I have friends that recently left Australia for a few months in South America. I’m jealous. Some of my favourite memories thus far are chowing down on ceviche on the coast in Peru, or eating empanadas on overnight bus rides. Food plays such a huge role in any trip to Latin America, which is why I almost wet my pants with excitement when I heard about the Latino Fiesta held in Johnston Street, Melbourne’s Latin district, this weekend. Not one to ever miss a paella opportunity, I spent most of the week counting down the days and went to bed especially early on Friday, so that I might be able to get a full weekend of filling my belly. I never claimed to not be a loser.

Melbourne’s Spanish and Latin American community isn’t massive, but isn’t exactly non existent either. Latino HQ is pretty much Johnston Street, which is home to tapas bars, Jamón shops, authentic Mexican restaurants and Spanish clubs. Once a year the street is shutdown for a weekend of Salsa classes, over-priced Sangria, tacos and Columbian BBQ’s. Heaven for this little cerdito.

The fiesta also has a significant amount of hand made crafts, Flamingo Dancers and Latino music for sale, though for me today, it’s all about la comida.

Rule of thumb for any street food festival is to do a reconnaissance lap, check out what’s going on. You don’t want to jump in too eagerly and fill up before you get to the good stuff. So away I went.

I saw Lechona (stuffed pig) at a Columbian store that had been cooking since 3am (it takes about 10 hours). There were Anticuchos (sort of like meat kebabs, anticuchos de Corazon – beef heart- being the most popular) grilling at one of the Peruvian stores. I passed an impressive amount of revelers waiting in line to be served Sangria at many of the bars that line the streets. I found my first stop of the day.

Sangria is summer punch served in Spain and Portugal. It usually consists of a inexpensive red wine fruit, spices and a sweetener like syrup or sugar. It’s also delicious and over indulgence, at least for me, often results in the mother of all hangovers. Still it’s a small price to pay and nothing that some aspirin and huevos rancheros can’t fix.

After the sangria party for one, I was on the move again, navigating past the nervous looking guys getting salsa lessons and found the empanada store. These delicious little parcels are like a South American samosa, dough with a meat, cheese or vegetable filling, and served with salsa. Stopping myself at one, I then made a beeline for the Taco stand.

Western versions of the Taco are wrong, god damnit. To start with, a taco isn’t served in a hard corn shell in Mexico, but rather come in a small soft tortilla. Secondly there’s no lettuce to be seen in an authentic taco, rather it’s topped with diced raw onion, tomatoes and an abundance of coriander. I was a served pork taco with a wedge of lemon on the side, and encouraged to squeeze it on liberally. My first bite is extraordinary; a fusion of delicious tastes and smells.

Keen readers of this website know that I’m a vegetarian who bends the rules a bit when travelling. I decided to adopt this rule today; instead of me travelling it was Latin American that came to see me. I welcomed it in all its carnivorous glory.

Getting full and a little sleepy I decided I had room for one more dish. I did another lap so I could way up my options. I was deciding between paella and quesadillas when I stumbled across Fideuà. The icing on my gluttonous cake.

Fideuà

Fideuà is from Valencia, Spain and is similar to paella except that it uses a thin noodle like vermicelli instead of rice. The Fideuà I chose came with an abundance of crustaceans and was served with aioli. It was exquisite. I’m not a man that goes around liberally declaring things to be exquisite, so I hope this goes some way to describing just how intensely tasty it was.
Being quite content with my finds for the day I waddled over to the tram stop to head home (the laundry isn’t going to wash itself). I left with a full belly and a happy heart, knowing that my sojourn into the culinary delights of Latin America and Spain cost me little more than a tram ticket and a few extra inches around the belly.

This guest post is written by my friend Jon, a traveller and bar tender in Quito, Ecuador. Besides pulling beers, Jon is actively involved in placing people in volunteer positions around Ecuador.

I asked him to write a few words on volunteering in the Galapagos.

For me, and countless others that I have met here, travelling is an active endeavour. It’s what I call adventure. The enjoyment is taken from participating in a new environment, exploring the terrain with an active imagination, and meeting people in cultures vastly different from those we came from only to discover that we have similar interests and share mutual passions.

One area of Ecuador where people don’t take full advantage of their surroundings in this sense is the Galapagos Islands. Most of the people who go there take cruises. It’s the way it works, and few question the standard practice beyond trying to sort out a last minute cruise either by booking in Quito once they arrive, finding a deal over the internet a few months before they get here, or taking a chance and flying to the islands in search of a last-minute spot being left open on a boat.

I have always found this restricting in the sense that travelling to me involves more than cruises. Not to say that I dislike cruises. It’s just for me, The Galapagos are the same place that inspired Darwin, were the home of pirates, and which offer a glimpse into nature that one rarely sees in one place.

It’s also counter-intuitive to the environment. Tourism is responsible for much of the wear and tear inflicted on the Islands. Quarantines are disregarded, pollution is shocking, and many efforts to preserve the ecosystem are overlooked by the majority of people who live and travel there each year.

One of these efforts that I have a huge respect for is conservation. To break it down simply,conservation in the Galapagos is crucial to keeping the islands vibrant and growing. Organisations like the Darwin Foundation and Jatun Sacha work diligently to repopulate native species of plants that are in danger of extinction. Over-forestation and invasive species of plants brought in on cargo ships that supply the islands with fresh fruit and vegetables daily literally choke out important aspects of the
ecosystem if left unchecked.

A new breed of travelling has emerged here out of this dilemma that addresses all of my points so far, combining volunteering and travel. Though at first glance many dismiss this option as a sort of backpackers’ way to see the islands while saving money spent on cruises, it’s actually more involved than this and deserves attention.

The nuts and bolts of these trips are best illustrated if referring to a specific program and I am using three week volunteer \ travel trip organized by Lead-Adventures in Ecuador as my reference.

• The trip costs roughly what it costs for an eight day cruise and is all-inclusive once volunteers reach the islands and pay the entrance fee at the airport.

• The three weeks are spent on three Islands. First on San Cristobal, then on San Cristobal at the Jatun Sacha biological station, and the last week is spent enjoying the beauty and wildlife of Isabella.

• The work involves clearing space of out of control plants and reintroducing native species that are used for their unique properties by locals.

• Time is spent communally alongside locals who run the projects who offer an educating view of their home and a refreshing attitude towards visitors. They like spending time with those interested in helping.

• The accommodations are in hostels, volunteer lodging, and at a homestay.

This program works for me. It combines all the elements of my way of travelling and injects a fresh perspective to the islands that I look for when discovering a new place. The idea is inspiring, the itinerary is well organized, and when all is said and done, the money spent is contributing to the health of the Islands. This is important to me as money from tourism doesn’t stay on the islands as a general rule.

Working alongside locals makes things more personal. Helping to conserve the islands creates a different dynamic in these relationships that results in friendships based out of mutual respect for the common good. This is travelling.

When not volunteering, opportunities for adventure are at the forefront of the activities. Tours of each island’s exotic attraction are arranged and one feels encouraged to explore the nooks and crannies that offer pictures with participants as well as scenery. These are the moments that I find make new friendships form, present opportunities not seen to the naked eye, and create memories that stand out when in faraway places surrounded by familiar settings.

The places that are chosen for volunteers to stay are also comfortable to me because they offer social settings where I can find new perspectives from other volunteers and travellers. This is why I travel.

I find that sitting down for dinner at a hostel, with a group of people travelling, and in someone’s house create situations where interesting conservations are the rule and not the exception. Comparing notes with others who share my interests for travel often refreshes my passion for discovery while giving me the confidence to keep exploring.

Taking a leap and deciding to do something new like volunteer in the Galapagos isn’t always the easiest step. But for me I find it’s always the situations that begin with a challenge that offer the most reward and keeps me seeking out new horizons. If you have a similar spirit and are interested in finding out more information about the volunteer program that I mention here, ecotourism, or need a contact for anything about travelling in Ecuador, email me and check out my blog . I have a large network of trusted friends who I can recommend for Spanish Schools, Galapagos trips, Jungle adventures, and beach retreats, who came here with a traveller’s spirit and found somewhere and something that they call home and time well spent.

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Chilly July morning in Copacabana, just before a cruise around the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

Early June morning at macchu Pichu, Peru. Cheap labour employed to take care of the grass.