After enduring what was probably the worst year of my life, which included getting laid off, after a long and tedious attempt at starting a professional career, losing a family member to stomach cancer, surviving a car accident which left me broken, and having the love of my life slip through my fingers, I felt like I had nothing left. Both mentally and emotionally exhausted from all of this, as well as tired of 'playing by the rules' and getting nowhere, a pilgrimage to South America seemed like a good alternative. This writing was the exact journal I kept. The people I met, the places I saw, and the things I learned completed that void I was longing to fill. Five months of back packing through this incredible continent, including exploring the Amazonians, summiting Salkantay on the way to Machu Picchu, trekking through Patagonia and finally ending it all with a proper New Years Celebration in Copacabana was just what I needed to be put back together again.