June 5: Took the overnight train from Kiev to Luts'k, in the northwest corner of the country. Upon arrival, we found the small station already stirring with early bird locals awaiting their trains. We departed by taxi as the cold morning air began to sting our ears and noses and stopped first at Michael's friend James' apartment. James is also employed by the Peace corp as a teacher, and spends much of his time at the local university teaching English to young, educated Ukrainians. A native of Ohio, he lives a much more humble life in Luts'k, coping with horrendous plumbing [View Full Entry]

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May 31: We arrived in Moscow Friday morning, stiff from the long trans-Atlantic flight. After clearing customs with relative ease, we claimed our belongings and plunged into the heart of Moscow by train. Drab Soviet highrise apartments began to punctuate the forested landscape miles outside of the city center. In Moscow, we scarcely had time to catch our breath before heading to the ticket office to pick up our tickets to Kiev, Ukraine. Sprinting from the office, we arrived at Kyivskaya station just in time to catch our sleeper train to the Ukrainian capital. Moscow will have to wa [View Full Entry]

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July 13: After catching our flight out of La Paz, Ryan and I have arrived at our final destination in gorgeous Argentina. Arriving from the airport at Diana's apartment in the Las Cañitas neighborhood, our friend greeted us with sleep in her eyes and steaming hot maté to rouse us from the fatigue of travel and the chilly winter morning air. Diana explained that she had been out until around 5:00 a.m., and our arrival at 7:00 a.m. cut short her quick snooze. We would soon learn that in Buenos Aires, sleep is an after thought when parties and nightclubs begin [View Full Entry]

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July 8: After departing from Cuzco on an overnight bus, Ryan and I found ourselves staring out at a brilliant sunrise over Lake Titicaca and wrapping up in a few extra layers to ward off the bitter cold. We reunited with a Japanese friend, Yoshi, whom we had met on our rafting trip near Cuzco, had a great alpaca lunch, walked around a bit, and discovered that one of Peru´s poorest cities was actually a pleasant place to linger. In our hostel that evening, we made fast friends with an Australian chef named Lee who had traveled up from Chile and [View Full Entry]

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June 30: Had a run in with two of my favorite actors in Cusco on Thursday. Dominic Monaghan and Evangeline Lily. Never heard of them, you say? Well, Monaghan played the chipper hobbit Merry in The Lord of the Rings movies, and Lily currently stars in the television drama LOST (Monaghan is a former co-star on the show). You never know who you´ll meet on the road, I guess. Friday, I went white water river rafting on the Rio Urubamba, which was a blast save for my stupidity in not removing my shoes when I put on my wetsuit. They dried [View Full Entry]

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June 24th: We are currently in Cusco, taking a moment to catch our breaths after taking in the colorful Inti Raymi festival earlier. To catch everyone up: after unwinding a bit in Trujillo, Ryan and I backpacked to Lima, where I became aware of just how enormous the place really is. The pollution is eye-stinging, the pace of life is frenetic, and the poverty is quite appalling, but there is something very attractive about the heaving metropolis of nearly eight million. The many diverse areas in Lima possess an exciting if sometimes downtrodden energy, giving a cohesiveness to the [View Full Entry]

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June 14: We made the journey to Guayaquil over a week ago, but soon found ourselves overwhelmed by the sweltering heat, pollution, and chaos of Ecuador´s largest city. So we boarded a bus in search of greener (and cooler) pastures. Crossing back in to the Andes, we settled into a gem of a city at Cuenca, in the south of the country. After taking a day to explore the area´s cobblestone allyways and quite plazas (and idling by the town´s meandering river with a carton of chocolate milk and not a care in the world), we were enlightened by the friendly [View Full Entry]

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June 3: Slowly but surely, Ryan and I are making our way to the Peruvian border. We have spent the last several days wandering through Quito´s Old Town, marveling at the beautifully restored buildings, imposing churches, and frenetic pace! The city teems with life, and I could not help but feel as though I had just been swept along with it. We learned the ins and outs of Quito´s complex transport system, and quickly learned to watch our pockets: In the cramped Metro, commuters, families, and vagrants alike stream in and out at every station. I was often unlucky enough to [View Full Entry]

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May 30: Touched down in Ecuador. The taxi ride into Quito was fabulous! The city is incredibly large, and the highrise buildings and highways seem to extend forever. Arriving in the Old Town, Ryan and I were able to get our bearings before locating an excellent little hotel ($5.00 per night) with fabulous views from the third floor terrace. After wandering the cobblestone streets and dining ($1.50 for dinner), we returned to our room to get some much needed sleep, only to be disturbed by a large demonstration on the street below. Ryan inquired at the front desk about the torchbearin [View Full Entry]

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May 26: Sixteen months after leaving Africa, she is still with me. My thoughts still float with the ocean breeze. My feet tap to her rhythm. My heart yearns for adventure. But I have decided to save my next chapter in Africa for a later time. South America beckons. After years of anticipation, she is presently three days and three flights away. Time to shake the sand from my flip-flops (after a weekend on the beach in Mexico), reflect on my time with a wonderful girl, and pack up the camera. I will write again from south of the equator. -Wild [View Full Entry]

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