No, the title has nothing to do with a movie from the early 90’s, nor does it have anything to do with illegal substances (or even some of the legal ones I have been known to enjoy). No, today it is about lack of sleep, layovers and altitude. In my mind I had visions of a slow night at work the night before I left. I would slip out, go home and quietly unwind before the alarm went off at 4:30 AM. Perhaps I should have included winning the lottery in that scenario because it wouldn’t have happened either. But here I am in Cusco, Peru, so all is well. At over 11,000 feet elevation, altitude sickness can be an issue here. I started taking Diamox on Sunday to help prevent this and actually felt pretty ... read more

When I was growing up on my parent's farm, I had one goal in life. Actually, I don't remember the exact wording, but in my senior profile for the school newsletter type thing my goal was: "Get a good paying job and leave this town". Even back then I knew I wanted a faster paced life. Of course since I was 18, I knew everything, told it like it was and really wasn't concerned with how it sounded. Fortunately, with age came some wisdom. I am able to see all of the really great advantages I had growing up in a small town. Each year I look forward to coming back to the farm, staying with my parents and spending time with my extended family. This blog has a different feel to it than many of ... read more

Wow, I didn't realize how much I was loving the Patagonia area until I came back to the city. I have been in Buenos Aires for a couple of days and am really dragging my feet about doing anything, including writing a blog. Nothing seems interesting enough to share, so I haven't. But, I do want to keep you up on what is going on, so here we go. Today I had planned a trip to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It was listed as a nice day trip on a fast ferry to a quaint historic town. Sure, that sounded great. It was a nice trip on the ferry. It seemed odd to have to pass through customs and get a passport stamp for a 1 hour ferry ride, but it is to another country. I ... read more

Today was a bit of a surprise. I knew it was raining out when I woke up, but I didn't realize how ugly the weather was. My boat trip was cancelled due to the weather, which meant I had only a few minutes to make the decision to take a taxi to the Train to the End of the World. I made it on time, but was shocked that it was snowing. In the first couple pictures, you can see snow on my coat and outdoors. What a change from the humid 90 degree days of Rio and Iguazu. I am now glad that I packed all of the extra warm clothes. Who is the rookie traveler now with 2 suitcases? Not me, I was warm, dry and happy. The train was a nice ride up ... read more

Since my ankle was still very sore today, I wanted to take it easy and rest it for a day or two. I had given thought to a boat tour on the Lake to some other glaciers, so I went ahead and did it today. It was a nice sized catamaran and full of people. We first went to the Spegazzini Glacier. The day was sunny and beautiful for the most part. The clouds come and go around the mountains, causing it to be dark and overcast one minute, and sunny the next. Also, I wanted to mention the water in the lake. From El Calafate, it looks pretty blue, but it is really a milky-gray-blue color that is so hard to describe. The glaciers bring so much microscopic sediment into the lake that the sediment ... read more