Despite the seven destinations on the itinerary, Month 30 felt like a laid-back breeze compared to the one before it. That probably has to do with the fact that two out of the four weeks were spent in places I’d already been once before, which released me from any pressure to sightsee or play tourist. This […]

 

There’s something decadent about returning to a favorite destination a second time. You don’t have to fret about how much a taxi should cost, or checking sights of the list, or how you can creatively blog about them (maybe that one is a little me-centric) — you already figured that out the first time. Instead you […]

 

I’m off taking a real vacation in the only place possible: one without wifi. While I lock away my computer and play on the beach for two days, I asked my dear friend and Peru travel buddy Zoe Norvell to fill in for me. At this point in my life: I can’t be bothered with taking […]

 

WHOA THERE WAIT A SECOND! Phew. I thought you were about to click out of the page there for a minute, because I know from my recent reader survey that these roundups are pretty polarizing — some of you love ’em, some of you hate ’em. I tried to use your feedback to improve this roundup […]

 

Perhaps surprisingly, hostels are still somewhat of an exotic concept to me — prior to this trip, I’d probably stayed in less than fifteen. My travels have predominantly been in Southeast Asia, where hostels are still a rare choice compared to cheap guesthouses and bungalows — though they are gaining popularity. In Europe, where the hostel […]

 

Leaving Lima, Zoe and I were in desperate need of some bright blue skies — and let’s face it — some silly backpacker fun. We found our salvation in the tiny desert town of Huacachina. And I’m not kidding about the tiny. As of the 1999 census, Huacachina had a whopping 115 residents and can be […]

 

This week found Zoe and I hopping all over the map — we started with three days in Lima, popped down for two in Huacachina, and then spent a final one in Nazca before boarding an overnight bus bound for Cusco. We’re currently running all over the city — stopping frequently to wheeze from the altitude […]

 

I don’t usually set off for a country with a developed itinerary. Sometimes, things are scheduled more or less to the minute, like my eight days in Iceland. Sometime, my plans for five months in Southeast Asia can be summarized as — and I don’t want to overwhelm you here with how detailed this is — […]