We have visited a few of Mexico’s magical towns (pueblos mágicos). The Mexican government highlights and promotes these small towns for their special tourist or “magical” qualities of beauty, history, culture, or nature. The designation of pueblos mágicos is like that of a UNESCO World Heritage Site; however, pueblos mágicos are only found in Mexico. It is a great honor for a town to be a pueblo mágico. There are 132 pueblos mágicos in Mexico. We have visited eight and…
We loved the wonderful food of Puebla, Mexico, but this city had more to offer than just food. We walked a few blocks from our Airbnb to the Zocalo (a historic square in the center of the city) for a walking tour. Usually, a walking tour is the first thing we do in each new city as a way to familiarize ourselves with the historic sites. Then, in the next few days, we return to the museums and churches to…
Exactly four years ago, we retired, celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, and launched ourselves into our nomadic lifestyle. But after two years of travel, we found ourselves quarantined in Argentina as the Coronavirus pandemic swept the world. After two months of confinement in our Argentinian apartment, we flew back to the U.S. on an American Embassy-sponsored flight and our South American travel abruptly stopped. We landed in Minneapolis, then went to Chicago for a year to live close to our…
Do you remember us? Now that we are no longer traveling and writing weekly blog posts did you forget about us? Don’t worry, we aren’t mad. We are doing well. Quite well. One year ago, on May 19th, 2020 we ended our adventures abroad. We arrived in Minneapolis after a long 2-day trip from Mendoza, Argentina. We were sad to end our travels and felt that the pandemic had interrupted our fun. Of course, it had interrupted everyone’s fun. But…
In our last blog we discussed our reasons for leaving Argentina. The overarching message from the U.S. Embassy was “if you are visiting Argentina you should go home now. Your best support system is in America, and you should leave sooner rather than later because repatriation flights are limited. And contact Eastern Airlines to reserve a seat because we cannot evacuate you or cover your health expenses if you get sick in Argentina.” Have a nice day. We are not…
It’s been over a month since our last blog titled “Early Fall in Argentina”. At that time, when the quarantine was first imposed, we planned to stay in Argentina until travel was permitted again. Quarantine Well, Argentina is still under strict quarantine. The government acted early, closing its borders and restricting travel within the country. Currently, Argentina has had 353 deaths and 7,134 coronavirus cases. With a population of 45 million, there are 8 deaths per million and 159 coronavirus…
It is early fall here in Argentina. The grape harvest is over, and the days are starting to get shorter and cooler. Although today it is 75 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, this week has been cool, cloudy and rainy. We will stay in Mendoza (a city of one million in western Argentina) until the quarantine lifts (maybe on April 12th although it may be extended). We are documenting our life while we and the rest of the world are in…
When we started our traveling adventure 18 months ago, we thought about all the countries we hoped to visit. We were eager to learn about the language, people and cultures of these countries. We did think about our physical safety in these countries, but never did we envision that a pandemic might endanger us. Since our arrival in Mendoza, Argentina, two weeks ago the Coronavirus has been on our minds constantly. We cannot avoid it. After much deliberation, we decided…
With the number of cases of COVID-19 growing, Chile and Argentina are taking dramatic measures as we fluctuate between feelings of normalcy and feeling bizarre. This epidemic has caused us to evaluate our travel options. A few weeks ago, our travel to Argentina started out so innocently. We made plans to take a bus from Chile into Argentina in what was advertised as the “most beautiful bus ride in the world.” We hoped it would be as beautiful as they…
Update: We are safe and healthy and life during the Coronavirus pandemic seems to be more normal here in South America than in the U.S. We are following the news in the U.S. and plan to continue our travels in South America for the next few months. ISLAND OF MYSTERY AND LEGEND Early Saturday morning, we hopped into a van for a 3-hour trip to Isla Grande de Chiloé (The Grand Island of Chiloé). Geographically and culturally, this is one…