Off The Grid In Peru

About Me

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My name is Julie and in early 2011, I moved to the remote mountains of Peru. Our town isn’t even on the map, there aren’t any 24 hour convenience stores and nothing is reliable. Although life is much more simple, it isn’t easy! You may wonder why I would leave the comforts of the USA to live in a 3rd world country…

A few years ago, everything I worked for in my adult life began to fall apart. In October 2010, the dissolution of reasons to live in Texas sent me packing to Latin America. It was a combination of dumb luck and good karma that I ended up in Peru….in the right place and at the right time. I went looking for clarity… Where would I live? What kind of work would I do? Well, I found clarity within moments of my arrival in Cuzco. I knew Peru would become my home, and daily confirmations resound that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.

I’ve known all along that:
-Everything happens for a reason.
-I create and invite every experience of my life.
-The work, consume and obey mentality does not resonate with me.
-Love is always the answer.
-My life has a specific and important purpose, potentially still unknown.
My life is exactly how I dreamed it would be when I was a child of 6. It’s good and simple. The world around me is clean of pollution. I live under a waterfall in the Andes mountains and am surrounded by rivers and streams with staggered, rushing waterfalls  throughout the neighborhood. Birds, bugs, exotic flowers, fruit trees and plump gardens are all around me. Night time skies filled with twinkling stars cradle me to sleep at night. My television is watching tiny iridescent green hummingbirds sip nectar from brightly colored flowers. Every view affords me constant sight of pyramid shaped mountains, streaked by clouds, dotted with cattle and garden terraces. I wake up in a living Eden every day, just like I had imagined.

My life is exactly how I dreamed it should be when I became an adult…albeit, it took me 39 years to get here! I found the Renaissance Man I’d been searching for. Turns out, he was worth the wait! I’m no longer a slave to the grind anymore. Something about the American way of working a job most of my waking hours to own a house and cars and stuff and more stuff…just didn’t feel right. I own very little,  I spend very little, because I want very little. Time was what I dreamed of. Time to help others. Time for personal enjoyment…cooking, photography, reading, writing or doing absolutely  nothing at all, if I feel like it. A whole new world has opened… the universe has decided to gift me with time to just “be”. I humbly and gratefully accept. Thank you.

I’ve found peace, just like I imagined I would.

I never have to ask how I got here, because I will never forget the journey.

One thing I know for certain…I am blessed beyond my most vivid of dreams. And it’s not wise to get cocky about it. So I do what I am supposed to do… be happy, every day. I’ve discovered that emotion is nothing more than a cycle that we can perpetuate in any direction, if inclined to do so. So I’ll keep on keepin’ on until the universe nudges me toward a different reality.

“Meanwhile, In the Mountains of Peru” is written to share my random daily experiences in this beautiful, fascinating country. I blog about nature, people, the nature of people, photography, the pleasures of food and a general synopsis of the weirdness that is my life…the life I always dreamed of and finally caught the good sense to make it my reality. I hope you enjoy my brand of photojournalism!

http://www.offthegridinperu.com

I wish for you Peace and Abundance,
Julie

Update:

In 2013, I left Peru for Sedona, AZ. There was no specific reason other than the gentle nudging of the universe to move along the road of life.