Notes From A Bear's Journey

      So you may be asking yourself, why would I combine both Ecuador and the Galapagos on one post?  And it's a good question since so many folks spend an entire vacation just in the Galapagos, often making one of the many ships their "home" for a week or more (we stayed on land).  But need I remind you that the Galapagos islands are a part of Ecuador.  Okay, weak excuse but I'll cover all of that later.   Right now, we need to head back to Lima, well, to us leaving Lima...and a hotel bathrobe.  And all of it begins at 4:30 AM... The natural remedies given, one a probiotic...      We were on the move, having left to catch the early, early flight to Ecuador (did you notice that 4:30 AM wake-up?)  The bus met us at the airport in Quito, dropped us off at the hotel, and we were given a few hours to catch our breath before heading out for a quick city tour (we all just wanted to plop down and take a nap).  Now let me add that I have never worn a hotel's bathrobe, thi

      The end of visiting a distant land always comes with a mix of emotions, a wish that you could stay longer and yet a tugging that urges you to move on to the next place (or to head home).  But the fact was that we were indeed leaving, and leaving early, as in 4 AM early, for the morning drive to the airport.  But at 11,000 feet, getting up in the wee hours didn't seem as bad since the thin air had already partially fogged our brains, making us feel as if we had survived a wild night of partying and yet didn't have a hangover.  All of which was ironic because Cusco is a city that does indeed seem to come alive at night, the evenings being the time when festivals and rallies just start to begin; even the street vendors seem to noticeably liven up despite sitting all day plying their wares to us tourists: pose with my llamas, look at my original art (it's the same art everywhere), my name is Tom Cruise, my name is Kevin Costner, my name is Martha Washington (those three n

Machu Picchu from the air; photo: Machu Picchu Travel       By no means am I trying to poke fun at this citadel high in the Andes; but indeed there are few words or emotions to describe that first encounter you have with this modern wonder, modern in the sense of only recently being protected.  From the ground it is puzzling, the stones almost impossibly tight, their weight almost beyond belief, and on top of all that, it is all at the top of a mountain.  So the questions come from all sides.  How?  Why?  And why here?  And bear in mind that this is the "cleared" version, the site now almost pristinely restored for the nearly 6000 visitors who flock here daily during the busy summer months of December through March (remember, you're in Peru so the seasons are close to the opposite of the US).  And as with so many other "discovered" ancient sites (such as at Angkor Wat), one had to wonder if this royal setting was merely a small part of the actual size of Machu P