My old friend turns out to be one of the most supportive when I return.

Sometimes you meet people who teach you things in such a subtle manner that you don’t realize they have profoundly changed your core being.

Today I ventured out of the city through the Ecuadorian highlands to the countryside to meet yet another remarkable farmer. Rogelio, a very kind farmer who was so happy to show me how sugar cane is processed and its many uses.

Day 106: Fortuna Cloud Forest, Panama I met Rocky my second night at the Lost and Found Lodge. Rocky is a kinkajou and while I thought he was a type of monkey, he’s actually a type of raccoon. Kinkajou’s are also known as honeybears because of their soft light brown fur. Rocky has had an interesting [...]

Day 92: Ometepe, Nicaragua I met Andres on the ferry from San Jorge to Ometepe. As he boarded the ferry, people immediately started talking about him. You see there is a hierarchy amongst travelers and the ones who choose the most difficult path are on the highest echelon. So in the world of backpacking, Andres [...]

Day 62: Granada, Nicaragua I met Jeremy at the hostel bar while enjoying a Toña and another traveler’s guidebook. He seemed nice enough but quite quiet, although he is Swiss and they aren’t known to be the most brash of people. However, within the next few minutes he told me one of the scariest stories I [...]

Day 35: San Cristobal, Mexico Perhaps it’s not accurate to call him Tupac. His name is Carlos but he explained that there are too many Carlos in San Cristobal and a Finnish girl gave him the nickname Tupac – I asked why but he didn’t really know the answer. I met Tupac in the square [...]