Help Me Support Literacy in Bolivia
For those of you who’ve followed this adventure for a while understand that everything I do has a purpose. The “missions” I set out on are organized to learn about specific aspects of a country and it’s culture. Tourist 2 Townie began in Argentina with learning Spanish and finding a local job and then moved […]
Life in Lima: Erotic Art, Pisco Sours & Dead Bodies
As the 5th largest city in South America you’d think Lima would get a little more respect. Before arriving in Peru’s capital, all I heard was that Lima is a boring pass-through metropolis that you could experience in 4 days on your way to Machu Picchu. Not one to listen to other’s travel reviews, I […]
Volunteering at the Monkey Rescue Center in Puyo, Ecuador
The trip to Paseos Los Monos almost never happened. I was enjoying my time in Baños and questioned if the hour bus trip to Puyo for a typical, over-staged monkey photo was worth it. I was also a bit hesitant to see how tourists and staff interacted with the monkeys, seeing too much poor treatment […]
Tourist2Townie.com – 2 Years Deep
This past Saturday marked the 2 year anniversary of Tourist2Townie.com and my quest to travel deeper. On October 1st, 2009 I left everything comfortable in my life in search of something more. My dream was to become part of a foreign community, learn new skills, meet new people and experience new adventures. Now, as I […]
The Great American Road Trip* Results
View The Great American Road* Trip – 2011 in a larger map The last few months have been chaotic and wonderful. In mid-April I returned to New York from Medellin for a best friend’s wedding. After the festivities I decided to stay in the States to explore my own backyard between work and more weddings. […]
FOTO FRIDAY: My Office in Medellin
This photo is from the terrace of my new apartment in Envigado. Who said you can’t build an empire with a view? Check out more photos of Medellin, Colombia GarethMy name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for […]
The Best Business in Bogota
The streets of Bogota are lined with these walking telephone booths called “Minutos”. It’s a simple operation consisting of a resourceful entrepreneur connected to a plethora of basic cellular phones via chains or rope. People just walk up, grab a phone and have a chat. Once the call is finished the operator reels the phone […]
12 People Who Inspire Me To Keep Moving
“Okay that was fun… now what are you really going to do?” Since I’ve been home that’s the question I’m constantly faced with. Maybe not in those exact words but if you cut out the fat, that’s pretty much it. My friends and family definitely support what I’m doing, they get it to some extent,, […]
LET’S TALK MONEY – PART II
“Money isn’t everything, but not having it is.” It’s been almost 6-months since my last ‘money update’ so I figured I’d take some time today to organize my finances and explain how I have kept this dream alive for 9+ months with less than 5k in the original T2T bank account. If you missed the first Let’s Talk […]
How do I Balance this Life?
I’m sitting here writing this from the most beautiful hostel I’ve ever stayed in. I’m in Tilcara, Argentina (North of Salta) and staying at the Malka Hostel. The hostel sits on the edge of a hill overlooking the quiet traditional village that is Tilcara. The Malka Hostel is designed like a Spanish summer camp with cabins […]