My Last Day in South America

On my last day in South America, I wake up to the calm sound of rain falling atop the metal roof.  Two days before I was tanning on a cushioned lounge chair along the water of Mancora Beach, Peru my mind dizzied, almost drunk, on sun and relaxation. But now I am in Quito, Ecuador on a rainy morning and my mind is dizzying from the prospect of leaving this great continent.

As the rain taps, I work to fall back asleep,... [Read more]

Strangers in the Night

On a lonely Bolivian intersection, the streets as wide and empty as an abandoned landing strip, we collided like two freight trains in the night. Midnight, and nobody here knew each other. Two dozen people in total, no one even thought of stopping when the groups combined and began mixing like magical ingredients in a witch’s cauldron. We kept walking, I hoped I was not the only one who didn’t know were we were... [Read more]

See Salt Sea

Imagine a flat solid sea that reflects the mountains that frame it. Islands in that sea stand small but tall, with thousand year-old cacti raising their bristly arms towards the sky. Waves would wash over the island banks if only the ripples were not already frozen in crystallized patterns of white and bronze.

Driving from... [Read more]

Down the Death Road

“Sarit!” my husband turned to me all excited, “Wanna go up to 4700m in a van and then ride a bicycle downhill 64km on the most dangerous road in the world?”

“Ahem… No! Do I look like I have a death wish?” It was an honest response. I haven’t been on a bike since the fifth grade! I thought this was the end of it, but when we got to La Paz in Bolivia there wasn’t... [Read more]

A Poem for the Sacred Lake

Lake Titicaca was known to the Incas as a sacred lake. Over the last few days, I have been able to visit islands on both the Bolivian and Peruvian sides, and walking the stoney paths, looking out to the ruins, marveling over the breathtaking views, it is easy to find the sanctity of the place. This lake inspires a holiness with the land, and even now at a computer in Puno, I continue to feel the affects of the ancient... [Read more]

Bolivia, Is It Worth It?

Friday afternoon in La Paz, I found the restaurant section of an open air market and took a seat at one of the 10 stands serving relatively the same food for about $3. I ordered a plate of chicken and rice from two women standing behind a counter no more than four feet long.

While I ate the delicious food they served me, I enjoyed a nice session of people watching, the women cleaning pots from the lunch rush, children... [Read more]

Plaza Life of South America

Some of the most enjoyable memories on my year long journey through South America happened while sitting, reading, gazing, listening, talking, zoning out or all of the above in a town’s plaza. Whether it was the fullness of trees and detailed flower structures sprouting around, artisans hanging out and conversing among themselves, actors performing skits to an encircling crowd of pedestrians, or permanent chess boards... [Read more]

Birthday Memories in Copacabana, Bolivia

When I mention that I had spent my 25th birthday in Copacabana, everyone thought I had perhaps joined the beautiful bikini clad women full of feathers Samba-ing the night away. Little did they know, I was grasping for breath from high altitude and enjoying a quaint lake side life with the Bolivianos.

It was a long five hour bumpy bus ride from Puno across the Peru-Bolivian border along the shore of Lake Titicaca.... [Read more]