Stalk My Travels

24/05/2016

I'm in Hamburg, Germany now! I have an appointment with immigration on Monday to try and get a residence permit or VISA of some sort to be able to stay here longer. I'll be starting a B1 German language course in August

03/05/2016

Back in the U.S.!
http://stalkmytravels.com/2016/05/europe_plans/

After nearly six months in Mexico and Central America, I returned to my hometown of St. Louis. I was anticipating spending a few months or more here, working part-time while I sorted my life out. Would I open my own restaurant? Partner with my brother on his project? Study here? Road trip around...

03/03/2016

I'm currently in El Salvador! Follow me on Instagram:

01/03/2016

http://stalkmytravels.com/2016/02/mexico-travel-guide/

New update! México was awesome :)

I decided that instead of making several long, drawn out blog posts, I would give you a good overview of some parts of Mexico. *PICTURES TO COME SOON. I forgot to bring my other memory card to this Café, where I am posting the blog from..* Sections in Order:...

20/09/2015

My website is still down. My opinion of WordPress have gone down severely, as all I did was click to update the WordPress version on their own platform, and now it won't let me access anything and has errors all at the top of every page.

In other news, my August budget was around $22/day, including the $340 plane ticket from Calgary to Ottawa. It would be a little over $10/day without the flight.

September is going to be my lowest expenditure month yet, since i have been doing work exchange the entire time. I'm anticipating $5/day, maybe even less.

I'm currently debating on going back to Ottawa to see some of the awesome people that I met last month :)

08/09/2015

Bonsoir!

My trip is still going well. I've been having difficulty getting over my fear of sounding stupid when I speak a foreign language, so my French isn't coming along as good as I had hoped. A few more weeks in Quebec should do it :)

I went to try and edit come code to fix the errors on my website so I could login and blog, but the computer I'm currently borrowing, is too old to process it. So it looks like I'll have to wait a bit more before fixing my website and blogging...

25/08/2015

I really enjoyed my few days in Ottawa, and have been in Montreal for the last week. Ottawa has an awesome Couchsurfing community with wonderfully nice people! I don't like the vibe in Montreal as much as I thought I would. Perhaps after I learn more French, I will love it, so I won't have to start each conversation with "je ne parle pas francais."

12/08/2015

I have finished my travels in Western Canada, and will be flying from Calgary to Ottawa in the morning. I really enjoyed the Yukon, B.C., and western Alberta! Most of the people who I ran into were so nice and friendly, and I would recommend this region to anyone who is interested in the outdoors more than city life :)

03/08/2015

Slowly catching up on my travel writing!
Just finished my Alaskan road trip blog, full of many pictures :)
http://stalkmytravels.com/2015/08/alaskan-road-trip-2015/

I landed in Anchorage (airport code ANC) on May 27th, around 5pm, four days earlier than anticipated, due to a scheduled airline strike in Iceland. I had just gained eight hours on my seven-hour flight from Keflavik International Airport (airport code KEF) in Iceland... #2015

02/08/2015

UPDATE:
I just ran the numbers and my total travel expenses for July, including my $200 splurge on a scenic train ticket from Prince Rupert to Jasper, were $797. This averages out to about $25/day. Without the train ticket, it is $19/day.

My expenses per day, rounded to the nearest cent, were as follows:
Food: $8.26
Alcohol: $2
Accommodation: $4.39
Transport $2.45 (without train), $10.94 (with train ticket)
Tourism: $1.13
Toiletries: $0.42
Clothing: $0.61
Miscellaneous: $0.16

The biggest area in which I could have easily spent less, aside from the train ticket, was food. I ate out for over 10 meals, which was the majority of my food expenses. I also stayed in the most expensive hostels that I've ever seen, in Jasper and Banff areas, for four nights, which made up my entire accommodation expenses. I could have easily kept my budget to under $10/day, but I'm not trying to win an award for the most frugal person. I'm looking to enjoy myself.

I'm anticipating my August expenses to be lower, depending on how much work exchange and camping I do. I'm on my 4th day of work exchange at the Beaverfoot Lodge now, and it's so beautiful here. There has been a lot of work, but also great company! Last night, I went on a trail ride for the third time, through the beautiful Canadian Rockies. For the first time, I was able to take the horse to a gallop, which is significantly more comfortable and faster than trotting! I'm hoping to learn how to ride ba****ck before I leave.

I was planning to go to Yellowknife in about a week, but I'm not too keen on going there anymore. I'd really like to spend more time here at the lodge and then more time in Quebec and New Brunswick, learning French, before I enjoy the fall colors in Nova Scotia. Whatever I choose to do, I'm sure that I'll have more great life experiences to share with others.

Au revoir!

29/07/2015

I hitchhiked for the first time, near the end of my Iceland trip in May. Since then, I've hitchhiked another 24 times, bringing me to a total of 25. I've met some very interesting people from around the world through thumbing it, but there was one particularly bad experience that made me truly disappointed in a couple of people..

Sarah - my Swiss-French hiking partner for Alberta - and I were trying to hitchhike from Jasper to Banff this weekend, when after quite some time of no success, a truck finally slowed down next to and rolled their window down. "Hey guys, there's a bear behind you," a middle-aged woman in the passenger seat said. I couldn't quite hear her, so she repeated herself. I turned around, and sure enough, there was a bear galloping across the street. Naturally, my first instinct was to pull out my camera and snag a picture, which I did. Then, I turned around to hop in the truck, but they were already pulling away.

To me, that's like stopping to tell someone that there's a tornado on the way, and then leaving them to potentially die. Their backseat was empty, and there was also plenty of room in their truck bed. I hope Karma gets the best of them, in the form of multiple flat tires.

27/07/2015

I finally posted about my awesome four-week Icelandic adventure!
http://stalkmytravels.com/2015/07/iceland-roadtrip/

Just a big block of ice, inhabited by Nordic vikings who eat those they defeat in battle, and with temperatures dropping below -40 everyday. Perhaps that is what people thought of, when I first told them that I was going to visit Iceland by myself...

23/07/2015

I just made some corrections to my Kauai story, thanks to some mistakes that Chris noticed. I used two asterisks to notate the mistakes corrected. Nothing too huge!

Stay tuned next week, as I post my story of my Icelandic adventure with a lot of pictures! :)

23/07/2015

I finally published my Kauai story!
Some of it may be out of order, as it's entirely from memory.
http://stalkmytravels.com/2015/07/beautiful-kauai-the-magic-of-the-na-pali-coast/

I was trying to decide where to go for my 10 day vacation between Dec 30th and January 8th. Since it was a short period, I wanted to visit an island. Bermuda, Jamaica, Iceland, and Kauai were all considerations, but Iceland seemed like a better idea for the summer, and there were relatively...

22/07/2015

New post coming tomorrow, about my Winter trip to Kauai! Next week, I should be posting my Iceland trip :)

30/06/2015

Good news! I finally got my website back! I was unable to login, post anything, delete anything, etc.., for several months. I have some writing to do!
:)

P.S. I'll be leaving Whitehorse, YT soon, and heading to Haida Gwaii.

19/06/2015

I've had a great time in Alaska, seeing so much wildlife (moose, bears, caribou, puffins, eagles, seals, sea lions, porpoises, whales, etc...), hiking, exploring glaciers, beach combing, tubing, playing disc golf (I played more in three weeks here than in the last decade combined), and other random things. I'll now be leaving to start my journey across Canada.

First stop, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory! I'll be staying with a French baker for a couple of nights before doing HelpX work on a farm in exchange for food and accommodation, for one or two weeks. Then heading south to British Columbia :)

P.S. I miss Iceland already. Why? It was so scarcely populated outside of Reykjavik, the people were so friendly, I didn't have to worry about crime, and the island had such a varied landscape.

04/06/2015

I'm "back" from Iceland! It was amazing and I'll never forget the varied landscape and the wonderful people I met there :)
I had to cut my trip short by four days due to impending airline strikes that were scheduled for the day of my flight, but those days were added to my Alaskan trip, so oh well!
I'm just now looking at my pictures from Iceland, and although I don't have much time right now, I figured I would share one of my favorite panoramas with you. This is from a beautiful sea cliff that I hiked to, past a small, castle-like lighthouse. (you'll have to click on the picture to see the full-size image)

26/04/2015

I leave for Iceland in 4 days, and I haven't packed anything yet, mapped out any hikes, or decided what I'll do there. However, I'm ready for what awaits me in the Land of Fire and Ice.
:)

23/02/2015

My four week road trip from Bremerton, Washington, to St. Louis, Missouri, was an amazing experience. I met about a hundred people, made some great friends, saw a childhood friend, and did all sorts of random things. I've been back home for a couple of weeks now, and aside from the cold weather, it's been nice. However, I'm anxiously waiting for my trip to Iceland, then Alaska, and perhaps hitchhiking across Canada!

27/01/2015

I bought my plane tickets yesterday, to Iceland! This will be my first time overseas and I couldn't be more excited (unless the tickets had been free). I'm going to try and avoid over planning everything, but only time will tell if I can resist my addiction to travel research.

22/01/2015

There was a single, minor decision that I made, while in Kauai. The decision to go to a Couchsurfing meetup for NYE instead of going hiking. Because of that decision, I've met well over a dozen people from around the world. Heading to San Francisco this weekend, before moving on to Los Angeles and Palm Springs!

Sometimes the smallest decisions have the biggest impacts in our lives.

31/12/2014

Not sure why, but my website just went down last night. No time to do anything about it, as I am at the airport waiting to fly to Kauai!

I'm a bit nervous, as this will be my first time traveling alone, without my car. I'm interested to see where I will end up sleeping tonight, likely on the beach near a lighthouse :)

28/12/2014

Three days until I'm "relaxing" in Kauai, Hawaii!
I've planned a general hiking route to cover most of the major trails in Koke'e and Waimea Canyon State Park, along with several minor ones. A couple of days ago, 62 people had to be airlifted off of the Kalalau Trail, due to flash floods causing impassable streams! Apparently, rain is pretty serious business on the North shore of the Na Pali coasts. Hopefully, I'm luckier than they are, or I'll miss my return flight!

My plan to get my backpack onto the plane is to wear the heaviest clothing, bring a plastic bag to put some other items in and put it under my seat, put more things in my pockets, and then roll down my backpack tightly and use the compression straps to make it as small as possible. I don't want to risk the airlines handling my backpack!

24/12/2014

I never thought that it would be so difficult for me to decide on buying shoes.

The shoes that I want, don't actually exist. Great-fitting, long-lasting, waterproof, don't make your feet sweat, lightweight, great traction, quick-drying, good for both jogging and long backpacking trips, and inexpensive. Magic shoes, please appear in front of me!

20/12/2014

With only 10 days left until I'm in Kauai, it's time for my least favorite part of my trip (aside from paying for it), figuring out what I want to pack.
Unlike most of my hikes which are usually started at a trailhead where I park my car, this will be just me and my backpack the whole time in Kauai.
Will I be able to fit my backpack on the plane? I hate checking bags, especially my backpack with all of it's straps and potentials for tearing, which would quickly end my trip. Maybe I can take some things out and bring a second, collapsible backpack to put under my seat so the main pack will fit in the overhead.
How many clothes should I bring?

For me, I like to make one pile of all of the things that I consider essential for my trip, like my headlamp, tent, sleeping bag, whistle, paracord, etc... I then make another pile of things that I don't HAVE to have, but would like to bring along, such as my stove, toe shoes, extra clothes, books, etc.., and I get rid of half of that pile, and bring the rest. There are some things that I can always get upon arriving in my destination, such as toothpaste, bug spray, and sunscreen, so why bother dragging them through airport security?

Eventually, I'll post my exact packing list.

Happy Holidays!

14/12/2014

17 days until I arrive in Kauai, Hawaii!
I'm aiming for an optimistic 100 miles of hiking all around the island, but the main focus of my trip will be the famous Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast.

06/12/2014

Good morning all!
I've been invited to a wedding in Indonesia next year, at the same time that I planned to go to Iceland. Maybe I'll end up starting my journey in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands!

27/11/2014

I've done quite a lot of research into South America and all of its glory, and I decided to come up with a list of 40 of the places I'm most looking forward to visiting. Enjoy, and have a Happy Thanksgiving :)

1. Machu Picchu, Peru

2. Colca Canyon, Peru (Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and full of Andean Condors)

3. Manu National Park, Peru (Most biodiverse area in the world, with an estimated 500,000+ species of living organisms)

4. La Rinoconada, Peru (The disputed highest city in the world at 16,732 ft above sea level)

5. Alpamayo Mountain, Peru (Once voted the world’s most beautiful mountain by an international survey of climbers and photographers)

6. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

7. Angel Falls, Venezuela (Highest waterfall in the world at 3,211 ft, 15 times taller than Niagara Falls)

8. Canaima National Park, Venezuela (Large area with lots of tepuis, which are large tabletop mountains, including Mount Roraima, whose summit contains the borders of Guyana, Brazil, and Venezuela)

9. Salto Pará Falls, Venezuela (2nd Largest waterfall in the world, at 18,400 ft wide with drops of almost 200 ft)

10. Sumapaz Páramo, Colombia (Largest moor in the world, with lots of biodiversity)

11. Caño Cristales, Colombia (River that is yellow, green, black, blue, and red in color)

12. Tatacoa Desert, Colombia (3°13′ north latitude and 75° 10' west longitude, can see 88 constellations, no pollution or noise, and one of the largest vertebrate fossil sites in the Americas)

13. Laguna Verde (Green Lake), Bolivia (Beautiful, high-altitude lake whose temperatures can reach as low as -68 degrees Fahrenheit without freezing, due to a special chemical composition)

14. Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon), Bolivia (Shallow salt lake that is blood red in color and attracts rare flamingos)

15. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (World’s largest salt flat, covered in an inches-deep pool during the rainy season)

16. Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru (Highest navigable lake in the world at 12,507 feet)

17. Amazon Rainforest, mainly Brazil/Peru/Colombia, but also in Bolivia/Venezuela/Ecuador/Guyana/Suriname/French Guiana

18. Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina (Incredibly beautiful collection of about 275 waterfalls)

19. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil (Lots of white sand dunes with dozens of seasonal lagoons scattered around)

20. Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Brazil (Supposed to be the most luminous point on Earth, due to a very high concentration of quartz crystals, and is also very biodiverse with an estimated 10,000 species of plants)

21. Glowing Termite Mounds of Emas National Park, Brazil (Special bioluminescence display in September/October every year)

22. Laguna Cejar, Chile (Located in Salar de Atacama, the third-largest salt flat in the world, this is basically the Dead Sea of Israel and Jordan, but with flamingos flying around)

23. Atacama Desert, Chile (Driest non-polar desert in the world, with some areas having never recorded any rainfall. The soil is compared to that of Mars)

24. Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (Amazing 52-mile “W” trek in the Patagonian Andes)

25. El Tatio, Chile (Geyser field in the Andes, over 14,100 feet above sea level. Largest geyser field in the Southern Hemisphere, and third-largest in the world, behind Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. and Valley of the Geysers in Siberia)

26. Easter Island, Chile (One of the most remote inhabited islands in the world with odd maoi statues)

27. Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile (Plenty of endemic species of plants. Thought to have inspired the famous novel)

28. Caves of Villarrica Volcano, Chile (The only visitable volcanic caves on Earth, inside South America’s most active volcano)

29. Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina (Amazing glacier in Southern Patagonia. One of the 5% of the world’s glaciers that is growing instead of shrinking)

30. Patagonia, Argentina/Chile (Comprised of six National Parks, this is an amazing, largely unspoiled expanse of land)

31. Jamarillo Petrified Forest, Argentina (Largest petrified trees in the world, existing before the Andes Mountains formed)

32. Monte Fitz Roy trek in Patagonia, Argentina

33. Laguna del Diamante, Argentina ( A lagoon resting on toxic sulphuric vents, with a pH>11, salt levels five times that of seawater, and arsenic levels 20,000 times above EPA drinking levels)

34. Trekking to Kaieteur Falls, Guyana (Largest single-drop waterfall by volume)

35. Kanuku Mountains, Guyana (One of the few remaining pristine habitats of the Amazon Rainforest, and the most biodiverse area in Guyana)

36. Rupununi Savannah, Guyana (One of the world’s largest area of savannah lands, with great biodiversity)

37. Shell Beach, Guyana (90-mile long beach with inland swamp forests, savannahs, mangroves, and an amazing place for turtle nesting)

38. Iwokrama Forest, Guyana (One of the four remaining pristine tropical forests in the world, the others being the Amazon, Congo, and New Guinea, and has over 400 species of fish)

39. Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Suriname (1.6 million hectares of primary tropical forest with a variety of plant species and animals such as jaguars, tapirs, sloths, giant armadillos, and giant river otters)

40. Maison de la Reserve Natural l’Amana, French Guiana (One of world’s largest nesting sites for Leatherback Turtles)



Have you ever been to any of these places?

27/11/2014

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!