Coffee I LOVE YOU.

After Medellin we drove a couple of kilometers north to get to the central cordillera of Colombia.  We (or I) was on the search for some coffee covered hillsides and unspoiled beauty.  So our daily plans focused on being off the beaten path, finding donuts, and drinking coffee.  We started our city-detox with the quaint […]

Padres in Cartagena

Mom and Dad called up one day and said that they were ready to book tickets.  We’d been talking about them visiting us again in South America for some time.  My Dad is not a very particular guy, but he wanted warm saltwater.  Warm saltwater was what we’d heard every time we talked about their visit.  For warm saltwater […]

So What’s Colombia like?

(Written on 2/8/18, posted on 5/1/18) Well, right now I can tell you what the truck stops in Colombia are like. Dusty, some wifi, some toilet seats, there might be toilet paper in the bathrooms, small snack shops….it’s an interesting place to spend the night. For instance, this morning I witnessed white flabby neck cows […]

Just When You Think Things Are Going Smoothly…Van Oddities and the Pressure of THE END in Northern Ecuador

We emerged out of the Ecuadorian jungle! Our next destination was Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador‘s crown jewels.  Emerging from the jungle definitely made me feel better temperature wise and I began looking forward to our border crossing to Colombia, only 2 weeks away.  I figured everything was going to go great.  I didn’t anticipate any cloudy skies, bugs, landslides, or additional […]

Southern Ecuador

In early January of this year we left Peru and entered Ecuador.  We had a great time exploring Peru, there is a great diversity in landscape, great archaeological sites, and friendly people, but Peru is a tough place to travel in.  After 3 months we were ready for a change and looking forward to Ecuador.  […]