I returned to Los Angeles yesterday after a whirlwind business trip to South America (with a few adventures squeezed in of course) and my heart is aflutter with a renewed passion for the magic that is Latin America. Taking a trip to South or Central America can transport you to some of the loveliest natural beauty in … [Read more…]
I stand in a field at Domaine Saint Diego winery outside of Mendoza, Argentina. It’s a perfect autumn day in the Southern Hemisphere and the sun beams down bright and warm on my shoulders, dousing the neatly lined rows of grapes before me with rich light. The air here is crisp and pure. Just breathing … [Read more…]
In the fading light all the greens at Finca Adalgisa are beginning to glow. It is as if the sun is lingering on the leaves, attempting to ward off its pending departure from this beautiful place. I step into one of the boutique hotel’s rooms and find that the faint hint of smoke from guests … [Read more…]
Baby I would climb the Andes solely to count the freckles on your body Standing atop a narrow, concrete pylon, look out across the El Yeso Reservoir, Shakira’s lyrics blast through my mind, their invisible sound the only interruption to the unceasing panorama before me. The water is a brilliant shade of blue I’ve never … [Read more…]
On a sunny morning in Santiago, Chile, I walk through the tranquil streets of Providencia. Autumn has just started in South America but it still feels like a summer morning. Soft sunlight pours through the dense green leaves on the trees that line the neighborhood’s walks. I turn a corner and continue on down Condell … [Read more…]
It’s hard to believe I lived in Costa Rica for a year and a half. Well, that’s not entirely true. Some days it felt as if I’ was there for an eternity and never had any life other than the one was currently living. Some days it felt as if the magic of living above the streets … [Read more…]
The walls of the open-air lounge at Rancho Armadillo Estate are adorned with newspaper clippings with headlines that read “The Kindest Hotel Owner in Costa Rica” and “Rancho Armadillo: Like Visiting a Friend With a Really Cool House.” There are pictures of local children’s soccer teams too and hand painted gifts of thanks from school groups. This is all … [Read more…]
One week. After one year, five months and four days of living abroad in Costa Rica, one week is all I have left of my life in the rainforest. Beyond that week lies a future filled with unknowns. The pending end of this chapter of my life is a natural time to reflect – well … [Read more…]
It was the kind of dress I’d always wanted to own– a form fitting red bandage dress with a plunging v-neck. Sleek, vibrant, with ribbed strips of fabric that cling to every curve. And it was the kind of dress I’d never expected to find on a rack in a thrift store in Masaya, Nicaragua, … [Read more…]
Standing atop a damp crag of a rock, peaking over the edge of Montezuma Falls as a stream of water swiftly plummets downward, violently kicking off the jagged cliff side and bucketing into the deep pool below, I felt something I hadn’t felt to expect in this moment — paralyzing fear. All through the past 14-months … [Read more…]