Move. Learn. Eat.

You know that feeling you get when your heart starts racing and you can’t stop thinking & dreaming of all the endless opportunities in life? The thoughts that keep you up into the wee hours of the morning?! Well, that’s the feeling I got when I watched this video. Do yourself a favor and WATCH… Video in a nutshell: 3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food into 3 beautiful and compelling short films = a trip of a lifetime…

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

I’ve mentioned it in previous posts {but to make it perfectly clear} I have an addiction to traveling the world. Much like the MOVE video, I had a similar experience, but mine took place a year and a half ago in South America with my best friend. Exploring five countries, over 500 hours of bus rides, crashing in hostels, visiting Machu Picchu, trekking up an active volcano, falling in love {with Chile}, swimming in the gorgeous white beaches of Brazil, eating amazing asado {Argentian BBQ} and most importantly, discovering who I really am…

For me, my experiences can be described in three words {that are tattooed on my forearm} - live your passions. I felt so inspired and moved by this video and it reminded me so much of my own travels that I wanted to share my enthusiasm and excitement with you!

Here are some of my favorite pictures {and memories} when I traveled to South America. Ole!

{Local Peruvian women & children with Lamas that we met in Cusco, Peru}

{Kids playing soccer in Cusco City, Peru}

{Exploring Machu Picchu with my traveling gnome: a bottle of Ceja Vineyards Merlot}

{Man-made floating islands made out of straw. Lake Titicaca, Peru}

{Brazilian men, tanning themselves. Rio de Janeiro}

{View from the top of the Villarrica Volcano. Pucon, Chile}

{Watching the sunrise on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janiero. Amazing}

{Capoeira dancers in Bahia - Northern Brazil}

{Ipanema, Beach 9 in Rio de Janeiro}

{Tango dancers in La Boca. Buenos Aires, Argentina}

P.s. What are some of your favorite travel experiences? I love hearing stories, so please share!

Argentina from 16,000 Feet

I recently came across this video of me skydiving in Argentina and thought I must share!

Cordoba is one of the places we visited while backpacking around Argentina. It's a beautiful city and is primarily known for its university life. It hosts six universities and students from all provinces and neighboring countries come to Cordoba to study {and to party}. This is also the place were I did my first skydive! After a night of enjoying an amazing Asado {Argentinean BBQ}, my best friend and I decided to go skydiving. It doesn’t really get more epic than that.

Looking back, I never really thought that I would be someone who would jump out of an airplane. I mean, not really. It took a little coaxing from my friend Katie, who was totally thrilled and unfazed about this extreme sport involving airplanes and high altitudes. Was I scared, nervous and doubting myself? Absolutely.

My nerves were sky high by the time I was walking up to the small charter airplane. Together with my instructor, the pilot and a cameraman, we climbed in, all geared up and ready to go. I will never forget that moment when the instructor opened the door of the plane and I looked down over the smallest Cordoba I had ever seen, a complete adrenaline rush! A strange mix of fear and excitement soon turned into this overwhelming feeling of joy as I jumped and floated through the air!

Overall, the experience was amazing and the crew was really friendly and professional. The total cost to jump was $150 including pictures and an awesome video {with the coolest background music ever!}. This was also a perfect reminder for me to live my passions and to challenge myself to overcome my fear of heights!

Have you ever done something that you were absolutely scared to do? Ole!