Dave and Mere do Nashville

The counter covered in fancy toiletries, an enormous box of chocolates, a sneaky pair of ceramic mice, and luggage stacked in the living room. This can mean only one thing. Dave and Mere have made it to Nashville.  One of them brought their belt buckle and boots while the other learning from his past mistakes left his cardigan at home and showed up in his plaid shirt.  Below are the highlights from the trip.

 

Food

• Peg Leg Porker BBQ - Dave of course met the owner after realizing he recognized him from various cooking shows.
• Bolton's Tennessee Hot Chicken - The hottest our group went was medium.  It was good but it just about killed me.

Music

• Station Inn - Caught some bluegrass while visiting which was on the top of the list of priorities for our guests.  American Drive was definitely a solid band and I'm sure they'll remember the simple but loud request from our group to "slappa da bass".
• Tootsies Orchid Lounge - Famous Broadway bar where Jolene made her point that the fiddle is more important than the banjo.  
• Honky Tonk Central - I never get to go here anymore because I always show up late.  Apparently this doesn't stop the rest of the group from heading down there for some live music without me.  
• Rippy's - We could only prevent the ordering of apple moonshine shots for so long.  We also spent our time dodging eye contact with the scariest band groupie we've ever seen.

Broaden Your Horizon

• Johnny Cash Museum - This is a relatively new addition to Nashville but they've done a great job with letting you feel you understand "The Man in Black" by the time you leave.

"Sometimes I am two people.  Johnny is the nice one.  Cash causes all the trouble.  They fight." - Johnny Cash

• Radnor Lake / Garnier Ridge Hike - I'm sure at least part of the group is still cursing me for putting this on the agenda.  The fresh air was a good idea for everybody and this is an easy location to get to so close to the city.

Brewery Visits

• Untapped App (all we need is an app that congratulates you as you test and rate beers you are having for the first time).  We should probably make sure Dave deletes this off his phone sometime soon. 
• Jackalope Brewing - We snuck in for some samples and got to watch others attempt to win a set of Brewery Highland Games.  One guy in particular was covered in dirt even though no challenge required rolling around on the ground.
• Fat Bottom Brewing - We got a tour from the owner Ben and were blown away by his passion for the business.  I can honestly say our group of four dominated the tour with the most questions I have ever heard asked to a brew master.

A great time ... as usual.  Book a repeat trip for next year... Cheers.





 

Working in Texas

While we are not ready to give up on Nashville, my new job is now in Austin.  I'm spending my weeks down there in what can only be classified as a love/hate relationship with the state of Texas.  The good news is much like Nashville, you are constantly surrounded by good music, good food, and good people.

I'm hoping now that I've gotten a chance to reboot over the holidays and have gotten a better grasp of what we are trying to get done, that the two of us (Texas and I) will have a more productive 2014.

Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

This is where things really get interesting.  After our few days in Cuzco a couple guides from Llama Path with another nine hikers led us into the Andes to start what would become quite an adventure.  After a few close calls over the years this would also be Jolene and my first camping trip together.

The Salkantay Trek ended up being 50 miles of hiking over the course of five days through the mountains, over Salkantay Pass (15,200 ft), into the jungle, and finally Machu Picchu.  It is basically impossible to express/show how challenging this hike was, how the altitude impacts how you breath, how much you need to drink, and your appetite.  Along with that challenge were amazing views that looked too outrageous to even be postcards.  The best I can do is bullet off some of the most memorable moments.



(Mollepata - Soraypampa - Colcapampa - La Playa - Hidroelectrica - Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu!)

• Starting to see Salkantay Mountain in the distance as we hiked during our first two days.  A beautiful mountain tucked away in the Andes which seemed unreal and also incredibly far away.  Camping our first night with it right behind us and the valleys and peaks that we had hiked that day as our view from our tent it really became real that we were in the middle of nowhere. 
• The Seven Snakes, a place where the trail curves back and forth in a quick ascent of 1300+ feet.  This part of the trail nearly killed Jolene.  We had to pass her stuff over to me as she took her time getting to the top.  At this point we are above an altitude of two miles high and just about everybody was having a difficult time.  For a short time we thought we were going to have to put her on a horse ambulance or give her oxygen but she did it all on her own.
• Reaching Salkantay Pass which would be the highest altitude on our hike.  This not only culminated what had been a very tough morning hike that had pushed us to our limits but also meant we would soon start to drop off the mountains and to lower altitudes in the jungle with the hope of easier trails or at least make it easier to breath.  To make it even better it was snowing while we were up there.

• An optional (strenuous) hike up a jungle mountain where an Inca site called Llactapata sits with views to Machu Picchu is offered early one morning.  Majority of the group appeared to be opting out but Jolene nearly immediately volunteered us both to go.  Before you knew it we had a few others join us as well.  Apparently Jolene can thrive at altitudes below 10,000 ft and the Amazon jungle meets that criteria (don't every take her above that limit though!).
• Finally arriving at Machu Picchu.  Completely covered in fog and a slight drizzle.  As just about everything went on our trip, things found a way to work out.  Within thirty minutes the weather blew through an the old Incan town for royalty was around us.  As we toured the ruins we also took the chance to hike to the top of Huaynapicchu to get what are supposed to be some of the best views of the town and it's condor shape.

We had a great group with us who made the trip so much more enjoyable.  Everyone helping each other out, exchanging stories, and of course morale support.  We jokingly gave each group their own little classification making it easier to list who we were missing: Hawaiians, Honeymooners, The Brits, German Girls, Team Photographer.

Even with this great group we wouldn't have survived our first day without Roger and Irving, our Llama Path guides.  Not only did they provide information about the area we were in or things we saw but they had great stories and interesting jokes as well that we got out of them.  It was always apparent to me their top priority was to get us all through safely as well and could tell they were keeping a close eye on how people felt.  One conversation that will stick with me for awhile is Roger talking about the Quechuan culture and language and tying that back to the people of the Andes, the Incas, and how it was impacted by the Spanish conquistadors then and to this day.  Definitely a man who is proud to be Peruvian and you can't ask for anything more while trekking through Peru.

Cuzco, Peru (World Heritage Site - Capital of Inca Empire)

After our time at the beach we jumped on a flight and crossed South America into Peru for a much more challenging and informative part of our trip.

We stayed at the new Marriott in Cuzco (city is at an altitude of about 3400 m, 11200 ft).  The hotel actually sits on top of old Inca and Kilke ruins which they have done their best to preserve and also leverages some of the San Agustin convent walls and arches as part of the hotel itself.  Another great example of one empire building on top of another.  The Inca on the Kilke and the Spanish on the Inca.

Bell Tower of San Cristobal

Middle of San Blas Neighborhood

Night Parade with Lit Animals

It didn't take long for us to feel the effects of being at an altitude of over two miles high (compared to our normal 400 ft).  We of course listened to all the local experts on how to keep the affects in check and they seemed to help.

San Pedro Mercado - Anything

Cuzco had a very Spanish colonial feel and even looks like some of the towns/cities you'd find in Southern Spain today.  It's right in the middle of the Andes and you can get a great bird's eye view from Barrio de San Blas or Saksaywaman which we slowly walked up to through the thin streets as we acclimated to the altitude.

I am the only one who smiled!?

Jolene quickly fell in love with all Peruvian children and all of the exquisite crafts that were hand made by the people of Cuzco.  This made shopping in the local mercados with my broken Spanish one of her favorite activities.  It always took a moment or two before she would start touching and asking questions but before you knew it she'd be in the little shop petting the fabrics and inspecting all the trinkets.

She also developed a fear of dogs (at least for a couple days) after one snuck up to bark and lunge at her.  The good news is she didn't let this impact her desire to just pick up a baby llama or alpaca without a second thought.  Every time I turn my back she's out making new friends.

Amigas! 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Obrigado)

As has become our style ... we planned a big trip to mark the end of one of my projects before shifting to the next.  This time it included us getting Brazilian visas, a bunch of shots, and a chance to cross South America off Jolene's list of continents she's never been.

Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer)

Copacabana Beach

Estadio do Maracana

After taking a red eye into Rio, I did a crash course of popular Portuguese phrases and we headed to our place in Copacabana.  We spent a good amount of time enjoying the beach and the local cuisine.  Whether it was a basic chicken, beans, and rice or we kicked it up a notch and got picanha, the food was always good.  Farofa was always on the side to mix in as needed and cold Brahma or fresh juice to drink to make sure you fit in with the locals.

We did take our hotel's advice and setup a day tour with a group to see the main sites of the city.  Danielle led us around with a small group of people from El Salvador and Columbia.  It was pretty interesting trying to understand the day in a mix of Spanish and Portuguese.  I must have nodded my head too many times in agreement because it was quickly decided that nobody was going to try to explain anything to us in English.

Catedral de San Bastian

                                   Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain)

Parque Nacional de Tijuca - Fighting Monkeys

Fun Memories
*  Being told by a local that I sounded like a Brazilian in response to whatever I had just said in Portuguese (Jolene said my eyes lit up and I started strutting around like I owned the place).
*  Picking a sweet spot on the beach under an umbrella for the day and somehow still finding a way to get too much sun.

The End of the Project that Started it ALL

Finally, the project which pulled us across the pond to London to live abroad and was the sole reason we started this blog has come to an end. So many interesting/great people made it an experience we won't soon forget. It took us to London, led us to that interesting spurt of time in Reading and Barcelona, and then dropped us back in the states in Nashville where we now sit together looking and thinking about what is next. 

This picture about sums it all up.  Fun, interesting, stressful, and at times just a little too strange to explain how this project and the people have changed us forever.  (Yes - she wears sunglasses at night).







Thanks to everybody who made the experience possible and of course made the related project releases such a success.  A special shout out to a group of people in Manila who helped carry me through some interesting work situations the last couple years.  You know who you are... we'll keep in touch.

White Water Rafting - The Ocoee River (Copperhill, TN)

We found yet another reason to go enjoy the outdoors near our new residence and that is rafting down the Ocoee River right about where North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee meet.

The upper part of this river was used in the 1996 Atlanta Olypmics but the middle part continues to be the most popular.  Our guide "Stan the Man" from White Water Express led our team of six down the middle Ocoee and really gave us a chance to make the rapids a little more challenging when we wanted and to pull up on top of some hydraulics as well.

A new move that I have not seen on my trips to other rivers was "riding the bull".  This is when someone sat on the front of the raft with their feet out the front and held onto a small cord as we dropped into a rapid.  We have a well documented case where Jolene's attempt at this results in just about all of us submerged (no finger pointing), floating down the river.  It's important to note that the lesson to make sure your feet are up so you don't get a foot caught in a rock really stuck with me since it appears I planned on keeping them out of the water for as long as possible.

We had a great group in our raft and whether Stan has 23 years or was it just one online class of experience he kept us out of trouble and having a great time.

While we were not rafting we were hanging out at the White Water Express compound where we spent a couple nights in one of their cabins.  We went horseback riding and even enjoyed doing flips off the "blob" in their small lake with a couple we met while rafting.

Our Cabin

A quick shout out to Scout and Jeremiah (horses) who took the time (whether they wanted to or not) to carry us around a muddy trail in the woods that one afternoon.

Lake + Blob

Mike Flip off Blob

It was definitely a fun trip and all the people we met made it very enjoyable.