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| Marty hitchhiking the Carretera Austral - Coyhaique, Chile |
It's been several months since my last post... I got busy wandering several months through Patagonia and getting myself back to the U.S. I have had lots of content I wanted to share but am working on developing a new blog site before I do.
Change is good. And I've decided it's time to change up my blog and direction.
Until that happens, I wanted to fill you in on a few things since the last post if you haven't seen or heard from me...
I shot two short documentaries that I'm currently editing for the Glimpse Correspondent program. One film is a video portrait of the street dogs in Chile layered with my personal experience of living in foreign country with themes of communication, isolation, love. The second film is about one of my best friends, Rex, who joined me on a 3.5 month backpacking trip through Patagonia. The film explores Rex' pursuit of his dream as a professional poker player and how his early success allowed him to partake on such an adventure with me.
After Patagonia, I said goodbye to Rex and travelled solo via hitchhiking and bus 6800 KM to Lima, Peru. I was broke and just needed to get home. With not a dollar in my bank account, I bought my plane ticket on credit. On my way to Lima, I made a visit to Macchu Picchu. I needed cash and few places accept credit card and many that do can be sketchy if they're mom and pop shops. I figured out that I could go to the casino using a credit card to buy chips, play slots for 10 minutes, and redeem the chips and walk out with a bunch of money.
Macchu Picchu and Cuzco were awesome but can be very disorganized with tours. There's simply too much tourism and chaos for it to be handled in an organized manner. I was broke again on my last day there. I was several hours late getting back from a tour and I needed to get to the bus station to take a 24 hr bus ride to Lima to get on a plane back to the U.S. the next day. I no longer had time to run to the bus station from my hostel or go to the casino for cash. Luckily, some friendly Argentines who I ate lunch with on the tour gave me cab fair.
I made it to the bus just in time with the equivalent of $ 0.50 USD. I just needed to get to the airport and home and was planning to fast until I do so. The next day, the bus stopped for lunch. I went to use the bathroom and I couldn't believe it! There was about $ 3 in change on the window of the bathroom stall. There was no way to tell whose it was so I pocketed the change and accepted a big lunch of fruit from a nearby market. Thank you universe!
Once in Lima, I went to the mall. I needed a little bit of cash for a cab to the airport. I went to a smoothie stand and negotiated with customers, in Spanish, if I could pay for their order with my credit card if they gave me cash. They did, and I was on my way to the airport.
I arrived in Washington DC on April 2nd. The band IAMDYNAMITE, good friends of mine, picked me up from the airport at 3am after I was held up for having coca leaves on me- they let me keep my chia seeds. I spent the next 5 weeks on tour with IAMDYNAMITE as they played from east coast to west coast. I lived in their van and hotels, eating free continental breakfasts and venue food, and directing their new music video here:
Mid-May I got back home to Michigan and have been spending time with family and friends after a long absence. There's still a lot of people I want to see, but I've been working away getting my life back together.
I sold my car while travelling in Patagonia and meant to save money for a motorcycle or used car upon my return to the U.S. but that didn't happen. I bought a bicycle and have decided to do without a car. I came across several travelers in Patagonia who were doing the trip on bicycle. I thought that was really awesome and would like to do something like it one day. I've learned that if I have a goal or dream, it's important to start making small steps towards them, right away, no matter how small. I figured by buying a bicycle capable of such a long-distance touring trip, I would have the necessary tools for such an adventure when the opportunity comes. The longer I commute, the more I love my bicycle and the freedom my feet and legs provide.
At the beginning of June, I started working at a health foods bar making juices, smoothies, and foods. I've been working 50 hour weeks focusing on getting my physical health and financial health in top shape. I've already got myself back out of debt and am working on saving for the next adventure.
Working 50 hours a week is a big adjustment. The job is fine and all, it just takes up too much of my time which I'd rather focus on goals and dreams for the the future. Not finding time for such dreaming is frustrating. I want to complete my documentaries, publish my new blog and content, and get an exhibition together of photo, video, and writings to bring closure to The Pan-American Dream project. I hope to scale back my hours at the health bar soon to part-time to make my dreams not so part-time or spare-time.
When The Pan-American Dream project started three years ago, I dreamed it would be possible one day to become a travel filmmaker and photographer if I just persist in that direction. A few opportunities have presented themselves along the way and I'm still optimistic. Most recently, I submitted a 5 photo essay from a hitchhiking experience in Patagonia to WorldNomads.com 2013 Photography Scholarship. Winner goes on a 10-day assignment to the Arctic Circle in Greenland with National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards!
So, visit my submission here for the first preview of some of my Patagonia experience. Please let me know what you think either by commenting on my blog or the contest site.
I look forward to sharing more content with you soon!
Peace!
-Marty
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