Johaan CA USA

After leaving Santiago a couple weeks ago Kayce and I continued our journey with a trip over the top of the Andes Mountains from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina. As is evident from the pictures, the drive was absolutely stunning. In addition to the glacial rivers and snowy slopes that we passed through, we also cruised right through a couple of ski resorts with the chair-lifts passing right over the top of the bus. Mendoza is known as the capital of internationally renowned Argentine wine. For many of us Californians when we think wine country we think of the low rolling green hills of Napa or Santa Barbara. Mendoza is different. Set at the base of the Andes Mountains, the vineyards of Mendoza are adored with a picturesque snowy backdrop, and the cold winter temperatures that ... read more

After leaving the desert in the north of Chile (San Pedro de Atacama) Kayce and I boarded a 24-hour bus down the coast to the beautifully eccentric port town of Valparaiso. Before you cringe at the thought of 24 hours on a bus, I should mention that the buses in Chile and Argentina are downright luxurious. There are only 3 seats across (two and one) which lay almost completely flat. Service includes hot meals, snacks, wine, coffee, etc. In addition, there is no hostel to pay for during these trips. So…as crazy as it seems, I actually look forward to our bus rides. A far cry from the sweaty chicken buses of Central America or the dingy, druggy Greyhounds of the USA. Valparaiso, at least for the first day, was a delight. My best analogy for ... read more

Hello from Central America! In case you didn't know, I have begun traveling again and have been on the road now for two weeks. I began my trip in Nicaragua traveling with two friends from high school, Devon and Steve. Steve has been working with the Peace Corps in Tola, Nicaragua for the past ten months and I had been wanting to make it down to visit him during his stay. I started my trip there and will continue down through South America until August. I am writing today from Panama City, Panama but I first wanted to get a blog up about my travels in Nicaragua. The amazing time that I have had in Costa Rica and Panama will have to wait a few days. We began our travels in the capital, Managua, on June ... read more

Buenos Aires y Iguazu Falls I have finally made it home, and California has never seemed so good. Upon arrival home I have traveled roughly 15,555 miles, and am ready for some Cali´ in my life. Spent the day today on the beach in SB. Our time spent in Argentina was great. We began with touring the city for a few days and enjoying a traditional tango show. We found Buenos Aires to be a very cosmopolitan city in comparison to the rest of South America. The Porteños (locals) go as far as to consider it the Paris of South America. The food was a very welcome change from the likes of Peru and Bolivia. Of our 12 nights here, we probably had steak 6 or 7 times. The best part is, it´s still South America ... read more

A Desert Oasis Amazingly we made it out of Bolivia in one piece. Public transportation has been shady at times in Peru, but Bolivia is a whole differrent world. We caught a 24hr bus ride a couple days ago from La Paz, Bolivia to Huacachina, Peru. AFTER getting out of Bolivia we had a very pleasant ride up through the desert of western Peru, more specifically to the oasis town found on the back of the Peruvian 50 sole bill, Huacachina. The town is made up solely of backpackers looking for some sandboarding and working on their tan. We figured it would be a perfect detour for us before heading up to the capital of Lima. The sandboarding is one of the cooler things any of us had ever done. It started with hopping in a ... read more