One of my very favorite ways to remember my travels is through the artful objects collected on my various trips. Learning to see objects as art has made souvenir shopping so much more interesting and now, one of my favorite elements of travel! When I was a bit younger I assumed the best…
Perhaps one of the hardest parts of long-term travel is the care and feeding of my own body. What’s familiar and second-nature back home, takes energy- and often creativity- when traveling. When I settle into a work-friendly AirBnB for a few days to catch up on business (Usually about 5 to 7 days) I find…
When I lived in downtown Seattle my 35-unit building shared a total of two basement washers, two dryers, and zero elevators. This, combined with living on the third floor of a very high-ceilinged 19th-century building made laundry day a dreaded task. Laundry day meant lugging laundry down several floors only to find the washroom busy…
Traveling by train is one of the best ways to see Romania, although actually a less-popular mode of travel for locals. The Romanian rail system has a reputation for being unreliable and very slow. This reputation has led most Romanian citizens to abandon train travel entirely, resulting in low operating budgets and even rarer…
There (and Back!) + How I Got Stranded at A National Park in Chile In all my adventures, Cuevas de Anzota is the only place I have managed to get myself really, truly, stranded. After walking about a mile and a half back down the road from Cuevas de Anzota and getting no cell phone…
Traveling solo can be an incredibly enriching experience. Over the years, I’ve spent about a year total traveling abroad alone. Although being an introvert helps, I always miss my friends and family back home. As a solo traveler and someone with experience working in the mental health field, here are my tips for caring for…
I believe one of the very best ways to become acquainted with the culture and take home something of artistic – but affordable – value is by visiting local markets and shopping with the individual vendors that come together to create the magic of an open air market. There’s something almost magical about how vendors arriving…
If you have the luxury of a slow-paced visit to Romania- the kind of visit where you can wander and take time to unwind enough in one location to allow your senses to take in the experience of an utterly unique place on the globe- the Maramures region of Romania should move to the top…
In 2019 I worked online as I wandered through about a dozen countries in South America and Europe. With iPad usually in hand, I found myself moved to doodle when I discovered a particularly good idea to make like a bit easier or better as a full-time traveler. Here are my tips, products, and hacks…
1. Tours booked on-location are less expensive than tours booked on travel sites Unlike visiting a large city (which are generally walkable) when you visit the Atacama Desert you WILL need to choose between booking a rental jeep or taking small group tours. Although it can be tempting to book everything ahead- tours in San…
Places best described as “a little off the most-trampled tourist track” are my favorite sort of places to travel. The small town of Fagaras, Romania definitely falls in this category and made a great base for a few days of rest and exploration on my way from tourist-packed Sibiu to tourist-packed Brasov. A railroad stop…
I consider myself a near professional packer. I grew up journeying from market to market with artist parents and learned young how to pack light and live out of a bag. As an adult, I’ve traveled fairly widely, and read the r/one bag Reddit forum regularly. so when I visited South America for three months…
If you are planning a trip to Seattle, you might find your plans interrupted by unexpected rainfall- but don’t worry, Seattle knows just how to make the most of rainy days and in this post we’ll review some of the best ways to ENJOY what rain brings to the city. It’s important to remember that…
One of the many highlights of my six weeks in Patagonia in 2019 was when I headed North, to the northernmost portion of the Patagonia region- a section of Chile that most tourists skip. This region is known for volcanoes and dramatic waterfalls, but just off the mainland lies the island of Chiloe (pronounced “chill-‘oh-eh”>. In my first ever…
As I researched for my trip to Chile, I kept finding myself drawn back to the island of Chiloe. Shrouded in both literal fog and the mythology of superstition, this archipelago is home to 16 UNESCO sites: all churches, remarkable for their construction by master shipbuilders using native woods and unique construction. A day…
Solo travel can be one of the worst times to get sick. The combination of being alone and away from home can make even a common cold particularly difficult. although you might be inclined to push on through your travels, it’s best to stop and rest for a few days if possible. The following are…
International travel – especially solo international travel – can be intimidating, and it doesn’t help to think about all the many scams that con artists try to execute on vulnerable travelers. Whether you are traveling solo or with a group, it can be very helpful to face this anxiety head-on. Rather than ignoring the…
