There are 478 blog posts for you to enjoy.
UNESCO Heritage Sites - Part 2 - And the Mennonites
June 13, 2026
My previous blog was about some of the towns (pueblos) east of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. After going out to Roboré and Santiago de Chiquitos, I returned to the town of San José de Chiquitos. San José is the turn-off point to do the northern circuit of the Jesuit Missions. The first stop is San Rafael.
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From the heat of the Amazon to the cold of the Andes
June 9, 2026
First, this blog is out of sequence. I wrote it and then forgot to add it to the schedule. So, here it is, a couple of months late.
Back on March 4, I arrived in Huancayo after spending about a month in Perú's Amazon region. It was warm, humid, and comfortable - T-shirt weather. Then I headed into the mountains. Since then, it’s been more than a month of higher elevations, colder air, and buildings with no heat. I don’t like the cold. Not just the outside cold, but the inside cold. The kind where you wake up and hesitate to leave the blankets because the room feels like a refrigerator.
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UNESCO Heritage Sites - Part 1 - The Jesuit Missions
June 6, 2026
A Big City with Little of Interest
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Population, a lot. Actually, it's around two-and-a-half million. The city was founded in 1561, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of where it sits now. After being moved several times, the city finally settled here in this place by the Pirai River in the late 16th century. The city sits at the base of the foothills of the Andes and in the greater Amazon basin. It didn't really start to grow until the early to mid-20th century, when agriculture, livestock, and farming really took off. Then, the city grew big and in a hurry. The problem is that the city is not well-maintained. It grew faster than the government can keep up with.
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Five Towns Between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz: A Livability Test
June 3, 2026
This blog covers 5 towns between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. I overnighted in each of these towns so I could evaluate them as potential new hometowns. These are all in the center of Bolivia, an area with the Amazon bordering on the north and mountains on the south and west. It's wet, humid, and a bit on the hot side in this part of the country. But after visiting them, there was one clear option that could make it on my list of potential new hometowns.
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Cochabamba, BO – Big, Green, and Surprisingly Calm
May 30, 2026
Cochabamba, Bolivia - population of about 662,000. Cocha sits at an average elevation of 2570 meters (ft) in a valley with the Rocha River crossing through the city. The metropolitan area includes six other bedroom towns, and the whole area has a population of about one and a half million. The city has the nickname "City of Eternal Spring" because of its climate, which is unbeatable. It is also known as the city of gardens. That is clearly evident when walking around the city, at least the northern half, as every park, plaza, and space between roads and in intersections is a flower garden. Check out my photos, you'll see what I mean.
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