December 15, 2024 • 46 mins
Kat Medina, takes us on an unforgettable journey through her life-altering experiences in Ecuador and other parts of South America. A spontaneous move to Loja during the 2009 recession led her to co-found a web design company that fuels her passion for travel and writing.
Discover the secrets of budget travel as Kat shares her insights on exploring South America affordably. From thrilling micro-bus rides to the cultural warmth of Colombian and Chilean towns, she paints a vibrant picture of life lived in the embrace of local communities. The picturesque towns of Malacatos and Vilcabamba come alive through Kat's vivid storytelling, highlighting the natural beauty and longevity that define these unique locales. Her tales reveal how immersing oneself in a local lifestyle can lead to profound cultural insights without breaking the bank.
Ecuador's rich ecosystems and cultural tapestry unfold as Kat guides us through diverse landscapes filled with natural wonders and burgeoning infrastructure. From the birdwatcher's paradise of Parque Nacional Por el Carpus to the heart-pounding taxi rides through the Andes, she captures the essence of Ecuador's evolving charm. Our exploration also embraces the country's culinary delights and cultural traditions, where local flavors like umitas and empanadas de viento tantalize the taste buds, and the vibrant music scene pulses with reggaeton and Quechua folk rhythms. Whether you're drawn to the thrill of adventure or the allure of Ecuador's laid-back lifestyle, Kat's experiences promise to inspire your next travel escapade.
Map of Ecuador
Kat's Book: The Joys of Jet Lag: How to Use a Traveler’s Mindset to Not be an A-Hole in Daily Life
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Hosts
Carol Springer: https://www.instagram.com/carol.work.life
Kristen: https://www.instagram.com/team_wake/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
Thanks for joining us.
Today.
We have Kat Medina, who is aavid traveler and so excited to
(00:39):
hear about your story, and we'regoing to focus specifically, I
believe, on Ecuador today.
But let's learn a little bitabout you first.
We were just chatting beforethat you're in Lake Tahoe and
you love it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, it's the best.
I wanted to move here for aslong as I can remember, and then
about five years ago, myhusband and I decided to
actually go for it, and Ihaven't regretted it at all.
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh beautiful.
How far are we from the lake?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
About 10 minutes.
So we're in South Lake Tahoeand it's nice because there's
plenty of nature and we're kindof on the outskirts so we can
avoid the crowds and still enjoyall the trails and the lake and
nature.
But there's also event centersand casinos where they have
bands and comics and things likethat.
(01:29):
So you still feel like you'reconnected to stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Love it.
I visited more North Lake Tahoerecently than South Lake Tahoe,
but it's all Tahoe and I justdid a backpacking trip through
Desolation Wilderness.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
That's beautiful, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
So tell me about the Ecuador adventures.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, so I lived there several years ago and then
have visited a handful of timessince.
It just holds a special placein my heart.
It just holds a special placein my heart.
(02:26):
So I moved there in 2012 andlived there for several months.
I ended up renting a room froma local family in a small city
called Loja, which is in theAndes, in the mountains, similar
elevation to Tahoe.
Actually, since living there,I've gone back to visit, mostly
to visit that family, but whileI was there, I traveled quite a
bit throughout Ecuador, went tothe Galapagos and other parts of
South America, and it was justan incredible experience,
because Loja typically isn'tlike a place that you go as a
tourist and it's not a superpopular expat location, but I
(02:50):
think it's starting to be, andmostly because people think that
there's not a lot of Englishspoken and when I was there
there was not, which was perfectbecause I wanted to really do
like an immersive experience andforce myself to learn Spanish.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Oh nice, love it.
Okay, and how did you pick thattown If, like, it wasn't very
popular?
Did you have a friend orsomeone?
Just did some research?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It was pretty random.
So, basically, I graduatedcollege in 2009,.
Part of the recession,basically, I graduated college
in 2009,.
Part of the recession hadgotten a job at a solar company
and they unfortunately wentunder.
So I started waitressing andwas commiserating with two
friends and my then boyfriend,now husband, about how
(03:39):
differently the workforce wasthan we had expected.
You know, we all had degrees.
None of us had good jobs and wewere just like this is
different than we were preparingfor and we decided like let's
just create our own.
So we started a web design anddevelopment company.
My husband was the only one whokind of studied that in that,
(04:00):
those skills, but you know thoseskills.
But it's so easy to learn newskills online for free,
especially coding.
So we taught ourselves what weneeded to know.
After we started the business, Iwas just like I'm not super
(04:22):
passionate about web design, butit's my means to my passion,
which is travel and writing.
It allows me to do it anywhere.
So after the business was a bitestablished, south America is
one of those spots that hasalways kind of called on my
heart.
I feel like every single personhas at least one spot in the
world where they've always feltdrawn to visit and explore and
(04:42):
South America.
For me from the time I was alittle girl it just felt like I
must go there.
So I was thinking what bettertime than now?
I didn't have a mortgage, Ididn't have any pets, I really
wanted a golden retriever.
I now have that, but married,no kids, and luckily my
(05:04):
boyfriend's super supportive ofme, following my passions to
travel, so he was veryencouraging of me.
But I was kind of chatting withmy aunt and I was like I really
want to go and explore SouthAmerica, learn Spanish while I
can, while I have this freedomand flexibility, and I was
(05:27):
leaning towards somewhere kindof possibly Colombia or Ecuador,
because you know all thesedifferent countries and even
within each country there'sdifferent dialects and accents
of Spanish and from what I hadresearched, ecuador and Colombia
have a very neutral accent andso it's like a really
(05:49):
well-rounded Spanish.
That's a great baseline,without too much style added to
it.
You know, complicated tounderstand.
And I was chatting with my auntand she's like hey, I actually
I work with someone who'soriginally from Ecuador and they
have a cousin who lives there.
I think I was like okay, and soI got in contact with the
(06:14):
cousin who happened to be theDean of a university in Loja and
we communicated through emailusing Google translate.
Oh my gosh, it was like if youget here, I can create some sort
of internship, like unpaidinternship, so that you just
kind of have some structure andyou can kind of teach.
There's not really Spanishlanguage schools here, it's not
(06:38):
that kind of destination, butit's a great place to learn
because you're kind of forcedinto it.
And I had studied Spanish inschool so I had some foundations
in grammar, but I really wantedto get to that conversational
fluency that comes fromimmersion and just really just
dropping yourself intoconversation.
(06:59):
So once I had that oneconnection I was like all right,
let's do it, and went for it.
How?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
long did it take you to be conversational?
So there's different degrees,like where one you're like, oh,
I can actually say somethingother than like I want that
piece of bread or something,that you can actually have a
conversation.
And then did you eventually getfluent, where then now you can
write and think in Spanish?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, how long did that take?
First off, I did study Spanishin school, but it's kind of like
basic stuff where you get intoa conversation you may sound too
formal or you just aren'treally speaking it the right way
, or it's easier to hear than tospeak.
Yes, and so I studied abroad inSpain for a year in college.
(07:49):
It was in Barcelona.
Everyone spoke English, so itwas challenging to learn, even
for a full year, and alsoCatalan is like the primary
language in that area of Spain.
So, being there a year, Iactually learned more Spanish
and better Spanish just in thehandful of months in Ecuador and
(08:12):
I think that it took.
You know, it was a gradualprocess and then one day it just
was kind of like wow, like I'mactually doing this.
So it's like a gradual shift andthen a click of like I'm
dreaming in Spanish.
And every trip that I go on, Ibring a journal and maintain a
journal every single day and Itry to write in the language as
(08:36):
I'm learning it fill in theblank of once I know a word,
then I'll use that in my journal, and so you can kind of see the
progress of just a sprinklingof words to then, on the flip
side, primarily in Spanish withjust a sprinkling of English.
So I had to take a couple ofmonths and then from Ecuador I
(08:56):
moved to Argentina and did likelessons with a girl who became a
great friend to kind of getmore of the grammar in place
that I was missing from justbeing dumped into a Spanish
speaking lifestyle.
So it took a couple months butit was so beneficial, especially
(09:17):
seeing the years of more formaleducation it just wasn't making
it click.
I really needed that immersiveexperience for me to get to
where I wanted to be.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
How many years did you take of Spanish?
I think I took two.
Okay, like in high school, kindof the normal yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So in high school I also studied abroad in France.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Did you take French and then study French?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, I signed up for this program called AFS and
filled out the application andgot accepted to go to Australia.
But like two months before Iwas supposed to leave they said
they had a shortage of families.
So it kind of dumped me on theFrance track and I was like,
okay, well, I'll take it twomonths before I go and just see
how it is, months before I goand just see how it is.
(10:03):
And so I basically left to go.
Go to a French high school,knowing how to sing songs and
count to 10.
Like I I had nothing but onestory, with the journaling and
filling in as I went that theretoo, and so that journal is like
towards the end, finally likemostly French.
(10:25):
But since returning and goingto college, french is a language
only Spanish.
So I switched gears and startedtaking Spanish, and if you
don't use it, you lose it.
I cannot read my journal fromFrance, I just forgot it.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That's great.
You'll have to.
Actually, I love GoogleTranslate.
It was in South Korea and wejust'd put our phone up to read
it, so maybe you can put yourphone up to your notebook.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I don't know, like I kind of don't know if I want to
reread what 17 year old teenageIt'd be very interesting.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yes, absolutely.
How long did you stay inEcuador and then how long did
you stay in Argentina, and didyou go to other countries too?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yes and yes.
So in Ecuador, I was there forabout four months and then
Argentina about three months.
Okay, while I was in Ecuador, Iwas part of Ecuador, but I was
able to go and check out theGalapagos, which were incredible
, and then I also went toBolivia and Peru, and then in
(11:36):
Argentina, there, uruguay,paraguay, oh my goodness, you
did them all.
Kind of had my whole base andthen would pull off like weekend
trips or Peru and Bolivia.
I did like the.
It was a week or so, maybe 10days, where I was like stayed on
a boat on the Amazon and thenwe did Inca Trail to Machu
(12:00):
Picchu.
My friends and some family metup with me and we all did that
together.
Is that in Peru?
Yeah, and it was incredible.
Wow.
Machu Picchu my friends andsome family met up with me and
we all did that together.
Is that in Peru?
Yeah, and it was incredible.
Wow, it exceeded allexpectations.
But then in my return trips toSouth America I've checked out a
couple other countries.
Colombia finally made it thereand that was just amazing, wow.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And these like weekend trips that you had were
most of them.
You have to take planes becauseit's pretty far, or is there
some high speed trains that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
get you there.
At the time Back when I wasliving there, the roads were
pretty crazy and driving thereis not for the faint of heart.
So you could also take bigbuses or these little micro
(12:52):
buses that seated 10 people anddouble yellow lines on blind
turns, or just suggestions ofgoing when you feel like it.
It was a little crazy, but Isurvived it all.
But then flights also arepretty accessible and relatively
inexpensive as well.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And that was 2009 when you did that 2012.
2012.
Okay, got it.
And how long were you gone for?
Speaker 2 (13:19):
So over six months for that first trip, and then
I've been back a couple of timesEcuador trip, and then I've
been back a couple of timesEcuador, Colombia.
Most recently I went with myhusband and, at the time,
two-year-old son to Chile, andthat one was really amazing as
well.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Wow, that's fantastic .
And then did you have a budgetin mind and you were how old,
and you you know it was aftercollege, right, like so early
twenties or so.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I think it was like mid, mid, mid to late twenties
and I just kind of I had moneysaved up but I was very budget
conscious.
So it was an age and stage inmy life where it's like I
prioritized saving money andinexpensive costs over comfort.
(14:11):
So, like the flight out therefrom California, I think I had
like four layovers and it tookalmost two days to get there and
I was like that's fine.
Like a couple years ago or like, let's see, it was like two
years ago when I went to Chile.
I was like what's the leastamount of layovers I can do,
cause traveling with a toddleris no joke it, you know, even
(14:33):
with the budget and going outfor so many months.
I it was funny Cause so many ofmy friends were like how, how
can you afford to travel for solong and live there?
But I feel like the longeryou're in a place depending on
the place, of course the moremoney you save.
And I actually saved moneyliving there because I was
living in the Bay Area at thetime and when I was in Ecuador,
(14:58):
I think it was I did rent a roomfrom a family, so it's not like
I had a whole place to myself.
This is like pre-Airbnbinternational it used to like.
It was when Airbnb was reallybig, like in the U?
S, but hadn't extended toobscure locations like Loja, and
I think I only paid like $150 amonth to live with that family.
(15:20):
It was a nice spot and you knowpublic transportation was super
cheap.
I think you could take a busalmost anywhere in town for less
than 50 cents and they use theUS dollar there Like.
A cab was like $2 to get toalmost anywhere in the city.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It was so cheap just for a month in 2002, and I had
$2,000 to spend or that was mybudget and I included the whole
thing, including airfare, allthe hotels, all the food, all
the transports, all the flights$2,000 one month, flights too
(15:59):
Wow, it was pretty impressive.
It's amazing how inexpensive itcan be.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah, Ithink it's more expensive now.
I've heard.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I've heard that too about Costa Rica.
You know different places.
They get more popular or likestart to shift to be more
tourist focused, so the priceincreases.
What's cool is that going thereand meeting different friends
(16:49):
and the family that I lived withit was really nice of the price
and you get what feels to be amore authentic experience.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And that leads me right into my next question,
which was that exact that's whywe started this podcast in the
first place was to get that kindof experience from someone
who's a local.
And so what?
Were there any specific placesin the town that you were, or
things that they did, ortraditions that really were
special for you?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So it was a really cool city where the main part of
it either side was lined by tworivers and one of the spots
that the family would go toregularly it was called
Malacatos and it was like 30minutes outside of town.
And there's also Vilcabamba,which is a bit more known.
(17:35):
There's a bigger expatcommunity.
It's also like part of the bluezone, so you have like a high
percentage of people that areliving to 100.
People that are living to 100.
Both those cities are prettydarn close to Loca, which has
normal grocery stores, bigopen-air market, and then these
two little towns are muchsmaller and in beautiful nature
(17:57):
mountains, rivers, green rollinghills, stunning and the family
I lived with would go toMalacatos they had a house there
pretty much every weekend.
The other cool thing about thatarea is there's a huge national
park called Parque Nacional Porel Carpus, but it has incredibly
(18:20):
diverse ecosystems and thatparticular area.
You have the northern Andes,the southern Andes, like Amazon
and Pacific, and so you havejust a super high concentration
(18:42):
of animals florauna, birds, likeit's ecuador's, like especially
that area is very well knownamong birders, which I'm not a
bird nerd, but with severalpeople, like if I randomly did
see tourists, which in loja atthe time I, I think I saw like
two like, but that's starting toshift and it's just really well
(19:09):
known for all these differentflowers and birds and orchids
especially that's what I wasgoing to say Like being in Tahoe
was this kind of like.
You were just in Tahoe butsounds nothing like it because
the vegetation is so differentand the animals, yeah, so it was
kind of wild because you hadlike mountains, rivers, but also
kind of like tropical jungle.
(19:31):
That country has it all, Likethe whole coastline surfing
beach, that kind of climate.
Then there's more jungle andcold mountains, high elevation.
It's got it all.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Is there snow on some of the?
Because one of my clients andwe interviewed him and he's from
Ecuador and I just happened tonotice because on his LinkedIn
page his back banner was him onthe top of it and I was like, oh
, is that Everest?
And he's like, no, I think itwas Ecuador, right, and it
appeared so high over 14.
(20:05):
So they come to Ecuador totrain to climb Mount Everest.
But I wondered I can't rememberif I asked him if the snow is
it on the mountain all yearround or is it just seasonal?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
You know, I'm not sure where I was living.
It's kind of crazy becausesince it is similar elevation to
Tahoe, like around 6,000 feet,we get tons of snow here during
winter, but when I was there,which was starting in January,
there wasn't any snow.
It's in this really specialmicroclimate where it's like
(20:39):
year-round spring temperatures.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Oh, nice.
Well, yeah, because the acresare so close to the equator.
That's probably why yeah, Idon't know but it's never that
far away from the sun.
Very, it's very comfortablelike nice.
So if that that town, so whatis the temperatures in the town
like when you?
What time of year were youthere?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
uh, I was there starting in january up until
late spring and I the whole time.
It was like around 70.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So, like the Bay Area , oh, that sounds nice.
And there are certain likebeaches, that you would like to
go to that you know aren't astouristy that the locals go.
That were, you know, semi closeto where you were.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
The beaches were several hour drive.
I went a couple of times and Idrove with friends and that was
an adventure in itself, but ittook like eight to 10 hours
because at that time and thismight have changed, but I don't
think so, I think it's still thesame the roads through the
(21:45):
Andes there were always so manyrock slides and mud slides, it'd
just be like closures and thenyou'd be like, well, there's not
many other ways to go.
It felt a little bit likeroulette with your life, oh wow.
That's crazy, some giantboulders would just land in the
(22:09):
road and you'd dodge them orhopefully you didn't get hit by
them and it was just kind ofcrazy and hope for the best.
And so driving took a whilebecause you never knew what you
were going to get.
But you could always fly to thecoast and then couple hours.
But me, I was more interestedin exploring the mountain area,
(22:31):
just because growing up I Ialways lived pretty, I was lucky
I lived pretty close to thecoast, so it was a, you know, a
short drive to from santa rosa,where I was raised, to bodega
bay, like an hour if that.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yeah, yeah, no boulders falling in the street
here, yeah, but more drive, soloha.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Then had an airport that flew you right into that,
okay yeah, it was like 45minutes out of town and since
from the first trip to thesecond, they redid the airport,
um, so it's actually very nice.
And uh, I remember like when Ifirst showed up I just I didn't
really know what to expectbecause it was like hard to
(23:16):
google stuff, like it wasn't onloco, wasn't on google maps yet,
and so, you know it, the hotelsand stuff didn't show up on
trip advisor, and so it was likethat kind of crossover time
period in travel where you knowit's like you couldn't do a ton
of research, you just had toreally just go and hope for the
(23:38):
best and get there and see whatyou found.
And there wasn't, since it wasoff the beaten path.
At that time I just knew like,okay, I'm going to fly into Loja
Airport.
I'm assuming there's going tobe taxis that'll take me into
town.
It's like a 45 minute drive, andso you couldn't free book taxis
(23:59):
.
So there was no Uber at thetime and I showed up and I saw a
taxi driver and I said likelet's just go to downtown loco
and find a little hotel, and, um, so he puts my stuff in the
back of the truck and like arolly suitcase and a backpack,
(24:19):
and he had me sit down and thengot back out and we didn't leave
until the whole taxi was fullof people and and this is
different I haven't like in mytravels I'd mostly traveled
throughout Europe at that time.
When you in, like the US, yougenerally have the taxi to
yourself, and so I was likecrammed in the middle with a
bunch of random people blastingthrough these like windy roads
(24:44):
with sheer drop-offs and noguardrails and dodging boulders
and passing cars, and I was likewhat did I do?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Wow, I'm sure you didn't want to know that.
And what's the safety?
Like, well, I mean, there waslike you didn't know what, how
safe it was going to be.
But now, like in hindsight,you're like, oh my gosh, it was
super safe.
Or like, wow, I was prettyliving dangerously.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Really, really safe and I went to a couple bigger
cities in Ecuador.
The capital and then to get tothe Galapagos starts with a G.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
At that time.
It was really, really unsafe inthat city and I was lucky that
the host family I lived with hada relative who lived there who
picked me up.
Let me stay the night therebefore the Galapagos boat.
I was like it's fine, it's fine.
It was really hard before Istarted for me to accept help
(25:49):
Because I felt like in the US USand this could just all be my
imagination but whenever peopleoffered help, I always felt like
they were keeping that in mindas like a tally and return the
favor.
It didn't feel like just puregenerosity, and in South America
it is pure generosity.
I had to learn to accept helpand know that it was a gift for
(26:10):
them to give and vice versa.
If I offered help, it does feelreally good when people accept
it.
So I did and they were likethere's express kidnappings.
That was very popular in thoseyears, those years, especially
(26:30):
in Guayaquil, a little bit inQuito, and I like basically
you'd get picked up in a faketaxi or even a real one, and
then they'd hold you as a kidnapsituation for about 24 hours to
take you to different ATMsaround the city I've heard about
that in Mexico and letting youout.
And so they were.
They insisted that I tookadvantage of the relative living
there.
That city not safe at the time,super safe, incredibly safe but
(26:54):
you had to keep your wits aboutyou.
Like obvious things Don't don'tflash jewelry, don't flash your
phone, like it isn't expensivethere, which also means that
people's income is not that much, and so if you're walking
around with a thousand dollarphone, that can be tempting to
someone in need, so you justhave to be smart.
(27:16):
In Loca, I never had a scaryexperience.
I just had people who werecurious and helpful nice.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Wow, very good.
What kind of food was there?
Was it like rice and beans, orchicken, one of my favorite
questions.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Like it, it's good and it's it's funny because you
don't hear a lot aboutecuadorian cuisine, but it is
good, probably one of myfavorite favorites traditional
and wet dishes and like yeahyeah, is that, papusas, is that?
Ecuadorian.
They have those, but I thinkthat's more El Salvador.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I'm pretty sure Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
But they very inexpensive.
The main meal of the day thereis lunch.
You know how in the US it'stypically dinner.
There was lunch, and so all ofthese little restaurants would
have almuerzos, like the menu ofthe day, and it'd be about
$2.50.
(28:13):
And in going back over the pastcouple of years, the prices
remained the same always underfive bucks, and you would get a
fresh squeezed juice which thejuice there is outstanding, like
so good, and soup, and thenlike the main, which would be
some sort of protein chicken,pork, beef, maybe fish with a
(28:35):
starch like rice potatoes, yuccaplantains, and then a little
dessert $2.50.
Oh my.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
God sign me up.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
I know, like really flavorful.
They have different specialties, like surprisingly like Ecuador
has like one of their maincuisines is soup, soup and stews
and they are so good, so manydifferent types of soup and
stews that are just so flavorfuland hearty.
(29:05):
Empanadas are delicious.
Let's see batidos, which arekind of like milkshakes and are
made usually with differenttropical fruits guava, pineapple
, papaya Really really tasty.
I think what people mostly hearof Ecuadorian cuisine is maybe
the ceviche, which is reallygood.
(29:26):
There's a rivalry with Peruover who has the best one, and I
love food competitions betweencountries.
I'll gladly be the judge.
Both are great, you both win,yay.
But a lot of people hear aboutCuy, which is roasted guinea pig
on a spit.
It was described to me bysomeone like it's kind of like
(29:49):
oily and crispy and I was likeooh, oily.
I just remember in preschoolthere was a pair of guinea pigs
there and they were so cute andnice and I tried it not for me,
but I tried it.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Is it gamey or?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
tough.
It tasted just kind of likegreasy fried stuff, the one that
I.
I didn't enjoy it, though thestick through it, and so you see
it like in its prime form.
It's not like a chicken nuggetwhere you can't even recognize
the animal.
You could recognize the animal.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Oh well, I remember I was in Costa Rica and it was
towards the end and I was goingto this like kind of end nice
dinner and I was sitting down, Iordered fish and he came behind
me with a plate and just put itover and put it down on and I
jumped because it was a fish andit was an actual fish, with
just a little bit on the sidethe scales removed so I could
(30:47):
eat it, but everything else wasintact and I'd never experienced
that Like I see the fish, thewhole fish, a little surprising.
So you've stayed.
I have the map up.
You stayed in the very southernpart, potocarpus like
P-O-D-O-C-A-R-P-U-S.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
It's pretty close to Peru.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
It looks amazing and you've got so much with not only
the inland part but the wholecountry is on the ocean.
I know we mentioned, but Idon't know if there were any
beaches that people highlightedor that you knew of that people
recommended going to or so manydifferent spots.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Everyone had their different favorite when I was
there and I was kind of to Bahiade Caracas.
(31:55):
And then central is like theManta area, which is very
popular, like eveninternationally.
People go out there.
I see Manta Nita, is that it?
Yeah, so actually that's whereI had I did go there and that
was really nice.
So actually that's where I hadI did go there and that was
really nice.
Las Salinas and from Loca itwas, yeah, about eight to 10
hours driving or a couple hoursflying, but it is like a pretty
(32:19):
popular place to go to enjoy allthe things that the beach has
to offer and they're all prettynice and so if you go, back, kat
?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
where would you go?
Would you want to go back tothat place you stayed just
because it's in your heart?
Or you're like, oh my gosh, no,I've learned about all these
other places you still need toexplore.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
I'm going to say and both yeah, I'd love to go back
and and visit, just cause itseems like so many countries,
like in South America, they justchange so quickly.
So to meet up with friends andthe family that I rented the
room with like we still stay incontact so to visit them and
(33:02):
then also explore a little bit.
But uh, I didn't get a chanceto really explore north of Quito
, where Banos is, which is kindof on the radar for a lot of
international travelers.
It's like a very adventurouscity in the mountains.
(33:22):
I'm sure it's kind of becomeInstagram famous too.
I forget what it's called.
It's like this swing, that kindof seems like you're going off
the edge of the world, and soI'd love to go there and explore
, because they have a lot ofreally wonderful outdoor
activities available and it'sjust beautiful.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Do you say it was like Banho, kind of something
like that?
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Yeah, yeah.
It's no indication of what it'slike there okay, it's spelled
banyos.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Okay, e-a-n-y-o-s.
Okay, there you go.
All right, well, we are gettingclose to the end of our time.
Um, then go to the rapid firequestions by christmas or
anything that you know youwanted to get more.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Is there there any?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
tradition or something that they did Like?
Did they have regular schoolyears and then they take off?
And I know in Sweden they tookthe month of July off and
everyone would go to theirlittle islands.
Is there anything that they didor that stood out that you
really enjoyed?
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Don't recall about the school years, but I know
that they did have a chunk oftime off where they could travel
.
They had several holidays.
It's primarily a Catholiccountry, and so they had lots of
holidays celebrating differentsaints and that would usually
involve, you know, days off andsome sort of festivities and a
(34:46):
specialty soup to go with theoccasion.
They also at least in that town, nothing was open on Sundays.
Many places did do the wholeSpanish siesta thing midday, so
it was quiet.
And I came from a busier partof California where, like I,
(35:10):
also lived in San Jose rightbefore I moved there, which is
very fast paced and competitive,and so it was a nice change of
pace to live like they did for abit and just explore and enjoy
your environment Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Thanks for sharing.
This has been super, super funto see through your eyes.
Thank you, yeah, my pleasure.
Okay, so for rapid firequestions, would you have a
favorite meal, either that yourhost family made for you, or a
certain restaurant that you justlove to have?
It's very indicative to thelocal area.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, I'll say two food items, umitas, which are
kind of like they have a savoryand a sweet version and it's
kind of like a tamale, so it'swrapped in the leaves and
steamed, and they were so goodand you would have them, usually
(36:07):
with, like the sweet one, witha cup of coffee delicious.
The other thing I love that Ijust I haven't been able to find
anything that is similar, butit's something called empanadas
de viento and they're thesefried cheese empanadas but they
feel so light.
And the woman that I rented aroom from, she was a grandmother
(36:31):
, empty nest and she made thebest ones.
I tried them everywhere.
She made by far the best ones.
And when I lived there I waslike, please, can you teach me
how to make these so I can bringthem home.
And it was just so funny because, like I had my journal and my
notes, like okay, ready to go,and it was just like, oh, if you
(36:55):
feel like this, you can addthis, and just a little like a
pinch of this, and I was like,oh, I am.
So I didn't get it.
And so when I came back tovisit a couple of years later, I
went with my friend Amber andshe is a phenomenal cook and and
I was like Amber, let's, we'regoing to see if they'll teach us
how to make these and hopefullyyou can figure it out, cause it
(37:18):
was beyond me.
So we like went into it andthey're like sure we can make
the empanadas de viento.
And Amber and I, like I wasready with my notebook, like
let's do this.
And the grandma had her twodaughters there and they were
like all trying to make it inthe kitchen at the same time and
one daughter was like, did youadd the milk?
(37:38):
And she's like there is no milk.
And again, amber and I wedidn't get the recipe, but it
was.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
They were delicious we didn't get the recipe, but it
was.
They were delicious.
So I would love to take like atrip like that where you just
like cook the local food.
Oh yeah, you know, if, if you,you know, if you know you like
it ahead of time, of course,okay, empanada what?
Speaker 2 (37:59):
what was it called empanadas de viento?
So like wind, viento is wind,so they're so light and fluffy,
that's kind of, and they, whenthey fry, they fill up with air
a little bit, so that's whythey're called that, I think.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Oh, interesting, but there's cheese involved.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
you said yeah, there's a little bit of cheese,
oh, okay, and they, just when Iwas writing it down, they go
white cheese and I'm like, oh,of cheetah or something.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
I've never seen those meals.
Okay.
And what's a typical breakfastother than the fresh squeezed
juice?
Speaker 2 (38:32):
that is a part of it.
Coffee they uh you know, a lotof times it's like some oh, okay
, very good.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
And then, um what?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
is there any special music that you, that was common,
that you would hear, or is itum a lot of like, just different
types of latin music reggaeton,uh, salsa, cumbumbia, some like
Latin rock, and then in thatarea there was some indigenous
(39:13):
people.
Quechua is like big in Ecuadorand so kind of folk Quechua
music.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Okay.
And then the money.
So they take the dollar, but dothey use the dollar?
Do they have a peso of somesort?
Speaker 2 (39:29):
It's just the dollar.
I think they have, like some ofthe change may still be gosh, I
can't remember.
It's primarily the US dollar,like that's their official
currency.
Wow, that's so interesting.
Okay, and then where's theclosest place to surf?
I know it sounds like there's alot.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Anywhere along the coast's just a plenty.
Okay, yeah, there's so.
And it's what's the watertemperature there in the ocean?
Is it like it's probably warmerthan california, I would assume
yeah, I think a little bitwarmer I did.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
It felt cooler than hawaii, but warmer than
california, like northerncalifornia, if they take into
account like I was.
I was North Bay, which ischilly, chilly.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Right, Alrighty, and then tell us where people can
find you and follow you, becauseyou you do a lot of travel and
I also saw you speak when do youlike.
What kind of events do youspeak at?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Different, like wellness stuff.
So I'm actually I'm an author.
I wrote the joys of Jet Lag,how to Use the Traveler's
Mindset to Not Be an A-Hole inDaily Life.
So, talking about how you can,the talks I give are how you can
use a traveler's mindset tocreate more joy and awe, no
matter where you are.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Oh, I think I remember reading one of your
blogs or something.
Yeah, just well, kristen and Ihappen to also just live in very
beautiful places as you do.
You can have that like you'reyou know hiking and like, wow,
look at this.
Or you take the trail adifferent way, a different day
or at a different time of day,so you see the sunrise instead
of the sunset, or something.
So I love that, okay.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
So that's what you do full time.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Is that how you like?
Professionally?
That's how you make your living.
Is an author and writing books.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yes, that, and then also still the web design and
development.
Now it's just my husband and me.
We have our own business and wespecialize in water sports
companies.
Both he and I are avidwakeboarders as well, so those
two careers help fund travel,and the beauty of it is that as
(41:30):
long as I have the internet, Ican do it anywhere, so that's
what we try to take advantage of.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
So tell me Okay, I have to Sorry.
Sorry, carol, I do have to youdo?
Speaker 2 (41:40):
of course yes.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
So tell me more.
So, because I compete in wakesurfing, I host and I create an
event for all of California.
I'm actually going to competein worlds next Tuesday, the
whole week, unfortunately, oh,but I do a lot of that.
So you do wakeboarding, notwake surfing.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I do I know how to wake surf, but the wakeboarding
was what kind of drew my husbandand me together and, uh, we
both used to be sponsored byhyper light, the main lights, my
sponsor as well for um, yeah,yeah exactly.
You know now I'm kind of likelike a geriatric weekend warrior
(42:17):
in the sport.
I get out when I can and wejust and it's I.
I got some pretty severeinjuries from like multiple
concussions, so that's kind ofturning my interest more towards
wake surfing Amazing.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Wow, what a small world.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
I love that with, like, the water sports community
is so small.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
That's really cool how funny, yeah, and I'll ping
you afterwards, because myevent's in a couple of weeks and
I have a day where we just goride, and it's Thursday October
24th.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
During summertime we have a slip in our wake setter
on Fallen Leaf Lake, which is asmall Alpine Lake next to Tahoe
but pretty protected, and it'samazing place to get out there.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds awesome.
I will absolutely do.
It sounds incredible.
Yeah, and a Cali Comp Festivalis my event.
It's at Pouda Canyon in LakeBerryessa.
It's usually a one to two dayclinic, a two day competition.
I have all the food done.
I was just getting the menufrom the chef.
This morning we bring our V'sout.
We just have a.
(43:23):
It's like super fun, super lowkey.
It'll be a lot of fun.
So, yeah, a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Well, like another little side connection is my
husband and I.
During summers in college weboth worked at Lake Berryessa at
Rancho Monticello before oh,that's so weird.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
Now that I mentioned it, I'm like you do look
familiar, so I was there in 2017.
Were you there in 2017?
Speaker 2 (43:46):
I'm pretty sure I missed the last couple, but I
that might've been one of thelast ones and I that was like
the first time that I had had,uh, tried that stuff.
So I do, I was there that year.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
Oh, that's so funny.
I love that I can make thatconnection before, and thanks
for mentioning that.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
Most people when I say water sports companies, and
they're like which brands?
And I tell them and it's justlike a blank face and I'm like I
don't know, it's a difference.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
So, yeah, but I'm going to ping you afterwards for
sure.
Sorry, caroline.
Okay, well, thanks, kat, thatwas awesome.
What a great connection, okay,and then.
So your book is called the Joysof Jetlag and your website is
katmedinacom.
Your Instagram iskatmedinariter.
Can I get that right?
Yep, and then we'll put thosenotes in the show notes as well.
(44:36):
So, pam, I want to quicklyhyperlink your stuff.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
Perfect, have a great day, great to meet you All
right, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Thanks Bye.
All right, have a great day,thanks, thanks, bye, bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app, and
, if you have a minute, we wouldreally appreciate a review.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(45:04):
We're at Wear Next Podcast.
Thanks again.
Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with
Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol,and we're two long-term friends
with a passion for travel andadventure.
Each episode, we interviewpeople around the globe to help
us decide where to go next.
Thanks for joining us.
Today.
We have Kat Medina, who is aavid traveler and so excited to
(00:39):
hear about your story, and we'regoing to focus specifically, I
believe, on Ecuador today.
But let's learn a little bitabout you first.
We were just chatting beforethat you're in Lake Tahoe and
you love it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, it's the best.
I wanted to move here for aslong as I can remember, and then
about five years ago, myhusband and I decided to
actually go for it, and Ihaven't regretted it at all.
I just love it.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh beautiful.
How far are we from the lake?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
About 10 minutes.
So we're in South Lake Tahoeand it's nice because there's
plenty of nature and we're kindof on the outskirts so we can
avoid the crowds and still enjoyall the trails and the lake and
nature.
But there's also event centersand casinos where they have
bands and comics and things likethat.
(01:29):
So you still feel like you'reconnected to stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Love it.
I visited more North Lake Tahoerecently than South Lake Tahoe,
but it's all Tahoe and I justdid a backpacking trip through
Desolation Wilderness.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
That's beautiful, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
So tell me about the Ecuador adventures.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, so I lived there several years ago and then
have visited a handful of timessince.
It just holds a special placein my heart.
It just holds a special placein my heart.
(02:26):
So I moved there in 2012 andlived there for several months.
I ended up renting a room froma local family in a small city
called Loja, which is in theAndes, in the mountains, similar
elevation to Tahoe.
Actually, since living there,I've gone back to visit, mostly
to visit that family, but whileI was there, I traveled quite a
bit throughout Ecuador, went tothe Galapagos and other parts of
South America, and it was justan incredible experience,
because Loja typically isn'tlike a place that you go as a
tourist and it's not a superpopular expat location, but I
(02:50):
think it's starting to be, andmostly because people think that
there's not a lot of Englishspoken and when I was there
there was not, which was perfectbecause I wanted to really do
like an immersive experience andforce myself to learn Spanish.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Oh nice, love it.
Okay, and how did you pick thattown If, like, it wasn't very
popular?
Did you have a friend orsomeone?
Just did some research?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It was pretty random.
So, basically, I graduatedcollege in 2009,.
Part of the recession,basically, I graduated college
in 2009,.
Part of the recession hadgotten a job at a solar company
and they unfortunately wentunder.
So I started waitressing andwas commiserating with two
friends and my then boyfriend,now husband, about how
(03:39):
differently the workforce wasthan we had expected.
You know, we all had degrees.
None of us had good jobs and wewere just like this is
different than we were preparingfor and we decided like let's
just create our own.
So we started a web design anddevelopment company.
My husband was the only one whokind of studied that in that,
(04:00):
those skills, but you know thoseskills.
But it's so easy to learn newskills online for free,
especially coding.
So we taught ourselves what weneeded to know.
After we started the business, Iwas just like I'm not super
(04:22):
passionate about web design, butit's my means to my passion,
which is travel and writing.
It allows me to do it anywhere.
So after the business was a bitestablished, south America is
one of those spots that hasalways kind of called on my
heart.
I feel like every single personhas at least one spot in the
world where they've always feltdrawn to visit and explore and
(04:42):
South America.
For me from the time I was alittle girl it just felt like I
must go there.
So I was thinking what bettertime than now?
I didn't have a mortgage, Ididn't have any pets, I really
wanted a golden retriever.
I now have that, but married,no kids, and luckily my
(05:04):
boyfriend's super supportive ofme, following my passions to
travel, so he was veryencouraging of me.
But I was kind of chatting withmy aunt and I was like I really
want to go and explore SouthAmerica, learn Spanish while I
can, while I have this freedomand flexibility, and I was
(05:27):
leaning towards somewhere kindof possibly Colombia or Ecuador,
because you know all thesedifferent countries and even
within each country there'sdifferent dialects and accents
of Spanish and from what I hadresearched, ecuador and Colombia
have a very neutral accent andso it's like a really
(05:49):
well-rounded Spanish.
That's a great baseline,without too much style added to
it.
You know, complicated tounderstand.
And I was chatting with my auntand she's like hey, I actually
I work with someone who'soriginally from Ecuador and they
have a cousin who lives there.
I think I was like okay, and soI got in contact with the
(06:14):
cousin who happened to be theDean of a university in Loja and
we communicated through emailusing Google translate.
Oh my gosh, it was like if youget here, I can create some sort
of internship, like unpaidinternship, so that you just
kind of have some structure andyou can kind of teach.
There's not really Spanishlanguage schools here, it's not
(06:38):
that kind of destination, butit's a great place to learn
because you're kind of forcedinto it.
And I had studied Spanish inschool so I had some foundations
in grammar, but I really wantedto get to that conversational
fluency that comes fromimmersion and just really just
dropping yourself intoconversation.
(06:59):
So once I had that oneconnection I was like all right,
let's do it, and went for it.
How?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
long did it take you to be conversational?
So there's different degrees,like where one you're like, oh,
I can actually say somethingother than like I want that
piece of bread or something,that you can actually have a
conversation.
And then did you eventually getfluent, where then now you can
write and think in Spanish?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, how long did that take?
First off, I did study Spanishin school, but it's kind of like
basic stuff where you get intoa conversation you may sound too
formal or you just aren'treally speaking it the right way
, or it's easier to hear than tospeak.
Yes, and so I studied abroad inSpain for a year in college.
(07:49):
It was in Barcelona.
Everyone spoke English, so itwas challenging to learn, even
for a full year, and alsoCatalan is like the primary
language in that area of Spain.
So, being there a year, Iactually learned more Spanish
and better Spanish just in thehandful of months in Ecuador and
(08:12):
I think that it took.
You know, it was a gradualprocess and then one day it just
was kind of like wow, like I'mactually doing this.
So it's like a gradual shift andthen a click of like I'm
dreaming in Spanish.
And every trip that I go on, Ibring a journal and maintain a
journal every single day and Itry to write in the language as
(08:36):
I'm learning it fill in theblank of once I know a word,
then I'll use that in my journal, and so you can kind of see the
progress of just a sprinklingof words to then, on the flip
side, primarily in Spanish withjust a sprinkling of English.
So I had to take a couple ofmonths and then from Ecuador I
(08:56):
moved to Argentina and did likelessons with a girl who became a
great friend to kind of getmore of the grammar in place
that I was missing from justbeing dumped into a Spanish
speaking lifestyle.
So it took a couple months butit was so beneficial, especially
(09:17):
seeing the years of more formaleducation it just wasn't making
it click.
I really needed that immersiveexperience for me to get to
where I wanted to be.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
How many years did you take of Spanish?
I think I took two.
Okay, like in high school, kindof the normal yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So in high school I also studied abroad in France.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Did you take French and then study French?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, I signed up for this program called AFS and
filled out the application andgot accepted to go to Australia.
But like two months before Iwas supposed to leave they said
they had a shortage of families.
So it kind of dumped me on theFrance track and I was like,
okay, well, I'll take it twomonths before I go and just see
how it is, months before I goand just see how it is.
(10:03):
And so I basically left to go.
Go to a French high school,knowing how to sing songs and
count to 10.
Like I I had nothing but onestory, with the journaling and
filling in as I went that theretoo, and so that journal is like
towards the end, finally likemostly French.
(10:25):
But since returning and goingto college, french is a language
only Spanish.
So I switched gears and startedtaking Spanish, and if you
don't use it, you lose it.
I cannot read my journal fromFrance, I just forgot it.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That's great.
You'll have to.
Actually, I love GoogleTranslate.
It was in South Korea and wejust'd put our phone up to read
it, so maybe you can put yourphone up to your notebook.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I don't know, like I kind of don't know if I want to
reread what 17 year old teenageIt'd be very interesting.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yes, absolutely.
How long did you stay inEcuador and then how long did
you stay in Argentina, and didyou go to other countries too?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yes and yes.
So in Ecuador, I was there forabout four months and then
Argentina about three months.
Okay, while I was in Ecuador, Iwas part of Ecuador, but I was
able to go and check out theGalapagos, which were incredible
, and then I also went toBolivia and Peru, and then in
(11:36):
Argentina, there, uruguay,paraguay, oh my goodness, you
did them all.
Kind of had my whole base andthen would pull off like weekend
trips or Peru and Bolivia.
I did like the.
It was a week or so, maybe 10days, where I was like stayed on
a boat on the Amazon and thenwe did Inca Trail to Machu
(12:00):
Picchu.
My friends and some family metup with me and we all did that
together.
Is that in Peru?
Yeah, and it was incredible.
Wow.
Machu Picchu my friends andsome family met up with me and
we all did that together.
Is that in Peru?
Yeah, and it was incredible.
Wow, it exceeded allexpectations.
But then in my return trips toSouth America I've checked out a
couple other countries.
Colombia finally made it thereand that was just amazing, wow.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
And these like weekend trips that you had were
most of them.
You have to take planes becauseit's pretty far, or is there
some high speed trains that?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
get you there.
At the time Back when I wasliving there, the roads were
pretty crazy and driving thereis not for the faint of heart.
So you could also take bigbuses or these little micro
(12:52):
buses that seated 10 people anddouble yellow lines on blind
turns, or just suggestions ofgoing when you feel like it.
It was a little crazy, but Isurvived it all.
But then flights also arepretty accessible and relatively
inexpensive as well.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And that was 2009 when you did that 2012.
2012.
Okay, got it.
And how long were you gone for?
Speaker 2 (13:19):
So over six months for that first trip, and then
I've been back a couple of timesEcuador trip, and then I've
been back a couple of timesEcuador, Colombia.
Most recently I went with myhusband and, at the time,
two-year-old son to Chile, andthat one was really amazing as
well.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Wow, that's fantastic .
And then did you have a budgetin mind and you were how old,
and you you know it was aftercollege, right, like so early
twenties or so.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I think it was like mid, mid, mid to late twenties
and I just kind of I had moneysaved up but I was very budget
conscious.
So it was an age and stage inmy life where it's like I
prioritized saving money andinexpensive costs over comfort.
(14:11):
So, like the flight out therefrom California, I think I had
like four layovers and it tookalmost two days to get there and
I was like that's fine.
Like a couple years ago or like, let's see, it was like two
years ago when I went to Chile.
I was like what's the leastamount of layovers I can do,
cause traveling with a toddleris no joke it, you know, even
(14:33):
with the budget and going outfor so many months.
I it was funny Cause so many ofmy friends were like how, how
can you afford to travel for solong and live there?
But I feel like the longeryou're in a place depending on
the place, of course the moremoney you save.
And I actually saved moneyliving there because I was
living in the Bay Area at thetime and when I was in Ecuador,
(14:58):
I think it was I did rent a roomfrom a family, so it's not like
I had a whole place to myself.
This is like pre-Airbnbinternational it used to like.
It was when Airbnb was reallybig, like in the U?
S, but hadn't extended toobscure locations like Loja, and
I think I only paid like $150 amonth to live with that family.
(15:20):
It was a nice spot and you knowpublic transportation was super
cheap.
I think you could take a busalmost anywhere in town for less
than 50 cents and they use theUS dollar there Like.
A cab was like $2 to get toalmost anywhere in the city.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It was so cheap just for a month in 2002, and I had
$2,000 to spend or that was mybudget and I included the whole
thing, including airfare, allthe hotels, all the food, all
the transports, all the flights$2,000 one month, flights too
(15:59):
Wow, it was pretty impressive.
It's amazing how inexpensive itcan be.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah, Ithink it's more expensive now.
I've heard.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
I've heard that too about Costa Rica.
You know different places.
They get more popular or likestart to shift to be more
tourist focused, so the priceincreases.
What's cool is that going thereand meeting different friends
(16:49):
and the family that I lived withit was really nice of the price
and you get what feels to be amore authentic experience.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And that leads me right into my next question,
which was that exact that's whywe started this podcast in the
first place was to get that kindof experience from someone
who's a local.
And so what?
Were there any specific placesin the town that you were, or
things that they did, ortraditions that really were
special for you?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So it was a really cool city where the main part of
it either side was lined by tworivers and one of the spots
that the family would go toregularly it was called
Malacatos and it was like 30minutes outside of town.
And there's also Vilcabamba,which is a bit more known.
(17:35):
There's a bigger expatcommunity.
It's also like part of the bluezone, so you have like a high
percentage of people that areliving to 100.
People that are living to 100.
Both those cities are prettydarn close to Loca, which has
normal grocery stores, bigopen-air market, and then these
two little towns are muchsmaller and in beautiful nature
(17:57):
mountains, rivers, green rollinghills, stunning and the family
I lived with would go toMalacatos they had a house there
pretty much every weekend.
The other cool thing about thatarea is there's a huge national
park called Parque Nacional Porel Carpus, but it has incredibly
(18:20):
diverse ecosystems and thatparticular area.
You have the northern Andes,the southern Andes, like Amazon
and Pacific, and so you havejust a super high concentration
(18:42):
of animals florauna, birds, likeit's ecuador's, like especially
that area is very well knownamong birders, which I'm not a
bird nerd, but with severalpeople, like if I randomly did
see tourists, which in loja atthe time I, I think I saw like
two like, but that's starting toshift and it's just really well
(19:09):
known for all these differentflowers and birds and orchids
especially that's what I wasgoing to say Like being in Tahoe
was this kind of like.
You were just in Tahoe butsounds nothing like it because
the vegetation is so differentand the animals, yeah, so it was
kind of wild because you hadlike mountains, rivers, but also
kind of like tropical jungle.
(19:31):
That country has it all, Likethe whole coastline surfing
beach, that kind of climate.
Then there's more jungle andcold mountains, high elevation.
It's got it all.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Is there snow on some of the?
Because one of my clients andwe interviewed him and he's from
Ecuador and I just happened tonotice because on his LinkedIn
page his back banner was him onthe top of it and I was like, oh
, is that Everest?
And he's like, no, I think itwas Ecuador, right, and it
appeared so high over 14.
(20:05):
So they come to Ecuador totrain to climb Mount Everest.
But I wondered I can't rememberif I asked him if the snow is
it on the mountain all yearround or is it just seasonal?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
You know, I'm not sure where I was living.
It's kind of crazy becausesince it is similar elevation to
Tahoe, like around 6,000 feet,we get tons of snow here during
winter, but when I was there,which was starting in January,
there wasn't any snow.
It's in this really specialmicroclimate where it's like
(20:39):
year-round spring temperatures.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Oh, nice.
Well, yeah, because the acresare so close to the equator.
That's probably why yeah, Idon't know but it's never that
far away from the sun.
Very, it's very comfortablelike nice.
So if that that town, so whatis the temperatures in the town
like when you?
What time of year were youthere?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
uh, I was there starting in january up until
late spring and I the whole time.
It was like around 70.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So, like the Bay Area , oh, that sounds nice.
And there are certain likebeaches, that you would like to
go to that you know aren't astouristy that the locals go.
That were, you know, semi closeto where you were.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
The beaches were several hour drive.
I went a couple of times and Idrove with friends and that was
an adventure in itself, but ittook like eight to 10 hours
because at that time and thismight have changed, but I don't
think so, I think it's still thesame the roads through the
(21:45):
Andes there were always so manyrock slides and mud slides, it'd
just be like closures and thenyou'd be like, well, there's not
many other ways to go.
It felt a little bit likeroulette with your life, oh wow.
That's crazy, some giantboulders would just land in the
(22:09):
road and you'd dodge them orhopefully you didn't get hit by
them and it was just kind ofcrazy and hope for the best.
And so driving took a whilebecause you never knew what you
were going to get.
But you could always fly to thecoast and then couple hours.
But me, I was more interestedin exploring the mountain area,
(22:31):
just because growing up I Ialways lived pretty, I was lucky
I lived pretty close to thecoast, so it was a, you know, a
short drive to from santa rosa,where I was raised, to bodega
bay, like an hour if that.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yeah, yeah, no boulders falling in the street
here, yeah, but more drive, soloha.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Then had an airport that flew you right into that,
okay yeah, it was like 45minutes out of town and since
from the first trip to thesecond, they redid the airport,
um, so it's actually very nice.
And uh, I remember like when Ifirst showed up I just I didn't
really know what to expectbecause it was like hard to
(23:16):
google stuff, like it wasn't onloco, wasn't on google maps yet,
and so, you know it, the hotelsand stuff didn't show up on
trip advisor, and so it was likethat kind of crossover time
period in travel where you knowit's like you couldn't do a ton
of research, you just had toreally just go and hope for the
(23:38):
best and get there and see whatyou found.
And there wasn't, since it wasoff the beaten path.
At that time I just knew like,okay, I'm going to fly into Loja
Airport.
I'm assuming there's going tobe taxis that'll take me into
town.
It's like a 45 minute drive, andso you couldn't free book taxis
(23:59):
.
So there was no Uber at thetime and I showed up and I saw a
taxi driver and I said likelet's just go to downtown loco
and find a little hotel, and, um, so he puts my stuff in the
back of the truck and like arolly suitcase and a backpack,
(24:19):
and he had me sit down and thengot back out and we didn't leave
until the whole taxi was fullof people and and this is
different I haven't like in mytravels I'd mostly traveled
throughout Europe at that time.
When you in, like the US, yougenerally have the taxi to
yourself, and so I was likecrammed in the middle with a
bunch of random people blastingthrough these like windy roads
(24:44):
with sheer drop-offs and noguardrails and dodging boulders
and passing cars, and I was likewhat did I do?
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Wow, I'm sure you didn't want to know that.
And what's the safety?
Like, well, I mean, there waslike you didn't know what, how
safe it was going to be.
But now, like in hindsight,you're like, oh my gosh, it was
super safe.
Or like, wow, I was prettyliving dangerously.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Really, really safe and I went to a couple bigger
cities in Ecuador.
The capital and then to get tothe Galapagos starts with a G.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
At that time.
It was really, really unsafe inthat city and I was lucky that
the host family I lived with hada relative who lived there who
picked me up.
Let me stay the night therebefore the Galapagos boat.
I was like it's fine, it's fine.
It was really hard before Istarted for me to accept help
(25:49):
Because I felt like in the US USand this could just all be my
imagination but whenever peopleoffered help, I always felt like
they were keeping that in mindas like a tally and return the
favor.
It didn't feel like just puregenerosity, and in South America
it is pure generosity.
I had to learn to accept helpand know that it was a gift for
(26:10):
them to give and vice versa.
If I offered help, it does feelreally good when people accept
it.
So I did and they were likethere's express kidnappings.
That was very popular in thoseyears, those years, especially
(26:30):
in Guayaquil, a little bit inQuito, and I like basically
you'd get picked up in a faketaxi or even a real one, and
then they'd hold you as a kidnapsituation for about 24 hours to
take you to different ATMsaround the city I've heard about
that in Mexico and letting youout.
And so they were.
They insisted that I tookadvantage of the relative living
there.
That city not safe at the time,super safe, incredibly safe but
(26:54):
you had to keep your wits aboutyou.
Like obvious things Don't don'tflash jewelry, don't flash your
phone, like it isn't expensivethere, which also means that
people's income is not that much, and so if you're walking
around with a thousand dollarphone, that can be tempting to
someone in need, so you justhave to be smart.
(27:16):
In Loca, I never had a scaryexperience.
I just had people who werecurious and helpful nice.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Wow, very good.
What kind of food was there?
Was it like rice and beans, orchicken, one of my favorite
questions.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Like it, it's good and it's it's funny because you
don't hear a lot aboutecuadorian cuisine, but it is
good, probably one of myfavorite favorites traditional
and wet dishes and like yeahyeah, is that, papusas, is that?
Ecuadorian.
They have those, but I thinkthat's more El Salvador.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I'm pretty sure Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
But they very inexpensive.
The main meal of the day thereis lunch.
You know how in the US it'stypically dinner.
There was lunch, and so all ofthese little restaurants would
have almuerzos, like the menu ofthe day, and it'd be about
$2.50.
(28:13):
And in going back over the pastcouple of years, the prices
remained the same always underfive bucks, and you would get a
fresh squeezed juice which thejuice there is outstanding, like
so good, and soup, and thenlike the main, which would be
some sort of protein chicken,pork, beef, maybe fish with a
(28:35):
starch like rice potatoes, yuccaplantains, and then a little
dessert $2.50.
Oh my.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
God sign me up.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
I know, like really flavorful.
They have different specialties, like surprisingly like Ecuador
has like one of their maincuisines is soup, soup and stews
and they are so good, so manydifferent types of soup and
stews that are just so flavorfuland hearty.
(29:05):
Empanadas are delicious.
Let's see batidos, which arekind of like milkshakes and are
made usually with differenttropical fruits guava, pineapple
, papaya Really really tasty.
I think what people mostly hearof Ecuadorian cuisine is maybe
the ceviche, which is reallygood.
(29:26):
There's a rivalry with Peruover who has the best one, and I
love food competitions betweencountries.
I'll gladly be the judge.
Both are great, you both win,yay.
But a lot of people hear aboutCuy, which is roasted guinea pig
on a spit.
It was described to me bysomeone like it's kind of like
(29:49):
oily and crispy and I was likeooh, oily.
I just remember in preschoolthere was a pair of guinea pigs
there and they were so cute andnice and I tried it not for me,
but I tried it.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Is it gamey or?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
tough.
It tasted just kind of likegreasy fried stuff, the one that
I.
I didn't enjoy it, though thestick through it, and so you see
it like in its prime form.
It's not like a chicken nuggetwhere you can't even recognize
the animal.
You could recognize the animal.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Oh well, I remember I was in Costa Rica and it was
towards the end and I was goingto this like kind of end nice
dinner and I was sitting down, Iordered fish and he came behind
me with a plate and just put itover and put it down on and I
jumped because it was a fish andit was an actual fish, with
just a little bit on the sidethe scales removed so I could
(30:47):
eat it, but everything else wasintact and I'd never experienced
that Like I see the fish, thewhole fish, a little surprising.
So you've stayed.
I have the map up.
You stayed in the very southernpart, potocarpus like
P-O-D-O-C-A-R-P-U-S.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
It's pretty close to Peru.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
It looks amazing and you've got so much with not only
the inland part but the wholecountry is on the ocean.
I know we mentioned, but Idon't know if there were any
beaches that people highlightedor that you knew of that people
recommended going to or so manydifferent spots.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Everyone had their different favorite when I was
there and I was kind of to Bahiade Caracas.
(31:55):
And then central is like theManta area, which is very
popular, like eveninternationally.
People go out there.
I see Manta Nita, is that it?
Yeah, so actually that's whereI had I did go there and that
was really nice.
So actually that's where I hadI did go there and that was
really nice.
Las Salinas and from Loca itwas, yeah, about eight to 10
hours driving or a couple hoursflying, but it is like a pretty
(32:19):
popular place to go to enjoy allthe things that the beach has
to offer and they're all prettynice and so if you go, back, kat
?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
where would you go?
Would you want to go back tothat place you stayed just
because it's in your heart?
Or you're like, oh my gosh, no,I've learned about all these
other places you still need toexplore.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
I'm going to say and both yeah, I'd love to go back
and and visit, just cause itseems like so many countries,
like in South America, they justchange so quickly.
So to meet up with friends andthe family that I rented the
room with like we still stay incontact so to visit them and
(33:02):
then also explore a little bit.
But uh, I didn't get a chanceto really explore north of Quito
, where Banos is, which is kindof on the radar for a lot of
international travelers.
It's like a very adventurouscity in the mountains.
(33:22):
I'm sure it's kind of becomeInstagram famous too.
I forget what it's called.
It's like this swing, that kindof seems like you're going off
the edge of the world, and soI'd love to go there and explore
, because they have a lot ofreally wonderful outdoor
activities available and it'sjust beautiful.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Do you say it was like Banho, kind of something
like that?
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Yeah, yeah.
It's no indication of what it'slike there okay, it's spelled
banyos.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Okay, e-a-n-y-o-s.
Okay, there you go.
All right, well, we are gettingclose to the end of our time.
Um, then go to the rapid firequestions by christmas or
anything that you know youwanted to get more.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Is there there any?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
tradition or something that they did Like?
Did they have regular schoolyears and then they take off?
And I know in Sweden they tookthe month of July off and
everyone would go to theirlittle islands.
Is there anything that they didor that stood out that you
really enjoyed?
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Don't recall about the school years, but I know
that they did have a chunk oftime off where they could travel
.
They had several holidays.
It's primarily a Catholiccountry, and so they had lots of
holidays celebrating differentsaints and that would usually
involve, you know, days off andsome sort of festivities and a
(34:46):
specialty soup to go with theoccasion.
They also at least in that town, nothing was open on Sundays.
Many places did do the wholeSpanish siesta thing midday, so
it was quiet.
And I came from a busier partof California where, like I,
(35:10):
also lived in San Jose rightbefore I moved there, which is
very fast paced and competitive,and so it was a nice change of
pace to live like they did for abit and just explore and enjoy
your environment Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Thanks for sharing.
This has been super, super funto see through your eyes.
Thank you, yeah, my pleasure.
Okay, so for rapid firequestions, would you have a
favorite meal, either that yourhost family made for you, or a
certain restaurant that you justlove to have?
It's very indicative to thelocal area.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, I'll say two food items, umitas, which are
kind of like they have a savoryand a sweet version and it's
kind of like a tamale, so it'swrapped in the leaves and
steamed, and they were so goodand you would have them, usually
(36:07):
with, like the sweet one, witha cup of coffee delicious.
The other thing I love that Ijust I haven't been able to find
anything that is similar, butit's something called empanadas
de viento and they're thesefried cheese empanadas but they
feel so light.
And the woman that I rented aroom from, she was a grandmother
(36:31):
, empty nest and she made thebest ones.
I tried them everywhere.
She made by far the best ones.
And when I lived there I waslike, please, can you teach me
how to make these so I can bringthem home.
And it was just so funny because, like I had my journal and my
notes, like okay, ready to go,and it was just like, oh, if you
(36:55):
feel like this, you can addthis, and just a little like a
pinch of this, and I was like,oh, I am.
So I didn't get it.
And so when I came back tovisit a couple of years later, I
went with my friend Amber andshe is a phenomenal cook and and
I was like Amber, let's, we'regoing to see if they'll teach us
how to make these and hopefullyyou can figure it out, cause it
(37:18):
was beyond me.
So we like went into it andthey're like sure we can make
the empanadas de viento.
And Amber and I, like I wasready with my notebook, like
let's do this.
And the grandma had her twodaughters there and they were
like all trying to make it inthe kitchen at the same time and
one daughter was like, did youadd the milk?
(37:38):
And she's like there is no milk.
And again, amber and I wedidn't get the recipe, but it
was.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
They were delicious we didn't get the recipe, but it
was.
They were delicious.
So I would love to take like atrip like that where you just
like cook the local food.
Oh yeah, you know, if, if you,you know, if you know you like
it ahead of time, of course,okay, empanada what?
Speaker 2 (37:59):
what was it called empanadas de viento?
So like wind, viento is wind,so they're so light and fluffy,
that's kind of, and they, whenthey fry, they fill up with air
a little bit, so that's whythey're called that, I think.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Oh, interesting, but there's cheese involved.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
you said yeah, there's a little bit of cheese,
oh, okay, and they, just when Iwas writing it down, they go
white cheese and I'm like, oh,of cheetah or something.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
I've never seen those meals.
Okay.
And what's a typical breakfastother than the fresh squeezed
juice?
Speaker 2 (38:32):
that is a part of it.
Coffee they uh you know, a lotof times it's like some oh, okay
, very good.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
And then, um what?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
is there any special music that you, that was common,
that you would hear, or is itum a lot of like, just different
types of latin music reggaeton,uh, salsa, cumbumbia, some like
Latin rock, and then in thatarea there was some indigenous
(39:13):
people.
Quechua is like big in Ecuadorand so kind of folk Quechua
music.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
All right, Okay.
And then the money.
So they take the dollar, but dothey use the dollar?
Do they have a peso of somesort?
Speaker 2 (39:29):
It's just the dollar.
I think they have, like some ofthe change may still be gosh, I
can't remember.
It's primarily the US dollar,like that's their official
currency.
Wow, that's so interesting.
Okay, and then where's theclosest place to surf?
I know it sounds like there's alot.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Anywhere along the coast's just a plenty.
Okay, yeah, there's so.
And it's what's the watertemperature there in the ocean?
Is it like it's probably warmerthan california, I would assume
yeah, I think a little bitwarmer I did.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
It felt cooler than hawaii, but warmer than
california, like northerncalifornia, if they take into
account like I was.
I was North Bay, which ischilly, chilly.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Right, Alrighty, and then tell us where people can
find you and follow you, becauseyou you do a lot of travel and
I also saw you speak when do youlike.
What kind of events do youspeak at?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
Different, like wellness stuff.
So I'm actually I'm an author.
I wrote the joys of Jet Lag,how to Use the Traveler's
Mindset to Not Be an A-Hole inDaily Life.
So, talking about how you can,the talks I give are how you can
use a traveler's mindset tocreate more joy and awe, no
matter where you are.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Oh, I think I remember reading one of your
blogs or something.
Yeah, just well, kristen and Ihappen to also just live in very
beautiful places as you do.
You can have that like you'reyou know hiking and like, wow,
look at this.
Or you take the trail adifferent way, a different day
or at a different time of day,so you see the sunrise instead
of the sunset, or something.
So I love that, okay.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
So that's what you do full time.
Speaker 1 (41:03):
Is that how you like?
Professionally?
That's how you make your living.
Is an author and writing books.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yes, that, and then also still the web design and
development.
Now it's just my husband and me.
We have our own business and wespecialize in water sports
companies.
Both he and I are avidwakeboarders as well, so those
two careers help fund travel,and the beauty of it is that as
(41:30):
long as I have the internet, Ican do it anywhere, so that's
what we try to take advantage of.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
So tell me Okay, I have to Sorry.
Sorry, carol, I do have to youdo?
Speaker 2 (41:40):
of course yes.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
So tell me more.
So, because I compete in wakesurfing, I host and I create an
event for all of California.
I'm actually going to competein worlds next Tuesday, the
whole week, unfortunately, oh,but I do a lot of that.
So you do wakeboarding, notwake surfing.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
I do I know how to wake surf, but the wakeboarding
was what kind of drew my husbandand me together and, uh, we
both used to be sponsored byhyper light, the main lights, my
sponsor as well for um, yeah,yeah exactly.
You know now I'm kind of likelike a geriatric weekend warrior
(42:17):
in the sport.
I get out when I can and wejust and it's I.
I got some pretty severeinjuries from like multiple
concussions, so that's kind ofturning my interest more towards
wake surfing Amazing.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
Wow, what a small world.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
I love that with, like, the water sports community
is so small.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
That's really cool how funny, yeah, and I'll ping
you afterwards, because myevent's in a couple of weeks and
I have a day where we just goride, and it's Thursday October
24th.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
During summertime we have a slip in our wake setter
on Fallen Leaf Lake, which is asmall Alpine Lake next to Tahoe
but pretty protected, and it'samazing place to get out there.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds awesome.
I will absolutely do.
It sounds incredible.
Yeah, and a Cali Comp Festivalis my event.
It's at Pouda Canyon in LakeBerryessa.
It's usually a one to two dayclinic, a two day competition.
I have all the food done.
I was just getting the menufrom the chef.
This morning we bring our V'sout.
We just have a.
(43:23):
It's like super fun, super lowkey.
It'll be a lot of fun.
So, yeah, a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Well, like another little side connection is my
husband and I.
During summers in college weboth worked at Lake Berryessa at
Rancho Monticello before oh,that's so weird.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
Now that I mentioned it, I'm like you do look
familiar, so I was there in 2017.
Were you there in 2017?
Speaker 2 (43:46):
I'm pretty sure I missed the last couple, but I
that might've been one of thelast ones and I that was like
the first time that I had had,uh, tried that stuff.
So I do, I was there that year.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
Oh, that's so funny.
I love that I can make thatconnection before, and thanks
for mentioning that.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
Most people when I say water sports companies, and
they're like which brands?
And I tell them and it's justlike a blank face and I'm like I
don't know, it's a difference.
Speaker 1 (44:14):
So, yeah, but I'm going to ping you afterwards for
sure.
Sorry, caroline.
Okay, well, thanks, kat, thatwas awesome.
What a great connection, okay,and then.
So your book is called the Joysof Jetlag and your website is
katmedinacom.
Your Instagram iskatmedinariter.
Can I get that right?
Yep, and then we'll put thosenotes in the show notes as well.
(44:36):
So, pam, I want to quicklyhyperlink your stuff.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
Perfect, have a great day, great to meet you All
right, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Thanks Bye.
All right, have a great day,thanks, thanks, bye, bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app, and
, if you have a minute, we wouldreally appreciate a review.
Following and rating is thebest way to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(45:04):
We're at Wear Next Podcast.
Thanks again.
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