Average camping cost/night touring Iceland for ~2 weeks: $10 on VISA debit. Cup of good Gevalia coffee: ~$2 on VISA debit. The knowledge that you'll soon be somewhere where the summer temperature is above 55°F: priceless. Some things are indeed priceless, like the sun which did not make much of an appearance in Iceland while I was there. That did not stop me from summitting Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur, at 2109 meters. A relatively low mountain for sure but still a burner since it was 25 km and 12 hours round trip from the parking lot. At least that day was dry. Travel related detailsAt the time of travel $1 ≈ 116 Icelandic Kroner (ISK) although Iceland is virtually a cashless society. Nearly everything can be paid for with a credit card the exception being Reykjavík's ... read more

Another trip to Colombia, this one coming on the heels of Peru. Click here to access the previous trip report. Well past 3 months now since I returned. Just published it in the nick of time - heading to Argentina on December 8 to try again to summit Aconcagua. Not planning on taking over 3 months to get that entry published. PopayánAccommodation and food Stayed at Hotel Panorama (Cra 17 #3-11) again. A bit more expensive this year - 25.000 COP (also written $25.000) for a single with hot water bath and cable TV. It was 20.000 COP last year combined with a much stronger dollar. Last year 1$US ≈ 2.200 COP during the summer then 2.000 in December. This past summer 1$US ≈ 1.840 COP and after returning home I noticed that the peso actually ... read more

Short version: another visit to Colombia including Bogotá, Villa de Lleyva, San Gil, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Ciudad Perdida, and Zipaquirá. Long version: I arrived in Santa Marta on December 29 after almost a week in the amazing city of Cartagena. The date is easy to remember because I had to wait 2 days for a trip leaving for Ciudad Perdida, The Lost City. I returned to the Turcol office (Turismo Colombia) on the morning of December 31 and met the guide and 6 other trekkers. The chiva, or old, gaudily colored bus but also heard the term referring to a goat, was loaded and we were soon off, driving down the coastal road to the trailhead at the village of El Mamey. Our cook boarded en route. We were treated to views of Pico de Colón, ... read more

Short version: the rest of Ecuador included Quito, Mitad del Mundo, Baños, Latacunga, Laguna Quilotoa, Volcán Cotopaxi, Volcán Chimborazo, and the skanky border town of Tulcán but thankfully for just one skanky night. Long version: Standing atop Chimborazo at 6310 meters above sea level, one gets the feeling of being quite high. Even though the mountain is not the highest in the world, or even in South America, it has the distinction of being the farthest from the center of the earth due to its proximity to the equator. Because of a guide who was a complete cabron, I would not stand closest to the sun but a mere 43 meters below the summit. Why we did not reach the true summit was unknown and I did not pursue the matter since I was completely exhausted ... read more

Cars to camp: 9:35 Camp to summit: 5:40 Summit to camp: 4:40 Camp to cars: 8:00... read more