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2011-05-04T09:34:00.002-07:00

TheJewelryGypsy.com now LIVE!!!

2011-05-03T16:02:00.005-07:00

I am excited to announce that TheJewelryGypsy.com was succesfully launched and is now active.There are so many websites littering the world wide web that its easy to think of one as insignifigant. But after pouring myself into this for weeks, photographing, uploading images, figuring out shopping carts, configuring links, etc... i can't begin to tell how pumped and relieved i am at having

The Jewelry Gypsy Website

2011-04-30T10:06:00.002-07:00

Under Construction... Almost Finished!!!Website will be launched This Monday (05/02/11) Preview of new site: TheJewelryGypsy.comThe new site will provide you with:Gallery of Jewelry w/ Paypal Shopping CartCustom Orders- Design jewelry just how you likeSchedule of Instructional Classes offered by The Jewelry GypsyDetailed information on most popular Gemstones and CrystalsIf you enjoyed this post,

California Bound

2010-12-01T13:33:00.001-07:00

With dreams of the potential opportunity looming in our minds, Ashley and I drive west into the sunset. We are bound for California, for the fall harvest season.I assumed many things about the upcoming adventure. As the days and state lines passed us by, ideas and inspirations ramble through my skull. The mind painting a perfect picture of how the months will unfold. But then things changed.And

Culture Shock and Re-integrating

2010-07-20T08:22:00.009-07:00

Since returning home i've found myslef struggling. My mind buzzing with conflicting realities. While away, i made decisions and decided who i was and what i stood for. ideas grounded in consumption, excess, and waste, were all tied directly with first hand experiences with sustainability, hunger, poverty and untainted happiness. On arrival my loved ones called it culture shock. I didn't believe

Arriving to the states

2010-05-30T17:28:00.005-07:00

After just a few short hours flying over the caribean i made it to florida. A few days later, my brother picked me up and i was doing barbeque with his family. After struggling for so long to get home, it seemed unreal, too easy. But if that was easy, getting accustomed to the high life was even easier, at least after getting over some culture shock.Showing the neices how to find coconut milk

Bailout Plans

2010-05-16T08:16:00.002-07:00

During the last few years the term ¨Bailout Plan¨ has become a familiar term. I don´t know much about politics, but i do know these bailout plans involve aiding various organizations get out of a sticky situation for better or worse. (see following illustrations).I`m excited to tell you my family has offered me a bailout plan. With the help of my friends Jon and Kathy, i found a flight to the

Angry. Bitter. Depressed.

2010-05-11T07:35:00.013-07:00

Its been nearly two weeks and i´ve had mud for luck on the boats. Three seperate captains told me that if I had boobs, they´d bring me along. I can´t believe its that cut and dry, so conditional.One captain asks me if i have a girlfriend, I tell him i´m travelling solo. ¨Just find a Colombian honey with a passport, she´s your ticket¨ He says. I´m disgusted by these shallow ass skippers. Not

The Coast!!!

2010-05-07T08:06:00.002-07:00

One,two, skip a few. Ninety nine, one hell of a ride.I´m way behind on posting. Rather than bore you with the mundane details of travelling, i´ll skip a few posts and tell you-Many days, many miles, and lots of jewelry have passed by. I made the ecuador border. A few weeks later i made the Colombian border. And give it a few more weeks, and many friendly faces, here i am on the coast. Cartagena,

Homeward Bound

2010-05-02T09:24:00.006-07:00

I´m excited to announce that i´ve completed my objectives for the trip and am now en route home without any more detours.Of course its not just a hop, skip and plane ride over the ocean. Working as a jewelry gypsy, i intend to thumb my way through Ecuador to the coast of Colombia. From Colombia the plan is to hitch a boat to Panama, where I hope to catch another boat to florida where my brother

The Ayahuasca Ceremony

2010-05-01T07:31:00.003-07:00

Walking to the temple its quiet. Each of us focused internally. After a few minutes waling through the jungle we come to a clearing. On the left is the temple. I´m surprised to see it alight in the night. Someone has arrived early and lit candles, giving it a magical glow.I enter the temple and shortly after the candles are extinguished and the ceremony begins. As suggsested by Don Javier, i

Shamanism

2010-04-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Shamanism has many many different forms. In south america it is practiced with the aid of teacher plants.Working with teacher plants is known as the ‘shaman’s diet’. The purpose of the diet is to prepare the body and nervous system for the powerful knowledge and expansion of consciousness given by teacher plants.The Shamans of the Peruvian Amazon generally refer to themselves as vegetalistas.

Iquitos: Healing

2010-04-19T07:46:00.004-07:00

From the time i was young my mom instilled an interest and confidence in the power of natural healing. And so I came to south american to further my knowlege in not just sustainabilty but also natural medicine.After digging about and asking around, I came to find that Iquitos, Peru is the natural medicine, and Shaman mecca of the Americas. Shaman cooking a teacher plant- AyahuascaSo I lined up a

Iquitos, Peru: Mercado Belen

2010-04-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

After the boat it was nice to take a walk to stretch the legs. I found Belen.Belen is a floating shanty town which locals try to pass off as the "Venice of the Amazon." Nope, it’s a shanty town. Huts are built on tree trunks that rise and fall with the water levels, as higiene levels also rise and fall. Belen, the venice of S. AmericaNext i went to the Belen market. Its a fun place to stroll.

The Amazon River Experience

2010-04-03T06:59:00.001-07:00

The boats get very crowded, hot and sweaty, and unsanitary. There´s very little space to lie in your hammock by the 2nd day. By the 3rd day, it will be hard to even get out of your hammock to get to the toilet for the ammount of people and chickens sprawled in hammocks and eventually sleeping on the floor below you. The boat will be so crowded you will not believe it, and then even more people

Arriving in Pucallpa

2010-03-30T07:32:00.006-07:00

I´ve heard accounts of this town being ¨Hell on Earth.¨ I arrive to this feared destination at early dawn after a long restless night journey. I ask the bus clerk where i can find a boat. He gives me directions to the docks and tells me they leave daily.With aprehension and heavy ¨red eye bus lag¨ i start walking. In confidence i count the blocks following the directions written on my hand. After

Pucallpa or Hell?

2010-03-26T23:50:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow i arrive in Pucallpa where i´ll load a cargo boat. Peru’s most easterly port town situated fairly deep in the jungle. Once onboard, I´ll slowly (for 3 nights and 4 full days) wind down the meandering Rio Ucayali to its confluence with the Amazon River, eventually landing in Iquitos, the world’s largest city lacking land access (that is, you can only get to it by air or river). Pucallpa,

Following Che on the River

2010-03-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, do you remember that beautifull movie The Motorcycle Diaries, based on Che Guevara’s motorcycle trip around South America?One of the scenes follows the young Che and his pal taking a boat trip from Pucallpa, Peru, to Iquitos and on into the Amazon to live at a leper colony. Che considering the ruins of Macchu PichuSo now you remember the movie? Well this is my next venture. I´m following

The Nazca Lines

2010-03-21T12:58:00.009-07:00

´Poco a poco,´ or little by little I´ve been making my way north through Peru. Selling a little and traveling a little- city by city. Its been great being out of the jungle. Not having to worry about bugs, is a huge relief for me. I can´t tell you how much mosquitos can unnerve even the most patient person. Lines of Nasca, created by natives hundreds of years agoPassing through the desert of Peru

Gringos!!!

2010-03-18T16:52:00.002-07:00

Gringo. Hey Gringo. Gringo, hello Meester.Ohh, gringoooo. While its a blanket term for any tourist in S. America, the term apparently originated in Mexico regarding Americans. From the days of our military occupation in Mexico, the locals were tired of seeing GI Joes, and started telling them ¨Green Go¨ (or military leave.) .And as you´re probably aware, the name stuck. And it spread from Mexico

Changing Gears with Jewelery

2010-03-12T16:27:00.006-07:00

As a jewelry maker or artisan, there is a certain pride that comes along with making beautiful things with you hands. Its for this I should have known better than to suggest my plan to my fellow gypsies. As there are no tourists, and my experiment with being a wannabee ¨jewelry gypsy¨ was failing, it was time to change tactics. While in Bolivia, i found that the Bolivian people loved to buy

Invite to coffee

2010-03-08T09:53:00.009-07:00

You tell me that my words are powerfull and they inspire you. You tell me that ýou live vicariously through these adventures of mine, and still others tell me that you just miss me and can´t wait to treat me to a cup of coffee... well, I may be on the other side of the world, but you now have the opportunity to invite me to a cup of coffee or even lunch should you wish. What this means to you is

Machu Picchu: Closed

2010-03-02T14:06:00.007-07:00

As an american gringo what would i care if the economy of peru is slumped due to the shutdown of the countries greatest source of income. If anything i should be happy because of lower prices. However as a vendor peddling my goods, i can´t help but be frustrated by the lack of tourists. After torential rains caused the death of two tourists last month, they have shut down the world wonder ¨Machu

Time to Sink or Swim

2010-02-28T06:16:00.003-07:00

I´ve been half in and half out. Kinda doin´it kinda too ascared to actually go balls to the wall. But everywhere I meet gypsies living and travelling soley on the money they make selling jewelry.This last November I had a ticket to fly home along with my sister Angela. However I realized i wasn´t ready to go home. I haven´t learned what i came here to learn- sustainability, and natural medicine.

So long, Farewell- Bolivia

2010-02-26T13:48:00.007-07:00

I can´t believe it really. But as i count and recount the days on the calendar with the stamps in my passport I realize my time is up. 90 days on the visa came and went like a wrinkle in time. Its hard to believe that i´ve spent 3 months here during my two visits, but as i recall the memories i feel good. Nostalgic but good.The wine vinyard of Jesus, the cliff hanging- roller coaster muddy bus