The final leg of our South American journey had us crossing the border from Peru to Bolivia at Lake Titicaca at the end of May. Lake Titicaca is one of South America’s largest lakes and the world’s highest navigable body of water (12,507 feet in elevation) where we spent 9 days enjoying the expansive and… Continue reading Bolivia Broadens our Horizons

May highlights in Peru As I get closer to the end of the trip, we have been moving around more and I’ve been more focused on just taking things in and putting off blog posting! Hence, the month of May went by and now I am sharing some highlights! Paracas on the coast I thought… Continue reading Highlights from May travels in Peru

After our time in La Union de Ocumal living in a rural agricultural community, we started to make our way south in Peru. We had hopes of finding places to connect more deeply in the natural world.  Huanchaco on the coast and Huaraz in the mountains were inspiring for me. I have a strong connection to the… Continue reading Inspirations from Wilder Places

  La Union de Ocumal was the location of our 2 1/2 week experience living and working with a Peruvian family in a rural area. Check out this link for a map of Peru: http://www.mapsofworld.com/peru.  La Union is just east and a little bit south of Chachapoyas in the northern Andes and sits at about… Continue reading The Joys of Going Off the Beaten Path

I celebrated my 47th birthday in Peru on March 17! With a June 15 estimated homecoming, I am over half way through my time in South America. We have been in Peru for almost a month where I have found myself floundering a little bit. Naturally, the ebbs and flows of the trip would go lower than… Continue reading Half Way Point

We’ve been moving around a lot lately and I’m finally catching up on the blog! After my volunteer stint, we only had 3 weeks left in Ecuador until my visa ran out. Before we left Puerto Lopez, we took a trip to Isla de la Plata in Machilla National Park. It is called “the poor man’s… Continue reading Ecuador finale!

My time in Puerto Lopez at Equilibrio Azul is coming to a close. I have loved being a part of supporting turtle research and conservation as well as working with programs for kids in the community. It has been a highlight of my time to work with kids in several ways while volunteering in Puerto Lopez. Every… Continue reading Working with Kids and Turtles in Puerto Lopez

I’m feeling the heat in dry and dusty town of Puerto Lopez on the central coast of Ecuador for the month of January. I’m volunteering for an Ecuadorian non-profit marine conservation organization, Equilibrio Azul. It is supposed to be rainy season but it hasn’t rained much since I’ve been here and hasn’t for the last few years. We… Continue reading Volunteering for Equilibrio Azul in Puerto Lopez

My journey continues. I left Quito feeling much better on December 21 and headed to the cloud forest area around Mindo. It is a 2 hour long bus ride from Quito to the west and down in elevation from 2,800 meters to about 1,250 meters. Mindo is in the tropical cloud forest zone and known… Continue reading From the Andes down to the Sea!

I bought a huge chunk of ginger in Quito to help me speed the healing process of this nasty cold/flu thing I got. Ah, even next to the equator people get colds. I was  hit hard with it for  5 days and it was tough to kick. I had aches, chills and fever.  Resting and recuperating took place in… Continue reading Farewell to Otavalo and Rest and Recuperation Phase