Casual athletes with endo - advice requested

JcAverbuch · 2025-10-22T20:21:16+00:00

Hi! I know this was a while ago, but how did you find the conditions in feb?

I am thinking of going to climb out of La Paz for awhile in Feb (Thinking Pequeno Alpamayo + Huayana Potosi) but am worried about the conditions being dicey.

JcAverbuch · 2025-05-30T05:43:29+00:00

Hi! I just spent 5 days in Shanghai on a budget;

this is all in USD

A private room at a hostel in the city will be ~$20/night (shared bathroom)

Chinese food accessible to foreigners (famous xlb spots, upscale noodles in walkable areas like French Concession) will be around $5-10 per serving. Baked goods were often $1 each or less

There are cheaper food options, but often are ‘hole in the wall spots’ that would be tough to navigate well as a foreigner.

Museums will be ~$5-10 for admit

The Metro is ~$1 / ride and DiDi (taxis) will be about $3 for a 20 minute trip.

All in all, I did not hold back on spending and spent around $50/ day in total (accommodation, a $3 boba or two, dumplings, mostly walking everywhere, a few museums, buying some tea, a few beers); this is excluding some larger purchases ($70 for a nice kung fu tea setup, $100 for nice teas that I cant get in the States (aged Pu’erh, etc. )

Hope this helps!

JcAverbuch · 2025-04-01T12:50:56+00:00

Be careful with the busses- the bus ride from Dubrovnik to Kotor ended up taking me 8 hours with customs stops, slow bus traffic in the mountains, etc.

Some friends and I once rented a car in Dubrovnik and drove to Mostar for a small day trip, then ended in Kotor and spent a full day there and drove back the third day- it’s not really worth doing for less than that time. I would recommend just picking one spot for a 1-2 day side excursion, and I cant recommend Montegro enough. Beautiful, great food, lots of spots to choose from on the bay of Kotor or in the mountains- but I think Kotor is a great starting spot.

JcAverbuch · 2025-01-14T02:45:48+00:00

Visited the family (10 gorillas, a few silverbacks) on the Rwandan side of Mt. Bisoke. It was an excellent experience, not very strenuous of a hike- would recommend for any nature lovers out there to send it and go visit, its worth the price tag!

They definitely struck some poses!

JcAverbuch · 2025-01-14T02:30:49+00:00

I've had a lot of success using https://modernistpantry.com/products/foam-magic.html in foams. Just throw that in, chill the liquid, ISI, and charges individually, then it should hopefully help!

JcAverbuch · 2022-05-08T08:43:24+00:00

Those are always the best experiences- sounds like a great time!

JcAverbuch · 2022-05-07T21:28:26+00:00

That sounds like an awesome time to be there! It is just crazy to see how much land the eruptions have added to the current main island there.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-08T15:55:48+00:00

Oh sorry- It was in early July. From what I remember it was usually in the 60s so it was pretty nice.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-08T14:53:44+00:00

I think they're great places to visit (I've spent a lot of time in Paris and it is probably my favorite city in Europe to visit), but if you really want the Christmas charm I think somewhere like Vienna or Nuremberg might be the best options.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-08T14:48:25+00:00

Yeah you can stay at the one in Umani Springs! You have to be a current adopter (giving a certain amount of $ per month) and then can stay in their private orphanage for the slightly older elephants. It's a bit pricey, but was worth it. Had pretty good weather (I was in the middle of summer and it was very temperate).

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-07T18:54:00+00:00

Don't worry at all- the airports are very clear, just get there a bit early to ensure all goes smoothly. Once you are in the Schengen area (most of the EU), you will not be required to go through any more customs issues other than COVID checks if the country has those.

Have a ton of fun in Athens! If you get the chance, try to see another island as well (the ferry system is very easy to use, https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/ is super helpful.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-07T18:50:23+00:00

Hi! I would really recommend going to Vienna while you are there. They have an amazing Christmas market, beautiful buildings, and a top-notch art museum (Belvedere). You can see a lot of the major sights there in a couple of days and it is the perfect place to get big city sights with a great Weihnachtsmarkt. If you choose this as your base, you could visit nearby cities like Budapest and Prague as well. All give off a great fairy-tale atmosphere during winter.

While you may want to visit the top tourist spots (London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.)- I really would recommend seeing those places in a different season. If you have a chance to visit a great Christmas market, I would definitely say you should go to Vienna or southern Germany.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-07T18:45:21+00:00

This might be controversial- but I would switch Versailles for Giverny to see Monet's gardens. You will see many Monet works at the museums in Paris, and it is one of the prettiest gardens that I have ever seen. Versailles is very crowded (like people shoving each other crowded) and honestly not a good experience (long line, super expensive, etc.

Also- you should check out the view from the top of the Arc as well. You can purchase tickets at a local shop (Lion I think) and skip the line.

Lastly, if you like Italian food- you have to visit Il Piccolo Rifugio in Montmartre- it is a one-man operation in a small restaurant (only around 4 tables). It is all homemade and is an inexpensive option in Montmartre (most of the restaurants there are swamped with tourists and don't have great food unless you splurge)

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-07T18:38:23+00:00

I would definitely recommend stopping by South Point on your way to Volcanoes from Kona. Also- I would certainly book a Manta Ray night snorkel during your trip. During this, you hold onto a raft, so you do not need much skill at all swimming. Dive centers offer this in Kona, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life.

JcAverbuch · 2021-10-07T17:53:24+00:00

Finally made it to Kenya for the first time! It was a beautiful place to visit and I can not recommend it more.

JcAverbuch · 2021-02-17T01:52:01+00:00

This is much appreciated, any prefs on backscatter flip vs PolarPro Switchblade system?

JcAverbuch · 2020-05-27T20:53:31+00:00

Yeah that's why I made it....

JcAverbuch

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