I realize that my last blog was relatively short and may have appeared somewhat frazzled. Here are some more details from our time in Cusco. Cusco is "The Cultural Capital of the World" and has a very old feel. It's nestled in the mountains, there are no skyscrapers, and all of the narrow streets and sidewalks are cobblestone. One reference I checked said the population is around 420,000 and the elevation is around 11,500 ft. Because of its history and proximity to Machu Picchu and other Incan ruins, Cusco is very touristy. We stayed at a hostel not far from the edge of town. The hostel is converted from a 250 year old building and has a beautiful open-air courtyard in the middle with tables, a pool table, a fountain, and a small kitchen under a ... read more

Three Days in London I've been in London for the past three days which has given me just enough time to complete all of the essential tourist activities. I've been through Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Tate Modern Art Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, a riverboat cruise on the River Thames, and Windsor Castle. Of these, I found Westminster Abbey to be the most impressive; it featured stunning Gothic architecture (compared to St Paul's more Romanesque construction), parts of the Abbey were nearly 1,000 years old, and the amount of notable people buried there is astounding. Among the tombs, I was most interested to see those of Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer, and C.S. Lewis. The Tower of London, ... read more

Having been in Edinburgh four full days now, I've been able to see and do quite a few things. On Thursday, we climbed Arthur's Seat - a large hill on the edge of town that offers a spectacular view of all of Edinburgh. The day was perfect for such a climb: nary a cloud in the sky, bright sunshine, and very little wind (for Scotland, that is). On the walk back to David's apartment, we passed through Calton Hill, a large hill in the city centre with several Greek-inspired monuments atop it. These monuments, in part, help earn Edinburgh its nickname "The Athens of the North". The serendipitous find for the day was walking past a gated graveyard and finding the gate ajar, thereby signalling us to enter, obviously. Most of the headstones were from the ... read more

Yesterday I left the lovely little town of Killarney. It was a three hour train ride to Dublin and I slept for just a small portion of that. During the last half of the ride an older man and his daughter sat across from me and engaged me in conversation. Now when you think of a stereotypical older Irishman, you are most likely picturing this man. He had a tweed cap, woollen sweater over a plaid shirt, was missing most of his bottom teeth, and had an accent so thick I could hardly understand him. As he spoke to me he would often give me a wry smile and a wink. Timothy and Jillian (this man and his daughter) were incredibly friendly (as is nearly every Irish person I've met so far) and were eager to ... read more

For those of you receiving email updates about my blog from subscribing when I was in Papua New Guinea, I'm now in Ireland! I figured I would keep the blogging going. My brother, David, is doing a master's program in Edinburgh, Scotland, and so I figured I would go spend a week in Ireland before heading over to Edinburgh for Christmas. If you aren't interested in non-PNG blogs, then I recommend unsubscribing from the email list. First impression of Ireland: holy green. Ireland certanly lives up to is reputation of being green. I noticed the grass as we were landing in the plane. Everything is growing. Trees and even steel bridges and sidewalks have all manner of green lichens and mosses growing bountifully. In the moss on the trees ferns can sometimes be found sproutng. After ... read more