Well, you can’t win ’em all. That’s what I told myself as we waved goodbye, and good riddance, to Quito. I had such high hopes for the high altitude Ecuadorian capital and its beautifully preserved colonial center! Hopes that were positively buoyant when we arrived at the Secret Garden Hostel and, gasping for breath after climbing…

Already, I’ve covered quite the array of adventures we tackled in beautiful Baños — biking the waterfall route, canyoning through the jungle, and surviving a fiery New Year’s Eve. But I saved the best for last. For thrills, for laughs, for value and for devastatingly fashionable attire, white water rafting was the best thing we did…

This post is a significant one — the final Photo of the Week from my twenty weeks of Latin American adventures. Today, Anders and I part ways and tomorrow I’ll be flying back to the US. It’s incredibly bittersweet — I’m paralyzed at the thought of saying goodbye to my copilot for the past three months…

Normally, I simply wouldn’t be one to question the wisdom of the 90’s American pop sensation TLC. No waterfall chasing — got it. No scrubs, didn’t want to work in the surgical field anyway — done.* But when I arrived in beautiful Baños, I knew I’d have to do some rule breaking. There were some waterfalls that…

Have you heard of canyoning? It’s more than just a way to embarrass yourself in a wetsuit. Though that is one aspect. Officially — and by officially I am obviously referring to the word’s Wikipedia definition — canyoning is “traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking…

I couldn’t have asked for a better place to wind down my Latin American adventures than here in Bocas del Toro, Panama. But while we originally planned to stay here until the bitter end, we couldn’t resist popping up to Costa Rica for a peek at the beaches our fellow backpackers have been raving about. We…