I am not cut out to survive the heat and humidity of the Amazon Jungle, of that I have no doubt. We first visited the Amazon while in Ecuador several weeks ago, and upon our second visit while in Bolivia I found it to be even more steamy. Compared to the cold crispness of being […]
Sometimes it is better not to tell your mother what you are doing until after you have done it. Biking Bolivia’s notorious “Death Road” is one of those things. Surprise Mom! Before leaving for our trip I told my friend Sandra, who is from Bolivia, what we had planned and she said “What? My mother […]
Aside from my somewhat failed trail run half-marathon last year, it’s been a while since I’ve wanted to quit a physical activity. But, that’s exactly what happened when we set out to bike across the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia. After visiting the Atacama Desert (in Chile) and doing a 3-day driving tour through the Bolivian desert, […]
My experience with off-roading has generally been limited to a few hours here and there in the hills around where I grew up. So I was intrigued with the idea of embarking on a 3 day off-road trek from San Pedro de Atacama (in Chile) through the high-altitude deserts, mountains and salt flats to the […]
I have a confession. I have fallen totally and completely in love with the Atacama Desert in Chile. The varied landscapes created by the wind, the sun, and the presence or absence of water are mind blowing. We spent the first few days here exploring closer to the town of San Pedro de Atacama. These were […]
“Ride like a Chilean. Like you are making love to a woman,” Yasu our guide said about our impending horse ride. This…was our introduction to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Glenn’s brother Chris had flown down from Santa Cruz, California, to join us for a little adventuring. On this first morning we found ourselves […]
Chile’s Lake District is a very dangerous place and not just because of the looming active volcanoes. Known as the Región de Los Lagos in Spanish, much of the Lake District was populated by thousands of German immigrants in the mid-1800s (following the eventual subjugation of the indigenous Mapuche people by the Chilean government) and […]
Traveling is hard work, it turns out. I’ve had several well-travelled friends warn me of this, “be sure to plan plenty of down time” they all said. One friend recently reminded me that there is a big difference between traveling and vacation. The trick to enjoying the long-haul is to sprinkle just the right amount […]
Glenn spent our first night on Easter Island writhing in pain on the bed in our hotel room. We had come to the island, whose true name is Rapa Nui, to visit the stone figures called moai. (sounds like “mow-eye”) Unfortunately, Glenn decided to bring some stones of his own in the form of kidney […]
Upon arrival I didn’t quite see what all the fuss was about. People rave about how wonderful the Galapagos islands are to visit, but my first impression was that it just looked like a desolate bunch of lava rocks, scraggly trees and cactus as far as the eye could see. I wasn’t sure it was […]
Our first trip to the Amazon blew me away. The sounds, the smells, the tastes…the heat, the humidity, the bugs…the things that can kill you! We spent two days at a remote jungle lodge called El Albergue Español run by the indigenous Amazon Quichua (kit-chew-wa). We enjoyed an amazing nature hike through a jungle preserve. […]
We’ve only been in Ecuador for a few days and we have already fallen in love. The people are warm, generous and very patient as we stumble with speaking Spanish. Everyone greets us with a smile and “buenas dias” – and we hope that is as far as the conversation goes because beyond that they […]
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous Today is the big day! Our adventure of traveling the world for 6 months begins. Glenn actually left a couple of days ago to visit the town he grew up in – Bishop, California. Today I’m headed to Napa Valley […]
Glenn quit his job recently. He’s often fantasized about quitting his job in a blaze of glory. But this was a calculated step in a much larger plan we have to push the pause button on our daily grind. By becoming unemployed Glenn has helped create the space in our lives where magic is going happen. You […]
I don’t often appreciate things until they are gone. I’m typically focused on the next great thing – forgetting to enjoy what I have at the time. My mother once told me this character trait makes me high maintenance because I am always distracted scheming the next great thing. She’s probably right (as mothers always […]
