Boaters Without Borders

This next adventure is less vacation and more expedition - and epic in its scope. Boaters Without Borders runs out of the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bolivia. Created by the NOC and the medical relief charity MedicForce, the Boaters Without Borders expedition will take you down Class IV or V rapids with a flotilla of kayaks, medical personnel and first aid gear to remote villages on the Rio Tuichi.

The Rio Tuichi is in northern Bolivia, and the upper most regions of the Amazonian watersheds, and where you will spend most of the 22-day expedition, in practically unexplored rapids. More like a NOLS course than a luxury Amazon safari, this trip requires excellent physical and mental fitness and a high level of team work. Once all participants fly into La Paz, the journey begins!

They start with a 14 hour off-road truck ride, followed by a two day jungle trek to the start of the river. The rest of the expeditions will take place in kayaks and rafts through challenging rapids. As such, all participants must have Class IV+ raft skills and be expert kayakers - in addition to having medical experience as an EMT, doctor or nurse or be certified with WFR/WEMT.


Once you reach a village, medical aid and education become the focus of the expedition. Participants give medical care to the villagers, while educating the subsistence farmers on how to treat wounds and recognize symptoms of diseases like malaria and yellow fever. Once your work is done, you will journey on to the next village.


The cost of this trip is actually tax-deductible and runs at $3,850 for 22 days. It includes all meals and accommodations for the voyage, as well as medical and travel insurance and assistance transporting all personal gear. People are requested to bring their own kayaks and paddles, although NOS will provide the rafts. Airfare is not included (when is it ever?).


Although this trip sounds physically grueling (definitely not vacation!), this is one of the most unique opportunities I have ever seen to truly make a difference on a foreign service trip. Any one who fits the NOC qualifications and is looking for an absolutely incredible service experience should apply! As it is a new expedition, you will have the opportunity to be part of a new initiative in the Bolivian Amazon that guarantees beautiful scenery, instant positive effects and one hell of an adventure.



Voted one of Outside's Best Trips of 2010! Read about it here.

Save those Sea Turtles!

Beaches..Sunshine..Surfing...Wild animals...Spanish.

Nope, I'm not talking about a Sandals commercial. I am talking about a volunteer vacation with Pretoma. Pretoma is a Costa Rican based non-profit that works to protect sea wildlife, such as sharks and sea turtles, through research and beach monitoring projects. Within Costa Rica, they are a strong, passionate voice for the oceans and any one who wants to can become a part of it by volunteering with them.
Volunteer options vary: you can choose to volunteer your time in Punta Banco or San Miguel, Costa Rica. Both towns are beautiful, although different. Punta Banco is a small, beautiful village a bus ride away from Panama. There are probably the least amount of turtles on this beach of the 5 places where Pretoma does research, but there are still plenty! The village is more isolated, with Internet and phones 4-5 miles away. San Miguel is more of a town than a village, with more than one supermercado, and a bit more touristy. I spent time in Punta Banco and fell in love with the small community - definitely a great place if you are looking to get to know the locals!

Your day breaks down as such: Wake up. Eat. Go to the Beach. Eat some more. Basically, your time is spent at night, patrolling the beach for nesting sea turtles. Once you find them, you (with your research assistant guide) will dig up the eggs and put them in the clean sand hatchery in town. There is a lot of free time!

Prices include all meals and lodging if you choose to stay in the research station. One week starts at $350. The longer you stay, the cheaper it ends up being. Because it is a tad tricky to get to both places, I would definitely recommend a minimum stay of two weeks (as they do) in order to fully relax, interact with the community and see the turtles.

Helpful tips:

1. The season runs from Jul - Nov, with more turtles appearing as time goes on. However, the rainy season starts mid September. I would try to plan for the end of August/beginning of September to avoid a trip full of rain.

2. Also, turtles hate the moon! If you have the luxury of planning around the lunar cycle, it would totally be worth your while.

Happy rescuing!

*Additional: I volunteered here for a month in 2009. To read about my sponsored trip from Sosauce.com, click here.

For your Inner "Artiste"

Bienvenue a (the South of) France!

For those of you interested in wandering through old Europe, look no further than La Sabranenque. Situated in Saint Victor la Coste, one of the most beautiful towns in Southern France, volunteer guests have the opportunity to soak up the local culture while participating in the region's preservation.


The Mediterranean architecture in Saint Victor la Coste, and the Provence region, is evocative of centuries past: hilltop ruins, streets of stonework, fields and pasturing inviting you for a long ramble. However, the architecture is slowly crumbling into ruins - and as the techniques to build it have long been extinct, new technology is impossible. The only way to preserve and restore the buildings is by doing it the old-fashioned way; by hand.


La Sabranenque offers several opportunities from spring through early fall to take part in the rebuilding, mostly through stone masonry skills learned on the job. What is perfect is that there is a definite chance to see your own contributions, instant gratification for us Americans! Volunteers spend the morning chipping at old stonework, with free afternoons to amble the villages nearby. In each summer session, a free afternoon trip is included.


In May and October, they offer specialized one week programs called "Volunteer and Visit" and "Volunteer and Hike." In the Visit program, you spend every other afternoon off in the South of France, from Orange to Avignon. The Hike program lauds the nearby villages and mountains through "leisurely walks." Quite honestly, I am not sure why they use "Hike" and "leisurely walks" to mean the same thing, so I cannot tell you whether you will be surprised negatively or not!



Most Important Info!! All meals are provided by the La Sabranenque chef with fresh produce from the South of France, while you sleep in delightful old school stone cottages. Pricing on the site is not included, but as of 2005 it was $690 for a two week session --- did I repeat that everything is included? All meals and housing...combine inflation and the dismal economy with the right deals this would hardly cost more than a grand. Bon voyage!





*Note: photos are from my own trip to the Provence region, although not from Saint Victor la Coste

The Wild West of Ireland

The Guinness Storehouse. St. Patrick's Cathedral. Blarney Castle.


All very exciting, very important, very touristy places to visit in Ireland - and touristy for a reason! They are traditional stops on any Irish tour. What I implore you not to forget is the West Coast of Ireland - Connemara. The last wild pieces of the old Ireland with mountains, peninsula and the sea. When the British came, Irish moved west, because the British wouldn't follow them to Connemara. And while you're there, the best way to ensure some adventure is at the Killary Adventure Co.




Located in Leenane, Co. Galway, and named for the Killary Fjords around it, Killary Adventure is situated in one of the most beautiful places in Connemara. Check out the top picture to the right, on the about me; that is Killary Fjord. The nine mile long inlets provide not only beautiful photos, but an ideal place for kayaking, swimming and -yes!- cliff jumping! In addition, Killary offers zip lines, rock climbing walls, cycling and has the venues for multiple laser wars. Here is my group in full army laser regalia:

You can stay for a weekend at the actual program site, which is dormitory style with bunk beds, hot showers, and good food. Or you can make it a day trip out of nearby Galway City - a bus goes back and forth from the Leenane Sleepzone Hostel and the Galway Sleepzone once a day, making it an easy trip. This is definitely a great side trip for the exuberant, and a great way to give your liver a rest for a day after your guaranteed Guinness consumption (although if you can't handle the distance for one day..there are pubs in Leenane you can hitch a ride too).

Give the Gift of Sight in India

My next adventure advice chronicles again horses - although I promise it will not be a recurring theme! Relief Riders International (RRI) is a humanitarian-based, adventure travel company that organizes horseback journeys through breathtaking areas in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. While frolicking through the desert a la Viggo Mortenson or Omar Sharif, you will also be giving out medical supplies in impoverished Indian villages.

Their free programs for the Indian people include: Give a Goat, Give the Gift of Sight (free cataract surgery), Free Dental Surgery and Pediatric and Educational camps. A maximum of twelve riders will journey through the desert for 15 days alongside the caravan and Jeeps, staying in mostly tents, with hotels and a haveli, a traditional Indian villa, thrown in. above, photo from post surgery
If you are not John Wayne in the saddle, never fear! They welcome novice riders, and because Relief Riders travel with so many supplies, the pace will be gentle by the caravan for you. If you are not going anywhere near a horse (thank you very much, crazy girl), then perhaps their new sister organization, Relief Workers International, will be the one for you. Their main focus is on the Gift of Sight program. The major difference? No horses. Instead, you will travel via bus and caravan.

In every program, all meals (sans alcohol), lodging, in-country travel, tours and airport transfer is provided. The only thing not included is your own transport to India..however, it still means the tab for this trip can run $5600-$6300 depending on whether you are a rider or a worker. However, it sounds like an experience that is worth every penny once you save up for it - and the 15 days/16 nights fits neatly into a corporate vacation slot, so happy traveling!

Both humanitarian-adventure combo companies have been featured in a multitude of magazines, including National Geographic, Forbes, Outside and Oprah. Read an article about them here.