Danish Gymnastics in Viborg, Denmark!

Viborg is a wonderful Danish city to visit and is located in Jutland Denmark! From the Gymnastics and Sports Academy, to the cathedral and its bustling city center, Viborg is full of treasures of traveling and has much to offer the foreign traveler. Check out some of those treasures below.

After visiting Copenhagen, we continued our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics in the city of Viborg which is located in central Jutland! Viborg is actually one of the oldest cities in Denmark.

City of Viborg

Looking over Søndersø Lake to the city of Viborg and its Cathedral.

Viborg was actually settled by vikings in the late 8th century due to being so close to the Lim Fjord, which was once considered an important waterway through Jutland. Due to the central location of the city, Viborg was important both politically and religiously during the middle ages. Also, the elections of all the Danish monarchs occurred in Viborg. Viborg actually gets its name from two old Norse words. They are ‘vé’, which means holy place or sanctuary, and ‘borg’, which means a type of fortress. The word ‘borg’ originally came from another Danish word ‘bjerg’, which basically means a hill or a mountain so technically, Viborg means a sanctuary on a hill, which helps to sum up Viborg nicely! It is believed that the city existed when King Harald Bluetooth (yes, our current electronic capability of connecting wirelessly to other electronic devices is named after King Bluetooth of Denmark) formed the first Danish Kingdom in the tenth century. Today, Viborg is a vibrant city and is known as one of Denmark’s leading cities for sports and is a great place to visit!

Read more about Viborg, the cathedral and the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Academy on Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

5 Places to Visit on a Short Trip to Copenhagen!

There are so many treasures of traveling to discover while visiting Copenhagen, but if you are short on time, here are 5 interesting places to explore while touring the capital city of Denmark.

Copenhagen was the start of our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics! Berea College made all students participate in what is called a short term course of study during one month of the year. Two other students, along with myself decided to complete our independent study by immersing ourselves within multiple Danish Gymnastics Schools throughout the country over a four week period. It was one of the most physically demanding experiences I have ever participated in, but also a fantastically fun experience that I will never forget! I loved Denmark, the people and the culture, but I will advise anyone to visit the country during the summer months as the winter was just too cold for me. It always seemed to be grey and gloomy and snowing off and on over the entire month. I was also not a fan of the extremely short days where the sun would rise around 9:00 am and set around 3:30 pm.

Luke and Greg waiting for the next train at Islev station in the cold and snowy weather.

We chose to study Danish culture because our college participated in a Danish American Cultural Exchange Program where a Danish Gymnastics Sports Instructor would come and teach the students at Berea College for the entire year while some students would also have the ability to travel to Denmark to experience Danish culture through the help of the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Association (DGI) which is a national organisation, working through sports and other cultural activities to strengthen the work of local amateur associations in an endeavor to promote the education of both youths and adults in a community based sports environment. I thank DGI for supporting our independent study and allowing us the opportunity to experience Danish Gymnastics by immersing ourselves into multiple schools throughout the country!

Luke and Sarah Beth finally warming up on the S-train after waiting in the cold snowy weather at Islev station.

We arrived to Copenhagen after a long delayed flight where all of our luggage had been diverted to another airport so it did not arrive on the same plane as us. It was unfortunate that our luggage had been lost, but what made it worse was that we didn’t have any clothes to change into or basic necessities like our toothbrushes, soap and shampoo. Luckily, Air France gave us a t-shirt and a small toiletry kit. We each wore that same shirt for three days until our bags finally arrived in Copenhagen. I was so happy to finally get my suitcase full of warm clothes so I wouldn’t have to walk around everywhere and be so cold all the time!

Eating Breakfast with the Host Family

After that ordeal, we settled in with our host family in Copenhagen who were part of DGI and who were absolutely fantastic. They lived near the Islev train stop where we would catch the train into downtown Copenhagen for our different activities. They showed us around so many interesting places throughout the city! 

To discover what these five treasures of traveling while visiting Copenhagen are please visit Treasures Of Traveling website! 

-- Luke Keeler

Jungle Expedition in the Amazon Rainforest!

Reflections along the Amazon River!

Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. For this reason, Iquitos is also an important port city for this area of Peru as many goods and supplies arrive by boat after a week long journey floating up the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. A journey of over 2,200 miles. 

Transportation along one of the Amazon River tributaries to a local jungle lodge.

There are so many things to see and do in Iquitos and you can read about all of those things in this post about Iquitos, but If you would like to venture deeper into the Amazon rainforest there are many tour companies that offer jungle expeditions down Amazon tributaries to jungle lodges which allow you to visit tribal villages where you can stay and experience the local culture of the local indigenous Indians of the region. Take a look at some of the pictures below to see what visiting a jungle lodge and tribal village is like and let me know in the comments below what you think about it!

Read about and see more of the pictures from the jungle expedition in the Amazon Rainforest on Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

Treasures of Traveling on the Amazon River in Iquitos, Peru!

Floating Houses change height with the tide of the Amazon River in Iquitos Peru! These houses float on the river.

We had quite the adventure traveling from our last stop in southern Peru, the beautiful mountainous and colonial city of Arequipa to the hot and humid jungle of the Amazon in Iquitos; the gateway and access point to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru! I write about that adventurous experience on the previous rock slide post. Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. For this reason, Iquitos is also an important port city for this area of Peru as many goods and supplies arrive by boat after a week long journey floating up the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. A journey of over 2,200 miles. We didn’t have the time to travel by boat up the Amazon River as it takes a week, so we decided to fly.

Flying over the Amazon River and Amazon Rainforest was a once in a lifetime type of experience and it was awe inspiring to see just how large it actually is! May I remind you that we were only flying over the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, much smaller than the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. Once we landed, it was clear to see we were in a completely different world from where we had been just a few days earlier in Arequipa. Peru is such a diverse country in land, people and language and there is no better place to see that than Iquitos, which is fairly isolated as it is inaccessible by road. We arrived to Iquitos on a smaller aircraft so we walked directly off the plane and down steps onto the tarmac and one of the biggest changes from Peru’s Coastal Region and the Andes Mountain was the temperature difference. When we stepped out of the plane door, the heat was oppressive. The heat and humidity hit us like a smack in the face and we immediately started sweating and we didn’t stop until we left Iquitos.

Read more about the city of Iquitos on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

Rock Slide Adventures from Arequipa to Iquitos!

Seeing the rock slide up close for the first time after waiting 48 hours for the rocks to be removed!

We had quite the adventure traveling from our last stop in southern Peru, the beautiful mountainous and colonial city of Arequipa to the hot and humid jungle of the Amazon in Iquitos; the gateway and access point to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru! Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. We didn’t have the time to travel by boat up the Amazon River as it takes a week, so we decided to fly.

We had purchased our plane tickets to Iquitos weeks in advance and just had to make sure we arrived in Lima before our flight departed. We had decided to travel from Arequipa to Lima by bus and even though the bus journey is about a 17 hour trip and wouldn’t save us time traveling, we would be saving money as a bus ticket is less expensive than flying. We had the extra time for bus travel scheduled into our itinerary, but what we didn’t have scheduled into our itinerary was a rock slide. It would have been a great trip viewing the entire southern coastal landscape of Southern Peru along the Pan American Highway, but it actually turned out to be a disaster because of the rock slide. The Pan American Highway is the most important highway in Peru, as it connects all major cities in the country's coastal area from the most northern part of the country to the southern most part, so you can imagine all the traffic that uses this highway that abruptly came to a stand still.

Read more about the rock slide on the Treasures Of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler

5 Things to do in Arequipa, Peru!

While in Arequipa’s central plaza filled with colonial architecture, these Peruvians are getting ready to take a group photo in front of the fountains of La Plaza de Armas.

Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city and between it being a UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s lower breathable altitude, and it’s comfortable, relatively stable climate all year, it’s a nice city to visit!  There are not as many tourists as in Cusco so you may feel a little less bombarded and relaxed while exploring this city, but it is becoming more popular every year especially because of it’s close proximity to Colca Canyon. Therefore more adventures are visiting the area to explore the canyon.

Read about the 5 things to do in Arequipa on Treasures Of Traveling Website. 

-- Luke Keeler

Visiting Piribebuy and Getting a Skin Rash!

Beautiful little waterfall in Piribebuy, Paraguay!

About two weeks ago, I went to visit another volunteer for four days to see what the life of a real volunteer is like and it’s very slow paced. He lived in a small community really far in the middle of nowhere called Mariscal Lopez. It was located about an hour walk from the small town of Piribebuy. He was a very nice guy and he introduced me to many of the people in his community. One day we went to a school meeting because school has just started for the year here in Paraguay (their summer vacation just ended) and the entire meeting was in Guarani and I understood nothing. I really feel like a baby right now, because I don’t know a lot and I’m just soaking up so much information every day. Anyway, he lived in a very small little one room house (12’x12’), but he has fixed it up really nicely (he has added a brick oven, a latrine, a floor, walls and a new ceiling). We didn’t spend much time inside because it was just too hot. He gets water from the local spring in the community which is where everyone gets their water. We purified the water by putting Clorox in it; one drop for every liter. We bathed in the river at the end of every day which really felt good because it was so HOT! It was really the only way of getting clean there where he lived.

Read more about Paraguay on Treasures Of Traveling Website.

-- Luke Keeler

Terere, Mandioca and Truco!

A cow traveling down the same road as me.

Paraguayans drink a refreshing drink multiple times a day called Terere. At first I was not a fan of it because the very first time I drank it, the individual serving it always liked drinking a very bitter type of yerba mate. Since my first experience of having the bitter terere, I have had plenty of other opportunities to try my other neighbors terere, in which they fix it using a different type of yerba mate that is flavored with mint so it is much more pleasing to the taste buds! I also have started to love it because since it is so hot outside, this drink is served ice cold and is refreshing! Over the last month, I have grown to love drinking terere, but I’m still not a fan of mate, which is the same thing, just served hot usually in the early mornings. One saying they use here in regards to terere, is that “we drink our weed instead of smoking it”, as the yerba mate is basically a ground up holly tree.

Read more about Paraguay on Treasures Of Traveling Website.

-- Luke Keeler

Mba’eichapa reiko (How are you? in Guarani)

Mba’eichapa reiko (How are you? in Guarani) Sunset on my walk home in Santo Domingo, Paraguay!

I am still in the middle of my three month training for the Peace Corps in Paraguay. In any country that the Peace Corps operates in, they hold a three month in country training that includes learning the language as well as having technical training for the things you will be focusing on while there. We have currently been focusing most of our time to learning about general public health here in Paraguay, from educating individuals about parasites and HIV/AIDS to water sanitation and dental hygiene. We learn ways of teaching to both adults and children. We are also learning how to build sanitary latrines and fagons (brick ovens) because these are some of the things we will most likely be doing when we reach our site in May! We are also learning about community development, globalization, culture exchange, just to name a few.

Read more about Paraguay on Treasures Of Traveling Website.

-- Luke Keeler

Bienvenidos a Paraguay!

Walking to my host families house in Santo Domingo![1]

I’ve been in Paraguay for a week now and it is a little bit of an adjustment, but it helps to be here with other Peace Corps Trainees. We flew into Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, where the Peace Corps headquarters is. Then we went to the training facility in Guarambare to meet the training staff. It’s about 45 minutes south of Asuncion. This will be our main training facility and we will meet there at least twice a week. That same night they took us to meet our host families. Mine lives in the district of Villeta in a smaller town outside of Guarambare, called Tacuruty and they live in a very small community called Santo Domingo/Inmaculada. From the main training center it’s about a 30 minute bus ride and then a 50 minute walk down dirt roads. We each are staying with our own host family, which is really nice. Mine is very big and are so wonderful. I have a Father, Mother, Sister, Brother-in-Law, two nieces and one nephew, plus other family members and friends who are always visiting. My father is a farmer, so they have every type of animal you can imagine and also grow vegetables and fruit (I have fresh fruit juice every day; DELICIOUS!!). The first day I was there and my niece was showing me the outhouse/latrine, my nephew was climbing all around and fell into a huge pile of crap that the cow had just dispensed of. It was really funny! The stable area kind of surrounds the cow area and the animals just kind of wonder all over their property.

Read more about Paraguay on Treasures Of Traveling Website.

-- Luke Keeler

The Uyuni Salt Flats are the Largest in the World!

The Salar De Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tons of salt! A large amount of salt is harvested every year! The Uyuni SaltFlats is truly one of the Treasures Of Traveling in SouthAmerica that should not be missed because it is a beautiful natural wonder and is a must on anyone’s travel list so plan your trip with these tips!

After my bus journey experience where I was robbed traveling from La Paz to Uyuni, I came to the realization that even though all my photos had been taken from me, I still had my memories of those wonderful experiences in my mind and no one could take that away from me! I didn’t have much time to sulk and be depressed because from the moment we arrived in Uyuni, we had to start our new journey to see the Uyuni Salt Flats! They are the largest salt flats  in the world and travelers from all over the world love to visit this small town by the bus load, as it is an easy access point to visit the Salar de Uyuni, a natural wonder that for many is awe inspiring because of its unworldly landscape!

Read more about the Uyuni Salt Flats on the Treasures Of Traveling Website! 

-- Luke Keeler

Traveling by Bus Between La Paz and Uyuni!

This is a train town you wouldn’t want to miss!

I have had a few sad travel experiences, but my most devastating travel experience was when I traveled by bus between La Paz and Uyuni. It was one of the most sad days of my life. You probably are thinking, it couldn’t have been that awful and you might be right. It was just a devastating day to me and let me tell you why!

My friend Joni and I had just spent the last few days enjoying La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia and were trying to figure out where we should travel to next. Should we cycle down Bolivia’s Death Road, the most dangerous road in the world, or travel 348 miles to Uyuni, the southern part of the country to see the largest salt flats in the world? We were short on time and could only do one of the two activities so we chose to see the salt flats! We boarded a bus for a 10 hour overnight trip to Uyuni. I wasn’t thrilled by that aspect, but I wanted to see these salt flats since we were in Bolivia and we were so close to them.

Read more on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

Visiting Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)!

The Rock Formations of Valle De La Luna showcase an unworldly landscape. Something you might expect to see on the moon; hence the name of the park, Valley Of The Moon in English. This lunar landscape of bizarre geological formations is located only 6 miles away from the city center of La Paz!

If you happen to be visiting La Paz, the highest capital in the world, make sure to set aside some time and check out the 10 must visit attractions in La Paz! Leave at least half a day or more to visit Valle de la Luna! You won’t regret it! La Paz is a big city so if you want a nice relaxing afternoon activity to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, look no further than Valle de la Luna!  

Read more about Valle de la Luna on Treasures of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler

10 Must Visit Attractions in La Paz, Bolivia!

Estadio Hernando Siles is a Sports Stadium in La Paz, Bolivia. It is the country’s largest sports complex with a capacity of 41,143 seats.

La Paz has become a major destination for many backpackers and adventure travel enthusiasts as there are many great things to see and do in the capital city of Bolivia and the surrounding area around La Paz! It’s one of the many treasures of traveling in Bolivia! When arriving on my bus from Copacabana after visiting Isla del Sol, I was amazed by the enormity of La Paz! Our bus rounded the corner of the last crest of the high mountains of the Altiplano, where La Paz city skyline came into view and it took my breath away. I just wasn’t expecting such a large city located in a huge valley surrounded by so many snow capped mountains. As our bus worked it’s way down the side of the mountain we passed through the sprawling outer limits of La Paz that were full of chaotic traffic. The city’s official name is Nuestra Señora de La Paz, which in English means, Our Lady of Peace. It has a population of about 2.3 million people and is the highest capital city in the world, located 11,975 feet above sea level and it’s a city full of things to discover! Take a look at the 10 must see things in La Paz!

Read more about it on Treasures of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler

My Three Favorite Nazca Lines In Peru!

A hummingbird etched into the Nazca Desert!

The Nazca Lines in southern Peru might not be considered one of the wonders of the world, but they really are a wonder!  They are a treasure of Peru!  It is amazing to think that a group of people etched these designs into the desert floor.  The Nazca Lines are located in the middle of the Nazca Desert and the best way to view them is from the air as the designs are hundreds of feet long.  If you don't have a desire to climb into a tiny Cessna Plane then you can skip over the Nazca Lines if you have the time while visiting still see the lines from certain viewpoints from the surrounding foothills and towers that have been built up along the highway, but the best view is from the sky above in the cockpit of a plane!  There are many lines and geometric shapes and other figures that are more complex in design.  There are multiple shapes that you can see with a short plane ride from the Nazca Airport.

Read more about the Nazca Lines on Treasures Of Traveling Website.

-- Luke Keeler

The Beautiful City of Ayacucho!

Plaza Mayor with the Mountains of Ayacucho in the distance.

The Shoulder Sack is the best way to carry children!

Little did we know that we would fall in love with Ayacucho and the many treasures of Peru when we were first planning our independent study there.  We had planned for months and studied about the area, but it wasn’t until we arrived and got to see the beauty of the Andes Mountains and got to know the wonderful people that we fell in love with Ayacucho!  It’s one thing to read about a place and a completely different thing to experience it and the people that live there!

Children playing their instruments in the parade!

We were all Bonner Scholar students at Berea College and at the time wanted to complete one of our ‘summers of service’ volunteering at medical and dental clinics in another country.  We thought if we were going to complete a summer of service in Ayacucho, we might as well also complete an independent study there so we all decided focus on a different subject.  I decided to shadow a dentist at the Centro de Salud in the San Juan Bautista district of Ayacucho while another one of my fellow Bonner’s decided to concentrate within the laboratory of that Centro de Salud, while my other friends shadowed doctors.  From the moment we flew into Ayacucho, and viewed the Andes Mountains from the window of the plane I was in love with the thought of our upcoming adventures in a new place of the world!  

Read more about Ayacucho on the Treasures of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler

Experiencing the Bullfight in Socos!

The mountainous terrain and beautiful vistas of Socos!

While living and working in Ayacucho, we decided it was time to explore the small rural village of Socos, Peru, high up in the Andes Mountains with an elevation of 11,200 feet above sea level to be exact. At this point we had spent a decent amount of time in the hustle and bustle of the urban center of Ayacucho and we wanted to be surrounded by mountainous countryside with less motor vehicles and motorcycles so we went to visit the small and remote village of Socos!

Gathering in front of the church in Socos, Peru.

It was a treat to say the least!  The long journey in the back of a truck with people and animals and really anything that could fit back there was an experience in of itself.  We thought when we arrived it was going to be a low key experience, but Socos was having a bullfight in the village so the village was packed with people who were there to see the fight and have a good time at the festival!  Now, you have to remember, this is not like the bull fights that occur in Spain where

The mountainous terrain and beautiful vistas of Socos!

they actually kill the bulls.  In Peru and at this bullfight, they were just playing with the bull, but they did not kill it.  The matador had his red cape to entice the bull to attack and after each session the matador spent with the bull, they also had multiple clowns to entertain the crowd!  They were hilarious to watch while they were antagonizing the bulls and running away from them.  Some of the clowns didn’t run fast enough and had a run in with the bull’s horns, but they were prepared and had lots of padding on their rear ends!

Read more about Socos and the bull fight at Treasures of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler