And so off we went to the Galapagos! From Quito we flew 45 min to Guayaquil, awaited refueling and new passengers, then flew another 1.5 hours to the Galapagos airport on Baltra island. Guayaquil is on the coast and 150 miles as the crow flies from Quito but traveling through the Andes it’s an 8… Continue reading The Galapagos!

So many parts of this trip have turned into unexpected but delightful surprises. One has been our tour group chemistry; plenty of laughs and not a little drinking. And Quito was a lovely surprise. This city felt comfortable from the moment we arrived. Apparently lots of expats agree, as there is a growing community of… Continue reading Quito

We trained and bussed all the way back to Cusco after our magical Machu Picchu visit, arriving at our hotel late in the evening. We were booked at the Belmond Monasterio, a restored monastery within the historic district of Cusco. The walls were thick stone with high ceilings and arched windows overlooking the central courtyard.… Continue reading Cusco

Onto Machu Picchu! (Quechua for “old peak”). We got on the bus for the 30 min drive back to Ollantaytambo to catch the Peru Rail train which took us the 30 or so miles along the Urubamba to the base of Machu Picchu at Agua Calientes. The train was well appointed and the scenery was… Continue reading Machu Picchu!

After a short flight we arrived in Cusco in the Andes. Cusco is called the “navel of the world” in Quechua, the native language of Andean people. It sits at 11,000 feet in a valley surrounded by mountains with houses now climbing up the slopes as the population expands (currently about 0.5 mil). It is… Continue reading The Sacred Valley

Lima sits on cliffs over hanging the Pacific ocean in an arid climate that receives less than 5 inches of rain annually. Average temp is 80deg F. The view of the Pacific is breathtaking. No wonder Francisco Pizarro founded Lima in 1536 after he conquered the Incas in the mountains There are 11 million people… Continue reading Lima

We are in South Beach Miami awaiting tomorrow’s departure to Lima, Peru. We are staying in one of the many, many art deco hotels along the shore. The beach is expansive with really nice sand and blue, blue water and thus is a favorite spring break destination. Yes, again, we have stumbled into the super… Continue reading Day -1 to The Amazon

Here we are 2.5 months into 2019 and life is good. Winter has been around very long in this North country of NYS, as expected. It has snowed most days since early November and there’s still a few feet on the ground. It’s been mighty cold too, and as the rest of the country suffers… Continue reading 2019 Already?