I’ve arrived in Manaus, Brazil — gateway to the Amazon. My guide for the four days and three nights I’ll spend in the Amazon rainforest is Billy. My first thought: “You don’t look like a Billy, but okay.” I love it when people pick out their own Americanized name, it’s always fun to see what they go with. And, his friend who will be wielding a machete and making sure we don’t die in the jungle goes by Spider-Man. Perfect.
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The journey begins in a car, leads to a boat, then to a van and finally a canoe takes us deep into the belly of the rainforest. I have the cabin I’m in all to myself. At any other time this would be huge coup, no roommates! But tonight, not so much. I’m tucked under my mosquito net listening to the sounds of the rainforest, alone.

Early the next morning, Billy gathers us for our first jungle walk and he’s got a cleaver in his hand. I’m not sure that’s enough to take down whatever lives in there, but I’m going to trust he knows best. As soon as we walk into the jungle, Billy warns us to “watch out for snakes”…What?? “They like to come out after the rains,” he says. Great.

This just got real real. So now I’m walking with my head on the swivel — Look down for snakes. Look ahead for spider webs. Look side to side for animals. Look up for birds and monkeys. But, I have to say, the danger and excitement does have a seductive allure.

While we’re walking Billy is pointing at everything and telling us stories: “This plant cures this… You eat this herb to cure a poisonous snake bite… Those are capybara tracks.” He’s like an encyclopedia of knowledge about the rainforest, it’s amazing. He grew up living inside the depths of the jungle and he knows every plant, smell, sound and animal print.

Then out of nowhere Billy is crashing across the bushes and rummaging around in a plant. Uhhh, is this something we should be afraid of, what’s over there?? He’s running back over to us with his hands clasped. It looks like he caught something.
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It’s a tree frog! I’m stunned! This frog is maybe an inch long, maybe. How in the world did he see this tiny thing in the tree while we’re walking at least 8 feet away from it?? Billy is super human. How he saw that, I’ll never understand.

The tiny little black frog sits on the tip of his finger as he talks about its poison. It can only kill you if the poison is in your blood, so warriors would put it on the end of their arrows. You could touch the frog, even lick it, and you’d be fine he says. Okay…I’ll take your word for it, Billy.

We keep walking down the path, then Billy slows down. He turns around to me and says, “Do you hear that?…Those are monkeys coming this way.” My response: “What? How can you hear that? I don’t hear anything.”

As he points to the sky, we hear branches crack and look up to see a half dozen dark figures hopping across the trees. They’re moving so fast! We can barely see them because they’re so high up in the canopy, but then we hear them. It’s this deep guttural hooting that echoes through the air. “They’re holler monkeys,” Billy tells us. “Wow”, I’m thinking, “this is so wild.” Plus I’m beyond impressed at Billy’s supersonic hearing, it’s like he’s Superman.

We stop at a tree on the path. Billy tells us to gather around but DO NOT touch the tree. Once we’re all around it we can see there are ants crawling all over the tree trunk. These are bullet ants, and they have that name for a reason. Their bite is so painful, it feels like getting shot by a bullet.

Billy’s tribe uses these ants in rites of passage that boys and girls must pass to enter adulthood. The rituals involve bites from dozens of bullet ants. I’m getting the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. And on top of all that you’re not allowed to cry or faint, otherwise you don’t pass and you’re Peter Pan forever. He filmed a show called Amazon Wild on the Discovery Channel as he passed through one of the rituals. Oh, Billy is legit.

We’re pretty deep into the jungle now. Every now and then it takes my mind a couple minutes to catch up with reality — I’m in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. I’m in a scene out of National Geographic. This is crazy.

Then Billy interrupts my thoughts and asks if we want to see something cool. My mind says, “Yes, I want to see something cool! That’s what I came out here for!” but then a split second later it says “But, do I want to see something cool?…What are we seeing?” Seeing something cool can mean a lot of different things out here. I want an amazing story to tell, but do I want it bad enough to take my chances on what Billy is trying to show us?
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Well it didn’t matter, because Billy’s question was a rhetorical one. He’s on the ground rummaging around again. This time he’s poking a stick inside a hole — um, you’re going to make whatever’s in that hole very mad. A couple seconds later out crawls a tarantula! Billy pinches its back, scoops it up and walks it over for us to look at. Fearless. Billy is fearless.

As we walk to our camping spot for the night, Billy has the nerve to stop us, point and say, “There’s a snake up there, I can smell it. Do you smell that kind of moldy smell?”

First of all sir, no, no I can not smell the snake. I didn’t even know snakes smelled like anything. Please stop trying to impress us with your bionic senses, we get it you’re the Amazon whisperer. Second of all, gross, why do snakes smell like mold? Third of all, wtf?? There’s a snake up in this tree, why would you tell us you can smell a snake right next to where I’m about to sleep?!?

We’re outchea now, so there isn’t much I can do. Dammit Billy!

Spending the night in the jungle means going to bed when the sun goes down. By 8:00 p.m., we’re in our hammocks underneath our mosquito nets. My first few nights in the cabin, I would close the doors, put on the mosquito net and pray for no new friends. But out here in the jungle I feel a lot more vulnerable. This is a bit scary…

I’m in my hammock under the mosquito net, with the tiniest bit of moonlight creeping through the trees. I’m finally relaxing from this eventful day, when we hear a fast whooshing sound. Leaves rustle and branches crack. It sounds like someone is being chased. I’m holding my breath. Then Billy with a calm in his voice says, “It’s probably a panther, they hunt at night.” My heart is in my throat, I have no idea how I’m going to sleep tonight. My fight or flight instincts are kicking into overdrive. Why did I agree to this???

On top of all that, the jungle at night is not a quiet, peaceful place to sleep. Nope. There is a symphony of sounds — frogs, crickets, birds. I don’t understand how people listen to rainforest sounds to fall asleep. The real thing kept me up all night. There are too many shadowy things in the night; my mosquito net is always shifting. But somehow I managed to fall asleep.

We’re up with the sun. It’s around 6:00 a.m. and we head back to the cabin for breakfast and to prep for another day of jungle realness. This time though, we’re going to be out on the water. In our canoe we drive through the river spotting animals. There’s caimans, jungle turkeys, hawks, kingfishers, canaries, herons and pink dolphins. Billy even points out a sloth in a tree (bionic vision again)…I see nothing.

None of us can see the sloth so Billy offers to give us a closer view. He pulls the boat over to the shore and we scramble up the banks. Somehow he finds the exact tree we saw from the river. Then Spider-Man comes out of nowhere and starts shimmying up the tree. Ahhh, this is where his nickname comes from.
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Spider-Man is up to the treetop. He pries the sloth off the tree trunk then places the sloth back on the trunk below his feet. He starts to climb down the tree, and like magic the sloth slooooowly climbs down as well. A couple minutes later I’m looking a three-toed sloth eye-to-eye. He’s pretty adorable close up.

Then we make a stop to visit a local family that lives in this part of the Amazon. Billy shares with us that this year, the people here got electricity for the first time. And they wasted no time putting it to good use! We walk inside — there are two of the hugest speakers I’ve ever seen in a house, along with a computer, DVD player and TV. Not exactly what I was expecting to see in the middle of the Amazon, but I’m not mad at it.
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As we’re trekking through the bush behind the house I ask about these pods that are all over the ground. Billy picks one up and slices it open with the machete. Inside are a bunch more tiny shells, I still don’t know what it is. Billy takes one out and keeps slicing off the shell.

A minute later he hands me a Brazil nut!** Whoa! That’s amazing. And, these things are laying around the ground? Do you know how much they charge for these things in the United States? I felt tempted to scoop up a bunch to take home. And Billy says “Oh, you can get a whole bucket of these for $20 American.” Man, I was trying to come up with an Brazil nut import scheme on the spot.

We hop back in the boat for the activity that I’ve been looking forward to most: piranha fishing! I’ve never gone fishing before, but this version looks easy enough — all you need is a stick with a string and a hook. We place bits of raw chicken on the hook and cast the line into the water. Within seconds I can feel the yank of the piranha nibbling on the meat. Billy says you have to pull it in hard and fast because the piranha eat real fast.

My first few tries I’m too slow, or my piranha are too smart. Before I can get them into the boat I see them let go of the bait and swing off my hook — “I’m not ready to die!”

With a few attempts, I get the hang of it and catch five piranha! Spider-Man is sitting right next to me helping unhook the ones I reel in. He says: “You gotta bite them before they bite you,” and he bites right into the piranha head! Spider-Man is the Amazon OG.

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​For the final activity of the night we head out after dark to go caiman catching. Caiman are a part of the same family as alligators and live in the Amazon. The full grown caiman on average is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and weighs up to 80lbs (36kg). For the first half hour we’re coming up empty handed. Every now and then Billy is out the boat and swimming with the fish (piranha to be exact) and then he crawls back in the boat.
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Now we’re all looking around trying to find a crocodile to send Billy hunting for. We see two beady eyes in the darkness…it’s a black caiman. Billy is in the water wrestling with it, it’s like I’m watching Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter! He’s splashing around and then…nothing. He said it was 2 meters long (6.5 feet for you Americans), but it got away.

Damn!

But on his way back he was able to catch a spare, a baby spotted caiman. He offers it to anyone who wants to hold it, I’m first in line. Holding this beautiful creature, it’s so scaly and reptilian, I love it. Why is everyone else so trepidatious about holding this cutie pie? Now I understand why Clarissa had a pet alligator, they’re pretty cute.

If you want to go, check out Billy, Spider-Man and the crew at Amazon Gero Tours. Visit http://www.amazongerotours.com

**Is a Brazil nut in Brazil just called a nut? Things that make you go hmmm.

The secret to getting better at cooking with oils (or any other fat) is knowing exactly which one to use for the result you want. 

Depending on the oil you choose, you can alter the flavor, appearance and texture of your food in a number of ways. 

But picking the right oil also matters for a much bigger reason. Your health. Using the wrong oil can cause it to break down while cooking, and what’s left are chemicals that can lead to cancer. 

There are also chemicals in broken oil that cause foods to stick to your cookware, and impart a bitter, unpleasant taste to your food. 

Watch the video below to learn the two things that will help you pick the perfect oil to cook with every time.

We had tents to sleep in, but we decided to spend the night outside underneath the incredible starry sky. I can’t tell you how much that sky twinkled. When I’ve gone camping at home I’ve looked up and said “Wow, look at all those stars. You can never see those in the city with all the light pollution. This is amazing!” Camping in the back woods of Washington has nothing on the Sahara Desert, friend, I promise you.

The view was astounding. There didn’t seem like there was enough room in the sky for all the stars. It’s like they were crowded up there, struggling to outshine each other and be the brightest. I laid there on the ground, wrapped in my blanket and reveled in the moment. Here I am, thousands of miles away from home and civilization. I’m in the desert, surrounded by strangers, and sharing this extraordinary moment.

I have to say, I don’t always take time to be in awe and inspired by Mother Nature and everything around me. But when I do… Wow it moves you.

But this touching evening was promptly followed by a hell storm with the fury of a thousand arrows.

I fell asleep with my beautiful starry night — shouts to Van Gogh. Somewhere in the middle of the night my stomach began to hurt so bad that it woke me. I had a headache and this best night ever started feeling like the absolute worst. Ahhhh… I felt like death was upon me and I was ready to let him take me away.

I needed to use the bathroom, like real bad. But we’re in the desert! Yup, that means there are no toilets here, no privacy, no nothing. All you’ve got is sand and your will to survive.

I thought I’ll hold it until we made it back to the building where we got the camels so I could use a real toilet.

Do you know how when you are in a hurry time seems to stand still? Do you know how much worse that is when the thing you’re hurrying to do is take a dump???

So I’m clenching and helping clean up camp, rolling up blankets and putting the packs on the camels. Then it’s time to saddle up, finally. I’m one of the first people on my camel and I’m ready to go. I think it’s gonna be fine. Nope. Wrong. Getting everyone else onto their camel takes an eternity. And I can’t do it.

I called over one of the guides and asked him to let me off my camel so I can use the bathroom. He looked annoyed but I couldn’t care less at the moment. I run over the tiny hills of sand and try to find a spot where I can hide away from everyone else’s view. I’m squatting in the sand with my wipes, which is awkward enough. Then I notice two Berber men are still in their blankets down the hill from me. And I can see one of them is watching me! What the hell!?! Goodness, I’m trying to go as fast as I can without getting distracted and grossed out by this creepy situation.

I won’t overwhelm you with the gory details. My business got done and I felt a lot better…for now. After my spiritual moment with the desert I felt like I was disrespecting the Sahara as I hid my poo pile in the sand. Sorry Sahara!

Back on our camels, we were finally ready to ride off and catch the sunrise over the sand dunes. Now I have to admit this was gorgeous, but my gurgling gut would not let me enjoy a single moment of it.
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Imagine the worst stomachache of your life. Then add to it the unpleasant jostling of a camel hump underneath you, walking for miles. MILES! I don’t know how I survived it. But I made sure I got that picture, though.

Once we made it to base I curled up in a ball and waited for it to all be over. Okay, I know I’m being super dramatic, but this sickness hit me like a ton of bricks, in the middle of the freaking desert. I had heard about traveler’s diarrhea but no book or blog could prepare you for this crap. Nothing.

I survived part one of this terrible gauntlet. Did I mention part two? The 12-hour van ride back to Marrakech? Yes, me and my explosive diarrhea had to get in a van with 15 other people. Then we had to bump along the dusty roads of Morocco for 12 hours!

F. M. L.

The bus ride was a blur. There were moments where I swear I was hallucinating. I felt my brain and body become completely disconnected. There were definitely visions and premonitions during the ride. I didn’t know that Satan tap dancing on your intestines could do that to you!

I have to say the people that were with me were incredibly sweet, amazing people. Every time we stopped they offered to get me juice or soda to help with my stomach. They constantly checked to make sure I was alive (thanks guys!). These complete strangers were the kindest souls. And I want to say if you were one of the people in that van with me that day, I apologize.

So back to the BS… We make it to a pitstop. And I have to use the bathroom again. Now something you should know is bathrooms in Morocco are not like Western toilets. It’s not a crisp white porcelain bowl with a roll of TP on the side, and a sink with soap and water. It’s a neat little hole in the ground. And that’s it. You and the hole.

Of course I had exhausted my butt wipe situation and I forgot that I needed to come prepped with my own toilet paper. I ran around looking for paper. I found the smallest scrap of napkin, of course. That’s all I got. It never had a chance. And I was not versed on the whole squatting over a hole thing.

It was everywhere, man. Everywhere. It was explosive and everywhere. My pants, ruined. My tank top, done. My dignity, evaporated.

I did the best I could to improve the situation. Yet the combination of being grossed out by my own body, feeling sick and overwhelmed meant I didn’t do much. And after all that I needed to get back in the van.

Oh man, I can’t convey my embarrassment. Thinking about it, even now, makes me cringe. I tried to pretend like I couldn’t hear everyone whispering about the smell, and hid in the corner. Oh god. The worst four-hour ride.

I have never been more humbled by any experience in my entire life. I was five days into my round the world backpacking trip and I was already traumatized. My own body had turned on me!

So if you’re ever thinking about how horrible your road trip is, know that it could have been much, much worse. Looking back on it now, it’s one of my most hilarious travel memories and also such a lesson. Before arriving in Morocco, I thought my trip was all about me and surviving on my own.

I was “I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, do you know what that means?” It meant I had trust issues, that’s what it meant.
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But being alone in a far-flung corner of the Earth meant that I had no choice but to trust people and get help. I was sick as a dog and I had to rely on my hostel-mates to take care of me. These strangers carried my bags through the medina for me. They cared for me, bought food and drink to bring to me and waited on me to make sure I was okay. I had known these people for less than a week. We meant by happenstance, because we all arrived at the hostel on the same night. But they were my one lifeline in the world, and taught me that strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.

A few years ago, I was planning a special birthday meal for a friend and she requested steak as the star of the meal.

While I had gone to culinary school and learned all about steaks, I don’t actually eat beef myself. 

So when it came time to make the steaks (that cost about $30 a piece, mind you), I was nervous because I hadn’t applied what I learned in about 5 years. 

Cooking a steak is like riding a bicycle, right?? 

After that experience, I decided I wanted to take the guesswork out of cooking steak. So I created an easy to remember process for always getting a seared steak (or chicken, or veggie) perfectly cooked. 
​
Watch the video to learn my simple PURR method for perfect searing. 

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​And then I want you to check out my interview on the Epic Gardening podcast with Kevin Espiritu. We had a fun-filled week on his show, with 7 mini-sodes where we talked about how to use up surplus herbs, surprising ways to cook vegetables, and common mistakes to avoid when cooking fresh veggies. Check it out below! 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epic-gardening-daily-growing-tips-and-advice/id1221085548 

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I stood on the edge of the waterfall. I looked out over this stream of rushing water pouring over the edge of the cliff and cascading down. All I could hear was the call of the birds and throbbing gurgle of the water. I guess that’s why they call this La Garganta, the throat.

I stared into the space and felt a rush of appreciation for the moment. It felt profound. In that moment I understood what the phrase awe-inspiring meant. I was in absolute awe of this natural wonder. This water. The beauty of this place. The animals. This tropical paradise that we were blessed to discover.

And I cried. I was teary eyed, and it wasn’t the mist from the falls. It was so beautiful.
I thought: I’m here right now. I’m standing here seeing this and experiencing it with my own two eyes. I had been around the world and now I stood on the precipice of these falls admiring this miracle.

Iguazu Falls: a special spot, right in the crux of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The falls are enormous, with viewing points located in each country. I chose the ones on the Argentina side because it allows you to get the closest. From here you not only hear and see the falls, you feel “las cascadas.”

The waterfalls were gorgeous from every angle. When I looked at them from afar through the trees, it was like something out of a painting. Later, standing next to them was a powerful rush. It made me recognize my and my umbrella’s insignificance next to this behemoth creation.

When I was first approaching the falls I was in a rush to get across the bridges to the viewpoint. I was about to run past a group blocking my way on the bridge when I noticed they were looking at something in the trees. I looked up but I didn’t see anything. So I asked them what they were looking at and I heard one of them say “toucán.” I turned back around and stared hard into the trees.

There it was. A real, live toucán up in the tree looking back at me. I felt star struck, like the same feeling that I got when I met Jaime Foxx in person. I’m not sure why, but when you see something or someone you never thought you’d meet in person the feeling is the same. Surprise, awe, butterflies, joy.

That brief moment taught me a lesson. You can’t rush the experience. If you do, you may miss the things that truly make a day memorable. Seeing the waterfalls was an important part of going there. But, that day and every moment of my trip had something to offer.

So I took it slow.

I watched the coati wrestle each other in the grass… (but I kept my distance, there are signs everywhere telling you those coati do not play nice with humans). I stood for 10 minutes watching dozens of Technicolor butterflies flutter on the ground. And when I had the choice, I skipped the train and took the scenic route.

I stood on the edge of the falls and drank it all in so that I would always remember this experience. And taking it slow was worth it, because I do.

From Iguazu Falls: Natural Wonder Devil’s Throat

Let your soul be sated
with the odd beauty of this landscape
that although the world scrolling through on your travels
you can never find anything like this
good and bad dynamic and changing
find here since your name
takes in your humble heart of man
truthful and consistent message
meditate and feel the deep emotion
watching the vibrant paroxysm
eternal mists that is circled
and do not try to describe it with your voice
just lean your forehead against this abyss
which is the mirror of the word God.
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Alfonso Ricciutto

A few years ago, I was planning a special birthday meal for a friend and she requested steak as the star of the meal.

While I had gone to culinary school and learned all about steaks, I don’t actually eat beef myself. 

So when it came time to make the steaks (that cost about $30 a piece, mind you), I was nervous because I hadn’t applied what I learned in about 5 years. 

Cooking a steak is like riding a bicycle, right?? 

After that experience, I decided I wanted to create an easy to remember process for always getting a seared steak (or chicken, or veggie) perfectly cooked. 

Watch the video to learn my simple PURR method for perfect searing. 

​

And then I want you to check out my interview on the Epic Gardening podcast with Kevin Espiritu. We had a fun-filled week on his show, with 7 mini-sodes where we talked about how to use up surplus herbs, surprising ways to cook vegetables, and common mistakes to avoid when cooking fresh veggies. Check it out below! 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epic-gardening-daily-growing-tips-and-advice/id1221085548 

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