Ghanan And Ivorian Lives Matter This chocolate flavored post is devoted to a decades-long crisis in West Africa: cocoa farming in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Few industries have so little regard for ethics and human rights. My fixation with the truth behind chocolate blossomed after I watched the Bitter Chocolate episode from Netflix’s Rotten docuseries. I can no longer hear… Read More
Hitchhiking Hope: The Best Day Ever To my absolute delight, the universe gave me an RV Family not long after I had begun standing on the side of the road. It was a big day. I was somewhere along the coast of Morocco, and airport bound. Marrakech was 264 kilometers inland. My wallet was down to a couple 20-dirham notes. Day… Read More
Morocco’s Hidden Ovens My nose was the first to notice furans, or Moroccan communal ovens. Wafts of warm bread drew me to these buildings, often hidden among the urban sprawl of mosques and residential riads. At the entrance of a furan there will likely be a stray cat or two, squatting and shrunken from the cold,… Read More
Hitchhiking Hope: In Pursuit Of Gigantic Stuffed Bread And The Sahara Desert They are so cute, standing in the arid grasslands at the frontier of the Sahara. Dromedary camels, I mean. It is said that in the South of Morocco, near Dakhla, in order to ask for the hand of a girl, you must gift her father a camel. And if the woman has been divorced, you… Read More
Some Summits Summed While I no longer travel around the United States for math competitions, I still love using arithmetic to depict my adventures. This brief post is meant to provide outdoor inspiration, and to spread awareness of random hikes and lifts from around the world. “Top of Europe” (3,454 m) Top of Vancouver, Canada… Read More
Why Workaway Has A Permanent Role In My Life Story Workaway is an organization allowing travelers to choose from 26,000 active work exchanges from more than 155 countries around the world. This is the perfect tool for volunteers to find hosts who need help, and vice versa. It is standard for students to pay companies to work and volunteer abroad as a safe way to experience a new cultures.… Read More
Kilimanjaro Killing Me Kicked my butt. Beat the crap out of me. Whatever you want to call it, apply it to this handful of days. In an effort to see the top of Africa, I have since felt I’ve come back from the dead. What You Need To Understand At this point, summiting Kili is very… Read More
Backpack Kenya My need for Africa drove me crazy. How can so many of us live our entire lives and not even skim the surface of such a vast piece of the world? While most visitors get in a private vehicle at the airport and beeline for safari lodges, keeping way out of the way of natives and African cities,… Read More
The Mara On A Budget Maasai Mara National Reserve With fees for parks and guides mercilessly piling up, it’s especially important to talk to other travelers and research ahead when it comes to safaris. Don’t waste your money at Nakuru. Here, you’re far out from urban development on the property of the indigenous Masai who are essentially the Kenyan versions… Read More
Homa Bay County I found myself plopped into the poor province of Nyanza, home to many peaceful villages nestled in the hillsides, but also some of the highest malaria rates in Kenya. Bordering Lake Victoria, Homa Bay offered me my best understanding of East African culture. Oyugis Bustling with motorcycle taxis and villagers selling mangoes and avocados (seriously, here there’s a constant supply of… Read More