Sometimes life’s complexities get in the way of a poetic narrative. Bolivia is proof of this. The folds of Bolivia’s beauty – and its contradictions and struggles — defy a story line. It seems that every time we turn a corner, another...

We began this piece by writing a narrative tracing the hiccups in our Salkantay to Machu Picchu trek, but soon realized that our lessons learned go beyond Peru’s tourist-laden Inca corridor. So what happened? Our guide got drunk two nights in a...

Value: a topic of great debate, perhaps nowhere more so than in the world of travel. We’ve had friends rave about inns in Costa Rica that are a “great value” at $300 a night. At the same time, we’ve met travelers who do the “bad value” balk when...

“Oooh, Machu Picchu!” Even my mom caught the hype when I told her we were headed there last week. As excited as she’s been about our travels, I think that was the first “Oooh!” of our trip she ever uttered. We kept our expectations low,...

At the time this is published, we should be crossing Apacheta Pass (4,650 meters/15,255 feet) and one day away from Peru’s Machu Picchu. That is, if the scheduled publishing works as it should and we don’t need an emergency mule ride or airlift from...