March 17, 2021
Stranded in the Peruvian Amazon
A traveler in Peru finds more adventure than she bargained for when her tour boat's engine unexpectedly dies in the middle of the Amazon. “There’s the boat, I see it…
March 8, 2021
A Book for a Book
A mugging in the colorful port town of Valparaíso, Chile, helps a traveler understand the country's troubled past and turbulent present. When I was in Chile, I got mugged. It…
September 7, 2020
Unequal
In a music filled square in Cartagena, travelers and refugees drink beer, swap stories, and attempt to bridge the chasm that exists between two worlds. The air was heavy with…
July 14, 2020
Just Scared
A diver-in-training finds herself in the middle of a near panic attack more than 100 feet underwater. How she chooses to handle it teaches her more about herself than the…
June 25, 2020
Written in the Stars
While lounging in the hot springs of Baños, Ecuador, a traveler encounters a stranger who attempts to predict her romantic future. Grey nose hair is the first thing I see…
May 31, 2020
J’ouvert Morning
Trinidad and Tobago's annual J'ouvert festival wakes a traveler and pulls her into the traditional madness and revelry of the day. In the early hours of a February Monday, I…
March 18, 2020
Saturn Always Comes Back
A writer researching the Kolla peoples of Argentina hears the story of their fight for freedom from an elderly nurse and former slave. The first time I met Saturnino Vargas,…
October 25, 2019
Especially Tonight
In the mystifying tango salons of Argentina, a writer attempts to mend a broken heart. A woman dressed in black is sitting alone inside a café, and I wonder if…
July 31, 2019
The Slow Boat to Manaus
Life is pretty routine when you're traveling the Amazon river by cargo ship: Every day you wake up at exactly 5.30AM and mingle with people from another world. Tiny white…
July 26, 2019
Meeting Pachamama on the Salkantay Trail
On an out-of-the-way hiking trail in the Andes, an American traveler gets a helping hand from the local deity. “First, we give to Pachamama,” Chachi said, opening his bottle of…
