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 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...

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: 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...

Destination: Monasterio de la Recoleta (Arequipa, Peru) – the most random, bizarre monastery around

Presenting a place where order has been replaced by randomness – you have entered… the monastery zone. La Recoleta, also known as El Convento Museo La Recoleta or Museo la Recoleta de Arequipa, dates back decades or centuries, depending on how you’d like to look at...

Review: Peru Hop, Peru’s first hop-on-hop-off bus service

Having spent almost 9 months getting around South America, the one thing that’s been the most difficult is getting around. Presuming a bus, minivan, or colectivo actually goes where you want it to, there’s then the matter of comfort and staying on schedule. If your...

A tale of two food tours: Devour Barcelona and Food Walking Tour Peru

Despite being of the ‘eat-to-live’ variety, we definitely enjoy trying new things while traveling. While not always weird, there’s a definite link between food and culture, and it’s one we sometimes explore. Start with Devour(ing) Barcelona Welcome to Devour...