Travel off the beaten track and experience

I’d been in Ubud just a few days when I was viciously attacked by monkeys. It was an incident that had me in tears, lost me a bottle of Sprite and reluctant to ever return to Monkey Forest.  It just wasn’t safe. Monkey Forest is, as you would expect, a large forest filled with monkeys. There are over 300 of them and after spending five minutes there I had deduced that all 300 are evil. Tamed by the presence of humans over the last 20 years, these monkeys will do anything to get their hands on any food you may be carrying. It’s not uncommon to see them jumping and climbing over tourists, and they’ve been known to get very aggressive – stealing earrings, food and cameras. Despite the aggression, if you manage to keep your distance, make sure not to carry anything valuable, and definitely don’t bring any food (don’t try and hide it either – they WILL find it!) into the forest then you’ll be able to somewhat safely hang out with the ...

Toxic Fumes at La Chureca Landfill Near Lake Managua Managua, Nicaragua La Chureca is the largest garbage dump in Central America. It’s located on the outskirts of Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua and covers over 4 square miles (7 sq. km). One thousand people live & work on the “City of Trash” every day. Getting here was not easy, and traipsing through burning, rotting garbage wasn’t exactly a picnic either. But the hardest part of all was bearing witness to the way of life these people have to live. They are called Churequeros . Their homes are made of trash. They scavenge through the garbage for food. Every day they search for scraps of plastic, cans, and glass to sell for recycling. This is how they make a living. There is an elementary school located on the dump with 6 classrooms. But once kids have graduated, they don’t have many options. Most start working long hours in the landfill every day with the rest of the family. The peo...