LORD IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE

Taken from a journal entry after leaving my life in NYC to backpack South America for 4 months…

courtsey of nycago.org

March 24, 2015

I read those words on the ceiling of a church on the East Side after wandering around Manhattan after work one day.

I stumbled upon those words saved into the notebook portion of my phone. So much emotion is going into planning, tying up loose ends around the trip and our jobs, and making sure everything is taken care of before we leave the States. Even though this seems like the most stressful time, I stopped and caught myself after re-reading this saved note: these are all good things. It’s good that we are paying old bills and cleaning out stuff that we no longer need. It’s good that we are taking care of doctors appointments that we’ve been putting off for so long. It’s good that we are leaving or putting our jobs on hold to be happier. And most importantly, through all the emotions and stress of this journey, it is good for us to be here, be in the present, and feeling the fortune of incredible opportunity.

I always played by the rules… listened to my parents, did well in school, participated in every should-do activity along the way, and now im doing the unimaginable… leaving all that I’ve worked for an adventure in return.

Finding community on the road.

Mount Fitz Roy peaking through the hills of El Chalten

San Blas by way of Colombia.

Local is just normal, Peru.

andean-starbucks-la-playa-salkantay-trek-machu-picchu

Lost in the mountains with Herbal Teas.

herbal-remidy-in-machu-picchu

The dark side of Buenos Aires.

recoleta

Watching the long, elegant steps of the tango in Buenos Aires is a must — it’s like watching an intimate love spell unfold on the dance floor. And the steak, oh the steak, is nothing like you’ve ever tasted before. Asado-style beef is slowly cooked on the flame for hours and result is a juicy, succulent meat. Both of these huge sources of pride (and tourist attractions) in Buenos Aires.

View from the entrance to the cemetery

Surprisingly, one of the most unforgettable sights in Buenos Aires is not for the living. Recoleta Cemetery, located in the Recoleta Barrio, is home to some of the most celebrated Argentineans. The cemetery includes graves of several presidents, war heroes, and the wealthy, including the former first lady of Argentina, Eva Peron. The maze of mausoleums cover at total of four city blocks, replicating chapels, pyramids and Greek temples. Over eighty stray cats creep around the grounds like the souls of those forgotten.