1 and 1/2 years of wandering comes to an end in the Big Apple

After a year and a half of wandering through North and South America–with a brief stint in Africa–I have finally come to the point where a rest is necessary. For both personal and financial reasons–if you have not heard the dollar is not doing so hot–I have decided to take a break from the rolling vacation. Chapter 1 has taken among many other places through Bariloche, Argentina; Florianapolis, Brazil; San Pedro de Atacama, Chile; Antarctica; Arequipa, Peru; Rurrenabaque, Bolivia; Taganga, Colombia; Havana, Cuba; Quito, Ecuador; The Galapagos Islands; Arusha,Tanzania; Fernie, Canada; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; Rozwell, New Mexico; Monument Valley, Utah; Grand Canyon, Arizona (2); and Los Angeles, California (3). I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, repelled down a 200 yard cliff in the Amazon Jungle, ate guinea pig, went swimming with pink dolphins, and enjoyed gentle cocktails with hundreds of people from around the world. Through this journey my mind, body, and spirit have developed significantly. I say this because last night, I kicked ass on Jeopardy; I also ran 4 miles the other day without passing out, and have kind-of-sort-of figured out how to live in the moment.

Now, for the first time in a long time, I have my own room. Weird. 4 walls, a door, and a dresser are all mine. My new home is in Brooklyn. My backpack now resides under my bed.

I am living with an old, interesting friend. More to come on “the Nuge”.

In January, I decided to scrap my initial 5-month-overland-Africa-trip. Since then, I have been thinking long and hard about what direction I am going to take this whole thing–this whole thing being my life. After traveling in Tanzania for almost a month, I realized that the Cairo-to-Capetown trip I had originally planned would have taken me deep in the heart of nothingness; No infrastructure, roads barely passable, people suffering from terrible disease. Although I am sure it would have been rewarding, I am not yet ready to endure such an undertaking for such a long time. I plan to do it one day, just not now. Africa’s not going anywhere and for the time being, neither am I.

The Website:

While trekking on Mt. Kilimanjaro I spent much of my time thinking about what this site should look like. I have decided to make some changes. Mainly, I want to make it easier to go back and reference past posts. Unfortunately for travel bloggers like myself, blogs read backwards. Much of my feedback from new readers indicates that it is very hard to make sense of the content as it is all out of order.

Professional Goals:

I made a commitment to myself in South America that I would go into business for myself. This site has been the crux of that business commitment thus far. The blogging world is still relatively new. The reality is that everyone out there is still trying to figure out how to monetize their content.

With this in mind I have decided a few things professionally:

1. I am looking into alternative ways to share my travel experiences. Namely, I am seriously considering planning trips to some of the places I have visited–namely Bolivia, Peru, and throughout Africa. Most of these would be exotic in nature. I would also look at taking small groups of friends, acquaintances, and interested readers. Along the way I have forged friendships with some tremendous travel and wildlife guides. I am currently in talks with some of these fascinating people about planning some adventures over the course of the next few years. I will keep you posted on my progress.

2. There is no doubt about it, I am going to keep writing. Yesterday I moved to New York City. Today I got lost in Manhattan. While stumbling around I encountered a new story around every corner. I quickly realized that I am still traveling. I love not knowing where I am. I don’t know what streets I am on right now and I only sort of know how to get back home to Brooklyn. This feeling of living in a new city is what I will be writing about over the next few months.

3. I am still going to explore the video/podcasting ideas I have been working on. Currently my editor Francis is putting together two videos from my recent Africa trip. The Safari and my Kilimanjaro trek should be produced by the end of the May.

Sidenote: I am buying a bike. Religious people, say some prayers for me. My biking skills need immense improvement. Non religious people, please do not laugh at me when I come tumbling off my sweet new 10 speed.

Travel Goals:

Make no mistake about it. I am still going to be traveling. I have an addiction. Luckily there are no 12 step programs to cure this condition. I am currently working on a few trips in the upcoming future namely to Europe and potentially back to Africa. However, my true fascination of the moment is South East Asia.

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Thanks for reading this last year and a half… I am looking forward to my time here in New York City. For years I have had dreams of living in New York City.

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