Our stay in Mendoza was short and the tours were not so sweet. We arrived via the overnight bus from Cordoba at approx. 8:30am. The ride was decent enough and we were once again happy to find the hostel we booked to be ready and waiting. We did arrive however to be surprised by the fact that the hostel we were staying in was a ¨youth¨ hostel, thus making us feel a little old and awkward. Fortunately, other than the party atmosphere kicking in with loud music at 8am and lasting til after midnight, we didn´t feel too out of place - there were actually people older than us staying there too :) We were disappointed to find the tours offered were not as diverse or optimal as we expected. There was no rock climbing that ... read more

Welcome to Argentina. Salta is a nice city with a comfortable feel but not too much to do. During our time in the city, we took a small tour which involved a nice ride around in an open bus for a couple hours. The bus was cheap and we were able to see several churches, monuments, statues and other important buildings so was worth the wait (it wasn´t an arranged tour so we had to wait at the bus stop for it to come around). We also took a ride up the Teleférico (which was over-priced and not worth the money). We had a couple nice meals at a fancy steakhouse and Braeden was really happy to finally have a good piece of meat (the steak was about the size of his face!). We also saw ... read more

We made it to Sucre in the afternoon on the 12th following a short 3 hour bus ride from Potosi. The city (also known as the City of Four Names - La Plata, Charcas, Ciudad Blanca (White City), and Sucre) was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 13, 1991 due to its history and colonial architecture and was a nice place to spend a few days. We stayed at the ´Hostel Cruz de Popayan´which was alright (with the exception of a horrible smelling bathroom due to black mold above the shower) and ate literally every single meal at ´Joy Ride Cafe´as recommended by the Lonely Planet - they have amazing food! On our 2nd day we visited the small mountain of Cal Orck'o located about 6 km outside of Sucre which is home ... read more

We flew from La Paz to Rurrenabaque on the morning of the 29th. We chose to fly as, with it being the wet season, both the weather and roads can be unpredictable and make the 18+ hour bus ride a nightmare. Fortunately flights only cost $75 USD/person so it wasn´t that bad. What was bad though was the condition of the landing strip in Rurrenabaque. I have never been afraid of flying but bumping our 23-passenger plane down onto a narrow dirt strip in the middle of the jungle was enough to make me bury my face into my hands and hope for the best. Fortunately we made it but only to step off the plane and instantly be dripping in sweat. (It is impossible to stay smelling good here!) This, however, is where Braeden and ... read more

We left Cusco on the morning of the 18th and caught the 7:30am bus to Puno. We chose to take a tourist bus with ¨Inka Express¨that made 5 stops along the way at different archaeological sites and points of interest including Pikillacta, Andahuaylillas, Sicuani, La Raya and Queswachaca. We were unable to stop in Raqchi as the locals were on strike and blocking the road. Overall the bus ride was okay however the company ran my credit card twice and tried to sneak an additional $770.01 without me noticing. When I approached the man who sold us our tickets on the morning of our departure (Visa statement in hand), he was argumentative and rude and refused to acknowledge the over-charge. Visa has now launched an investigation (they thought it was amusing that a bus company would ... read more