Lost Girl of the Week: Julie Stone

ADP: As much as Jen, Holly and I loved traveling together as a dynamic trio of girlfriends, we always wondered what it might be like to do a similar trip with a boyfriend. Happily, our questions were answered after stumbling upon Globestompers.com, created by fellow backpacker diva Julie Stone, and her fiance Jared—both fellow New Yorkers.

As we learned through their blog (and a lovely email exchange), Julie had been an official member of the NYC rat race for just over 7 years by the time she and Jared made the decision to travel the world for a year. They're camping their way through Ne Zealand right now in the world's coolest camper van

Since graduating from college, Julie has tried her hand at acting, waiting tables, representing actors, selling advertising, marketing and blogging, with varying degrees of success. Even though she loved living in the Big Apple, the rest of the world beckoned...

Julie: To be honest, I had to be convinced (by my fiance) to travel the world for a year. The thought of completely uprooting my life scared the wits out of me. What if I missed my bed? What if I wanted to go home? What if I couldn't find a job when I got back? Eventually I started to realize that it would be pretty difficult to see the entire world in one or two week chunks. If I ever wanted to run away for a year, now--while I had no mortgage, babies, or real career--was the perfect time to go. Jared and I wanted to take this time to ensure that we were right for each other, and we both hoped to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives.

Jared and I left the U.S. on October 11, 2007, on a flight from Miami to Quito. Since then, we have traveled through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Fiji, and New Zealand, plus a quick jaunt back to the States. We are planning our journey as we go, so if we hear about a cool place, we go there. (Fiji was not on our original route, but the cheapest flight to New Zealand included a layover there. Twist my arm, really.) Our next stop is Australia, where we will work for a few months and replenish our bank accounts before taking off to Southeast Asia. If we decide to travel for longer than a year, we hope to visit China, Japan, India, and Nepal.

For the first time in my twenty-nine years, I feel like I am living life to the fullest. I have seen places I only dreamed of: Iguazu Falls, beaches on tranquil islands in the South Pacific, Tierra del Fuego. I have slept in hostels, on buses and planes, in a tent, and now in a camper van. I have cheered during a championship soccer match in Rio de Janeiro, eaten lunch with the chief of a Fijian village, jumped out of a plane in New Zealand, and learned to speak Spanish with a distinctly Argentine accent. I have gazed up at the Southern constellations with wonder, and now I can find the Southern Cross in the night sky. Most importantly, I have learned that I am capable of stretching myself more than I ever thought possible.

So many people have said to us, "oh, I wish I could do what you are doing!" We always say the same thing back: "You can! You should! Come meet us in Australia!" All you need is time off, a passport, and less money than you think. (In South America, I traveled quite comfortably on $1000 per month. New Zealand, however, is a different story.) The hardest part is letting go of the familiar, but the rewards are endless.

A long way down

HCC: Ushuaia is known as both del fin del mundo (translation: the end of the world) and the beginning of the journey to Antarctica from South America. Convicts helped construct its streets, bridges, and buildings after the Argentinean government built a jail here in the early 1900s. Officials figured wannabe-escape artists wouldn’t have a chance to make a getaway, thanks to the city’s location on the island of Tierra del Fuego and its border on the Beagle Channel.

Today, the population is ballooning to almost 65,000 residents during the tourist’s high season from November through March. Here’s a guide on what to do and see in the City at the End of the World:

Stock Up on Gear:
Vraie; 595 San Martin; TEL + 54-2901-422351
This is where I went to buy everything from ski pants to wind-proof hats to wool socks. Disclaimer: It ain’t cheap, so aim to get your gear in advance—unless lost luggage leaves you empty-handed.

Get a Chocolate Fix:
Chocolates Ushuaia: 783 San Martin
Whether you’re a dark-, white-, or milk-chocolate lover, simply setting foot in this cozy, wood-paneled shop will have you on a sugar high. You can’t go wrong with dulce de leche, a soft milk-caramel confection that’s more addicting than the Nutella I used to spread on croissants during my post-college, backpacking days through Europe.

Brush Up on History:
Museo Maritimo; 9419 Ushuaia
If you only go to one museum, this is it. It’s chock-full of info on everything from Shackleton’s first expeditions to the South Pole to photographs of prisoners forced to build the town to colorful oil-painting displays by national artists.


Refuel:
Gustino; 505 Av Maipu
Ushuaia is known for its fresh crab, tender Patagonian lamb and full-bodied red wine called Malbec. Sample all three at this trendy restaurant and wine bar—or warm up with mate in the sophisticated tea lounge.


Take a Hike:
Tierra del Fuego National Park; 1395, San Martín
Located just 12 kilometers from Ushuaia, the name translates to “Land of Fire” and the wilderness stretches for 60 kilometers from the Beagle Channel to the Chilean border. Adorned with waterfalls, forests, mountains and glaciers, there’s plenty of breathtaking treks to get your adrenaline pumping.

Score Classy Souvenirs:
Quelhue; 771 San Martin
Your co-worker really doesn’t need that penguin magnet, so bypass the hokey tourist stores and check out this wine & deli shop decorated with corks and stones that sells everything from hand-made soaps to fresh goat cheese to mate tea.

Find a Last-Minute Trip to The Ice:
Ushuaia Tourist Board; 674 San Martin
If you’re in Ushuaia and aren’t on a tight schedule, you could score a discounted, last-minute trip to Antarctica: You may have to wait a few days, but sometimes cruises have cancellations or don’t fill up. Ushuaia’s Tourist Information Board can give you a list of local tour operators who’ll have the inside scoop.

Gear Gone Missing

HCC: One of my favorite things about blogging is the cool people you meet through the web. One such woman is Wendy Ferguson a fellow travel-lover and New Yorker who recently returned from Antarctica. When Wendy (pictured here) read that I was heading to the South Pole as well, she went beyond giving me travel advice—she offered to let me borrow the gear she’d used during her own trip!

I was more than game to hear her travel stories and save a couple hundred bucks, so we met for a drink at the W Hotel in Union Square. She shared her tips and passed me a big bag filled with cold-weather essentials.

Wendy had mentioned that making the trek to the bottom of the world meant mastering the f-word (that would be flexibility). And this definitely proved true on my trip to Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth and the gateway to Antarctica.

To get there, I signed up with a non-profit organization called People To People. Kind of like study-abroad vacations for adults, the program lined up top experts to lecture onboard about everything from glaciology to marine mammals to the politics of the seventh continent.

People to People travelers flew in from across the country to meet in Miami, where we were flying Aerolineas Argentinas to Ushuaia with a brief layover in Buenos Aires. The three-hour layover extended into an overnight delay. Being stuck in the City of Tango might not sound like a horrible fate, but it required being at the airport at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m. to catch a 5 a.m. flight to Ushuaia. Though sticking to a schedule isn’t the airline’s strongpoint, at least they offered us hotel and dinner vouchers so we weren’t forced to curl up in a crowded airport lounge while waiting for our plane to touch down.

The good news: Our group landed safely in Ushuaia the following morning. The bad news: My bags didn’t. Missing luggage is more than a nuisance when traveling to The Ice: Temperatures that could drop as low as negative 59 degrees call for hi-tech essentials. As protection from the unpredictably harsh elements, a waterproof outer shell, wind-proof hat, and insulated inner layers such as fleece pants and silk undershirts are must-haves. But the worst part was that most of the gear wasn’t even mine, and I was sick to my stomach with the thought that I wouldn’t be able to return Wendy’s original stuff. At least I’d thought to stick her expensive binoculars and special UV-protection sunglasses in my carry-on (just in case!).

With the ship scheduled to set sail later that afternoon, I had no choice but to pull out the plastic for a last-minute shopping spree on San Martin, Ushuaia’s main shopping thoroughfare. Stay tuned for a tour of the town during my treasure hunt for new gear.