Amy Perkins from This Hearts Fire is the type of girl you want to get to know. With a nurturing, thoughtful and refreshingly no-nonsense attitude, this stylist-turned-spirit-junkie is on a life-altering journey through the rugged jungles and sandy shores of Central America. Before soaring over the Pacific a little over 6 months ago she created her blog, This Heart Fire, a little space on the interwebs where she pens her inspired thoughts and ongoing realisations about self love and the astonishing part slow-solo travel plays in healing physical and emotional pain. Culture shock was never an option. She took to Central American travel like a precious duck to water and straight away found solace in meeting strangers. I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks traveling through Mexico and Cuba with Amy last December, and although we weren’t exactly doing the whole solo travel thing, it was good to spend some time chilling out with another like-minded soul and deciphering their goals and aspirations (over numerous Dos Equis, of course).
What one thing would you never travel without?
This trip I haven’t gone without wearing my violet gray designs chakra necklace. I purchased it a few months before I left home. It is the solar plexus chakra and it serves as a constant reminder of self power, self identity and more importantly transformation, which is the reason I write my blog.
If you had to name one favourite destination, what would it be and why?
There are so many places in this world I love to go but one that has a special place in my heart and one that I go back to often is Bali. Bali has always been a destination of rejuvenation. I have frequented yoga retreats and detox retreats but for the first time this year I mixed it up a little and ventured to Gili Islands to learn diving. The energy on that island was without doubt one of the best I’ve experienced.
What type of traveller are you?
This is a hard one but I would have to say ‘solo’. In most of the trips I have done all over the world I have been alone.. I think each trip I take is another life challenge for me and I come back a better person for it. When I actually put myself out there and immerse myself in it on my own it’s the most rewarding experience.
What was the best meal you ate in the last week?
Well one thing’s for sure – I’m totally sick of corn chips! And rice and beans is getting old! The food situation in Central America has a been a vast contrast to the usual raw foods, alkaline diet I was following back home for my body… However this week in Tulum I had one of the best fresh-caught fish tacos I’ve ever eaten. Delish!
Describe your weirdest travel experience…
There have been many but more recently the discotheque in Cuba playing miley cyrus wrecking ball. Not what I was expecting at all. Cuban beats preferred!
What’s the next designation on the soul-searching agenda after Central?
I would really love to get to India one day and learn more about ayuveda & yoga. I’m interested in places with culture.. when there is culture there is heart and that is what makes a destination.
What’s your plane personality?
Definitely zen. It’s a good time to shut off. I usually wrap a scarf around my head, get as comfortable as possible and listen to music. If that fails, I listen to meditations by deepak chopra.
What is you favourite word or phrase in Spanish that you’ve learnt so far?
The word I have used a lot travelling through Central America on my limited spanish is ‘No Tengo’, which means I don’t have. My friends who I met up with in Colombia used this so much and it has stuck with me.. we say it for everything even when it is not in the right context… it’s just kind of fun to say!
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AMW x
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