Tag: colombia

Jobs for the Traveling Climber: Communications Manager in Development Aid

Careers for Climbers (Series)

In this interview series we talk with people who spend their time traveling and climbing, while still holding down a steady income. From nurses to coders, writers to outdoor guides, we want to show that you don’t have to go full dirtbag to live the itinerant life. Because contributing to your 401k while seeing the world doesn’t sound so bad.

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Name: Nico Parco

Job: Communications Manager in Development Aid

Wonder what’s off to the right? Photo courtesy of Nico Parco


1) What do you do?

You could call it a number of things. Simply, “aid worker.” Or if you want to get more specific, I am a communications manager in the development aid sector. I often say I am an NGO writer. 


2) How did you get into the development aid sector?

I moved to Ethiopia on a whim, thinking I would continue the same work I was doing in the tourism sector in Santiago, Chile.

In Ethiopia, I discovered the aid sector, and began volunteering on an HIV/Urban Gardens project as a technical writer. Everything took off from there.

I have been in the sector now for nearly 10 years, and I absolutely love it.


3) Why did you decide to start living in a van? 

The @riding.a.rainbow project is only for 10 months (May 2019 – April 2020).

A campervan road trip is something that both my wife and I have been wanting for a while, and since we realized we shared this dream, it would be foolish not to act. When I landed a full time contract in Bogota, Colombia, we knew it was our chance to cover South America.

With two kids, I do not plan to live in a campervan full time. In fact, our plan is to move back to Moab, Utah in 2020 (I was born and raised in Ogden). 

Rainbow in Huanuco, Peru. Photo courtesy of Nico Parco


4) What are some of the perks of this job?

Working in the development aid sector allows you to travel on two levels: Short-term and long-term contracts.

I do both, and have been sent to various countries (Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, Lebanon, Botswana) and lived in three countries long-term (Ethiopia, Liberia, Colombia).

Living in a country is different from just traveling. It allows you full immersion in the culture, language, and customs, and also affords you more time to properly explore the country. Being in these unusual places also lets you check out rock climbing in a different light. 

For example, while living in Ethiopia, I led a crag development project with a bunch of climbers from around the world (US, German, Israeli, etc.). We bolted a beautiful face right outside of Addis Ababa, the first and still the only real crag in the country.

Or my favorite, the time I was sent to Lebanon to create content for an economic strengthening project funded by USAID (US taxpayer money). The program was promoting rock climbing in the village of Tannourine, a paradise of Mediterranean-style limestone. This is probably the first and hopefully not the last time that the US govt put money into rock climbing for “nation-building.”


“Happiness has less to do the amount of possessions one acquires and more to do with the ability to be with friends, family, and practice your culture (religion, language, customs) freely.”


5) What are some of the challenges?

Life as a contractor can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes you have to wait weeks or months for a contract. On the other hand it’s really nice to have down time between jobs, [which allows you] to travel, to be with your family, and of course, to climb.

There are the usual challenges as well, of getting used to a new place, finding friends, learning the language, getting over the homesickness of the last place you left… typical immigrant lifestyle stuff.

“This was the first place I came across that made me dream about this trip in the Rainbow. And now it is where we spent our anniversary, so we have more inspiration in the coming years. Thanks Laguna Paron for your beauty, your power, and for being our inspiration.” Photo courtesy of Nico Parco


6) What motivated you to pursue this career path?

I started my “career” as a journalist in Spanish language, and worked for 6 years (Spain, Texas, Chile). Once I discovered the aid sector, everything changed.

The hours, the pay, the joy of the job. I have nothing against journalism, but the conditions are horrible.

Still, journalists perform one of the most important functions in today’s society, and we should be thankful there are people willing to sacrifice so much for so little. I have only the utmost respect for them.

People like Trump, the powerful men who say reporters are the enemy of the people, are really saying, “I hate reporters because they expose all my wrongdoings to the people.” 


7) What does a “typical” week or month look like?

If I am long-term, I am typically working in an office. I am the one responsible for reporting back to the US govt what the program has been doing with its money. It’s a key position that combines research, writing, and marketing.

I would travel once a month, visiting the program’s activity sites, interviewing beneficiaries, and taking photography or video. I curate the program’s blog such as at usaidlrdp.exposure.co.

When I am doing short-term consultancies, I am at a home base (either in Utah or Chile) and traveling for 2 – 3 weeks at a time. Sometimes I work remotely but the real value I bring is being in the field gathering stories, content and creating attention grabbing pieces that shine light on the programs.


8) What do you wish you knew when first starting out?

I was lucky that I got in through the back door. Typically, an aid worker will go through the hoops of Washington, D.C. and work for several NGOs and implementers before getting the chance to live abroad. I did it differently, which may or may not work for others.


9) What is one lesson learned from your journey so far?

A few things:

1) Development aid is an industry of soft diplomacy, especially from a USAID perspective. It is also important in its role to improve health and education around the world.

My first job was in the HIV world, and if it weren’t for large international donors, millions of Africans would be either dead or in way worse conditions. In some regards, development money is really all they have to rely on. I believe Western countries have a historic “debt” with Africa and other parts of the world.

Aid is one small step to repair the damage caused by colonialism, neo-liberalism, hyper-capitalism or whatever you want to call it. The US annual budget allocates less than one half of one percent to humanitarian and development aid. Trump tried to axe the budget, but USAID is a diplomacy tool that is bipartisan.

2) I have learned that happiness has less to do the amount of possessions one acquires and more to do with the ability to be with friends, family, and practice your culture (religion, language, customs) freely without interruption.

“When I designed the Rainbow campervan, I named it such because we are making the trip of a lifetime, riding on a rainbow. The rainbow represents dreams, magic, and beauty and that is what we are looking for. Recently we found the rainbow mountain, some geological magic to add to our many stories on the road.” Photo courtesy of Nico Parco

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Thanks, Nico!

You can follow Nico and his van traveling family on instagram, @riding.a.rainbow. You can read more about Nico’s thoughts on life, the development aid sector, and climbing in general on his website, nicoparco.com.


Feature photo courtesy of Nico Parco

Jobs for the Traveling Climber: Niche Blogger

Careers for Climbers (Series)

In this interview series we talk with people who spend their time traveling and climbing, while still holding down a steady income. From nurses to coders, writers to outdoor guides, we want to show that you don’t have to go full dirtbag to live the itinerant life. Because contributing to your 401k while seeing the world doesn’t sound so bad.

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Name: Jacob Bushmaker

Job: Blogger


Editor’s note:

I came across Jacob’s blog, The Wandering Climber, earlier this year when I was researching cheaper travel/ climbing destinations in South America. There were surprisingly few resources, but I eventually landed on TWC’s The Top 6 Rock Climbing Towns in South America – Why Should You Go?. It was great! I quickly dove into the rest of his pieces on Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and others. His articles are well written and full of useful bits.


1) What do you do?

I currently have two jobs.

1) I work as a sales agent for a company called Unbundled Attorney, where we connect people with lawyers who are looking for affordable legal representation.

2) I run a blog called The Wandering Climber, which focuses on providing climbers with beta on the world’s best rock climbing destinations [Editor’s note: Typically lesser known places].

I’ll be answering the questions in respect to my work with TWC. 

A view from Freedom Bar, aka “the office,” in Tonsai. Photo courtesy of Jacob Bushmaker


2) What are some of the perks of the job?

A few things. Probably the most notable is it is completely remote, meaning that I can work from just about anywhere in the world. This is pretty much a necessity for anyone who wants to travel long term… unless you have some other source of income!! 

Second is that I’m my own boss. I don’t have any set hours, deadlines or anyone to “answer” to. 

It is also great to be creating something. It has its own intrinsic value which is sort of hard to explain. [I like to be able to] look back and be like, “yea, I did that.”

Lastly, this is a way for me to give back to the rock climbing community with my unique experiences and knowledge. This is a perk of the job I really didn’t anticipate, but it has been awesome to get so much positive feedback from people who have read my blog and used it. 


“The only people who think this is easy are ones who haven’t done it before.”


3) What are some of the challenges?

There are a lot of challenges with running a blog as a business.

The only people who think this is easy are ones who haven’t done it before.

With the incredible freedom which comes from being your own boss comes the pretty obvious drawback that there is absolutely no one keeping you accountable.

This is particularly difficult when you’re posted up in one of the world’s top climbing destinations. As you might imagine, these environments aren’t exactly conducive to “hard work.”

Also, it is always an ongoing challenge that I have to learn how to do things on my own. I have never had a “teacher” [for this stuff]. At times things can be super frustrating.


4) What motivated you to pursue this path?

The whole journey started when I read the 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. It really opened my eyes to what was out there and has fundamentally changed my life in just about every sense imaginable. 

I went from a 9-5 office job (I was a Civil Engineer) to working remote, visiting about 30 countries in 4 continents, and living abroad in South America. 

There were the obvious perks of living abroad, such as learning another culture/ language and meeting new people/ traveling which appealed to me.

In addition, there are also some financial benefits of working abroad which don’t get mentioned as much, such as having a huge reduced cost of living.

One Of Hatun Machay’s Mega Classics Highballs: The Rhino (v4). Photo courtesy of Jacob Bushmaker


5) How does this job allow you to travel and climb?

If I was just doing one of the two jobs, I would have plenty of time to dirtbag. I did so for about 2-3 years, but there sort of came a point where I started taking work more seriously again. 

Over the past six months I have been much more “buckled down,” you might say.

The site launched in February of this year, and [so far] I’ve always had another full time job which takes up a ton of time. If all goes well, within the next 6 months to a year, I’ll be able to comfortably support myself with the income earned off the blog. [At that point] I’ll be able to make the decision whether I’d like to pursue it full time or not. 

Right now, I work more than full time between my two jobs, probably in the 50-60 hours a week range.


“Travel and being an entrepreneur is romanticised, but I’m here to tell you that sometimes it just sucks.”


6) What do you wish you knew when first starting out?

The hardest thing about this lifestyle has always been things I left behind when I was an engineer: The “steady” job, “good” career, friends, family and security were all sort of thrown aside to live the dream. 

Travel and being an entrepreneur is romanticised, but I’m here to tell you that sometimes it just sucks. 

On Top of El Filo la Lete de Tiburon (5.10+) in Cochamo Valley (Valle Cochamó), Chile. Photo courtesy of Jacob Bushmaker


7) What is one lesson learned from your journey so far?

It is better to focus on the process than the goal.

Once you get going it just becomes another day in the life, and before you know it your on your way. 


8) Anything else you’d like to add?

You overestimate what you can do in a year, but underestimate what you can do in five.

My point: Just get started now, be patient and incredibly persistent! 

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Thanks, Jacob!

You can learn more about Jacob, his work, and his travels: