Abkhazia
Still in Georgia, I awoke in the north Caucasus range in the small village of Stephantsminda and found a marshutka to the road just south of Mskheta. There I found a […]
En route to Tblisi
“Look into the yellow light” said my new Finnish friend with whom I talked for 4 of the 9 hours of flight time from SFO to LHR (London Heathrow). As […]
Isla de Mujeres
Exhausted, I awoke that Tuesday to what seemed like 105 degrees at the hour of 7:30am. Juan and I spent about an hour chatting further. I was amazed at his […]
Queretaro and back to Mexico City
I didn’t get any photos of the mummies (more like well preserved cadavers) in Queretaro as my camera batteries had died. My friend and I stopped for tacos a la […]
Guanajuato
I reluctantly left San Miguel de Allende and headed to Guanajuato in the evening. I had hoped to stop in Pozos (a ghost town) and Dolores Hidalgo (the “birthplace” of […]
San Miguel de Allende
I got into San Miguel around 8:30pm and found a micro to the Oratorio, near Calle Loreto where La Catrina hostel is located. As I walked down Calle Loreto, I […]
Back in Ixtapaluca
I awoke Wednesday happy to be with my friend Ruben. The next few days were fairly uneventful, which was nice. I borrowed the bike and shopped for food at the […]
Swimming Hole near Zacatlan
The next day I woke up after a good sleep and talked with Yolanda and family, and did a bit of house cleaning to help out. I packed my things, […]
Zacatlan
After my mocha, I put my giant pack on my back in search of Yolanda Sanchez Reyes, a kind lady who offered me a place to stay a few days […]
On to Chignahuapan
I spent a few more days in Tlaxcala, visiting the museo de arte popular (or artesenias) where I discovered a live scorpion in a 200 year old “talaveras” mug, amongst […]
Tlaxcala
I arrived in Tlaxcala in the afternoon and searched for a place to stay. Hotels here are more than twice as expensive as Puebla or Mexico City. I’m essentially spending […]
Puebla
As I said, I arrived in Puebla on Thurs around 2pm. I had a long chat with the tourist information guy, who gave me a lot of good information. After […]
Visiting Ruben, then on to Puebla
I felt very lucky to stay with my friend’s father for a few days. I had left a number of my vitamins and clothes at his home and needed to […]
Mexico City: Coyacan, San Angel, and Lake Xochimilco
I finally made it to the Palace in Zocalo to appreciate Diego Rivera’s murals. Apparently he was going to paint his murals on all the walls of the palace, but […]
Arriving in Mexico City
I arrived June 11 and stayed with my friend Le and his dad in a small town near Buen Aventura outside the city limits of Mexico City (east of the […]
A Memorial for Ilona
As soon as she was legally able, my cousin Ilona Karpinski changed her name to Kristie Ainsley. Named after my grandmother, Ilona quickly isolated herself from the family. The only […]
Arequipa
Arequipa is called the white city for its lovely blocks of volcanic rock that all the old buildings are constructed of. It is a lovely colonial city with grand palisades […]
Iquique and Arica
Claudio and I found a cheap residencial, only $8USD per person per room. I needed my own room as I was still really sick . My birthday passed with me […]
Antofagasta, mining port
Antofagasta´s business district centered around Plaza Colon is surprisingly nice. In the center of the plaza looms the tower clock donated by the British in 1911. It is said to […]
La Serena: el centro, Valle de Elqui and Coquimbo
We were going to skip La Serena, but Claudio´s friend insisted that we go. I´m glad we did. La Serena was the second pueblo founded in Chile, though none of […]
A week in Santiago
After returning to Santiago, I had an unexpected week to enjoy the highlights of its lovely city center. Many of the most important buildings in the center of Santiago are of […]
Return to Valdivia
After a nice reunion with Claudio, whom I missed after two weeks apart, we headed from Bariloche toward Valdivia. Every time I have had to cross the border between these […]
San Martin to El Bolson
I spent another few days enjoying San Martin and was inspired by La Pastera, a memorial to Che Guevara´s trip across South America and his dedication to the liberation of […]
San Martin de los Andes
I was on my way to San Martin de los Andes. It´s a beautiful trip from Villa Angostura to San Martin, along the route of Siete Lagos (7 Lakes), the […]
Villa Angostura
I spent 5 days in Bariloche, trying to escape the tourist infested town on a daily basis. It´s a bit like Disneyland, and while it has some very pretty log […]
Chiloe
I haven´t posted for some time as I haven´t had access to a computer, have been a bit sleep deprived and frankly not very happy. I’ve been having problems with […]
Valdivia and Puerto Varas
It´s been raining like crazy, perhaps two inches per day. Haven´t seen the sun for a week, but have enjoyed hearing the rain on the roof at night. I hiked […]
Pucon
Claudio and I spent a week in Pucon, where I enjoyed the beauty of nature. He is a new traveling companion that took a liking to me in Santiago but has […]
Reflections on life in Santiago
If anyone reading this might be able to buy a kindle or tablet for me (I could figure out how to reimburse you), and send it, that would be great. […]
Change of Plans
I had booked a flight to Buenos Aires for April 3 and was doing what felt like last minute packing, though it’s still 6 weeks away. I was looking forward to […]
Lisa Karpinski 