Monterrey, Mountains, and Unexpected Mexico

For those of you following along, I mentioned how our tickets to Monterrey had been canceled twice, and it was becoming increasingly unclear whether the universe really did not want us visiting this part of Mexico or whether Viva Aerobus was only pretending to offer flights there. Well, we finally […]

In the Saddle: Conquering Cerro de la Silla

Its image is everywhere — on labels of tostadas and tortillas, wall murals, and even in the logo of the local baseball team. It’s the symbol of the city. The most recognizable landmark.  It is as iconic as Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf or Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Cerro de la […]

São Paulo: Hate At First Sight

“Skip São Paulo. It’s just a concrete jungle. Nothing to see there,” was the advice I received while planning a trip to Brazil. Nonsense. We are big city people. We love architecture, museums, and restaurants. Big cities have this never-ending energy and are always full of activities and things to […]

Bad Things

We arrived in Taipei on December 13th and left on the 18th to explore Alishan. On December 19th, 2025, a 27-year-old man threw smoke grenades and stabbed people in a Taipei metro station, killing three people and injuring eleven others. He then killed himself by jumping from a building. This […]

Taiwan: Shaking in Our Boots

It was an evening of our last day in Kaohsiung, and we were visiting the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.  Temples in Taiwan usually have dragons painted by one set of doors to indicate that those doors are used to enter the temple, and tigers by another set of doors, which […]

Español Nicaragüense Es Pura Deacachimba

By Victor / February 20, 2025

My First Post in Spanish “Sabes qué,” me dijo el guia nicaragüense, “eres el primer gringo que conozco que habla español muy bien.” Estabámos en la cima del Volcán Telica, a cien metros del cráter, y no podía creer lo que acababa de eschuchar.  Antes de visitar Nicaragua, no podía […]

Volcano Day: Up We Go

By Julia / February 13, 2025

In 2014, Victor was in Panama, and his favorite story was visiting Embera village and watching a pet toucan wash itself in a small outdoor sink.  Victor turned on the faucet to wash his hands, and the bird flew right in and started splashing around and trying to awkwardly fit […]

Volcano Day: Down We Go

By Julia / February 6, 2025

The way it usually goes is like this: Victor plans the itinerary, and I book the transportation and accommodations.  One thing about Victor is that he is meticulous, detail-oriented, and thorough. He doesn’t make mistakes, he doesn’t forget small details, he doesn’t just leave off details from the itinerary for […]

Skipping Managua.  Part II. Leon

By Victor / January 30, 2025

One week after visiting Granada, we drove into its long-time rival-Leon. Like Granada, Leon is set in a breathtaking location.  Approaching the city from the north, we counted at least six volcanoes on the horizon, all part of the Cordillera de Maribios. As we got closer, it became obvious that […]

Skipping Managua.  Part I.  Granada

By Victor / January 23, 2025

One clear trend in our travels is that Central American capital cities don’t get much love from us. It’s just the way it is.  In Guatemala, upon arrival, we left the capital, Guatemala City, without ever seeing it.  In San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, we spent only half […]

A Whole New Life

By Julia / January 16, 2025

Start with Part I Here We were walking from Airbnb towards the livestock barns, and I noticed it wasn’t quite as dark as I thought it would be.  As we were driving up the mountain, my fear of encroaching darkness made me feel that it was much later in the […]

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