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Mariachi Music in Guadalajara

Mariachi Music in Guadalajara

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This week Guadalajara hosted the 26th annual International Mariachi and Charrería Festival. This festival draws mariachi groups from all over the world including the United States. Over the course of ten days, there are mariachi concerts throughout the city in parks, squares, and theaters. Thousands of locals turn out for the free events, singing and clapping along with the musicians, singers, and dancers. Background Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Mexico, consisting of violins, trumpets, Spanish guitars,…

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Tacos, Tacos, and More Tacos

Tacos, Tacos, and More Tacos

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Over the years, we have been to many cities in Mexico. We have traveled to Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, several border towns and twice to Mexico City. It’s hard to choose our favorite food city in Mexico because, in a country with such a rich food culture, there’s a lot of good food to be had. Although Guadalajara is not a foodie destination like Mexico City or Lima, Peru, the food here is some of the best…

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Guadalajara

Guadalajara

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Why are we in Guadalajara, Mexico (after Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru)? The city was never on our bucket list, but mostly we wanted to continue practicing our Spanish in a big Spanish-speaking city (4 million) with a perfect climate. Plus, we have visited Mexico City several times, which we enjoyed but is much bigger (8 million), and we wanted to try another Mexican city. In GDL (as it is abbreviated by locals) the days are sunny, often with rain in…

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Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

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As a child in grade school, Kathy read a National Geographic article about a magical place in Peru called Machu Picchu. The huge building stones were fit together so tightly and with such precision that earthquakes couldn’t level them, and you couldn’t slip so much as a piece of paper between them. Looking back, Kathy realized that might have been when she first got the travel bug. From then on, she knew one day she would see this place with…

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The Southern Valley

The Southern Valley

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Last week we visited the Sacred Valley, a popular tourist area north of Cusco, to see three pueblos with indigenous culture and Inca ruins. This week we visited the valley south of Cusco, a less popular tourist destination, to see a Spanish colonial church and ruins from the Inca period and an even older civilization. We visited the small town of Andahuaylillas to tour the colonial church referred to as the “Sistine Chapel of South America” where almost every inch…

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The Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley

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Last Saturday we were anxious to leave the noise and chaos of Cusco to explore the Andes mountains and Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado) 15 miles outside of the city. The Urubamba River runs through the fertile Sacred Valley which made it an ideal agricultural area for the Incas. While it is a major tourist area because it is filled with Incan ruins, Spanish colonial villages, fertile farmland, and colorful local markets it is not filled with tourists. While in Peru…

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High in the Andes in Cusco, Peru

High in the Andes in Cusco, Peru

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After 2 weeks in Lima, we headed to Cusco, the fourth largest city in Peru. This city of 500,000 is perched in the Andes mountains at an altitude of 11,200 ft. The Cusco name comes from the indigenous Quechua language meaning “navel” or “center.” Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the Spanish conquest in 1533. More than 2 million people come to Cusco annually and stay a few days before hiking the Inca Trail…

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The Spectacular Food of Lima

The Spectacular Food of Lima

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Lima is one of the top gastronomic capitals of the world and in 2019 has two restaurants ranked in the top ten of the world’s best restaurants; Central (#6) and Maido (#10). The cuisine offers a variety of traditional dishes as well as Peruvian influence on Indigenous, Chinese, Hispanic, and African dishes. When we were choosing the next South American country to visit, a big factor was the fact that Peru is said to have the best food in South…

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Hello Peru

Hello Peru

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After three months in Ecuador (and nine months of travel), we have arrived in Peru. All flights in and out of Peru go through the capital city of Lima which is a top destination for fine dining and exceptional food. In fact, Lima has two restaurants out of the top ten in the world; so, we decided to stay for two weeks to take advantage of the dining, museums, and archeological sites. Lima, with a population of 9.5 million, borders…

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Good Bye Ecuador

Good Bye Ecuador

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During the last three months, we spent two weeks in the capital city of Quito, Ecuador (population of 2 million) and ten weeks in Cuenca (population of 500,000), Ecuador’s third largest city. We really enjoyed our time and the people we met in Ecuador and have a few cheers and jeers to share. After our time in Colombia, we decided to change our travel plans a bit while in Ecuador. We wanted to interact more regularly with English speaking travelers…

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