Happy New Year, or feliz año nuevo as we were wishing one another here in Ecuador. Our much fraught-over decision to spend the holiday in Baños rather than Moñtanita turned out to be the perfect one. We had a culturally unique experience, an insanely fun night, and best of all, no stress! What more could you…

I arrived back in Lima to the most amazing surprise: sunshine, and a new appreciation for what the city had to offer. My first visit back in October had been blanketed in thick fog. Returning for the last week of November, the city was approaching its short but highly anticipated summer season, where blue skies and…

While most travelers breeze through Paracas just long enough to get pooped on by the birds at Islas Ballestas, we stuck around for four days, leaving plenty of time to explore the other activities the area offers. And by “other activities the area offers,” I basically mean kitesurfing and touring the Paracas National Reserve. I told…

Merry Christmas from Ecuador. I hope you all had a merry one. It actually wasn’t very festive at the beach (we couldn’t even find santa hats!) but thanks to the magic of Photoshop it sure looks like it was! I appreciate all your input on our New Year’s Eve dilemma that I presented last week —…

The poor man’s Galapagos — that’s the enticing sales description I kept hearing for Peru’s Ballestas Islands, right off the coast of Paracas. While many tourists visit the islands on day trips from Lima or Huacachina, we decided to go straight to the source. Paracas is a funny little resort town just four hours south of…

As you may have noted from my Inca Trail facts and figures post, this is not an cheap or easy-to-book route to take to Machu Picchu. Prices are sky-high (or should I say Dead-Woman’s-Pass-altitude-high?), and reservations must be made months in advance. Luckily, there are alternative treks that require much less money and advance planning. When…