Get Dirty Taking a Bath: El Totumo Mud Volcano
Cartagena was still filled with unexplored corners. We’d already spent longer than planned, but the streets lined with bright-hued houses, flower-clad balconies, small cafes and shops had hypnotized us. We roamed for hours, people watching, hunting for street art, taking in museums and historic sites and snacking, always snacking. Fresh fruit, fish for lunch by the […]
Don’t Skip: Pucon, Chile
Intro to Pucon Many of the destinations in the Don’t Skip series are off the beaten track. That’s not the case with Pucon, which is hardly unknown. As a matter of fact, it’s long-established as a hub of outdoor activities in this part of Chile. Depending on the season, you can skydive, kayak, ski, swim, […]
Volcanic Tablelands
Route 6: from the Sierra Nevadas to Cape Cod? The Sierra Nevada mountains cover 400 miles along the border of California and Nevada. We crossed the Sierras and into Inyo County from just north of Los Angeles, via Rt. 14 to 395. Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States (14,496 feet above sea […]
Jeju Island: Bali in Korea?
Jeju Island Not sure if we can agree with the title “Bali of Korea,” but Jeju is indeed a pretty island. Volcanic and subtropical, Jeju is filled with natural beauty unmarred by the bountiful tourist attractions crawling with busloads of holidaymakers. It’s also the “honeymoon island” popular with couples who have the opportunity to visit […]
Blooms and Volcanoes
Arriving in Kagoshima in the late afternoon, we checked in and relaxed for a bit before heading back out for dinner. It was great to see Miwa, who was in town for the weekend as well! She had been an exchange student to Cape Cod around the same time I was in Japan, and it […]
Reflections
Leaving San Francisco for the last time this year marked another step closer to finishing this tour. Since it’s college football season, there are plenty of events left, but that doesn’t mean there’s no time to squeeze in a little more down time. On the way up to Pullman, WA, home of the Washington State […]
Arenal Volcano
We were blessed with a full view of the usually cloudy Arenal Volcano on the way into its closest town, La Fortuna. A few clouds had formed by the time we took a late afternoon hike in the area of the 1968 lava flow area. It was in this year the people who […]
Pucón
In Pucon we had definitely arrived in another tourist-centric town, but a lovely one. Its lakeside setting with black sand beach and the backdrop of Villarrica Volcano is gorgeous, and there are tons of outdoor activities and adventures, relaxing thermal pools nearby and a heady mix of restaurants and bars for after a long day […]
Rotorua: Thermal City, Land of Smoke and Steam
Rotorua Population-wise Rotorua is a big city (over 70,000 or so). We were advised it might seem overly commercial for our liking, but we wanted to experience the often talked about geothermal area that’s still bubbling, spouting and boiling away. The area is also very special in Maori history, and today there are many cultural […]
Taupo
After our Alpine Crossing we needed a day of taking it easy, so we head to the thermal pools near Taupo. I had a very relaxing mud wrap and massage while Donny tried to catch me in the book we’re trying to finish, The Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King. It’s a great, […]