Planning your vacation?
This advice is almost as good as sunscreen.
I just returned from two weeks in Peru. It’s a beautiful country with a rich diversity of jungles, deserts, beaches, urban life, and Machu Pichu, of course. The journey was insightful on many fronts, but especially because we did most of it, unplugged.
Cellular service was sporadic at best, and in our three days in the Amazon we had no access to the outside world. No email, no social media and no browsing. Being off-the-grid was a major adjustment for me and it helped to reveal my hidden addiction. It didn’t take long to figure out that I craved new hits of mental stimulation delivered to my Gmail inbox. Unbeknownst to me, email had rewired me.
Those 72 hours made me acutely conscious of how email can be a distraction that promotes procrastination and multi-tasking. It steals your attention and keeps your brain in the shallow end. I’m not sure if it’s about endorphins or adrenaline, but there is clearly a biological component that makes it addictive. If you find yourself out of cellular range, seize the opportunity to break the email habit and explore other forms of stimulation – self-reflection, conversation and old fashioned reading. I turned to reading old magazines that people had left behind – the subject matter was nothing like my usual reading – but it was refreshing to meander through pages of information that never cross my radar. Vacations are about serendipity, and serendipity is good for the soul and new cognitive connections.
I have lots of wonderful experiences and photos to share with anyone who’d like to hear more about our vacation to Peru. Definitely worth adding to your bucket list if you haven’t already done so.
WOW! Machu Pichu at it’s best.
Top of Sun Gate, basically cloud level.
Rock face of Machu Pichu bridge.
Yikes! Lama on the loose.
Canopy walking at tree-top in the jungle.
Slugging through the mud in the jungle along the Madre de Dios River.
Pretty jungle bird!
Uros Islands, a set of man-made floating islands.
The islanders and descendants of the first altiplano inhabitants in the middle of the Lake Titicaca National Reserve – the 3rd largest lake in the world!
A young boy on Taquile Island -3950 meters above sea level.
The community of Huayllano. Known and recognized by UNESCO for their textile art. The culture on the island is old, dating back to Pre-Incan times.
These are only a few of my 1000’s of photos, but if you’d like to see more or learn more about the beautiful country of Peru, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
