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Kauai

Andrew Riha — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:27:41 +0000

Merry Christmas, or as the Hawaiians say, Mele Kalikimaka! Last week I found myself on Kauai, Hawaii on a rather spontaneous trip to meet up with Mary and Teresa, the Peace Corps volunteers I met in Vanuatu through CouchSurfing. (Val, another Peace Corps volunteer, and John, Teresa’s boyfriend, also made the trip.) Although we unfortunately didn’t have much sun, we fortunately didn’t have much rain either, so we were able to spend most of our time outside hiking, scuba diving, and lazing around on the beach. Mary, Teresa, and Val represent the best of the Peace Corps, and their zest is quite contagious. Thanks again, guys!

‘Upolu Redux

Andrew Riha — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:52:06 +0000

Following Ofu and American Samoa, I spent a night CouchSurfing in Apia with Paul. Paul was a fantastic host, and our Friday night program included the Zodiac Bar (where I quite coincidentally bumped into an Australian friend) and Paddles Night Club. On Saturday we toured the island in Paul’s 4WD with Dave (another CouchSurfer) and Henrik. Indeed, it was another extremely positive CouchSurfing experience!

Pentecost

Andrew Riha — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:36:49 +0000

After Santo, I disappeared into the remote jungles of Vanuatu (and believe me, they were remote). First came the island of Pentecost (named after the day Captain Cook sighted it), known throughout the world for its tradition of naghol, or land diving. On Pentecost, I spent five incredible days hanging out with Peace Corps volunteers in the villages of Ranwas and Pangi, and each deserves a post to itself.

At this point, one might wonder how I got in touch with the Peace Corps volunteers. The answer is as simple as CouchSurfing and making one lucky (and expensive!) phone call to Pangi’s village phone to contact Mary, the Peace Corps volunteer stationed here since 2006.

Bergen

Andrew Riha — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:20:18 +0000

In order to get better acquainted with the Norwegian culture, I utilized the CouchSurfing netvork to not only find a couch to sleep on, but also to meet a number of other CouchSurfers for conversation, drinks, and lefsa. Below are some photos from Bergen!

The Cinque Terre

Andrew Riha — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:57:01 +0000

After Pisa, we CouchSurfed with Ernesto in La Spezia before we entered the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre (literally the five lands) consists of five coastal villages along the Mediterranean and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With Ernesto’s help, we planned a five hour visit of the Cinque Terre combining trains and hiking. John and I started in Riomaggiore, and to make a long story short, trains were delayed, hiking trails were closed, and we were soon “stuck” for two hours in the second smallest village of Manarola.

I’m sad to say we had become “checklist” travelers – we were focussed on getting out of Manarola and continuing down the Cinque Terre in order to see as much as possible in our five hours. Once we realized this, we were finally able to open our eyes and see the amazing scenery surrounding us. A valuable lesson learned, the two hours we spent hiking around Manarola were some of the best spent in the Cinque Terre.

After Manarola, we visited Vernazza and Monterosso before it was time to master public transportation.

Arriving to Delft

Andrew Riha — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 23:40:36 +0000

I arrived to the Netherlands. The flight to Amsterdam and train transfers to Delft went smoothly. After I got to Delft, I met up with some friendly CouchSurfers (Sophie, Boris, and Juan-Carlos). This was my third CouchSurf, and again it was another great experience!