David and his family were awesome hosts. Enjoyed the VIP treatment of a well-known pop star on David's Island...they love having their Davey coming home to see them! Went to an awesome wedding as well(How many backpackers get to wear a suit?). Thanks to my misplacement of a certain camera cord, these are the only pictures I can put up... Headed to Sao Paulo tonight, Hooray last night bus of the trip. Whats that? Did I say last night bus? Yes, yes I did. I am flying back to the states on Wednesday morning from Sao Paulo. I got an internship in Colorado starting beginning of May.... If you didn't know :)... read more

13 Brazilians. 2 that speak English. 1 American. Two bedroom apartment. CARNAVAL. Heading to Laguna with Ivan and 5 friends I wrote in my last blog... Whoops. I was misinformed I suppose. Instead of going to Rio for Carnaval, I decided to go with Ivan to Laguna in the state of Santa Catarina. This was a totally different experience... Known by Brazilians as the best street carnaval of the south, highly probable that I was one of the only tourists there. This is a different type of carnaval compared to what most people see on TV in Rio. Massive street carnaval. Kind of like Mardi Gras (but way better, its on the beach... clearly ... haha). Everyone just dances on the street all day listening to Brazilian music. At night massive buses drive down the avenue ... read more

After buses and buses we arrived in El Chalten, the "trekking capital of Argentina." Upon gathering our gear who do we see? A fellow Junketeer (a term recently created referring to those who participated in the Moto-taxi Junket race...), Mimi, was there waiting eager to join in on our trekking adventure. The four of us then headed off to find a suitable place to camp for the night and plan the trek. Typically hikers in Chalten use the town as their base and do day hikes out to see some of the sights. Of course we would never JUST do day hikes so we decided to make a 5 day trek out of it. Good choice :). Bad weather. The hiking in Glaciar National Park was relatively easy. Maybe it was because we were coming off ... read more

So its been a really long time since I have written. Sorry guys... I am still alive and well! So to kind of pick up where I left off (a month ago). After the race the whole crew (minus Quiller) decided we needed some much needed R&R at a very nice hotel with a pool. After multiple days of laying in the pool and tons of showers I think we finally reached a somewhat presentable state. So after weeks on the road we were clean and fed and feeling much better than the dreary state we arrived in. (I had an all-you-can-eat meal everyday for over a week when I got back... ya fatty instincts coming back.) Asuncion was just hot. And we were tired. Nice people, everyone is starting to look more European and the ... read more

So for the second time in my trip today I had to watch family member walk through the airport and wave goodbye. Never is an easy thing, but seeing my parents for those 8 short days was well worth the hardship of seeing them leave. I could not have asked for any better present than to see them come out of the Cusco Airport. Amazing week.... (and no that's not a suck up speech). Altitude was not a problem with the rents, thank God, and the first day we hit the ground running (and panting at the top of staircases) exploring Cusco. We did the essential Church tours, which were actually incredible. Gold plated altars and amazing canvas paintings fill all of these amazing churches. UNFORTUNATELY, pictures were not permitted in any of the churches.... ... read more