Heya Frog -
You'd absolutely love it here! After another spectacular day combing through the ruins of Machu Picchu and even climbing atop the incredible Wayna Picchu right behind it, I finally made my way down south to the shores of Lake Titicaca. It's the highest navigable lake in the world and I am constantly out of breath but I just had to visit the famous Uros people on their floating islands right away. Remember Thor Heyerdahl's expeditions on Kon-Tiki and Ra I/II? They have these amazing boats here made from the same material as their little islands and houses. There's not much that leaves me speechlss these days but to see these little people actually live on these floating islands is beyond description. Tomorrow I'll head further south to Copacabana, past the Bilivian border, and hop onto a catamaran to get to the Isla del Sol and the birthplace of the Inca sagas. If all goes well I will end up in La Paz late at night, ready for my return to Lima and Los Angeles.

Heya Junior -
Just remember these few items: Ukuku's and Mama Africa! After some inicial exploration of Cuzco, capital of the old Inca world, I joined a half-day city tour yesterday in the afternoon. Lucky me... I had a great time hopping from cathedral to church to Inca relics to whatever-else-there-was, not the least because of wonderful company I found on this on-the-bus-off-the-bus-style excursion. I should have been tucked in by 10 at night because of my 5:00 a.m. departure the next morning for Machu Picchu but, alas, it didn't happen. I had about 2 hours of sleep before hopping onto the 4-hour train ride to km 104 towards Aguas Calientes and, to say the least, had quite a tough time on today's first day of Inca Trail trekking at high altitude. If nothing else, all the jungle sweating and 1000+ cobblestone stairs were defintely worth it, arriving after over 7 hours at the Gate of the Sun for a first breath-taking close-up look of the Lost City of the Incas. The hot springs tonight were right on the money, and that big jug of mate de coca will make me sleep like a baby tonight! More Machu Picchu tomorrow, a return ride to Cuzco, and then I will be off to Lake Titicaca.

Yowza KJ...
What a great time on Galapagos! I left the islands after less than a week but I sure will return one day soon - quite an amazing place. I visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora on my last day there (and, just to rub it in and to further support research on evolution, spent quite a bit of money at their store). Wonderful to see their repatriation efforts with all those baby tortoises; Lonesome George is obviously quite another sight there. On my way back I went through Guayaquil and arrived in Peru yesterday. Lima is such a big city full of contrast... most people are not even remotely aware that it's another city with close to 10 million inhabitants. I wandered around the old colonial center today, went atop Cerro San Christobal for a rather foggy bird's eye view of the city, and made it back to the really nice part of town Miraflores, where I stay and where one can kill time at the cliff-top Larco Mar entertainment mall under open skies. Tomorrow I'll be off to Cuzco - time for those old Incas to live up to the hype when I ascend to Machu Picchu!

Salut Junior!
Take that, all you "intelligent design" idiots around George W. - evolution is absolutely fantastic, at least here on Galapagos, the Islands of Fire. Wow... there's not a moment when one does not stumble over giant tortoises, colorful iguanas, funny blue-footed boobies, playful seals, or red-bubbly great frigate birds. I even went diving with hammerhead sharks and manta rays today! It is simply astonishing how fearless these animals are over here; one can approach all of them without hesitation and they will curiously meet your interest rather than taking off. Gotta run... too much to see and do here!

Hola Froggie -

I will finally get to see your Darwinian ancestors - I actually did manage to get super-expensive tickets to fly out to the Galapagos islands tomorrow! My little whirlwind tour of Quito is coming to an end tonight; I went to the Center of the World obelisk at the equator for the obligatory tourist fotos yesterday and rode along the highest stretch of the Panamericana to see the Cotopaxi volcano today. And guess what... I am back here at Papaya.net and I am going out for dinner tonight with the smiling beauty from two days ago and her best friend. Welcome to Ecuador!

Heya Junior -
Hola from Quito in Ecuador, where 9300 feet is your daily base altitude while inside the valley of the city. I got here rather late this Saturday night, so I went straight for the night life in the capital's Mariscal Sucre zone around the corner from the place where I stay. Kind of scary to see numerous private security guards with full body armor and armed to the teeth with their beefy dogs in front of every bar and club here but, as I've been told, they are there for good reason. Strange how my effect on people is different from culture to culture - while in Colombia women couldn't care less about me being yet another gringo visiting their country; now that I've been in Ecuador for the past 4 hours it seems like I got them melting left and right with just a smile. I had the first phone number and date for tonight before even leaving the airport, I left the hostel together with two hotties from Guayaquil, and now in the Papaya.net cafe I have this stunner of a beauty queen smile straight at me while I'm typing this. Life is good, sometimes! Well, trying to think clearly - the plan is to ride atop (!) a train tomorrow morning to the Cotopaxi volcano, and then on Monday to snatch another one of those spread-your-legs-across-the-equator pictures. Hopefully, I'll also be able to get tickets for a flight to the Galapagos islands. Gotta check for real Kermits there! Taataaaa...

Heya KJ -
Doing business in Medellin today! Just kidding, of course... greetings from the former epicenter of all things cocaine, which today presents itself as a beautifully situated modern city surrounded by mountains - this already captures the essence of its problem nowadays, terrible smog. Other than that, I could actually like it here for a few days but I'm on the fast track back to Santa Fe de Bogota, a 9-hour bus ride away tomorrow. Later gator!

Hello Froggie...
I finally am Romancing The Stone, can you believe it?!? Greetings from Cartagena de Indias, where I fell into the honey pot of the City's maddest days of the year - the election of Miss Colombia. Holy cow, I feel more like a wolf locked up in a sheep corral here... the Colombianas are a feast for the eyes anywhere, any time, but put them into hot and humid Cartagena and they dress decidedly eye-popping, leaving nothing to the imagination. "Sin tetas no hay paradiso." (I didn't make this up; I read that on a girl's t-shirt written across her impressive assets.) Luckily, I managed to buy a replacement camera after Miss Digital Elph III had kicked the bucket two days ago, so I am back in business documenting everything for the next iteration of my globetrotting web site. The gigantic medieval walls constructed around the old center are quite impressive; I even managed to climb atop the largest fortress ever built by Spaniards in their former colonies. It's a bit more touristy here than in the rest of Colombia but the stunning colonial architecture alone is worth the trip, not to mention the fun night life. A couple more days here, then I will be off to Medellin to check out the core of the white powder business.
Tataaa...

Heya Kermit -
Well, there's good news and bad news, as almost always. The good news first: I am having fun, fun, fun!!! The bad news is that the Murphy Cam Law has hit me full force... my beloved little digital camera, one of only three items of nostalgia that have made it with me through all my travels around the world since the beginning of The Big One (the other two are my Amex and my Tissot), finally died on me at 13:03 local time on November 6, 2005. Rest in Peace! Looks like the CCD sensor got somehow fried after attempting to take picture number 23,875. I can still look at the first few pics I took on this trip but any new pictures I take look rather not-so-funny. The Murphy's Law part of the story is, of course, that this had to happen after leaving the cheap shopping haven that is the US of A, not to mention the fact that it had to happen the afternoon before a major public holiday here in Colombia, meaning I will have to wait yet another day until I can go shopping in Cartagena tomorrow. Oh well! However, I did get to indulge in two of my favorite travel activities yesterday: I took the funicular and cablecar up and down the Montserrat monastery mountain, and I obviously had to get on top of the Torre Colpatria to enjoy its spectacular panoramic views over downtown Bogota. Oh, and I suppose I should mention that it was the final day of the regular football (note to Americans: "soccer") season here, so a bunch of us went to see the Leones Rojos de Santa Fe de Bogota beat Real Cartagena at the electric El Campin stadium to make it to the playoffs - what a party!
Hasta pronto froggie.

Hola Junior -

It's been 13 months in the making... and finally I'm on the road again - greetings from Bogota, Colombia! This is what it's all about: Crazy zoo at the airport, hair-raising taxi ride to downtown, and cool people at the hotel. I'm just enjoying some R+R tonite before venturing out tomorrow morning to explore the city. It's a big holiday here on Monday (Dia de las Almas), so tomorrow, on Sunday, truckloads of people will climb Montserrat or take the cableway or funicular to the cathedral on the mountain top. I will have a look and then descent upon the city... the famous Museo del Oro is first on the list. Monday afternoon I'll be off to the north coast - my beloved Cartagena of Romancing The Stone fame. Woohoooo!!! Happy again, Matthias.