By Aspen & Porter
Our next interview subjects are Neli and Maya of Neli’s Big Adventure (http://nelisbigadventure.com/) Neli and parents Victoria & Jason began their road trip through Mexico and Central America as a party of three, but along the way, while volunteering at a local animal shelter, puppy Maya joined the pack. Neli was originally not so happy to have a dog sibling, but has come to love Maya’s energetic puppy ways. On the road for over nine months already, this happy pack is very slowly making their way back north, enjoying more adventures along the way!
Please offer up a short blurb about who you are? Age? Who else is in your family?
Hi! My name is Neli! I’m five years old, and a Chiweenie from Venice Beach, California. I’m traveling with My Family, Victoria and Jason, and, oh yeah… the puppy, Maya. We got her a few months ago in Guatemala. I wasn’t too thrilled at first, but the goofy little girl is starting to grow on me.
Tell us a lWhen you’re traveling do you camp? Stay at hotels? Rent houses?ittle bit about where you have traveled with your family. Have you traveled internationally? Within the US?
Oh, we’ve been ALL over the place. My Family calls it Neli’s Big Adventure, and they even let me blog about it. We left our home in Venice back in October, and since then we’ve driven all the way down to Costa Rica (that’s in Central America), in our pop-up camper. All in all I’ve been through eight countries in the last nine months, and now we’re heading back north.
What is your favorite place to travel? Do you like hiking the mountains? Running on the beach?
Personally, I’m not much of a fan of hot places. But my favorite places to travel are always the beaches. There’s nothing I love more than feeling the sand underneath my paws, snapping at the frothing waves and chasing Maya around in huge circles. Some of the best beaches we’ve been to are on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico, in El Salvador and Nicaragua.
When you’re traveling do you camp? Stay at hotels? Rent houses?
Ever since we left the Wee Blue House in Venice behind we’ve lived in the Big Camper. My Family thinks it’s pretty small, but it’s HUGE. I can’t even jump into it on my own. It’s great, because we get to be together all the time, and camp basically anywhere we want to. We have stayed at a couple of hotels, one in Oaxaca, Mexico and another in Antigua, Guatemala. Mostly, if we’re not staying in the camper we stay in hostals. I like those very much, because they’re always filled with super nice people who pet me and tell me how cute I am.
Do you have a hard time finding good quality food and water on the road?
I don’t really have any trouble finding food and water, as My Family take very good care of me. Of course, I’ve had to change brands of food a ton of times, and they’re not all particularly tasty. Luckily, Jason keeps the camper stocked with treats, and when he’s not looking I can usually get Victoria to give me a taste of whatever she’s eating. Maya and I are really lucky though. I’ve seen a lot of other dogs on our Adventures who don’t have good food to eat, and often have to drink out of puddles instead of getting fresh water in their bowls.
Have you had any problems with other dogs, either playing at dog parks, or street dogs when traveling?
There have been a couple times when street dogs try to act all tough with me. Luckily, I’m almost always tougher than them. I may not be very big, but I don’t back down from any dog! Now that we’ve got Maya we’ve become a really good team, too. She has a big dog bark, and when you put us together most dogs just run the other way. There was only one scary time, on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, when some scary dogs ran at us. Victoria picked me up and Jason scared them off.
What don’t you like about traveling? A different bed? Strange water?
There’s not much I don’t like about traveling. My life on the road is way cooler than my life at home. And I get to be with My Family 24/7. I guess I haven’t liked a couple of the nights when Victoria and Jason left me behind to go out to dinner. One time, in Guatemala, the woman who owned the B&B where we were staying even took me out of our room and made me stay with her in her yurt! Okay, I was making a little bit of noise, but she smelled weird. And she lives in a yurt! I was more than relieved when My Family took me out of there.
Thanks Neli for sharing your adventures and tips for the road! Safe travels.
Aspen & Porter