Argentina, Chile, Peru

Recently completed a fun two-week trip to Argentina, Chile and Peru for work.  And then a 4 day trip to the Sacred Valley in Peru, with the highlight being Machu Picchu.  Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima were great, with Santiago being the best of the three for the beautiful mountains surrounding the city and pretty girls laughing when the wind and rain blew their umbrellas inside out.

But the highlight was Machu Picchu.  Difficult for any major tourist site to exceed expectations, but Machu Picchu did just that for me.  Truly an incredible place.  No wonder the Spanish didn't discover it when they invaded and killed the Incas 500+ years ago.  It sat undiscovered until 1911 when an American from Yale, Hiram Bingham, led an expedition where a local showed him Machu Picchu, covered in weeds and barely recognizable, with a couple local families living there.

The entire Sacred Valley is epic.  Amazing terraces everywhere, built high into the mountains.  A fascinating place.

And not sure how much I believe in spirituality / energy, but I did find it interesting that almost all of my Machu Picchu photos had sun-streaks.  Likely just the result of a very sunny day, but EVERY photo?  Really??

Panama

Panama found its way onto the bucket list after a successful Costa Rica trip a few months earlier. The goal for Panama was to experience Panama City while also exploring some of the smaller islands. Daniella & I did both, with our highlights being Casco Viejo in Panama City, the old colonial peninsula with crumbling buildings, great restaurants and nightlife.  As well as the closest you can get to the Swiss Family Robinson experience at La Loma Jungle Lodge in Isla Bastimentos. Open air tree house - yes please :) Also fun to see the Panama Canal - a great lesson in history. Our Spanish isn't great, but we were mostly fine. And now onto the next one :)