First stop after leaving La Paz was a solo jaunt…Mom flew ahead to Cusco to spare herself arduous overland treks. About an hour into the bus ride outside of La Paz, as we chugged slowly through the traffic-choked suburb of El Alto, I thought she had made the better choice. The bus was cheaper, but… Read More Oye Ollanta
I went slowly up the slope, feeling the loose rocks crack beneath each step, counting them off in my head until I reached 60 then stopping. Standing still was always accompanied by a brief sensation of light-headedness, then the pounding of my heart beat through my own head. The peak didn´t look far, but at… Read More The High Ground
Last day in Mexico! And what else would one do than wait out the heat in an internet cafe? To be fair to myself, I made a good go of the morning, getting out early to check out the final set of ruins on my list for the trip: Xochicalco. The guidebook says simply to… Read More Time Stands Still
My last morning in Puebla was a flurry of visiting museums, walking around the colonial centre of the town. It struck me that there is a lot to see in the city; I’d nearly completely neglected the city’s attractions in favour of the surrounding ruins. In truth, the museums are good but not great here.… Read More Off the Shoulder of Orion
I rode out the weekend in Mexico City, patiently taking in museums and seeing sites around the city, doing what was in my power to avoid the voracious weekends crowds that can descend on popular tourist sites. I was saving Teotihuacan, the coup de grace of my time in the city, for Monday, to avoid… Read More Ruinas, Tortas, y Transporte
Mexico! I have been asked a few times by folks here if I had been to Mexico before. I don´t know how to state that I was on the Pacific coast for a cruise, so I simply said yes but many, many years ago. It seems the easiest way. I wasn’t sure what to expect… Read More Mexico City or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love DF
And 25 days later, the road winds itself to an end. It’s always a bit of a shock after a trip of some length to find it over, as in reflection it almost invariably seems to have passed quickly, and yet at times it may ground to such a halt that the second hands seems… Read More Long Time Running
Hot…very hot. I made it to Tena, an unremarkable small town at the foot of the Andes. It was 28 degrees at 6pm today, nearly 90 for the Americans in the room. Hot. Spent a lot of time sweating today, but then that part only served to remind me of time spent in Asia. It… Read More Days of Being Wild
Ahhh…Ecuador. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t seemed tied to economics as Peru actually has a higher per capita income. Yet everything is better here. It seems to be an instance where the little things do indeed make up life. Streets are cleaner, stray dogs fewer, people friendlier, food tastier, architecture more memorable. If… Read More Streetlife Serenade
I sit in a stuffy cubicle at an Internet bar off the Panamerican Highway in northern Peru, typing here and hopeful that the thus-far lackluster Internet connection will hold long enough so that I needn’t retype everything that is to follow. It’s the last day in Peru; indeed, the last hours are near. By dawn… Read More In the Books
Zak Abroad 