I taught my son how to bushwhack at a rest stop while driving along the east coast of the South Island towards Kaikoura. It was bittersweet to leave the charming little town of Nelson, but we were motivated to get to Kaikoura, New Zealand’s hamlet for whales, dolphins and heaps of birds. A few minutes prior to arrival, Chase and I pulled off at a small rest stop and wandered down to the beach. A Read more…
Chase and I had a first in our lives the night we arrived in Wellington: we shared a chicken kebab wrap at a local Turkish eatery in downtown Wellington for dinner this evening. My Dad would have loved this place, it had the look and feel of a family-owned, multi-generational spot in Queens, which was west of my hometown and a New York City borough he knew well. Chase and I literally took turns with Read more…
I never knew red pepper would cost me so much money until I came to New Zealand. I fancied myself a global citizen with a knack for efficiency, creative ideas and forward thinking in my travels. I was 45 years old with 43 countries visited under my belt, many months living abroad in various places, and even a suite of trips I crafted for other people’s enjoyment as part of my career working in philanthropy. Read more…
A chilled acai bowl on a Tuesday morning after a yoga class has become a ritual. An act of self care. A proud claim on the freelancing lifestyle that describes my last eight months. Besides mid-morning yoga classes, I take my time in the grocery store during business hours when the world is working. I enjoy morning bike rides in the opposite direction of the city commute. I work on Sundays without guilt because sometimes Read more…
It was fitting to wind up my Patagonia adventure spending the longest day of the year — the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere — with what felt like the longest hike of my life. Twenty kilometers, four of them gaining elevation and one of them spent almost directly uphill to the lagoon at the base of Fitz Roy. That was our target. We were starting around 1:30 PM, but we had aspirations to go Read more…
My first impression of Calafate was its resemblance to South Lake Tahoe. Picture neon signs, lots of retail stores, signage in Spanish and English. No casinos that I could find (and I wasn’t looking), but you get the idea. However, Calafate has a more subtle charm that takes time to detect. For example, we found a “Libro Bar,” or a book bar in town. Our first night’s dinner was in a cozy spot with a Read more…
I made sure to look for the towers of Torres del Paine on our way out of Puerto Natales by bus en route to El Calafate. Having been on this same road less than 24 hours prior heading out of the park for showers, pizza and beer with the crew, I had a pang of nostalgia already for this town and these mountains, which I barely knew so briefly. Javi mentioned the one spot where Read more…
Winter camping conditions make me melt. Especially if I am underprepared with too few warm and dry, synthetic clothes. Withdrawal, some tears, some sarcasm — all of these and more can surface with winter camping conditions and me. I always bounce back but I travel down a long, dark internal rabbit hole and back before I find my humor with crap weather. Just being honest. The first half of our backpacking adventure has two adjectives Read more…
Our first night was the capstone to a wet, windy inaugural hiking day in Torres del Paine. I could tell I would be hiking in my rain jacket for the next few days and my hat would probably never leave my head until I was back in Puerto Natales. I also noted that the wind velocity has the power to pluck any of us and our unwieldy packs off ridge lines and lake shores if Read more…
There’s a reason why I aim to run early, in life and in travel. The innkeeper of Tren Del Sur in Puerto Montt insisted an hour’s arrival pre-flight was enough time despite my request for an earlier cab for the “just in case” factor. Just in case there is traffic, an accident, holiday craze, a lost cab driver. I lost the debate with the innkeeper and gave in, submitting to his suggested pickup time. My Read more…