Changing Plans

People don't last forever, and that can shape one's travel priorities. Reflections on Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada.

Back Home… But Not For Long

A 70 degree temperature swing, a pit stop back home, then off to Vancouver for the next stage of our sabbatical. Being home has let me test out some thoughts about retirement. Am I really ready?

Life on a Cacao Plantation (La Anita, Costa Rica)

This one covers our trip to and stay at La Anita cocoa plantation. Learn how high quality chocolate is produced.

Under the Volcano (La Fortuna, Costa Rica)

The town of La Fortuna became famous when the nearby Arenal volcano became active in 1968, and had a series of eruptions, the last of which was in 2010. The eruptions launched a tourism boom in the area, which continues to this day. Unfortunately, you can no longer climb that volcano, nor, officially, the others nearby. So instead there is a huge industry of private tours on private land to try to keep the tourists coming: frog tours, zip lines, sloth tours, rafting, bird watching ….  DH was

Costa Rica - A Study in Contrasts

Our first week in Costa Rica has been a study in contrasts. From the hyper-touristy Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve to isolated nature and beauty.

Farewell Peru

I leave Lima with mixed emotions. I really enjoyed our time in Peru, and hope we'll get to go back. Here are some final reflections on our 3 months in Lima, Peru.

Machu Picchu & Pisac

I’m not doing this writeup of my Cusco trip chronologically. So if you want to read about Cusco specifically and more about some of the sites we visited, see also Part 1: Visiting Cusco & Nearby Incan Ruins. Here's Part 2, about Machu Picchu & the town & ruins of Pisac.

Visiting Cusco & Nearby Incan Ruins

Before this trip I had thought of Cusco as just a stopover place on the way to Machu Picchu. But it is so much more than that. So much more that I’m splitting this into two blog posts; there’s too much for one! We'll start with Cusco and the nearby ruins and sites.

Bringing Home to You, While on Sabbatical

The Internet and cheap phone calls are great, but sometimes you really miss being physically present with family and friends. So we imported some for the holidays! Here's what we did while they were here.