We loved Cartagena! Once we got to it. Didn’t really like overnighting in the Bogota airport. Cartagena is a modern port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. At its core is the walled Old Town, with 16th-century plazas, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. The climate is tropical – hot and humid. It is also is a […]
Lake Titicaca is the second largest lake in South America (3,232 mi²) and the highest navigable lake in the world (12,507 feet). It is 118 miles long and bordered by Peru and Bolivia. It is also known for its colors. Between the sky and the lake, we saw some of the most blues we’ve seen. Interestingly, […]
That is correct – Nestors’ Town. Nestor’s dad is named Nestor, as is his grandfather. There seems to be a tradition of generosity in the Arequipa Nestors. The title photo is of the view of Misti out of the front door of Nestor’s house. BBQ Nestor’s dad’s parents invited us all over for a barbeque, […]
We took the semi-cama bus from Lima to Arequipa. The buses here have different levels of service, and their model is loosely based on airlines. The semi-cama is like first class. We actually went a bit higher, but are sorry we did, as we were seated one in front of the other in a single […]
We finally took the bus from Trujillo to Lima. It’s a long ride through some of the driest desert in the world. Lima, in fact, is the second driest world capital, behind Cairo. With well over 8 million people and taking up over 800 square miles, this is the biggest city we’ve been in since […]
Of all the places in Peru that we’d been so far to get stranded, we lucked out with Trujillo. It is another town in the desert with about a quarter of a million residents. It was founded by Francisco Pizarro. It has a “spit shiny” central park. And most important, the guy at the desk […]
We got up early and shared a cab to Loja with Canadian biologist Duane and his retire teacher wife Susan. By 7:30 we were on the bus to Piura, Peru. It is about an 8 hour ride, including an hour at the border. Obviously, we were riding in style – When we reached the border, […]
Now that we have left Ecuador, I thought it might be interesting to put together a (potentially exhausting) list of random things we’ve seen. Dollars Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency. This can be a problem when the dollar is strong, as it makes Ecuador expensive for other countries. There is a massive […]
Perhaps it’s because Izhcayluma is not on VRBO, Airbnb, or Booking.com, and that we found it through word of mouth, (Regina, our Swedish travel buddy). It seems like most of the people we met here found it the same way. In any event, it is a fantastic hotel/hostel, and we recommend it to all. We […]
Wow, I have been in Ecuador for almost three months. I have been retired for almost 7 months. In many ways I feel like it is all just beginning. We are at a beautiful lodge in Vilcabamba, Ecuador taking a vacation from our vacation. I have gone to Yoga 3 days in a row, which […]
Sounds like it truly was an excellent adventure. Thanks (...)
If only we had realized you had to go to the north island (...)
We were at the Iguana Resort and had the stingrays touch (...)
Sigh. I'm envious - it looks
THANKS, you two! It was fun to live vicariously and (...)