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ideastream
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Vision, Work, Change
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This Is Where I Live
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Freelance Writing
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Sidewalk
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Munchen, Minnesota
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Cleveland Transformation Alliance
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Writing Without Hiding
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Cleveland’s Greater University Circle Initiative
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New to Cleveland
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Biking in Cleveland
No es necessário
Santiago Quick Guide / Jul 24
Santiago may not enjoy the fame of other South American destinations such as Buenos Aires or Rio, but the city deserves at least few days’ exploration as part of a larger Chilean or South American itinerary. There’s plenty to see, do and — maybe most importantly — eat, and the city’s setting against the jagged […]
Days 29-30: Returning / Jul 19
My return home was a gradual, multi-city one. I flew first to Lima, where I spent one night, and then Toronto, where I spent another. Then, anticlimactically, I took a short morning flight in a prop plane to Cleveland. At the Cusco airport the morning after Machu Picchu, I felt tired and craved sugar. I […]
Day 28: Inca Trail Day 4 / Jul 18
I don’t know what time I actually woke up, but it was before 3:25 a.m., because I could hear the marching of porters behind and in front of our tent — preparing food and water, I imagined. A few minutes later, there came the official half-whispered call outside our tent: “Buenos dias! Coca tea!” I’d […]
Day 27: Inca Trail Day 3 / Jul 17
Today’s hike was only a half-day, and we rose late — 6 a.m. I heard a groan from a tent one or two down from us. “Every fiber of my body is hurting,” a voice said. I scanned my own body. So far, apart from desperately wanting a shower and a clean pair of jeans, […]
Day 26: Inca Trail Day 2 / Jul 16
This is known as the hardest day of the classic four-day trek, because you navigate two high-altitude mountain passes and hike for a total of about 10 hours. But we woke at a relatively leisurely 5:30 a.m. After breakfast, the sun was just starting to rise. As we ascended to Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest […]
Day 25: Inca Trail Day 1 / Jul 15
It still felt miles from sunrise as we arrived on Plaza Recocijo to meet the Llama Path guides and porters. And it was: Only 4:15 a.m., with sunrise expected around 6:30 or 7. Seth and I were among the first present, along with an Irish couple, Suzanne and Rory. The porters handed us steaming cups […]
Day 24: Cusco / Jul 14
Seth and I spent the day exploring Cusco. It was a Sunday, and a lot of stuff was closed, including almost all the museums. That, along with the dreary weather, meant I was probably destined not to like this city quite as much as Puno or Arequipa. Still, it’s a remarkable place. The San Blas […]
Day 23: Train to Cusco / Jul 13
I had kind of rough night last night, woke up very early judging myself for not taking a “harder” trip. Something where I wasn’t spending any money, where I’d removed myself entirely from civilization and was roughing it. Something, in fact, like what Cheryl Strayed did in Wild, which I finally finished reading. I want […]
Day 22: Titikhaaakhaaa / Jul 12
Today I gave in to being a tourist. Temporarily, I think, because ultimately I like exploring things better on my own. But it also was kind of relaxing just to ride around in buses all day, allowing a tour guide to herd me from place to place. Seth and I woke early and found that […]
Day 21: Puno / Jul 11
Today I rode a bus that was determined to act like a plane, complete with TV monitors for each seat and an endless safety video and a well-coiffed stewardess who asked me to turn off my cell phone before we departed. (So it wouldn’t interfere with Bus Traffic Control I guess?) This would be the […]
Day 20: Goodbye Arequipa / Jul 10
When you see streets and public plazas that look like these, under fully sunny skies at 70 degrees with no humidity, and you know that the nighttime temperature is going to drop to a cozy 48 degrees, and that you’ll be eating some deliciously rich and cheap meal in between now and then… Well, it’s […]
Day 19: Juanita the Mummy / Jul 09
After the Santa Catalina Monastery, Arequipa’s second-most famous attraction is Juanita the Mummy. Housed at El Museo Santuarios Andinos, Juanita is a 12- or 13-year-old Inca girl who was the victim of human sacrifice sometime in the middle of the 15th century. (I say “victim” because even though the museum’s displays and tour guides kind […]