A Sacred Journey Awaits.

Unsettled Peru Recap.

By: Michael Youngblood, Co-founder & CEO, Unsettled.

As I sat in Cusco, reflecting on the last moments of our journey through Peru, I was filled with deep connection—to a sense of place, new relationships, and an overwhelming feeling of gratitude.

Our trip through Peru’s Amazon and Sacred Valley felt as if your inner child was having a conversation with your wisest, most present self, all while dancing through the natural world full of curiosity.

In the Amazon, life is omnipresent, yet death is never far away. We saw one of the last families of Giant River Otters on earth in an ecosystem where they must embrace constant change to survive.

In the Sacred Valley, we were welcomed by an ancient Inca ceremony, Pachamama, to express our gratitude for what we receive from nature. A few days later, we closed with a powerful temazcal ceremony (a native steam lodge ritual led by a local healer aimed at personal renewal).

My favorite moments, though, were when we:

Shared poetry and stories during an inspirational happy hour under a 700-year-old ironwood tree at sunset in the Amazon
Hiked to a pre-Inca site and found ourselves sitting alone there, just our group and our thoughts
Visited a community high in the Andes to witness and participate in their livelihood (raising alpacas and weaving craft products from their wool)

Like most Unsettled trips, these rituals brought a sense of purpose to my trip, and my life back home.

At Unsettled, that’s the whole point.

We’re not only traveling as spectators of the world; our aim isn’t merely to visit these places and take pictures.

We travel to gain insights into how people across the globe live and work so that we might be inspired to challenge society’s expectations of what we should do with our lives, and define this for ourselves.

When we travel this way, I believe we bring something home with us, a new perspective, that is slightly wiser, in touch with my inner child, and more fulfilling from having experienced what we found on Unsettled: Peru.

Something a little more sacred…

At least to you.