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PERU and BOLIVIA!!!!!
This time it wasn’t NEARLY as difficult as it was when you had to guess Cape Verde, as my 100th country.
The WINNERS of the signed paperbacks were Margriet Smit from Holland who guessed Peru first and Holly from U.K. who guessed BOTH Peru and Bolivia. Our runners-up, Alice Chesworth and Laura Saarniniemi who both guessed Peru, won an ebook of their choice. If there is anyone else that I missed, who also guessed Peru or Bolivia, please shout at me.
Congrats and hopefully ONE day I’ll be able to take my winners WITH me on a trip. That would be amazing. A big thank you to everyone who participated in guessing the destinations of our 6 week adventure. It was interesting that so many people guessed Australia and it made me start wondering if I should take the hint and go there on my next, next holiday.
I feel I should apologize for my long silence, but I must explain how busy I have been in the past two weeks.
A year ago we made a big outdoor pond and it sat empty until just a couple weeks ago when we finally finished filling it and bought our first ever koi karpers. Orca, Arrow, Glow, Koji, Cheerio, Jack, Sweet pea, Tiger and Shadow are our nine beautiful karpers, all with different colors and patterns, the only animals in our zoo that actually have names that stuck.
As if that weren’t enough, we drove 1.5 hours to pick up a giant second hand 720 litre aquarium which will sit empty in the living room until we return.
We finally finished our upstairs apartment, that included taking a day to tile the deck.
We hosted our VERY first Airbnb guests which was very exciting after hearing so much about Airbnb. If you sign up with me apparently you get $25 credit for your next stay! www.airbnb.com/c/sgrace62?s=8 Does anyone else host or stay as a guest using Airbnb?
The renters left the very same day my brother Skylar and his wife Adriana arrived in Holland for the first time in 6+ years that I have lived here.
We had a great time finally showing them around our neighbourhood and letting him get a taste of our daily lives.
We saw windmills, ate bitterballen, tried as many new beers as we possibly could,
enjoyed the sun drinking coffee in typically European squares, discovered Amsterdam’s canals by boat.
cleaned the house, and practiced flying the bird who has finally grown her flight feathers.
I even managed to harvest my first ever radish. See, who says you can’t have the best of both worlds? I manage to build a stable home, have a zoo, plant a seed, watch it grow AND travel the world. You can do it too.
Aside from the preparations and planning of our 6 week trip, Kees and I managed to shop for backpacks and clothes. I have never had such a hard time packing for a trip before! I mean, how do you pack for a temperature range of -4 to +30C and fit it all into a tiny backpack? The packing part always makes me feel like a fake traveller, because certainly by now I should’ve figured out a better strategy. Almost every time Kees has to sit me down and promise me it’s not the end of the world. What’s the worst that can happen?! In a woman’s mind, A LOT! But luckily women have men to remind them that we certainly can live without all that STUFF.
Leaving my radishes behind, we are off on a new adventure. My biggest worry going to Peru is altitude sickness and getting cold (since it’s their winter). I’ve heard several stories of people not feeling well with the altitude. So, we’ve been hydrating and taking Gingko Biloba in preparation. When the family trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, we all took Gingko and no one in our group got altitude sickness so I am hoping that was the trick, I will keep you posted on that one.
We will see. It’s all about the adventure.
Savannah
Categories: Savannah Grace
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This is really amazing Savannah. What an incredible accomplishment! (I’m at 3 countries….LOL) I take Ginkgo Bilobo for memory, great to know it is also good for altitude. 🙂
Congratulations, and thanks for sharing! 🙂
~Carl~
Well, now you make us all curious WHICH 3 countries! Thank you for following, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my awesome readers 🙂
Hi Savannah. They are Canada (where I live…I guess that is a given….LOL), United States (several times), and New Zealand. Married a kiwi in 1988 and spent the next 8 months in New Zealand. Came back to Canada for work, could not find a job in NZ at the time. I am now into running, and there are several destination runs that are “calling” me. Have not been out of Canada in 10 years, next step is passport renewal! 🙂
Thank you for your inspiration! 🙂
~Carl~
Those are amazing countries to have seen! I haven’t even seen New Zealand but I know it must be stunning. I’m curious which country you will choose to visit after 10 years! I hope you did a lot of travelling within Canada, it’s gorgeous too, though not that I have visited much more than Banff. Shame on me.
New Zealand is great. My favourite part is Stewart island. The main islands are the North and South Islands, and Stewart Island is below the South island. All protected forest, my new bride spent a month backpacking the trails as part of our honeymoon.
Ten years ago, it was Maui and Molokai islands in Hawaii. My wife surprised with a ticket to Maui one Christmas, as a thank you for working so hard for the family. Seven days on Maui mostly hiking, 10 days on Molokai a mixture of cycling and hiking. (the cover photo on my twitter is from Molokai.
I have seen a lot of Canada, 8 of the 10 provinces have visited, and stayed at least a couple of nights, but none of the northern territories. (which is on my list)
Savannah, have a WONDERFUL time in Peru. I know it will be an enriching experience! 🙂
~Carl~
Hey Birthday Girl,well almost I thought I would send my birthday wish first because you are off on a new adventure. I loved the new post and those fish are gorgeous ,whats with the bird did you find it?I am sure some awesome new posts will be arriving anytime.Enjoy your day and your adventure.
Thanks Melanee!!! You’re the best. I almost forget it’s almost my birthday, because I’m having so much doing other things 🙂 Plus, I have a fear of birthdays. I don’t like how fast time is flying! I want this lifetime to last forever. The bird is our bird, we got her a year ago (the day before we moved into our house) and it took her this long for her clipped feathers to grow. She was a baby so had never flown before. Can’t wait to share all the adventures.
Have fun! Peru and Bolivia for 6 weeks should be amazing!
Thanks!!! WE’re really excited.
Hello Savannah, I live in Peru (hope my English is not so bad) If you go to Cusco the altitude sickness will be a problem I recommend you for this “mate of coca” is a very popular drink for sickness. Also I recommend you to take care of your things, don’t get me wrong Peru is beautiful but as many countries one of the biggest problems is insecurity. I hope you have an agent, they will help you. In Lima the district of Miraflores is the best there are museums and beautiful restaurants. If you want to try delicious traditional breakfast I suggest you to try “Sangucheria La Gloria” is not so expensive and is delicious and for Restaurants if you want sea food I suggest you “El Verídico de Fidel” is one of the best. The Center of Lima has beautiful churches and museums also there’s the “Plaza de Armas” but you have to be careful. I suggest you NOT to go to department of Arequipa because there are manifestations and now the situation is tense. I hope this information is helpful. Have fun in your trip and welcome to Peru.
Thank you so much Yuliana! I really appreciate you writing me. That’s very helpful information. Though I feel entirely safe (we are in Miraflores area) I have seen some indications that it may not be the safest place in terms of theft. I’m happy that we are travelling together and can watch each others backs. We are about to take a Mirabus tour of the city, and are looking forward to it. I will definitely take your food recommendations into consideration! Time is already flying and we are leaving Lima tomorrow to go to Urubamba. Thanks again!
Hello Savannah, about the traditional breakfast is “La Lucha” not “La Gloria” I totally mistake the place with Chile. Hope you had a wonderful time!
Thanks for the tip!
New Zealand is great. My favourite part is Stewart island. The main islands are the North and South Islands, and Stewart Island is below the South island. All protected forest, my new bride spent a month backpacking the trails as part of our honeymoon.
Ten years ago, it was Maui and Molokai islands in Hawaii. My wife surprised with a ticket to Maui one Christmas, as a thank you for working so hard for the family. Seven days on Maui mostly hiking, 10 days on Molokai a mixture of cycling and hiking. (the cover photo on my twitter is from Molokai.
I have seen a lot of Canada, 8 of the 10 provinces have visited, and stayed at least a couple of nights, but none of the northern territories. (which is on my list)
Savannah, have a WONDERFUL time in Peru. I know it will be an enriching experience! 🙂
~Carl~
Wow! So I know who to call when I’m heading to New Zealand. Great that you’ve been able to discover so much of Canada, WAY more than me! Thanks for the message, keep in touch.