Tag Archives: Aaron Carotta

MY QUEST TO SET A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SlRUbVTriY

Travel Bucket List Item 32, ‘Set A World Record’. That said, meet my next expedition. Kayaking the entire length of the Intracoastal Waterway in the United States, in a solo kayak. The journey will begin the Florida Keys and end in Maine, for an estimated, 3,000 miles. The current record is 2010 miles, held by Helen Skelton, in the Amazon Delta.
So why in the world would I have this as a buck list? Here are my reasons;

1-Perspective- Traveling the world has always been about gaining a different perspective on life. When things get tough, easy, boring, and monotonous, a new perspective has aided to happiness. Seeing the entire east coast from a Kayak, is certainly going to be an interesting perspective.

2-Challenge- Most of my recent dissolved fears have been my greatest personal growths. The overcoming the doubt and sense of urge has been a mental tool that keeps getting stronger as I tackle each fear. I personally hate kayaking. The speed of the kayak vs the speed of a boat, is dreadful, yet important. Slowing things down to appreciate the now, will take patience and a strong thought process. Its the mental game and the idea of coming to terms with an activity I hate, to find the positive in the activity. To date, I have Kayaked a total of 4 hours in my 33 years of life.

3-Chance to Give Back- The more I see the world, the more I see how many things are for free to worry so much about how much money one makes. This will allow me to benefit a charity organization I feel strongly about, while I still continue to motivate others to overcome challenges they may have in life.

4-Happiness- With the above three, its a combination and most importantly, a great way to enjoy life. If I died tomorrow, I would like to feel like I have lived life to the fullest. Part of that, mean physically pushing my body to its fullest capabilities. With the help of Tim Ferriss, second best selling book, ‘ The 4 – Hour Body’, I am going to attempt to case study the skills taught in it. This will include, ‘ Slow-Carb Diet’ and ‘Polyphasic Sleep’. Using these techniques, I will establish a personal weight loss goal and perfect sleep by only sleeping 2-4 hours per day, allowing me to possibly set a second world record, “The longest journey in a 24 hour period”.

Thanks for supporting and following. You can follow the entire journey here,

http://adventureaaron.com/live-map/

Taking Advantage of Airport Delays

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Lisbon Airport, Portugal.
I remember it like it was yesterday. “Fletcher, (my veteran cameraman) should we roll the dice?”-I mumbled under my breath, as we stood in the 3 hour line at the airport counter. He looked at me, then glanced at the arrival board, full of delays and said, “Amsterdam?” I replied, “Exactly!” After all, I was still soaking wet from the 3 solid days of rain in our planned Portugal shoot. So who would have thought that one problem with nature would have led to an answer with the another so called problem. You see, all of the airports were delayed, due to the ‘Iceland Volcano’. All, but Amsterdam. Originally we were scheduled to connect in London in effort to get back to NYC. The volcanic irruption had delayed all flights out of Lisbon, Portugal, to London, because flights were delayed flying out of London. Amsterdam, was still allowing flights to come in and out. So instead of staying in Portugal, with nothing more than a bench to sleep on, we noticed that flights were going into Amsterdam. Therefore, we changed our route to go into Amsterdam, then NYC, simply because the flights were not delayed, going out of Amsterdam, allowing flights to connect in Amsterdam. Oh, one other thing, it was free! The icing on the cake is, we asked for the 23 hour lay over, as most airlines will allow you a 23 hour layover with no charge. It just so happened, upon our arrival into Amsterdam, 23 hours turned out to be 48 hours, as the volcanic ash moved over the Amsterdam airport. So, Fletcher and I took our free hotel voucher and meal tickets, to experience the adventures of Amsterdam. If you are confused, here is the proof. The lesson learned here was to realize the flexibility you have with the airlines and the delays. The next time you are delayed, with a bit of the above knowledge, you too, can turn a ‘Natural Catastrophe’ into an ‘Extended Vacation’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3WZttV-gWw

As I prepare to film an all new 13 episodes for , “Alive! With Adventure Aaron”, on a larger network, we will be disclosing the new channel in July. Here is, “Alive-Amsterdam”. Featuring the ‘Worlds Expert On Flying Free’ and the ‘Godfather of Bumps’, Rick Ingersoll. Obviously, there are the standard, “Adventure Aaron”, bucket list items, but more importantly, you will see how we took advantage of a Natural Catastrophe, the Iceland Volcano.

Travel Hacking

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“Travel Hacking, for me, has always been about incorporating the ‘Street Smarts’ of travel. With reduced incomes, less vacation time, and heighten security alerts, it is the world class skills, every traveler needs. I have listened, learned, and now I am teaching. If you have always wanted to go off the beaten path, or just get a couple of good links and tips, this page is for you.”-Aaron


‘This page is dedicated to everyone who took the time to give me free advice or directions. I just want you all to know I found it and more!’

If you are interested in having me actually guide you around any of these locations please email amy at adventure aaron dot com.

Travel Hacks Are In Alphabetical Order By Country. Some of these may be practical, some may be just funny. Either way they will be periodically updated as I continue to ‘Hack Life, One Country At A Time’.

Argentina
Buenos Aries-The airport may have long lines at security, you can always go to the front an tell them the time of your flight, they will assist you to the front of the line.

Austria
I took the train system from Zurich to Austria to Budapest which was cheaper then flying into Budapest from the states. Flights into Zurich, peak season, were cheaper and the train system to Budapest was cheaper than taking a flight into Budapest or going directly to Budapest. You can always check Wizz Air when in Europe as I did find $29 dollar one way airfare from Budapest to Istanbul. If you take the train and cannot afford the sleeping car, take the seat closest to the window. People frequently get on and off the train in your section. This will prevent them from stepping over you. If you need an outlet over the course of 9 hours, most of them are located by the bathrooms.

Bahamas
Nassau- Instead of staying at the amazing Atlantis Resort, http://www.atlantis.com/, you can access the hotel and stay for cheaper next door at the Comfort Suites, http://www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-paradise_island-bahamas-BS003?promo=gcsbs003. The room is usually 50 percent of the price and they will give you a bracelet for the pool and beach area at Atlantis. If you decide to gamble or want to access the cove area (adult or high roller area) use theses techniques I illustrated to befriend the casino host. The Traveling Gambler, http://www.adventureaaron.com/the-traveling-gambler-oceans-14/ Continue reading →

The Travel Hacking Guide

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“Dedicated to everyone that gave me directions or free advice”-Aaron

For the first time in my blog history, I am actually going to write quite a bit. I debated making this an ebook or a guide book, but after much thought, I wanted this to be a way of showing thanks. I mean, its 2011 and it was exactly one year from today, I began filming, “Alive! With Adventure Aaron”! Its a story about how someone diagnosed with Cancer, decides to live out a Travel Bucket List incorporating “Travel Hacking”. I think back and I cant help but smile. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday…

“I am going to travel the world and I am going to do it for free”. Those were the exact words I told my longtime good friend, Kris on January 03rd of 2010. He simply laughed and said, “Yep…I am sure you will”. That’s the reaction most of my friends had at the time. As my ‘About’ section states, most of my friends don’t really get or understand how I make my living. More on how that works will be coming out soon, but for now, I want to share with you some the knowledge I have gained. After 20 months of traveling, 25 countries visited, dozens of travel bucket list items achieved, one on one interviews with some of the best travel hackers in the business, and experiences worth the world I have traveled, I wanted to create a resource that you can use. It took me the past 5 weeks of reflecting and researching to put together the page, “Travel Hacking”. Every country I have ever visited since I first left the states is listed. Travel hacking has been about adding meaning to the term as it was originally described to me. It has become the term I use to describe the “Street Smarts” of travel. The following are strictly my own personal experience from trial and error. If you’re traveling soon or currently traveling, this is meant to be a quick resource for you to continuously check.

The following is dedicated to all of the people who gave me free advice when I was lost or looking for the below information. I just want you to know, I found it and more! Welcome to the underground world of travel hacking.

The Travel Hacking Guide

 

Acquiring Fine Taste By Eating Frogs, Magots, and Crikets in Bangkok

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Before I came full circle on my trip around the world without a bag, I made a pit stop in Bangkok to do the unthinkable and try the bizarre foods of the night. Living life to the fullest, has put me in interesting situations that usually allow me to say yes, to just about anything. It is what traveling has been all about for me and I certainly could not pass on the luxury of trying some in Thailand. Arriving full circle on my trip around the world, the video below is the last of the journey. Thanks for following my journey and if you need a little push, I think this will help you. As I come back from 50 days of traveling without a bag, most would want to rest, but I am itching for more. Going around the world has been like having a 5 course meal, with each country presenting a new course. The only difference is, you can have the dessert whenever you want. On that note, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el6zKcLjYD0

Learning to Kite Board in the Red Sea

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An old friend introduced me to the sport of Kite Boarding 5 years ago. It wasn’t a point in my life that I was ready to learn or appreciate this sport, full of patience and youth. I am happy to say with my new perspective on life and adding it to my travel bucket list, “Learn to Kite Board in the Red Sea”, was certainly justified. It has always been about living life to the fullest, and bringing the youth back to traveling. Similar to my trip around the world, without a bag, its earthly fun. When you were a kid, did you remember what was packed in your bag or where you went? Kids and youth are innocent, carefree, and full of life! With my recent awakening on how I choose to see the things in life, this sport was suddenly something I gravitated towards. Being in the Red Sea, surrounded by the holy mountains and the blue clear water, it left me speechless.

For those of you looking to learn this sport, here is my brief video on how I attempted to learn this sport, courtesy of Ahmed with Profi Sailors in Egypt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C53dNjezRAc

I found this adventure through one of my favorite sites when it comes to finding companies that help in assisting me with knocking off a few items, here is the link, they have been an excellent resource,
Adventure Travel

 

Another Culture Shock in Egypt-30 Days in, still no bag.

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I never thought I would spend two weeks with the Muslim culture. All said and done, its pretty amazing. Here is the video after 30 days in on my around the world venture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHyK6SkixY

The more I travel the more I appreciate finding underdeveloped waterfront property. After visiting the pyramids in GIZA, I managed to surprise myself by finding DAHAB, EGYPT. I have been playing in the Red Sea for the past two weeks enjoying all the adventures it offers. Looking across the sea and seeing Saudi Arabi, I can understand why there are few Americans and tons of Europeans.
This has been the longest I have been without a bag, but even more so, without television. Letting go of all my comforts in life, the trip took its course, and I finally became emerged in it. The experience of becoming emerged in another culture is something I have yet to feel. I often here the word of Rolf Potts, “Let the trip takes its course”, but never understood it.
Upon entering Cairo, once again, I was in culture shock. Something as simple as crossing the street, is different here.
It took me 3 or 4 days to overcome the shock and my insecurities before I enjoyed it. For the first 3 days, my stomach was upset and my energy levels where down. Often using coffee to cure the energy, my stomach wanted nothing to do with it. Sitting in Cairo, some would say a concrete jungle, I had decided that we needed to get to a beach. My options were to either go north to Alexandria or east to the Red Sea, a place called Dahab. Dahab is a “7 hour bus ride” (11 hours!) that only cost about 18 dollars one way. You can also take a shuttle flight to a closer area and then taxi in. My field editor, Matt, recently got wind of his wife’s pregnancy. Our trip was his going to be his last “hooray” for a few years and the last thing I wanted was a homesick travel partner. Either way, once we arrived here, the sensory overload began. Its funny what cooking a little garlic can do for homesickness along with having a few beers on the beach. Now 10 days in Dahab, we are sad to say we are leaving. Happy to find this great beach town and even happier to fight through the struggle of culture shock. I am challenged by the differences between religious views and terrorism. After fishing, a few shishas, and long conversations with local Egyptians, aka”Muslims”, I am complete. Its what traveling and letting go of all securities in life, seems to be about.

Living it to the fullest,
Aaron