Travel Blog
Expert tips, destination guides, and stories from our adventures across South America. Get inspired for your next journey.
Peru: life in the sky at 12,500 ft above sea level
Can people really live that high up? I'm talking going to school and work every day. At 12,500 ft above sea level! Visiting a high altitude destination in the U.S. involves an interaction with nature. Boots and backpacks prepare you for the elements in an outdoors environment. That's because there are no cities (unless
Peru: life in the Andean lodge (part 8)
(continued from "Peru Comfort Food" part 7) After you've been sick for a while, you get weak and shakey. The first thing to do was to get my son to stand, then walk, then exit the hotel without falling down the stairs. (no elevator) We made it to a local cafe, ate a little toast and drank some tea, then headed back to
Peru: At Least He Could Walk in to the Village Hospital (part 6)
(continued from "Traveling Where the Paved Road Ends" part 5) Everything was dark except for one lighted sign in the rear of the hospital. The word "Emergencia" glowed in the darkness. After the bus arrived in Chota, the rest of the group hopped into waiting 4-wheel drive vehicles for the kidney-crushing 12 Km ramble u
Peru comfort food: Chota style (part 7)
(continued from "At Least He Could Walk in to the Village Hosptal part 6) Within an hour of settling in the room, my son started throwing up violently, over and over all night. Then the diarrhea started and there were times when both happened simultaneously. Sometimes he wouldn't make it to the bathroom. It's the kind
Peru: traveling where the paved road ends (part 5)
(continued from "Off To Northern Peru," part 4) In spite of the fever, we decided to continue with our planned itinerary. We would take the local equivalent of a Greyhound bus and travel all day over a really big mountain pass to arrive in the middle of nowhere (I mean the town of Chota). My son's fever was the same as
We were high. Really high. Lake Titicaca
(continued from PREPARING TO HIKE ) Not that kind of high! This was a "real" high. The kind that blows your mind in a different way. The kind that makes you more connected with the planet you live on. The kind that makes you wonder how people have survived in so many different environments for centuries.
Preparing to hike the Inca Trail
(Continued from previous post HOME AGAIN ) In order to plan the next trip, I had to stay in touch with Vidal. I noticed that he would go for weeks and weeks without any time off from his job. He answered emails late at night. Sometimes, he would be offline for days. Usually because he was leading hikes or groups travel
Home again. Follow up to our trip to Peru (part 11)
We jumped right back in to our lives and now we dreamed of our visit to Peru. The crazy things that happened seemed surreal. One thing I knew in my heart was that I would return to Peru. It was just a question of how. In my mind, I formulated a plan to return. This time I would go with a group of women and we would hik
Ecuador birdwatching: Maria the Diva
On their quest to find out more about the birds of Ecuador, the Virginia Beach Friends School 4th & 5th grade girls get up at 4 am to arrive at the La Paz reserve, near Mindo, Ecuador, just to see the famous Andean Cock of the Rock.
Qosqo Tales
Our local guides are Andean natives with a passion for bringing their Qechua culture to life. Here are three Andean legends they translated so you can connect with their roots before experiencing the culture for yourself.
Children of the Sun
The Story of the Origin of the People of the Andes
Valicha: A Tale of My Mother's Famed Chicha Brewery in the Andes Mountains
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