2008 - Washington DC
2010 - Cuba
2011 - DR, Bermuda, & Cruise
2012 - DR & Costa Rica
2013 - Cruise, CR, & USA
2014 - SE Asia
The Year Off 2015 - 2016
- Preamble
- Thailand & Malaysia
- Italy
- Germany, Belgium, & Lux
- Czech, Poland, & Germany
- Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary
- Slovenia, Croatia, Austria & Germany
- England & Scotland
- Turkey
- Colombia
- Peru: Lima & Amazon
- Peru: Cusco & Inca Trail
- Peru: Cusco to Lima
- Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize
- New Zealand
- Australia & Thailand
2017 - The Balkans
2017 - Hungary, Romania, & Switzerland
2018 - New York
2018 - Amsterdam, Poland, & The Baltics
2019 - Costa Rica
2019 - France
2020 - Thailand
2023 - Mexico
2023 - Iceland & Cruise
2024 - Philippines
2025 - Japan
2025 - Iceland
Short Trips
Lists
Links
| October 22, 2015 - Thursday | Lima | Peru |
| Arrived at midnight (Oct 21). Had booked a driver from my hotel to pick me up, he was late in doing so. Went to bed. Woke up and walked around, then joined a free walking tour. It was a good thing it was free since the tour sucked. Too much talking, not enough walking. Left that early, so no tips for them. | ||
| October 23, 2015 - Friday | Lima | Peru |
| Walked around the Miraflores area, including along the cliffs overlooking the sea below. They have a small shopping mall built into the cliffs there that is pretty nice and then a pathway system along the top of the cliffs. A nice Peruvian lady started talking to me. I initially thought she might be a “working girl” or a scammer, but no, she just had a couple hours to kill before meeting her mom, so we hung out until then. Between my bad Spanish and her bad English we managed to communicate. | ||
| October 24, 2015 - Saturday | Lima | Peru |
Didn’t do much in the morning and afternoon other than walk around. In the
evening I joined a tour group (G Adventures). This tour would be a river
cruise along the Amazon river for roughly six days. No group dinner, but a
few of us found a decent restaurant to eat at near the hotel.
 |
||
| October 25, 2015 - Sunday | Amazon River | Peru |
We flew to Iquitos, in the Amazon jungle. We stopped at a manatee rescue
center and fed the manatees. We then got on a river boat, called the Zafiro.
It was brand new. The boat we were supposed to get on had mechanical issues
so they substituted. I had to share a cabin with an old guy from New
Zealand, but he was nice so it wasn’t too big of a deal. Plus the days were
mostly spent on excursions or out on the deck.
 |
||
| October 26, 2015 - Monday | Amazon River | Peru |
Cruised along the river. We did three excursions in the smaller side rivers
on skiffs, but did not get to walk into the jungle. I was kind of hoping
they would give us machetes and turn us loose to hack our way deep into the
jungle, but unfortunately that did not happen.
 |
||
| October 27, 2015 - Tuesday | Amazon River | Peru |
Visited a butterfly sanctuary and a canopy walk, both of which were sort of
lame. We stopped at a small town called Nauta. Saw a bright green parrot.
Visited the local market. The meat section was gross, nothing refrigerated,
and flies everywhere. I tried not to think about it at dinner that night.
After dinner we did a jungle walk and a couple of locals pointed out a snake
and spider (that they probably put there) for us. Also did a nighttime ride
on the skiffs, and saw a camien. The guide actually jumped out of the skiff
to grab it.
 |
||
| October 28, 2015 - Wednesday | Amazon River | Peru |
Today we did a six hour boat excursion, which was the best activity so far.
We did another jungle walk. Saw a massive camien which was dead and floating
upside down. The guide hooked it with a rope and brought it to shore. We
then went up a river and fished for piranhas using chicken meat for bait. I
caught two of them. We did a canoe ride with a local oarsman. Back on the
main river we went swimming. After fishing for piranhas I was bit worried,
but figured what the hell and jumped in. Water is very muddy, so no
visibility. None of us swam for very long, but at least I can now say I did
it. Also saw some pink dolphins today. For dinner we had fried piranhas,
which were very bony. Not much meat on them.
 |
||
| October 29, 2015 - Thursday | Amazon River | Peru |
| Today we visited a small village and had lunch with a local family. Also did another excursion on the skiffs. | ||
| October 30, 2015 - Friday | Amazon River | Peru |
More trips on the skiffs, saw some monkeys and went to see the massive water
lilies.
 |
||
| October 31, 2015 - Saturday | Lima | Peru |
| River cruise is over, fly back to Lima. I enjoyed the river cruise. Saw so many different types of birds, plus monkeys, camien, and other wildlife. | ||