In 20 hours I leave for Peru. It’s a trip that I have been obsessing about since Shirley MacLaine came out with her book “Out On Limb.” At the time I was in my early 20’s and joined the new age fad that was big at the time. I hung out at the original Book People location and bought many crystals in their shop. Now 20 years later I’m a bit more cynical and I have traveled to many places as a photographer but I could never get the images of Machu Picchu out of my head. It is like the scene from Close Encounters where Richard Dreyfuss starts building mash potato mountains–which look very similar to Machu Picchu. I have been planning this particular trip for more than eight months–studying the history of Incas, watching Peruvian films (Pantaleon y las Visitadoras is great), listening to the soul of black Peru, and getting travel shots (Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Altitude pills, and Flu).

This last weekend was amazing. I was laid off from my job on Friday and as I was starting to get very sad for myself I was wisked away by friends who took me to Malaga. Oversized pitchers of Sangaria were consumed along with olives, bread, cheeses and other assortments of tapas delights. Then there was early dancing at Oilcan Harry’s while well-built men in tight form-fitting fancy underwear stood on ledges dancing for attention and cash. Next we were off to the Red Fez for Mojitos, an amazing mint and Rum drink, and three rounds of hookah flavors–mango, banana-strawberry, and rose. The following morning was rough due to the mixing of drinks but we headed over to the mystical Apple store in Barton Creek for a few trip accessories then to see The Motorcycle Diaries–which is based on collective novels of Che Guevara and others. It is about his travels across South America as a young lad full of ideals and wanderlust. There is a scene in the film where he ascends to Intipunku, door of the sun, and looks out across Machu Picchu. I could hardly catch my breath knowing I would be standing there in a few days trekking the same trail during the final lunar eclipse of our lifetime.

Now, in just a few hours.