We have mustered up the energy to write a final blog about our round-the-world trip (Jake took the lead on this one). Sorry we've been so late with this update, but we are now so deeply entrenched in our suburban lifestyle (e.g. watching TV, shopping at evil Walmart and playing with hedge trimmers) that our trip seems like a distant memory! The Best Deals (Per day spending, including lodging, food, transportation & activities) 1) Cambodia: $33/day Cambodia is home to the cheapest beach towns that we encountered on our trip. You can stay in a bungalow on the beach for nex [View Full Entry]

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We are back in New York and our trip has officially come to an end. How sad! We've spent the last week getting reconnected with the modern world, buying cell phones and getting a laptop, and going to happy hour with friends. We've gained back at least 5 lbs of the weight we lost on the trip, in just 1 week. We need to get ourselves back to the Southern hemisphere ASAP, where the pounds just melt off ;) We've mustered the momentum to publish a final Colombia blog, about 3 weeks late but better late than never, no? Here are [View Full Entry]

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We had a fun 3 weeks in Colombia, with the highlight being the 5-day Ciudad Perdida trek out of Taganga. We'll have to save that for a secong blog, since we have so many pictures to upload! Bogota Bogota is among our least favorite cities in South America. It´s dirty, expensive, has mediocre food, drizzly wet weather and is home to a substantial population of irate local stewbumbs that constantly shout at us because we are foreigners. One hobo grabbed Jake's arm and another accused us of discriminating against the indigenous people for not giving him money. Lots of 'colorful' [View Full Entry]

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After our Colca Canyon adventure, we were happy to be back in civilization-- the large but pleasant city of Arequipa. Jake was still recovering from his altitude sickness and we were trying to get our stomachs back on track, so we took it easy and tried to avoid the cheap set meals with their suspect soups and homemade drinks. It is very easy to get around Arequipa since cabs seem to charge 3.50 soles (that's a little over US$1) for any destination, including the bus terminal. We actually paid less once, and the only times we paid more were when we [View Full Entry]

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We had a great time during the 3 weeks we spent in Peru. Outside of Machu Picchu, this is a very inexpensive country... we actually got by one day spending only US$8 each (for food, lodging and transportation)! In smaller towns, the going rate for a room with private bath in a small posada is S-20 ('S' is for Nuevos Soles), which is about US$7. The food is also very cheap, with set meals in non-touristy restaurants costing US$1.00-3.00 (usually including soup, an entree and a refresco-- a homemade Tang-style drink that we passed on, since we weren't sure about the [View Full Entry]

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San Pedro de Atacama was our first stop in Chile; we knew it was a popular destination for backpackers, but had no idea how touristy it had become. It is a tiny town with the highest concentration of touts we have seen since SE Asia... you can¨t walk through the main streets without being solicited, in English, by at least a dozen people trying to get you into a restaurant or to sign up for a tour. Begging to speak Spanish in a Spanish-speaking country (the irony) If you are a foreigner speaking Spanish--regardless of your language skills--nearly every local will [View Full Entry]

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UPDATE: WE BOUGHT A MEMORY CARD READER HERE IN PERU AND WERE FINALLY ABLE TO UPLOAD THE PICS! ________________________________ We continued on our road trip through Salta and Jujuy provinces in Argentina, where we saw amazing scenery. It was a highlight of our 3 months in South America. After turning in our rental car, we went back to the backpacker life of long-distance buses, and crossed into Chile over the Andes. Read on for details of our journey... Salta city, the Bangkok of Northwest Argentina From Cafayate, we continued on Route 68 towards Salta; this is a very sce [View Full Entry]

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We left Tucuman city after 2 nights, with our tourist map in hand and Jake behind the wheel of our Chevrolet Corsa rental car. (I only know the model because a cop stopped us and asked that on the first day! I just said 'somos turistas´and he let us proceed). From the city, we followed the ´Circuito Valles Calchaquies´through Tucuman province, passed through Salta province and ultimately reached San Salvador de Jujuy, where we returned the car. We had fun driving on the open road and getting to experience a different side of Argentina. There is a strong indigenous influence here, [View Full Entry]

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As you may have noticed, we are VERY behind on the blog! We're now in Arequipa, Peru, after having passed through northern Argentina and Chile. The internet connections are annoyingly slow in the past few weeks, so it's been impossible to even access the blog. We're making up for lost time, so expect to see several updates in the next few days. Tucuman. Why?! We stepped off of the overnight bus in Tucuman with no plans or hotel in mind; it just seemed like a good stopping point on the way to Chile. We hadn't found much info on Tucuman in [View Full Entry]

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After 2 intense weeks in Buenos Aires, hanging out with old friends and drinking until 4 in the morning, we were ready to explore the tamer side of Argentina. Hopefully we'll be able to come back soon and visit Cesar and Magda, since they don't have much chance of coming to New York with the US's strict visa requirements. According to friends of friends who visited Miami years ago (OK, this might not be totally accurate...), to get a tourist visa they would have to provide a wedding invitation (or some other justification for visiting), show that they own property in [View Full Entry]

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