Whoever said, “Life’s what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans,” was really onto something. After three days at home in Minnesota followed by just shy of thirty hours of travel, Chris and I made it to the land down under. We’re a big messy bowl of emotions — as well as jet […]
Machu Picchu: A Recap and Planning Tips
I’ve wanted to visit Machu Picchu for more than a decade. Even though its a big cliche, it is one of those “bucket list places” for me. It also made Emily’s list of “top ten places” when we each made our lists when we were newly dating. Here’s a little bit more about what we […]
Aguas Calientes: You Can’t Get There From Here
We made it to Peru! We’ve done and seen a lot since we’ve been here. I wanted to start by sharing a bit about our time in Aguas Calientes before we write about the big day at Machu Picchu and the rest of our time in the Sacred Valley. We departed Cusco on February 17th […]
Lima: A Love Story
Lima is a city sort of hits you in the face right out of the gate. We arranged a car to pick us up from the airport. It was a little on the pricey side, but we were warned before arriving that the taxi system in Lima is a little crazy. Pretty much anyone can […]
Atacama Desert: Lakes, Llamas, and Flamingos
I’m struggling a little bit to describe our time in the Atacama Desert. It’s breathtaking, beautiful, extreme, and vibrant. Our daylong excursion to visit high plain lakes and low lying salt flats did not disappoint. The Atacama Desert was far and away the best place we visited during our time in Chile. It was another […]
Atacama Desert: Moon Valley and The Highest Geysers on Earth
We landed mid-afternoon in Calama and hopped on a shuttle for the 90 minute drive to San Pedro de Atacama. This is a small mainly tourist town located in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert on the planet. The Atacama only gets 1 millimeter of rain on average per year. In some places, rainfall has […]
Stars, Pisco, and Biking in the Elqui Valley
After a relaxing few days on the beach in La Serena, Chris and I made our way to the village of Pisco Elqui in the stunning Elqui Valley. With Chris behind the wheel of our “micro machine” we wound our way up the Ruta de Las Estrellas into arid hills and bright green valleys. I […]
La Serena: A Seaside Escape (With All of Chile)
We’re a little bit behind on posting, but here’s a recap of our time in La Serena. As we rode the bus back to Santiago, Emily and I discussed how much fun we had in Valparaiso. The vibrant colors and graffiti murals were amazing. The journey back to Santiago was quick as both of us […]
Finding Color and Culture in Valparaiso
Okay, guys and gals. We escaped the heat of Santiago and made our way to the port city of Valparaiso. I have to admit something. I am not having a love affair with Chile. Chris wrote a little bit about our initiation by fire in Santiago. The city was hot, busy, and the Spanish here […]
Santiago: An Overwhelming Chilean Introduction
After a long flight, we touched down in Santiago on Thursday morning. Immigration was pretty straightforward, though we did have a little bit of a scare with customs. As we were walking to have our bags X-rayed, one of the customs dogs gave Emily’s day pack an extra long sniff. We clarified we had no […]