Do you ever...

Do you ever click out of your life for a few days, just waking up, going along with the day, and falling back asleep?

Do you ever feel like sometimes you forget where you are, for want of the past, or dreams of the future?

Do you ever then, suddenly, click back into your life after feeling away for a few days, and look upon it with new eyes? With wonder, gratitude, and awe?

I feel like this right now, as I look back upon my photos from the past week.

Sometimes it's a simple case of becoming truly conscious of where you are which helps you appreciate it. There's nothing wrong with clicking in and out of life; it's how we manage to do our daily business without our hearts exploding over the miracles of language, breath, and memory.

I hope, for you, that you can take a moment today to feel conscious and grateful of where you are.

Ipiales, Colombia

Otavalo, Ecuador

Las Lajas Church, Ipiales, Colombia

Otavalo, Ecuador

Popayan, Colombia

Travels for the rest of the year

I'm in Otavalo, Ecuador, at the moment. We just arrived here yesterday after crossing the border from Colombia.

We have now spent 5 wondrous weeks in Colombia - exploring Cartagena, Santa Marta, Taganga, Tayrona National Park, Medellin, Guatape, Salento, Cali, Popayan, San Agustin, and Ipiales. Now that we've left Colombia, I can feel that the real "journey" part of this South American trip is beginning.

For our first day here in Otavalo, we visited the market to buy souvenirs and handicrafts, and left with armfuls of alpaca ponchos, necklaces, bags, tapestries, pillow cases, and rings. Our backpacks are getting heavier, but our hearts ever-happier too.

After Otavalo, we will go to Quito to catch a flight to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands? Yes, the Galapagos Islands!! I never in my life thought I would be saying that...

After Galapagos, we're going to book it to Peru to get to the beach in Mancora to warm our feet in the sand before a long bus to Lima. I am going to try my best to visit the Language Cast Lima group while there. After Lima, there are a few small cities to visit before the mountains of Maccu Pichu.

By early October, we head into Bolivia via Lake Titicaca, stay in Cochabamba to volunteer with children for a few weeks, and after explore the mirrored salt flats of Uyuni.

After Peru it gets a bit blurry, as time and money will dictate where we can go, but the basic outline is to go to Chile to visit friends in Santiago, then over to Argentina to party the night away in Buenes Aires, and to Brazil to finish the trip in Rio by the end of November.

Are you in any of these places, or planning to travel through? If yes, let's meet up! I love the prospect of meeting new friends along the way of a long journey.

Post a comment here or on my Facebook page to make plans :)