A couple of backpacks

In Cuzco, Peru we worked in the bar at the point hostel, and that was, by the way, the exact place where we first meet (but that's a story for another post). The job was great fun: besides pouring drinks we were  (ir)responsable for taking people out to the clubs and organizing field trips, like paintball and go karting. In exchange we got free accommodation, free food and discounts on drinks.
Just like us, there are lots of other travelers that find working in hostels a great way of extending your stay for a low cost.  The jobs can vary a lot: you could help with the cleaning, housekeeping, frontdesk, bar and even in the kitchen  if the hostel has one.
Sounds good? Well, it gets better: while looking on the internet today I just found this website  hosteljobs.net which seems like a good tool for finding and arranging jobs prior to your arrival.
Check it out, give it a try: if you are lucky enough you might even find your future wife/husband to be sleeping on the bunk above you.
Cheers to all

Hey everybody, this is our initial route plan, but as good backpackers we will always keep our eyes open for different route opportunities as they come up. And by the way: if you live in any of these places or have been there and know of some cool stuff to do let us know and we will and maybe even post a special thanks just for you!!

Countries we go trough:
-Brazil
-South Africa
-Namibia
-Botswana
-Zimbabwe
-Mozambique
-Zambia
-Tanzania
-Uganda
-Rwanda
-Kenya
-Ethiopia
-Eritrea
-Sudan
-Egypt    
-Israel
-Jordan
-Saudi Arabia
-United Arab Emirates
-Iran
-Pakistan
-India
-Nepal
-China
-Bhutan
-Myanmar
-Vietnam
-Cambodia
-Thailand
-Malaysia
-Singapore
-Indonesia
-Australia
-New Zealand

And of course some of these countries have unstable political issues so, we are only going to be 100%sure that we are going once we are there.

Cheers to all
Nando & Testa

Hey everybody,


We've recently been researching all over the internet for places that needs people volunteering and we found a great website, so if you are interested check it out: http://www.ivsp.org/vfpsearch.aspx   
It's a volunteering search engine, where you can choose what kind of volunteering work you want do do and where do you want to go to, when do you want to go and for how long you want to stay. So no more excuses to do nothing!!


Cheers to all


Here's a pic of Nando teaching (and Learning) with his kids while Volunteering at The Centro Juvenil Marcavalle, in Cuzco, Peru.

"A couple of backpacks" is an Internet based travel show/blog that is going to follow, record and report the adventures we will have as young backpackers while we make our way through the gap that separates our places of birth: Brazil and New Zealand.

The trip starts in April 2011 leaving from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Nando´s birth place) on a sailing boat across the Atlantic ocean heading towards South Africa. From there we make our way inland towards the north of Africa, the middle-east, the south of Asia, the Indonesian Islands, and finally reaching the land down under and New Zealand (Testa´s birth place).

The trip should take about 1 to 2 years depending on lots of different factors including, routes to chose from, places to stay, possible catastrophes, diplomatic bureaucracies, lack of sponsorship, and a very likely doom´s day scenario (Dec,21.2012) right in the middle of our plans.

So what happens from April 2011 onwards is a big mystery which we can only plan the bases of. We´ll both be travelling light, with just enough clothes not to freeze in the Himalayas, a little bit less than enough money not to starve, and just enough camera gear to make sure we can register the day we do freeze and starve .

This won´t be just an ordinary sightseeing trip to famous places on earth, this will be a BACKPACKING trip, which means we will surely be going to the tourist places, but we will also and most importantly be going to the NOT so touristic places. Living and sharing with the locals, learning from them, with the lightest weight of prejudice we can carry in our minds, and with the biggest load of humanitarian will that we can fit in our hearts.

We sincerely hope you will join us at some point of this trip, by watching our episodes, commenting our blog, visiting our sponsored links and who knows maybe even sharing a part of our way.

Cheers to all.
Nando & Testa