I’m not sure, because I’m still learning the language, but I think Lunahuana is an ancient Quechua word for Pisco. This small town, about three hours from Lima, Peru, and is one of only five regions in Peru that grow the magical Pisco grape. I didn’t visit Lunahuana for grape stomping, but for hiking, along with a hodge-podge of hikers […]
Lunahuana:
Winging it in Oxapampa
If you see a little Smoke-colored Pewee in Oxapampa, Peru, don’t call your doctor. Call a birdwatcher. Yes, a bird watcher. A smoky-colored pewee is just one of the three hundred bird species that will blow up your Merlin phone app in this high jungle bird mecca of Peru. Who named these birds in Oxapampa? Who knows. But you got […]
SH#T!
Little birdie in the sky, Dropped some whitewash in my eye. Wait–it wasn’t bird poop! It was a clever phone stealing scam! Yes, I lost my phone on my last day in Santiago, stolen, in spite of having it in my front pocket. I was in a crowded area in Santiago, Chile, near a famous landmark I really didn’t care […]
Santiago: Read First.
The flight was bad enough, having to get up at 2:30 to be at the airport at 3:30 for a flight that left at 4:45, only to sit by that kid–you know that kid– that four-year-old who doesn’t understand the concept of seat belts and crawls on the floor, while his father plays games on his phone. If only he […]
Brutiful: Torres del Paine
On a Christmas, thanks to a shaky WIFI connection, I watched my sisters take part in a cookie decorating contest. Obscene amounts of frosting were being smeared over ginger-men, the winner of receiving upwards of five hundred dollars. I smiled at the Christmas festivities, thinking, why am I not there? That’s because I am here, and so is the Torres […]
End of the year, End of the world.
Some may think life slows down once you are eligible for AARP discounts and the highlight of your day is posting your WORDLE score. But this last year? It was insane. I survived (not necessarily in this order) moving from China to Peru, even though my boxes didn’t arrive until six months later, a concussion, a torn ACL, and the […]
Books, crooks, nooks
There is more to Buenos Aires than food. If you love to read, you’ll have to visit the El Ateneo bookstore. Once an opera house, the impressive space is filled with thousands of books and a nice cafe. If you hate crowds, skip the San Termo Market. Thousands of vendors, selling everything from Malbec to vintage art fill these space […]
Buenos Aires
Imagine if you could put the architecture of Europe into a blender with a charred steak and a tropical climate. That’s Buenos Aires, Argentina. The city is a breath of fresh air, yet incredibly peaceful, considering it’s three times the size of Manhattan. Huge parks are buzzing with parrots and other birds you may have only seen on the Travel […]
Rimac Close Up
Rimac is not on the videos you see posted on YouTube about Lima, Peru. Actually, Rimac is one of the areas in Lima you are warned not to visit, unless you are accompanied by a few buff guys, which I was. This vibrant districts is also home to one of Lima’s shanty towns that bring a bit of color to […]
Fa-la-la-la-llamas
It’s Christmas in Peru. Everything is decked in green and red, but you still can’t find an ugly holiday sweater. That’s because Christmas arrives in the summer, along with llamas and wiseman bringing gifts of sunscreen. No partridges in pair trees, just parrots in palm trees. And Santa takes a bus, that is, if there isn’t a transit strike. Truth […]