To refresh the memory of those who know me (or those of you who don’t), Almaty is where I spent the first ten years of my life. I grew up here. Over the years that I have been away the city had grown. Once a darling little post soviet era city - the hub of arts and culture of the country, Almaty has become a Westernized cultural gem, a blend of the old and the new with a little something for everyone.

Toward the end of the crawlspace I felt the air change into musty fog. It felt like I was in a cloud. As I crawled out of the rabbit hole and stood upright I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was standing at the foot of what must have been a 60-80 foot high and 310 meter long misty dark cave of absolutely gargantuan proportions. We were … quite literally, inside of a mountain.

It was also surreal to once again be back on Western soil. Everything was bigger, faster and louder, even driving out of LAX I could feel the energy shift. Two days earlier President Joe Biden had been sworn into office. It was a new America with a completely new administration.

“Imagine what it would be like, to meet the first sunrise of the year from the top of a volcano”... mentioned in casual passing conversation a few years back, the thought lingered in my mind as only a dream.

The sight of these magnificent ‘underwater spaceships’ with a wingspan of up to 29 ft. (8.8 meters) just left me completely in awe .. and even a bit teary eyed. They are playful, curious and gentle giants. Unlike much of the other marine life, mantas are interested in you and will once in a while swim up and engage in an underwater dance of sorts, hovering above you and ever so gently, voluntarily brushing up against your body.

If you are a lover of secret paradise beaches and epic lookouts, Penida offers some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. In fact, you’re just not going to see many beaches in Bali that come even close to what’s next door on Penida.

“How do you feel about taking an ayahuasca journey in the Peruvian Amazon?" Three weeks after my friend Jokke Sommer had expressed an interest in seeking out and experiencing the sacred plant medicine in the depths of the Peruvian jungle, I touched down in Cusco.

These days Lovina is empty of tourists, much like the rest of Bali. Solitary fishermen and dolphin guides roam the streets adjacent to the beach vying for a client among merely a handful of visitors who come down to the shore to catch a glimpse of nature at play. At Lovina Beach, a tall statue of a dolphin made of stone towers above the neighborhood reminding everyone of why they’re here.

The landscape looked almost surreal, sprawling green fields and plantations laid out for miles below us. Towering above them and overlooking the turquoise blue waters of Danau lake was the Batur Volcano.