Sitting in the Los Angeles airport, neither Ally nor I had a hostel booked in Paris, nor our connecting train rides to take us down to the start of the Camino de Santiago in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. All we had were ridiculous smiles on our faces and our backpacks, which carried limited …
There’s an interesting process of returning home from a trip. Right as I’m nearing the end of my travels, I’m in a bittersweet place: I’m sad that my adventure is over, but I’m also tired. I’m ready to go home to my bed, my clean shower and toilet, to my friends and family. To comfort. …
One of the greatest things about volunteering at Jiwa Damai along with other Balinese workers is that I was able to become friends with locals. Made (pronounced Mad-e) and Putu were two of the kitchen workers who cooked us amazing Balinese dishes, much of it coming straight from the garden I watered every day. Nearing …
When one of my oldest friends moved to Seattle, Washington for school, I told her I was taking a trip out to see her. Not only would I get to see her lovely face but it would be an excuse to see Seattle. While I’ve been an avid traveler, I’ve only traveled outside of the …
So after only two months of use in Costa Rica, I already found some booboo’s in my hammock. First, a huge hole in the netting of my hammock from choosing a stupid way to hang it. Then, a tiny little hole in the canvas part of my hammock. This was probably from all those times …
I am very much a child. I look at the world with big wondering eyes the same way a newborn might look at the loving, somewhat familiar face of a mother. When I travel, the world is good to me. It’s new, it’s challenging. It’s sitting there, waiting for me to touch, smell, see. All for me. …
Costa Rica had some surprises. But of course it did, because I had no idea what to expect. First of all, I didn’t expect my taxi driver to be so easy to find. Second of all, I didn’t expect him to speak English. Much more than my host parents can.
I never thought I’d say that I’ve cleaned elephants before. Okay, so they weren’t real elephants. As a break from our usual work in the garden, Margret asks if one of us volunteers would be willing to clean “her elephants” – there are four large elephant statues scattered on Jiwa Damai’s property. I thought this …
It happens. There is a thing called traveler’s sickness – literally – and basically it’s when your body rejects the new bacteria and environment it’s exposed to and freaks out for a moment. I had this experience for the first time at Jiwa Damai.
It’s our second day off. We have a couple of ideas for today, such as an elephant safari. But we find out it costs $68 for only a thirty minute ride. So Max and I go with taking a motorbike ride to a nearby waterfall called Tegenungan. We take pictures of google maps before heading …