Nuestro Blog
La Reserva Mashpi Amagusa en peligro de perder tierras
La familia Basantes puede perder 62 hectáreas de su preciosa Reserva Mashpi Amagusa.
Spring Wildflowers on Our Favorite Forest Park Loop
We enjoy living in St. Johns partly for easy access to parks and quiet spaces. One of our favorite places is Forest Park, especially the trailheads along Germantown Road. Scott and I hike there often, whether we need a longer walk, a training hike, or simply a reset....
La Reserva Mashpi Amagusa en peligro de perder tierras
La familia Basantes puede perder 62 hectáreas de su preciosa Reserva Mashpi Amagusa.
Spring Wildflowers on Our Favorite Forest Park Loop
We enjoy living in St. Johns partly for easy access to parks and quiet spaces. One of our favorite places is Forest Park, especially the trailheads along Germantown Road. Scott and I hike there often, whether we need a longer walk, a training hike, or simply a reset....
Do You Need to Buy a SIM Card When Traveling? What We Do Instead
If you’re planning an international trip, you’ve probably asked yourself: Do I need to buy a SIM card when I land? For years, that was the default advice. Find a kiosk at the airport, swap out your SIM, and hope everything works. But that’s not what we do anymore....
An Invitation to Good Friday in Alangasí, Ecuador
We arrived in Alangasí on Good Friday with our friends from Texas and Jacquie, our friend and local guide, after spending the day in Quito’s Historic Center, where we watched the well-known procession named for Jesus del Gran Poder. Needless to say, we were tired but...
Arrastre de Caudas in Quito: Witnessing an Ancient Rite
Last year marked my second time attending the Arrastre de Caudas in Quito—an unusual tradition for someone who isn’t Catholic. And yet, I keep coming back. There is something about Catholicism in the Andes that feels different from what I’ve experienced in the United...
Gossamer Gear Aero Jet Review: Best Small Carry-On?
Planning our trip to Peru’s Chachapoyas region forced me to rethink my carry-on strategy. The only airline serving the area allows bags just 15 x 12 x 8 inches with an 11-pound weight limit — far stricter than what most international carriers permit. My usual 40L...
Common Questions About the Sarcophagi of Karajía
Before visiting Karajía, we thought we had a pretty good sense of what we were going to see. Like most people, we’d seen the photographs: a small group of towering figures perched high on a cliff, their painted faces staring out over the valley. It wasn’t until we...
Our Basic Birdwatching Kit: For Beginners and Beyond
We’re long past calling ourselves beginner birdwatchers, though we still hesitate to say we’re professionals. Yet when I count how many years we've been doing this seriously, I was surprised. Birding became more than a passing interest when we lived in Quito, Ecuador,...
Chasing Snow Geese: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
We respectfully acknowledge that the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuges sits on the ancestral lands of the Nisenan, Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok/Me-Wuk, and Patwin Wintun peoples. These communities have cared for and sustained this region for countless...
South America in Uncertain Times: A Travel Safety Guide
On 3 January 2026, U.S. Military Forces raided Venezuela's capital city, Caracas, and captured the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro. This attack, while a complete surprise, followed months of force movements into the area and extensive news coverage of U.S....
