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The Joy of Travel with Volunteering and Service

by Melanie Hicks May 22, 2023

by Melanie Hicks May 22, 2023

The smell of fresh tortillas and homemade refried beans wafted through the air. The scorching sun beat down on us as we made our way to the center of the …

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Mold-a-Rama is alive and going strong at Chicago’s Field Museum!
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I so loved these as a kid and kept a few from my collection for many MANY years. And it was a major thrill for me when I got my kids to see these too! Definitely one of my favorite souvenirs of all time😜
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#moldarama #fieldmuseum #fieldmuseumchicago #chicagogram #myhometown #travelsouvenirs #travelsouvenir @fieldmuseum

Hi all! Well, it’s a hella long flight from #pd

Hi all! Well, it’s a hella long flight from #pdx to #dfw to #eze, but I made it to Buenos Aires and I’ve been having a fabulous time exploring! What a dynamic, beautiful, fascinating city this is! So very rich in energy, art, music, dance, architecture, food, diverse barrios, and all else that makes up a great city to get to know. There is so much to share!
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#buenosaires #buenosairescity #sudamerica #walkwalkwalk #exploreargentina #visitargentina #citylovers #solotravel #sólo #womentravellers #womentravelsolo

I haven’t been clamming this summer, or the past

I haven’t been clamming this summer, or the past few actually. This last beach walk , I watched as all these people made their exodus to the waterfront. Shovels and clam guns and plastic bags and nets, and water boots and hip waders..

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🌊.
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#waves #walkwalkwalk #seaside #seasideoregon #oregoncoast #oregoncoastline #oregoncoastlife #clamming #razerclams #shellfish #getoutside #foraging #harvesting

Wonderful beach watching weather, waves and wildli

Wonderful beach watching weather, waves and wildlife this entire Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks, Seaside,OR!
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🌊.
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#waves #walkwalkwalk #seaside #seasideoregon #oregoncoast #oregoncoastline #oregoncoastlife

The sun was bright and warm this long weekend; won

The sun was bright and warm this long weekend; wonderful for long walks at low tides at the tidal pool, for exploring the estuary, for walking the Promenade, for the many making the pilgrimage out at low tides with clam guns, shovels, bags and buckets.
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🦀.
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#seaside #seasideoregon #clatsopcounty #atthebeach #holidayweekend #longweekends #beachwalks #sunsetcaptures #beachsunsets #walkwalkwalk

We took the road to Hana and made a great day of i

We took the road to Hana and made a great day of it.
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At the Garden of Eden, a privately owned botanical garden, I fell in love with the variety of bamboo—and the sounds of the bamboo swaying in the breeze.
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🎋
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The trip isn’t over, but without a doubt a highlight for us all.
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#roadtohana #roadtohanamaui #hawaiianstyle #botanicalgarden #arboretum #hawaiiangardens #gardenofeden #hana #hanahawaii #hanahighway #hanahighwaymaui @mauigardenofeden #arboretum #plantsplantsplants #treesofinstagram #bamboo #bamboobamboo #bamboosounds

Four of us took the road to Hana yesterday and mad

Four of us took the road to Hana yesterday and made a great day of it. I’ve been before with my kids when they were quite young. This trip, my wonderful DIL did the driving, for which I’m verrry grateful because that is so not my thing although I’ve taken out of town visitors on enough of our Oregon roads.
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We made numerous little park and trail and waterfall stops and visited the Garden of Eden, a privately owned botanical garden my son had heard good things about.
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The trip isn’t over, but without a doubt a highlight for us all.
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#roadtohana #roadtohanamaui #hawaiianstyle #botanicalgarden #arboretum #hawaiiangardens #gardenofeden #hana #hanahawaii #hanahighway #hanahighwaymaui @mauigardenofeden #arboretum #plantsplantsplants #treesofinstagram

Waterfall action on the Road to Hana! . 🌊. . #w

Waterfall action on the Road to Hana!
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🌊.
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#waterfalls💦 #hawaiiwaterfalls #hana #hanawaterfalls #roadtohana #roadtohanamaui #familytravels #mygirls💕

Three’s Bar and Grill in Kihei, Hawaii. Fabulous

Three’s Bar and Grill in Kihei, Hawaii. Fabulous food and great service. Helped that it’s walking distance from where we’re staying, but we’ll worth a trip either way!
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🦐.
#seafoodtime #ahi #wasabisauce #portobellomushroom #tropicalcocktails #pokebowl
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@threesbarandgrillmaui #mauirestaurants #mauihawaii #mauilife #wheretoeat #kihei #hawaiianfood

Turtles! Big turtles! Aka Honu! . . #turtlesofinst

Turtles! Big turtles! Aka Honu!
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#turtlesofinstagram #hawaiilife #wildlifephotography #hawaiistagram #hawaiianlife #hawaiianwildlife #walkwalkwalk #familytravels #familyvacations #honu #hookipa #hookipabeachpark #paia

On to the next adventure! Ten days in Maui with th

On to the next adventure! Ten days in Maui with the whole (immediate) fam!
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#familytravels #hawaiitrip #granddaughters #pdxairport #portlandairport #mauihawaii #kihei #3gen

Yet another batch of photos! This from one of the

Yet another batch of photos! This from one of the many parades around Oaxaca last night.

Also including a few clips and photos from the little event that apparently occurs in the courtyard of my hotel each year. It featured friends and family and guests and a host of musicians and actors. Such wonderful festivities!

Such wonderful traditions. It does make me think of chow my own family visits the cemeteries of family members who have passed. While this is all very much a party, there really is so much more to it than that. Wonderful; very grateful I was able to come!

Dia de Muertos en Oaxaca! Well, it’s actually 1

Dia de Muertos en Oaxaca! Well, it’s actually 1 y 2 Noviembre … But preparations and the celebrations are on!!
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#oaxaca_bonito #oaxacamexico #oaxacacity #diademuertos #delosmuertos #diadelosmuertos #dayofthedeadmakeup #dayofthedeadmakeup @oaxtravel

Made it to Mont Alban yesterday! This a is must-do

Made it to Mont Alban yesterday! This a is must-do visit in Oaxaca. It’s only 30-45 minutes out of town and you can get there by collectivo bus, cab or any number of different tours, private or group.
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This site was built more than 2,500 years ago. Apparently it’s an excellent example of early urban planning and of course, was a strong seat of power, trade, politics. It’s perched on top of what the Zapotecs called Dani Baa, or sacred Mountain in Zapotek. The entire Valles Centrales is truly beautiful.
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The site was only discovered in the 1930s, as I already said, when I got to see some of the treasures that were found within the buildings. People have been studying it and finding new buildings and areas and yes, treasures, ever since.
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Hope you enjoy this peek of what I saw!
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#oaxtravel #oaxacamexico #oaxacatravel #montalban #montalbán #oaxacastate #prehispanic #montealban #zapotec #zapoteca #ancientruins #mexicoruins

One of the most memorable sites will be my visit t

One of the most memorable sites will be my visit to Hierve el Agua. I visited with my new friend, Suzen, and our guide, Eric of Zapotrek Tours. (Zapotrek Oaxaca)

I can’t say enough about Erik! He primarily leads outdoors tours, but also food tours, and he loves to show people his hometown of Tlacolula. We made a great full day of it. I always admire a good tour guide, and he is truly one of the best. (He’s written up in Moon Guide and his name just kept coming up.)

The site consist of petrified waterfalls and they’ve been developing for millennia. Apparently, the name translates to the water boils, but these are not Hot Springs. The water that comes up through the springs have high levels of calcium carbonate and other mineral salts. Slowly, slowly slowly, the stalactites formed and continue to form. What you see are huge, frozen water flows that spill down into the valley and is quite a thing to see.

I’m going to show way too many photos and I’m not gonna label them, obviously. But you’ll see where we are first; we’re looking down to the springs, and we hiked from way up here to way down below the springs, then back up the springs in a loop trail.

Along the way, Erik and our local guide gave us so much fascinating information. There’s a lot more I can say here obviously but after our hike, we spent some time in the water and just sunbathing and relaxing. It was truly a special time.

This is one of only two petrified waterfalls in the world; the other being in Turkey!!
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💦
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@zapotrek #oaxaca #oaxacamexico #oaxacatravel #hierveelagua #hierveelaguaoaxaca #solotraveller #womantraveler #petrifiedwaterfalls #waterfallsofinstagram #takeadip #mothernaturerocks #calciumcarbonate #stalactites #takeahike #walkwalkwalk #hierveelaguaoaxaca #oaxtravel

More exploring Barrio de Jalatlaco. Especially lov

More exploring Barrio de Jalatlaco. Especially loved Almaraiz Organico & Artesanal. Fabulous selection of organic and vegan restaurant, groceries (including bulk), beauty products. Grrrreat selection of cacao and chocolate. Fabulous coffee bar. Loved my falafel plate lunch, with a rich hot chocolate con aqua.
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@almaraizorganicos #almaraizorganicosoaxaca #jalatlaco #jalatlacooaxaca #walkwalkwalk #mexicomagico #solotravel #solotraveller #womantravel #womantraveler #justexplore #organicfoods #falafel #organicandnatural #veganeats #oaxtravel

Early in my trip I made a visit to Cento Culturo d

Early in my trip I made a visit to Cento Culturo de Santo Domingo. It’s located near the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, which isn’t at all far from my hotel. Not to be missed on any visit to Oaxaca!!
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So there’s the church, which you all have seen a bit of when I talked about the wedding procession in the courtyard. But there are actually three museums that are part of the old church monastery and grounds
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The architecture is 16th century Dominican. There is a Library with a collection of over 23,000 volumes. The architecture is very interesting. I’ll show you more of the botanical garden later.
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In the museum there is one large section devoted to the artifacts that came out of Mont Alban. This architectural site was discovered and excavated only in the 1930s.
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So here’s a bit of what I saw there.
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#oaxaca #santodomingooaxaca #centroculturasantodomingooaxaca #templodesantodomingo #montalban #montalbán @museodelasculturasoax #museodelasculturasdeoaxaca #visitoaxaca #museos #museums #museosenmexico #travelmexico🇲🇽 #mixteca #oaxtravel

Part 2. . After that hike, we went on to La Cueva

Part 2.
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After that hike, we went on to La Cueva de la Serpiente Oscuro, or cave of the dark serpent. At the mouth of the cave, there were some hard hats for those of us who didn’t have hats and chose to. I def donned one. We all had flashlights. There were rope guide rails as we descended into the somewhat narrow cave. There’s a lovely little spring further in that’s part of one of the legends. Again, it wasn’t a long walk through, but we did get to do the whole shut the lamps off and see the total darkness thing that is always a kick in caves.
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Our last stop was to the two waterfalls in the area; Las Cascadas Cola de Serpiente and Cola de Caballo. One of the Falls has an 82 foot drop and the other 262 foot drop. The second, longer one empties into a really lovely emerald green pool. We all had putt suits and towels and most of us went in to take a dip, although the with the cooler temperatures and the cool water, we may not have stayed in as long as we would have. That was great fun; it’s been years and years since I’ve done that!
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Great group of people travel with!
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#oaxaca_bonito #oaxacamexico #oaxacatravel #apoala #apoalaoaxaca #hikemexico #hiking #hikingculture #walkwalkwalk #mountainhike #solotraveler #solowomantraveler #waterfalls #waterfalls💦 #mexicotravel #oaxtravel

Yesterday I took an all day hiking tour to Apoala,

Yesterday I took an all day hiking tour to Apoala, a region to the northwest of Oaxaca, Mexico in the Apoala Valley.
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The Mixtec people have a very long history in the region. The legends and myths of the people and the spirits abound. We heard about two of them from our local guide and I also read another in my tour book.
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The ride out probably took a couple of hours but we started out with a hike at Las Penas Gemelas. Our hike took us past canyon walls dotted heavily with Bromelaids and catcus and other flora. Oak trees had moss hanging from branches everywhere. (Looked like the Spanish moss we see in Louisiana and South Carolina, but can’t be sure if it’s another type.) the Earth is a deep wine red.
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Las Penas Gemelas referred to the twin mountain crags that we walked toward. A river flows through it most of the way.
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#oaxaca_bonito #oaxacamexico #oaxacatravel #apoala #apoalaoaxaca #hikemexico #hiking #hikingculture #walkwalkwalk #mountainhike #solotraveler #solowomantraveler #santiagoapoala #oaxtravel

Shoutout to a most excellent artisan collectivo sh

Shoutout to a most excellent artisan collectivo shop, Aripo, Artesanias de Oaxaca. Beautiful work; I picked up a few small gifts.
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#aripo #aripooaxaca #artisanmade #artisans #artisaniasmexicanas #oaxtravel #alebrijes

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Nancy Zaffaro loves to travel and explore, write and take photos. At home and away, she enjoys hearing people’s stories and feels at home just about anywhere. Learn more about Nancy and the rest of CTC's contributors.

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