4:00 A.M., alarm blaring, almost violent at an ungodly hour. I cursed it and was tempted to roll over. But I knew if I had, I’d regret it. I had a volcanic lake to visit.
After a bumpy chicken bus ride, we finally arrived at the lake’s edge. The sun was just coming up and we were among the very few people there.
Open up the panorama to see Quilotoa Lake for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Ecuador, Panorama by: Audrey Scott
14 Comments | 2 March 2012
Deep blue sky, pure white salt. The salt flats (Salinas Grandes) in northwestern Argentina.
And those pentagonal designs you see on the ground? All natural. Mother nature’s design eye. Open the panorama below to see this surreal landscape for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
9 Comments | 18 December 2011
Have you ever been hiking and witnessed colors so surreal that you find it difficult to believe they’re natural?
The turquoise hue of Lake Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile certainly falls into this category. Open up the panorama below to see for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Chile, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 12 October 2011
Guinea pig (cuy) is apparently a critical component of Andean cuisine. At the pre-Incan ruins of Kuelap, we were told that guinea pigs have been domesticated and bred as a source of protein for thousands of years.
And although the selection of meats throughout Peru and Ecuador has (thankfully) expanded substantially, guinea pig remains a prized meal. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Panorama, Peru by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 27 September 2011
Quito, Ecuador — at 2,800 meters (9,200 feet) in elevation, it’s just a bit closer to the sky than most capital cities. Walk around Quito’s old town and you’ll feel it — not only because of the slight shortness of breath you might experience, but also because of the inimitable cloud-popping blue sky overhead. It’s so surreal that you sometimes feel you can reach up and touch it — if only you could stretch just a little bit more.
Throw in a few parks, dramatic staircases, and a few of Quito’s impressive colonial churches like San Francisco Church below, and you’ve got yourself a visual that you just might never forget.
And no, that sky is not photoshopped. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Ecuador, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 17 August 2011
Have you ever wondered what you would find on a visit to Argentina? We thought you might, so we share a slideshow of favorite photos we took while crossing the country four months overland — from Iguazu Falls in the north to Ushuaia on the very southern tip, and back north again to the windswept Calchaquíe Valleys.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Travel by: Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 10 February 2011
Maybe you’d like to visit wine country in Argentina. You’ve heard about Mendoza, but you wonder: How to I go about wine tasting and touring wineries there? The options are many, but if you’d like to have a meaningful, enlightening wine tasting experience and an awesome time, here are a few tips on how to do so without blowing a ton of cash.
Continue Reading »
- Patagonia: Hitchhiking the Wild West of Argentine Wine
- Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
- Wine Tasting in Mendoza, Argentina: Going Beyond Malbec and Loving It
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 26 January 2011
Have you ever glommed on to a piece of information and carried it with you, even if you can’t remember its origins or vouch for its accuracy? That was me with the city of Valparaiso and hot dogs (or completos, as they are called in Chile).
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Chile, South America, Travel by: Daniel Noll
41 Comments | 19 January 2011
Red rocks and desert. Doesn’t sound like the right conditions for a wine region, does it?
The name Cafayate, another of Argentina’s winemaking regions, doesn’t quite have the same ring as Mendoza. But there’s something about the sandy soil — good for irrigation control and filtering – that finds expression in the local grapes, including the local white wine varietal of choice, Torrontes. Continue Reading »
- Patagonia: Hitchhiking the Wild West of Argentine Wine
- Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
- Wine Tasting in Mendoza, Argentina: Going Beyond Malbec and Loving It
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
18 Comments | 14 January 2011
Q: What’s the proper way to greet family you’ve never met before?
A: In Argentina: with kisses, warmth — and a heck of a lot of steak.
Earlier this year, with a visit to relatives in Argentina only days away, I received my first email in Spanish from my grandmother. This may not sound noteworthy, but the fact that she wrote it in her mother tongue transformed it for me from a simple letter into a welcome to a part of my family I hadn’t known before: the Argentine side.
Author’s note: Our visit to Argentina was months ago, so why am I writing about this now? With the holidays coming, I began to reflect on tradition, family and what it means to be “far away.” Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Perspectives by: Audrey Scott
20 Comments | 17 December 2010
