It was March 2009. I had been working at my first “real job” in San Francisco for five months when I realized I didn’t want to sit in a cube. I wanted to travel. So, I quit. My new job, my new apartment, my new city, my new friends, and my new paychecks. I said … Continued
One of the world’s most beautiful and intelligent birds lives in a few select areas of Brazil, but only three populations of the Hyacinth Macaw remain in the wild. One of these habitats occurs in remote Piaui State of northeastern Brazil, only a few hundred kilometers from the beaches, bars, and whorehouses of Bahia, but … Continued
Most people who know Peru are familiar with the Nasca Lines, those wonderful geoglyphs that are properly appreciated only from the air. Less famous is the city of Cahuachi, an adobe brick complex mostly visited now by grave robbers, who over the decades have trashed the innumerable burials in their relentless quest for gold. Objects … Continued
Moving within the Andean countries of South America requires a certain adaptability. The rigors of travel are formed by both geography and culture, and distances are deceptively longer than they appear on a map. A person can pull out a map and measure the space between two towns and think, “Well, how far can that … Continued
Any itinerary of Peru worth the expense should include Pachacamac, one of the great cultural and religious sites of the Americas. The name, which is of uncertain Quechua origin, translates loosely as “Animator of the World.” At this place the great civilizations of South America would pay their respects to the Earth Mother and her … Continued
It may seem like a scene from the Hollywood box office to most travelers- but to myself and a handful of other wildlife spokespeople it is strange NOT to travel with animals on the plane! Even the airline and TSA personal get excited and often star struck by our furry, feathery, and sometimes scaly passengers … Continued
National Geographic Magazine once called Lima “a city on a binge.” This was during the heady days of the 1970s and oddly prophetic of decades to come. In the early days, the capital of Peru was still a run-down post-colonial town. Street vendors choked the downtown old city, whose structures reeled from centuries of decay. … Continued
In southern Colombia along the verdant hills overlooking the Magdalena River, the National Archeological Park at San Augustin was once a major draw for both domestic and foreign tourists before the simmering drug wars of the 1970s turned into full-scale military conflict. 1) San Augustin town The park boasts a unique feature; its main … Continued
Hitchhiking in North America has now become a forgotten art, mostly due to our fears and insecurities. It is no longer fashionable to trust strangers. Over time, though, I have developed hitching into a high, if personal, method of travel. Many songs have been written about thumbing the highway, but the sensations and benefits of … Continued
NOTE: This work, written originally as fiction and published in a now-defunct North Carolina literary magazine, WORDS OF WISDOM, has been modified to better recreate our travelers’ reality at the time these events took place in 1979. A singular experience may give us a tantalizing glimpse of the Garden of Eden, but we are eventually … Continued