I am back in South America and I've made a direct line for the beach! After four months working in Alaska I am due for some fun in the sun and surf with a little healthy bikini action thrown in for good measure. I'm in Mancora Peru, a place I sort of know well from my first time through here in 2005. The last time , however, I was recovering from a serious ankle sprain and I couldn't walk. I was the famous gringo that limped down the street with the aid of a broo...

So what is there to do in a small beach town during low season with a sprained ankle and limited mobility? Ice cream by day and beer by night seems to be the answer so far. Actually, I am now somewhat famous in town as everyone seems to know the gringo who limps down the road and carries a walking stick... a broom handle the old señora at my hostel gave me. It seems like I've met just about everyone in town and I have no shortage of friends to sit around a...

It's amazing the change in a place just by crossing an imaginary line that we call a border. The Peruvians seem quite friendly and welcoming of foreigners. I just realized, however, that I am now in a country so large, it is bigger than ALL 7 countries of Central America combined... and it took me 9 months to get through there! How long I could possibly explore a country this big I'm not sure yet... Since spraining my ankle in Ecuador, I decided to cross the bo...