We kicked off our four-week adventure with a flight from Sarasota, Florida, to Querétaro, Mexico. Querétaro is the closest major city to our first stop: San Miguel de Allende (SMA). We spent three days exploring Querétaro on a previous trip, so this time we just stayed overnight before making the 1½-hour drive to SMA. Our original plan was to take a bus, but when we saw that an Uber cost less than $50, convenience won out over adventure. For years…
A Special Blog Post Next week, we are heading to Mexico for 4 weeks to escape the summer heat and humidity of Florida. We will visit several towns in the central mountain highlands to explore, hike, and enjoy local customs and cuisine. One of the activities we always plan as part of our travels is to take a cooking class. This trip will be no exception. During our planning, we asked what we wanted to learn from a class, and,…
By our fourth week in Panama, we started to feel the rhythm of the city. Every day we woke up early to go out for a run or walk followed by trying a new coffee shop. We walked to the grocery store a couple of times per week to stock up. Mid mornings we worked out at the gym. After that we returned to our air-conditioned apartment to get out of the sun and humidity until early evening. In the…
After four weeks in Panama City, we finally ventured out to the countryside. We were getting tired of the heat and humidity in the city, so, we decided to go to a small town called El Valle de Antón. We hopped on a bus for a 3-hour ride for a 3-day escape. El Valle de Antón is a peaceful town located inside an extinct volcanic crater in the cloud forest of Panama. The land is rich and fertile. There is…
I struggled to write about our “adventure” at the Panama Canal. I began writing about its history. From the 1534 Spanish exploration of the isthmus of Panama to France’s failed attempt to construct a canal in the 1880s. Next, I tried writing about our Panama Canal tour and leaving it up to the reader to learn about the facts and current events surrounding the Canal. However, I finally decided that I must write about some of the misinformation being spread…
We plan to travel in Panama for 6 weeks. We have no defined itinerary other than spending some amount of time in Panama City. We have rented 3 different Airbnb apartments mostly confined to neighborhoods close to Casco Viejo (Old Quarter). So far, our stay here has been very challenging. This time of year, temperatures are in the upper 80’s to low 90’s. The humidity hovers around 60-70 percent. In short, the weather is very similar to Florida weather in…
After our 14-day walk on the Camino, we spent a couple of extra days in Santiago. But we were anxious to move on. We were tired of the cool, wet, cloudy days and wanted to go to another part of Spain. Initially we had planned to stay in northwest Spain (Galicia) and explore some of the other cities. But we changed our mind because while walking the Camino, we saw plenty of ancient, gothic towns. And we ate phenomenal Galician…
We have been intrigued about the Camino de Santiago de Compostela for several years, even before we retired and began traveling. We know one person who walked the Camino and when she described her experience, we thought that we might like to walk it someday. But the distance seemed daunting. We didn’t have a spiritual reason for walking the Camino but approached it as a physical challenge and a chance to visit Spain and Portugal. So, 6 months ago we…
As Kathy and I prepare for our next adventure (hiking the Camino de Santiago from Portugal to Spain), we wanted to share an adventure with you that is not about us. This adventure is about our friends, Lindsey and Jessie, and their recent obstacle course race. They have raced in more than 200 obstacle course races over the past 12 years from 3-mile races up to 50-mile 24-hour races. As we learned at the Savage Race near Tampa, FL, this…
Argentinians really know how to eat. The food is delicious with influences from Spanish and Italian immigrants who arrived during the 19th and 20th centuries. Common dishes include Asado (Argentinian barbeque), Empanadas, Milanese (thin slices of beef, chicken, or veal, breaded and fried until golden), and Provoleta (a delicious, gooey baked-provolone cheese), Chimichurri sauce (made with parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar), Pizza and Dulce de Leche (similar to caramel), But Argentina is best known for its high-quality beef….