April 2018: Dumpster Diving, Diplomas, and Beyoncé
This Month
It's not just the bears that finally brushed off hibernation. We're back at it! The blog has been a bit quiet, because we're on the move again. But more about that in a minute.
The big event in April was Coachella Music Festival, our fourth trip to sweaty Indio valley and one of our few excursions into southern California. Music festivals are wily beasts, especially Coachella, which has a bad habit of welcoming in days well over 100 degrees. But the desert sunsets are spectacular over the palm trees, art installations, and generally gorgeous people. And the queen Bey herself performed this year, which is pretty incredible for any woman/feminist/human. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite keep up with our neighbors' coke habit (we stuck to copious amounts of craft beer) or the new generation of rap that seemed to infiltrate the lineup.
We're planning to write a few guides soon about the experience. Music festivals get a bad rep for being over the top weekends that that one rich friend from high school won't stop instagraming. But they don't have to be! They can actually be beautiful budget experiences if done correctly, and save you money if you replace (some of) your weekly bar tab with the big event.
Big News
Coachella was kind of a celebration for us, because... we graduated! Well, Tori did. With a mildly exhausting degree in chemistry and anthropology. Stefan has about five more days until the the documents for his philosophy degree roll in. It's kind of crazy. We started traveling during university and this next period marks a big change for us: full time travel. And the last year of a valid student card. Bummer.
Budget Blues
Well, not really. More just like budgeting. We've been on overdrive preparing for essentially indefinite travel. At the top of the list is selling all our earthly possessions. But we've also discovered an AMAZING new trick called the dumpster behind Whole Foods. Turns out the mega posh brand has dedicated compost bins behind most of their stores. And all those ugly tomatoes that upper middle class housewives don't want to spend $5 a pound for? Yea, they end up there. We're not gonna go all #freegan on you here, but we're just saying there might be some logic in tackling America's food waste problem from the ground up. Plus, it's almost impossible to go into Whole Foods without spending at least $80, so it seems like an even bigger win.
The Blog
Despite the quiet profile, big things are happening on Eastward Bounds. Our Colombia page is growing and will hopefully be completely updated before we head out. Check it out and seriously consider visiting this gem of a country. We have too much to write and too little time, so let us know if you're lookin for anything specific.
We also got these lil guys in and we're pretty excited. Look for them plastered on your neighborhood hostel's bathroom stall or shoot us a message if you want one to stick one on your water bottle 😘
Up Next
Next month is the official start of longterm travel for us. We have a flight booked on the surprisingly good value Norwegian Air to Edinburgh on May 13. We'll spend a few days exploring the Harry Potter alleys before heading to the tippy top of Scotland to begin the gorgeous Cape Wrath trail in a pretty ambitious 13 days. We'll let ya know how it goes, and see if we can manage $25 a day in the budget killer that is the UK.
♡ Stef and Tor