My Route...

So it took me two months to travel the northwestern part of South America. My original plan was to stick to Peru, but I headed for my journey with an open mind to travel elsewhere. My thought was " when will be the next time I am this close to these amazing countries?"
I traveled by air, bus, train, taxi, horseback, motorcycle, foot and boat. Here is the route that I took. Click on the map to get a closer look!!!

I have some great tips on how to get around Peru, but I am organizing them so they can be very clear for any traveler.

My Inspirational Travel Books

I have been reading several travel blogs and all seem to have a list of inspirational books. So here is my list of books that triggered my imagination, opened my heart to possibility and entertained my adventurous side.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This book is by far my most favorite. It was given to me by a friend and was encouraged by another to read it. I actually read The Alchemist in a time of my life when I needed inspiration.
Its about a boy who set out to find his own personal treasure. His search took him places that he thought he would never be and introduced him to people that filled his heart with desire, fear and love, only to find what he was looking for was in the most unsuspected of places.
Though some may feel that this book is overrated, I contend that this book should be read when hope seems to be slipping or your just having a bad day, because its undeniably a read for the soul.

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
This book I read in college and my good friend Nancy and I usually have a good laugh about how ridiculous the "coincidences" are, however, it resonates with inspirational moments.
Its about a man that trust his instincts and follows "clues" to where he needs to go to find the ultimate answer for human kind and our role with earth (yeah, I know its cheesy, but work with me here). His journey takes him to Peru, where he meets people that guide him toward his own spiritual evolution. Its about trusting a journey when it presents itself and to keep an eye out for signs to get you there.
The book encourages us to seek purpose and meaning through our personal experiences.
There is also an environment theme that I actually enjoyed. It makes you think that we are all connected to this earth and if we just trust this information and respect it, the earth will provide for us for eternity.

Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book was recommended to me by my friend, Theresa, prior to my departure to South America. It resembles my own life and vision, but certainly not about me!!

This book is about a woman who makes a huge decision to walk away from a marriage. A marriage that had no real reason to walk away from. She falls madly in love with a younger man soon after the split, where the relationship ended as quickly as it started. This sent her to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia, alone, where she too was in search of her own personal peace. The the journey was not as easy as she thought, however, she walked away with a deeper understanding of herself.
It was a little too much on the "women power" side but I enjoyed her imagery and humor of which I found myself relating to at times.

In Search of Captain Zero by Allan Weisbecker
This book was recommended to me by my friend Matt, who is a crazy east coast surfer that loves Costa Rica.

The book is a biography about Allan Weisbecker (author) who sets out from Long Island, NY to find his best buddy, Christoper, in Costa Rica. The book delivers amazing imagery through the eyes of a surfer and outlandish tales of drug dealer. Weisbecker travels alone in his camper truck, stops along the Baja Coast to surf and continues down the Central American coast where he finds some interesting people along the way. Weisbecker gives his readers an intimate peek into the mind of a 70's drug transporter who uses his money to support his surfer lifestyle.
The back stories of him and Christopher are quite entertaining, but the intensity of Weisbecker's search of Christopher keeps the pages turning.

Casio F-91W... The Essential Equipment for Backpackers.

In Cuzco, Peru, I met some pretty interesting folks, Dan Morris and Dominic Watson, that introduced me to the Casio f-91W.
I just needed a watch and had no idea that the watch that I would soon own would have so much more meaning than the amazing built-in stop watch.
I would have to say that a majority of the people that I came across, wore the F-91W. We would huddle around tables and someone would randomly start the "5 second game".
This game uses the stop watch feature. You have to stop the timer at precisely 00:05:00. A skill that requires agility and precision. Glory was the prize, unless you were able to get 3-in-a-row. That required you and everyone else around you to get "pissed" immediately following your success, regardless of where you had to be the next morning.I know of one person that attempted and succeeded the 3-in-a-row, John McGrath from Ireland. I was not there to witness this, however, the story was verified by several fellow backpackers.
But the Casio F-91W does not end with backpackers. I soon found out that Facebook has a group called "I am a Casio F-91W Owner".
Also, if you look real closely in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite", you can see that he is sporting the F-91W.

I did a little more research(aka wikipedia) and found that the watch is used in terrorism.According to Wikipedia, the watch was used is many Taliban attacks.The stop watch feature seems to be handy when timing swimmers, playing games when your bored and blowing up things. Who would have thought!?
Well, there are plenty of F-91w fans out there, but would you get F-91W tattooed on your foot? Well, I met an Australian, Shannon Morris, who did. His foot will always possess the guinessness of the Japanese digital watch Inventors

Passport OCD....

This is a serious condition and is worth mentioning...
Have you ever thought after customs, "Man... I should have told them where to stamp"?
Well my friend, you may have a slight case of POCD also known as Passport Obsession Compulsive Disorder.




Here are some symptoms...
1. You hate coming in and out of a country more than twice because it fills up your passport to fast.
2. You travel just to fill up your passport before the 10 year expiration date.
3. You don't show your passport to anyone because the guy at the 1 hour photo shop took the photo right as blinked and/or for some reason stretched the photo.
4. You say to yourself as you flip through your passport, "why don't they use regular stamps, why does is have to be electronic?"
5. You wish that your passport had "more character"... IE. different color than what you have.

Fortunately there is no cure, if you did not possess any of these symptoms, you would not be living your dream and that is a disorder worth living with!

A Map for Saturday....

I am glad that I heard about this movie after my trip because I can completely relate!
I heard about it though Nomadic Matt, a fellow blogger who makes travel his life and loves to write about it.
In the mean time, check out the trailer of "A Map for Saturday"

A map for Saturday

FIN

I am at the airport in Lima getting ready to fly home and I am feeling my heart break. I had the most amazing time of my life. My spanish has highly improved and I hope that I can conitinue speeking spanish. I have been talking with several folks and they say my spanish is very good.
Four countries and 17 new friends later I am feeling not like a whole new person but my whole self again. I am sad to leave but ready to do what I need to do to make sure that I can get back to South America and plan a different route!! Before I left someone told me that "you will love it or you will get hooked". Well you can see where I fall!!!
I will be posting more things on this blog such as travel tips around certain areas and my Amazon story...you will love my Amazon story!! I just need to get my pictures on a disk so I post the photos.
As I layed in my hammock on the boat through the Amazon, I was studying my spanish. Mainly because I was the only person who spoke english and I really wanted to talk to people. I came up with a spanish phrase that I felt has defined the end of my adventure...
"Tengo venir en conocimiento a mi" -Domina Stamas
"I have come to know myself"

Valley of Cocora

 
Well I made it across the border of Ecuador and Colombia just fine. I spent a few days in Cali, Colombia and we decided to head into the country. We stayed in a town called Solento. Here is where you can take about a horse ride or walk into the cloud forest. The horse ride cost $15 per person and $15 for the guide. The more in your group the better it is because you can cost-share on the guide.
This was by far the most beautiful and enchanting experience I have ever had. The vegitation was so green and trees stood with charisma. I could not keep my eyes off of this beautiful land. The ground was very muddy. If you decide to walk, make sure you rent the wellies at your hostel. The cost is about $3. 

That is I on the horse.
You cross over rivers and try to avoid low lying branches. We passed up many farms where horses and cattle stared at us as though they were unimpressed with our presence.
When you get to the top there is a hacienda where there are folks that live there. I am not exactly sure what they do there, however, they seem to take care of the hummingbirds in the area. The hummingbirds were amazing. They were brighter and bigger than the ones back home.
On our way back it statred to rain. When we were in the actual forest, the canopy filtered out most of the rain. but as we stepped out into the field, we definately got wet. My horse and I left my friend and the guide behind to avoid getting so wet.
I had a blast and would definatly recommend doing this while you are in Colombia.

OSWALDO GUAYASAMIN GALLERY

Oswaldo Guayasamin was an man that grew up as a misfit and was told that he would not amount to anything. As he grew older he began to use art as a way to portray the people he knew, the culture he lived and the pain he felt towards war and oppression.
Painting on cardboard, plywood and hemp bags, left a unique impression on me. Sketches with chalk, oil and acyclic paintings displayed Picasso like images that moved me. There was one painting that was thick with texure made from oil and different colored dirt. He liked to paint mothers with their sons and men that were tortured in wars and demonstrations.
My favorite collection was the Hand Collection. Guayasamin believed that you can tell a lot by a mans hands. The photo here is my favorite. This is called "Manos De La Ternura" (Hands of Tenderness).
Guayasamin passes away in 1999 but his paintings still represent not only Ecuador but South America as well.



The other photo is of the equator here in Quito. We played about for 2 hours here. There was a lot more here to do than I had thought. There was a planetarium, small displays of other countries in the world and a museum of the native people of Ecuador.
I leave for Colombia tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes!

Peruvian- Ecuadorian Border Crossing

First, I just want to tell you that for some reason I have had problems loading pictures into my blog. But that will change as of today and I should have some up soon!
Last Friday I ventured into Ecuador, by myself. The border of Ecuador is about 3 hours from Mancora. I sat in the back of the bus and the local man whom i had bought my ticket from sat next to me.
Before you hit the border of Ecuador, you check out of Peru. There you can get snacks and change your Soles(Peruvian currency) into Dollars(oddly enough, Ecuadorian currency). As I got off of the bus, I soon realized that the man I had bought my ticket from was actually escorting me to the border. He walked me to Peruvian customs and back to the bus. Here is where it got scary and I soon began to think "what the hell am i doing?"
The bus pulls into this city that reminded me of an extremely large flea market crowed with people. There were venders selling clothing, toys, raw meats, tvs, vegetables and fruits. There were people cooking on the side of the road. There was chicken bbq'ing, potatoes being fried and drinks on display.
I had my window still open and people started to wave at me. As i waved back, my escort stops me and says "keep your hands in the bus. they will still your glasses right off of your face if they wanted" that is when the peace inside was replace with absolute fear.
The bus came up to Ecuador's customs station where I got off and got my passport stamped. My escort then tells me to hurry as he grabs my backpack. We rushed to a taxi where he gets in with me. We start to head back to the flea market looking area.
On the way there, I saw a man standing on the side of the road with blood literally pouring out of his forehead. At this point I was numb to the madness.
Mr. Escort takes me to another bus stop, hands me my ticket to Quito and says "the bus leaves in an hour, good luck" and he left me there.
During the 12 hour bus ride, we stopped 3 times by the police to have our persons and bags searched. I was the only American on the bus and was scared that something bad would happen to me but they were actually less stringent on my search.
The only horrible thing that happened to me on my 17 hour bus ride was that I got food poisoning and was ill for two days.
I went to the equator yesterday and will be going to see some archaeological museums. After, a few days here my next stop will be Colombia, which is a far more dangerous journey. Wish me luck!!

Peruvian Food

Many of you have been asking me about the food here in Peru. So here goes.
Some of the food here is amazing, some not so amazing but has actually grown on me. But here is a list of my favorites...

Lomo Saltado: Chunks of beef grilled with onions served with papas fritas (french fries) and arroz (rice).

Ceviche: There is no shortage of it and its is amazing. Raw fish cooked with lime juice, cilantro, serrano peppers and red onions. For about 5 soles (less than 2.50 U.S dollars) you can get a small serving of ceviche, fried fish or shrimp, rice and a juice. These set price shops are hard to find so keep your eye out, its worth the search!

Beach sandwhiches: Not exactly sure what they are called but you should never turn down the lady on the beach with a basket of bread. For about 3.50 soles you have your choice of...
Cheese , tomato, and basil
Cheese, onion and olive
Cheese and Sausage
Cheese and Ham
Chocolate
These are warm and very filling. My favorite is the tomato and basil.

Fried Rice: for some reason Chinese food seems to be a hit here, more specifically fried rice. I had some in the Lima airport and had some the other day here in Mancora. Its really good.
The fruit here is amazing. very fresh and flavorful.
The typical breakfast seems to be bread, eggs, coffee and juice. But this morning i went to a place that served real American breakfast, pancakes! I dont really like them but it was nice to get a tast of home!

I am off to Equador tomorrow. So I will no longer be in Peru. Should I change the title of my blog to "ME in South America"?

Crazy thought...

I fall in love with making the impossible possible.
We all talk about our "possibilities". We contemplate them with "yes this can be done" or "I can see this happening". But how often do we look at the impossible? How often do we take a risk and go for something that may or may not work. How do you think one would feel when they succeed at something they went for that was possible? Now imagine how someone would feel if they accomplished the impossible?

gotta go its dark here now and the crickets are attacking me!

I am ALIVE!!!!!

I could go on and on about my feelings but I would rather tell you about what I have been doing and experiencing. Then you will be able to conclude that what i am feeling is more than words can describe...
since my amazing, partially life changing experience at Machu Picchu, I traveled by bus for 20 hours to Lima. there we experienced the night life, escaped danger by crossing a busy highway by foot, bowled and watched one of the greatest movies of the summer, "the happening". Then we traveled another 8 hours to a beach town just north of Trujillo. There we relaxed on the beach for a day and decided to head up to Mancora which was another 9 hour bus ride. This is where I am now. They call this town "the endless summer". This is a huge surf destination for surfers around the world and being here i now know why. It is gorgeous here! Some of the friends that i have been traveling with have left to go to Equador. I plan to stay here for about another week and then I may head up there as well.
traveling alone is great! I can do what I want, when I want and it feels good.

Yesterday I was stung by a wasp!! The pain was dreadful! One of the workers at the hostel had to squeeze the venom out which was worse than the sting. I am doing better now.
I want to take note and share with you the fact that I am beginning to relize that who I am is actually pretty amazing. The experiences that I have chosen for good and bad, have molded me into someone that I am actually proud to be. There is noone in this world that can define you, not even your parents. What you choose to do in life on your own is who you are. Sometimes those choices are not the best, but in the end you learn from them and from there you can only get better!
I dont have too many regrets in life. I think the feeling of regret is a choice and a mechanism that keeps us from moving forward.
So, get over yourself and find solutions! Find your path to your own adveture and make it happen.
I need to go now. A board,ocean,sun and sand awaits me! Adios mi amigos!!!

Inca Trail, MachuPicchu

To say, "if I could finish the Inca Trail anybody can" would be an insult to the most amazing adventure that I just experienced this weekend. There is nothing easy about the Inca Trail. Even the down hill was rough (over 5,000 steps downhill is more than rough). I will try to recount as much as possible. First I want to say that Machu Picchu is sinking. They are not sure as to why but it is rumored that in the next 10 to 15 years Machu Picchu will be viewed only from afar, so the fact that I had the honor of walking about the ruins is something that I am grateful for.

2 guides, 2 cooks, 19 porters and 14 trekers. That was our group.
Day 1:This is supposed to be the easy day.
(Tip one... HIRE A PERSONAL PORTER!!!! There were advid trekers that ended up getting a porter the next day. It would be worth the money.)

They picked us up from our hostle in Cuzco at about 5:30 am and then took a 2 hour bus ride to Ollantaytambo. From there that is where the hiking started. We treked 7.5 miles slightly elevated. Our camp was in Wayllabamba which is 9,000 feet about sea level (Lake Tahoe is about 6,200 ft). This part of the treck is not the Inca trail. It is a trail that leads to the original trail.
There are actually 3 main trails that the Incas used to get to Machu Picchu. One was for the messengers, the second for the traders, and the third for as sacred route. We took the sacred route.
Day 2: The Hardest Day
This was the hardest day and I hired a porter to carry my pack. We treked 3,300 feet all up hill to Dead Womans Pass, which is about 13,000 ft above sea level.Here is where the Inca trail begins.
I must tell you that there are women that sell bottled water, gatorade, candy and toilet paper along the way. Interesting, I know.
The food that the tour group provided was AMAZING. Three course meals with nice flat ware and dishes. We all felt like royalty.
Day 3: This was the longest day and the most beautiful day.
We hiked about 9 miles through ruins and steps built by the Incas. It was still physically challenging but the scenery was amazing. I would stop and look out into the Andes. It was so green and the sounds of the forest were soothing. The Trail itself was beautiful and dangerous. You had to make sure to stay to the mountain side of the trail because porters would fly past you and there were no railings to stop you from going over the edge of the mountain. There were some points where the steps were so steep you had to climb with your hands!!!
There was this one section that meandered through trees and moss that climbed the sides of the mountain. You can hear the streams running through as you continue your walk. There were also some amazing orchids. I am not into flowers so much but they were pretty amazing.
Day 4: The hike into Machu Picchu
We woke up at 4 am and hiked about 3 miles in the dark so we could see the sun rise over her. This was the most intense part of the trek. There were about 20 treking companies at our campsite and all wanted to see the sunrise over her. As you pass through the first Sungate, people fly past you racing to reach the second Sungate. There was this part of the Inca Trail called "Monkey Steps". They call it that because you climb them with your hands like a monkey. But as soon as you reach the top, there is the valley in which Machu Picchu lays.
When we arrived it was still dawn and there were clouds covering the ruins so we could not yet see her. We sat and watched as the clouds slowly began to reveal what we all haved be waiting for. Soon there she was, tucked in the valley waiting for all of us to explore her. We walked further down the mountain to get closer to her and to sit and watch the sun rise over her. This was something that I have been looking forward to for so long. She was beautiful. As we finally made it to the ruins, we spent a few hours walking and learing more about her. At about 1 pm we had to make our way back to Cuzco. As I sat on the bus leaving her, I felt the most emotional feelings come over me. I wept. I wept because I was leaving something that I had put so much emotional and physical energy into and I had to leave her. She was beautiful and brilliant and her home was just as breath taking. I had my back to her,returning to my world. Soon I will have to face all that I need to take care of. THIS is and will be the most amazing experiance of my life.

not doing o good...

I am not having such a great time right now. I broke my camera last night, a day before i am to see an amazing place. I have a sore throat and I sprained my ankle. I am getting a little nervous that i did not plan so well for this trip. I am even beginning to think that all of this was not a good idea. I woke up in a sort of panic today. all I can do is just know that this is how i opperate and tomorrow when I am on the trek to Machu Picchu, I will feel better... I just wished that my camera did not break.

You... Adventure!!!

So, I quit my job and decided to travel a South American Country for 2 months. This act, of a 31 year old single mother, is something that is unimaginabale. When I made the decsion back in January, I was unsure as to how it would work, but I somehow knew that it would. I need to preface this entire blog by saying that all I am going through has/is/will be difficult. I have never experienced such bipolar emotions in my life. Every hour I struggle over questions like "AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING?" to "WHY DID I NOT ACT ON THIS A LONG TIME AGO?" I am not only doing this for myself but I want to be able to show everyone that its possible. This post will guide you to your own adventure. Your adventure may not be to travel to another country but it can be used as just that, a guide.
Before jumping to the obvious questions on how to overcome certain obsticles, you need to discover your soul. This does not mean self- discovery in an hour, it may be as simple as acknowledging that your current position is not where you need be. This is a very scary step to take. Scary because you may be admitting to a lie that you yourself have created and where would one go after a self-lie is revealed? Here is a wild answer for you... ANYWHERE!!! Once you have acknowledged that you have fallen into the daily grind of getting the job, buying the house, maintaining a materialistic image, possibilites are endless. Depression may set in because the unknown and trapped feeling can get to you, so you have to trust that breaking free can only lead you to personal development. Stay tuned to my lovely list of questions that one would ask once they realize that they need more.

altitidude sickness

I have not been well. i arrived ,after 36 hours of travel, in cuzco. i spent all day and nigh in bed and felt like i was going to die. i got out of bed twice. once to shower (this one of the few places in the whole country that has hot water)and to eat. my symptoms are similar to a massive hangover. horredous headache,nausea and dizzieness. altitude sickness is when the blood to your lungs gets limited to due to lack of oxygen. (i think). you can take measures to prevent it but one of my roommates said he had done so but still got sick so it really comes down to the individual.
i can definitley fell the air is thinner. i am weezing and just walking down the hall is exhausting. this, fortunately, does not define my athletic ability, for major athetes need to get acclimated as well. there is no real cure for it, but lucky for me i am in peru where this there one thing that cures the symptoms of altitude sickness, coca tea!(not as in chocolate)
i am still having breathing problems but feel so much better! in fact, i feel like i can take on the world.
my plan this week is to just hang out and learn more about the people of cuzco and get acclimated for my trek. two of my roommates are in my group so i plan hanging with those guys.
i have to get back to my tea!

starbucks in peru

Yes it is true. but this blog will not be about coffe. as I scramble to place my thoughts into an intranet that is costing me by the minute, i will give you a brief synopsis. of my trip thus far... i am still at the airport. I have been travleing since Friday night and getting to wrap up an 8 hour lay over in Lima. I have been jotting my thoughts in my journal and i will transfer some of those at a later date, anyhow, I am tired and stinky but having a BLAST already. All i have done the past 8 hours is post on a black leather sofa at the Starbucks here and have met a ton of amazing poeple! they just stop by to grab a cup of joe before their travels we sit for about 45 mins they leave just in time for the next round of folks for me to encounter. Let me introduce you...
Justin- lives in San Jose but moving to Sac with his girlfriend. Purpose of visit. Hike into machu picchu ( not the inca trail)
Some 17 year old from Denver who was on his way north of lima to help his uncle. He has been to over 15 countries.
Gordon- Vancouver. works 365 days a year to take a year off and travel the world. He does not go into the US because he has a warrent out for his arrest.
Effa- from Ireland. doing some humanitarian work in cusco. She was sweet.
that was just the first few hours.
Gotta run...

THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS

I am just 3 hours away from starting my travels and I thought I would blog to keep my mind off of the fact that my entire body is shaking. I spent the morning with Marissa and Paul at their school. Marissa was very sad. Her tears came down far before i left. She had her friends around her consoling her and saying things like, "you can borrow my mom for two months" But her and I just held each other. I breathed in deeply getting the last whiff of her amazing smell. I kissed her on her head and her cheeks and just let her rest in my lap. It felt good and sad all at the same time.
I walked Paul to his class and I could tell that he was sad but he seemed more confused as to how he was supposed to handle my absence. I gave him lots of kisses all over and he waved good bye as I exited his classroom. Told both of them that I loved them and then went home to begin my loneliness.
This is supposed to be an amazing trip for me and somehow i am feeling really sad. I really have no idea what is in store for me. But we shall see. I should go now I need to get ready for the biggest adventure of my life!!
Happy Birthday to KATIE and JANE!! Two amazing friends!!!!

Acceptance before my departure.

Well this is really hard for me to admit, but I was unable to come up with the full $3,000 to fund my internship. All weekend I was upset about the fact that I failed at accomplishing something I thought to be great. I really felt that if I did this internship it would help guide me to myself. But then my amazing friend brought up a great point. She said, "Make this trip about you. Do this for you now." This woke me up. Take an adventure for myself. I plan to hike the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu and visit Lake Titicaca.
From there I have no idea where my adventure will take me. I know that what ever presents itself to me, I will have an open mind about it and if it feels good and safe I will go.
I leave in just a few days we will see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Getting Ready for my departure

Well I leave in less than 11 days and honestly I am not ready. I am so scared right now. I am already missing my children, I have no idea what I am going to do when I get back. I have no idea who I am going to be.
I am having an identity crisis. I am going to finally admit that. But why do I have this identification problem? Is it because I unconsciously feel that once I can identify I am locked in, settled? I am beginning to believe it may be because I don't WANT to identify with any particular thing. I have tried so many things in my life but never really mastered any of them. I like when I have valid reasons for liking or disliking something. I can say its because I have tried it. And to tell you the truth, i dont want to be good at anyone thing. I want to be good at trying. I want to be good at experiencing pain, love, discomfort, happiness, joy, hurt and forgiveness.
Peru is just another one of those things that I want to experience... I mean come on I am going to one of the SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How much more amazing can you get!!???

OK, So I am not there yet...

...but i think that my time leading up to my departure is worth sharing.

I am scared. I am scared to sell all of the things that I have accumulated. I am scared of missing my amazing children. I am scared that when I get there I will disappointed and lonely. I am scared that I will fail upon my arrival. I am scared that I will not make enough money to make it back. But do I really want to come back to everything that is in this now?
All I want to come back to is my children. I want to come back as the women that I know I am. You see all of these fears keeps us from doing the things that we need to make us who we are. Children makes us mothers and fathers. Parents makes us children. School makes us students. Employers makes us employees. Faith makes us believers. But what are we when we stand alone? What have we done to build, strengthen and define ourselves? Have you ever given up anything to feel nothing but yourself? Or to follow a dream that you felt was unattainable?Are you selfish in doing so? I would hope that people would not think of it as selfishness. But then again, I could just be justifying myself. But are those skeptics just as scared to follow their own dreams?

I am selling a majority of my things. things that I don't need. things that I do need. things that don't define who I am and things that do. Just to see if I can make this voyage. Just to test the fact that we don't need all the "stuff" that we accumulate. We just need each other. I know that sounds cliche, but i fully believe this. we need to know that we are all here and to know that there is something bigger than us.

My Journey begins now...

I have found that I am missing something in life. Am I not getting something? Or is the world not getting me? I know what I want and need but i cannot find it. Will I find it in Peru? No. But I will be able to step away from all that has clouded my mind and my experience in Peru will only be the beginning of what is to come.
A little about what I will be doing...
My first two weeks I will be in a city called Cusco. There I will hike four days On the Inca Trail into Machu Pichu ( the photo above). I will stay one night in Machu Pichu so I can watch the sun rise over the sacred ruins. Then I will return to Lima where for 6 weeks, I will be teaching children in hospitals with HIV/AIDS, Cancer and other physical disabilities.
Not exactly sure what else I will be doing but I plan to get outdoors and hug the air that is new to me and bath in waters that are unknown to my senses.
If you are reading this prior to May 31, 2008, I have not yet arrived, but stay tuned, my next entry will be from an Internet cafe in Lima Peru!!!