I left Cusco on Sat. saying sad goodbys to all my friends there. Friday night all our guides ( Washington, Dianna and Eddie) took us out for hot chocolate. Olinda( our landlady) had taken us to a show of authentic folk dances so she came along for the farewell party too. This is a show in the Cultural building on Av. de Sol ( it is free with the Touristico Billeto). I would advise anyone who has the ticket to take it in as it tells a lot about the dances you see on the streets and in villages during the [View Full Entry]

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There are 3 choices for trains to Aguas Caliente ( the last stop before Machu Picchu). #1 is the Backpacker. For obvious reasons I did not choose this one. While I greatly admire those hardy souls who trudge up the Inka Trail for 4 days, I do not want to sit next to them for 4 or more hours on an enclosed train. Eewww! #2 is the Vista - Dome. It has windows on the roof panels so you can see all the majesty of the mountains as you climb to M. Picchu. #3 is The Hiram Bingham, a luxury train [View Full Entry]

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I´ve now been in Cusco for three weeks. It has been great to live in an apartment away from the tourist area of the city. For one thing you learn about the pace of life (very fast) and see how people go about their everyday chores. One of the things I like about So. Am. is the organization of the retail neighborhoods. All the same type stores are on the same street making comparison shopping pretty easy. My street, Calle Belen, has many claims to fame. It had most of the optical shops, certainly most of the roasted chicken restaurants and [View Full Entry]

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But first a little about Pisac market. It is one of the largest in So. Am. and certainly one of the most confusing to walk through. If you´ve ever been to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, well, this is like it without the marble floors and the touts offering you mint tea. You can buy just about anything from vibrant colored towers of fruits and veggies to live animals to any kind of hat, glove, scarf or woven wall hanging in the most incredible colors and designs. But ,I was on a mission. My friend, Sigrun, in Iceland, had written to [View Full Entry]

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Ok. So you know about Washington, my #1 guide and Eddy, my # 2 guide but let me tell you about Cesar. When I came in 2003, he was a 20 year old Univ. student who was a bit undecided on his career choices. Eddy asked him to be an asst. on the trip that I took with Val, Raelene and Fred. He spoke very little English, was a bit shy and followed Eddy around waiting to be told what he should do. I have stayed in touch with him via e-mail over the years. He knew Val and I were [View Full Entry]

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Finally, after 5 days I was able to stop taking my Diamox ( for the high altitude). I continue to drink massive quantities of water- a must in high, dry climates and huff and puff when walking any distance. The good, no great news is that I haven´t had even one headache!! The other day on a school field trip our teacher got one. I was so surprised to learn that people who have lived here all their lives still get affected by the altitude. Today a young Japanese fellow student (maybe 28) was telling us that he went to some [View Full Entry]

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Hola amigos, It is with great joy that I write to you from Cuzco, Peru. This is my 3rd visit here and each time is more wonderful than the last. This time my travel pal, Val, and I are here by ourselves with no tour guides, no schedules, no big special events or ´have tos' to run to every day. We truly are perfecting the new art of 'slow travel'. We have rented a sweet apartment in the heart of a noisy bustling neighborhood full of barking dogs, high decibel screeds from trucks with loud speakers, every manner of corner street [View Full Entry]

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Puerto Natales was founded in 1911 and has a population of about 19,000. Although where they all were is beyond me. It is located near Ultima Esperanza (the Last Hope) fjord. The fjord was discovered in 1557 by a desperate Juan de Ladrillero who was trying to find the western exit of the Strait of Magellan. It was colonized by German and English immigrants who turned this area of Patagonia into the main stockbreeding producers and exporters until the end of the 1970's. It's main claim to fame is that it is the home to the Southernmost casino in the world. [View Full Entry]

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Entering Patagonia was like being on another planet. The skies were bluer, the mountains higher, the winds windier and the animals saucier and fearless. Leaving Puerto Arenas, the southern most town in Chile, I got my first glimpse of the Straights of Magellan. It gives me chills to see things I only read about in my elementary school geography book or heard as a query on 'Jeopardy'. But there they were bluer than cobalt and throwing up whitecaps like a can-can dancer waving her skirt. Before I go on I have to tell you about the wind in Puerto Natales. We [View Full Entry]

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Chile is a country that surprises me at every bend in the road. Yesterday we headed out from Punta Varas in the south of the country to try and get a glimpse of the volcano Oronco ( sp?). It usually is shrouded in clouds with rain threatening at all times. But luck was with us and we started to see the sun shining off the glacier which coats the top of this perfectly shaped volcanic cone like meringue swirled a mile high. It only got better and better as we rode up and up and up the gravel switch back road [View Full Entry]

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