South America
Juan Valdez Parading Around
Written By: jeff
Posted On: January 6th, 2012
Growing up, I saw the old commercials showing Juan Valdez in the coffee fields picking coffee. I thought that Juan Valdez was just a marketing creation for the US market. But, I learned after my first trip to Colombia that Juan (or J-Val as I like to call him) is the local and global embodiment [...]
Botero’s Apples
Written By: jeff
Posted On: December 30th, 2011
You can’t travel to Colombia and not hear about Botero. He’s the one that paints and sculpts the fat people. Not everyone gets his style or what he’s trying to convey, but his work always gets a conversation started. There are two primary places to see his work in Colombia. There’s Botero Park in Medellin. [...]
Pre-Colombian Bling at the Gold Museum
Written By: jeff
Posted On: December 23rd, 2011
As a resident of Bogotá, one of my favorite museums in the city and the country is the Gold Museum. When people travel to Colombia, they often spend little time here and I fear they miss this gem of the country. Remodeled in 2008, the museum focuses exclusively on the uses of gold by the [...]
Woman Crossing Courtyard in Villa de Leyva
Written By: jeff
Posted On: December 16th, 2011
There are many places as you travel around Colombia that will make you feel transported back in time. Cartagena, the coffee region, San Gil, all have their old-world charm. My favorite by far is Villa de Leyva. It’s why I named it as one of my top 30 places to chill on your career break. [...]
Why I’m a Steak Snob and Not In Love With Argentinean Steak
Written By: jeff
Posted On: September 28th, 2011
I get it, everyone’s supposed to go ga-ga over the steak when you travel in Argentina, right? It’s the food the country is known for. Don’t get me wrong, I have had some pretty amazing beef there, no doubt. And, when I go out for steak here in Bogota, it’s often to an Argentinean steakhouse. [...]
Wrapping Up Patagonia in Chiloé and Valdivia
Written By: jeff
Posted On: July 24th, 2011
On Saturday, March 1, around noon I headed off to the pier to catch my ferry from Chaitén to Quellón on the island of Chiloé. I had a final conversation with the family who owned the home where I was staying. We talked about Chilean life in southern Chile and how different it was to [...]
Tips for Visiting Machu Picchu If You’re NOT Hiking the Inca Trail
Written By: jeff
Posted On: July 23rd, 2011
Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of when the world learned of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham. Few discoveries have set alight the travel imaginations of the world like this one. In 2007, I set off to discover Machu Picchu on my own. I had a bit of guilt about not hiking the [...]
4x4ing the Carretera Austral
Written By: jeff
Posted On: July 17th, 2011
On Monday morning after saying a quick goodbye to Matt, I went into town to have a quick breakfast and find a car to drive. I quickly hit a roadblock as all the agencies seemed to be out of cars. Furthermore, the prices were even more outlandish than I had originally heard. I started doubting [...]
Getting Started on the Southern Patagonia Highway, aka, “La Carretera Austral”
Written By: jeff
Posted On: July 10th, 2011
On Friday, February 22, we got up, had a quick breakfast at the hostel and headed for the bus company. We heard that that the bus across to Chile Chico, Chile left just after noon, so we hoped to still be able to get a ticket. The ideal scenario for the day was cross the [...]
Camping Amongst the Glaciers and Mountains
Written By: jeff
Posted On: July 3rd, 2011
On Saturday, February 16th, I said goodbye to Puerto Natales and temporarily, Chile. I boarded the bus for El Calafate, Argentina, site of one of the most impressive glaciers around. After a more than 6 hour bus ride, I arrived at the bus station to find my friend Matt waiting. After dumping my bags at [...]
