I’ve been around the world in my travels, and have borne witness to some extraordinary things, but I feel that throughout these most recent jaunts of mine, I have crossed off some major sights off of my “Bucket List” and never before have I been so deeply afflicted with the urge to travel even more. What follows is a brief synopsis of these journeys, and perhaps some photos!

Phase 1: Quito Ecuador.

Familia

Ecuador was a jumping off point before phase 2, but we didn’t leave without seeing some incredible things! First, a national park outside of Quito, then back to civilization at a marketplace:

Vendadora

Seeing the vibrant colors of the marketplace, as well as the vibrancy of the people going about their daily lives was a captivating sight, and ranks as one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Phase 2: Galapagos Islands.

Please forgive my brevity. I have much to cover, and I want to maximize readability, god knows I have a tendency to ramble…

Das Boat

Anyhow, the boat was large and it did the trick, ferrying us about many of the Galapagos Islands, where we would trek and photograph the inhabitants, who for the most part turned out to be a bunch of boobies.

A Nice Pair of Boobies

Stunning wordplay aside, we also saw some mind blowing scenery, and various other wildlife specimens, Chuck D would’ve been proud!

The Duel.

Snapped this photo as I was falling over.This holiday season, stay Crab-Free

Though I have about 5,000 more photos, my alarmingly focused desire to stay concise compels me to soldier onward:

Phase 3: Cusco: Contemplating the navel of the Earth.

Atahulpa

Atahulpa, one of the last Inca kings, welcomed us to Cusco. Nice of him, hey? Cusco was thought by the Inca to be the navel of the earth, and they used it as a bureaucratic and spiritual capitol. They abandoned phase 4 location, Machu Picchu, to attempt to defend this homeland from the Spanish Conquest. Today, it is a city of great cultural importance, and the heritage of the past is celebrated!

Raindrop Fingerpainting!!

Cusco, like Quito, ended up being a gateway… This time, to:

Phase 4: Machu Picchu, the great abandoned Inca city!

Machu Picchu

There aren’t sufficient words for this experience… Breathtaking. They sure don’t build ‘em like they used to! This really needs to be on your “Bucket List”. How did these people move these massive boulders over miles through steep valley terrain? Amazing.

If you grow corn here, the Terraces win...

Another excellent part of this section of the voyage was my extremely serendipitous timing for choosing to read Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries, which ended up synchronizing with my journeys. Can’t wait to see the film now, but I digress… Onward to:

Phase 5: Return to Cusco: For some more ruins, and shopping. Ha.

Vanna Whiting Some Inca Ruins

Alpacastani National Flag

Phase 6: The last leg of our journey, Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the world’s deepest, and highest (in elevation) lake. Situated on the Altiplano between both Andes mountain ranges, it is shared between Peru and Bolivia. We took excursions out on the lake to see a group of people who live on “reed villages” floating on the lake:

Floating Reed Village

and an island where dudes get their wives by being the best knitters! No joke! I took a lot of portraits there:

Dank Herb Vendadora

When all is said and done, my Latin American travels felt… Unfinished. I want to go back, explore more. In the meantime, I will cherish these memories and sights!
If you’d like to see more pictures from my journeys, please follow the links below:

Quito, Ecuador

Galapagos Islands

Machu Picchu

Cusco, Peru

Lake Titicaca

Thanks for joining me today, fellow intrepid world travelers!! Until next time…

Spread from my book about the Type Family: Clearview. (Click to enlarge)

This is a spread from a book I made from a research paper about the typeface Clearview, which is being designed to replace the Highway Gothic font family on road signs across America.

It was a really cool project, and as I’d mentioned earlier, I got to work with the actual typographer behind the project, James Montalbano… He graciously licensed me the font for free, a $1000+ value! So cool. Full text of the book is available upon request. Pictures of the completed book forthcoming!

The Cover, Photo Editing by Chris Gilbert

As a part of the promotion of her new book “Bending Toward the Sun”, (Click to buy it!) my S’mom Leslie was interviewed on the Today Show. (Click to watch it!)

I’m very proud of this book, as it has been an extremely cathartic outlet for Leslie, her mom, and to my wonderful sister Mikaela.
It is the product of years of hard work, and often the painful rehashing of dark memories of a dark time in my Grandma’s life, and the world.

A brief synopsis of the book: My Grandma’s story is similar to Anne Frank’s in that she lived out some of her formative years in a tiny attic in Poland to escape the Nazis, the key difference being that my Grandmother survived to tell her tale. Thank god. The book chronicles her harrowing experiences, then goes on to trace how those horrible times have gone on to affect future generations. As my Grandmother started her family in America she passed down some of these traumas, and so the book becomes a generational memoir of this Holocaust legacy: from Mother to daughter, and from daughter to grand daughter.

Anyhow, the book is a great read if you’re at all fascinated by the Holocaust, my family, or psychology.

Congrats Leslie, Grandma, and Moosh- You are incredible human beings, and I love you all. So proud.