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staczak91 · 3 years

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3 days before the Grammys and I gotta say I just LOVE Harry Styles!!! <3

I’m way past the age of tween fandom and fandom in general, but I just have to get my thoughts out about this wonderful musician and person. I’m 30 years old now and most things in the music industry don’t really excite me anymore. I had a major fling with Green Day in my teens and young adulthood, that I’m a little embarrassed about now. And over the years I’ve adored The Beatles, Nirvana, Taylor Swift and a whole host of other musicians (some that I shall not name out of embarrassment) but Harry Styles and his views on life and music just hit different.

I love his mantra to “treat people with kindness” and the fact he even made a campy but catchy song and music video to go along with that beautiful view on life. I love the feminine clothing he’s proud to wear and that he doesn’t hide his sexuality, even if nobody knows what the hell it is. I love the songs like “Watermelon Sugar” and “Sign of the Times” and “Lights Up” and how beautifully written and how much thought and care is put into every second. Really, like most of the world now, I’ve fallen head over heels for Harry Styles.

When the news broke that he was dating Olivia Wilde, my friend texted me an apology and my sister told me in person she was very sorry that he had found someone else. I was a little embarrassed, even though I knew they were joking with me. But, yeah, I haven’t had a REAL celebrity crush in a long time. It’s been awhile. But this just feels right. I’m buying magazines about him now, watching the Grammy’s just for him, and celebrating his birthday, even if it was only to listen to a vinyl (Fine Line) while applying to jobs.

And speaking of Fine Line and HS1, what incredible albums both of them are. The only song I can say I don’t like by Harry is “Woman” (and I can’t even say I hate that song), but the rest floored me. I heard “Sign of the Times” on the radio and liked it when it first was released in 2017 but never took the time to listen to his full debut sadly until March 2020 when I listened to it ands Fine Line for the first time. And what a mistake that was! I was really missing out on something incredible and music that has inspired me once again.

Even though I took awhile to finally listen to Harry, having never been a One Direction fan, I don’t regret how it happened. It was right before the pandemic when everything went downhill and a lot of things changed for me. The music has helped keep me grounded in a lot of ways, and just watching live performances of the songs has got me excited about concerts again. (I’m hopefully seeing him in October, if the event doesn’t get cancelled or postponed.) The only other musician to garner this much excitement in me in recent years is Taylor Swift. But she’s a whole different ballgame and a post for another day.

I guess I’m writing this post because I want to see if there are any crazy Harry Styles fans out there like myself, new fans that were never into One Direction (although I have a soft spot for them now because of my love for Harry), and who might be a little older (30′s) like myself. And also to just get the love out there for this musician finally off my chest. He is an old soul to me, and I love how retro his music is now, and how he’s just doing what he wants, regardless of music industry numbers. I really think this authenticity is why a lot of people are drawn to him now.

I hope I don’t become an obsessive, neurotic fan, but I really love what Harry has given me this past year: some hope, and a new love of music again that I had lost in past years and now gained back. The beauty of “Lights Up” and finding yourself, sexuality or otherwise. The melancholy of “Ever Since New York,” and leaving places behind, which might be my favorite of his songs so far. The upbeat fun of “Watermelon Sugar.” The confusing sexuality of “She.” The craziness of “Kiwi.” There are so many other songs to name (really his whole discography so far plus covers), but then I’d be here all day.

Harry Styles: musician, actor, boy bander, rock star, model, the list goes on. And always ready to treat people with kindness. I’m so happy I stumbled on finding this musician a year ago an he really has changed my life and made me more comfortable in my own skin. Thank you, Harry! I hope you rock the Grammy’s on Sunday and can’t wait to see you perform and win. From one in a million fans to the coolest, nicest rock star ever: keep doing what you do. It’s certainly brought a smile to this old soul’s face. <3

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okaybutlikeimagine · 5 years

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Every year, on the anniversary of Will’s disappearance, Joyce clings.

She clings and coddles and hugs and kisses and worries and dreads and attempts to mask her utter fear with smiles that don’t reach her eyes.

It’s always a sweet attempt. It never quite works.

After that first anniversary, where the Anniversary Effect turned into a Very Real Nightmare of, once again, fighting monsters and fearing for their lives, Will hasn’t been let outside on November 6th. There’s been no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He is locked inside of the house in the nicest, kindest, gentlest way possible.

Billy doesn’t know this.

So the first November 6th that they spend as a family, in 1985 after Hop has married Joyce and they’re all living together in the same house, Billy asks Will if he wants to go out and grab some dinner so that no one has to cook. He’s just trying to bring the energy up in the house, honestly. All day people have been keeping the energy stale at best. Joyce kept Will home from school even though he doesn’t look sick. Her face is pale, along with Jonathan’s, and Hop hasn’t done much more than grunt and rub Will’s shoulder when he passes by the boy. Billy’s not sure if he even went to work. El has been attached to Will’s hip, scrunching her nose up in a smile at him whenever he makes eye contact with her.

It’s just been weird and Will has looked like a goddamn prisoner all day and really, all Billy wants to do is get Will some fresh air and bring the mood up. He can’t handle it feeling this way. He feels like he’s out of the loop over here.

Will, from his place hunched on the couch, looks over to Joyce. Billy looks too when he sees it, only to find Joyce giving a scared and nervous look accompanied by a small shake of her head.

Will sighs softly. Billy’s surprised he hears it.

“Uh… no. I shou- I can’t.”

It doesn’t make any sense to Billy.

Like, seriously doesn’t make any sense to him. The boy is 14 and barely ever steps a toe out of line. He wasn’t asking him to go party on a school night, he was just wondering if they wanted to go pick up some burgers or a pizza or even some Chinese food god something.

Billy’s eyes furrow.

“Seriously? It’ll take like 2 seconds. I mean-” Billy pauses, rephrases. He knows Will can’t stand how fast Billy drives, so he has to slow it down for him. “Really like 20 minutes. But-”

“Billy, can I talk to you?” Jonathan asks with a hand pulling on Billy’s arm before he can even respond. He’s yanked out of the room against his own accord, allowing it just out of sheer confusion and curiosity.

“What?” Billy asks pointedly to a very tired looking Jonathan. Which is saying something, because Jonathan always looks like a truck just did a number on him.

“Do you know what day it is?” He whispers conspiratorially.

Billy blinks.

“Uhhhh… yeah? Tuesday?”

Jonathan takes a heavy breath, looking away for a second.

“It’s the… It’s…”

Billy watches the boy fumble with fleeting patience.

“It’s…..? What? Some weird fucking holiday? ‘No Burgers’ day? ‘Will Can’t Go Outside’ day?”

Jonathan sighs. “I mean… sort of.”

Billy’s eyebrows furrow.

“To which one, dummy?”

Jonathan sighs again. He’s getting on Billy’s last nerve.

“It’s the anniversary of Will’s disappearance.”

Billy freezes. Looks over to the living room as if he can see Will sitting on the couch from here. He can see his little socked feet swinging around against the floor.

“Uhh… oh.”

“Yeah. 2 years ago.” Jonathan’s got his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He looks for all the world like a nervous child. Billy doesn’t know how to feel.

“And he has to stay inside… because?”

“Mom gets nervous about him going out.”

“I mean, I get it but-”

“C’mon, Billy. Don’t stir the pot.”

Billy rolls his eyes, like he doesn’t feel an immense pressure in his chest from this. From all of it. From what he can only imagine it must feel like to have that hanging over your head. Always in your mind. Always in the back corner of your thoughts whispering and feeding and gnawing like a parasite.

Remember the monsters?

Billy remembers them. Remembers the cold and the intense heat and the looming fear that never left. Never rested. Never loosened its hold.

But…

“Fine. Then I’ll just go get food for everyone by myself.” Billys says, walking out into the living room to grab his keys and go pick up a pizza.

And so every year, even after Billy and Jonathan have gone away to college, they come back for the anniversary. Joyce insists they don’t have to, even though it’s clear in her eyes and voice that she’d very much appreciate it. Jonathan insists that they do have to, and reiterates to Billy how important it is for all of them that they all come by.

“I know John-boy, you’ve told me a billion times. I’ll make it.”

“Why do you still insist on calling me John-boy?”

“Because you insist on making it fun for me.” Billy says before hanging up the phone.

And so they go to visit. They all sit around and watch reruns of TV shows. They play board games.

It’s weird. The vibe is still so off. And Billy hates to look at Will because he looks so sullen. So pale and afraid and nervous of the walls of his house. Like something’s going to break through, to crawl out, to grab for him. Joyce spends all day near Hopper. It’s the one day Billy has ever seen her smoke a cigarette. Hop still tries to keep away from them, but he joins her out on the porch anyway, if only for a little bit. He always comes back inside fairly quickly so he can keep an eye on the door or something.

But now it’s 1988 and Will is 17 and the fear and the tremors of everyone’s body is gone. Jonathan and Billy come by to visit just because it’s what they do. No one clings to each other or jumps at sounds or shivers like it’s cold in their house even under blankets.

But Will still doesn’t go outside.

And it drives Billy crazy.

So he stands in Will’s doorway, looking at the boy laying across his bed, reading some nerdy book Billy would probably enjoy if he took the time to sit down and read it.

“Hey, pipsqueak-” His eternal name for Will, no matter the fact that he’s 17 now and reaching Billy’s height. “Wanna go grab some ice cream?”

Will doesn’t even look up from his book.

“It’s cold out.” is all he says, flipping the page. His foot starts to shake absently.

Billy rolls his eyes. “Alright, smartass, wanna grab some lunch?”

“I don’t have any money.” Will lies through his fucking teeth. The kid always has money, Billy knows it.

“I’d pay for you, kid. You know that.”

“I’m not hungry.”

Billy sits in his hip, tired and irritated.

“Alright fine. Wanna take a walk.”

“Not really.”

“And why not?”

Will looks up like Billy’s stupid. Billy’s just grateful to see him look up.

“It’s cold out.”

“I’ll wrap you up in every sweater you own, come on.” Billy says in his Big Brother Voice that he’s been using for years now. He grins a bit to see it still works on the younger boy, who’s eyes widen a bit with worry and whose face flushes a tad in nervousness.

“Why?”

“Because sitting around like a fucking vegetable isn’t healthy for you, c’mon. We can grab a cookie or something at the bakery on that corner let’s just do something. No one will miss us.”

It’s true. Everyone’s off doing their own thing. Jonathan is hanging out with Nancy in his room, who accompanied him on his visit. El is with Max outside, playing around on their own skateboards (Max got El one for Christmas last year). Hop and Joyce are cuddled up on the couch, watching reruns and laughing gently. Steve came along with Billy on the trip, but he was forced into a very long afternoon with Dustin and his mother. (Forced in the kindest way, obviously. The woman loves him and he loves their little family right back. She’s always knitting him sweaters and stuff.)

“I… I dunno…” Will says timidly. Billy crosses his arms.

“C’mon, what could you possibly have to do that’s more fun than hanging out with me?”

“Lots of things.” Will says through a crack in his voice.

Billy just doesn’t believe this shit, though. He lets the pause hang in the air, making his disbelief known.

“... what, did you get a boyfriend that you didn’t tell me about?”

That does it. Will’s face is beet red in a matter of seconds, his book falling loosely in his grip because suddenly other matters are a lot more pressing.

“...! Wha- uh! Don’t say that!”

Billy cackles. “Seriously, did you?”

“Cut it out!”

“If you don’t come with me on a walk, I’m gonna have to assume that you’ve got a boy hidden somewhere in your room.”

“Billy, cut it out.”

Billy pauses, shit eating grin consuming his face.

“He’s in your closet, isn’t he?”

“Billy!”

But Billy isn’t listening and Will isn’t moving from his spot on the bed, so Billy saunters up to Will’s closet with a mention of: “If it’s that Wheeler kid I swear he’s dead meat.”

“Billy shut up!” Will whines, book slammed shut and tossed onto his bed as he moves onto his knees to get off the bed and, presumably, go after Billy.

Billy swings the closet open to find-

Lots of clothes. No boys.

“Billy. I don’t have a boy in my closet.” Will seethes, which only makes Billy cackle more.

“And how was I supposed to know that? You got a new hair cut, maybe you turned into a real casanova.” Billy reaches a hand out to muss up Will’s new hairdo. Will swipes at Billy’s hands weakly. “Okay, get your jacket, lets go.”

Will whines lowly.

“It’s cold out.” He mutters, turning around to go on a search for a jacket.

“Get your thickest jacket and let’s go.”

So in a few minutes they’re saying goodbye to everyone, who only give Will farewells with the smallest of worry in them, and they set out through the trees and towards town.

It’s quiet. The space between them is nippy, but not too cold to breathe. Billy’s eyeing Will every now and then. His shoulders are so high his neck probably aches, his eyes are shifty but always make it back to the ground.

He’s growing into a handsome boy, and is still the same sweet kid Billy’s always known. It sucks to see him be so afraid of everything. He shouldn’t have to feel afraid in a place he’s always called home. Billy knows what it’s like to be afraid of home. Will doesn’t deserve that, not even for a second. There are so many gross, shitty kids in this town that don’t have the same kind of weight on their shoulders; don’t have to be worried about the same of the kind of memories that Will has. It’s not fair.

Will’s mouth starts moving like he wants to say something, but no words come out. Billy saves him.

“We don’t have to talk about anything.” He says, tilting his head up to the sky and watching the patchy gray clouds hover. There’s some kind of relieved sound that comes from Will’s small being. “It’s just…”

Billy sighs. He lets the cloud of his breath dissipate before he speaks again.

“It’s better to do anything. Anything but sit there and think about it.”

“I wasn’t thinking about it.” Will’s voice is small. Unconvincing.

“The more you sit around, the more you’re gonna think about it.”

Will doesn’t have a response to that, so Billy looks over at him. Sees his pensive face that falls into something like acceptance. Knowing.

Billy nudges Will’s shoulder with his arm.

“Trust me, pipsqueak. I know.”

Will gives a small smile. Insists he’s not a pipsqueak anymore. Billy insists he’ll always be one.

And they walk. They head to that little bakery Billy mentioned. They talk about boys and crushes, and Will’s face is red throughout the entire conversation. They talk about Billy and Steve. They talk about what life is like outside of Hawkins and how “You’re gonna love it, kid. I swear. You’re gonna love it.”

And Billy sees it on Will’s face. Sees Will relax. Sees Will melt into himself, even just a little bit, and finally believes that the boy will be able to move past this horrible feeling. This horrible anniversary effect. Sees Will and finally believes that he’s ready to move on.

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seepygoat · 5 years

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An open letter to those who I hurt

Hi. I’m Baz. I’m Christian. I’m also a biromantic, asexual, non-binary person (who also happens to be a witch). Most of my friends don’t identify solely as straight or cis (and actually several of them are also witches). But a few years ago, you would never have heard me say a single one of those things. I would have freaked out at the thought of it. I would have, more than anything, been scared. Truth be told I’m still scared now.

Let’s set the scene. I was raised in a conservative Christian home and church. I was homeschooled, my parents were missionaries, and the community that surrounded me was made up of strict gender roles, lots of rules, and a sprinkle of fire and brimstone (just for to add a little zing to the dish). I grew up thinking boys had to like sports, hunting, and working outside to be men (I was lucky my dad liked music so that was the one “girly” thing guys were allowed to do.) Guys could wear whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn’t fitted or floral prints, and they were to be respected and obeyed. Girls on the other hand, were supposed to like dolls, wear dresses or shorts that reached the knees, keep their hair long, and do the housework. Our purpose in life as women was to get married and have kids and serve our husband. My mother and sister and I were subservient to my dad in every way. What he wanted, when he wanted it, was Gospel. We also waited hand and foot on my brother (once he started helping my dad with the wood for our wood stove, he did no household chores, didn’t clean up his own room, and once he started college he never cleaned up his dishes after a meal again.) He got his own drink at a convenience store, while my sister and I shared. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and my brother. The damage strict, conservative Christianity did to me it also did to them.

Beyond the gender roles, Harry Potter was preached against as if it was satanic and would cause children to start cutting themselves and do blood magic (actual words from someone I knew). Homosexually wasn’t spoken about till one day, at 14, I discovered Holmes and Watson kissing passionately in a fanfiction. I googled it, too afraid to ask my mom. “What is slash,” quickly lead to “what is homosexuality,” which then lead to “what do Christians think about homosexuality.” Oh how I wish I’d read the Bible myself instead of looking for what other people said. I was told that homosexuality was a sin, it hurt people, and people needed to stop being gay. I wanted to be a “good Christian” so that’s what I told everyone too. I made so many enemies online. I hurt so many people. I did and said so many wrong things. I was full of hate and self superiority. Not only that, but I was denying and suppressing, myself as well, teaching myself that I was unlovable. Growing up I’d had countless crushes on girls, as many or possibly more than on guys. My family told me we were friends, so that’s what I believed. I know now that’s not true. I hated being “feminine;” I hated dresses, long hair, my period, my chest, and all the things they made me feel. I didn’t know what dysphoria was at the time. The thought of having to get married and have sex made me want to puke. I hated it.

But I held on. I plaid the game. I went to a Christian college, where everything I had been taught was reinforced by the school, but fate was looking out for me, and I was lucky enough to meet a few really good Christian people who started challenging my rigid belief system. I also met some non-Christians who were some of the nicest and sweetest people I’d ever met. I didn’t understand how their identity and their love could be as bad as it had always been made out to be. They weren’t evil, I knew that. Something didn’t match up. And on top of all that, I was kinda miserable pretending to be someone I wasn’t. I did a LOT of praying, a lot of research, and a lot of reaching out. And I’ve finally come to a conclusion.

God loves you, as you are, no changes, no matter what. No if’s, no ands, and no buts. Absolutely and forever. He loves you gay, He loves you trans, He loves you straight, He loves you non-binary, He loves you cis, He loves you asexual.

He loves you.

So, to come to a close, I say...

I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the hate. I’m sorry for the judgement. I’m sorry for acting like I was better than you.

I love and accept you for who you are, and me for who I am. No more hiding, no more hate.

Thank you for giving me the time and love that brought me to this (so much better) place.

#personal #christianity #christian #asexuality #homosexuality #gay #asexual #nonbinary #homophobia #i used to be homophobic and i am sorry #open letter

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r0cketshooter115-blog · 5 years

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Entitled parent tries to steal my dog.

So before I get into this story the time is when I was 6 or 7 so about 13 or 14 years ago. Me and my tow brothers had a dog named buddy who we had found out in our yard as a wild stray. Note: buddy is a pit bull and rotriller mix and absolutely the nicest dog to have ever been born. After a couple of days we asked our father if we could keep the dog because we had asked around town if someone was missing him and we found no one looking for him and claming to be his owner. This lead us to taking him in as one of our new pets with my two cats burger and ashes. Note buddy loved to be with our cats they were absolutely best friends but ashes tedded to pick fights at times. So come along to owning buddy for nearly two or three years now, and we let buddy out for him to roam and play on his leash and chain note he is an outdoor and indoor type of dog who would disappear for a week at most the time but me and my brothers would play tag with buddy so we had a lash of at least ten feet long and we would run around the leash and not get tagged by buddy. So when we see a lady all of sudden pull up in our drive way and get out of her car with her son made us cofuses cause we live five miles out of town with only our grandparents as neighbors and we know most of people in town do to family or friends. This lady (entitled mother) walks up to us and asks us if there was an adult that she can talk to so I run in and get my father and he come out and here the the conversation between us. (D=dad Em= entitled mother EB= entitle brat Me = me LB= little brother BB= Big brother and finally Gp= grandfather.) D: so miss what can I do for you. EM: can I please have your dog. D: I’m sorry miss that dog is out and my kids are very attached to him. Me: I’m sorry miss like my dad said we love him a lot. Be: mommy please get me that dog I want it. Bb: I’m sorry pal not happen. EM: don’t talk to my kid like that you stupid brat. Lb: hey you don’t talk to my brother like that I don’t care if your and adult your a stranger on our home so show so respect please. Em decideds to slap Lb for his outburst sending buddy in to a pit of pure rage and at that percise moment my grandfather had came out of his house to see the woman slap Lb and boy I have never seen my grandfather so angry even till this day it give me shivers. He Goes up to Em and starts yelling at her to F off the property before he calls the police or go get his gun for hitting Lb. The Em finallu gets into the car with Eb crying over not getting our dog and our dad is trying to calm Lb down and Bb looks at me and says that won’t be last of her I bet you that. Well we should have had our guard up because in 2 months buddy disappeared and we look frantically we had posters up and all of the above and then 3 weeks in of looking we get a phone call from our cousins saying they see a dog that matched buddy description and told us where to go so we go into town to the only motel there and we knock on the doors and find out it was on the second floor and so we head up and lord behold opens up the EM. She immediately tries to shut the door but her husband stops her and talks to us and he says yeah we have a dog that describes him and we got him about the same time you say he went missing. We ask him to see if it is buddy and we didn’t need to try cause at the sound of his name he comes running to us cause of reconising his family voices and his name now the husband is confused we tell him that the night when he went missing was a night he was outside on his leash cause we had forgot to take it off of him before bed and the husband turns to his wife is now pouring with sweat and ands us how was the leashes conditioning. I personally handed him the leash. It was I perfect condition the Em finally confessed that she came at night took buddy if his leash and brought him here for her son. Now not only all of my family which is present,and now her own husband is furious with her. He apologized immediately and let us take buddy. Note buddy live the rest of life happy with his true family.

#entitled parents

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asmirandaseesit · 7 years

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A Basic Guide to Peru and Colombia

Hola chicos y chicas,

A couple weeks ago (apologies for the delay-- I’ve been trying to get my life otherwise together since being back stateside) Joey and I got back from South America. It was my graduation gift to myself (congrats me) and I was lucky enough to have Joey to con into taking off work and going on another trip with me. We have since been dealing with mild to severe intestinal discomfort, likely due to the different bacteria in the water there. It’s been fun to say the least. But here I am, in my pajamas on a Tuesday (thanks unemployment). So, here is my basic rundown on all things Peruvian and Colombian.

Overall, Peru was very cool. I really loved the uniqueness of the culture and the people. The only caveat to this country (like any predominantly Catholic country) was that everything is closed on Sundays- everything. We started off our trip in Cusco (elev. 11,152′), planning to spend a couple days to acclimate to the altitude before our trek to Machu Picchu. Cusco is a pretty small city, nestled high up in a valley in the Andes mountains. It was once capital of the Incan Empire, and it is now a main tourism hub for the several surrounding Incan ruins. Cusco is a place you can go to see ancient Peru, and the survival of centuries-old traditions beyond the Spanish conquest of Latin America. We spent most of our time relaxing here, dealing with weird altitude medication side effects (including our hands and feet periodically falling asleep, dizziness, and occasional nausea) and trying to see the city. We happened to be there the month of Cusco’s anniversary, so every day there were parades, celebrations, and other festivals going on across the city. Standout memories: trying alpaca steak and cuy (guinea pig), making chocolate at the ChocoMuseo, making a dog friend who followed us around for almost a mile through winding streets, and meeting a baby alpaca named Robert.

Restaurants worth visiting: Pachapapa, Marcelo Batata, Carpe Diem

Plaza de Armas

Making chocolate truffles

Parade dancers near the historic center

RIP little dude (since you’re probably curious, it tasted like dark meat chicken and had about enough meat on it to feed half of a small child)

Here’s a map of our trek. We skipped some portions between Chaullay and Hidroelectrica, since we did the trek in 4 days and not 5.

The day of the trek dawned on us, and bright and by 4:30 am we were on the bus to Mollepata. This was the entry to the national park where Machu Picchu is located, where we grabbed breakfast at a local café and got back in the bus to Challacancha where we started our trek. After a short and steep incline, we made it to the Incan canal where it was a pretty flat walk to our campsite for the night. By the time we made it to our campsite, it was 1 pm and the chef was already preparing our lunch. This was our first experience with the trek’s meal situation, which we were blown away by-- we had a first course, and then multiple dishes to share (usually 4-5, which were rice/quinoa, a meat, vegetables, potatoes, and another mix of something previously listed). We rested for a bit after lunch, and had the option to hike up to Humantay Lake in the afternoon (a glacial lake about 1000 ft up from the campsite). We of course opted for this, not realizing the sheer difficulty of this additional adventure. This was our first real encounter with the lack of oxygen in the air- and although it was difficult, the hour and a half climb was well worth it.

Humantay Lake a glacial lake that sits just underneath its namesake, Humantay Mountain

The climb down only took about half an hour, since we practically ran (the sun was setting and I was cold) and we spent the night in a glass igloo. I was really excited for this, since the stars were supposed to be beautiful to watch at night. Unfortunately, it was so cold outside (around 20-30 F with windchill) and with two humans inside, it turned into a humid/drippy 40 F greenhouse and we couldn’t see the sky through the thick layer of condensation on the glass. We had an early morning the next day (like the rest of the trek), getting woken up at 5 am with a cup of coca tea in our wet igloo. After a hearty breakfast, we started the most difficult day of our trek.

Kinda looks like LOTR right?

The squad in front of Salkantay Mountain

It took about 5 hours to climb up to Salkantay pass, which was a 2,000′ elevation gain. Our group ended up taking it at completely different paces, except I am proud to say that Joey and I made it up to the top first. Our highest altitude we reached was a little over 15,000′- and boy could I feel it. I was literally wheezing when I reached the top, but I was so relieved by the view it didn’t matter I couldn’t breathe. Staggering at over 20,000′ in front of us was the summit of Salkantay Mountain, with unobstructed views to the north and south. It was one of the most breathtaking (literally lol) moments I have ever experienced in my life.

Joey and I at Abra Salkantay (elev. 15,190′)

The descent down was a long and treacherous one. Largely uneven rocky footing, our descent took close to another 5 hours through valleys and a high altitude rainforest. After everything, we hiked about 16 miles that day. I can’t even explain how much my legs/feet hurt afterwards.

The next day, we walked another 16 or so miles through low altitude rainforest, with rivers, fruit/coffee plantations, took a short bus ride in the middle of the day to speed up our progress, and then hiked all the way to Aguas Calientes where we spent the night in a hotel before Machu Picchu the next day. If you are going to Machu Picchu, you will likely stay the night in Aguas Calientes beforehand which explains why it is now relatively important. It has become a tourist hub for Machu Picchu, since it is a 20 minute walk from the gate at the entrance of the hiking trail/bus route up the hill where Machu Picchu is situated. We had the option of taking a bus up to the city, or hiking up steep stone stairs for about an hour and a half, and by this point we had no reason not to tolerate another painful climb up.

So, just past 4:30 am, we started up to our final destination: at this point, my body was hurting. My legs were torn up, my feet bruised and swollen from my boots, and my allergies were proving nearly impossible to deal with (I was blowing my nose about every 30 minutes, and at this point it was peeling and had third degree burns from lack of sunscreen). We climbed up in the dark, reaching the top just before sunrise.

There were llamas grazing in an open grassy area in the middle of the city, which were apparently there just for tourists. They’re pretty vicious so don’t try to pull any snacks out near them- they’ll come right over to you and steal your food directly from your hands (I know this from experience)

We decided to do Montaña Machu Picchu as well, which if you’ve seen pictures of Machu Picchu is the ginormous mountain above the city. It’s about another 2,000′ up, and like the hike to Machu Picchu, it’s entirely stairs.

The ascent took us about another hour and a half, up the poorest excuse for stairs I had ever seen, but the view from the top was incredible.

Looking down from 10,111′. It was like having a bird’s nest view of the entire valley, since the summit could really only fit around 20-30 people crowded together at a time, and slope of the mountain is a nearly vertical drop downwards (the hike up is not for the faint of heart).

After taking as many pictures as we needed to around Machu Picchu, we decided to head back to Aguas Calientes for lunch. We took the bus down, which was probably the most well worth $12 I have ever spent. We hung out in Aguas Calientes for the rest of the afternoon, and then had to catch our 6 pm train back to Ollantaytambo where a bus was waiting for our trekking group. We got back to Cusco at about 10 pm, passed out, and geared up for our flight to Lima the next day.

The flight from Cusco to Lima is only about an hour, so we got into our Airbnb at a decent time. To my surprise, this was easily the nicest Airbnb I’ve ever stayed in. It was a beautiful seaside loft, newly furnished and overlooking the coast in Miraflores (aka the really nice neighborhood in Lima). Here’s a picture from the giant wall-to-wall window in our bedroom:

The pictures for this listing on Airbnb really DO NOT do this place justice.

Not having had lunch, and eager to explore our new city, we headed out for an early dinner in Miraflores. This is where I got to see Joey’s Español first in action- definitely useful, but nowhere near perfect. Luckily, it was just enough to get us to our dinner spot- La Mar Cevicheria. I got a maracuya sour (a delicious twist on the pisco sour, with passionfruit) and we both got catch of the day ceviche. It was perfect.

I think it was snapper? Not entirely sure though...

After dinner, we ran some errands in the area. By that point, I was half dead from my allergies, and after stopping at 3 different pharmacies in search of Benadryl (which they do not have in Peru) I ended up getting Zyrtec and Mucinex DM (except the Peruvian versions). We also went grocery shopping, and also to my surprise we found an organic grocery store that carried pressed juices, vegan/GF foods, and had a herbal apothecary inside (they even had my plant protein powder!!). I was in heaven. We then went back to crash for the night, looking to see more of the city the next day.

To sum up Lima, I’ll give you this: Miraflores/surrounding area (San Isidro, Barranco) is basically the only nice part in the city. The city center was filled with unbelievably beautiful architecture, but plagued with petty crime and dirty commercial areas that have taken over old historical buildings. It was sad. My main takeaways from this town were that: Miraflores is great and stay there, the food in Lima is incredible (and is mostly in Miraflores and surrounding area), and it has a very unique culture of diversity (lots of Asian influence). Standout memories: walking along the running/biking path on the coastline in Miraflores on a sunny afternoon, eating some of the best food in the world (casually), and getting stranded on the side of a dark freeway when every restaurant was closed (on a Sunday).

To elaborate on the food, we were able to get reservations at Central Restaurante- aka the 5th best restaurant in the world, and the overall best in South America. The owner, Virgilio Martinez, showcases Peru’s biodiversity in his dishes, available through a 17-dish tasting menu and an 11-dish menu, as well as through optional beverage pairings with native wines and infusions. The menu is set up that each dish comes from a different elevation/ecosystem in Peru, ranging from the ocean, to the Andes, to high/low jungles in the Amazon. Each dish was presented on a small handcrafted dish, decorated with different ingredients both edible and inedible.

This was the first dish, called “rock molluscs.” It included a wafer made of sargassum algae, which was topped with a spread made of sea snail, mussel, and limpet. I also got a pisco sour and Joey got a craft Peruvian beer made with quinoa.

This was one of our favorite dishes. It was called “forest cotton,” beginning with the small wrap made of a plantain leaf filled with Amazonian fish and snail, followed by a bite of a cotton-like fruit called pacae, and finished with a shot of leche de tigre (the marinade used to make ceviche). This took our tastebuds on a TRIP.

That night, we tried Nikkei (a cuisine indigenous to Lima, which includes a mix of Japanese and Peruvian fusion) at Osaka restaurant. It was easily the best fusion sushi I’ve ever had- salmon sashimi with passionfruit sauce, seared scallops with truffle butter and lime, tuna with seared foie gras... *drools*

Here’s a plate of the chef’s choice for a tasting menu. Yuuuuuuum.

The next day, we headed to Cartagena. (Well, we had a layover in Bogotá first) It took us all day, but we got in that night and went to dinner at Carmen restaurant. It was a solid meal, (and air conditioned, thank God) and wandered around the city until it was time for bed.

Like all the cities we went to, we were in Cartagena for about 3 days. Cartagena might be my favorite city we went to. It’s on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and there was definitely a strong Caribbean flavor to it. The food, the architecture, the people; I felt like I was in another country frankly. I loved walking through the streets, smelling the fruit vendors on every corner, and eating fresh seafood for basically every meal. I also liked finally feeling warm (every place we had been to was between cold-freezing) and getting a little color on my skin. I also got the chance to vape alcohol (!!!!) which was an interesting experience. We went to El Arsenal, a bar in Getsemani that was featured on the Travel Channel show “Booze Traveler.” The owner was super friendly and taught us about some of the history of rum, and let us sample a rum that was supposedly made underground in gourds by indigenous people (it was really good too). The process included pouring a shot of rum into a thick glass bottle, pumping air into it, and releasing the pressure that allows the alcohol to vaporize. As soon as the pump is pulled off the neck of the bottle, this weird science happens and you stick your straw in to inhale the vapor. Because it bypasses your digestive system, it doesn’t give you a hangover but is absorbed into your blood stream through your lungs and basically goes straight to your head. It was only a shot, but I was a little giggly for 15 minutes until it wore off. Overall, Cartagena was beautiful. I would love to go back and vacation there someday.

Restaurants worth visiting: La Cevicheria, La Mulata, Beiyu café, Café del Mural

Off the coast of Cartagena are a group of islands that people can travel to by boat for a day. The best way to do this would be to rent a private yacht and chef with a group of friends and do a “booze cruise” per say for the day. Since Joey and I couldn’t afford a whole yacht, we went with a tour group to an island resort on Isla Grande. We spent the day unbothered on a relatively empty beach, floating around in crystal blue water. We also got to go snorkeling, which I love to do pretty much anywhere I can. Overall, 10/10 worth the boat ticket.

Before we knew it, our time in Cartagena was up, and I had to say goodbye to my Caribbean paradise. We then headed to our last leg of the trip- Bogotá.

Bogotá is just as insane as Narcos cracked it up to be (maybe minus most of the violence though). Bogotá is massive, and pretty unlike any city I had ever been to. We stayed in a nice area called Zona T, which was filled with a lot of nightlife, shopping and dining.

Bogotá is where we got to experience traditional Colombian cuisine, which I can describe in one word: cheese. Everything was cheese. They even sold cheese in the airport, in multiple kiosks! Arepas, empanadas, breads, desserts... you name it, it probably had cheese in it or was made almost entirely of cheese. I had no idea that Colombians loved cheese so damn much. Who knew? Not me. Otherwise, Colombian food was pretty decent. I really love arepas, and those are basically a staple you can find anywhere, so I was set. I was also able to find “health” food at Suna Restaurante, where I got me a bowl of grilled tofu, kale, cucumbers/carrots, and red pepper hummus and a matcha latte on the side (this was the most relieved I had ever felt after a meal). We also ate at Andrés Carne de Res, which was one of the most unique dining experiences I had ever had. First of all, you have to pay cover here. Secondly, as soon as you walk through the front door, a lady dressed in what I would describe as a Día de los Muertos costume greets you with a shot of tequila inside a lime rind. Then, it takes you about 5 minutes to attempt to follow the hostess and weave through the restaurant to be sat at a table- in other words, the restaurant is the size of a warehouse. There’s salsa music blasting, several dance floors located throughout the space, large monitors playing a livestream of the dance floors mounted around the restaurant, and literally what seemed like at least one hundred other patrons heavily intoxicated and dancing around the tables. The menu is like 30 pages long, and you can basically pick exactly what you want to eat since there’s a gillion different options. It’s a steak restaurant, so we both got steaks and shared a roasted plantain with guava jam. Pretty decent food, but I don’t think this is really a place you go for the food- it’s really for the atmosphere.

We did a lot of touristy things in Bogotá, including going to Monserrate (a mountain with a Catholic church on top), the fruit and flower market, the Gold Museum, and the Salt Cathedral out in Zipaquirá (a town about an hour north of Bogotá). The Salt Cathedral turned out to be a 7-hour trip and basically a nightmare, which really capped off our whole vacation nicely. There was terrible traffic going there, and after discovering we couldn’t get an Uber back to Bogotá that night, had to wander the dark streets of this nearly abandoned town to get on a bus that sat in even worse traffic going back south. Worth it? I don’t really know. But at least I got a cool picture.

Restaurants worth visiting: La Puerta Falsa, Suna, Osaka (yes, the same restaurant in Lima. We ate there twice. I need them to open up a location in the U.S.)

View of Bogotá from Monserrate (elev. 10,341′)

Capitolio Nacional (I fangirled seeing this because Narcos lol)

Paloquemao (fruit and flower market) I went ham on trying different tropical fruits, including lulo (a VERY sour passionfruit-like textured fruit), guanabana (I had tried the juice before but not the actual fruit by itself), mangosteen (10/10 delicious), and tree tomato (had tried it before, this one was not very good though :( ). I also got a mango and an avocado, because when in Rome Bogotá right?

Museo de Oro. Did you know metallurgy was invented in South America?

Zipaquirá

El Catedral de Sal. This picture cost me 7 hours of my life. Starting out as a small shrine to the patron saint of miners, in the 50′s they decided to build a Catholic cathedral inside this salt mine that dates back to the 1800′s. The salt in this mountain has been a precious resource for the region and has been exploited by people for thousands of years, and it is even still being mined today.

All in all, this trip was totally unforgettable. I would 110% recommend anyone to go to either Colombia or Peru. Both are relatively cheap, safe, and easy enough to navigate with the help of international data and Uber. They’re also pretty close (if you count 7-10 hours of travel “close”). The people are friendly, the food is great, and I guarantee you’ll find something unexpected along the way.

NO idea when my next trip will happen, but stay tuned- I’m bound to end up somewhere soon.

Mucho amor por ustedes,

Miranda

#bogotá #cartagena #colombia #lima #cusco #machu picchu #peru #salkantay #travel #food #south america

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