All Gone South

It’s been about four months since leaving home. Life as a CEO in the Southern Cone of South America has been moving pretty fast but at the same time, has felt like I have been down here forever. I think back to just a few months ago when I arrived in Buenos Aires. I had zero knowledge of getting around the city and was a little worried how I was going to navigate this place on my own let alone have to lead groups of other travelers here. I now shred around the city on a skateboard, j-walk like no other, and take the subway (or subte ) as if I were anywhere in the states. And it’s not just Buenos Aires that I have to get used to; it’s Rio, La Paz, Santiago, Montevideo, and every little stop we make in between. There are many things that I have learned and seen in my short time being a guide down here. Here are just a few I have put down: 1          Adapt quickly To say you have to be highly adaptable is a severe understatement. Life as a guide calls for constant change. You are

Here's some pics and vids of BA/Rio so far... (video)  Botafogo fans leaving the Maracanã  : Chillingly epic! Steak and wine. In Buenos Aires, you have no other options. Learning Tango (ladies...) Streets of Buenos Aires Every block in Buenos Aires has one of these. (ladies...) Teatro Colón Buenos Aires Plaza de Mayo (ma-show), Buenos Aires.  Boca Juniors' Stadium, BA Maradona. Often referred to as "God" Barrio La Boca

Bem-vindo ao Rio de Janeiro! (pronounced hee-oh de ja-nay-roo) The only word I can use to describe Rio de Janeiro is intoxicating . I feel like that word best fits the tropical seduction that is A Cidade Maravilhosa , the Marvelous City. I've been in this city for over a week now, and it has quickly become one of my favorites. From its impossibly steep hills, to the sidewalks and everything in between (mostly the women), Rio makes you want to quit your job as a guide and live here permanently. Arriving to the city for the first time was a dream come true. I had wanted to see Brasil and Rio since watching Ronaldinho play in the 2006 World Cup. And man, it did not disappoint. I have finished my training, where Kris and I followed another CEO from Santa Cruz, Bolivia all the way to Rio with a group of 12 amazing passengers. We took long train, bus, plane, and van rides, fished for piranhas, rode horses through caiman infested waters, snorkeled in a crystal clear river, marve

(View of sunny Santa Cruz, Bolivia) Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Population 12 million residents (it’s pretty big). After the long overnight trip to get down here, I encountered yet another issue that threatened my time down here. I groggily de-boarded the plane and waited in the line at immigration. Making sure I had all my documents in order, I opened my wallet where I had kept my plane ticket. After removing my ticket I noticed a particularly bare area where my debit, credit, and health insurance cards usually go. My heart sank into my stomach. I had left them in Colorado when making photocopies of them at my parents house, I had some cash on me, but I couldn’t stay afloat for long. Being thousands of miles from home with no source of money can make you feel a little naked. So yet again, as soon as I arrived at Hotel Plaza San Martin right in the heart of BA (that’s what the cool kids call it), I was on Skype phoning home. Luckily, the cards were right where I had

I've been in Buenos Aires for a week now, and I am still in total shock that I'm really  here. Maybe it'll hit me sometime. Maybe not. As the final college semester starts to come to a close, us graduates get the same question over and over again. "So, what are you going to do now?" And we'll more or less all give you the same answer: We want to travel. The nearly two decades of the same nine months on/three months off routine has come to a close. We want to have fun and see the world. Traveling requires a lot of money even if you are that grungy dread-locked backpacker just "living off the laaaand". It can take months to years even just to save for a month long trip to anywhere. As the excitement/fear of graduating came near and underemployment was imminent, I decided that maybe landing a job that pays you to travel would be the ideal choice. After a bit of networking and email-forwarding, I landed a job with G Adventures (formerly known as GA