Take an asconsor to the colourful hills of Valaparaiso... a town that flourished during the gold rush and collapsed after the Panama Canal was built. A cityof colour with an unusually colourful past. Artist colonies now thrive on the steep hills overlooking this port city. Bright yellow, orange, red, blues... every colour you can imagine decorate the houses here. God help these people during an earthquake as the houses cling impossibly to the steep hills over...

I thought I would never find a place more fascinating to me than Petra (Jordan) but I think this could be it.Originally called Te Pito o te Hanua (or Navel of the World) Rapa Nui (Easter Island) as it is now called is truly a wonder of the world.Today we rented a scooter & headed off to the East Coast. At first there were the regular face plants off the ahu. However, on this our 5th day, we recognize more of the signs of habitation. We can pick out the ahu (al...

Reflecting on our time in Ecuador

This is our last week in Ecuador. Thought we would have to find our way to Jim's on our own but, there he was at the airport, with a sign saying "Shane & Mary" and a big grin on his face. They got home a day early from their bike trip. So nice to be home! Arriving from sea level to Quito was a bit of a challenge especially with the head cold I'm fighting. So, fighting a cold as well as the effects of high altitude what would you choose to do on your ...

Face to face with sea lions, floating with sea turtles or watching the fascinating courtship antics of Blue Footed Boobies, Magnificent Frigate birds and those nasty looking marine iguanas... this has been a fascinating 7 days on the Galapagos Islands.Arriving at the airport our first glimpse of wildlife was a land iguana wandering through the baggage claim area. The road to town took us past fields with huge tortoises chowing down on lunch. Bright red crabs ...