Huaraz came highly recommended from other travelers for its gorgeous scenery and spectacular hiking. Huaraz sits in a basin 3,090 meters above sea level with the Cordillera Blanca mountain range on one side and the Cordillera Negra on the other. You know Paramount pictures symbol of the mountain? It was supposedly modeled after one of … More Journey of Huaraz, Peru: Gorgeous peaks and altitude sickness
The fishing village of Huanchaco was just 15 minutes from the city of Trujillo, a major city and an important regional center for the Incas, then later the Spanish, and its ancient ruins, allowing us to take little excursions. Jon and I first visited the massive Chan Chan complex which is still being excavated. This … More Journey of Trujillo, Peru: Ancient Ruins
We decided that if we were going to stay in South America for a little while it would make sense for us to take some Spanish lessons and what the heck why not some surf lessons too! The fishing village of Huanchaco was perfect do to both of those as well as sunset yoga classes … More Journey of Huanchaco, Peru: Spanish lessons and surfing
Cajamarca is a colonial town 2,720 meters above sea level which is most infamously know for the place of the last stand of the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, against the Spanish in 1532. Legend has it that Atahualpa and his men were having a big celebration in which they were heavily drinking when they went to … More Journey of Cajamarca, Peru: Colonial town with 80’s music and hidden bars
If you are thinking about going to Ecuador, don’t hesitate. Go! This was a last minute add on for us and I am so grateful. Ecuador has everything to offer, outstanding wildlife, beaches, lush cloud forest, volcanoes and the Andes. We found the Ecuadorians to be warm and we were treated like family upon meeting. … More Journey of Ecuador: In Review
We disembarked the boat a half a tooth shorter than we started with due to a piece of Jon’s front tooth falling out while eating lunch leaving a large gap in the middle of his two front teeth, and headed the mile into town with another passenger in his early 20’s. Our bags on our … More Journey of Isla Isabela, Galapagos: Paradise, a broken tooth and the blowout
Not having read up on the Galapagos, Jon and I had no idea what to expect. The Galapagos are volcanic islands 1,000 km off the Ecuadorian coast most famously known for where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution. Only a very small percentage of the national park is open to visitors. We were surprised … More Journey of Galapagos: A Galapagos cruise
Reading up on the Galapagos before we left we knew that this part of our trip was not going to be cheap. We heard that the best way to see the Galapagos due to distance between islands is by a boat cruise (majority of the boats are for about 16 passengers) and that the cheapest … More Journey of Galapagos: Finding a Boat
Just getting over our colds we headed out to investigate Ecuador with the 5 days we had. We jumped on a bus to Alausi, which is approximately 3 hours from Quito, thinking how lucky we were that the trip was only costing us $7 each. Six hours later, after stopping every 20 feet we arrived … More Journey of Ecuador Mainland: My first love
We were happy to leave the sweltering hot Amazon and Iquitos with the 50,000 motor-bikes behind to begin our next journey in Ecuador. Being on a budget our flight first made a stop in Lima, which is an hour south of Iquitos, then up to Quito landing at the insane hour of 2:30 am. Our … More Journey of Quito, Ecuador: Spanish city in a dramatic setting
Journey with Christina 