No where to go, but everywhere: New Adventures

WELCOME!

.... to my new and first blog.

This blog will follow and document all of my traveling adventures. Including my upcoming trip back to South America and hopefully all my future trips as well.

First things first... Let me introduce myself.

This is me, Carrie. I'm a 25 year old Jewelry Artist/Designer living in Brooklyn, NY.

Pretty much every day of my life I think about traveling; all the amazing places in this world there are to see and experience. It is safe to say that this sort of dreaming is what gets me though a lot of long work days in my studio. I have been very fortunate in my life thus far to have seen and experienced so many great places. I've been traveling literally since I was born, I can't even remember my first trip or plane ride. My first real international trip was to Australia with my family and two best friends' family when I was 12. Since then I have traveled to Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Czech, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Peru. All of which I absolutely loved in all different kinds of ways. My most visited and most favorite of these places though has got to be Jamaica. My grandparents have had a little house on the water in Jamaica for over 30 years now, so I have been visiting the country since I was born. There were a lot of years in between then and now, of course, that I did not go, but more recently I have been almost ever year. Jamaica to me is sheer paradise... its beauty is beyond words, its culture is is relaxing and easy going, but fun and the people kind. If my life and career were at all possible here, i would seriously be considering moving for a year or 2.

A year ago while visiting in Jamaica the realization occurred to me that I will soon be 25 years old, and in only 5 short years I will be 30. I'm not saying I will be married and with kids at 30 or anything close to that, but the sound of 30 is still terrifying. 30 means I should probably be a little more settled down and serious, with all aspects of my life,....a real live adult. So as much as 5 years sounds like a long time, it is going to be here and over with before we know it... which is scary. There is so much I feel like I need to do and so many places I need to see, before I really have to settle down and be "an adult". Right then I decided to make a pact to myself, before my 30th birthday I will take 3 (if not more) big trips. Trips I want to do while I'm young. Some people dont agree with this, my father for one, he says "why travel now? you dont have any money. You need to be making money and saving money. Travel when you are older and have money." But that is just it! I am young now! I dont want to take the trips I need tons of money for right now. I want to backpack and low budget travel, I want the kind of experience you can only have while you are young. I plan on traveling for the rest of my life, but I dont want to look back at age 40 and wish I'd done all this, by then its too late.

So with this pact and idea comes this blog. A blog to follow my twenty-something travels: 3 big trips- South America, South Africa, and South East Asia, and 5 years.

My first adventure: South America

I will be traveling for exactly one month and visiting 4 different countries. So roughly one week for each country. First stop Argentina, then onto Chile, Bolivia, and Brazil.

I've been dreaming of traveling to South America for years and seeing all of its great and beautiful natural wonders. Also... for the most part most of my travels prior were all in Europe, so South America is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Then in May of 2011 I traveled to Peru for 10 days with two of my good friends. I was immediately drawn in and wanted more! I wanted to see and visit other countries and for longer, but due to jobs and time restrictions of my travel buddies, we could only fit in Peru and 10 days. As soon as I left I started to dream about my return. I didnt know when exactly or who with, but I knew it had to happen. I started telling others hoping that maybe people could meet me along the way while traveling, because honestly the thought of doing it all on my own for a month scared the shit out me. I knew I needed to do this though so along with my twenty-something pact, I told myself this has to happen... with others or alone. I was not fully convinced this was all going to actually happen until December when the plane ticket was officially bought. At that time one of my best friends, Steph, decided to take the jump and join me for the whole month! Instantly relieved and excited... I could not ask for a better partner in crime to share this adventure with! I will also be joined by two others for the second part of the trip.

So since It turns out that I wont be a lonesome solo traveler, it would only be appropriate to introduce my fellow travelers on this adventure.

Meet Steph Mantis... My partner in crime and leading lady. Steph and I went to college together, but it wasn't until we studied abroad together in Denmark, that we really became friends. Since then she is my adventure partner to so many things: to shows, to bonnaroo, to dinners, and we even often work together. I really could not have asked for anyone better to take this adventure with.

STEPH

For the last 12 days, while traveling through Bolivia and Brazil, Steph and I will be joined by my friend Kyle and my brother Tommy.

Kyle is one of my best guy friends from my hometown in Northern Kentucky. We only became friends just a few short years ago though when we went to Bonnaroo. Four Days in a field, listening to music, sleeping in a tent, and shitting in port-a-potties... it can surely make you or break you. Thankfully in this case we got a good friendship out of it.

Tommy, of course, as my brother is a partner in life, since we have literally spent our whole lives together. Tommy currently is living in KY but will soon be off getting his Masters in Marine Biology. He too has traveled to many places, many of which with me of course, but most recently he studied abroad in Ecuador.