AAVE Trip BLOG
August 12, 2008
Bike Amsterdam-Paris #2 - Live from Belgium!
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Greetings from Belgium! After arriving in our hostel we set out to explore the scenic city of Brugge, the Venice of the North. After exploring the Chocolate Museum and sampling some famous Belgian chocolate everyone was given some free time to explore the city. Some shopped, some took in the sites and some ate as much chocolate and waffles as they could get their hands on. After enjoying a dinner out featuring the local delicacies mussels, Belgian stew and, of course, tons of French fries, we retired to our beds for a restful sleep.
The next day we set out for Ghent and followed the scenic route along the canal with the sun shining overhead. This was to be our last big biking day and everyone was happy to arrive at our campsite just outside the city. The next day we played a treasure hunt game that had everyone running around the medieval city bandaging up locals, posing with statues and taking pictures to record all the silly tasks. The following day we undertook a community service project in a nature reserve and after a busy day we all went to see the new Batman movie. Today we are bound for Paris and plan to take in the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Miss you all very much- a bientôt!
August 11, 2008
Costa Rica Clasica #2A Photos
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Bold Europe #2 - Best of Europe!
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Hello from Italy
We left the wonderful, full of color and life city of Barcelona and drove to our next camp in the French Pyrenees. We stopped at an old French castle on top of a hill and took a lot of great pictures. The next morning, we woke up early to go mountain bike (MB) and do gorge walking. Our guide for the MB showed us all the fruits in the area including plums, figs, pears and blackberries. Gorge walking, which is similar to canyoning, but without a harness was very exciting because of the challenging high jumps and our funny French guide. After a full day of activities we had yummy hot dogs and baked beans for dinner.
Leaving the the lovely pyrenees we headed towards Cap D’Ail and the best hostel ever, perched right over the Mediterranean sea.! We walked to the beach the next day and crossed the boarder to Monaco. We had our evening meeting on the beach just outside the hostel and everyone shared little things that make them happy.
The next day we headed towards the Italian boarder to do Via Ferrata, which is a kind of vertical rock climbing, but on ladders. That was very exciting and we think that Alex may be over his fear of heights. The next morning we started our most intense canyoning course. Our challenge began with putting the wet suits on, and Paige and Chadi had an especially hard time. The seven hours of rappelling, zip-lining and jumps made a great day of group bonding and fun.
This is just a part of it — more will follow soon - Loving the AAVE Life!
Peru & Machu Picchu #2 Update
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Hola mis amigos!
We’re just chilling in Cerro Azul, a tiny beach town a few hours from Lima. After some surfing this morning, we came back to a delicious lunch and are now getting ready for round two of catching some waves.
The biggest challenge since the trek has definitely been the homestay on Lake Titikaka. We arrived in the afternoon and had the rest of the day to get to know our new families– we played soccer with them, ate dinner and went to a dance party at the local school. The general opinion of the group was that they were great people who were willing to help us and get to know us in any way they can, despite the sometimes frustrating language barrier.
“The homestay was an experience of a lifetime. The chance to stay, eat and interact with a different culture of people was great. Also, building the chimneys made me feel like I was giving something in return for their hospitality.” –Vicky
“The homestay was challenging yet very rewarding. I enjoyed the fact that I had the opportunity to give back to my family by aiding them in building a chimney.” –Jade
“The homestay was a very memorable experience. The families were very friendly and accepting, and it was great to give back to them in a very helpful way.” –Noah
“I felt that the homestay was a very interesting way to experience the life that many people of the world live. I liked that they were not concerned with material things and only had what they needed to survive.” –Corey
“The homestay was a very memorable and great experience. Staying in the home of those families made me appreciate more and take advantage of all the opportunity I have in front of me.” –Jennefry
“The homestay was an amazing experience. Even though my communication with the family consisted of points, grunts and the use of a picture book I feel like we understood each other just as well as if we were always friends.” –Zuri
“The homestay was great! I will never forget my family. They were so nice and caring. It was a very big disappointment when we had to leave. The kids did not want us to leave. The families will always be in my heart.” –Alex
“The homestay allowed us to experience a way of life we normally wouldn’t. It made us appreciative of what we have, and opened our eyes on poverty we don’t normally see. We also got to meet some amazing people who are truly generous and kind.” –Ashley
We’re leaving for Lima tomorrow afternoon, which will be our last full day together. The beach is a great place for us to all reflect on this awesome trip and the friendships we’ve made.
Hang ten from your fearless leader of the day (plus Skyeler and Kaitlin),
Ashley
Espana Clasica #2 Update
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Hello Abbott, Friends and family,
After arriving in Sort, setting up camp, settling in and drifting off to sleep under the brilliant landscape of stars we awoke, threw some key items in our backpack and headed for the Pyrenees. After meeting Cesar, our amiable and local Spanish mountain guide, we embarked on a pleasant hike to a shimmering lake, entertaining ourselves with inside jokes and with Lorna’s near to impossible to solve riddles. Although we were unable to stay the night at a mountain hut ended up being a blessing in disguise because we got to eat dinner at a precious family’s place in the small community of Berbie. We burned off the delicious pork and lamb dinner on our 15 km hike the next day, which lead us to another pristine lake, which after 9 km of hiking was the prettiest lake I’d ever seen.
The intensity level dropped the following day in which we only rappelled down large waterfalls and slid down gigantic slabs of rock. After the pools of sweat we worked up those 3 days, we got the chance to cool off a bit by rafting down the rapids of the Noguera Pallaresa river. Yesterday, in order to repay the huge amount of fun and excitement that Spain has granted us over the past 15 days, we all picked up trash along the shores of a local lake, only to have even more fun kayak jumping and kayak racing after our work was done.
Now we are back on our way to our starting point, Madrid for the last days of our trip.
Written by Eli Burstein - Loving the AAVE Life!
EG2 - Update from Ecuador
Posted by AAVE Leader in : Ecuador & Galapagos, General , add a comment
Hello back home!
Wow . . . I can´t believe our trip is coming to an end. It all happens so fast . . . its crazy! So we are here in Santa Cruz after an awesome day of snorkeling. Today I felt like I was in a discovery channel episode . . . we saw a blind sea lion chasing around white tip sharks, just messÃn with them, biting their tails and swimming in circles!! It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! We also saw six giant sea turtles and millions of marine iguanas!
We can’t wait to see everyone, show you our pictures, share our stories and give you all a big hug!
Anna, Andy and the intrepid Ecuadorian explorers
Surf Camp #3 - Hola from Mexico!
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Hola to the family, friends, and anyone interested in our Surf Camp down here in hot, steamy, tropical and of course, beautiful Mexico!
We started off the trip in rustic town of Puerta Vallarta. The first night we went to dinner at a restaurant that served us way too much delicious guacamole. We then walked on the boardwalk, and in the midst of watching a mime perform, fireworks lit up the sky with dazzling colors.
The next day we headed towards an old mining town, high in the mountains, called San Sebastian. We got our bags packed, and headed off for a trek into the mountains, where our survival night adventure began. It rained some, be we all pulled through and reached the highest accessible point of the mountain! On the way back down to our camping area, we witnessed a beautiful golden sunset (which we got many pictures of so most of you will see what I am talking about). We hiked all the way down the mountain the next morning, which was an excellent time for everyone to talk and tell stories about their lives back home. The rest of the day in San Sebastian consisted of a huge Mexican style lunch, naps, a game of basketball with the locals, visiting an old old cemetery, and exploring the old mines of San Sebastian.
After the six hour drive from the mountains down to the beach, with a few food stops to get killer sandwiches and ice cream . . . we ended up at our new beach home at Boca de Iguanas! That is where I am writing to your at the moment. The first day here everyone met the surf instructor, Odin, and he started off with a land lesson on surfing. Before everyone knew it . . . they were in the water catching waves!
The next few days were full of morning runs on the beach, a lot of surfing, and cooking all our own meals on the beach with the waves crashing into the shore as our we enjoyed our view from our little cosina. We also went to Barra de Navidad a few times, which is a little surfer, beach town located 30 minutes south of our camping spot. Hammocks were bought by everyone, we had a day of kayacking, and a pizza dinner. We also got the pleasure to see our own surf instructor and his buddies surf at their local spot. It was very inspiring to everyone, Im sure.
Alright . . . time for me to take a swim in the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We miss you all! Adios!
Allison, Sarah and the aggro, bangin. land Sharks of 12 AAVE Big Kahuna’s
China #2 - Olympic Fever!
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Greetings from the beautiful town of Yangshou located on the Li River in Southwest China. We just finished cooking our own authentic, multi course lunch at a local cooking school and are packing up, doing some last minute shopping and preparing to leave mainland China and head to Hong Kong tonight.
Yesterday was extremely exciting and active. We rode bikes through the lovely countryside, hiked to the moon (well, Moon Hill), had lunch at a local farmer’s house, went rock climbing and . . . hmmm . . . something else . . . .oh yeah . . . watched the opening ceremony of the OLYMPICS!! Wow, people here were so excited. Shops closed early and we watched the show with a bunch of locals on a big screen at a neighborhood restaurant. It was a night (and day) to remember. In fact, this whole trip has been memorable and exciting and I know that all of us have made some lifelong friends! We’ll call from the airport on departure day.
Signing off from China.
Alice and the China 2 AAVE adventurers
Bold West #3 - Adventures in Yosemite!
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Yosemite, birthday, Tuolomne Meadows, oh my…
It is past mid trip, we can’t believe it! Yosemite was one of the most powerful places we have been on the trip so far. This is because of the towering rock walls and the beautiful canyons and waterfalls! We could see headlamps at night on El Capitan of people rock climbing, which takes 4 to 8 days in a harness at all times, to reach the top, wow!
We took showers, yeahh, in Yosemite Village on our way in to our first campground called Crane Flat at about 7,000 ft elevation. Based out of this camp, we spent a day hiking a total of 8 miles up to the top of Nevada Falls, one of the most popular and rewarding hikes in the park! Everyone rocked the hike especially Eliza with a recovering toe injury and Jack who charged confidentially in the front of the pack with Deanna who was leader of the day and who kept us together, happy and safe! Kelly joined them for the game 20 questions the whole entire way back down the trail! Ben lead the group in a side trip to the bottom of Vernal Falls. Mike, Alex, Noemie, and John all went to the rocks at the bottom of this waterfall also and they came back soaking wet from the amazing mist that came from the spray which created a rainbow all the way around them when they were standing in the mist!
During lunch we had a constant battle protecting our food from the army of squirrels that seemed to have tactics set up to distract us from our food while other squirrels went in for the grab. Kai, Shapiro, and Ben could give the squirrels a scare and no squirrels were hurt in the process and we had no food casualties. Victor and PH were our lookouts from a higher rock above our lunch area. Noemie, Barbara, and Nicole were able to enjoy the view of a gorgeous lake next to our lunch spot where we were not allowed to swim, but when we got to the top the final waterfall we found a perfect spot for a refreshing swim! This group loves to swim even if the water is way chilly! Jack is usually our first brave soul into the water of our swimming holes and he was first to brave this spot also!
For Victor’s birthday he requested showering, which was a success after swimming in the river in hot Yosemite Valley! The swimming pool had showers for us after we did a few cannon balls and splash dive contests! Tuolmne Meadows treated us well as our second camping destination in Yosemite at 8,600 ft elevation! We had a cake, presents, and small celebration for Victors birthday around the campfire.
We had so many options of fun things to do in this area and we opted for a hike to a great natural slide where we all slid down a smooth granite bowl and did some cliff jumping with Half Dome featured in our views! PH and Victor had a masterful sliding technique and the first duo descent of the slide! 
Jack and Alex had the most descents of the slide! Ben and the big Ben and Barbara team had the most speed! We then went to one of the coolest, most random natural hot springs in the middle of a field with cows in serenading distance after walking down a beautiful boardwalk and waiting out a thunderstorm which later provided us with a rainbow. The pool was made out of natural rock and Jack as leader of the day took advantage of this spot for a great meeting! We smelled of sulphur and felt revived after changing and heading into Mono Lake for a dinner out at the fantastic Whoa Nelli Deli! This dinner was great compared to our night of forgetable macaroni and cheese the previous night!
The next day we drove to the camp at White Water Voyages to prepare for our two day rafting trip! We had showers, again yeahh! They also have skunks, boo, but now we are professional skunk shewers to keep them from our camp at night. Sometimes our road trips end up being a couple extra hours than expected and with ice-cream, good music, good conversations, bracelet making sessions, and great brain teasers we survive just fine!!
We hope everyone is well! We are having an absolute blast and are looking forward to Santa Cruz for surfing and for some time in San Fran next! Again I am so impressed with this group, their bravery, their success with hiking, their fun spirits! We wish we had more time to describe the amazing places we have been to, but we look forward to sharing stories in person soon enough with many great pics!
Until the next entry of the Adventures of BW3!
Deanna, PH, Shapiro, Kelly, Ben, Jack, John, Eliza, Victor, Barbara, Noemie, Kai, Alex, Big Ben, and Nicole
Loving the AAVE Life!
Africa #2 from Botswana
Posted by Annemarie in : Africa, General , add a comment
Greetings from Botswana!
Now that everyone in the group is happy and 100% healthy, we are having the time of our lives! A couple days ago we organized a spontaneous soccer match with local villagers in Gweta where we created two teams made up of both locals and AAVE participants. We had a BLAST, definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip thus far!
The following morning we woke up and took off for the salt pans of Botswana, and unique and amazing area of Africa, perfect for quad biking! We also kept ourselves entertained by playing rugby and ultimate frisbee, and flew kites around the salt pans, which we’re convinced is the absolute middle of nowhere. After a fun day of ATV’ing and playing games, we slept under the magnificent African stars, absolutely the best night of the trip!
We’re looking forward to the final week of our Africa adventure. (We tried to send pictures but had some computer problems in the process).
Loving the AAVE Africa Life!
Annemarie & the AF2 Crew