I’m back in the U.S. It’s been a crazy whirlwind of a few days, to say the least. First, the long flight back. Then getting settled in at my oldest son’s home. Making a quick run up to Santa Barbara to visit with my granddaughter before she moves out of State. Adjusting to the small, but still discombobulating time change. Anyway, I’ve finally got settled … Continue reading Bogota, Colombia
I’ve been in Bogota, Colombia a few days now. I’m enjoying this colorful city and especially the people. There’s a different vibe here. Everywhere I’ve been in South America, the people have been lovely, kind and helpful, yet a bit closed off (to foreigners, anyway). But I didn’t realize that until I got here where there’s a more openly friendly atmosphere. Walking down the street, … Continue reading El Dia de los Museos en Bogota
Cuzco (aka: Cusco, Qusqu and Qosqo) was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the mid-16th century when the Spaniards made their presence known and changed everything. It is now officially designated as the historical capital of Peru. However, the Inca were not the first peoples here. There were quite a number of pre-Incan cultures in the area, but not much is … Continue reading Cuzco, Peru
I’ve been in Cusco, Peru seven days now. The first few days I just wandered around the city. I’ll give you my impressions of it in the next post. But this last Friday and Saturday I took two day tours to see a few sights outside Cusco. The tours were fairly inexpensive …. and perhaps I should have kicked out a bit more money for … Continue reading 2 Day Tours Outside Cusco, Peru
I returned to San Pedro de Atacama after my wondrous adventure in Bolivia. I stayed there another few days, after which, took a night bus to Arica, Chile. I then took a taxi from the bus station to the hostel and, though it was an early arrival, they let me in and showed me to my room…. then went back to bed. “You can pay … Continue reading Arica, Chile & Arequipa, Peru
I’m heading off to Uruguay tomorrow, so today I’m trying to do a little catching up. I’m getting behind in my photo to blog ratio, if you catch my meaning. So, just a quick post. I haven’t shown you any pictures of the school I went to last month which has helped me to become fluent in Spanish….. Ha ha ha! Yeah, that was a … Continue reading Vita & la Escuela
It’s the weirdest …..fruit?…..I’ve ever eaten. I guess it’s a fruit. Maybe it’s a legume. It’s called qua me kho and it’s just plain odd. It looks like…..well, I’ll let you decide what you think it looks like. On the last day of class one of my students gave me a bag of it and I said…..”er……thank you………what is it….?” She pulled one out of … Continue reading Qua me kho
Turkey is a specialty food in Viet Nam. They call it ga Tay ~ Western chicken. Or, more specifically, ga Tay My ~ American Western chicken…..and it’s not cheap! But, honestly, most all other foods here are cheap, so spending a little more for a taste of home cooking on this special day was worth it……if only we could figure out where to buy it…..and … Continue reading Thanksgiving Dinner, VN Style
….”Give me convenience or give me death”……spoken like a true American. Okay, so having a sprained ankle is a pain in the, well, yeah ,…foot. Doing any shopping for food or going out to eat can be a real hassle. Plus….and this may sound weird, but……sometimes you just get tired of being stared at wherever you go (which is compounded when you’re hobbling around with … Continue reading As Mike says…….
After 20-some years of being a vegetarian then a pescetarian, I recently ‘broke veg’. It happened a little more than a month ago while Mike was still in California. I was at his house. We’d had a drink or……two……and he was eating something that smelled delicious. I asked what it was and he said something like, “Shrimp wrapped in bacon and smothered in yummy sauce…”…..or … Continue reading Food
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