Greetings from Peru!

Hello, one and all -

I want to apologize for being such a terribly absent blogger. I hope that you can all take this lack of communication as a testament to what an amazing time we have been having. So much has happened since I've last posted, I won't even attempt to share it all with you. With that said, I hereby resort to the highlights reel:

Ecuador: After Manta, we found ourselves in lovely Canoa. Canoa is so dear to us that I don't know where to begin. Suffice it to say, we met wonderful people and stayed for two weeks. Please ask us about Canoa later - there is so much more to tell. From Canoa, we had a brief tour of Puerto Lopez and Montañita, before making our way down to Guayaquil to catch our flight to Chile.

Chile: We arrived in Santiago on a beautiful, sunny morning, and were warmly greeted by Magui's friend Cristobal and his family. They were wonderful hosts during our time in Santiago, and we are so grateful for their generous hospitality. Our stay in Chile also included some time on the coast - in Viña del Mar and in Valparaiso. In Viña, we had the great opportunity to see Reik and Don Omar in concert at the Festival Internacional de la Cancion (the International Festival of Song). It was a great show and a very fun night. (We think we might have even appeared on Chilean TV!) We had a couple of days to enjoy Valparaio before the earthquake hit. All I can say is that we both feel so lucky to have made it safely through that night and out of Chile. Our hearts are with all those affected by and still recovering from the earthquake.

Argentina: After the earthquake, we departed Chile for Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is a beautiful, lively city. We thoroughly enjoyed touring local wineries and a nearby olive oil factory, and we had the good fortune of being in town during Mendoza´s Italian Fest (three nights of Italian food and music in a nearby park). From Mendoza, we headed to Cafayate, a wonderful small town in the north of Argentina. There, we enjoyed a strenuous mountain hike to see several beautiful waterfalls. We also rented bikes, and spent an afternoon cycling to local wineries. From Cafayate, we made our way north to Bolivia.

Bolivia: By far, the highlight of Bolivia was our four-day tour of the Salt Flats and surrounding area. It was four dusty days in a crowded jeep at high altitude, made worthwhile by the wonderful people and the incredible scenery. We have some great photos of the Salt Flats, which cover a surface area of 12,000 square km and are 8 meters deep! It was on our tour, which began in Tupiza and ended in Uyuni, that we met a great Canadian named Aynsley. From Uyuni, we headed to La Paz, where we picked up our friend Lindsey. So, we are now four - Aynsley, Lindsey, Magui, and Betti. We left La Paz and spent one great night in Copacobana on Lake Titicaca before making our way into Peru.

Peru: Our first stop in Peru was Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru. Due to its size, we didn't expect to like Arequipa much. But this beautiful, friendly city won us over, and we ended up staying for a few days. Next came Huacachina, in the Ica desert, where we went sandboarding! Very fun - we recommend it to all of you. From there, we made our way north along the coast, all the way to Huanchaca, a small beach town just outside of Trujillo. Now, we write to you from Mancora, another coastal town that we are excited to explore.

If you've made it this far, I commend you and THANK YOU for reading. As a reward for your interest in our travels, we would now like to share with you some of the more delightful English translations that we have found on restaurant menus down here:

Shrimp Empanadas: "Fried masses to the shrimp's cheese"
Stuffed Avocados: "Avocado refills"
Mashed Potatoes: "Attacked potatoes"
A Pineapple Dessert: "Pine cones to the juice with cream"

Hope you enjoyed those - we laughed until we cried when we found them.

Thanks so much for checking in. We think of you all daily!

Cuidense,

Magui y Betti

Greetings from Manta (Ecuador's ugliest town . . . )!

Hello!

We are on the coast of Ecuador, in the town of Manta, on our way from Quito to the coastal town of Canoa.

A lot has happened since our last post! First of all, Parque Tayrona is stunning, and you should all visit. We began with a long hike through the forest, where we were astounded to find monkeys! Dozens of them, filling the trees above us - amazing. After the hike, we reached the water, where we were greeted by an expansive beach, big waves, palm trees, and mountains. We hiked along the beach to Cabo San Juan, a sort of hippie beach village. We whiled away the day, reveling in the beauty around us, before digging into a sleepless night in hammocks.

Highlights of Colombia: Luis and Ivan, Santa Marta, communal dinner, Tayrona, Juan Valdez.

After Tayrona, we returned to lovely Santa Marta, before flying to Quito, Ecuador. Arriving in Quito was quite an experience - to return to the place of so many memories for Magui, and for Betania to finally see this place that she had heard so much about. We settled in to Hostel Centro del Mundo, arriving in the midst of free rum-and-coke night, which, needless to say, gets a little crazy. It was a fun way to be welcomed into life in the Mariscal (Quito's GringoLand). We had a really great time in Quito, and met a whole cast of new characters who added color to our adventures.

Highlights of Quito: Old Town, dancing, fritada, live music in La Ronda, lunch with Mariana, Papaya.net (and Fernando and Nephy), seeing old friends, dinner at a Chinese restaurant with our new Haitian friends.

We hope that you are all well, and we will share more with you from the shores of Canoa!

Peace, love, and full-fat peanut butter,

Magui y Betania

COLOMBIA!

Greetings from Santa Marta, Colombia!

Meg and I are having a wonderful trip so far - perfect day after perfect day. We began in Cartagena, a beautiful town with a colonial center. We did many fun things in Cartagena - went to the local beach, Boca Grande; went on a boat tour to two nearby islands, including the stunning Playa Blanca; and enjoyed the sea breeze in the evening at Cafe del Mar. By far the best part of Cartagena, however, was meeting some truly great people. On our first night in town, we met two locals, Luis and Ivan, who we quickly dubbed "the nicest men in Colombia." We also had the pleasure of getting to know two others staying at our hostel - Andrea, from Virginia, and a Brazilian named Gustavo.

Our favorite part of our time in Cartagena was the six of us cooking a communal dinner in our hostel kitchen. We shared good food, great conversation, and some good jams (including Bob Marley, who we have decided is the one person that EVERYONE in the world likes).

We are now in Santa Marta, which we were shocked and amazed to find is even more beautiful than Cartagena! We have only be here for a few hours, but we are in love with it already. We encourage you all to visit Santa Marta; with its quaint colonial streets, beautiful beach, pleasant plazas, and friendly people, how could you not love it?

Tomorrow we will explore the nearby Parque Tayrona. Having read extensively about the beauty of this national park, we are eager to finally see it!

Thanks for checking in. We hope you are all doing well!

Cuidense,

Magui y Betania

The Adventure Begins!

Hello, everyone!

Thanks for checking in here! I'm super excited to have all of you follow me along this incredible adventure. I have this amazing opportunity - to see the world, to make memories, and to do it all with my best friend, Meg.

Our departure is fast approaching - we leave in three days! We will fly into Miami this Friday (Meg's birthday!), and spend the night. On Saturday, we officially begin our international travels, as we embark for Cartagena, Colombia.

I am thrilled to be able to stay connected and share stories with each of you over the next four months, and I hope you enjoy following me through Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Italy, and Greece. Wow!

Peace,

Bethany