West Coast Road Trip

In October 2019, I embarked on the road trip of a lifetime down the West Coast highways from the tip of Oregon to Southern California. I had made the drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and even San Simeon, many times in my 12 years as a California resident, but I had never driven

Observations: Eastern Canada

After I quit my full-time job, I was determined to blog more. In the start of the new year, I made a resolution to blog once a week. Now, here I am eight months since quitting and almost six months into 2018, writing my first blog post. And it’s about a trip I took a

Back to life, back to reality

January 8, 2017 I’m sitting at the airport after my first flight, the first of two layovers and a stopover. Not the ideal flight itinerary considering how exhausted and sick I am. For the second time this trip, I’m sick with bronchitis. Fortunately – for that reason only – home is around the corner. I land

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Feliz Natal!

December 25, 2016 As long as I can remember I swore I would never miss a Christmas with my family at home in Colorado. But, here I am, at a hostel in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after a long day of traveling from Iguazu Falls. It’s Christmas Day. When I was a kid, the thought of

7 days in Torres del Paine

December 13, 2016 It’s been 10 days since I’ve written, but funny enough I’m still at Rado Boutique Hostel in Santiago, where I was when writing my last blog. In those 10 days, I’ve stayed in six different lodges, trekked/walked/climbed 157,651 steps and seen some of the most beautiful scenery. December 6 was the first

Chile

December 4, 2016 I started writing a blog post after I returned from the jungle and arrived in Chile, the second country of my South American tour. But it went neglected and now a week has passed. In that time I’ve been exploring central Chile, with three days in capital city Santiago, an afternoon in

Ayahuasca will change your life…

November 30, 2016 “Are you here for ayahuasca?” I was asked on multiple occasions during my visit to Iquitos. Despite being called “The Gateway to the Amazon,” many young tourists only know Iquitos for the popular brew that comes out of the nearby jungle. I, on the other hand, had only briefly heard of ayahuasca

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving, which generally means a few things for the average American: Be thankful, spend time with friends and family, and overindulge on food. For me, that’s about how it goes, with exception to being with my family. I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in more than a decade. Instead, I normally spend it

Comfort & coffee

November 18, 2016 I knew the four nights with the rural Peruvian host family would push me outside my comfort zone, but I didn’t realize how much until I got here. I arrived with a friend of the family who can speak English and an intern at his company who also speaks English (and Spanish

Mission accomplished

November 14, 2016 We made it!! We reached Machu Picchu relatively on time, healthy and uninjured – so successes on all accounts! The second day was the hardest (see previous post), the third was the longest (6:30 am to 6:30 pm) and the fourth was the earliest  (3:30 am). In addition to the small daily