Are you thinking of volunteering in South America? Why not volunteer in rural Peru? The options for improving your Spanish and immersing yourself in a unique culture are endless, and on top of all that, it can cost as little as $300USD per month. Keeping Track of Spending After returning from Peru in December, I missed so …

The strangest thing is that I was thinking, right before it happened, that I should have tried harder to convince my parents to come to dinner with me. They should probably eat again, and it’s dangerous to be out alone at night. So here I recount a tale of something that happened to me exactly …

If you had wandered into the town of Mindo just 15 years ago, you would never have seen advertisements for canyoning or chocolate tours. The infrastructure simply did not exist back then. However, over the past several years, the town just two hours north of capital city Quito has exploded with activity, nowadays earning about …

Pronounced “O-yan-tay-tombo” and called simply “o-YAN-ta” by the locals, I spent two months of my life in this small Peruvian town, this a living Inca village just a few hours from Cusco and Machu Picchu. What Is The Sacred Valley Of Peru? The Sacred Valley, or el Valle Sagrado, is what many people call the …

Peruvian desserts and dishes are becoming world famous for their fusion of native cuisines, European styles, and some ingredients imported from Asia. Living in rural Peru for two months, I ate a TON of local food occasionally supplemented by home cooking. Eating lunch out was so cheap. It would have cost me more to make …

The majority of businesses in Ollantaytambo were closed for a few days, about a month ago. They tried to shut down the entire town, but some tourists remained behind and some businesses opted to serve them. It didn’t surprise me or disappoint me, because neither party did anything wrong. But I was really looking forward to …

While living in the Sacred Valley of Peru, I went on an adventure to see Machu Picchu on a backpackers budget, widely claimed to be one of the Seven Wonders of the (Modern) World. The trip started on a Wednesday morning, when I got on the van towards the hydroelectric plant and then hiked a …

Wondering what to do in the sacred valley, or in Ollantaytambo, Peru? How about visiting Incan ruins with— wait for it— no other tourists? A Sign From Above I have lived in Ollantaytambo for 2 months now, and I rarely, if ever, saw tourists on this or any other mountain side. They tend to stick to the paths. So a couple …

Instead of taking my time and hiking back from Machu Picchu on my last of three saved-up days off, I took the very expensive train back from Aguas Calientes. I had a commitment. That afternoon was ​the confirmation ceremony for my goddaughter. Temporary Godmothership To explain why I, a nonreligious person, agreed to act as (albeit temporary) …

There are salt mines located about a 10 minute drive from Ollantaytambo, my town in Peru. Technically, the town they’re located in is Maras, but the mountains take up so much room that they’re more like Maras-adjacent. However, these salt mines are so famous in Peru that in the store we have bars of chocolate made with …