Where have we been?

It always amazes me to see where we have been on a map! 15 years of travel - we have done well, beyond blessed that is for sure! Hoping to see Africa next year .. time will tell!
2019

Let me help you plan your next adventure

So last year I became a travel agent, it made sense to us as I am always planning things for others! Expedia offered excellent training and I was certified within a very short time. Now the fun begins. Planning, which as you know I am very good at, budget travel, oh yes! And working on how to get from here to there by ship – why not?

I surprise myself about the knowledge I have acquired about the many places we have visited around the world and I love to share things to do and see.

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Patrice Was Interviewed

Cutting Their Teeth in Ecuador Left Them Wanting More
By Wendy DeChambeau

It was the low cost of dental work that initially brought Patrice Baron Parent and her husband Dave to Cotacachi, Ecuador. "We first came here for a dental vacation in 2009," says Patrice. "But while we were here we just fell in love with the place. We liked the people, the culture, and the landscape—including the two dormant volcanos."

Patrice hails from Canada while Dave is originally from Alaska, but at that time the couple were living and working in Seattle. However, despite returning to their regular lives, the memory of their vacation lingered, and in 2012 they decided to go back to Ecuador for good.

At that point Dave had retired and Patrice had given up her business built on web development, website construction, and search engine optimization. But one thing led to another and Patrice again found her skills in demand. Today, she is able to work from home or wherever she happens to find herself, as long as she has access to a good internet connection.

Having a mobile career makes it easy for Patrice and Dave to pursue their passion for traveling. "We've traveled a lot," says Patrice. "In the last 15 years we've seen about 65% of the world. We've been through Asia, Russia, Europe, South America, and even Antarctica."

In fact, Patrice found that because of her travel experience she was often booking travel plans for friends. So she recently decided to work as a travel agent too and earn some income from her expertise, which now gives her two portable sources of income.

While Dave and Patrice are frequently on the go, Cotacachi is their home base. A mellow little town, with a distinctly Andean feel, Cotacachi is everything Patrice fell in love with and more. There are community seed exchanges, harvest and planting festivals, and a market brimming with quinoa, potatoes, and other mountain staples.

But above all, Patrice loves the weather. "It's like spring every day." In fact, the average daytime temperatures hover in the mid-60s F all year long, making it an ideal climate for many folks.

And the pair found that they can continue their hobbies and interests in Cotacachi without any problem. As foodies who enjoy eating healthy, this was important. "We make everything—all our own food," says Patrice. "We make our own bread, cheese, sauces...everything. We spend a lot of time cooking and entertaining. You can't go to a store here and find 19 different bottles of hot sauce, so it's not always easy to source ingredients, but you can do it."

Patrice also spends her time sewing clothes for children, knitting, and making jewelry. She's also found satisfaction in volunteering in the local community. "Last month we hosted police officers who were in town for an event and we made them breakfast each morning," she says. She's also been actively involved with a scholarship program for indigenous high school students in the local area. "There are 75 kids in school because of these scholarships and they're all doing amazing things. Because of this program, they're going on to get a higher education which will allow them to be of greater help to their communities."

Not only does Patrice get to live the good life in her dream destination, she gets to give back to the local community while she does so. What's not to love?

To learn more about the Scholarship Program and how you can help http://www.itsaboutchildren.org/

Patrice's Travel Agent Website https://www.cruiseshipcenters.com/

Packing 101 ….

So what can you do to pack lighter? Its always a question - how can I take less but have enough? We have an upcoming adventure 140 days, 57 on a ship the rest on the ground. 

We always seem have too much luggage and we bring things home that we never put on! So I am working hard on how to pack smarter and lighter!  This way we can travel easier by train and on flights in country (all have weight restrictions).  Ok I accept the challenge, here we go!

  • Step 1 - we need a carry on that will accommodate a laptop and double as luggage for maybe 10 days. Started to do research on backpacks (no we are not planning to travel with ONLY a backpack) but if it can do multiple things - awesome.  I started to do research and there is what we opted to start with.  eBags Motherlode TLS Weekender Convertible
  • Step 2 - more cubes and envelopes (its how we pack)

  • Step 3 - what about more than 5 days - bought a portable washing machine - Scrubba

  • Step 4 - sleep sacks (never had one before BUT what can be wrong with sleeping in silk?)

     Stay tuned for more updates  (in other words part 2)

Clio – Clearview Audio

Clio1 31215

They call this the “Invisible Speaker”, and although it is not totally invisible, it is very unobtrusive for sure. Besides that, it has great sound! I have one of these and among the many uses I use it for, we use it for a sound bar on our living room TV. I thought we had great sound from the TV until we added this. It is amazing how much better it is and, it is in front of the TV, not centered mind you but you don’t even notice it while watching TV.

This is a Bluetooth speaker so you can pair your devices with it, and it also has audio jack so you can do things like connect a non-Bluetooth device to it also. The controls are on the side as shown in the following picture;

Clio2 31215

It might be hard to see in the picture, but on the left are the volume up and down buttons and on the right top is the mute and below it is the Bluetooth button.

We got one of these as soon as they came out and it has been the most versatile speaker we have. I have mentioned how we have used it as a sound bar before in this post. We have used it in various rooms and even outside on the patio. Although you can crank it pretty loud with no real noticeable distortion, we tend to use it as background sound when it isn’t connected to the TV.

Pros –  Size and quality of sound. Also the fact that you really don’t notice it unless you look for it.

Cons – Wish it had  a remote so that we could control the variations in sound between shows and the like without getting up and adjusting it.