Down hill and more down hill.  The steps going down were just about as hard as the steps going up the day before.  Someone told me it was like doing the stair master for three days.  They were right. Kirk Running down the stairs.  Each stair rise was 12 to 19 inches.  Each tread varied… Continue reading Inca Trail Day 3 – Winay Wayna

Everyone said that the second day of the trip would be the most difficult.  Our guide Augusto told us to prepare for 3 seasons.  He wasn´t kidding.  The day started out mild.  As we climbed into the mountains it went from misty, to rainy, to cold to warm again as we descended down dead womans pass.   … Continue reading Inca Trail Day 2 & Warmiwasñusca (Dead Womans Pass)

The Inca Trail was AMAZING!  Part of it was having three great friends, Jeff, Colin and Kirk along for the fun.  The following pictures just aren´t going to show how beautiful and how incredible the trip was.  You all will just have to experience it for yourselves.  Quatro Amigos… Incans beware! Uhhh no this isn´t gringos getting ready… Continue reading Inca Trail Day 1

Lima was fun but it was on to bigger and better things mainly Machu Picchu.  Machu Picchu was going to be the alleged “start” of my trip but I feel like I´ve seen so much already.  The guys were going to meet me in Cuzco on March 14th and I needed to get there fast.  I had my… Continue reading Cuzco and the Road to the Inca Trail

In Peru, Ecuador & Boliva, you typicaly have to pay a small amount to use the bathroom.  Typically, its around 50 centavos and in return you get 4 or 5 squares of toilet paper.  The funny thing is that every time I paid I´ve gotten a receipt. We came to the conclusion that they should just… Continue reading Public Bathrooms

the fact that I can´t see everything.  I´m realizing that trips like this are less about money and more about time.  With that said I´ve discovered that I havent allocated enough time to see everything that I originally wanted to see.  So I´ve decided to cut out Brazil/Rio and Austrialia and New Zealand.  Its tough because… Continue reading I´ve finally come to grips with…

Before I went to Europe a few years ago, people told me to take night trains. You basically save time traveling and save money because you sleep on the train and don´t have to pay for a hotel room. I never thought that I would be doing it on buses in South America. The first… Continue reading Mancora, Trujillo, Lima & Three Night Buses

After the Hike the German, the English couple and I decided to stay at Hostel Mama Hilda. The promise of a hot shower was one of the major selling points, in addition it was the first hostel we saw after the hike. It was probably one of the nicest “hostels” I stayed at. The place… Continue reading Chugchilan

So after a quick stint in Quito I shot down to Latacunga with a German dude to hike the Quilotoa Loop. It begins in a low transit town called Latacunga where you catch buses to Zumbahua, Quilotoa, Chugchilan and Saquisli. This would turn out to be the most scenic part of the trip. Quilotoa Crater:… Continue reading The Quilotoa Loop

Quito is an interesting town. My first impression was that it reminded me a lot of Tijuana, Mexico. Its kinda dirty, everyone speaks spanish, you are in constant fear of being mugged and there are a ton of cheesy bars… Of course I got that after flying in at 10pm at night, taking a $5… Continue reading Quito, Old Town, New Town, Otavallo & the Equator