Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Ecuador with Kat Medina
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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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 and adventure. Each episode, we interview people around the globe to help us decide where to go next. Thanks for joining us. Today. We have Kat Medina, who is a avid traveler and so excited to hear about your story, and we're going to focus specifically, I believe, on Ecuador today. But let's learn a little bit about you first. We were just chatting before that you're in Lake Tahoe and you love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's the best. I wanted to move here for as long as I can remember, and then about five years ago, my husband and I decided to actually go for it, and I haven't regretted it at all. I just love it.
Speaker 1:Oh beautiful. How far are we from the lake?
Speaker 2:About 10 minutes. So we're in South Lake Tahoe and it's nice because there's plenty of nature and we're kind of on the outskirts so we can avoid the crowds and still enjoy all the trails and the lake and nature. But there's also event centers and casinos where they have bands and comics and things like that. So you still feel like you're connected to stuff.
Speaker 1:Love it. I visited more North Lake Tahoe recently than South Lake Tahoe, but it's all Tahoe and I just did a backpacking trip through Desolation Wilderness.
Speaker 2:That's beautiful, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1:So tell me about the Ecuador adventures.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I lived there several years ago and then have visited a handful of times since. It just holds a special place in my heart. It just holds a special place in my heart. So I moved there in 2012 and lived there for several months. I ended up renting a room from a local family in a small city called Loja, which is in the Andes, in the mountains, similar elevation to Tahoe. Actually, since living there, I've gone back to visit, mostly to visit that family, but while I was there, I traveled quite a bit throughout Ecuador, went to the Galapagos and other parts of South America, and it was just an incredible experience, because Loja typically isn't like a place that you go as a tourist and it's not a super popular expat location, but I think it's starting to be, and mostly because people think that there's not a lot of English spoken and when I was there there was not, which was perfect because I wanted to really do like an immersive experience and force myself to learn Spanish.
Speaker 1:Oh nice, love it. Okay, and how did you pick that town If, like, it wasn't very popular? Did you have a friend or someone? Just did some research?
Speaker 2:It was pretty random. So, basically, I graduated college in 2009,. Part of the recession, basically, I graduated college in 2009,. Part of the recession had gotten a job at a solar company and they unfortunately went under. So I started waitressing and was commiserating with two friends and my then boyfriend, now husband, about how differently the workforce was than we had expected. You know, we all had degrees. None of us had good jobs and we were just like this is different than we were preparing for and we decided like let's just create our own. So we started a web design and development company. My husband was the only one who kind of studied that in that, those skills, but you know those skills. But it's so easy to learn new skills online for free, especially coding. So we taught ourselves what we needed to know.
Speaker 2:After we started the business, I was just like I'm not super passionate about web design, but it's my means to my passion, which is travel and writing. It allows me to do it anywhere. So after the business was a bit established, south America is one of those spots that has always kind of called on my heart. I feel like every single person has at least one spot in the world where they've always felt drawn to visit and explore and South America. For me from the time I was a little girl it just felt like I must go there. So I was thinking what better time than now? I didn't have a mortgage, I didn't have any pets, I really wanted a golden retriever. I now have that, but married, no kids, and luckily my boyfriend's super supportive of me, following my passions to travel, so he was very encouraging of me.
Speaker 2:But I was kind of chatting with my aunt and I was like I really want to go and explore South America, learn Spanish while I can, while I have this freedom and flexibility, and I was leaning towards somewhere kind of possibly Colombia or Ecuador, because you know all these different countries and even within each country there's different dialects and accents of Spanish and from what I had researched, ecuador and Colombia have a very neutral accent and so it's like a really well-rounded Spanish. That's a great baseline, without too much style added to it. You know, complicated to understand. And I was chatting with my aunt and she's like hey, I actually I work with someone who's originally from Ecuador and they have a cousin who lives there. I think I was like okay, and so I got in contact with the cousin who happened to be the Dean of a university in Loja and we communicated through email using Google translate.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it was like if you get here, I can create some sort of internship, like unpaid internship, so that you just kind of have some structure and you can kind of teach. There's not really Spanish language schools here, it's not that kind of destination, but it's a great place to learn because you're kind of forced into it. And I had studied Spanish in school so I had some foundations in grammar, but I really wanted to get to that conversational fluency that comes from immersion and just really just dropping yourself into conversation. So once I had that one connection I was like all right, let's do it, and went for it. How?
Speaker 1:long did it take you to be conversational? So there's different degrees, like where one you're like, oh, I can actually say something other than like I want that piece of bread or something, that you can actually have a conversation. And then did you eventually get fluent, where then now you can write and think in Spanish?
Speaker 2:Yeah, how long did that take? First off, I did study Spanish in school, but it's kind of like basic stuff where you get into a conversation you may sound too formal or you just aren't really speaking it the right way, or it's easier to hear than to speak. Yes, and so I studied abroad in Spain for a year in college. It was in Barcelona. Everyone spoke English, so it was challenging to learn, even for a full year, and also Catalan is like the primary language in that area of Spain. So, being there a year, I actually learned more Spanish and better Spanish just in the handful of months in Ecuador and I think that it took.
Speaker 2:You know, it was a gradual process and then one day it just was kind of like wow, like I'm actually doing this.
Speaker 2:So it's like a gradual shift and then a click of like I'm dreaming in Spanish. And every trip that I go on, I bring a journal and maintain a journal every single day and I try to write in the language as I'm learning it fill in the blank 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 sprinkling of words to then, on the flip side, primarily in Spanish with just a sprinkling of English. So I had to take a couple of months and then from Ecuador I moved to Argentina and did like lessons with a girl who became a great friend to kind of get more of the grammar in place that I was missing from just being dumped into a Spanish speaking lifestyle. So it took a couple months but it was so beneficial, especially seeing the years of more formal education it just wasn't making it click. I really needed that immersive experience for me to get to where I wanted to be.
Speaker 1:How many years did you take of Spanish? I think I took two. Okay, like in high school, kind of the normal yeah.
Speaker 2:So in high school I also studied abroad in France.
Speaker 1:Did you take French and then study French?
Speaker 2:Well, I signed up for this program called AFS and filled out the application and got accepted to go to Australia. But like two months before I was supposed to leave they said they had a shortage of families. So it kind of dumped me on the France track and I was like, okay, well, I'll take it two months before I go and just see how it is, months before I go and just see how it is. And so I basically left to go. Go to a French high school, knowing how to sing songs and count to 10.
Speaker 2:Like I I had nothing but one story, with the journaling and filling in as I went that there too, and so that journal is like towards the end, finally like mostly French. But since returning and going to college, french is a language only Spanish. So I switched gears and started taking Spanish, and if you don't use it, you lose it. I cannot read my journal from France, I just forgot it.
Speaker 1:That's great. You'll have to. Actually, I love Google Translate. It was in South Korea and we just'd put our phone up to read it, so maybe you can put your phone up to your notebook.
Speaker 2:I don't know, like I kind of don't know if I want to reread what 17 year old teenage It'd be very interesting.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. How long did you stay in Ecuador and then how long did you stay in Argentina, and did you go to other countries too?
Speaker 2:Yes and yes. So in Ecuador, I was there for about four months and then Argentina about three months. Okay, while I was in Ecuador, I was part of Ecuador, but I was able to go and check out the Galapagos, which were incredible, and then I also went to Bolivia and Peru, and then in Argentina, there, uruguay, paraguay, oh my goodness, you did them all.
Speaker 2:Kind of had my whole base and then would pull off like weekend trips or Peru and Bolivia. I did like the. It was a week or so, maybe 10 days, where I was like stayed on a boat on the Amazon and then we did Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. My friends and some family met up with me and we all did that together. Is that in Peru? Yeah, and it was incredible. Wow. Machu Picchu my friends and some family met up with me and we all did that together. Is that in Peru? Yeah, and it was incredible. Wow, it exceeded all expectations. But then in my return trips to South America I've checked out a couple other countries. Colombia finally made it there and that was just amazing, wow.
Speaker 1:And these like weekend trips that you had were most of them. You have to take planes because it's pretty far, or is there some high speed trains that?
Speaker 2:get you there. At the time Back when I was living there, the roads were pretty crazy and driving there is not for the faint of heart. So you could also take big buses or these little micro buses that seated 10 people and double yellow lines on blind turns, or just suggestions of going when you feel like it. It was a little crazy, but I survived it all. But then flights also are pretty accessible and relatively inexpensive as well.
Speaker 1:And that was 2009 when you did that 2012. 2012. Okay, got it. And how long were you gone for?
Speaker 2:So over six months for that first trip, and then I've been back a couple of times Ecuador trip, and then I've been back a couple of times Ecuador, Colombia. Most recently I went with my husband and, at the time, two-year-old son to Chile, and that one was really amazing as well.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's fantastic. And then did you have a budget in mind and you were how old, and you you know it was after college, right, like so early twenties or so.
Speaker 2:I think it was like mid, mid, mid to late twenties and I just kind of I had money saved up but I was very budget conscious. So it was an age and stage in my life where it's like I prioritized saving money and inexpensive costs over comfort. So, like the flight out there from California, I think I had like four layovers and it took almost 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 least amount of layovers I can do, cause traveling with a toddler is no joke it, you know, even with the budget and going out for so many months. I it was funny Cause so many of my friends were like how, how can you afford to travel for so long and live there? But I feel like the longer you're in a place depending on the place, of course the more money you save.
Speaker 2:And I actually saved money living there because I was living in the Bay Area at the time and when I was in Ecuador, I think it was I did rent a room from a family, so it's not like I had a whole place to myself. This is like pre-Airbnb international it used to like. It was when Airbnb was really big, like in the U? S, but hadn't extended to obscure locations like Loja, and I think I only paid like $150 a month to live with that family. It was a nice spot and you know public transportation was super cheap. I think you could take a bus almost anywhere in town for less than 50 cents and they use the US dollar there Like. A cab was like $2 to get to almost anywhere in the city.
Speaker 1:It was so cheap just for a month in 2002, and I had $2,000 to spend or that was my budget and I included the whole thing, including airfare, all the hotels, all the food, all the transports, all the flights $2,000 one month, flights too Wow, it was pretty impressive. It's amazing how inexpensive it can be. Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah, I think it's more expensive now. I've heard.
Speaker 2:I've heard that too about Costa Rica. You know different places. They get more popular or like start to shift to be more tourist focused, so the price increases. What's cool is that going there and meeting different friends and the family that I lived with it was really nice of the price and you get what feels to be a more authentic experience.
Speaker 1:And that leads me right into my next question, which was that exact that's why we started this podcast in the first place was to get that kind of experience from someone who's a local. And so what? Were there any specific places in the town that you were, or things that they did, or traditions that really were special for you?
Speaker 2:So it was a really cool city where the main part of it either side was lined by two rivers and one of the spots that the family would go to regularly it was called Malacatos and it was like 30 minutes outside of town. And there's also Vilcabamba, which is a bit more known. There's a bigger expat community. It's also like part of the blue zone, so you have like a high percentage of people that are living to 100. People that are living to 100. Both those cities are pretty darn close to Loca, which has normal grocery stores, big open-air market, and then these two little towns are much smaller and in beautiful nature mountains, rivers, green rolling hills, stunning and the family I lived with would go to Malacatos they had a house there pretty much every weekend.
Speaker 2:The other cool thing about that area is there's a huge national park called Parque Nacional Por el Carpus, but it has incredibly diverse ecosystems and that particular area. You have the northern Andes, the southern Andes, like Amazon and Pacific, and so you have just a super high concentration of animals florauna, birds, like it's ecuador's, like especially that area is very well known among birders, which I'm not a bird nerd, but with several people, like if I randomly did see tourists, which in loja at the time I, I think I saw like two like, but that's starting to shift and it's just really well known for all these different flowers and birds and orchids especially that's what I was going to say Like being in Tahoe was this kind of like.
Speaker 2:You were just in Tahoe but sounds nothing like it because the vegetation is so different and the animals, yeah, so it was kind of wild because you had like mountains, rivers, but also kind of like tropical jungle. That country has it all, Like the whole coastline surfing beach, that kind of climate. Then there's more jungle and cold mountains, high elevation. It's got it all.
Speaker 1:Is there snow on some of the? Because one of my clients and we interviewed him and he's from Ecuador and I just happened to notice because on his LinkedIn page his back banner was him on the top of it and I was like, oh, is that Everest? And he's like, no, I think it was Ecuador, right, and it appeared so high over 14. So they come to Ecuador to train to climb Mount Everest. But I wondered I can't remember if I asked him if the snow is it on the mountain all year round or is it just seasonal?
Speaker 2:You know, I'm not sure where I was living. It's kind of crazy because since 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 special microclimate where it's like year-round spring temperatures.
Speaker 1:Oh, nice. Well, yeah, because the acres are so close to the equator. That's probably why yeah, I don't know but it's never that far away from the sun. Very, it's very comfortable like nice. So if that that town, so what is the temperatures in the town like when you? What time of year were you there?
Speaker 2:uh, I was there starting in january up until late spring and I the whole time. It was like around 70. Okay.
Speaker 1:So, like the Bay Area, oh, that sounds nice. And there are certain like beaches, that you would like to go to that you know aren't as touristy that the locals go. That were, you know, semi close to where you were.
Speaker 2:The beaches were several hour drive. I went a couple of times and I drove with friends and that was an adventure in itself, but it took like eight to 10 hours because at that time and this might have changed, but I don't think so, I think it's still the same the roads through the Andes there were always so many rock slides and mud slides, it'd just be like closures and then you'd be like, well, there's not many other ways to go. It felt a little bit like roulette with your life, oh wow.
Speaker 2:That's crazy, some giant boulders would just land in the road and you'd dodge them or hopefully you didn't get hit by them and it was just kind of crazy and hope for the best. And so driving took a while because you never knew what you were going to get. But you could always fly to the coast and then couple hours. But me, I was more interested in exploring the mountain area, just because growing up I I always lived pretty, I was lucky I lived pretty close to the coast, 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:Yeah, yeah, no boulders falling in the street here, yeah, but more drive, so loha.
Speaker 2:Then had an airport that flew you right into that, okay yeah, it was like 45 minutes out of town and since from the first trip to the second, they redid the airport, um, so it's actually very nice. And uh, I remember like when I first showed up I just I didn't really know what to expect because it was like hard to google stuff, like it wasn't on loco, wasn't on google maps yet, and so, you know it, the hotels and stuff didn't show up on trip advisor, and so it was like that kind of crossover time period in travel where you know it's like you couldn't do a ton of research, you just had to really just go and hope for the best and get there and see what you found. And there wasn't, since it was off 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 to be taxis that'll take me into town.
Speaker 2:It's like a 45 minute drive, and so you couldn't free book taxis. So there was no Uber at the time and I showed up and I saw a taxi driver and I said like let'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 a rolly suitcase and a backpack, and he had me sit down and then got back out and we didn't leave until the whole taxi was full of people and and this is different I haven't like in my travels I'd mostly traveled throughout Europe at that time. When you in, like the US, you generally have the taxi to yourself, and so I was like crammed in the middle with a bunch of random people blasting through these like windy roads with sheer drop-offs and no guardrails and dodging boulders and passing cars, and I was like what did I do?
Speaker 1:Wow, I'm sure you didn't want to know that. And what's the safety? Like, well, I mean, there was like 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 pretty living dangerously.
Speaker 2:Really, really safe and I went to a couple bigger cities in Ecuador. The capital and then to get to the Galapagos starts with a G.
Speaker 1:Anyway.
Speaker 2:At that time. It was really, really unsafe in that city and I was lucky that the host family I lived with had a relative who lived there who picked me up. Let me stay the night there before the Galapagos boat. I was like it's fine, it's fine.
Speaker 2:It was really hard before I started for me to accept help Because I felt like in the US US and this could just all be my imagination but whenever people offered help, I always felt like they were keeping that in mind as like a tally and return the favor. It didn't feel like just pure generosity, and in South America it is pure generosity. I had to learn to accept help and know that it was a gift for them to give and vice versa. If I offered help, it does feel really good when people accept it. So I did and they were like there's express kidnappings.
Speaker 2:That was very popular in those years, those years, especially in Guayaquil, a little bit in Quito, and I like basically you'd get picked up in a fake taxi or even a real one, and then they'd hold you as a kidnap situation for about 24 hours to take you to different ATMs around the city I've heard about that in Mexico and letting you out. And so they were. They insisted that I took advantage of the relative living there. That city not safe at the time, super safe, incredibly safe but you had to keep your wits about you. Like obvious things Don't don't flash jewelry, don't flash your phone, like it isn't expensive there, which also means that people's income is not that much, and so if you're walking around with a thousand dollar phone, that can be tempting to someone in need, so you just have to be smart. In Loca, I never had a scary experience. I just had people who were curious and helpful nice.
Speaker 1:Wow, very good. What kind of food was there? Was it like rice and beans, or chicken, one of my favorite questions.
Speaker 2:Like it, it's good and it's it's funny because you don't hear a lot about ecuadorian cuisine, but it is good, probably one of my favorite favorites traditional and wet dishes and like yeah yeah, is that, papusas, is that? Ecuadorian. They have those, but I think that's more El Salvador.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure Okay.
Speaker 2:But they very inexpensive. The main meal of the day there is lunch. You know how in the US it's typically dinner. There was lunch, and so all of these little restaurants would have almuerzos, like the menu of the day, and it'd be about $2.50.
Speaker 2:And in going back over the past couple of years, the prices remained the same always under five bucks, and you would get a fresh squeezed juice which the juice there is outstanding, like so good, and soup, and then like the main, which would be some sort of protein chicken, pork, beef, maybe fish with a starch like rice potatoes, yucca plantains, and then a little dessert $2.50. Oh my.
Speaker 1:God sign me up.
Speaker 2:I know, like really flavorful. They have different specialties, like surprisingly like Ecuador has like one of their main cuisines is soup, soup and stews and they are so good, so many different types of soup and stews that are just so flavorful and hearty. Empanadas are delicious. Let's see batidos, which are kind of like milkshakes and are made usually with different tropical fruits guava, pineapple, papaya Really really tasty. I think what people mostly hear of Ecuadorian cuisine is maybe the ceviche, which is really good. There's a rivalry with Peru over who has the best one, and I love food competitions between countries. I'll gladly be the judge. Both are great, you both win, yay. But a lot of people hear about Cuy, which is roasted guinea pig on a spit. It was described to me by someone like it's kind of like oily and crispy and I was like ooh, oily. I just remember in preschool there was a pair of guinea pigs there and they were so cute and nice and I tried it not for me, but I tried it.
Speaker 1:Is it gamey or?
Speaker 2:tough. It tasted just kind of like greasy fried stuff, the one that I. I didn't enjoy it, though the stick through it, and so you see it like in its prime form. It's not like a chicken nugget where you can't even recognize the animal. You could recognize the animal.
Speaker 1:Oh well, I remember I was in Costa Rica and it was towards the end and I was going to this like kind of end nice dinner and I was sitting down, I ordered fish and he came behind me with a plate and just put it over and put it down on and I jumped because it was a fish and it was an actual fish, with just a little bit on the side the scales removed so I could eat it, but everything else was intact and I'd never experienced that Like I see the fish, the whole fish, a little surprising. So you've stayed. I have the map up. You stayed in the very southern part, potocarpus like P-O-D-O-C-A-R-P-U-S.
Speaker 2:It's pretty close to Peru.
Speaker 1:It looks amazing and you've got so much with not only the inland part but the whole country is on the ocean. I know we mentioned, but I don't know if there were any beaches that people highlighted or that you knew of that people recommended going to or so many different spots.
Speaker 2:Everyone had their different favorite when I was there and I was kind of to Bahia de Caracas.
Speaker 2:And then central is like the Manta area, which is very popular, like even internationally. People go out there. I see Manta Nita, is that it? Yeah, so actually that's where I had I did go there and that was really nice. So actually that's where I had I did go there and that was really nice. Las Salinas and from Loca it was, yeah, about eight to 10 hours driving or a couple hours flying, but it is like a pretty popular place to go to enjoy all the things that the beach has to offer and they're all pretty nice and so if you go, back, kat?
Speaker 1:where would you go? Would you want to go back to that 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 to explore.
Speaker 2:I'm going to say and both yeah, I'd love to go back and and visit, just cause it seems like so many countries, like in South America, they just change so quickly. So to meet up with friends and the family that I rented the room with like we still stay in contact so to visit them and then also explore a little bit. But uh, I didn't get a chance to really explore north of Quito, where Banos is, which is kind of on the radar for a lot of international travelers. It's like a very adventurous city in the mountains. I'm sure it's kind of become Instagram famous too. I forget what it's called. It's like this swing, that kind of seems like you're going off the edge of the world, and so I'd love to go there and explore, because they have a lot of really wonderful outdoor activities available and it's just beautiful.
Speaker 1:Do you say it was like Banho, kind of something like that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. It's no indication of what it's like there okay, it's spelled banyos.
Speaker 1:Okay, e-a-n-y-o-s. Okay, there you go. All right, well, we are getting close to the end of our time. Um, then go to the rapid fire questions by christmas or anything that you know you wanted to get more.
Speaker 2:Is there there any?
Speaker 1:tradition or something that they did Like? Did they have regular school years and then they take off? And I know in Sweden they took the month of July off and everyone would go to their little islands. Is there anything that they did or that stood out that you really enjoyed?
Speaker 2:Don't recall about the school years, but I know that they did have a chunk of time off where they could travel. They had several holidays.
Speaker 2:It's primarily a Catholic country, and so they had lots of holidays celebrating different saints and that would usually involve, you know, days off and some sort of festivities and a specialty soup to go with the occasion. They also at least in that town, nothing was open on Sundays. Many places did do the whole Spanish siesta thing midday, so it was quiet. And I came from a busier part of California where, like I, also lived in San Jose right before 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 a bit and just explore and enjoy your environment Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thanks for sharing. This has been super, super fun to see through your eyes. Thank you, yeah, my pleasure. Okay, so for rapid fire questions, would you have a favorite meal, either that your host family made for you, or a certain restaurant that you just love to have? It's very indicative to the local area.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll say two food items, umitas, which are kind of like they have a savory and a sweet version and it's kind of like a tamale, so it's wrapped in the leaves and steamed, and they were so good and you would have them, usually with, like the sweet one, with a cup of coffee delicious. The other thing I love that I just I haven't been able to find anything that is similar, but it's something called empanadas de viento and they're these fried cheese empanadas but they feel so light. And the woman that I rented a room from, she was a grandmother, empty nest and she made the best ones. I tried them everywhere. She made by far the best ones. And when I lived there I was like, please, can you teach me how to make these so I can bring them home.
Speaker 2: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 feel like this, you can add this, 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 to visit a couple of years later, I went with my friend Amber and she is a phenomenal cook and and I was like Amber, let's, we're going to see if they'll teach us how to make these and hopefully you can figure it out, cause it was beyond me. So we like went into it and they're like sure we can make the empanadas de viento. And Amber and I, like I was ready with my notebook, like let's do this. And the grandma had her two daughters there and they were like all trying to make it in the kitchen at the same time and one daughter was like, did you add the milk? And she's like there is no milk. And again, amber and I we didn't get the recipe, but it was.
Speaker 1:They were delicious we didn't get the recipe, but it was. They were delicious. So I would love to take like a trip 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: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, when they fry, they fill up with air a little bit, so that's why they're called that, I think.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting, but there's cheese involved.
Speaker 2:you said yeah, there's a little bit of cheese, oh, okay, and they, just when I was writing it down, they go white cheese and I'm like, oh, of cheetah or something.
Speaker 1:I've never seen those meals. Okay. And what's a typical breakfast other than the fresh squeezed juice?
Speaker 2:that is a part of it. Coffee they uh you know, a lot of times it's like some oh, okay, very good.
Speaker 1:And then, um what?
Speaker 2:is there any special music that you, that was common, that you would hear, or is it um a lot of like, just different types of latin music reggaeton, uh, salsa, cumbumbia, some like Latin rock, and then in that area there was some indigenous people. Quechua is like big in Ecuador and so kind of folk Quechua music.
Speaker 1:All right, Okay. And then the money. So they take the dollar, but do they use the dollar? Do they have a peso of some sort?
Speaker 2:It's just the dollar. I think they have, like some of the 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 the closest place to surf? I know it sounds like there's a lot.
Speaker 1:Anywhere along the coast's just a plenty. Okay, yeah, there's so. And it's what's the water temperature there in the ocean? Is it like it's probably warmer than california, I would assume yeah, I think a little bit warmer I did.
Speaker 2:It felt cooler than hawaii, but warmer than california, like northern california, if they take into account like I was. I was North Bay, which is chilly, chilly.
Speaker 1:Right, Alrighty, and then tell us where people can find you and follow you, because you you do a lot of travel and I also saw you speak when do you like. What kind of events do you speak at?
Speaker 2: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 in Daily Life. So, talking about how you can, the talks I give are how you can use a traveler's mindset to create more joy and awe, no matter where you are.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think I remember reading one of your blogs or something. Yeah, just well, kristen and I happen to also just live in very beautiful places as you do. You can have that like you're you know hiking and like, wow, look at this. Or you take the trail a different 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:So that's what you do full time.
Speaker 1:Is that how you like? Professionally? That's how you make your living. Is an author and writing books.
Speaker 2: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 we specialize in water sports companies. Both he and I are avid wakeboarders as well, so those two careers help fund travel, and the beauty of it is that as long as I have the internet, I can do it anywhere, so that's what we try to take advantage of.
Speaker 1:So tell me Okay, I have to Sorry. Sorry, carol, I do have to you do?
Speaker 2:of course yes.
Speaker 1:So tell me more. So, because I compete in wake surfing, I host and I create an event for all of California. I'm actually going to compete in worlds next Tuesday, the whole week, unfortunately, oh, but I do a lot of that. So you do wakeboarding, not wake surfing.
Speaker 2:I do I know how to wake surf, but the wakeboarding was what kind of drew my husband and me together and, uh, we both used to be sponsored by hyper light, the main lights, my sponsor as well for um, yeah, yeah exactly. You know now I'm kind of like like a geriatric weekend warrior in the sport. I get out when I can and we just and it's I. I got some pretty severe injuries from like multiple concussions, so that's kind of turning my interest more towards wake surfing Amazing.
Speaker 1:Wow, what a small world.
Speaker 2:I love that with, like, the water sports community is so small.
Speaker 1:That's really cool how funny, yeah, and I'll ping you afterwards, because my event's in a couple of weeks and I have a day where we just go ride, and it's Thursday October 24th.
Speaker 2:During summertime we have a slip in our wake setter on Fallen Leaf Lake, which is a small Alpine Lake next to Tahoe but pretty protected, and it's amazing place to get out there.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds awesome. I will absolutely do. It sounds incredible. Yeah, and a Cali Comp Festival is my event. It's at Pouda Canyon in Lake Berryessa. It's usually a one to two day clinic, a two day competition. I have all the food done. I was just getting the menu from the chef. This morning we bring our V's out. We just have a. It's like super fun, super low key. It'll be a lot of fun. So, yeah, a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:Well, like another little side connection is my husband and I. During summers in college we both worked at Lake Berryessa at Rancho Monticello before oh, that's so weird.
Speaker 1: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:I'm pretty sure I missed the last couple, but I that might've been one of the last 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:Oh, that's so funny. I love that I can make that connection before, and thanks for mentioning that.
Speaker 2:Most people when I say water sports companies, and they're like which brands? And I tell them and it's just like a blank face and I'm like I don't know, it's a difference.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, but I'm going to ping you afterwards for sure. Sorry, caroline. Okay, well, thanks, kat, that was awesome. What a great connection, okay, and then. So your book is called the Joys of Jetlag and your website is katmedinacom. Your Instagram is katmedinariter. Can I get that right? Yep, and then we'll put those notes in the show notes as well. So, pam, I want to quickly hyperlink your stuff.
Speaker 2:Perfect, have a great day, great to meet you All right, have a great day.
Speaker 1:Thanks Bye. All right, have a great day, thanks, thanks, bye, bye. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, can you please take a second and do a quick follow of the show and rate us in your podcast app, and, if you have a minute, we would really appreciate a review. Following and rating is the best way to support us. If you're on Instagram, let's connect. We're at Wear Next Podcast. Thanks again.
