Everything, and the Kitchen Sink

No  me gusta?  Don't worry there's plenty more.

Question:  Huaraz, Peru is dirty little blue collar city with an incredible back drop of the Cordillera Blanca, the world's highest mountains outside of the Himalayas.  90000 residents and plus a few tourists.  How many cabs would you think the city would need?

Feeling the heat

Parque National Tayrona

As we sit back and enjoy yet another spectacular (thud!) sunset on the Caribbean coast - on a May 24th no less - we toast our good fortune on so many levels.

Best of Cartagena

Finally - High Speed Internet - Enjoy some pictures from this amazing city.

Best Of Cartagena

Colorful Cartagena

Ceiling Fan 6 - Garth 0.  As in a quick trip to the doctor to get six stitches to close two nasty gashes in my forearm after a run-in with an angry and low ceiling fan.  After nearly seven months throughout SA with only a few blisters we've finished with this memorable altercation.

Galapagos in a word - GO!

We've expounded paragraphs of text trying to express the virtues of Galapagos but today we'll sum up our  day at the beach.

Update from Galapagos

If we had to sum our eight days in Galapagos so far it would be - Get here! - Unbelievable wildlife, scenery, and experiences.  Its too bad we couldn´t have so many superlatives for the communication services...  Will post some pictures when we have a chance.  For now read on!

Galapagos Files

“Ray!  Ray!” Gino shouted as our zodiacs closed along the bay.  Snorkel gear on, we rolled into the warm, azure water with a splash, quickly swimming towards Gino, frantically waving as he bobbed around.  Poking our heads below the surface revealed a 3.5 m Manta Ray gracefully gliding below as those with cameras took aim.  He was an imposing figure making a short flick of his wings with the meter long tail waving effortlessly behind.  It seemed that day four in Galapagos was going to be another great day.

Majestic 31/2m Manta Ray

Escaping Banos

After another interesting directo bus on Easter Sunday – 340km, 9 hours, 4 sightings of no less than pigs on road spits, and one horrendous accident on the Pan-American highway as we approached the Ecuadorian Andes ‘Avenue of the Volcanoes’ – bought us to the tiny town of Banos in Central Ecuador.  So named after the endless thermal baths that dot the valley, it is considered the adventure city of Ecuador littered with adventure shops touting bungee jumps, volcano climbs, and dune buggy rentals (!) on literally every corner.  Our goal was to have a little RnR – we know what have we doing for the last year! – while I actually prepped for a job interview.  

Election time Peru style

Our entire month in Peru coincided with run up to the National Elections their.  We took more than a passing interest given the passion the Peruvian’s had for their civic duty and the parallel to May’s federal election in Canada.  

Directo? Siii, Directo!

The cab swerved to dodged in an ‘S’ turn to simultaneously avoid the scooter and the three pedestrians, themselves darting for the curb to avoid being a hood ornament.  Driving head on to the border control, our cabbie enthusiastically pointed to the CIFA bus we had spent the afternoon chasing for 200km across the northern tip of Peru.

Life’s a Beach

Five weeks of travel above 10000 feet can leave a couple of travelers a little breathless and even a little more chilled.  We relished the opportunity to explore Peru’s northern coast for some waves, sand, and warm weather.

Welcome to Quito - Your valuables please

We just got off yet another ´direct´ bus in Quito.  Seemed fairly routine til we found out the other Gringos on the bus got their bags slashed and valuables stolen.  I guess we´ve been warned...