GOING BACK TO 1950 I know most people realize that there are many cars from the 1950s in Cuba from before the revolution. Some of them are in great shape - a lot of them are worn down. Just like the rest of the country. So sad that the beautiful old buildings are in such [...]

THE UNDISCOVERED PEARL OF THE CARIBBEAN I spent a semester of graduate school in Venezuela. I wanted to learn Spanish and had planned to study in Spain. But the program closed a few weeks before the school year started. There was a transfer student from Venezuela so I had the option to go there instead. [...]

THE INCA TRAIL Started in Cusco then off to Machu Picchu. 4 days of hiking through the mountains was amazing - although admittedly we didn't have to carry all of our gear. The guys carrying the gear basically wore shorts, tee shirts and flip flops. We had on gear that would work on Everest most [...]

I'M A LANDOWNER My partner from FatWire built a great community in Belize - so we decided to come down, check it out and also visit a friend in Guatemala. Belize is beautiful and the diving was great. It was an English colony so interesting to see the differences with the Spanish speaking countries. FOND [...]

STAR WARS COUNTRY You may notice some of the pictures look like the rebel base from Star Wars in episode 4 - that's because it is. Beautiful country - Antigua was great and the ruins are really amazing. Since we stayed with friends who live there, it was a good opportunity to really understand the [...]

GIRL FROM IPANEMA (KIND OF) Part of trip after studying in Venezuela. The girl part was a good friend from DC who happened to be home in Rio. This was before cell phones though and real email. I sent an email request and confirmed on a call, but that was a long time before I [...]

WEIRD WAY TO SPEND NEW YEARS I figured if I was already in South America studying in Venezuela and I had time during the holiday break, I would travel through Christmas and New Years. I ended up spending New Year's Eve walking through Santiago and sightseeing and was so tired I was in bed by [...]

PAMPAS COUNTRY I liked the capital and the countryside. They love their horses on the ranches and their steak - some of the best I've ever had. FOND MEMORY I learned that the cowboys used to cook their meat by putting it under their saddle - the heat from the horse would cook it. Not [...]