The Open Road Still Softly Calls
Carl Sagan has long been one of my heroes and inspirations. This is one of my favorite quotes by the man, “We were hunters and foragers. The frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the Earth, and the ocean, and the sky. The open road still softly calls. Our little terraquious globe as the […]
Discovering Ayahuasca, My Second Encounter (Part 3)
The following is a recollection of my second encounter with Ayahuasca. In part 1 of Discovering the Ancient and Sacred Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca I give a brief summary of how I came to know about Ayahuasca and what Ayahuasca is. In Part two, Discovering Ayahuasca, My First Encounter, I recount my first experience with Ayahuasca, […]
Hippie Van Man’s Steadfast Step-By-Step Guide To Avoiding Police Bribes
Sadly corruption plagues, and is rampant in many countries in Central and South America as well as Mexico. If you are going to drive in these countries (as a local or foreigner) you will almost certainly be a quested for a bribe at some point. I guess I have either been lucky to this point […]
2013 Year In Review
For the past couple years, I have decided to do an annual end of year recap, to look back on the highs and lows of the year as it comes to an end. After spending more or less the entire last year traveling in Asia, I thought it would be pretty hard to top, but […]
Discovering Ayahuasca, My First Encounter (Part 2)
The following is a recollection of my first encounter with Ayahuasca. In part 1 of Discovering the Ancient and Sacred Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca I give a brief summary of how I came to know about Ayahuasca and what Ayahuasca is. If you haven’t read part one, I suggest doing so before proceeding with this post. […]
Discovering the Ancient and Sacred Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca (Part 1)
In 2010 I journeyed around South America for six months. I started my trip in Chile making my way counterclockwise through Argentina, up into Brazil, on to Colombia and eventually to Peru, before heading down through Bolivia and returning to Chile to fly back to Canada. Half way through my trip, while in Brazil, I […]
Jim’s Spirit and my Trip to Phoneix, Arizona
As some of you may know from my previous post Reminders of Carpe Diem; Lessons from a fallen friend, my good friend Jim Sissakis passed away a little over a year ago at the age of 24, after a battle with cancer. He ended up seeking treatment in Scottsdale, AZ and shortly before passing away, […]
Driving Across America and Taking My Mom to Burning Man
A little over three-weeks ago I set out from Toronto, Canada in the Hippie Van with my friends Yana and Germaine as well as my Mother. Over the past three-weeks I have probably heard the exclamation, “You’re bringing your mother to Burning Man!?” at least a couple dozen times. Some inquirers were amazed my mother […]
Guest Blog Post: Co-Piloting The Hippie Van
So last week I had a few friends come up to my family’s cottage, three hours north or Toronto. I asked one of my freinds Vylan, who rode up with her two girlfriends and me in the hippie van, to write a short post about the experience. Without further ado, here it is. Co-Piloting The […]
The Yin and the Yang of owning a VW Bus
All the time I hear people saying, “I wish I had a VW bus, it would be so much fun”. And after owning one for over 3-years now, I can say that they are indeed a lot of fun. At the same time they are a nightmare. Owning a classic vehicle requires A LOT of […]