Spent the start to the new year at Balandra beach, just a short 5 minute car ride from Club Cantamar. What can one say when you are overcome with the beauty of the sea meeting mountain in such a spectacular fashion. This is an immense bay that is mostly about between 2-3 feet deep. The true beauty of this place is revealed if one takes a short hike up the bluff above the parking lot. Below you stretches crystal clear water with soaring, desert bluffs rising up all around. Bands of pelicans fly in formation below, crashing into the water in [View Full Entry]

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Today we got on the highway and headed to the Pacific side of the peninsula, to the small artist town of Todos Santos. The drive from La Paz is pretty short, less than an hour. The desert scenery on the way is spectacular. There is a small river going through town so it is much more lush than the desert surroundings. We drove down a long dirt track to where it ended at the beach. No one here except a few folks enjoying the stunning seascape. The water here is too dangerous for swimming, so most people head south to the [View Full Entry]

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Headed into La Paz today to stock up on groceries. Given that practically everything in this part of baja comes in on the ferry, things are not cheap around here. Pricing is about what you might expect in the states. Fresh bread and tortillas however are very cheap. Shopped at the big CCC store off the far west end of the Malecon. After shopping and lunch in the casa, we headed to check out the beaches near us. First went up to what is regarded as one of the finest, Playa Tecolote. It was a very windy day, which might account [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Baja around 2:00 PM, a little over an hour late. We came in on the NW flight out of Minneapolis. Customs was somewhat chaotic with a plane load or two ahead of us waiting to be processed. There are two lines of luggage screening, and it takes awhile to get out of there. Bob flew on American Airlines and arrived early so picked us up with the Avis rental van. Hit the highway and pointed north to La Paz. It feels good to be back in Mexico, and this part of Mexico is a stunning mountain/desert terrain. The highway [View Full Entry]

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We spent our final two days in Peru in Lima. Back where we started. This time we all stayed in Miraflores. Pat and Dave returned to El Patio, but they were full, so the rest of us stayed at El Zaguan, a very nice lodging house 4 blocks away. Both were very nice, and worth what you pay -- El Patio $40, El Zaguan $25. Spent the bulk of our last two days catching up on Internet Blogs, and just walking around and eating. We took in two museums -- The Museo de Oro and the Archaeological Museum. Could have missed [View Full Entry]

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In Incan times, Cusco was the center of the world, and all trails did indeed lead to Cusco. So today, really, do most people who visit Peru end up sooner or later in Cusco. Why, because it is pretty damn gorgeous -- and it is the gateway to Machu Picchu. Those first two days are rough -- at 12,000 feet in altitude, you can't breath just walking up a few steps. And around here, the steps are a way to avoid the narrow streets that have almost no sidewalk. I feel lucky not to have been dinged in the ass with [View Full Entry]

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When planning the Inca trail, we wanted to do the 4 day trek. However, we knew that January was the start of the rainy season and we didn't like the thought of 4 days in the rain. So we opted for the 2 day hike. We also didn't book in advance because it is the low season. There are a lot of operators all on the same block in Cusco, so when we hit town we shopped around. Our departure date was less than a week away and we were still able to secure 5 spots on the trail. I think [View Full Entry]

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After coming back to Lima from the Cordillera Blanca, we hopped on a LAN Peru flight to Cusco, and immediately headed out the next morning for the Manu National Park. We did the 4 day, 3 night tour with Manu Ecological Adventures. After arriving in Cusco we immediately rang their office and they had us come in to meet our guide, Alvaro. Quite the adventure man -- ruggedly handsome Peruvian guy (though he looked Brazilian) and spoke great English. He and driver picked us up at Amaru II (Awesome place!) hostal in Cusco next morning and we started out on our [View Full Entry]

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Just returned to Lima by the night bus from Huaraz(didn´t sleep much). Splurged on the bed bus though I still couldn't sleep. I kept waking up and seeing theses cones bordering the switchbacks whizzing by in a blur. I just didn't want to know what was happening out there! The cordillera blanca region is truly spectacular. Did not stay in Huaraz, which was clearly the tourist center of the area. Once go you past Huaraz, you encounter beautiful, tourist free mountain towns. This valley is bordered by the cordillera negra and the cordillera blanca. No snow on the negra side, but [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Lima about 40 minutes late. Exiting customs, one is confronted with a rather large gathering of Peruvians behind the rope staring you down -- probably about 200 of them, and at 1:30 AM it was impressive. One feels pretty small, though being 6 feet tall, I am a giant amongst these people. In total, there are 5 of us traveling together - myself, partner Bob, and neighbors Dave, Pat and Pam. We all live on the same block in Madison Wisconsin. It's crazy fun that we are all doing this together! We will be spending the first portion of [View Full Entry]

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