Foundation, French Drain, and the First Bags! We’re making steady progress on the earthbag house! Here’s what we’ve been up to: On the afternoon of August 13th, after we had finished filling the last of the trenches, Keith rented a mini excavator to dig the foundation and the cistern/utility room, which will be set lower…
On Saturday morning, July 26, I sluggishly opened my eyes in a cute AirBnB bedroom in North Carolina. It had been a short night–we arrived at 1 a.m. after 16 hours on the road, where I got to see some parts of the country (such as St. Louis) for the first time ever. The previous weekend…
In the Trenches Before we can raise the walls, we must dig the trenches for the power and water that will feed the house. That was the focus last week. Keith picked up a trencher from Home Depot’s rental center in the late afternoon on Thursday, July 10th and unloaded it from its little trailer. …
Earthbag House Project – The Beginning Greetings from the American Heartland–the home of my husband’s family, and our home base between the numerous travels we make throughout the country and around the world. We are in Eastern Kansas and about to begin the biggest personal project either of us has undertaken–building a house for Keith’s…
Wyoming One of the more interesting aspects of our lives as nomads is seeing where Keith’s work as an electrician will take us next. There are jobs all over the country and in the past 3 years since our wedding we have lived in Colorado, Louisiana/Arkansas (job was in southern Arkansas, but we started out…
Growing up in Mexico, we used to ride the bus a lot. The bus service got really nice in Mexico around 1990. You could still ride the chicken bus on the lowest price tier, but a first class bus didn’t cost much more and it was a really nice ride. Some even came with complimentary tea…
Nestled below the steep mountains of Southern Ecuador, a winding one-hour bus ride south of Loja, lies Vilcabamba, in the Sacred Valley of Longevity–that place made famous for its high percentage of centenarians (people over 100 years old). Researchers eventually found that this was a myth–Vilcabamba doesn’t actually have a higher percentage of centenarians–but overall…
James Michener famously said, “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” We loved living in Ecuador and highly recommend it to people who love the Spanish language (or are interested in learning) and love other cultures–particularly Latin American culture. Ecuador has so…
Wednesday morning, Feb. 12, we took the city bus to the bus station and bought tickets to Zamora for $2.50 each. No matter which direction you go from Loja, there is a steep climb out of the valley and usually a long descent on the other side, all on winding roads. This road drops into…
After several days of mostly cooler/wetter weather in Loja (it is rainy season, after all), I felt like getting out of town and heading for some warmth and sun. Malacatos is a $1 bus ride away, in a valley between Loja and Vilcabamba. So on Monday morning we walked out to the bus stop (2…
A few mornings ago I felt the itch to get out of Loja for a bit and do something different. “Let’s catch a bus to Vilcabamba,” I suggested to Keith. We threw a change of clothes into our daypacks and walked the 2 blocks to wait for the bus. Buses travel between Vilcabamba and Loja…
I love parks! Green spaces bring a bit of nature into the concrete jungle of the city, encourage people to enjoy the outdoors and exercise more, and provide a lovely place for friends and family to socialize in wholesome ways. As a traveler, parks are among the first things I seek out in a new…