Wachel the Wanderer

I packed my life into three bags and am hitting 12+ countries in 12 months. Remote Year

[wachelthewanderer]

Sziget fest in Budapest, Hungary • August 10-17, 2016

A bunch of us decided to get tickets (months in advance) for Szigetfest – a 7 day music festival. People call it the Burning Man of Europe, but it’s more like Coachella.

We took a train from Belgrade to Budapest on August 10th. The train was ridiculously SLOW! I think it took us 8 hours to get there. 

Some of the artists/bands/DJs we saw included: Rihanna, Afrojack, Sigur Ros, Muse, Sum 41, Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Bloc Party, The Lumineers, Chvrches, Digweed and Sia.

Sigur Ros was my absolute favorite performance of the week! They put on a fantastic, mind-blowing show.

I made the rookie mistake of only bringing one pair of shoes for the ENTIRE 7 days (flip flops no less!!) so my feet were hashed by day 3. I powered through somehow and had an epic time!

Even managed to meet a couple really rad people away from the festival...

On one of our more chill days a few of us headed to the Széchenyi thermal baths to relax and actually see some of the city. According to wiki it’s the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs. The springs were fairly crowded, but a cool place to chill out.

I’d love to visit Budapest again and explore more of the city. The vibe was super rad here.

[wachelthewanderer]

Belgrade, Serbia • August, 2016

We were in Belgrade for my birthday month which turned out to be awesome. But when we first arrived here though I didn’t like the place. Coming from Prague, where the architecture was stunning, the streets were clean and the transportation was top notch, I wasn’t a fan.

It took me a good week to start getting into the groove. Belgrade still shows signs of being war-torn. The evidence of the NATO bombings are still everywhere. Shells of bombed out buildings stand next to newer buildings on many streets. Constant reminders of the Kosovo War just a mere 20 years ago are everywhere. For the Serbian people the wound is still fresh.

Belgrade (meaning white city) is located at the confluence of the beautiful Danube and Sava Rivers. I spent a lot of time down on the waterfront of the Sava. On one side there were great outdoor restaurants and on the other there were nightclubs. The clubs were basically big barges along the river. Filled with mafia and mostly foreigners, these clubs were pretty crazy.

Belgrade has some of the most beautiful women and men I’ve ever seen in my life. You’d walk down the street and there were dimes everywhere. It was nuts! I’ve never seen so many beautiful people in one place.

All in all August in Beograd turned out to be sick. I fell in love with it’s raw beauty and it’s bizarre juxtapositions.

[wachelthewanderer]

We spent August in Belgrade, Serbia. More on my experiences in that city later. I want to touch on a particular part in this post.

There was an opportunity to volunteer at the the Refugee Aid Miksalište which "offer[s] a welcome point for refugees coming through Belgrade. In addition to providing food, hygienic and clothing aid, we also encourage them to join us for a tea or coffee, access WIFI and charge phones, as well as seek medical assistance or a child-friendly space. We also receive and manage donations at this location, which are either distributed directly or transported to the border points when needed.”

A few Battutas went to volunteer over the few weeks that we were in Belgrade. Most of us were set up in the clothing donation area where we handed out new and used donated clothing and shoes to refugees. 

Our job was to organize all donations that had come in and tidy up clothing that was already there. We organized by gender, size, age and season-appropriate. Supply was very limited. One day you would have an excess of smaller sized items (most of the men are pretty skinny) and the next day there would only be very large sizes.

It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. I haven’t had much contact with refugees since coming to Europe. When you see things on TV or read about Syrian and other refugees on social media I think there is still a detachment there. When you see the camps on the side of the road crossing into the Serbian border from Hungary or when you are trying to find the right size clothing for a toddler you become a little less detached and certain things come into perspective.

It was hard to turn people away when we ran out of mens underwear or size small unisex pants. The center relies heavily, if not completely, on donated shoes and clothes from individuals and businesses. There’s no knowing when the next donation will arrive and what it will be.

The Facebook link to Miksalište is above. I’ve also included their website here.

Images above courtesy of my fellow RY2 Battutas Cedric and Katherine.

[wachelthewanderer]

Prague, Czech Republic • July, 2016

Prague is a gorgeous place. The architecture is amazing. I felt instantly at home the minute I came to this city. It’s rare for me to feel that way. Only a few places so far in the world have that effect on me. Prague has now been added to that list.

Prague was also a very hard month for me. I was very sick and some serious shit happened which is too personal to share on this very public blog, but I had very supportive friends, both in the remote community and back in the states, and a beautiful backdrop to help me through it.

That being said, I think that made me appreciate Prague even more. I met some awesome people here. I had a great time with friends on an impromptu lazy day paddling the river. I also had some spectacular meals. C’mon! You know I had to talk about food! Food is like sex to me, after all. ;)

A little info about the images above:

#2 St. Vitus Cathedral is located within Prague Castle which is the largest ancient castle in the world.

#3 The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.

#4 Žižkov Television Tower has been generally hated by Czech people for ruining Prague’s skyline and supposedly destroyed a centuries old Jewish cemetery. In 2000, sculptures by Czech artist David Černý of babies crawling up and down were temporarily attached to the tower's pillars. The sculptures were admired by many and were returned in 2001 as a permanent installation.

The very last image is The Dancing House, the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building on the Rašín Embankment. It was designed by the Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in cooperation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot. The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.

[wachelthewanderer]

London, England • June, 2016

London is complicated for me. Every single time I’ve ever been here (my first time was back in 1997 when I was just 14) I have felt a connection to this place. Once I’m here I never want to leave, though I always have to.

Recently, I met a couple people that told me if I was staying in London that they would date me. This really made me stop and think about connections and relationships (all types) while being a digital nomad. 

Over the last 5 months there have been a few people that I’ve met that I have really liked and maybe, if things were different, I would’ve considered staying and seeing what would happen. But I owe it to myself to keep traveling and not do what I’ve always done in the past – compromise my goals and dreams for a relationship.

Though there is something to be said for having a connection with someone. I miss it. I am experiencing different countries, cultures and hardships along the way with 65+ people on a daily basis, but having a connection with someone romantically is a whole different thing. 

I choose to be single for many reasons, but who knows if this will always be the case. Many of my priorities have changed. I no longer care about having a house, a car, things. I want adventure and new experiences and being able to live life and not just be stagnant or try and fit into what western society views as “successful.” Although I will not be traveling each month after remote year, I will still be traveling. If I have a partner they will have to have flexibility to travel a bit as well. 

In the meantime, I’m sure I’ll still continue to meet new people everywhere I go. I never know where this strange journey as a digital nomad is going to take me.

[wachelthewanderer]

Cusco & Lima, Peru • May, 2016

Cusco, Peru is an amazing place. Cobblestone streets, Quechua people, world-renowned cuisine, high altitude.

I haven’t spent as much time in Cusco this month as I would’ve liked. With side trips to Montevideo, Machu Picchu and Lima, May has been a whirlwind month. This time next week I will be in London. 

That being said, Cusco is very unique. There are lots of tourists/backpackers here given the proximity to Machu Picchu. I haven’t heard so much English being spoken since Buenos Aires. Even with the influx of gringos everywhere Cusco culture is vibrant. There is always something going on in the main square of Plaza de Armas and plenty of fireworks going off at all hours to celebrate (or protest) something.

The food here is amazing! Alpaca, ceviche for daaaaaaaaays, guinea pig, lomo saltado, quinoa, chifa and all kinds of Peruvian fusion cuisine.

[wachelthewanderer]

The Bolivian Amazon. In a word – spectacular.

A small crew of RY peeps headed out on a tiny 19 passenger plane to Rurrenabaque (about an hour flight north of La Paz). After the flight we rode in the back of Land Cruiser along a dirt road for 2+ hours. From there we took a boat about an hour to our weekend home on the river.

Our 2 boat guides, Choco and Victor, were hilarious. Choco was an animal and we were pretty sure that Victor was drunk half the time he was taking us around in the boat!

The stretch of river that we were on was full of awesome wildlife. We saw tons of birds including snake birds, paradise birds, toucans, giant storks, herons, parrots, vultures and eagles. We also saw pink dolphins, caiman, turtles, mambas, howler monkeys, yellow squirrel monkeys, a sloth and an ant eater.

We even got to swim with the pink dolphins! At our closest, we were probably only about 5 meters away. One of the dolphins even nibbled on our buddy, Dustin’s feet. It was eerie and awesome at the same time. You had no idea what was under the surface.

I have definitely checked off one of the things on my bucket list. The Bolivian Amazon exceeded my expectations in every way possible.

[wachelthewanderer]

Rope swing in the Amazon – hell yeah!

Caiman infested waters – no problem!

[wachelthewanderer]

Adventure Weekend - Day 2 

Canyoning up to 2 waterfalls.

Day 2 in Coroico was super rainy, but that didn’t stop us from going on a crazy hike through the river! 

On our way to the waterfalls, our guide showed us some awesome stone wall ruins from the Inca trail. We also learned about how coca farming is destroying the forests around Coroico. 

[wachelthewanderer]

Adventure Weekend - Day 1 

Mountain Biking Death Road!

Also known as Yungus Road, northeast of La Paz, Bolivia, Death Road is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. Some parts are only as wide as 3 meters and cliffs up to 300 meters. This road used to be the only way to get from smaller villages to La Paz. Though there is still vehicle traffic on this road, it has definitely become more of a tourist attraction for thrill-seekers.

To start our 65 km (40 mile) mtb adventure we drove out of La Paz to around 4,650 meters (15,260 ft) to La Cumbre Pass and descended around 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) to the town of Coroico. We went from the cold temperatures of altiplano terrain to the hot and humid rainforest.

The scenery was breathtaking! It was hard to keep focused on the rocky, dirt road and not look around at the gorgeous waterfalls and lush mountains.

Not all of us came away unscathed by the infamous Death Road. There were gashes, scrapes, flat tires, and even one of us fractured a bone in his arm! 

I went the slow and steady route and only ended up with about 2 million mosquito bites.

After our crazy ride we ended up at a small hotel in Coroico with an amazing view, pool, hot showers and comfy beds.

We later learned that a mountain biker in a group about an hour after us fell off one of the cliffs (due to a rainstorm that started right after our group finished) and died.

Note: Our guides were amazing! Hector, our mtb guide, was a rockstar! Santi, our other weekend guide, is a 23 year old professional mountain biker that has been riding Death Road since he was 8 years old. His family owns Madness Bolivia, the tour service we had for the weekend. I would highly recommend them!

[wachelthewanderer]

For our welcome party in La Paz, we had the privilege to meet Roberto Mamani Mamani, an Aymaran artist native to Bolivia. He is arguably the most famous Bolivian contemporary artist. 

Mamani Mamani has a unique, colorful style that immediately drew me in. In addition to his colorful paintings of the sun, landscapes, Aymara and Quechua women, animals and mystical figures, he paints naked women, which in the Bolivian culture is considered taboo. 

It was super awesome to meet Roberto and have him sign my print! He is a super nice guy.

[wachelthewanderer]

Everyone knows I love food so I have to Eat All The Things and document them in every country I visit. Here are just some of the delectable foods I ate in Buenos Aires.

[wachelthewanderer]

Me and follow RY2 peeps Ben and Gustavo went on a beer tour in the San Telmo barrio of Buenos Aires. The history of craft beer is definitely not long in Argentina. They are about 10 years behind where the US craft beer scene is. That being said, this burgeoning scene has promise. 

 I've had some pretty legit IPAs in BA.

[wachelthewanderer]

Lolla-fuckin-palooza! I mean what more can I say other than it was 2 days of epic music, great RY friends and psychedelics. Friday, March 18th I saw: Eminem, Tame impala, Zedd,  Of Monsters and Men, Jack Ü, Walk the Moon, Flosstradamus,  Eagles of Death Metal, Gramatik

Saturday, March 19th I saw: Mumford & Sons, Florence & the Machine, Die Antwoord (fucking EPIC), Alabama Shakes, Marina & the Diamonds,  Kaskade,  Odesza

Full lineup here.

[wachelthewanderer]

Our first week in Buenos Aires we had a brilliant dinner at Steaks by Luis! The best steak I had in BA, hands down. Our private dinner was organized by fellow RY2 peep, Peter and it included intestines, blood sausage and heart. YUM!

[wachelthewanderer]

A bunch of the RY2 crew got tickets to see Fuerza Bruta (brute force). It was the most amazing show I've ever seen!! Words cannot describe the awesomeness of this show. There was everything from a guy running on a conveyor belt to a swimming pool-type thing suspended above the crowd with women diving around in it to water raining down on us. If you can, go see it. Incredible!

[wachelthewanderer]

On March 5th we arrived in beautiful Buenos Aires! This city is huge! I'm really digging the vibe here. Lots of restaurants, cafes, parks, free city-wide wifi (huge bonus) and, of course, street art.