By Matthew Riche (TheMatty).TheMatty at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Greetings all. My apologies for the radio silence, but since my yagé adventure, I’ve calmed down and have taken to settling in in Bogotá. What does this mean? It means I’ve decided to make Bogotá home, at least for now. It means getting a job teaching english, working on my spanish and planning trips, Read More

Continued from The Yagé Posts, Part I PASTO, Colombia — … I had been warned by accounts on the Internet that drinking this would mean a long night of vomiting, purging, and possibly terrifying hallucinations. Taita Lorenzo Morales, who appeared to be the most respected of the shamans in the group, in a prayer, Read More

AUCKLAND—In a short while I’ll be casting off aboard the Bahia Blanca cargo ship en route to Manzanillo in Colon, Panama. I rather late in the game realized I hadn’t written anything publicly about New Zealand. This magical and marvelous country wore me out over the last month, and I feel a bit like, Read More

Hi, all. I gave a talk yesterday at the University of Otago on journalism and the war on terror. The Otago Daily Times was kind enough to send a reporter to the seminar. Too bad the photo makes me look a little weird. Also, I’ll be on Radio New Zealand chatting with Jim Mora, Read More

Part I There’s an old adage that one should write drunk and edit sober. This is my attempt at slightly tipsy. Why? Because I’m saying farewell to Australia, and there’s no good way to depart such a big (and big-hearted) country without a bit of tipple to send me on my way. Where to, Read More