La Vie en Rose

La Vie en Rose

After resting for a day in Santiago the rest of my pilgrim pals returned home to their normal lives, while I continued walking, wanting to officially end my pilgrimage in Finisterre. The end of the known world until the discovery of  the Americas, Finisterre was also a former pagan pilgrimage destination, believed to be the site the sun went to die each night. I was unsure what these final days walking would mean, but ultimately decided to view them as a chance to reflect on what I’d learned, and as preparation to let go of my life as a pilgrim.
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Imagine

Imagine

I was told early on that the Camino de Santiago has three stages: physical, mental and spiritual. When I last wrote I was squarely in the middle of the mental- no longer under bodily duress but tired of the routine, of Spanish food, of the nightly snoring and farting keeping me awake every night. I began walking the Primitivo route from Oviedo on the first day back to school, a chill of autumn in the morning air, and it was from there on that strange things began happening. I would cruise for hours in a state of euphoria, totally blissed out. Changing the lyrics from Enrique Iglesias’ summer jam ‘Bailando’ to ‘Santiago,’ I convinced anyone I could to sing with me, and when alone serenaded the birds at full volume. I found myself crying at the sunrises, overwhelmed by the beauty found in every direction. Sometimes the wind would blow through the eucalyptus or pines just so, making them appear to bow as I was passing by… and I would bow back.

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Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Oh, well hello! I really did have grand plans to write about all of the wonderful things that happened in August: my friend´s magical wedding in a little town straight out of Beauty and the Beast, wine tasting in Bordeaux, climbing the Dune du Pilat in Arcachon, revisiting my old study abroad haunts in Paris, and discovering that bohemia still exists in Berlin. Hopefully at some point I still will. However, even with ample time to relax in Toulouse, the hours somehow slipped away and I now have been walking as a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago for 21 days.

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Brain in a Bottle

Brain in a Bottle

Berlin! Berlinberlinberlin. While waxing poetic about my visit to my mom, she pointed out just how easily I seem to fall in love with cities or places. I can’t deny that she has a point, but guys, Berlin really is the bees knees. Instantly the hippest spot I’d ever been, I was thrilled to find a modern day bohemia still in existence, and I will try to do it justice despite writing about it so belatedly.

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Rivers and Roads

Rivers and Roads

A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face. -Jorge Luis Borges

All growth is a leap in the dark. -Henry Miller

…….

I last wrote during what I thought would be a temporary stop in the USA for bereavement, which somehow managed to turn into a year in New York City. Specifically, after puttering around my parent’s house in California for a few months I moved on a whim into a tiny bedroom in Crown Heights, Brooklyn for a chance at an adventure in the big city with the bright lights. Thanks to a wonderful childhood friend I worked the first couple months at the front desk of a bougie gym in Midtown, and spent my free time visiting all the sights that good tourists are supposed to see while happily subsisting on bagels and greasy slices of pizza. Eventually, I was hired for a ten month contract position at a non-profit in East New York to work on implementing a new healthy food initiative, a position that will come to an end in only ten more days.

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All Things Must Pass

All Things Must Pass

Peru! Peruperuperu. I kicked off my newest love affair in Arequipa with a three day trek through the deepest canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon. After a 2:30 am wake up, followed by a sleepy bus ride, we arrived at Cruz del Condor to watch the condors do their morning hunting. I had no idea just how big condors are, it was impressive to watch them glide in circles over the canyon, on occasion swooping close enough to hear the sound of their wings cutting through the wind. Afterwards we continued our drive up through the Chivay Valley, 14k of land purely dedicated to cultivation. The farmers still maintain plots built during Inca times,  creating a colorful patchwork divided by ancient stone walls for me to gaze at out the bus window.

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Walking On A Dream

Walking On A Dream

In traveling, a companion, in life, compassion. -Haruki Murakami

My love for San Pedro de Atacama started before I even arrived. Shortly after leaving Salta we cruised through the Argentinian salt flats for a free tour of sorts before making our ascent over the Andes. I saw my first llama somewhere around hour five and my level of excitement was definitely inappropriate, especially since it only increased with each new llama spotted. I passed ten hours contented, gazing out the window while counting cacti and listening to music, feeling grateful and absolutely enamored with this big beautiful world we live in.

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Life On A Chain

Life On A Chain

It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. -Wendell Berry

After saying my goodbyes in Guatemala, I gave myself three weeks to visit a bit of Honduras and Belize, before heading home to celebrate the holidays. After three weeks in California, it was onward for some cruisin’ and boozin’ in the Antarctic for another 21 days, before getting dropped off in Buenos Aires. All of that nonstop motion explains why I was feeling very travel weary and still uncertain about whether or not to return to California. In an effort to have a bit of downtime, I decided to visit the Eco Yoga Park, just outside of Buenos Aires.

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Desaparecido

Desaparecido

I’m back! Life has been a whirlwind, within the span of a month I went from the tropical paradise that is Belize, to its polar opposite. (Get it?? Polar!) Antarctica is the first place that I have visited that is analogous to nothing, but I will struggle through this blog nonetheless.
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