Destination: Zaña, Peru — centuries-old Spanish ruins and a bizarre slave museum

Set the time machine for March 2016 — yep, it’s been over a year since we meandered along the western coast of South America. This destination, however, remains one of the strangest we’ve come across in awhile. Today, it’s a ghost town with just a few small signs of...

Destination: the Center for Extreme Art (Eduardo Moscoso Prohibito Centro Cultural Arte Extremo) — Cuenca, Ecuador

Combine a Trick Art Museum and H.R. Giger’s horrifically awesome world, and you might have something like the weirdest place in Ecuador. Might go without saying, but this one is NSFW and not for the squeamish. Hidden on the outskirts of Cuenca’s touristy center, the...

Destination: the bizarre catacombs of Enrique Torres Belon (Lampa, Peru)

This daytrip from Lake Titicaca is about as offbeat as you can get. Despite being relatively close to the world-famous Lake Titicaca, Lampa, Peru is not where you’d expect to find a grand old colonial church or a freaky collection of skeletons. And yet, here they are....

Where To Go Instead: 9 Famous Places and their Better Alternatives

Some well-known places are genuinely wonderful. Some just have a good marketing team. Here are nine lesser-known places to check out and have a better time for less money or hassle. Go on, admit it — part of the reason you might travel to a place is to say you’ve been...

Destination: the Larco museum, the museum with the ancient Peruvian erotic pots (NSFW) – Lima, Peru

Home to the country’s finest collection of Pre-Colombian pots — and some naughty / NSFW works that make it worth the trip. Named after Rafael Larco Hoyle (1901–1966), the collection houses 45,000 pieces in all in a former mansion. It’s easily one of the country’s...

Destination: the equator – and our search to find the middle of the earth in Ecuador

The country is named after it, after all. With the equator being so close to Quito, we couldn’t help but take in a couple of sites dedicated to it – and naturally, there’s a twist to them. We start the story at the Mitad del Mundo just outside of Quito… Most...

Question from a reader: staying safe in South America

A friend and reader I’ll call T.D. writes in: I’ve read some almost unbelievable stories on those Quito and Cuenca FB groups regarding what seems to be rampant petty crime, and more. You’re an extensive traveler and I know you’re savvy (and you’ve just been in...

Destination: Bogota Police Museum with our very own police guide! (Colombia)

One of several mainstream but fascinating attractions around Bogota, the Bogota Police Museum (Palacio Museo Histórico de la Policía Nacional) offers up a look at Pablo Escobar’s last hours and a number of other ongoing law enforcement efforts. Although no...

Destination: Puno, Peru – Lake Titicaca, a temple of penises, and ancient burial towers (Peru)

Puno holds the world’s highest navigable lake, which also shares a border with Bolivia somewhere in the middle of the lake. That said, the lake, and the roads to the lake, are as touristy as you might expect – plenty of souvenir stores and restaurants happy to...

16 of the best mummies and skulls we saw in Peru

Let’s call this one not safe for kids and squeamish types. Peru has a metric TON of dead people on open display. Churches and museums are great, but there’s also some open-air cemeteries to enjoy while in Peru as well. The above skull comes from the Museo Larco in...