Yesterday I sat on a street corner in Cuenca, Ecuador and talked with Cesar from Maracaibo, Venezuela. He was sitting with his 5 year old daughter. His wife had gone to the hospital with their son as he had developed a fever. They had walked 18 days across Colombia and halfway through Ecuador. They left their home, car (no fuel or money) and the friends who had not yet fled. … [Read more...]
Farewell 2018 – a few highs & lows from a Life on the Road
Travel is Fatal to Prejudice - Mark Twain Sadly, I’m not convinced Mr. Twain was entirely correct. For a clear majority, travel opens eyes and hearts, but there are those who seem to travel just to confirm their own biases or, even worse, to take advantage of people in marginal conditions. Undoubtedly travelling the world is fun and highly addictive, but I … [Read more...]
Venezuela – the ongoing tragedy of Populism
Ecuador has just announced it will no longer let Venezuelans cross into its territory without a passport. The Brazilian army has been sent to its northern border to control violence. Peru is planning similar passport measures and Chile has had tighter regulations for years. This is sad, but perhaps a little understandable. Firstly, the countries of South America are … [Read more...]
Ceviche- the most popular South American food
Ceviche Ceviche is a classic South American raw fish dish (but ‘cooked’ a different way). It uses raw fish and or seafood that has been marinated in lime juice and mixed with veggies and other ingredients. It is very popular throughout Central and South America and is even the national food of Peru. It is served in thousands of restaurants and food stands from … [Read more...]
Populist Political Rantings – We can do better
I once listened to an Italian philosopher point out the obvious (paraphrased); “with the Internet, we now have access to almost everything, ever written, but unless we’ve actually read it, we’re not necessarily any more informed.” *Sadly, I do not remember his name .. so will have to continue without a correct notation. Now that I use social media fairly actively and my … [Read more...]
