Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that we live on a stunningly beautiful sub-tropical island, small enough that many areas are accessible for a day trip or a weekend. This weekend, we decided to ditch the city and headed to a tiny island in the Taiwan Straight called Xiao Liu Qiu (Little Golden Lion...

We arrived at YVR after 26 hours in transit: from Montevideo, Uruguay, we took a red eye to Panama City, then another flight to Houston. We had a seven hour layover in Houston (which was obviously spent over beers), and then onto Vancouver, where we arrived just before midnight on March 22. When you’re...

Arriving in Northern Chile after two weeks in Bolivia — the last few days of which were spent in a high altitude and desolate desert — was like arriving in an figurative oasis (figurative, because northern Chile is desert as well): well-paved roads with clear signage and emergency runaway...

As if Argentina had not already shown-off enough personality to make us fall permanently in love (wine, futbol, outdoor cafes…need we say more?), we both became even more enamored after a day of taking in yet another national passion: tango is so hot right now! We started off in the barrio of La...

Skyline in Recoletta Cemetary, Buenos Aires, Argentina. What? You didn't plan on being burried in a pyramid? Recoleta Cemetary, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buenos Aires has nice, wide avenues, even in its cemetaries. Recoleta Cemetary, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cobwebs. Recoleta Cemetary, Buenos Aires,...

We arrived in Mendoza, Argentina, just as I finished a course of antibiotics (no thanks to you, Bolivia); after an entire week in Argentina, I was finally ready to sample the country’s most famous export: wine. We spent the first day wandering about the tree-lined streets of Mendoza, its lovely...

Since leaving Sucre, Bolivia (finally) on Ash Wednesday, we’ve had some epic scenery. None, however, was more mind-blowing than the three days we spent in a Land Cruiser, traversing the high altitude desert that stretches from Uyuni, in Southwestern Bolivia, all the way to San Pedro de Atacama...

After our plans to spend Carnival in Oruro were foiled due to a lack of accommodation, we decided to hunker down in Sucre, Bolivia, a picturesque and well-preserved colonial city named not after the sweetener, but Antonio José de Sucre, a General in Simón Bolívar‘s army responsible for liberating...

This was the first impression we had of La Paz, on approach from Lake Titicaca. La Paz, Bolivia. Another view of the city from high above. La Paz, Bolivia. Even though La Paz is at about 3600 meters above sea level, it is still surrounded by towering mountains. La Paz, Bolivia. Urban density. La Paz,...

Finding ourselves in La Paz on a Sunday, we decided to check out Cholitas wrestling, a spectacle of local men and women pretending to beat the hell out of each other for the enjoyment of popcorn-gorging locals and gringos. Cholitas wrestling wasn’t new to us: we’d watched one of our favorite...