Dan Keller
This is Dan and Lisa´s around the world journal. Please follow along with our travels and adventures. DanLisa
Travel Blog Posts
September 9th 2005
September 9, 2005 We take a 9 hour bus to Puno from Cusco which wasn´t as painful as it sounds as we stopped 5 times to see ruins, have lunch and of course, shop. Another cool bus crowd so we chatted the time away. One of the girls traveling with us today went to school with Dan´s cousin in Chicago. Small world. Her and her mother are on their last few days of vacation so they give us their stash of snacks. I can´t tell you how good the single packets of crystal light taste after having nothing but coke light and agua. The PB&J is a huge hit. The closest you can get to peanut butter here is nutella. It is freezing when we arrive in Puno. We fight off a dozen cabbies trying to ... read more
September 4th 2005
September 4, 2005 Cusco, on most maps spelled Cuzco, was originally spelled Qosqo and pronounced like Costco. Did you get all that? Cusco was named the most beautiful city in the world this year. The city flag is 1 color different from the gay pride flag. Our contact says they are trying to change the design but it hasn´t been approved so far. We are met at the airport by our hostess, Melbin. Yes - that´s actually her name. We have 3 tours scheduled for the next 3 days so we take it easy this afternoon. We walk around the square and have dinner in the Plaza de Armas. I decide to be daring and order the guinea pig. Dan orders an alpaca steak. The vino and garlic soup appetizer are awesome. Dan is looking a ... read more
Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Published: September 18th 2005South America » Peru » Madre de Dios » Puerto Maldonado » Amazon RainforestSeptember 2nd 2005
September 2, 2005 We are picked up at the airport and shuttled to the lodge´s office. We are awaiting others for the 2 hour commute to the lodge so we head into town to buy some snacks at the market. I get separated from Dan and our guide while they buy flip flops. They are both amazed at how I can be the only white girl in all of Peru and still manage to disappear so well. We take a 45 minute bus ride then a 45 minute boat ride to our lodge in the middle of the rain forest. We see caiman (baby alligators) and toucans along the way. The water is infested with piranhas. Guess we won´t be doing alot of swimming here. We are served lunch on the boat which is more like ... read more
August 29th 2005
August 29, 2005 It´s 5AM and we are in the Lima airport. In a foggy valium haze we manage to find info on a hostel and grab a cab to Miraflores. We go back to sleep for several hours. Maybe we should have split a valium?? When we finally walk downstairs there are 2 tour guides waiting for us in the lobby. Have they been here since we checked in 5 hours ago? We walk to the Brazilian Embassy to get my visa only to find out that they are closed for 2 days due to a local holiday. We are stuck in Lima till Wednesday. The smog here is enough to choke a horse. We are frustrated and there isn´t much we wanted to do in Lima. We visit a few museums, shop and work ... read more
August 27th 2005
August 27, 2005 The ride into Guatamala is beautiful. Horses run free everywhere. People don´t fence them, they just go out and look for them when they are needed. Dogs are also plentiful. Somehow they have learned to look both ways before crossing the street. This is very good being that everyone drives like it´s the Indy 500. Our driver is doing 100 MPH on a dirt road. I´m not sure how, but we arrive safely to Tikal. He suggests we wait a few hours before entering the park. We are at the high tourist time and are more likely to see animals in the afternoon so we go zip lining first. We soar thru the tree tops at about 100 ft above ground secured only by a wire harness. Neither instructor speaks a lick of ... read more
Mountain Equestrian Lodge (MET)
Published: September 16th 2005Central America Caribbean » Belize » Cayo District » San Ignacio
August 25th 2005
August 25, 2005 We arrive in the Cayo District via the chicken bus. It was a very interesting & long 2 hour drive. The bus was overpacked and everyone smelled like dirty diapers. We buy a couple of tamales from a street vendor at one stop. I loved mine but Dan´s wasn´t entirely feather free. YIKES! Hey, at least it wasn´t some sort of domestic animal fur. We almost miss our stop as there are no signs for Georgeville and our spanish speaking skills are minimal. I see our host at the side of the road and he waves us down as we are the only 2 white people on the bus. We yell for the driver to stop and he finally does. We are getting alot of looks from the locals. I hear several people ... read more
Abergris Caye
Published: September 16th 2005Central America Caribbean » Belize » Belize Barrier Reef » Ambergris Caye
August 19th 2005
August 19, 2005. We arrive at the ariport in Belize City and order 2 rum drinks to celebrate. They were SO strong! We took a puddle jumper to Ambergris Caye. The hotel was a nice, ocean front suite with a full kitchen. We immediately signed up for diving the next day - 2 local reef dives and 1 night dive. We settle in, take a dip in the ocean and head out for dinner. We ate at a nice restauant on the water. It started to rain so we sat inside but the view was still incredible. Outstanding ceviche and a really tasty blue rum fishbowl drink. We go to bed early in preparation of many dives tomorrow. We wake up in the middle of the night to a tropical storm and have to shut all ... read more
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