Thailand in Two Days

I arrived at midnight on the other side of the world. Somehow, the fact that one can board a plane in one place and be transported to a completely new reality in 28 hours is still so excitingly novel to me. Stepping out of the cab and into this quiet little oasis was such a relief (Thank you to Abbey, trusted friend and travel partner, for the Shanti Lodge recommendation). My body felt tired and hungry from the trip but my mind was a bit wired and confused about the time change. The sweet man who checked me in made me the most amazing tropical fruit and homemade coconut milk yogurt bowl ever to be created.  

Shanti Lodge

Leaving South America

A long overdue synopsis and photo journal of our final weeks in South America

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With many drawn out goodbyes and some tearful hugs we made a healthy departure from Bariloche, and I left feeling that I had completed a chapter. My time there taught me so many things about myself and brought so many special people into my life. I am filled with nothing but gratitude and love for this small Patagonian town that I was lucky enough to call 'home'. 

old fishing neighborhoods, Puerto Montt, Chile

Michael and I packed up our little cabaña and loaded up the mochilas one last time for our last two weeks in South America. We crossed the Chilean border (after waiting for 5 hours to get our passports stamped because the Chilean state employees were on strike) and arrived to Puerto Montt late one afternoon. We were approached by a little old grandma at the bus station who asked us if we were looking for lodging. We couldn't turn down her tiny,wrinkled face so we accepted and followed her daughter back to their house, while she stayed on to solicit more tourists for her'hostel'.

The things I will carry

Te llevaré en mi corazon 

Take me back to Rio

Six months later, I am finally getting around to sharing the photos from Rio. You won't be disappointed, this is well worth the wait.

leaving Paraty

Every time I pack my backpack I am utterly amazed at the amount of things I can manage to stuff inside that thing. I have this shit down to an art- ever square centimeter is occupied in the most efficient capacity, but I could not possible lift it onto my back were it just two kilos heavier. So off I go again, on the last leg of my first (because there will undoubtedly be many more) Brazilian adventure. And where else to end a trip in Brasil, but RIO?

feet on the ground. presence

Bebe el té lentamente, con reverencia, como si fuera el eje sobre el que gira la tierra, lentamente, de manera uniforme, sin correr hacia el futuro. Vive el momento actual. Sólo este momento es la vida. 

Drink the tea slowly, with reverence, as if it were the axis on which the earth spins; slowly, in a uniform manner, without running towards the future. Live the moment now. Only this moment is life. 

-Sebastian Martinez

Adventures with Selcuk

There are some people you meet on your travels whom you know, without the slightest doubt, you will see again.

a much needed hug

Domingiando, Feria de Recoleta, Buenos Aires

Regardless of the amazing new people I have met in this past year, there is simply nothing that can replace the hug of an old friend. After eleven months away from home, I was in desperate need of a familiar face. I could not have been happier to open the door at 8am to see Miss Janelle Riolo standing there with a sunny, Charleston size smile on her face and an even bigger backpack threatening to topple her over. The next two weeks of friendship bliss were to be spent between Buenos Aires and Mendoza; tourist style and in full blown vacation mode. I have kept myself on an embarrassingly tight budget for too long so Janelle was the perfect excuse to throw frugality to the wind. Days strolling the streets, museums, markets and parks, afternoon mates, wine and sampling every morsel of Argentine cuisine were the only things on the itinerary and we happily checked them off one by one, over and over again...