In all honesty, this is how I spent half of my time in Cusco, Peru. I know. I know. But hear me out. I have both a major freelance project and a major personal project to work on (plus my blog and photos and all that). And...
This is what 4am looks like when you're at the bottom of a canyon that cuts off power for the night. It's what 4am looks like when your group, the "slow group," starts its ascent. It's what 4am looks like when you're trekking Colca Canyon...
"This is Antigua." That's all I could think when I entered the main square in Arequipa, Peru. Both were surrounded by walkways of arched columns where touts would constantly hassle you to book a tour, eat at their restaurant, buy some sunglasses. Both were flanked...
Huacachina, Peru is a weird little outlet in southwestern part of the country. The town, if you can even call it that, centers around a natural lake, and that is surrounded by giant dunes of sand. It's a vintage relic, really, one of those places...
I want to move to New York. Or Portland. Or Austin. Or Seattle. Maybe. I thought about that as I sat under a sculpture of two giant lovers embraced in a kiss in Parque del Amor, "Love Park," in the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru. Parque...
After six months traveling in Latin America, I boarded a flight (well, three flights) back home to Chicago. It was a bittersweet journey. Sure, I was ready to eat familiar foods, see my friends and family, be back in a city I love. But I...
Carlos turned on the stereo and the son clave beat of a salsa song started blaring through the speakers. He walked over and took my hand, but, just as he was about to lead me into our first basic step, he turned my arm over...
I don't normally add something to my life list only to cross it off that same day. But, as some friends and I were sitting at lunch in Cali discussing the synching up Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz,...
My private salsa lesson that day had been moved back. And so I had nothing better to do when my friend Yaron asked if anyone wanted to go watch a movie that was being filmed down the block. We headed over the cultural center and watched...
One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to learn about different cultures and share in traditions from around the world. Most times those customs are from wherever it is I happen to be. But, sometimes, since I meet people from all over too,...