In addition to all the amazing places I experience, one of the most enjoyable aspects of traveling is meeting like minded people. Tucked under all the mainstream ways of living, there’s a huge and ever growing subculture of travelers who have ditched their fears and the illusion of safety, said yes to their passions and … More The other side of Fear

It takes a whole village. Not only to raise one child, but also to grow rice. It’s very labor and time intensive. A rice field is an eco system in its own right. It sustains many different life forms: from reptiles (eels, worms, snakes) to fowl (ducks, chicken, birds) to animals (cows, pigs, humans). Each … More It takes a village…

As a devout atheist, one tree has a much higher spiritual content for me than all the temples, churches, mosques, synagogues and other human made holy guacamoles. However, my consumer trained mind sees a price tag on something and it thinks “it must be worth seeing”! That’s how I end up visiting special holy guacamoles … More Holy Guacamole!

They work in pairs. The younger one distracts me with his looks and cuteness, he’s all over me, caresses my face, plays with my hair, his soft skin against my face feels so good. While the older, more experienced one goes straight for my backpack. Monkey business, the real deal! #monkeyforest #monkeybusiness #monkey #bali #indonesia … More Monkey Business

“We cannot erase people’s traumas, but we can give them positive memories to overcome the effects of negative ones” Jeroen taught us in his freediving coach training (diving without scuba gear). And that: lots of positive memories, he delivered! In 10 days, I got over a long list of fears, some I didn’t even know … More Embracing the shadows

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, my body is convulsing, uncontrollably, on the floor of a bamboo structure in the jungle. My eyes are closed. I hear music; a hand twitches, a leg shakes, an arm shoots up in the air. That’s not what I expected when I decided to meet my friend Jenny in … More From outer to Innerdance

What’s the difference between heaven and hell? The same moment, circumstances and environment can be either heaven or hell depending on what we choose to focus on. I have been practicing switching back and forth to increase my capacity for choosing my reality and living consciously. It’s very simple and never fails: think of past … More Heaven and Hell

The Philippines consists of 7641 islands, many disappear in high tide. So if you are on one of those, forget about the multiplication tables, memorize your tide tables. Apo island doesn’t disappear in high tide despite being very small. It’s basically a couple of pointy rocks jutting out of the ocean, with a village on … More Apo Island

“Are you traveling alone? Why?” “Where’s your husband?” “Why isn’t he with you?”… are some of the questions people keep asking me in the Philippines. They might as well be saying:”Where’s your owner? How come you’re not on leash?” The concept of a free unattached woman traveling by herself seems to be alien to them. … More Traveling Sola

Filipino guy:”You ride me. We go wonderful. Eat the bitch. Then we come back 5″. Me:”Yes! Let’s go!”. Translation: “You ride with me. We go to the waterfalls. Eat at the beach. Then come back at 5 pm.” My fellow travelers and I were in stitches before we explained to the guy the importance of … More Filiplish

“No Smoking” is not just a sign in the Philippines, it’s national law. You’re allowed to smoke in your private property but not in public. Unfortunately, there are lots of European tourists here and they ALL smoke. I have to run to the street to escape their stink. The alcohol tax (aka sin tax) is … More “No Smoking” is the law!

Two liquids of different densities don’t mix, like oil and water. But when two slightly different variants of the same liquid touch each other, you would expect them to blend together and produce a new homogeneous liquid. Right? Not in the Amazon! El Río Negro meets the Amazon River near Manaus, Brazil, they share a … More Cancer of the Earth

“Cuidado”. “Be careful”. “75% of the people we met got mugged in Rio”. “There’s an app that shows the number and location of Rio shootings”… Why did I go to Rio de Janeiro despite all these warnings? Because they were all followed by “… but you have to go!”. I figured it’s like going to … More The death of my companion!