When I was in Peru, I was in a pensive mood. After Machu Picchu, the Nacza Lines, and a go at bungee jumping, I was almost restless. A cacao shop in Cusco offered up great hot chocolate and cake, and I started…

Quito is the capital of Ecuador.  It was 1994, and I recall the three star hotel I had booked was a bit rough compared to what I had expected. The morning market stalls, filled with all sorts of unfamiliar produce, seemed to…

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia, that country shaped like a boomerang. It is pronounced zah’-grrib. The second syllable is short and the r is a bit rolled. I had a waiter work on it with me until I got…

I was returning to Thailand again. This time I would not miss Thai kickboxing. I had tried to see that at other times in Thailand, but the traffic and the collaboration needed to get there with a ticket had proved…

My ears were itchy when I returned from Ecuador. I was a bit anxious about having caught something awful. In stretching my mind, I wondered if I had picked up something on that 3-day tour out of Quito. That tour…