ejoymoore

Passing through the coastal landscapes of Alabama and Mississippi, we arrived to New Orleans on a rainy afternoon after spending one night in a beautiful national park in western Florida where we found stark white beaches made of pure quartz that squeaked under our feet… apparently because of how fine ground the sand is. This was a first visit for both Matt and I, and the most immediate thing we noticed was how much New Orleans looks and feels like a European city. Understandably so – first founded by the French in the early 18th century, New Orleans has kept its French flavor through the architecture and design of downtown, and among its many homes just outside the city. Brilliant. If you want the feel of European flare without actually traveling to Europe, visit New Orleans! ... read more

Departing Boston... not so much fun. Three treacherous hours of snow driving is certainly one way to put a new car to the test. But walking the last few hundred yards through soft deep snow to arrive at a 'dance party' with High 5 crew and friends, was well worth it. I can't remember such a large snowstorm before Halloween. However it didn't deter children and adults alike from taking the chance to costume up the following day and march proudly through the streets of Peterborough. A couple of sunny days with a friend passing out candy, walking old snowy roads, sharing good food and in good company at her lovely home in southern NH, was definitely appreciated. Passing through Massachusetts (where I experienced the stereotype of Mass. drivers to be unfortunately true), I toured a ... read more

Leaving a home. Leaving everything that I’ve come to believe was safe over the last four years... with the first snow, as if the weather spoke for me. Car packed, I stopped at a local apple orchard that I visited just a month ago, delighting in fresh tart apples and tasting samples of hard cider under a tent which now threatens to cave in on any daring customer. The sun, still low in the morning sky, was just enough to highlight the snowcapped apple trees and weaken the snow’s grip on the surrounding roofs. My journey begins. To where you ask? Who knows. Leaving this fresh snow and facing the southern landscape, I wonder what awaits and how I should feel about this sudden change. Freedom, fear, excitement, remorse? How about I find some morning grub... ... read more

I can skip over Nazca, the mysterious pre-Inca lines and a dis-heartening bus ride to Ica, because now I see it all as the path which led me to Huacachina. Again, I find a lack of words to describe a place which now only exists in my dreams, however Huacachina deserves mentioning, at the least. A short taxi ride from Ica and you enter the small village, where everybody knows each others business and they all seem grateful for every day that they spend in this marvelous oasis. A beautiful, however artificially made water whole is the center of this town, just as many 'Plaza de Armas´' are the center of most Peruvian city's. The tiny village of restaurants, small 'shack' shops, and hotels hug the Acacia and Palm surrounded oasis while giant dunes sit behind ... read more

Hola mis amigos, It has been a week since the trek yet the images from Machu Picchu still swirl through my head. I left you one week ago when we hopped a bus to Puno (Lake Titicaca) which took a beautiful ride through yellow flowered land and rolling snow capped mountains. Along the way we visited different artisan shops and small towns of different character. The most obvious difference was their churches. One catholic church dubbed the ´sistine chapel´of Peru also had other influences such as a giant Islamic star which was carved into the ceiling... a striking contrast. Another church was quite large, dark and seemingly abandoned which happened to mirror the feel of the town. I noticed the floors and walls were crumbling as I stepped in small pot holes, and any art work ... read more

The Inca trail certainly has its touristy moments, but fortunately that´s not what lasts in my memory. Nothing I write can clearly explain what those four days were like, but I´ll give it a try. Our group of 16 ´trekies´ took off monday at 6am to begin our four day journey. We consisted of 6 americans, 2 french canadians, 1 maritime canadian, 3 brits, and 4 aussies. We were definitely a group of gringos but from very different backgrounds and of very different ages, the youngest being 21 and the eldest, 57. The fascinating thing is that the team of porters guides and cooks from our company´Peru Treks´outnumbered us. We had 2 guides, 2 chefs and 20 porters (who carried the gear for each camp site). The team was insane and fantastic...i´ll explain later. After stopping ... read more

I can safely say I would never choose to repeat the same passage from Huancayo to Cusco that I did last week. Last tuesday afternoon the 3 of us left a teary eyed family to take a 9 hour car ride through the middle of Peru and arrive in Ayacucho by 8pm. Although choosing to travel by car instead of using a cheaper bus made the ride much safer and cut down on our traveling time, it was not a ride for the weak in stomach. However, we were able to stop anywhere along the way for food or photos. We tried different fruits which were sold by children standing along the road and saw many tiny villages full of both working and playing people (usually volleyball...it is huge here). We also had the excitement of ... read more

Hola a todos, Yet another country full of color, struggle and beauty. You may or may not know that I have been in Peru for one week with the intention to travel, hike and do some volunteer work for a month. My job is in its off season, and I could stand to refresh my spanish speaking skills. I am traveling with Erika and Amanda, who I have worked with at Hulbert recently. We arrived on January 5th, staying in the capital of Lima before traveling seven hours on a hot, sticky bus that climbed 4,818 meters over the Andes into the city of Huancayo. The intense altitude difference caused both headaches and nose-bleeds as we passed through small mountain towns of different varieties. Some contained many small farms and occasionally we´d see alpacas standing along ... read more