Category Archives: Advice

The Sacred Valley – Cusco Peru

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I recently saw someone on Facebook post that they were considering visiting Cusco and not going to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. I am not sure what the thinking was, but as I suggested to them, I think it would be a crime to come to Cusco and not explore the Valley. Even if you choose not to visit MP, which is somewhat expensive, there are many other things in the valley worth seeing.  The Sacred Valley is about an hour from Cusco by bus or shuttle. It is at the heart of the former Inca empire. Unfortunately, when the Spanish entered the valley in the early 1600s, looting and destroying the Inca civilization … Continue reading →

The Galapagos Islands

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AI Prompt: Write a travelogue about the Galapagos Islands The Galápagos Islands are a collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are known for their unique wildlife and natural beauty. The islands’ distinctive flora and fauna inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution¹. The Galápagos Islands are now a popular tourist destination, with visitors coming to see the many species of birds, reptiles, and other animals that can only be found on the islands¹. There are many different ways to explore the Galápagos Islands, from cruises to land-based tours. Some of the most popular islands to visit include Santa Cruz, Isla Isabela, and San Cristobal⁵. Visitors can take tours and day trips to see everything … Continue reading →

Barebones Galapagos

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The Galapagos Islands, with their incredibly abundant and accessible wildlife, should be on every traveler’s bucket list. As there are literally hundreds of blogs, videos, and websites dedicated to convincing you of this, I won’t duplicate their efforts. I want to focus on helping you get the most out of your trip while minimizing the cost. For those of you wanting to see the Galapagos Islands on a true backpacker budget, I am going to disappoint you. For a number of reasons that I will explain, there is no dirt-cheap way to do this. You can keep costs down, but nobody can really describe a trip to the Galapagos as cheap. Two Ways to See … Continue reading →

Life is a Thru-hike

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Life is a thru-hike. Every day it’s a matter of waking up and finding a way to repeatedly put one foot in front of the other, minute after minute, day after day, for a whole lot of days. Along the way, you are going to eat, drink, laugh, cry, and sleep. And when you get to the point where you can’t do any of that anymore, then one way or the other you have reached the end of your trail. For some people, the end of the trail comes sooner than later. Some people will find their trail blocked by obstacles, will allow themselves to be sidetracked, or be forced to take a detour, and … Continue reading →

Don’t overlook these things when getting ready for a thru-hike of the PCT (mostly for less experienced hikers)

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When you first start thinking about your first thru-hike of a very long trail such as the PCT, there are lots of things to consider. And even for the experienced hiker, it is easy to miss some things that might be very different compared to shorter hikes. While certainly not a complete list, here are a few things you really don’t want to overlook…

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Staying Safe Online

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If you are a writer, photographer, traveler, or even like the idea of being one of those things, then you probably spend a lot of time online. We upload, we download, and we just look around. We plan our next trip and read about the trips of others. And when we do all that, there is a certain level of risk involved. When we are online while traveling, the risk goes up…a lot. The days where we only had to worry about computer viruses are long. Now we have phishing attacks, packet sniffers, keystroke loggers, government surveillance, data theft, worms and ransomware. To keep our lives and our devices relatively safe isn’t that hard, but … Continue reading →