Without a clear intent or purpose, I found myself in Central America with a bag bursting with beautiful, intricate, bold jewelry I’d collected, this time around, from three countries. I loved speaking with the vendors, hearing their stories and watching the care they took in making their crafts. I was amazed at the art people … Continue reading The Evolution of Love. Spark. Fire.
The first time I went to Ecuador, I was on a massive road trip across South America. At this point, my experience with horses had been limited to seeing ponies at fairs when I was a child, and a scary horse ride in Northern Argentina. However, when I was in Ecuador later on in the … Continue reading The Wild Horses of Cotopaxi
Even though the rain has ceased, Spring has sprung, and cherry blossoms are in full bloom throughout the city of Portland, their pink and white petals boasting vitality, my mind still wanders. I suppose this will always be the case; if my feet cannot roam, my imagination will. Meditations of the Caribbean pervade me: warm … Continue reading Things Remembered, Names Forgotten
Colombia. Drugs. Violence. Guerrillas. Death. Corruption. There is a common misconception within the US- and other first world countries- that these words are synonymous. I decided to write my Master's thesis on La Violencia, or "The Violence", in Colombia to prove that this notion was terribly false. From 1948 to 1958, the country experienced a massive … Continue reading Streets and Scenes of Bogota
A few weeks after I returned from Southeast Asia, I went to a Travel Massive event in San Francisco. Heading on the train to my favorite city, I was in much need of a travel fix. I had spent the majority of my time after returning to the U.S. at my parents' house, scouring the internet for … Continue reading A Year in Spain: Anything is Possible
Admittedly, the beginning of 2013 was quite a dreary one. As I wrote in the past, the months of February and March meant the end of an engagement, but also the beginning of a completely new life for me. I realized what it truly meant to love myself, and what I had been giving up in a futile attempt to … Continue reading 13 Unforgettable Moments in 2013
I wrote the following passage on a lunch break, just months after I had moved back to the United States from Argentina. 7/26/05 I sit in this hot, dusty parked car, listening to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, daydreaming about being back in Buenos Aires. I watch a man across the way sizing up a truck like last … Continue reading Hometown Parking Lot Blues
The thought of international travel seemed a wicked, impossible taunt just months ago. My passport lay abandoned and forlorn in my nightstand drawer, gathering dust as I struggled to crack the mold of weariness that enveloped me. I had spent over a month in LA working and visiting old friends, rearranging my life's unrecognizably morphed puzzle … Continue reading Taiwan: The Call of Liberation
If you know me, you know that I am not much of a morning person. I have missed out on a lot of things in life that take place in the AM. You know, plane flights, breakfast, sunrises at Angkor Wat, trips to the Mekong Delta. This is one thing I struggle with while traveling, … Continue reading Early Morning Llamas in Machu Picchu
This past summer, one of my best friends and I set on a road trip in my car, whom I affectionately call "Betsey". I'd been wanting to take this trip for years. I'd done the south-bound trip on the I-5 in California far too many times, and wanted something different. With the windows rolled down, the … Continue reading Seattle’s Fremont Troll
Chronicles of a Travel Addict 