Hiking the Huayhuash Solo: Logistics

So you want to follow in the footsteps of Joe Simpson from Touching The Void? Or you just want to see some of the most remote mountain wilderness outside of the Himalayas? You're looking for the Huayhuash mountain range. For 10 days during October, 2015, I hiked alone through the Huayhuash Mountain range. For those...

Busco Un Burro: Buying a Donkey in El Perú

It turns out that buying a donkey in Peru is not the easiest thing to do. Which, if you have ever been to Peru, may surprise you. Donkeys are everywhere. More ubiquitous than the llama, almost as common as the cow, donkeys are used on every trek and they can be found in every field....

Riding The Bus In Peru

I enter the terminal to the sound of men calling out the various destinations. “Cusco! Cusco! Chincero!” “Ollantaytambo!” Occasionally I am noticed and one calls out the name of some nearby tourist destination for the gringa. “Maras! Moray!” But today I am not traveling for pleasure. Today I am heading to a different place, on...

Life In Urubamba: The Beginning

Ok, It is now the start of my second week living and working in Urubamba, Peru. My brain is a little tired from using Spanish, even though I am able to use English at home. Every day, all around me is Spanish. This is good, this is great. I can feel myself learning every day....

Lima: First Impressions

I'm doing it again. I've moved to a new continent and am attempting to adapt to life in a new culture. This time around I'm not even going to live in a big city, but a small village high in the Andes mountains. More on that later, as of this time of writing I haven't...

Skiing in South Korea: High 1 Resort

  My first winter in Korea was my first winter in 5 years. The initial adjustment was difficult, dare I say bordering on traumatizing. But thankfully my 18 years in New England came through for me and I adjusted. Buying some thermal leggings and knock-off ugg boots helped as well. But god damn it was awful...

The 4 Stages of Culture Shock and My First Experience

There's a big difference between traveling and living abroad. It comes mainly in the four stages of culture shock, as I learned the hard way the first time I experienced it.