We looked at each other nervously as our driver dosed off at the wheel. 360 around us, were sheer sheets of white salt. I suppose there is no danger in a place with no traffic, no lanes and no other cars. 
The salt flat desert of Bolivia was one land mass of salt, dried up from a lake that was cut off from the ocean. The surfaces seemed to vary as frequently as its desert weather. We went through salt mines filled with little hills of salt and groves of lukewarm saltwater - it splashed all of our pants white, a new trend perhaps? There were dry patches of salt flats with no water at all - just white, without shadows, and barely distinguishable between the earth and the sky. At around sunset, we saw what we had hoped all day to see - the salt flat with a thin layer of water on top, a perfect mirror reflecting the fiery sunset sky.
When we drove by the next morning, the area was frozen into salt and ice, and the mirror long gone.

Shit our tour guide says

Our tour guide Zacharias is a Swiss man that moved to the Amazon riverbank 30 years ago and never left. In his most precise Swiss accent, he shares his insights of the Amazon:

Zacharias: “Up here on the tree, you see the sloth.” 
Everyone: “Ooooooo”
Zacharias: “The sloth comes down to the ground only once a week, yes. For shit.”

“The Caboclo people only work half of the day. there is no need to work more, there are fishes in the sea, and fruits on trees. For the other half of the day they do other things, like making love. They can do this on the hammock. Some interesting positions.”

We arrived in the night at the eco lodge, Pavan asks: ”Is there a hot tub in this lodge?”
Zacharias: “What is this.. hot.. tub..? Do you mean sauna? No we have no sauna here, it is not popular in Brazil. Sauna is life.”
And yea it was. It was hot as hell when the sun came out the next morning.

Zanoon: “Do you see animals often here in the Amazon and in the jungle?”
Zacharias: “No not often. This is not a zoo.”

Beautiful sunset over the city of Rio today, fresh after a tropical storm.

When we stepped into the favela today, there were no more children holding AK-47s that matched their height. The steep dirt roads were now paved in cement. Private schools, after school programs, community centers for waiting mothers and even government funded gondolas were in full bloom. We stood in the middle of Complexo de Alemão, an area made of 14 adjacent favelas, once notorious for violence, drug wars, massacres on the Brazilian police, and it is now a completely different place.  I still can’t believe that I got the privilege to be here. Thank you NGO Community in Action.

When we stepped into the favela today, there were no more children holding AK-47s that matched their height. The steep dirt roads were now paved in cement. Private schools, after school programs, community centers for waiting mothers and even government funded gondolas were in full bloom. We stood in the middle of Complexo de Alemão, an area made of 14 adjacent favelas, once notorious for violence, drug wars, massacres on the Brazilian police, and it is now a completely different place. 

I still can’t believe that I got the privilege to be here.

Thank you NGO Community in Action.

I never knew cabbage could shred so thin, but it’s happening right in front of my eyes! At the Kampala home in Uganda, being a chef is no easy business. Cabbage shredding is only your proving ground. When you’re ready, you move on to prepping meat. And when you graduate from that, you can work on the stove top, with the giant pots humming above the fire. Maybe you’ll even get to whip up matoke for a festive occasion. There are 60 children to feed after all.

I never knew cabbage could shred so thin, but it’s happening right in front of my eyes! At the Kampala home in Uganda, being a chef is no easy business. Cabbage shredding is only your proving ground. When you’re ready, you move on to prepping meat. And when you graduate from that, you can work on the stove top, with the giant pots humming above the fire. Maybe you’ll even get to whip up matoke for a festive occasion. There are 60 children to feed after all.

Sretsis is sisters spelled backwards and they are 3 sisters from Thailand. I saw their collection in Bangkok last week, super cute.

(Source: sretsis.com)

designy snake! (symmetry, pattern density, color)

designy snake! (symmetry, pattern density, color)

Want this big messy but perfect hair for the summer with a light white dress

Want this big messy but perfect hair for the summer with a light white dress

#2 - reasons why I’m excited about the South America trip this Christmas

Blur the lines between the salt flats and the starry night sky.

#1 - reasons why I’m excited about visiting South America this Christmas   Visiting Community in Action, a non-profit focused on training and creating young entrepreneurs at a favela in Rio, Brazil. 

#1 - reasons why I’m excited about visiting South America this Christmas  

Visiting Community in Action, a non-profit focused on training and creating young entrepreneurs at a favela in Rio, Brazil. 

I love people watching. I love to guess their life story as they walk by. I wonder what is it about someone’s sense of style, poise and attitude that makes people feel that you have an unique point of view, a great life story to tell.

I love people watching. I love to guess their life story as they walk by. I wonder what is it about someone’s sense of style, poise and attitude that makes people feel that you have an unique point of view, a great life story to tell.