How do you know when you're in a bureaucrat's office? In the case of the Bolivian Consulate our first clue was his desk; it was overflowing with stamps, apparently for cementing long-arrived at decisions in ink. He confirmed our fears by spending well over a minute critically examining each of our ten $20 dollar bills only to reject one on the basis of a pen mark. A pen mark. That was our day today - up and down his office stairs at least five times to retrieve c...

We were happily brunching on cinnamon French toast and a bacon mushroom scramble in one of Cusco's many gringo joints today when we met 10-yr old Manuel.He approached our table with a smile, "You are American? George Bush is no good," he stated plaintively. "Why are you here? For rest and relaxation?"Oh, and did we want to buy some hand painted note cards? I told him that he was a very good salesperson to which he replied that I was a good p...

This week it was back to the land. First we went on a long day hike to acclimate to the altitude here in Huaraz. We went without a guide and only got a little lost, which is pretty good for us. It happened when the trail was heading towards a second mountain pass and we thought, there is no way we have to climb up yet another hill, there's got to be some mistake.We tried diligently to find another trail but finally had to concede that up the mountain was in fact ...

We've spent the last few days en route from Ecuador to Huaraz, Peru; three 8-hour bus rides in two days. Needless to say, we're relieved to be here and excited to plan a week of trekking in these beautiful snow-capped mountains. The bus marathon inspired a poem. This program won't let me create separate stanzas so I resorted to slash marks / for the line breaks. But you get the idea :) A Bus Ode I must, I must/ Take yet another bus. Befriending cockroaches/...