• Favorite Meals While Traveling

    February 8, 2014 Author: Stephanie
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    While not a foodie, I do tend to remember a fabulous meal, especially if it’s just a simple local dish.  We enjoy eating with street vendors and eating in restaurants that are full of local people. My favorite meal  while traveling is Koshary in Cairo, Egypt.  As you can see from the photo, it appears to be a mess, but it was delicious! It also came with a tomato based sauce that was so delicious! Blake used the sauce to dip his sandwich.  It is made with chick peas, rice, lentils and spices.  Great vegetarian dish.

    Egyptian Cuisine Koshary

    Koshary Dish Cairo Egypt

    The most unique meal I have experienced so far is the Black Pasta in Nicaragua.  Later, I learned that the color is from squid ink.  Didn’t realize that then! Blake is more adventurous with meals than I am. He will try anything.  I will, but if I don’t like it, we trade meals.  Wonderful husband I have.

    Barrio Café San Juan del Sur Nicaragua

    Barrio Café San Juan del Sur Nicaragua Black Pasta with local fresh fish

    Even though it was a simple local dish, the flavor was fabulous! La Garrapata seemed to have many tourists, but also locals. It was on the main strip of Puerto Ayora so a great place to people watch. It also had wi-fi which influenced our decision to dine there. If you are in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, we recommend eating and drinking here.

    Pecan Encrusted Tuna La Garrapata Restaurant, Puerto Ayora Galapagos

    Pecan Encrusted Tuna La Garrapata Restaurant, Puerto Ayora – Galapagos

    Every meal in Vietnam was wonderful and so wonderful that once we began to eat, we forgot about taking photos.

    Vietnamese Soup Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

    Vietnamese Soup Ho Chi Minh City

    Blake and I enjoy driving around and enjoying the sights of areas where most typical tourists would not go.  While doing so, we saw several local families going into this restaurant, Sodadel Cruce,  in a rural area on the Pacific Coast so we decided to follow. No one in the restaurant spoke English, so Blake pointed to a family seated next to us and indicated that we would have what they were having.  This seemed to make the owner/chef happy and he delivered us this fabulously simple tasty meal of chicken, black beans, rice and salad.

    Sodadel Cruce Restaurant Costa Rica

    Costa Rican Food

  • US State Department Services and Travel Alerts

    February 3, 2014 Author: Blake
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    One service overseas travelers should take advantage of is the US Department of State. First off, the State Department offers its STEP program where a traveler signs up before they go on an overseas trip. State Department Step Program

    If there is some type of crisis in the country of destination, the State Department will contact you and recommend to you what steps you may need to take to stay safe and help with your evacuation if needed.

    Also, if you were to go missing for whatever reason, the State Department would have a record of your trip and your reported areas of stay. Your tax dollars pay for this service. It’s a smart move to use this service particularly if you are traveling to a third world country.

    During a crisis in a country, this is what the State Department says they will do.

    The actions we take depend on the nature of the crisis. In some instances, we may only need to provide information on conditions in the country, such as warning about areas of unrest, how and where to seek help, and other useful advice. In more serious situations, we may recommend that U.S. citizens leave the foreign country, and, if commercial transportation is not available, provide departure assistance, as our resources permit.

    Here is a link to a list of questions and answers by the US State Department.
    http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/emergencies/crisis-support.html

  • Overseas Beer

    February 3, 2014 Author: Stephanie
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    We have enjoyed beer in a variety of countries. We enjoy walking around an area and stopping for a beer to people watch. Brahva Beer in GuatemalaWe will then continue exploring the local area and once tired, stop for another beer. With the heat, (we go to warm countries) we usually are not very hungry and often eat appetizers during the day and drink lots of water…………and beer. We always take a picture of the beer and food where we are for almost every meal. There are certainly more beers in each of these countries, but we enjoy ordering the local beers and drinking them at the local places.
    Gallo and Brahva– Gallo is Guatemalan’s most popular beer and also the only beer they have on tap. It has about 5% alcohol content and is a pale lager. Gallo light is the only light beer in Guatemala. Brahva is an American adjunct lager and brewed in Guatemala. It is seen everywhere along with Gallo in Guatemala. Dorado, Club Premium and Pilsener -Pilsener is the sponsor of a major soccer team and they have their logo everywhere! It’s the most popular beer in Ecuador and the Galapagos. Pilsener has a 4.2% alcohol content and is a pale lager.
     Saigon beer Ho Chi Minh City VietnamImperial & Imperial Light – most popular beer in Costa Rica and the logo is everywhere. It has a 4.6% alcohol content and is a pale lager.
    Sakara and Stella – Stella is Egypt’s most popular beer with a 4.5% alcohol content, although there are three varieties that vary on alcohol content. Sakara is the newest beer on the market in Egypt.
    Medalla – Beer from Puerto Rico that is now sold and found easily in Florida.
    333, Bia Saigon Export, Tiger –Vietnamese beer with a 4.9% alcohol content, although 333 is sold in the United States, but I had never heard of it before drinking it in Vietnam. Saigon Export is the only beer brewed in Vietnam and is very low in gluten; brewed primarily with rice. It’s Tiger was Singapore’s first brewed beer.
    Presidente – This beer is brewed in the Dominican Republic and exported to many other countries, including the USA. It has a 5% alcohol content. It is a Pilsner beer.
    Tona and Victoria – Tona is Nicaragua’s number one selling beer and hence, a local beer. It has 4.6% alcohol content and 100% natural ingredients.Victoria Beer Victoria is a 4% alcohol Vienna lager first brewed in Toluca, México, in 1865 by Compañía Toluca y México (Wikipedia) and is brewed in Mexico but is one of the two major beers you find in Nicaragua.
    So even if you are not a beer lover, just having a local beer will enlighten you about the area and what the local people enjoy.

  • Overseas Souvenirs

    January 30, 2014 Author: Stephanie
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    Before a trip, I google what the area is known to produce and what they are known for. Guatemala is known for textiles and we certainly brought back several amazing blankets and scarves. We try to purchase functional souvenirs, although we also bring back a magnet and shot glass from each area as well. Functional souvenirs we have purchased: potholders from Portugal, vases from Nicaragua, coffee spoons from Egypt, beautiful silk table linen from Vietnam, handmade coffee mugs from Costa Rica and brass key holders from London. Blake and I both enjoy art and love our handmade limestone statues from Egypt. We did purchase plates from Egypt, but when we arrived home, we realized they were made in China. LOL! We do not purchase items made from animals.

    Since we backpack, purchasing souvenirs can be cumbersome. We typically purchase an inexpensive suitcase to hold our souvenirs/gifts and then carry that suitcase as a carry on and check our backpacks on the way back. This ensures our souvenirs/gifts are not broken. Needless to say, we have a great deal of luggage in our closets. If we have checked out of our hotel and not sure where we are staying next, we ask the hotel desk to hold our suitcase for us so we don’t have to carry it with us that day. We then return and retrieve the suitcase once we know where we are going. We brought the most souvenirs back from Egypt and the least from Galapagos. Our photos are our favorite souvenirs. For Christmas, Blake purchased me a great Sony NEX-3NL/B camera. This way, we both are able to take photos during the trip. I prefer to be behind the camera. Our upcoming Panama trip will be the first trip where we both have great cameras with us. Looking forward to taking better shots than him!!!
    Stephanie Burgess January 30, 2014

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  • Upcoming Panama Trip

    January 30, 2014 Author: Blake
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    We will be taking an adventure travel trip to Panama in mid-February. This includes a visit to an Embera tribe for an overnight stay and a few days in mid-town Panama at a guest house. For those of you wondering how these trips get put together here is how we did it.

    • Stephanie booked our plane flight through Orbitz.com as a Christmas gift to me. Good call on the Christmas gift. This is what I like to do. She shopped the same sites I wrote about in my article on How to Find Deep Discount Airline Tickets.
    • We found the overnight Embera tribe tour on the internet and TripAdvisor.com patrons raved about it. Click Here We did the research and it seems as authentic as you can get. We avoid anything that is a tourist trap. We will let you know if we were right. Here is a photo from TripAdvisor.Photos of Embera Tours Panama, Panama CityThis photo of Embera Tours Panama is courtesy of TripAdvisor
    • For the first three nights, we are staying at the Balboa Inn, a bed and breakfast we found on www.bedandbreakfast.com There were 10 reviews for the place and all of them seemed legitimate. It appears to meet all of our needs (see Balboa Inn) such as WiFi, great location and a safe area.

    At this time, we have no plans for the rest of the trip and may plan that after we get to Panama. Sometimes you find the best things to do after you arrive at a place. Stay tuned! We planned an adventure travel trip to Panama in mid-February.

    Blake Burgess January 29, 2014

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