Foz do Iguaçu
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The incredible Iguassu waterfalls! Seen here from the Brazilian side. Now I think I’ll end this blog here. After this I’ll be going back to some of the same places and plan to stay longer in each place. I may start another blog or website related more to my work. Thanks for following and stay tuned!
Encarnación
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Encarnación and the nearby Jesuit ruins of La Santisima Trinidad.
Asunción
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After a nice trip back to Kansas City, and having resupplied at my home base there, I continue the journey in Paraguay.
Tarapoto
My fifth trip to this city in the upper Amazon, and last stop before a short trip back to the States. The elevation here is around 350 meters, so it’s not quite as hot as in the lower Amazon like Leticia or Manaus (less than 100 meters). In the surrounding mountains the temps can get cool. It has al...
Lima
Scenes from the Barranco district of Lima.
Arequipa
Peru’s second largest city. Nice people, colonial architecture and good food. Got to go climbing one day in a nearby canyon.
Puno
Beautiful views of the lake from the bus after crossing the border with Bolivia. Cathedral in Puno, on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca.
Copacabana
View of the street between the main square and basilica in Copacabana, on the shore of the immense Lake Titicaca. The last time I was here was 16 years ago, on my first trip to South America. Looks about the same, although with more restaurants and hotels.
La Paz
A lot of police on the street but La Paz seemed relaxed and peaceful for such a big city. Last week the city hall of neighboring El Alto was burned down and 6 people were killed. This occurred only a few days before the vote on the national referendum to allow the President’s term to be extended to...
Sucre
Bolivia’s “white city.” Nice weather, great selection of restaurants and cafes, and lots of good, cheap Spanish schools. Taking advantage of some private lessons to fine tune what I’ve been learning on my own.
Santa Cruz
The central plaza in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city. Spectacular Carnaval parade at the Cambodromo. As much about shooting big water guns and foam spray cans as watching the parade. Anyone in the parade or the audience is fair game. The Carnaval in Santa Cruz also has the custom of...
Tupiza
View from the hostel in Tupiza. I think the cowboy (on a sign for the Alamo restaurant) is supposed to be Butch Cassidy. He and Sundance were hiding out in these parts before they were hunted down by the local police after robbing a mining company payroll. It’s much cheaper here in Bolivia than in t...
Quebrada de Humahuaca
Amazing desert landscapes, nice people and lots of good local folkloric music.
Mendoza
Argentina’s wine country. Visited a couple of vineyards, including a very impressive organic one, shown here. The region is known for Malbec, but I sampled two other varieties that can’t easily be found elsewhere, including my favorite called Graciana. One of the highest quality (longest aged) bottl...
Valparaíso
Lots of cool street art in this colorful city overlooking the Pacific.
Valdivia
View of the river near the city center.
Ancud
The southernmost point of my trip, and the furthest south I’ve been, on the big island of Chiloé. Very different weather here. Seemed like Juneau in the summer, with cool temps and light rain. After the rains stopped, I went a great tour of the surrounding countryside and the pinguineras on 3 island...
Puerto Varas
Crossed the Andes by boat and bus from Bariloche, Argentina to Puerto Varas, Chile. The Osorno volcano as seen from Puerto Varas.
Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche, the tourism hub of northern Patagonia. Kind of reminds me of Lake Tahoe. One of the lakeside beaches.
Buenos Aires
Snow on New Year’s eve in Buenos Aires (30º Celsius) The epicenter of tango.
Colónia del Sacramento
Nice relaxed and friendly town with good food (and mate!) across the wide Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires.
Montevideo
My first Christmas out of the US and in the summer! Arrived here on Christmas eve, just as everything was shutting down for the holiday. The hostel where I stayed was very quiet, with just 2 other guests – a wonderful Brazilian couple, Marcelo and Ana, so I had great company to talk with in Portugue...
Paysandú
Landed here on an overnight bus from Porto Alegre, in the rain with no local cash and soon discovered that no ATM in town would accept my debit cards. After waiting about 4 hours for a bank to open, I got some cash, then found out that my debit card information had been stolen, probably from an onli...
Porto Alegre
My last stop in Brazil on this trip. I was here for the first time about a year ago. Once again I met some really nice people and enjoyed good food, including the Prato Verde buffet by the big park in Bom Fim, featuring tasty locally grown vegetarian and mostly organic dishes. About $5 for all you c...
Paraty
After two months at Iracambi, I stopped for a few days in this nice beach town on the way south.
Iracambi
Helping out at the Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research and Conservation Center with a project to map springs used by local farmers for drinking water, crops and livestock. These are drying out at an alarming rate, due to deforestation and climate change. We’re using a smartphone app to collect dat...
Chapada Diamantina
Hiked around some beautiful high desert scenery in the Chapada Diamantina. Stayed in two nice small towns in this area – Lençóis and Andaraí.
Salvador
After the boat to Manaus I took a plane to Salvador. While it has nice beaches and ocean views, I have to say that the city and nearby towns did not live up to my expectations for this region of northeast Brazil. From what I had heard and read, I expected to see more traditional Afro-Brazilian cultu...
Manaus
Watching the sunrise over the Amazon from the boat between Tabatinga and Manaus. I took the fast boat, which made the trip just 32 hours. It was fairly comfortable, with air conditioning but without reclining seats. The views were spectacular, but could have gone without all the dumb and most violen...
Leticia
The malecón (boardwalk) in Leticia. Parque Santander in Leticia. Those blurs are pericos (small parrots), which filled the sky at this city park around sundown. The dock at Puerto Nariño, about 2 hours up the Amazon River from Leticia. At this time of year, the water level of the river and its tribu...
Salento
The Calle Real in Salento. Those old troubadours were awesome!
Cali
Hot and dry Cali, as seen from the park in the San Antonio district. I heard it hasn’t rained here in about 10 months. Water rationing is in effect, so water was available only in the mornings and for 2 hours at night.
Popayán
View from the hostal in Popayan.
Pasto
Laguna de la Cocha and Isla Corota, near Pasto.
Finca Sarita
Returned to the Sarita farm, near the small town of Calceta, to visit Servio and his family, and get updated on his new projects. The new secadora (drier) for cacao beans used to produce the world’s finest and most expensive chocolate, with the brand name To’Ak. An experiment with the pitahaya (drag...
Baños
Baños de Agua Santa – hermosa y tranquila. View of the simmering volcano Cotopaxi from the bus to Baños.
Quito
Bienvenido a América del Sur!