Image property of HSBeer.com

Type: Beer-
American Double/Imperial Pilsner
Name: Heavy Seas - Small Craft Warning Über Pils
Price: $1.79
Made: Baltimore, MD
Alc/Vol: 7%

“Unofficially the original American Über Pils, Small Craft Warning is a rich, golden bock lager with big malt flavor and a crisp hop finish.”

Now I don’t know what makes an Über Pils, but this has been listed in the American Double/Imperial Pilsner category from my research so we will just lump them all together. I’ll be honest though, having the word “Über” in the name may have influenced me into purchasing it which in this case paid off…Überly @(^_^)@

The beer poured a nice golden color with a medium head that dissipates at a good mid level rate and leaves lacing on the glass. The scent gave off a nice bit of malts with a bit of something…citrus? It wasn’t a strong aroma but overall it was enticing.

The most important part, the taste was enjoyable to say the least. It had a nice full bodied heaviness to it, which is not typically what you would associate with a pils. Let me get it straight though, it wasn’t heavy like it was a meal in a glass but for the style of beer it is. The taste had a nice mixture of malts and spices. The dry hoppiness finished off this beer leaving the tip of your tongue dry as if it was asking for more.

The more I drank this beer the more I enjoyed it…and the more I felt it. At 7.0% it was a strong beer that had good flavor, although nothing overly strong about it’s character. I believe it was a good blend of everything which prevent too much from standing out on its own. I give this beer 4 out of 5 bananas which is about as close to Über as you can get.

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Don’t forget to fling this post to others if you like what you see!

New Brew Tuesday: Heavy Seas – Small Craft Warning Über Pils is a post from: Monkey Brewster

Are you interested in saving as much money as possible on your next flight? Of course you are! Follow along with me and I’ll tell you which flight search engines you should be using to save the most amount of money on your next big trip.

Truth be told, there’s a skill to finding cheap flights on the internet these days. It’s all about where to look when it comes to finding the best deals. The problem is many people are just simply looking in all the wrong places.

Like a carpenter without tools, you’re useless!

When it comes to finding good deals on flights, you need to be equipped with the right tools. Simply Googling “cheap flights” is only going to result in you clicking on a site that has paid their way to the top of the search engine results. No good!

You need your own personal tool belt and I’m going to help you start building that right now. I’ll be sharing all of my favorite tips and tricks to finding the cheapest flights on the internet. These tips and tricks will now be known as “Tools” as we move along.

Below, you’ll find all of the tools that I currently have in my flight search tool belt and after you check out some of my personal favorites, you can pick and choose which ones you want to add to your belt.

Cheap Flight Search Engines:

Kayak.com is my number one flight search engine for a number of reasons. Not only does Kayak consistently provide me with the best deals, but it also has some really great search features like Buzz, Trends, Flexible Date Search, Price Alerts, and more. Kayak is my go-to flight search engine and it should be yours too!

DoHop.com is best known for it’s “linking” or “joining” of indirect flights. This allows you to find the cheapest flights by flying indirectly. This site is generally for those who have plenty of time on their hands and are willing to sacrifice sitting in an airport for a few hours in order to get the best bang for their buck.

WhichBudget.com is an excellent resource when it comes to searching for cheap flights online. Plug in your dates, departure/destination airports and find out which budget airlines fly your specified route. It’s as easy as that! WhichBudget is 100% FREE to use and there are no commission fees involved if you’re looking to  budget airlines.

Hipmunk.com - What I like most about Hipmunk is that when you search for flights, the results come up in a graph format. The graph results show which airlines that are flying your specified route on the dates that you’ve chosen along with the prices and amount of stops in between. Hipmunk is not something I use too often but I still recommend you check it out before moving on to the other honorable mentions below.

If you’re not finding the deals you’re looking for then be sure to check out the following cheap flight resources:

• Fly.com
• SkyScanner.net
• Mobissimo.com
• FlyTailIt.com
• FareCompare.com

Tips for Saving Money on Flights:

• Sign up for airline newsletters! Log on to your favorite airlines website and sign up for their email list. Every now and then you’ll receive an email with the latest deals. This is great simply for the fact that email newsletter subscribers usually get the news first when specific fares go on sale.
• Sign up for the free frequent flier programs of your favorite airline(s). I, personally, am not a member of any frequent flier programs so I don’t know a lot about how each FF program works. In saying that I know many people who swear by a few particular programs and really get the most for their money. I can recommend a frequent flyer genius to you, his name is Chris Guillebeau. Check him out and be prepared to be amazed.
• Scope out the forums over at FlyerTalk. There is so much incredible information regarding flying, hotels, frequent flier programs, etc over there it’s insane. You can and will be scouring through threads for days if it’s something you’re interested in.

How to Find Cheap Flights Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Modh8ANPsNc

It’s going to be a very busy couple of weeks as we sail to Antarctica, but we are going to try to give you micro updates each day to let you know how things are going.

We arrived in Ushuaia on a beautiful sunny afternoon at 6:30 pm. The sun goes down late here and as we left our hotel room for dinner, we were surprised to see that it was already 8:30 pm!  The sun was still shining bright over the town.

View from our Hotel Room Window

The weather isn’t as cold as we imagined it to be. We were cozy and warm with our new Roots hoodies and stayed warm as we watched the ships come in on Beagle harbour. We even caught a helicopter flying overhead.

For Roots Clothing and Gear of your own, check out their online shopping.

It was already getting late so we ate at the first place we founds, a very touristy restaurant on the waterfront. It was filled with cruisers from all over the world. We watched ships come in from Antarctica and were excited to think that in 2 short days, we’d be on one of them

Prices aren’t cheap in Ushuaia. 

Ushuaia is an isolated city at the bottom of South America and we assume that a lot of produce has to be shipped in. We are staying at a basic hotel but the cost is $115 per night. We hear that hostels start at about $60 but since we had some leftover Expedia coupons we decided to splurge on a nicer place. We have hot water, wifi internet and breakfast is included at the Hosteria Bella Vista. It’s really only worth about $40 to look at it, but here in Ushuaia, we’re paying $115.

It is 4 km from downtown so we have to take a taxi or grab a bus.

• The bus is frequent and close to our place though and it only costs about 50cents. (2.75 pesos)
• A taxi cost us 22.50 Pesos (about $5.50) – Note: Taxi’s are metered so you don’t have to worry about negotiating.

Dinner was expensive and comparable to Canadian prices. We were famished and impatient so we went to the first restaurant that we saw as we walked along the boardwalk of Beagle Channel. It was filled with tourists and probably overpriced, but it was a treat to look out over the water for the first night of our Antarctica adventure. We thought that the prices were inflated because we went to probably the most touristy restaurant in town, but as we looked at the menus of other places we saw that they all charge about the same amounts.

Dave had a steak with potatoes and mushroom gravy for 90 pesos ($20) and I had a chicken dinner for 55 pesos ($12) Wine is around 70 pesos per bottle.($15)

The Sun Still setting at 10:00 pm

We topped off the night at an Irish Pub (where we drank Argentinian wine instead of beer) and to our surprise travel blogger extraordinaire Gary Arndt came walking in. We knew he was in Antarctica but we didn’t expect him for another day. He had a smooth Drake Passage crossing on the way back so arrived in Ushuaia a day early. Seeing the excitement in his eyes as we looked at his photos from Antarctica made us even more excited to get on the boat. It’s a photographers playground and we can’t wait to share the experience with everyone.

So that’s what we’ve got for our so far. Food, drink and transportation and a night cap with a fellow traveling spirit, swapping stories and gaining excitement for the year ahead. Stay tuned for more micro updates from Antarctica!

Our Antarctica adventure is brought to you by Quark Expeditions

Check out Quark Expeditions for planning your own Antarctic Expedition. Mention ThePlanetD and receive 5% off your booking - 5% can be redeemed on any voyage and is be combinable with any of Quark’s promotions.

Directly in the middle of the ecuador, water goes straight down when poured into a bowl with a hole at the bottom. Step a few away and the water starts to spin clockwise or counterclockwise depending which side you’re on. Go on the opposite side of the ecuador and it spins in the other direction. The GSP tells us all zero’s. This is the exact middle of the earth.

The museum has several other experiments. I’m not a scientist so I don’t know how this all technically works. On the red line with my eyes closed, I could not walk in a straight line. It was surprisingly difficult without tipping over. Outside of the redline, it was easy.

For our next experiment, we had to balance an egg on a nail. Usually, I don’t balance eggs on nails but I’m going to assume it’s usually difficult. Well at the middle of the earth, it’s a breeze. I balanced it in under a minute. How is that happening?!

Real middle of the earth

A few minutes away by car is a huge monument declared as the middle of the earth. It’s enormous. Built between 1979 and 1982, they thought they had figured out the exact middle. It was as center as they could figure out. The french first figured out this location in 1743. Now the monument and its surrounding area is filled with tourists, restaurants, and souvenirs. Almost like an entire small neighborhood. Reminded me of a theme park but the only attraction was really the monument and the museum inside which I didn’t go in. Apparently the museum holds history of the tribes that were in that area.

Balancing an egg on a nail

Crater of the extinct volcano Pululahua

How To Get There and The Entire Journey:

1. If you have 4 people to go with, definitely take taxi. It’s a HUGE bargain for what you get. We were initially quoted $40USD. We bargained to $30 since it was three of us. Seems to be rare to get this price though. The taxi’s know exactly where to bring you. It’s always the same route.
2. It takes about 45 minutes from Quito to get there by taxi.  We were gone for about 4 hours in total.
3. The taxi first goes to the crater of the extinct volcano Pululahua. A small village lives inside the crater. You get a nice full view from the top. Cost $1 to go to the top. Taxi is worth paying for this alone. Takes about 30 minutes in total for this part of the trip.
4. Next the taxi brings you to the REAL museum. This place is not easy to find if you had taken the bus. It’s actually a far walk. Also really far from Pululahua. Many people seem to skip but the real museum and the crated because they take the bus.
5. Next is the big monument at the fake location. It’s neat for the pictures but there isn’t much you can do there. Just nice to walk around.

If you take the bus, you won’t be saving much. You’ll spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out how to get to the real middle of the earth and you’ll miss out on the crater. The real attraction to me was the museum than the monument. The monument area just felt like a tiny Disneyland which is kind of cool in a way but I would have been disappointed if that’s all I saw.

Middle of the earth monument. Fake location.

Visiting the Middle of the Earth in Ecuador is a post from Art of Backpacking

At the beginning of my trip to Kenya, the boys and I took a little trip. We went to a beautiful beach south of Mombasa called Diani, which I visited in 2010 and loved. On a pre-trip interview, Onesmus and John declared that they thought coastal people surely cook with the saltwater, since, ya know, why would you buy salt when you can get it for free? Patrick, their younger brother (because older doesn’t always mean wiser) did not believe their theory. We deemed it necessary that they ask around and discover the answer for themselves. In those six wonderful days spent at the beach, the boys learned, not only the answer to this question, but so much more!

(If the video does not show up in your browser, please click here.)

Sprawling Ulaanbaatar

I instinctively made it to the office building; it had been two years since I was there and even though the buildings around it had changed, the Ger to Ger office building stood out to me teasing my memory and providing me flashes of deja vu. I remembered the stairs, the odd sculpture outside the building, and as I walked through the lobby the sensation of something familiar in this foreign country enveloped me. I walked into the Ger to Ger office and noted that it hadn’t changed a bit. I started browsing through brochures on the wall when a familiar looking woman greeted me and asked if she could help me. I told her I was interested in a short trip to Terelj Park. As I was saying this a flash of discovery came across her face, she wrinkled her brow and said in a part statement, part questioning tone, “I know you – you traveled with us before?”

I was astonished that she would remember me after 2 years, but she did. As we embraced and chatted about what I had been doing for the past two years, Zanjan – the stunning looking manager of Ger to Ger, amazed me by recalling my past details of living in Vietnam, teaching, and being a travel writer.

It was a strange feeling to be back in a city that I had been to before; I seldom revisit places I travel to simply because the world is big and there are so many new things to see. However after seeing Zanjan again it reminded me how comforting it is to be recognized and have a familiar conversation in my constant motion I call “my life”.

I was last in Ulaanbaatar in the summer of 2009, and it has always been one of my least favorite cities in the world. Strangely, the country of Mongolia is one of my favorite countries in the world and it continues to pull me back to its different and simple culture and landscape. However if you are going to travel in Mongolia, you really can’t avoid Ulaanbaatar; it’s a necessary evil.

In many ways Ulaanbaatar was as I remember it; chaotic, difficult to navigate, dangerous (in petty crime ways), and not a place where I enjoy being a solo traveler. As I walked around the tourist area of the city, I was constantly reminded by locals to be careful, don’t walk alone at night, and don’t take out a flashy camera. I also heard tales told of other tourists being mugged, pick pocketed, and simply followed. I remember the familiar feeling of constantly being on edge in Ulaanbaatar.

However in many ways Ulaanbaatar was nothing as I remember it. Buildings sprung up like fresh green stalks in the soil reaching for the sun in the spring time; they were everywhere. I was staying in one of those shiny, new buildings built for the Mongolian and expat elite. Our Mongol Rally sponsor,  Roomorama,  had provided an apartment for our team’s time in Ulaanbaatar. It was a far cry from my previous hostel diggs on my first trip to Mongolia. The apartment was full of the latest amenities and comforts in a city that is anything but comfortable.

Roomorama apartment rental - luxury highrise life

My lodging 2 years prior

Big malls had been built in 2 short years, and it felt as if the population had doubled. High fashion and luxury goods appeared in shiny store windows of new buildings. The streets were at a complete gridlock of a mish-mash of cars from foreign origins. Luxury housing glistened and beckoned those with any bit of money, yet the destitute seemed as worse off as ever. There were more homeless and kids on the street than I recall seeing two years prior.

Basically, it was turning into another overcrowded, poorly planned Asian city.

The city had grown at rapid rates since I was last there. It had a population of 949,000 in 2009 and now in 2011 it has risen to 1.17 million. There is an approximate increase of 35,000 vehicles added to the vehicle pool each year in Ulaanbaatar. The city is complete gridlock and polluted and I have a hard time understanding why people would want more cars when the average speed is slower than a person can walk during rush hour.

Old buses can barely move in the conjested city

Roads were in sorry shape and overcrowded

There is little urban planning as the city population grows, infrastructure loses the battle to ‘Demand and Desire’ and the whole place appears chaotic. Quality loses out to speed in construction and planning. As I walked around the familiar streets of Ulaanbaatar for days I had the overwhelming feeling of sadness for it. Like you were watching a person gain weight with no idea how they were ever going to get their weight gain under control thanks to a lack of willpower.

It was that sadness and frustration I felt for Ulaanbaatar that ultimately led me to the Ger to Ger office once again. I needed to get out of the overcrowded, dangerous feeling city and instead experience the Mongolia I love. Even though I had just driven through the entire area of Western Mongolia independently with my Mongol Rally team, after just 6 days in Ulaanbaatar I was frustrated and overwhelmed with it. I wanted to breath in the fresh air, see the wide open spaces, peer out into vast nothingness, see the simplicity of herding and nomadic ger life.

My Ger to Ger experience in 2009 was, and still remains, a highlight of all of my travels I’ve done around the world. It was the most immersive, educational, cultural exchange that I had ever experienced. I was excited at the thought of seeing how Ger to Ger had grown in the last two years; but as I peered around the office and talked with Zanjan, it seemed as if nothing had changed. They were still running unique cultural tours in the remote areas of Mongolia. They were still improving the lives of the locals involved in their cultural exchanges, and they still used the exact same cultural handbook.

It was good to see that some things hadn’t changed in Ulaanbaatar.

Big Business is moving in...

It’s day two of your week of inspiration: We had such an amazing turn out for our inspirational travel series that we couldn’t wait any longer to share everyone’s stories. This one is truly an inspiration the message is, you can do whatever you want at any age. So if you are suffering from the winter blues, this story will definitely give you the pick me up you need. 

I Celebrated my 50th Birthday in Chianti by Christine Cottrell

Determined to celebrate my special birthday in grand style, I scoured books and brochures for the perfect place. Tutti a Tavola, a cooking school and somewhere to stay in a remote part of the Chianti Hills in Tuscany was an easy decision.  A phone call later, our travel plans were under way.

Tutti a Tavola is run by an extraordinary group of Italian women – mammas, they say, who love to cook. Instantly, I felt at home as my celebration started to unfold in a place of unimaginable beauty – where old farmhouses have been lovingly restored to special places for enjoyment and sharing.

With responsibilities and deadlines far away on the other side of the globe, I am easily immersed in the sensual experiences of Tuscan living – the colourful markets, the cooking aromas, the long, luxurious conversations. There are roses to pick, pasta to prepare, neighbours to meet, basil to pluck, risotto to stir, tables to set, tiramisu to construct, linen to lay.  The mysteries of artichokes and zucchini flowers are solved, the best recipe for limoncello debated, the world’s problems solved …..

For two weeks, over the routine of daily life, I learn about the lives of the mammas who love to cook. They have all retired from professional careers – to share the traditions of Tuscan cooking with guests and prepare beautiful, homely places for them to stay.  Their husbands, professionals in past lives too, are tending vineyards and olive groves. There are weeds to pull, vines to tie, trees to prune, grappa to enjoy, fruit to pick, animals to feed, plots to plant.  The weather forecast is discussed, the best way to prune olives debated, the quality of the vintage anticipated …..

Mimma, Franca, Lele and their husbands are now our friends; we visit them and they visit us. Although you can count on your hands the number of times we have connected geographically, strong friendships based on mutual interests have been forged – and through them, I’ve learnt to reconnect with the simple things I instinctively love to do.

I find time to prepare pasta and risotto from scratch, I make a ritual of plucking basil leaves over conversation with a friend, I sometimes lay my table with beautiful linen even when I’m busy, I invite friends and family to share our meals more often, I make an effort to eat what’s in season, I savour the smell of the rosemary and oregano that grow in my garden …..

Most importantly, I have learnt that you can choose to do whatever you want – regardless of what age you are. Mimma, Franca and Lele are women in their seventies who are a true inspiration to anyone who has a 50^th birthday on the horizon. They are testimony to the fact that you can start a new ‘career’ – of doing what you love to do, at any stage of your life.

All it takes is to follow your passion and connect with your inspiration.

At a time when teaching colleagues were talking about retirement, I set out to pursue my interest in writing. And I started a business – perfectespresso.com.au. What was once a little idea has grown into a series of published books and training resources on espresso coffee – using the wealth of skill and knowledge accumulated in over two decades of my career.

My husband and I now travel the globe exhibiting at trade shows, researching coffee trends and connecting with the coffee community on every continent. We visit farms and factories, museums and cafes, sample the finest coffees made by the best baristas and wander the world in search of interesting people and places to write about.

Like the inspirational women who love to cook, my lifestyle has become my work. I am doing what I love to do.  Oh, and ‘tutti a tavola’ is what Italian mammas say when dinner is about to be served – calling ‘everyone to the table’.

You can do this too!

CHRISTINE COTTRELL: author of the Perfect Espresso series
With more than 20 years of experience in teaching and working in the Australian hospitality industry, Christine decided to do something different.Driven by a passion for coffee and a search for the truth about espresso, Christine connects with baristas and coffee enthusiasts around the world – strengthening her skills, knowledge and research – to become the ultimate authority on everything about espresso coffee.
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My BLOG at ChristineCottrell.com

Inspirational Series 

This is an ongoing series of Inspirational travel. If you have an experience in travel that changed your life, made you look at the world differently or an amazing moment that you want to share, please contact us for more details and we will email you right back.. You can also read more about submitting an article to this series at Calling All Writers, Share your Inspirational Travel Story

Read More Inspirational Stories

• Real Men Don’t Cry
• How Virtual Tourist Changed our Lives
• Round Trip Ticket, Backpack and Curiosity
• What Happens When You Follow Your Heart
• From Little Englander To Travel Lover 
• Freedom Found
•  The Yoga Retreat That Made Me Quit My Day Job 
• Learning that it’s OK to be a Quitter 
• Zulu Memories in South Africa by Green Global Travel
• What I Would Tell You (If I Had the Words)
•  Charity for the Philippines a Birthday Adventure
• Habitat for Humanity in Alaska
• Inspired at the Summit of Mount Roy 
• Inspirational Travel: Fishing For Friendship 

We had heard many wonderful things about Turkey – its beautiful beaches, amazing sights and friendly people – however, only after experiencing a holiday there, did we realize why people keep returning – year after year.

We had made a choice between several cheap international flights and finally decided on one going to Bodrum airport, from where we carried on straight away with a coach to Kusadasi, our final destination.

Kusadasi

Kusadasi is a resort town on Turkey’s Aegean coast, popular with day trippers as well as holiday makers.

The streets are bustling with people, and even walking from the beach to your hotel can be an assault to your senses, as the smells and sounds are so different and exotic.

For those who love bargaining, this place is heaven – you can find some amazing handicrafts and jewelry, as well as dirt cheap rip-offs – but one thing is for sure, it’s impossible to leave this place without having bought something..!

We spent most of our days sunbathing at the different beaches, and our favorite was Ladies’ Beach, a very popular beach with an interesting history.

Between the days of sunbathing at the different beaches along the coast and stuffing ourselves with Turkish food in the taverns, we took some day trips to explore the surrounding area…

Ephesus

Not to far from Kusadasi is Ephesus - it is the best preserved ancient city in the Mediterranean region built on a small hill and one of Turkey’s top sights.

It is hard to describe the feeling while walking along that archaeological site, looking at the remnants of the famous library, the grand theatre and the “Church of Virgin Mary”.

The famous footprint which points in the direction of the brothel is also a classic not to be missed.

Pamukkale

Going to Turkey without visiting Pamukkale would be a big mistake - you can see pictures of the place, but nothing can be compared to live experience of this unique natural wonder.

It is known for its perfectly white travertines , the ancient city Hierapolis and Cleopatra’s own spa – to have a swim in her own bathroom you have to pay extra, but you can enjoy some beautiful small ponds with clean and slightly blue water for free.

A Quick Tip…

If you decide to visit Kusadasi, or any other city in Turkey, be prepared for a slightly strange traffic jam, where the rules are set by the vehicle with the noisiest honk.

Dolmuses or mini buses are the easiest way to get around the city – you just need to wave and they will stop wherever you are.

After spending 11 days in Turkey, we were more than satisfied with our choice but also very aware that this country has so much more to offer and that is the reason enough for us to go back again.

Jeremy Haze is a blogger and a travel enthusiast, as well as marketing consultant for CruiseAbout – for more information on the benefits this company has to offer you can visit: www.cruiseabout.com.au

(photo credits: 1 - 2 )

Exploring The Beauty of Turkey - As We Travel - Travel Videos & Travel Blog

Buenos dias mis amigos!

Have you ever met a stranger who inspired you to do something in your life?

I stayed up later than planned on my first night at Hacienda Merida. Considering I had made the 4 mile trek from Santa Cruz to Merida earlier in the afternoon, I just assumed that I would be hitting the hay early. Then again, you can never assume anything when traveling. Shouldn’t I know this by now?

My first evening in Merida flew by. It was on my way to bed when I met an interesting guy by the name of Ben. I initiated conversation with him as I was passing by on my way to my room. I figured, what the hell? Why not chat him up and ask him where he was riding from? You see, Ben was inspiring to me even before I even met him.

I saw him earlier in the day hanging some clothes on his bicycle that was secured to the railing in front of his room. I knew right from the start that we would share similar interests and that we would connect at some point along the way.

Ben rode his bicycle here.

Ben (Left) and his brother Gabriel

For those who don’t know, a long distance bicycle trip is extremely high on my travel bucket list. Just listening to Ben share his bicycle trip experience with me was lighting a fire inside of me. I instantly had one of those “I’m going to do this one day” moments. It was as if I had always wanted to do it, but never received the confirmation that I COULD actually achieve it. My mind was racing about all of the places that I could ride, how free I would feel while doing so, and how outrageous of a trip it would be.

As I zoned back into reality I was met by Ben’s voice again. He was still talking and I was still trying to focus on listening. We spent an hour or two chatting about home, family, our travels thus far and so much more.

Ben is from Alaska!

Believe it or not Ben’s from Alaska. As a matter of fact he was the first person I have ever met from Alaska on my travels. I refuse to count the wack job that I met briefly back at the hostel in Granada. She was the first person I’ve ever met from Alaska but we chatted for a good five minutes before I realized she was completely out of her mind. I’m talking about the first interesting and potential friend that I’ve met on my travels who was from Alaska.

The Ride:

Ben and his brother Gabriel flew from Alaska to Cancun, Mexico on October 4th, 2011. A few days later they started their epic ride from Cancun down the coast through Belize into Guatemala and on to Honduras. While cycling through Honduras they experienced a riders worst nightmare. Hostile locals!

Ben and Gabriel tried their best to pedal past the hostile Hondurans but each time they squeezed by one scary situation they were then met with another. It got to be so bad that they decided to scrap the original plans of riding down through Honduras and instead found their way to the nearest city where they packed up their bikes and jumped on a bus headed straight for Nicaragua. Once in Nicaragua, Gabriel hopped on a flight and headed back home due to some unexpected costs of the trip. Ben continued pedaling south through Nicaragua and eventually ended up at Hacienda Merida. Ben would be spending the next month in Merida training. For what, you might ask? Try a 100K (62 mi) footrace.

Fuego y Agua 100k (Fire & Water)

Did I mention that Ben is an ultra runner?

An ultra runner is anyone who runs races that are longer than the traditional marathon length of 42K (26 mi). The most common distances are 50 kilometres (31.069 mi), 100 kilometres (62.137 mi), 50 miles (80.467 km) and 100 miles (160.934 km), although many races have other distances. The 100 kilometers is an official IAAF world record event. – Source: Wikipedia

The Fuego y Agua ultramarathon is a 62 mile footrace on the island of Ometepe. The race is full of unimaginable challenges! As if running 62 miles in one day wasn’t enough, right?

The 100k Fuego y Agua course is a single loop circling most of the island and leads runners on difficult ascents and descents of both volcanoes – Source: Fuego y Agua Official Website

That’s right people! Ben will be running this footrace on gravel roads in poor condition and will be traversing up and down both of Ometepe’s volcanoes. What!?

For more information on Fuego y Agua, click here.

When I asked Ben about how long he expects this race to take him, he replied; Ideally, I’d like to finish in less than 13 hours. The Men’s record for this 100K race was set back in 2009 by a guy named Javier Montero from Costa Rica. He finished in a cool 11 hours and 8 minutes.

How did Ben become an Ultramarathon Runner?

I wondered the same thing when I first learned about Ben and his hobby of ultra running. You see, Ben has overcome a seriously troubled past. He spent his younger years living out his 20′s to the fullest, or so he thought. Little did he know that he was making all the wrong moves. Each split in the road that Ben encountered, he traveled in the wrong direction.

He's way over the speed limit...

When all was said and done Ben turned to running as a way to escape his bad habits and reckless lifestyle. It wasn’t until his first few attempts at running footraces back home in Alaska that he realized there was something out there that he was good at. He had so much talent inside of him, he just never knew it.

I ran at least 80 or 90 miles/week. – Ben

After blowing away the rest of the competition in the first few races he entered, Ben continued to train. He wanted to run harder, faster and longer.

There were times that I would drive down to the Skyline Trail bright and early, park my car and practice running up and down it. I even spent some nights sleeping in my car just so I could wake up in the morning and hit the ground running. – Ben

Ben entered the Frosty Bottom 50 Mile race in January 2011. During the race, he got confused and made a wrong turn. He was LOST on the course and it was midway through the race. Ben was no longer the leader of the race anymore. He had to turn around and follow his missteps back to where he made the wrong turn. Regardless of his mistakes, he was still determined to win this race.

On the last leg of the course, Ben did the unthinkable. He passed the pack and crossed in 1st place.

Believe it or not, crossing the finish line in first wasn’t the only highlight of Ben’s big day. His brother Gabriel awaited him at the finish line holding a ring. Once Ben crossed the finish line his brother handed him the ring in which he got down on one knee and proposed to his then girlfriend Michelle. Yes, right there on the finish line!

She said YES!

Just two weeks after winning the Frosty Bottom 50 miler, Ben entered to race the 2011 Little Su 50K in order to defend his title. Would he have it in him to run a 50K just two weeks after running the Frosty Bottom with no real training in between?

Of course he did! Ben ended up winning first place in the Little Su 50K two years in a row. Unbelievable!

As if this story couldn’t get any better, Ben is currently finishing his cycling trip by riding his bike down through Southern Nicaragua into Costa Rica where he’ll meet up with his soon to be bride Michelle!

Ben and Michelle are getting hitched on March 20th, 2012 in Costa Rica!

Congratulations Ben & Michelle, best of luck to the both of you!

—

Note:

I started out writing this post in hopes to share my experiences in Merida but that obviously didn’t happen. Just reliving some of the conversations I had with Ben made my fingers go absolutely ballistic on my keyboard. So much that once I finished I had to go back and change the title from: “Living the Good Life in Merida” to “Inspired by a stranger named Ben“. I literally just typed this story out as if I was writing about my own life. I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to write something that flowed so well and came to me with such ease. There’s a reason for that.

The story behind this stranger named Ben really opened my eyes to a whole bunch of things. Firstly, Ben has proved to both himself and his family that people can change and turn their lives around. Secondly, he has proved to me that literally anything is possible as long as you put your heart and soul into it. Last, but not least, Ben showed me what it was like to meet a total stranger and have it feel like we had been long lost friends who just ran into each other for the first time in years.

It was a pleasure meeting you my friend. I hope to be able to visit you in Alaska one of these days…

Safe travels,

-Ry

At Dune 45 in Namibia

“Is this really my life?” I asked myself.

I signed on the do the Mongol Rally in December, and ever since then I have been busy. Very busy. Some days I become so consumed with what I need to do, that I forget to sit back and take a look at my life from a different angle.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the little things happening around me.

I’m not alone, I know this.

This past week I went to a taping of Cupcake Girls from inside a streetcar in Toronto. I had taken my best friend (we’ve known each other for 30+ years). I had made an absurd decision. I wore flip-flops. There was no snow on the ground, why should I wear boots?! I also didn’t wear a jacket. I’ve become really good at the mind over matter thing, so the cold didn’t really bother me.

People stared.

I figured all the stares were due to my brief break from sanity.

I was wrong, not all the stares had to due with my attire or lack there of. One stare was from a guy that I went to high school with.

During the event I chatted with my childhood BFF and we chatted about what each of us were up to. Travel was among our topics of conversation and as we were in a very crowded and confined space, the conversation floated beyond myself and my BFF.

It wasn’t until after I left and headed back to my car that I asked myself “Is this really my life?”.

When did I forget that I lead an amazing life? When did this become like just another day?

View of Sultan Mosque in Singapore

I’m lucky. I woke up and decided that I wanted more joy in my life. I made the choice to turn my lust for travel into a full-time obsession.  It’s something that many people dream about, but never do.

I’m not saying that if you’re not traveling, you’re not happy with your life. I’m saying if I am not travelling, I am not happy with my life.

It took a long time for me to throw caution to the wind and follow my heart. I dreamed of doing it for years. I talked of doing it for years. I came up with excuse after excuse about why I couldn’t do it, for years. Then my Grandmother became deathly ill and I started to look at the way I was living my life. I was tired. I was cranky. I was unhealthy.

I would cry when I returned home from vacation. Not because I was happy to be home. Because being home was depressing.

It wasn’t a cake-walk, giving up my life to blog and travel. It was challenging. Good thing I love challenges.

I’ve blogged for over 2 years now, and I am just starting to feel like I am getting this whole blog thing. I’m making connections. I’m making some money from my blog. I’m writing articles for other websites and getting paid for it!

I’m doing things that I never dreamed of doing and I love it.

Over the past few years I have hung around fellow bloggers and travellers. In those circles I feel shy and at times I have felt like I’m not doing this right. I’ve stressed. I’ve worried.

Then, I work harder. It’s kind of like I never left my retail management job.

Nicole, my childhood BFF, helped snap me out of my zombie-like state. I am living an amazing life. I’m doing what I love to do, and it makes me happy. I’m lucky.

Today, I’ve done some planning for the Mongol Rally. I’ve emailed potential sponsors. I’ve tweaked the SpunkyGirl Monologues Facebook page. I’ve also thought a lot about the countries I’ve traveled to and the ones I’ll be traveling to this year.

I’m still a travel newbie in terms of country counts, but that doesn’t make me less important than those who have been to more countries. I travel slow. I like to learn about new cultures, people and food. I’ve made friends with people from around the world. I’ve stopped worrying about having every detail taken care of. Now, I jump in with both feet and pray that I make it. I know that would freak some people out, but for me it’s a rush. It’s a challenge. It’s addictive.

I’m lucky. I live an amazing life. I turned my lust into an obsession that pays. 

Holy crap. This is really my life!!

I get to travel the world, and write about it. I get to meet cool people. I get to try new foods. I get to see new countries. I get to help friends with their travel questions. I get to read awesome emails from my readers. This is really my life.

I did it. I left my comfort zone. I went in search of my dream and I grabbed ahold of it with both hands. Sure, I still work hard to make this blog interesting and to create a community on Facebook. But it’s something I enjoy doing. It’s something I want to do. It makes me happy.

This is really my life.