Ryne

Hello all, We are in Columbia and will be back in the UP tomorrow afternoon!... read more

Hello All, The last few days were spent at Nahuelbuta National Park in Chile and it was amazing. It was one of the most spectacular temperate forests I have ever seen and perhaps my favorite place we have travelled thus far. The forest mostly consisted of giant Monkey Puzzle (Auarcaria) (some 3 meters in diameter) and Nothophagus forest with Black-throated Huet Huets and giant Magellanic Woodpeckers all over the place. We spotted a small cat and I got to see the world´s smallest deer the PUDU. Much more to come when we return in 6 days! -R&J... read more

Hola! We made it to our 5th and final country, Chile and it is chilly! We spent the last week at "the end of the world" in the subarctic region of Patagonia. We spent two days at Tierra del Fuego, where we saw four species of geese, magellanic plover and commerson´s dolphin. Near Punta Arenas we went to a penguinaria where we saw several magellanic penguins in their nest holes on land. In Torres del Paine NP we went for a 4 day backpack trek and completed the "W" (we hiked over 50 miles and my joints held up just fine =)).The trails went up 3 valleys, one lead to the base of the torres (towers), which provided a spectacular vista. Another lead to a huge glaciar that drained into an aqua-grey lake complete with iceburgs! ... read more

Hello all, Tomorrow we head to Buenos Aires, sadly leaving the subtropics. We saw lots of jungle animals at the worlds largest waterfall including; Brown Capuchin Monkeys, Agoutis, Coatis, a glass lizard, giant tegu lizard, Toco Toucans, Green-headed Tanagers, Great Dusky Swifts, red-rumped Caciques, numerous foliage gleaners and another spectacular array of butterflies. We will certainly miss the astounding biodiversity of the neotropics (we have see nearly 1000 species of birds and many were not identified!), but are also vary excited to experience late summer in Patagonia! The trip has certainly had its ups and downs. Jen had her very expensive Zeiss binoculars stolen out of my pocket while I was sleeping on an overnight bus and I had my pants stolen while hanging up to dry at our campsite (I have only 1 pair now!), ... read more

Hello All, We have made it to Argentina, southern SA! It is a totally different world down here than in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador! The food is mostly pasta, pastries and milanesa sandwiches (veal), the busses are a dream (although they are about 10 times more expensive here) and there is less garbage on the streets. Today we visited Iguazu Falls. More to come tomorrow. R&J... read more

Pictures from Macchu Picchu, Peru... read more

Hola! We arrived in Bolivia safe and sound. Five days ago we were dropped off in the high Andes, at about 15,000 ft, to start our backpacking trek down the Choro trail in Bolivia. We had trouble finding the trail, so we camped aside a snow clad mountain the first night. The night brought harsh wind, freezing cold and a giant headache (because we were not acclimated to the altitude). In the morning we found the trail, which was covered in snow, and began our 71 km descent. We were rewarded with an unforgetable landscape and a blizzard! The snow soon changed to sleet then rain and vegetation became more abundant as we entered the Paramo Zone. Along the way, there were very tiny villages (2-3 buildings) that we passed through and sought refuge from the ... read more

We are stuck in Puno, Peru for a bit longer due to a lost item, so I thought I would share some more photos of our trip.... read more