Author: lkcopeland57

September 29: Around Cusco

Today was my day to explore Cusco. I got a late start because of some difficulty sleeping last night. The combination of the elevation, some strange noises in the walls, and perhaps the coca leaf candy I ate after dinner all contributed to my disruptive sleep. I’ve since discovered that the sounds in the wall are the heating unit, which…

September 28: Off to Cusco

The Lima traffic once again made what is really a rather short trip in miles into a 45 minute slow crawl from the hotel to the airport. I was glad I left when I did, as I once again had believed that a Saturday morning couldn’t have so many cars and buses and micro buses on the road! And the airport was…

September 27: A long day in Lima

I landed in Lima late Thursday night and was completely surprised by all the traffic and people on the streets at midnight. My taxi driver said it was completely normal, and while I’m aware that there are 11 million people in this city I didn’t expect to see half of them still awake and out that late. I’m staying in…

Free & Easy Down the Road I Go

“I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions os us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its…

August 12: Home again

I landed at LAX at 5:15AM on a Sunday, after some fitful dozing on the 5+ hour flight from Anchorage. The good news is that Uber got me home in record time — turns out there isn’t any traffic at that time anywhere in LA. So I was able to get horizontal in my own bed for the first time…

August 11: Last Day in the Last Frontier

They call Alaska the Last Frontier because of its distance from the lower 48 and its rugged landscape. I would add that driving hours and hours with rarely a stop sign or gas station also demonstrates just how very large and remote everything is. On our last day, we had planned to visit two well known restaurants in Homer, a…

August 10: Kachemak Bay

Another sunny day! Miracles! We headed down to the spit and a last minute reservation got us onto the Rainbow Connection, a wildlife touring boat over to Seldovia on the other side of the bay. We left the harbor at 10:30 and headed most directly towards Gull Island, a bit of rock in the bay that is a wildlife haven.…

August 9: Summit Lake to Homer

We said goodbye for a second time to Summit Lake Lodge and began the drive towards the southeastern tip of the Kenai Peninsula — the town of Homer. Known as the drinking town with a fishing problem, Homer is where big game fishermen head out to troll for halibut, but is then processed and flash frozen and sent home with…

August 8: More to see in Alaska

We pointed the rental car south aiming for the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which is near Portage, AK, and just before the start of the Kenai Peninsula. We had heard that this is where abandoned and abused and orphaned wildlife are cared for, often to live out their lives, so a visit to see up close some of what we…

August 7: The Alaska Railroad

We said goodbye to our guides at noon today, and the 10 hikers boarded the Alaska Railroad from Denali station to Anchorage. The line runs from Fairbanks to Seward, over 470 miles, and is the only year-round reliable transportation to the interior. It doesn’t travel fast, and there’s running commentary throughout about the history and wildlife and scenery and the…