I hobbled over to the finish line near Lima’s Kennedy Parque on Sunday morning, where only one feline dared to be out. It was the Lima 2026 Marathon. This annual event brings throngs of people to the city. Some are serious athletes (like the winner below), but others go for the fun. The runners represented several countries as well as […]
Limathon
Bucket list
I live as if you only die once. I can think of three vivid days when I thought I would die, of have that infamous kick- the-bucket day. Once in Vietnam, another in Thailand, the third, going inside an abandoned mine in Peru. There were countless defying death days in China, where I’d risk my life just by crossing the […]
Time Travel
A week has seven days, 168 hours or 10,080 minutes theoretically. But in Peru, you can cram in thousands of years. More than potatoes or ceviche stands or presidential candidates, this country has history. Start with sexy women…no, not those pious women but sexy women, the tourist-friendly pronunciation of Sacsayhuaman, the citadel on the northeorthen outskirts of Cusco, not Costco, […]
Ollantay-something
I can’t remember where I put my phone, how to do long division, or the password to LATAM airlines, or the name of this hummingbird, yet alone how to pronounce Ollantayambo. It’s an ancient city outside of Machu Picchu, Peru. But in the middle of the ancient ruins in the Ollantay-something, I AM able to remember a face I hadn’t […]
Why I didn’t get my grading done on Sunday.
Excuses, excuses. My dog didn’t eat my red pen (not that I have a dog), the internet didn’t break, nor any other phoney boloney. I headed to San Mateo (about three hours outside of Lima) to reset my hard drive. This time of year is particularly spectacular on the lush outskirts of Lima. Pictures and words can’t do it justice. […]
queso
I
How not to get robbed in Chile
I sent a photo to the affordable tour guide in Valporaiso so he’d recognize me at the meeting place. His response? How about I meet you at the bus station? You look too Hollywood. You’ll get robbed by or scammed. That’s all it took for me to put personal safety over penny-pinching and sign up for a cram- in-a-can sardine […]
Laguna de Do It!
This is not a good place to drop your cell phone.
Vacation Outtakes
One thing I’ve learned over the years while scanning the luggage carousel for my bag, s that your vacation never ends up like the travel brochure. Your trips (well, at least, mine) are usually like the part of the photograph that was cropped out, the trailer park behind the pricy water park destination, the burnt bits on the overpriced fries. […]
Patagonia by bus.
I reread the email again thinking it was a mistake. WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT THE DEPARTUTRE DATE HAS BEEN DELAYED BY FOUR DAYS The trip being a four-day freight ferry excursion from Peurto Montt to Peurto Natales, Patagonia, where I’d be unplugged for ninety-six hours and float past the fjords of southern Chile. The trip being the linchpin […]