It's question time! — Someday Sherpa

Jul 3

Jul 3 It's question time!

After a wild, adventurous and emotional 10.5 months our travels are coming to an end for the moment. Lady Client will continue through Ecuador, The Galapagos Islands and Mexico; faithful Sherpa however travels to another foreign land (UK). In honour of our trip, and to hopefully entertain our family and friends, here's a quiz we compiled and put to each other.

ON THE ROAD:

What can't you travel without?
Lady Client: My Sherpa
Sherpa: Maps.me
What items do you wish you brought with you?
LC: A fluffy bath towel, 1,000 count sheets, down pillow, endless clothes, high heels
Sherpa: Another camera battery, more clothes and a hip flask
What home comfort do you miss the most?
LC: A toilet seat, flushing toilet and constant hot water
Sherpa: Fitness routines and fresh produce
What food from your home country do you miss the most?
LC: Grilled salmon, champagne, dry rose, raiding the Mosman Village cheese room
Sherpa: Salmon and endless vegetables
Who is the most interesting person you've met so far?
LC: 1. An absolute Canadian power couple: Annie & Bruno: she’s a Forensic Pathologist and the world’s leading strangulation expert and he’s a retired Lieutenant Colonel. 2. The owner of Hobbitenango, Guatemala: sci-fi geek, eco-warrior and all round amazing guy.
Sherpa: Combination of Simon our Swiss Polo buddy, Marky our adopted son, and Franko another Swiss gent who lives life to the fullest
What's been your scariest moment?
LC: When we were nearly robbed by a looney in the van at 5am in El Chalten, Chile
Sherpa: Walking through the Tikal ruins at night knowing Tarantulas are using the same paths
What was your most embarrassing moment?
LC: 1. Having category 5 level ‘runs’ while hiking in Colombia. I won’t elaborate. 2. Walking down the main street of Huaraz Peru in tracksuit pants (someone stole my laundry) and shitty t-shirt with no underwear or bra. I had to put all my clothes in a rapid wash laundromat post-10 day trek before jumping on an 8 hour bus. 3. Rocking a blue t-shirt with huge gold, glitter letters spelling LONDON but below it was featured an image of Manhattan, NYC! Soooo not me.
Sherpa: Locking the keys in our van while drinking Pisco Sours and replying on locals to jimmy the lock.
What's the longest single journey you've taken?
LC: Bolivian bus ride: while it was only 12 hours, it should have been a five hour bus trip but we ended up having to hike up the highway, hitchhike on a motorbike and find another bus to get into La Paz.
Sherpa: If you discount the 9,000kms in our van then I'd say it was 18+ hrs from Iguazu Falls back to Buenos Aires
How many countries have you visited on this trip?
LC: 17
Sherpa: 16
What's been the weirdest thing you've seen?
LC: Howler monkeys - they roar like there’s a 10 foot wildebeest around and can predict rain. Cool! Also, Sherpa trying to climb into bed - seriously man - you sleep on the floor.
Sherpa: Might be the Guatemalan rural ladies who were 2ft shorter than me, or people escaping Nicaragua's San Juan del Sur beachside resort as the Tsunami warning siren went off
What's your biggest frustration that the non-travelling world would roll their eyes at?
LC: 1. Saying “Not another waterfall - we’ll skip this one”. 2. Do I seriously have to go out to have breakfast/lunch/dinner again?
Sherpa: 1. Why does my shower head have an electrical cable hanging down from it. 2 How can my bag not accommodate more than three t-shirts without exploding...likely it's Lady Clients clothes I'm carrying as well causing this issue. 3 How can I have been sitting on this bus for 12hrs and still not be at my destination!
What's the most interesting animal you've seen?
LC: Sloths in the wild
Sherpa: Sloths and in particular the babies
Explain your most ridiculous bathroom experience?
LC: A shower over the toilet in Belize. The sign read “for your convenience, a shower over the toilet. Perfect for when you’re hungover’.
Sherpa: Has to be our hostels offering on Belize's Caye Caulker. Only a special place gives a list of positives as to why the shower is above the toilet. As a side-note our shower in Minca, Colombia was opened sided looking over a lush valley and the distant Pacific
Top hostels you wouldn't return to and why?
LC: 1. Hostel Antigua, Guatemala- bad-ass bed bugs problem. 2. The Lazy Crab, Caye Caulker for shower over the toilet.
Sherpa: Caye Caulkers offering as you can't swing a toilet brush in the bathroom. The shitty Hostel in Taganga, Colombia which failed to honour our booking. Finally the one from Guatemala where we were eaten alive by bed bugs 🐜

ADVICE:

What's the best piece of travel advice you've received?
LC: “Take your time. Less is more.” This gem is courtesy of my mum. A year through Central & South America seems like a lot of time but it is such a huge continent - even one year isn’t long enough. Our philosophy is to explore less parts of a country but get to know them intimately.
Sherpa: Do as your Lady Client asks if you want shoes or a roof over your head at night
What's the worst piece of travel advice you've received?
LC: “Don’t go to Cuba”. I had the most incredible experiences in Cuba, I’m so glad we spent 3 weeks twirling around a country trapped in 1959. To me, it wasn’t long enough but I’m grateful to have experienced it.
Sherpa: Not received, but free-styling all bookings would be at the top. We've spent a little more time reviewing tours and are yet to be disappointed.
What travel scams have you heard about?
LC: We unknowingly had all our money drained from our savings account after our card was skimmed. ING were amazing and returned it all within 3 days.
Sherpa: Fake money from ATM's and mums with no kids asking for money to feed their babies. This was in Cuba and they just go and buy drinks. The one we got stung by was having a young Dutch guy wheedle his way into our favours - Marky I'm sure you're dodgy in some shape or form 😜 !
What's the most reliable source of travel advice?
LC: Blogs - always blogs!
Sherpa: Blogs
What's your top travel tip?
LC: Always take the harder path to find the most rewarding journey
Sherpa: Spend a little more and get a lot more

STUFF:

What has been the most useful item you brought with you?
LC: My Bose noise cancelling headphones. It has made long bus, train and plane rides bearable - cancel out screaming babies, personal stereos and drivers poor choice in loud music.
Sherpa: Tripod for the camera
How much stuff have you lost?
LC: So much! 2 memorable moments: 1. some sick bastards stole 5 pairs of my underwear (creepy!). Normally I wouldn’t care but they were super light, quick drying - sadly here I can only buy granny panties. 2. A laundromat in Peru nicked off with mine and Sherpa’s good lulu lemon trekking gear before our 10 day trek. This resulted in us having to buy the most embarrassing array of local clothes from the markets - queue cheap fabric, gold rhinestones and heaps of bling.
Sherpa: Multiple items of clothing and my sanity watching Lady Client attempt map reading
How much stuff have you posted home?
LC: Hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. Wooden Mexican masks, stuffed llamas, alpaca goods - all essential items!
Sherpa: Lady Client has kept Central and South American postal services in business. I haven't been allowed to shop so have nothing waiting for me 😢
How many gadgets are you carrying?
LC: Ask Sherpa, how would I know?
Sherpa: All of them!!! Amazed she didn't give me a hair dryer.

ACTIVITIES:

List your top 5 activities
LC: 1. 10 day Huayhuash Trek, Peru 2. W Trek, Torres del Paine, Patagonia 3. Playing Polo, Argentina 4. White water rafting category 5 rapids, Futaleufu, Chile 5. Climbing Acatenango Volcano, Antigua, Guatemala *seriously I have 20 that are in the top 5.
Sherpa: In no order - Polo, white water rafting, Monte Verde trail race in Costa Rica, attempting to night surf in El Salvador and summiting a 6,070m volcano peak
Favourite wild nights
LC: 1. San Andres Island, Colombia , 2. NYE, Cartengena, Colombia 3. Trinidad, Cuba 4. Havana, Cuba
Sherpa: NYE in Cartagena and Marky's goodbye in Lima with Pisco Sours, fancy restaurants and casino wins
Worst hangover, where, who were the partners in crime and what were you consuming?
LC: 1. Cartagena, Colombia with Sherpa, consuming everything we could get our hands on. 2. Arequipa, Peru with Mark Schulten, drinking pisco sours.
Sherpa: Sometime over the Xmas trip with our Aussie and NZ friends on Colombia's San Andreas island. Drank Olivia under the table but the next day a sleep on a park bench was called for. That's what happens when you've an unlimited supply of rum - and a crazy Aussie to compete against.

QUICK FIRE:

Toilets: squat or Western?
LC: I’ll take anything clean these days
Sherpa: Western
Lonely Planet or blogs?
LC: Blogs
Sherpa: Blogs
Dorm or private room?
LC: Private room
Sherpa: Private room
Tea or coffee?
LC: Tea
Sherpa: Coffee - finally!
Bus or train?
LC: Train
Sherpa: Plane. Oh wait that wasn't an option. OK, train
City or regional?
LC: Regional
Sherpa: Regional
Window or aisle seat?
LC: Window
Sherpa: Aisle as I'm apparently a giant
Strict schedule or go with the flow?
LC: Go with the flow, yo.
Sherpa: Combo
Margarita, mojito or pisco sour?
LC: All of the above
Sherpa: Hardest one so far but I'm going to say margarita. If I have a cigar then it's a mojito

REFLECTION:

Why did you want to come to this continent?
LC: Central & South America is an explorer's dream and there was no way I was going to attempt it in a few weeks. It needed my undivided attention to play in this part of the world.
Sherpa: Never seen it, so much to explore and a lifelong dream to see Patagonia
What would you do if you didn't have to work?
LC: Keep travelling the world being a full-time spokesperson for the planet and environment.
Sherpa: Play golf, travel, pay someone to constantly train me, learn, and set up a charity event.
What's the most interesting thing you've learnt?
LC: How precious the planet is, how little I knew about climate change and the dramatic affect it and that I can help.
Sherpa: How to plan for the future. I also loved learning Polo.
What has surprised you about yourself?
LC: I’m stronger and braver than I ever knew.
Sherpa: Realisation about how I struggle to set goals for the future but with Lady Clients help I'm greatly improved in this area
What was the most challenging thing you've done?
LC: The 10 day trek through Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru - climbing a pass over 4,500m every day, sleeping at over 4,000m every night and not showering for the duration.
Sherpa: Either write my 3 year goals, or walk at the pace of fellow trekkers - Sherpa's are used to elevation and walk faster.
What’s the saddest thing you’ve seen?
LC: The tragic effects of climate change - *the beautiful glaciers are melting people*. There’s no denying it.
Sherpa: Glaciers disappearing. So glad to have made it to these regions; give it a few years and they'll be gone. Thanks 'The Donald' you f**kwit!

These last few questions are specific to Lady Client or Sherpa.

FOR LADY CLIENT:

If you hadn't travelled with me who would you have gone with. Please note they need to act as Sherpa / slave?
Myself! While I would have struggled with my bags, I couldn’t imagine travelling for this long with anyone but my Sherpie. Seriously, who else would put up with my shit!
You planned this trip well before Sherpa curled up in the corner of your adventure. Has it worked out having him tag along?
We had only known each other since Christmas - a short 8 months before take-off - it was a risky situation. But a risk that paid off and then some. You’ve been my rock, my best friend and the most important person in my life. It’s true, I’ve fallen in love with my Sherpa.
Now you're off on your own what's stopping you from getting lost and ending up in a remote Amazon village being slowly cooked in a stew?
This possibility is frighteningly real.

FOR SHERPA:

Lady Client is regarded as a ball breaker, did she live up to her reputation?
Over and above. She has mastered the skill of constantly ordering me about while doing nothing yet looking very 'busy'.
On a scale of 0 (appalling) - 5 (beyond amazing), how would you rate your service to lady client? Please explain.
Probably a 14.7. I couldn't have done more for her and expect my bonus will be in the form of 4 wheels and shiny.
You had only know Lady Client for 8 months before embarking on this trip - what were some moments that cemented your partnership?
10.5months together will cement or break any relationship. I know more about her dodgy stomach issues and lack of patience than anyone ever should. On a serious note she's incredible and I really lucked out that she accepted my drunken offer to tag along. Anyone spending time with Lady Client would fall in love, I just happened to be the Sherpa she chose.

Instagram: @thelisaphillips #somedaysherpa