In Conclusion My Summer Taught Me How To Do Life Better Becoming a better person. Connecting the pieces of my past. Mindfulness. You and I both knew prolonged periods of indulging in wanderlust and fending for oneself is enough to instill these cliché transformations upon anyone, but this is my written version. And just wait, because this was only four months. 6. I am better at recognizing differences in… Read More
Ending At The Beach: Máncora And Around Why would I wrap a long trip anywhere other than the beach? Practicing wave-catching and the warmth of restorative napping were interrupted with green juices, omelettes, hash browns, seafood. I knew I would miss the low prices of dining out so I let the gringo in me indulge. I tried to get in the ocean twice a day and… Read More
Laguna 69 And Santa Cruz In Four Days: A DIY 2-In-1 Trekking Combo The mountains were calling again. After my last salteñas in Bolivia, I took bus after bus until I reached the glacial lakes and shaggy peaks of Huascarán National Park in northern Peru. I guess I’m pretty decent at showing up to hostel breakfast and meeting boys with a sweet plan that I can hop on. This… Read More
Las Pampas: Edge Of The Bolivian Amazon My wish was simple. I wanted to swim with pink dolphins. Searching for anacondas and fishing for piranhas sounds great too, but dolphins. DIY Booking A Tour and Transportation The best advice I can give is to organize everything by yourself in La Paz, before going to Rurrenabaque. As counterintuitive as that sounds, all… Read More
Floating Islands And Sinking Spirits At The Peruvian Border Marcela was hugging and dancing with the indigenous ladies in their stockings and thick dresses the moment we crossed into Peru. Our last destination was the Floating Reed Islands of the Uros tribe in Puno, at the other end of Lake Titicaca. She had decided she would stay on this side and head to Cusco. My… Read More
Tranquilo In Titicaca: Isla Del Sol Pigs feeding along the beach. It was crazy wrapping my head around this concept, one of many casual occurrences on Isla del Sol. The uninterrupted blues of the sky and water competed with each other for attention. Choosing to disconnect from reality and stay multiple days on this speck of soil amidst the world’s highest navigable body… Read More
Vivian And Marcela Take On La Paz Though it is not the official capital of Bolivia, this is the city where everything gets done. For travelers, it’s the launch pad for sightseeing and biking the World’s Most Dangerous Road. For fruit and avo freaks like ourselves, it’s got the best markets I’ve been to for the purposes of stocking up. Getting There… Read More
Uyuni In The Raw The over-photographed, freakishly cold, largest salt flat in the world sits as a massive blanket in the high plains of Bolivia. During wet season, parts of the flat are submerged in a layer of mineral water which creates a stunning display of the skies. It doesn’t get more classic than this. Getting There and Away… Read More
Double-sided Potosí Once a dominant, wealthy mining hub from all the silver removed from Cerro Rico, Potosí remains one of the highest cities in the world. Some say it’s the highest. Tourists flock the mines for a humbling experience. Despite my attitude towards tour culture and the unsettling feeling of making someone’s hardship an attraction to visit, I loved… Read More
Bolivia Begins: Haphazard Plans And Successfully Finding Marcela In Sucre The mission: join forces with other strong independent woman and crazy, so-hilarious-my-entire-body-needs-to-recover-from-hearing-you-recount-your-interaction-with-that-cute-Cholita, human-loving, gender-role-tearing-down-ing friend from my university, who I had previously never actually hung out with one-on-one, for two legendary weeks of conquering Bolivia. Step One: Sleep on a Paraguayan airport bench still wondering which city to go to. Day 75 (am)… Read More