santa. Feliz Navidad!!!

We spend a few hours driving around Todos Santos in our truck camper sleigh delivering smiles and hugs.

19/10/2020

July 2019

The Canadian Rockies are spectacular!! Banff & Jasper get most of the accolades, and they also get the majority of the crowds.

We spent a couple of weeks touring the area before getting run out of Jasper by rain in mid July & a need to get away from steep grades and get the truck repaired.

The camping was GREAT everywhere we went, whether crowded or not, and whether we had to pay for a spot or not. We want to go back and explore more.

Have you been? Is it on the bucket list?

15/10/2020

January 2020.

This spot was not easy getting into & ultimately we decided to camp above the beach instead of risk getting stuck at bottom of a steep road into a secluded beach, with a rising tide.

We rose to gorgeous sunrises and the sound of pangas heading out in the morning to fish. A family of sea lions barked from across the cove above the roar of crashing waves below us. We spent hours watching young pups learn to time the surf and scamper back up to safety on the rocks.

We saw whales breach and dolphins passed below us. We met locals that came out to enjoy the sunset, and sophie had acres of beach and hills to run. It's on our list of places to return this Winter in Baja

13/10/2020

13/10/2020

We thought it would be a short lazy day through Monument Valley, but when we stopped to have some fun taking pictures at the "Forrest Gump" spot in the road, I noticed steel belts sticking thru the tire on the small trailer we are pulling. S**t!

We were right next door to the 'middle of nowhere' - still a couple hundred miles outside Flagstaff & Gina says that Google says the nearest tire store is 150 miles away. S**t!

I want to at least get to the middle of somewhere, so we jump in the rig and head onward. 4 miles down the road a nicely hand painted sign on the side of the road announces a tire shop. WTF?

Turns out a local Navajo family operates a horse stable/tire shop/catering biz from their family compound. A nice young man named Trevon shared family stories as he helped repair/replace both of the trailer tires & get us back on the road in under an hour.

And yet again, what could have been a rather ugly experience turned into a magical experience. It happens all the time on the road...if you watch for it & allow it to enter your life.

It's good to be back on the road again.

11/04/2020

A little sun on my morning walk with Sophie after overnight showers. Somewhere in AZ.

03/04/2020

Watching The Lizard King, somewhere in AZ!

02/04/2020

Unfiltered Arizona sunset. Magical!

01/04/2020

What is one thing you can do today to refill your cup? DO IT!!!!

t

31/03/2020

Even in challenging times there is so much to be grateful for. What are you grateful for today?

31/03/2020

Remind yourself of this every morning, and right before bed.

01/03/2020

Uploaded our first 'SPAIN' video this morning - it was a long day of travel from Houston to Alicante via Barcelona. We hope you enjoy! ✈️🚉🚗🚌

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdguO5JwkXU