Category: Travel

These blogposts were written in the first half of 2018, during my travels through Latin America.

Las Tierras de Avalon: Where you can practise what you preach and reap what you sow

Posted on by Danick Toni - Updated

It is one of my last days at Las Tierras de Avalon, and it is raining outside. A tropical downpour. The sound of water thumping on the roof enters the room through its many cracks and nooks; thunder breaks outside. But inside, where I am meditating, it is peaceful. I am at peace.

Such peace has been rare during my first few weeks in South America. Backpacking is a logistical exercise in balancing your interests, your time and your budget. So trust yo girl when I say traveling can be ex-haus-ting.

Luckily, travel is also a testimony to “seek and you shall find”.

My search for a little exercise and some tranquility brought me to Las Tierras de Avalon, an oasis of peace hidden in plain sight. (more…)

South America

Carnival in the Americas: Forging Community in Curaçao and Uruguay

Posted on by Danick Toni

This year, I celebrated Carnival again after four years abroad. And what better place to start than my native Curaçao? I arrived just in time to walk in the Gran Marcha (Grand Parade) and Marcha di Despedida (Farewell Parade), both for the first time. Then, three weeks later, I got to sneak a peek of Montevideo’s Carnaval.

The festivities were vastly different in both countries, not surprising considering their different geographies and histories. Yet, what I (re-)discovered in both places was a decades-old tradition, the type that forges community between people irrespective of their race, ancestry or belief. (more…)

Central America and The Caribbean, South America, Travel

Where I’ve been

Posted on by Danick Toni - Updated

Ten years ago, when I was twelve, my mother took me backpacking for the first time. My first trip to Ecuador brought me to small Amazonian towns, glacier covered Andes, and vegetarian cuisine. But it was the country’s fascinating history, relaxed pace and cheerful people that really stole my heart. (more…)

Travel

Sustainability in Practise: What I learned during my Costa Rican Summer

Posted on by Danick Toni - 1 Comment - Updated

When my fellow interns were getting to know each other and the Oxfam Novib office in The Hague, I was all the way across the Atlantic in Costa Rica. I know, not very professional, right?

Well, I was not in Costa Rica on holidays, although it did feel that way sometimes. Instead, I was following a two–week course that equipped me with a fresh set of tools for changing the world. Reflecting on it now, I cannot imagine a better preparation for Oxfam’s fight against poverty, however brief it was. (more…)

Archive, Central America and The Caribbean, Oxfam Novib Academy, Travel

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