The Frog & The Hare

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

We arrived in Iquitos after a 24hr journey and hopped on a moto taxi to our hostel. Remember when giving directions in Spanish to taxi driver not to mix up malecon (Boardwalk) with mericon (homosexual). Once we arrived at our hostel on the malecon we quickly embraced the busy streets of Iquitos, the gateway to the Amazon. The following day we took off on a speed boat up river following the Amazon North until we branched off onto a small tributary called the Tahuayo River. The water changes from muddy brown to dark black.

We met our jungle guide, Edson at the Tahuayo Lodge. Edson grew up in the jungle and knew the area like the back of his hand. He could spot things that we would have just walked by without even noticing. We told him we weren't his average tourists, he said "alright no limits!", and that we wanted to have a more adventurous experience. I think he had been waiting a while to get people like us because he took advantage of this and hiked us until we were ready to throw in the towel. We did many full day excursions some starting before sunrise. Most days we speared and caught our breakfast and lunch. We dined on Piranha, Dragonfish, Amazon pike, Bass. We ate plantains with the occasional coconut grub and water vine to wash it all down.

On our excursions we found poison dart frogs, monkeys, turtles, sloths, Pink River Dolphins, Giant River Otters, opossums, and identified over 50 different species of birds which is a small fraction of the 1800 species that exist in the country. During the night adventures we found giant tarantulas, and even saw a wolf spider eating a frog. One day we built a raft and paddled it across a lake filled with Black Caiman. Edson was scared, but we knew no limits. On our last day we spotted a 6ft rat-tailed boa constrictor up in a tree. We figured we each gave an ounce of blood to the healthy mosquito population by the end of our ten days in the jungle. We were feeling a wee bit jungled out by the time we said adios to our amigo Edson.

Once back in Iquitos we took a white knuckle turbulent plane ride to Lima where the concrete jungle was waiting for us. This jungle quickly made us miss the real jungle. Although, we were happy to meet up with Eugene's friend from California, clean our super dirty jungle clothes, and then book a luxury night bus ride to a surf spot on the Northern Coast of Peru. The surf on arrival was all time. The wave called Chicama is said to be the longest wave on earth. After four days of wind, sun and tasty waves our bodies had had enough. The wave is so long and the current is so strong that the only way to get back is to get out of the water and walk back to the point which is a half mile walk every time. Now we're in Huanchaco catching the tail end of the endless winter swells.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Aloha Everyone, We're getting Married!

You’re invited to celebrate with us! We hope to see you there!

We are having a small private ceremony in an old growth redwood forest in northern California on June 1^st 2016. We love parties and our family and friends so we will be holding two celebration events following the ceremony, one in California and one in Maryland. The west coast reception will be held on Friday, June 3^rd at the Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club hosted by Doug and Lisa Canepa. The east coast reception will be held on Friday August 5^th at Ostertag Vista hosted by Dennis and Kathy Bridges. Everyone is invited to attend both parties or come to the celebration that better fits your location and life schedule. Both of these events will be fun and (dressy) casual.

West Coast Party

The celebration on the west coast will be held in Eugene’s hometown of Mill Valley in the Bay Area. If you are traveling to California, the San Francisco Airport and the Oakland Airport are close and serviced by many different airlines. There are a few options for places to stay in the area. The Holiday Inn Express Mill Valley is about 10 minutes from the venue. The phone number is 1-800 HOLIDAY; when you call to make your reservation mention that you are a part of the Canepa Wedding group to receive a discount promo code. Another option in Mill Valley is the Mill Valley Inn. Please feel free to call us if you need help deciding on where to stay.

East Coast Party

The celebration on the east coast will be held near Katy’s hometown outside of Frederick, Maryland. If you are traveling to this event either the Baltimore/Washington Airport or Dulles/Washington D.C. airport are both 45 minutes away and serviced by many airlines. We have a block of rooms reserved at the Frederick Courtyard Marriott. Please call 800-257-3000 or 301-631-9030 to make your reservation and let them know you are with the Bridges-Canepa wedding party. You can click the link to make your reservation. Book your group rate for Bridges Canepa Wedding . We will also be providing a shuttle service to and from this hotel to Ostertag Vista for the party.

Our Life Plan and our Honeymoon

We are starting a new chapter, not only are we getting hitched, but we are also leaving Hawaii and moving to the mainland. This new life will look very different than our tree house life in paradise. As many of you know we LOVE to travel and like to go on extended adventures. We are traveling to Peru for a six week honeymoon in between the wedding celebrations. After the celebration in Maryland, in August we will start our new life in Marin County. We don't know what our new life will look like and where we will be living. Because of our situation we aren’t sure what to do about a registry and the gift-giving aspect of getting married. So, if you are in the gift giving spirit may we suggest gift cards to places that have things that will eventually fill a home once we get a home and decide what that home will need. If you like hearing about our travel journeys and want to contribute to our adventure and follow our blog while we are gone you may want to donate to our honeymoon fund.   We will be going on an Amazon Expedition for 10 days, taking some Spanish classes, visiting Machu Picchu, going backpacking, and renting surfboards to find some Peruvian waves. Please give us your email so we can include you in our blog posts. You can bring it to the party, email us, or send it in the mail.
kdbridge@gmail.com                                           332 Panoramic Hwy
raseugene@yahoo.com                                 Mill Valley, CA 94941

Gift Cards/Gift Certificates suggestions: Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Heath Ceramics, Williams Sonoma, Etsy, Barnes and Noble, REI, Southwest Airlines, Amazon, Proof Lab. Surprise us!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Surfs UP!

Every time we visit Taranaki we get absorbed by its surreal beauty, the great ocean waves, and the awesome camp spots. This time we were luckier than last time. We managed to get a week full of tasty waves and sun kissed days. Our legs were tired from surfing. Ready for a break, sitting on a canoe sounded good, but the weather turned grey and our canoe trip was cancelled. I guess it’s another reason to come back.

On our way to Tauranga we stopped over in Taupo at a thermal spring waterfall and took a dip. We headed to visit our cherry-picker kiwi friend and ended up staying at his house for a week helping on his mom’s flower farm. Their family was one of the first British to settle on the peninsula at Plummer’s Point. After a recharge from the farm we were stocked up on fruit and ready to hit the open road again.

We decided to take the longer route to Raglan so we could check out Waitomo area and

Kawhia Beach on the west side. The pristine forest, stunning waterfalls, and glowworms made the long way worth it. Kawhia Beach is the mouth of a beautiful harbor and holds a hot spot that can be found at low tide. We found the hot water spot, and we were the only two people there! We rolled into another week of surf, sun, and fun in Raglan. We met some Californian surfer friends who were heading to the east side to catch some waves. We caravaned it together and scored. After surfing for a few days on the Coromandel we headed to “the” Hot Water Beach and dug a sand jacuzzi for the four of us.

Before heading back to Raglan we got word that space was available to work exchange at an eco-retreat overlooking the surf break. The stars were aligning because the waves started pumping. Eugene was happy. We get to stay in a real bed in an old train caboose. We’ve had warm days and very cool nights with winter creeping in and travelers around us leaving.