(Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Image courtesy wanderingtheworld  – flickr)

Wow!  I am over the moon! I can’t believe it. We just booked our first flights for the RTW journey!

It’s been 3 years in the making and there were a couple really horrid set backs (read: cancer) but it’s happening! It’s finally happening. I’m actually tearing up as I write this because I am finally realizing a dream that I have had for so many years.

It’s just seems surreal.

First stop – Iceland!

We really wanted to head to Europe but the direct flights were insane. I’ve been searching airfares for days now and time and time again Iceland was coming out as the strong winner!  We got lucky and found a flight to Iceland for $255 on Iceland Air (inc. taxes) out of Boston. I did some more searching and it looks like for another $100 we can take a budget flight to Europe from Iceland. So for about $350 we’re headed to Europe for far less than what the flights were coming in at originally. Sure there were tons of “deals” to London, etc but everytime I tried to book one – it disappeared. Most flights to Europe were coming in at about $500 – $600 o/w. So I think we got a great deal and we get to check out Iceland as well – which is amazing! (Iceland Air also has a stop over route but that was still more expensive than booking separately.)

I’m super psyched! Iceland is somewhere I always wanted to go but it seemed so strange and exotic – I never thought it would be the start of the trip! I never even thought I would be going there at all on this trip. Yah!

After a few days in Iceland we’re going to catch a cheap flight (most likely on Iceland Express) to somewhere in Europe. Hopefully it will be Italy but we will pick the destination by the cost of the ticket. Eventually we’ll make our way to Prague, Vienna & Italy. We plan on wwoofing our way through Italy and to cut costs we’ll be camping for almost our entire journey (including in Iceland).

We are on a strict budget of $50/day for 2 people! Can we do it??

Transportation will eat up most of that budget, which is why we have to camp, wwoof and move slowly. Mainly we’ll be eating food that we buy at the markets and doing a lot of free things. That’s gonna be hard for me in Italy because I’m Italian and I love food! Hopefully we will also get to stay with some of my family members in that area. However I already know we’re headed to the Blue Lagoon for a day in Iceland and the tickets are about $35/person. Maybe we’ll have to try our hand at couchsurfing in Iceland to comp the cost! Or maybe we can pitch a story about it and get the entrance fee waived! We also have fun just walking around and looking at things, which is free.

It was a huge risk for us to throw Europe in the itinerary due to our budget constraints but time and time again we just kept gravitating towards it.

We found cheap flights to South America but our hearts were already set on Europe and we could never pull the trigger and book them. I know it’s going to be tough but we really want to go to this area and we are both so excited to start the trip off in Iceland/Europe. We are driving from CA back to Massachusetts (to drop Chachy off w/ my sister Bridgette and to visit family & friends) and we’re also looking forward to that journey as well. Randy has never driven cross country so I know we’ll have a blast camping & hiking along the way.

We will be sure to update you throughout both legs of the trips on our budget.

Stay tuned because we plan on writing a lot of posts about how  you can save a ton of money on your next trip abroad!

If anyone has any experience wwoofing in Italy (or anywhere in Europe) we would love to hear it. Please leave a comment below.

If you have any tips on free or cheap things to do in Iceland/Prague/Vienna/Italy please let me know – we will be forever grateful!

To Iceland or Bust!

- Beth & Randy

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Ok, so if you’re like me and the other millions of photographers there is one thing that drives you crazy when shooting outdoors.

Yup, you guessed it – attempting to review your photos on the LCD screen in broad daylight.

(If you look closely, you can see the picture in the LCD but the sun glare makes it really hard to see.)

Forget about it! You simply can’t really see if you got the exact exposure or not. This is not a big deal when you’re tooling around a new city just shooting for yourself but it becomes a big deal when you have a big paid shoot (like a wedding or travel assignment) or you are under deadline and don’t have time to screw around trying to find a shady spot to check your frames.

(The same photo but viewed indoors where you can see it clearly on the LCD screen.)

Now if you are shooting a lot, you technically shouldn’t have to worry about double checking your photos because you should be dialed in with your camera enough to know you got it. When we all shot film we didn’t have the option of double checking exposures but in today’s digital world this is a luxury that no one wants to do without. It is REALLY nice to be able to double check your photo instantaneously and know you got it right.

Because this is an issue, there are a couple things on the market that you can buy that can help you with this problem. This issue is that they either suck or cost a lot of money.

I tried to go the cheap route once and bought this pop up shade which promised that it would shade my screen and I could see my photo. I couldn’t. Don’t buy anything like this – it will be a waste of $15. This thing sucks and further more I hit myself in the eye with it more than once when it was open on the back of my camera. I hate this thing.

This week I have a big wedding coming up and I have been trying to decide over the past 2 weeks if I want to buy a Hoodman. The Hoodman is pretty sweet and it works like a charm (I got to test one out yesterday) but coming in at $80 it is expensive! I also want something I can travel with and the Hoodman isn’t exactly small. It would be a disaster to keep hanging around in a travel bag and I really don’t want to spend $80 for something I will only use occasionally and could break on the road.

Well I got lucky because yesterday I decided to buy one. I went into the camera shop and the sales guy erroneously told me that they were sold out. I was bummed but I went upon my merry way looking at photo bags (for the 15th hundred time). After I was done I saw someone else checking out a Hoodman. They actually had one left in the back. Well I also checked it out for a bit and in all honesty I was pretty sold on it. I decided that piece of mind on a wedding day was probably worth $80. It just so happened that guy decided the same thing and he bought it. They double checked in the back but this time they were out of them, for real.

So I got in my car and started wondering if I could make my own. I decided to swing by Michaels and buy some foam core board for my construction of a black box I could put over the screen. However on the way through the store they had a dollar bin with some foam can coolers in it. It’s about the same length as the Hoodman and it has a hole on the bottom for condensation drainage (or my eye!) – perfect!

I bought one and ran home to try it out. I took some practice shots on the deck of the boat in FULL sunlight and it works like a charm! It may not have the magnifying loupe feature or be as fancy as the Hoodman but I saved $79! Plus it has the added bonus of keeping the canned drink of my choice chilled! Sweet.

I did decide to make the bottom (eye) hole a little bigger but that was the only adjustment I made. I love this thing! It’s lightweight, portable and has dual functions. A perfect piece of travel gear! The best part is that I don’t have to worry about it. I can squash it into my bag, lose it – who cares? It cost a buck and I can buy another one if I need to. It may not be the most professional tool on the market but I only need it for a few seconds each time I use it so it’s not really a big deal.

I wanted to share this little tidbit with our readers because this is a great travel tool and if you shoot a lot outdoors you will really appreciate a budget way to view your photos in full sun.

Stay tuned because I have some more photo “hacks” coming your way as well including how to find a great camera bag!

Also please let me know in the comments if you try this out and if it works for you.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Whew, in about 8 weeks we are finally off to see the world. It’s crazy. It’s unbelievable. It’s really almost overwhelming. This trip has been planned for about 3 years now.

I almost can’t believe it’s happening.

The fact that it is becoming a reality is actually making me nervous. But why? This is my dream. This is the one thing I have had throughout all the ups & downs in the past few years. This trip has made me happier than pretty much anything else but it has also made me more emotional and more upset than anything as well.

Which, when I started planning my “bunnies & rainbows” idea of the trip, was not something I expected. I didn’t expect the almost daily reminder that this is the “right thing” to do, the constant self battle of wondering “I am screwing up my life in a horrible way?” “Is 34 too old to do something like this?”  “Will I ever be able to financially support myself, have a family and still live the life I dream about?”

Holy crap, I serious never expected any of that.  Several years ago one of my dearest, oldest (we’ve known each other since we were 12) and best friends in the world said something that resonated with me.

“You can’t just live life, you have to live YOUR life.”

I always remembered those words because they are simple, yet so true. It’s something most people ignore – the calling of your own life. I know, deep inside, this is what I am supposed to be doing and, come hell or high water, I am going to do it.

Breaking the mold sucks though. Especially at 34. Everyone expects you to travel in your 20′s, not your 30′s and for obvious, good reasons like kids & saving for retirement. Breaking away from that is hard. You have nothing to defend your choice except for the gut feeling that this is what you should be doing.

Defending your choice to others is easy, defending it to yourself is another thing entirely.

But I know there is something for me on the road. I don’t know what it is but I know it exists. Everything in my life has been pushing me in this direction. Random people have come into my life that have pushed me towards this. First there was Andrea who had just spent 4 months bouncing around Southeast Asia, then there was my coworker Rich who had just returned from a 10 month RTW with his wife. Last but not least was Ryan, who was a really great friend of mine that I met on Craigslist of all places and NO it was not on a personals ad. We met up one night in Mission Beach, we went out for drinks and became insta-friends. I mean how stupid is it for a girl to go around befriending someone on Craigslist  and then actually meet them and hang out with them? Stupid! But we had a great friendship that lasted for years. Ryan was probably my biggest push because he was pretty much a perma traveler, having moved to San Diego after 3 years traveling around the world. Now he lives in Indonesia. He was like a real life version of everything I had read about online. Before these friendships, I had never met anyone that had traveled long term before. But there they came marching into my life, one after the next, proving to me that it was possible and awesome to travel long term.

I use to work all the time, 10 – 12 hour days, in real estate which was extremely stressful. It’s a really horrible way to live. In my opinion, it isn’t even a life. It’s just a routine.

Then when I was 31 I was diagnosed with cancer. I learned early on that working all the time is really unhealthy. The diagnosis delayed the original trip leave date (which bummed me out to no end at the time) but it was a blessing in disguise because it gave me even more courage to get out and follow my dreams. I got the not so subtle tap on the ass that said “This is not the way you are supposed to be living.” Some people go their entire lives without realizing that.

But because my body was revolting in a very literal way, I figured out pretty quick that the way I was living wasn’t going to work for me and in hindsight, that was a bonus.  Also whenI got sick I did what ever sick person does but knows they shouldn’t do – I Googled it. I Googled everything and anything about thyroid cancer. Googling an illness is really a double edged sword because for the 1% of good information you find there is a ton of crap that will just scare the shit out of you. However, in my case the 1% was worth it because I made internet friends with a guy in England who was battling leukemia. Adrian Sudbury was a really amazing person who had a huge impact on my life in a very strange, almost spiritual way. Although he is no longer with us and we never actually met in person, through our brief emails and my bizarre dreams, he pushed me towards the trip in a strange round about way as well.

I do believe we are all connected by a single thread and that things happen for a reason. I know I’m supposed to be traveling but yet with all of the things that have happened and all of the people who have influenced me I still find it hard to take the leap.

Even though I can see right through it, walking away from the ideals created by our normal ways of life is still tough.

I didn’t expect that with everything else, I would be my own stumbling block to changing my own life.

I am pretty sure that I am going to be doing a good, fair share of tear shedding over the next few weeks as we get ready to depart. This morning I cried in the car over the idea of leaving my baby little Chachy behind. But he’ll be happy with my sister, she has a house with a yard and a lot of sunlight. Right now he’s sleeping in a hand bag while I type this at Borders because we don’t have a real apartment and the campground doesn’t have electricity. He’s such a great little dog, no one here even knows he’s in there. He’ll be happy when he has some stability. Hopefully I’ll be happy when I have none.

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

We booked our trip to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead completely last minute. We got a super cheap flight out of Tijuana just two days before we left, we made room reservations with Hostal Del Mercado online (yes, they spell hostel with an A instead of an E) and we just hoped for the best.

We were happily surprised when we got there. It was clean, quiet and the location was perfect! The people running the place were also very nice and one guy in particular was really helpful. However there is a bit of a language barrier – it helps if you can speak a little bit of Spanish.

The reception and breakfast area.

They also provided breakfast every morning and it was fantastic! I was totally shocked. Two women came in every morning and served up hot & cold breakfast everyday. When we were there we saw: fresh fruit (every day), juice, bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, toast and then there was always an interesting local breakfast item as well. One day it was tortillas baked with a sauce on them – yum! The hostel also provided free WiFi and free, filtered drinking water. The free water was huge because as a traveler you can spend a lot of money every day on bottled water. On top of that it was only $11/per person a night for the 6 person dorm room.

The location couldn’t be beat! It was just a couple blocks from the Zocalo. The Zocalo is the main square in Oaxaca where a lot of the festivities take place. Any time of year you visit Oaxaca, you should definitely try to stay near the Zocalo. It’s a happening place with cafe’s, bars, restaurants and a nice green space & church right in the center. It’s also very safe. We never felt uncomfortable at all during our stay, even when walking around at night.

The other great thing about Hostal Del Mercado is that it is located right across the street from a major indoor market that we stumbled up one day – the 20 de Noviembre Market. It is named for the street it is on and you can see some more pictures from that market on another post I wrote about it. I LOVED that market and consider it a MUST SEE for any trip to Oaxaca. This is where we ate a lot of our meals during the day and most things were only a couple dollars.

So not only was the hostel right across the street from the awesome market and two blocks to the Zocalo, it was also right near the chocolate district. If you walk just a couple blocks (in the opposite direction of the Zocalo) you will land in the chocolate making area of the city. The smell of chocolate literally wafts down the streets. You can just follow your nose – it’s that potent and yummy! Oaxaca is known for their amazing amazing chocolate. If you want to see some mouth watering photos of the food in Oaxaca please check out the post – The Wonderful, Beautiful Food of Oaxaca.

Here are some more pictures from the hostel.

Their bathroom situation was interesting because all of the toilets were actually in the showers. They had plenty of shower/toilet rooms so there was never a line but it was interesting. It was always fairly clean but it was still a little odd trying to avoid the toilet while taking a shower. This wouldn’t prevent me from staying here again though. At least you know the toilets are getting cleaned several times a day by the shower!

Another thing worth noting is that we stayed in the 6 person dorm room, which really is more like a 10 person dorm room. If you book the 4 person dorm room (which at the time was more expensive) please be aware that it isn’t really a “room”. Basically they took  a large room and divided it up with 6 beds on one side and 4 on the other. They used closets and a room divider to make the two separate “rooms”. Again, not really a big deal but if you were booking the 4 person dorm room for you and 3 friends, you won’t truly be alone.

The six person dorm.

They had a couple of bonuses as well – a large balcony overlooking the street below, a large tv/pool room and a roof deck. The stairs going up to the deck were a little iffy but otherwise it was a nice change of pace to sit up there and chill out. Also every bed gets a huge locker with a key. We felt completely safe leaving our things there.

I loved the windows in the pool room!

Street scene from the balcony.

The roof deck.

We really enjoyed our stay at Hostal Del Mercado and would recommend it to everyone.

Contact Info:

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share. Thanks!

The kind people over at HostelBookers notified me of an awesome competition they are running and they wanted to know if I would post it on BeersandBeans. After a look around their site and learning more about the program I was more than happy to write something up for them. They have a great hostel booking site and to top it off they are actually cheaper than HostelWorld! Not only are they cheaper but they also guarantee that they will have the lowest price and they don’t have any booking fees either!

HostelBookers is increasing its Lowest Price Guarantee to mark another step in being the price leader in the budget accommodation sector.

Following a recent study by Reed Business Insight, it has been revealed that HostelBookers is, on average, over 8% cheaper than HostelWorld. If you now find the same deal cheaper anywhere else, they will now refund double the difference! Full details located here at the HostelWorld Price Comparison.

To celebrate this price promise they have launched a competition which will run over the next 3 weeks.

Win one of these fantastic prizes with HostelBookers:

*   1st PRIZE – 3 x Travelex Cash Passport pre-loaded with £1,000

*   2nd PRIZE – 3 x Panasonic Lumix TZ8 Camera

*   3rd PRIZE – 3 x 32gb iPod touch

Full details of the competition can be located here at the HostelWorld Price Comparison Competition.

Head on over to HostelBookers now and enter the competition. All you have to do is answer one really simple question and you’ll be in the running. While you’re there check out the great rates they have on hostels around the world. I did a quick search today for hostels in Europe and found some for under 10 Euro!! With the Euro dropping quickly, booking with HostelBookers is a great way to visit Europe this summer and still save money! Not only will you know you are getting the best price but you might win an awesome prize as well. Good Luck & Happy Travels!

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I do love to share. Thanks!

Some of you may know Brooke of Brookevstheworld.com. Brooke is one bad ass traverler who has spent time in some hard parts of the world. Can you say 6 months in the Ukraine (during winter!) and an extended stay in Kyrgyzstan while learning Russian? Currently she’s trying out the ex-pat gig while staying holed up for a while in Sydney Australia.

Brooke and I have been pals for the past 3 years or so, trading traveling tips & the ups and downs of life. Now she has created a newsletter for women travelers with tons of her traveling tips in it!

If you are a traveling woman you will definitely want to check it out & sign up!
If you are a male – check it out & sign up but only if you dare!

Seriously it’s made for women specifically and deals with issues that women encounter on the road. Underwear and shaving the bits have been the focus of the two last newsletters. It has tons of tips to help get you on and through the road, feminine issues and all.

Did I mention it’s also hysterical??

I was lucky enough to contribute to it last month and you can check out my ridiculous story about de-hairing below deck on the last newsletter – When Hairy met Sally.

So go ahead, check it out and sign up for the newsletter. Feel free to contact Brooke too because she is always looking for new contributers – female or male!

If you are a travelin’  kinda gal you owe it to yourself to join the Underground! Why leave home without it?

Find Brooke and get in on the action:

Join the Underground!

Brookevstheworld.com

@Brookeshoenman

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*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I love to share. Thanks!

This is just a quick post to thank HikeBikeTravel.com for including us on their recent blog list – Insights, travel tips and good reading from travel blogs around the world – part III.

They included our tips for driving in Mexico along with excellent tips from these other fabulous sites:

Sleepinginairports.net

richardtulloch.wordpress.com

Health-conscious-travel.com

artofbackpacking.com

Head on over to HikeBikeTravel and check out all their other fabulous tips on self guided trips around the world!

Did you like this article? If so, consider retweeting below or stumbling it. Better yet sign up for our RSS feed and get the goodies delivered directly to your inbox! Consider yourself hugged.

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me to ask first because I love to share. Thanks!

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If you’re looking to volunteer for your next vacation or on your round the world trip you’ve probably realized that it can be quite costly depending on the company you go with and your location. I’ve done a lot of research to find less costly companies and listed some of them under the travelers resources tab however this is the first time I have seen an actual grant.

VFPServ provides grants to partner organizations to assist skilled Americans who wish to volunteer abroad. VFPServ grants (ranging from $500 to $1000) are individual, non-renewable and are designated to offset travel, insurance and local living costs of short-term

international volunteer assignments. It sounds like a pretty good deal to me! If you want to learn more please visit Global Giving and read all about it. Good Luck!

This seems really awesome and I wish I was still a student so I could try out for it!

Podcast Documentary Scholarship, 2008

Do you dream about being an intrepid journalist seeking out stories from remote parts of the world? Then here is the opportunity for you!

WorldNomads.com will send one exceptional student on assignment to visit a Fred Hollows eye camp in remote, Cambodia. You will receive training from ABC Radio Journalist and Executive Producer, Tim Latham. Staying at the eye camp for three days witnessing sight restoring cataract surgery to local villagers and gaining special access to interview The Fred Hollows team and local villagers, you will seek out your own unique story to be recorded on your new mobile digital recorder.

Post assignmnet you will enjoy a 6 day Intrepid Tour of Cambodia’ to delve deeper into their rich history and culture. The Scholarship covers airfares from your nearest international airport to Phnom Penh, mobile digital recorder, travel vaccinations, visa costs and per diems.

Once you have returned home, you’ll create a 10 – 15 minute Podcast Documentary which World Nomads will submit to a number of international radio programs, podcast channels and partner sites such as Intrepid Travel, The Fred Hollows Foundation and Lonely Planet, giving you the chance to have your story heard by thousands of travellers.

What you’ll be doing

• We’ll fly you in from your country of residence and you’ll have to be available to be in Cambodia between February 16th and February 28th 2008.
• Prior to leaving you will be mentored by journalist Tim Latham to guide you in how to approach finding your story.
• In Cambodia, you will be given unique access to interview members of The Fred Hollows team and be assisted by a translator to interview patients and local community members.
• Post assignment you will enjoy a 6 day Intrepid Independant tour.
• You will keep a daily diary about your time on the trip and upload this plus pictures you’ve taken to your World Nomads travel journal.
• On your return you will receive further mentoring from Tim Latham to assist in editing together your story. You will then upload the 10 – 15 minute documentary podcast to the World Nomads web site within 2 months of your return.
• Most of all, you’ll be experiencing what it’s like to be journalist in a remote location in one the most beautiful and friendly countries in the world.

Where you’ll be going

• You will fly to Phnom Penh in Cambodia and travel by 4WD to the Kampong Thom Province. This is the real deal! Travelling to a remote area involves a full day’s journey on dirt roads, not for the faint hearted!
• You will stay in a basic hotel in Kampong Thom Province and travel daily to and from the remote eye camp in the Baray District. (approximately 2 hours each way, so you must be prepared for some rustic travel!).
• Your Intrepid tour travels from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap taking in all the sights including the magnificent temples of the Angkor Complex.

Who can apply

• To be eligible you have to be a journalism, media, radio, arts/communications student at a recognised educational institution and speak fluent english.
• Minimum age 18.
• You should be a mad-keen auteur with a lust for adventure and a desire to enhance your journalism skills.
• You must be prepared for lots of overland travel in rustic conditions!