WELCOME TO 2-2-2 TUESDAY
Here are 2 Cultural Highlights, 2 Quotes, and 2 Brief Stories for you to enjoy.
Inspired by Huaraz, Peru
2 Cultural Highlights
1.
Global UNO Competition:
Don’t let anyone fool you. A friendly game of cards is NOT just a game.
A few days ago, we sat down to a high stakes game of UNO with folks from Spain, Denmark, and France.
There were plenty of smiles and pleasantries, but the intensity always broke through in key moments. It’s hard to beat the entertaining smack talk that comes from a variety of foreigners with unique accents. So great is the joy when you emphatically play the draw four card on the French guy who skipped you the previous round.
As you can probably tell, we’re glad we brought the cards. It’s been a universal ice breaker where personalities come to light.
During our recent game, Farah brilliantly posed the following question to our group of new friends:
What are some of the most interesting traditions from your hometowns?
The Spanish girls from Catalonia chimed in first about Caga Tió. They described the common tradition of dressing up a wooden log like a man. During Christmas time, families feed scraps of food to the log they decorated, and then sing silly songs to it. Loudly. They then proceed to hit the log with sticks. Consequently, the log “poops candy” around Christmas time. Family bonding at its best? Amazing.
Then, the young Danish couple reminisced on Fastelavn and Slå katten af tønden. The tradition is similar to piñata with a twist. They knock the cat out of the barrel in order to beat out the evil in preparation for Lent and Easter. Back in the day, the Danes would use an actual cat in a barrel. Yikes. These days, the wooden barrel is filled with candy. Take a deep breath, PETA.
In summary, UNO has helped us approach one of our primary goals this year: To connect with others from around the world. To indirectly build global unity. To learn about other approaches to life. To learn about ourselves by adding perspective.
UNO for the win.
2.
What Is A Colectivo?
In short, it’s the most interesting ride-share program we have witnessed on this trip.
If you find yourself in Central or South America, it’s worth hopping on a colectivo for a true taste of the culture.
In essence, it’s a way to get from point A to point B while sharing the cost with numerous individuals traveling along the same route. Passengers rapidly hop on and off of an old beat up van. Ultimately, each customer pays a fraction of the cost compared to that of a taxi or direct shuttle service.
But the magic is in the bizarre two-man operation running the show: There’s a driver and the recruiter.
The driver is often honking, swerving, yelling and laughing all within a matter of ten second window. At the same time, the promoter hangs outside the moving vehicle while shouting the name of the route in order to drum up business. The van will stop on a dime to pick up any and all passengers.
During the commute, the life inside the van is wide ranging.
As an observer, you may see:
- Locals and travelers figuring out how to interact. You are sure to be entertained by both smiles of mutual respect and awkward misunderstandings due to language barriers and differences in cultural norms.
- Wrinkled elderly women dressed in colorful traditional dresses heading to the market to sell produce.
- A teenage boy wearing cleats on his way to soccer practice
- Mothers breastfeeding newborn babies
- Exhausted international travelers with massive backpacks hanging over the frontside and backside of their shoulders
Thank you Colectivos. It’s been a great ride.
2 Quotes to Consider
- “When one door closes another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
– Alexander Graham Bell - “If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.”
-Paulo Coehlo
2 brief stories
1.
The Only Constant In Life Is Change.
Imagine it’s the night before a big trip or event you’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. You’ve got the excited nerves that accompany anticipation. Then, you find out at the last minute that your trip has been cancelled. Has that ever happened to you?
This was our recent reality after booking a four day Santa Cruz trek. We were set to explore the mountains and glaciers near Huaraz, Peru. For reference, the Peruvian treks in this region are considered world class. Rated up there on the same playing level of as Patagonia.
Needless to say, we were full of the excited, nervous energy that comes the night before leaving on an adventure into the raw, deep wilderness where the night sky is truly full of stars.
As scheduled, we woke up at 4am to wait for our shuttle. We waited. And waited. And at around 5:30a we learned our trek was cancelled. We were told the trek would depart the next day instead. Frustrated, we felt the let down.
“Oh, well. There’s nothing we can do,” we thought. We shrugged it off, reserved another night of lodging, bought more food for the next twenty-four hours, and went back to bed.
The trek was pushed back one day. Again, we set our alarms for 4am. Again, they cancelled the trek last second, and pushed it to the next day.
This time, the news felt heavier. We realized we wouldn’t have time to complete the trek in four days since due to conflicting concrete travel plans. The agency explained we could complete the trek in three days if we were willing to more than double the distance of the final day. They also agreed to arrange our transportation back to the hostel after completion of the trek. We reluctantly agreed and tried to go back to sleep after reserving another night.
During those two “off days”, we found alternative beautiful hikes and felt fortunate to have the unexpected opportunities to see additional glacier lagoons.
On the next day, the third time was the charm as they say. Our transportation for the trekking adventure showed up early. Wahoo! Over the next few days, we enjoyed challenging climbs, incredible weather and breathtaking views.
On the last day of the trek, we completed over sixteen miles. We felt equal parts satisfied and exhausted. We were really looking forward to a chill ride back to our hostel for a celebratory meal.
Then, we faced another huge curveball.
The transportation back to the hostel was not arranged by the tour agency. To make matters worse, there was no cell coverage. After discussing the situation with locals, we learned the only option was to take a colectivo to a larger village, and then find a connecting colectivo back to Huaraz. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough cash to pay for two colectivos.
We decided to go ahead and pay for the first colectivo hoping that we’d figure something out once we arrived in the bigger village. While we were in the van, I found a $20 bill in my bag hidden for emergencies. Hurray for a small victory. If we could find a bank, I could exchange USD into Peruvian Soles.
Luck struck again as we found a bank in the small town of Caraz. However, as I presented my $20, the teller noticed the tiniest of rips (approximately 1mm), and refused to exchange it for Soles. Feeling frustrated that she would not change her mind, I started to walk to the exit. I didn’t get far, because the next man in line stopped me. He offered to exchange the bill after overhearing the situation! We gratefully accepted.
We walked out of the bank, at which time Farah developed severe foot pain out of nowhere. We needed to walk another half mile or so to the next colectivo. As we walked/limped along, we both started laughing at all the twists and turns of the day and week.
What a roller coaster. Life is a grand adventure.
Looking back on the experience, I realize how fortunate I am to have Farah as my wife and wingwoman. Each time life takes an unexpected turn, we’ve been able to limit the time and energy spent on the uncontrollable, and focus on the next opportunity in order to make the best available decision. Great cross training for the inevitable surprises we will face throughout life.
We’ve had a motto this trip that has served us well. “Todo es posible. Nada es seguro”. This roughly translates to “Everything is possible. Nothing is certain.
2.
Santa Cruz trek:
After feeling the loss of many unexpected cancellations, we gained unexpected friends in our trekking group. Such quality friendships may or may not have formed had we started our trek on the first day we planned. I’m not saying it was meant to be…but maybe it was meant to be.
As we hiked, I was able to pick the brains of two new friends who recently completed graduate programs in their countries.
- Ethan, a new French friend, is on the path to nuclear engineer. He holds a unique perspective and enthusiasm for developing energy solutions around the world.
- Elias, a new Danish friend, recently completed studying architecture with a focus on “smart spaces.” He talked about the interesting opportunities to optimize space in both commercial and residential structures.
On the second day of our trek, we jumped into freezing glacier water runoff. Interestingly, our cold plunge revealed that both of us had brands (burn marks) over our deltoids stemming back to our teenage years. “Burn brothers” and cold plungers. My Danish counterpart. Such similar experiences in youth despite living on opposite ends of this planet.
As a group, we laughed a lot as we explored pristine nature, popped popcorn, played UNO, and took turns toppling over while trying yoga moves.
It’s hard to know where and when unique opportunities and friends will show up after cancellations occur.
Thanks for tuning in to 2-2-2 Tuesday!
If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions, we’d love to hear from you. Have a wonderful week!
– Zack and Farah
I LOVE LOVE LOVE these posts! LOVE your descriptions of all your adventures! AND I LOVE all the pix especially! I’d be so grateful if you added a few words under the pix to tell where they were taken – is that possible???
Hugs to both of you! Enjoy your time in Europe! 🤗