“Can you carry the backpack on your chest instead?” Gino asked me as we were about to enter Belén Market in Iquitos, Peru. I nodded, turning it around. He winked. “That's a gringa inteligente,” he …
January 2, 2012
Backpacking adventures
Iquitos, Peru: Gateway to the Amazon
Backpacking in Europe, the Hard Way
This was the trip of a lifetime. Traveling to Budapest, Hungary, I experienced the time of my life while trekking simultaneously through the hardships of a stolen passport, wallet and train pass. I was studying …
December 2, 2011
Whitefish, Montana
The train screeched and jerked to a stop. I awoke in an unknown yard in pitch darkness. I hopped on this train back in Everett, Washington, where the day before I was napping in a …
November 10, 2011
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello was the end of the line. I needed to get off. I looked around for an exit – a string of fluorescent light cut the darkness and exposed my cover. I didn’t see any …
September 1, 2011
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
The boat ride to Santa Cruz, Guatemala, was cold. The wind blew fervently as the boat hit rough patches, splashing swaths of freezing water on the passengers seated in front. Lake Atitlan is very windy. …
August 24, 2011
Doing Europe: Croatia
After living in Prague for over a year, my Czech girlfriend, Katka, and I wanted to get out of the city and go on a summer holiday. At the time, in 2000, it was relatively …
July 26, 2011
Hopkins, Belize
I walked into Hopkins with a guitar in my hand, backpack hanging off my shoulders, and my mouth parched as sweat poured down my face. I felt lightheaded. I needed a drink. I walked two …
June 28, 2011
(Mis)Adventures in Colombia and Peru
After finishing my second year of law school in San Diego, I decided that I needed a little adventure in my life. I planned my classes so that all my finals were done by December …
May 31, 2011
Doing Europe: Ios, Greece
Leaving Sorrento, Italy was bittersweet. Sorrento was the perfect place for us to get our minds wrapped around the idea of the sea. We’d been landlocked in Prague for months, so we wanted more oceans. …
January 13, 2011
Doing Europe: Pompeii, Italy
After spending significant time in Prague, Czech Republic in 2000, Jesse and I were itching to go south to the Italian beaches, and decided to take a grueling 26-hour bus ride from Prague to Naples. …
December 2, 2010
Cartagena: The Most Interesting Man in the World
And there he was. The most interesting man in the world. Better yet, he was the encapsulation of the advertised Dos Equis man: someone who bathed with piranhas, dodged bullets, drank gasoline, and combed his …
October 7, 2010