Puno, Peru Puno is popular mostly because it sits right on the border of Bolivia and on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. There isn’t really much in the way of interesting things to see in the city itself. Most people are there for one of two reasons: visiting the[…]
Cusco Before and After Machu Picchu I stayed in Cusco for about three days before going to Machu Picchu, and again for about three days after. In February of 2016, which is the rainy season, it was coat weather at night, morning and evening, however, in the mid day often[…]
One of my top “bucket list” items is a visit to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca ruins near Cusco Peru. On February 2nd of 2016, I was finally able to check this off my list. Stay in Aguas Calientes About 20 minutes down the mountainside is a small town called[…]
I spent 123 hours in a room learning three types of meditation techniques. The “professor” or teacher sat on the little platform to the left middle of the photo. Mostly she would just hit the play button on her MP3 player and we would listen to pre-recorded audio instruction from S.N.[…]
Tall Mountains! The Andes mountains in Peru is really tall with 37 of these mountains over 20,000 feet (6,000 meters). Wow! I stayed in Huaraz doing nothing but walking around the town center and working online for two days just to adjust to the city altitude which is 10,000 feet[…]
Beaches, Warmth and Sun! After spending a week in Chachapoyas with rain day and night, I was ready for a change. Huanchaco was exactly the antidote to cold, rainy days; each day was a sunny and warm 75 degrees with mild nights in the mid-60s. I was in heaven and[…]
Night Bus I took a night bus for two nights, back-to-back from Cuenca, Ecuador to Chiclaya (one night) then four hours later, another night bus from Chiclaya to Chachapoyas. It was a brutal two days of almost no sleep. Chachapoya is located up in the mountains only a few hours[…]
Cuenca is up in the mountains and while the coastal cities typically have temperatures in the 80s, the average daytime temperature in Caunca is around 70 year round. Combined with the dry air, Caunca has become a top destination for Ex-Pats from Canada and the USA. The city is filled[…]
Most everyone that learns Spanish, first learns the phrase: “Baños por favor?” which loosely translated means, “Bathroom please?” However, few realize the word actually means “bath” as in taking a bath or a bath tub. The city is not named after the word toilet, but rather for its abundant number[…]
I ended up in Quito quite by accident; actually I had never heard of Quito before November 18th. It happened like this: I arrived two and a half hours early at the Orlando airport with my passport in hand, excited to be off to another amazing adventure. Little did I[…]
Truth be told, I really didn’t know the Galapagos were here in Ecuador. My geography improves as I travel and occasionally, in situations like this, it is a pleasant surprise to discover something so special right in your path of travel. After leaving Bogota, Colombia, I flew to Quito in[…]
More than a few of my friends whispered concerned warnings to me about being kidnapped when I announced my intention to visit Colombia; this fear is the norm among Americans who follow the media. Colombians have similar fears about coming to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles because every crazy[…]