The last summit, Huayna Picchu
Trekking Peru
Over nine days, in the south of Peru, we did a lot of trekking - Rainbow Mountain (1100 meter climb), the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (about 65 kilometers, and a top height of 4630…
Hello from wide-eyed man, the "Astronaut"
Lines in the sand: signs of the Nazca people
The World Heritage designated Nazca Lines in the south of Peru are a complex network of lines and geometric figures drawn in the desert sand by Nazca tribe members around 2000 years ago. Spreading across…
Re-created tomb of Lord of Sipan, in situ
Tiers for the dead: lost worlds of Peru’s desert
During our first few weeks in Peru, we had opportunities to enjoy such delights as pisco sours, fresh juices and the much lauded Peruvian gastronomy. Yet these have taken a back seat to the opportunity…
Flying booby
In pursuit of Darwin’s Galapagos
Barren landscape to thick brush and scrub. Hardened rivers of lava to black beaches. Rookeries and islets a few meters across to 100 kilometer long islands. Unique, plentiful and varying species of animals. We suspect…
Under Chimborazo
Breathless: Awestruck by normal in Ecuador
Across Ecuador, a visitor can wander and explore a remarkable, ever-changing terrain. It was crafted over the eons by volcanic action, the continuing movement of the Andean tectonic plates as well as the remaining 90…
Squirrel monkey mama with baby
Into the Amazonian Jungle
In the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, far from the border town of Coca and hours down the Napo River, we did several safari walks. We were based at a lodge (La Selva Ecolodge) on a…
DJLU street art, Cartagena
Quite Contrary: Cartagena and Medellin
On the Caribbean coast of Colombia, during the carnival-like celebration in January, many celebrants dress up as Cayman Man. Half cayman (the local crocodile) and half human, the mythical figure embodies several dualities, human and…
Phallic column, El Infiernito
Oddities of Villa de Leyva
The town of Villa de Leyva is perhaps a kilometer square, but it features one of the largest cobblestone plazas in all of South America. Around the square and in the grid of streets, many…
Journalists' Park and Bogota's hills
The many levels of Colombia’s highlands
Colombia is a land of plenty, one of the most biodiverse in the world, awash with rivers, filled with fertile lowland and highland areas - in an overall area about 50% larger than Texas and…
By Rodez, with tags and flaking paint, on Bogota's oldest building.
Street Art, Bogota
Bogota has a vibrant street art culture. It began decades ago as expressions of rebellion by the young along with distaste for civil war politics, the political corruption that impoverished many, and the pernicious drug…