I’m lying in a hospital bed in Cusco with two tubes up my nose and a drip in my arm wondering, in fact, if summiting that 6,075m mountain had been a good idea after all. I’ve been travelling for four months now, and the remaining three weeks were supposed to be lo mejor de todo.…
There is a certain clarity in the early morning, where the world shimmers and dances. Colours are brighter, sounds are sharper. I walk through the empty streets of Vilcabamba under the haze of misty street lamps. I’m still half in my dreams – spirits, ayahuasca and missing planes – and every sound draws me…
It’s 6am and I’m flying up the hill, feet thudding on dirt, calves burning. For the first time in weeks the sun is hiding, now only a pallid glow. Bikes rush past me, people riding tandem. The mania of Masaya is replaced by dense foliage, winding tracks of half-dried mud. I reach my destination after…
Life in Wasayamba is manic. The day starts at 4:30 when the roosters crow, and I lie in my bed in a state of ecstasy, bobbing in and out of sleep. Ocasionally the distant howl of a dog will mingle with my dreams, until it’s suddenly 5:30 and the TV starts blaring the…
As you probably already know, in January I did a crazy thing: I bought a car for $800. I’d had zero hours sleep, I didn’t get it serviced and I hadn’t the faintest clue about cars. And let’s be honest- the only reason I bought it was because I was too damn tired to seek…
Paddy’s day was a bit of a shambles, ironically. After two jugs and several leprechaun selfies later, we headed home. Although it felt like midnight it was only 4pm, so I headed to bed for a “tactical” nap. Unfortunately, the nap wasn’t so tactical as I woke up both hungover, drunk and more tired. It…
The hostel I stayed at in Perth was by far the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in. And that’s saying a lot, because I stayed in a grand total of thirty four different hostels in Asia. I woke after the first night covered from head to toe in what I can only assume were bed bugs.…
It’s Paddy’s day, and this time two years ago I recall spontaneously hitting up a couple of the college bars in Durham, dashing between them to avoid the penetrating cold that had already claimed all of my extremities. But it was only after a few snakebites when they started dishing out huge green Guinness hats…
So I got my first speeding ticket the other day, and the only positive thing that can be drawn from the $190 fine is the fact that I’ve finally come of age. I thought it was rather steep considering I was only going 12kph over the speed limit, but the police here seem to be…
You know you’re having a good time when you’re actually too busy to write about all the crazy things you’ve done. My last post was over a month ago, so there’s no way I’ll be able to recount the last few weeks in nearly enough detail. That doesn’t stop me from trying, though… Following an…
Curious Miscellanies 