The Traveling Pancy

Cambodia is the half way point on our around-the-world itinerary both in miles traveled and elapsed time.  Cambodia was once a wealthy, powerful country whose Khmer kings built elaborate cities, or angkors with amazing stone temples, ornately carved lintels and stupas during the 9th-11th centuries.  Today, Cambodia is a poor country, with a more recent…

It was pouring rain when we arrived in Cairns, Australia. Enroute to Port Douglas, we saw a lot of flooded areas and although we paralleled the coast for a good part of the hour’s drive, it was hard to see the ocean because of the rain and mist. We checked in at Pullman Port Douglas…

We crossed the international date line enroute to our next stop, Samoa.  Best thing was that although we lost a day, the actual time in Tahiti and Samoa was the same.  Our bodies aren’t affected if one moment it’s Wednesday and the next it’s Thursday; what’s more important is that it remains 11am.  We were…

Although an unplanned stop on our journey, Papeete was a welcome relief from Easter Island.  We had nice accommodations at the Sofitel Merida Resort about 15 miles south of Papeete in a coastal area that was mostly private residences. We slept in, had a nice breakfast on the hotel veranda and then spent the rest…

Second stop of our around the world journey is Easter Island, a remote volcanic island in Polynesia, 1500 miles off the coast of Chile. Its native name is Rapa Nui. Easter Island is famous for the monumental statures called moai, created by the island’s inhabitants during the 13th-16th century. As we approached the island, our…

Caught the Hiram Bingham train at Ollantaytambo station to Aguas Calientes.  Hiram Bingham is the English explorer credited with ‘discovering’ Machu Picchu although legend has it that he only passed through as he looked for the lost sacred city of the Incans.  The train ride was fun although slow, and followed the Urubamba River with…

The Andean region has a rich diversity of animal and plant life. Here is just a sampling of what we saw. Llamas are domesticated pack animals used by Andean people, including the Incans for centuries. The llama is a South American relative of the camel, though it does not have a hump. We saw llamas…

This morning we drove through the Sacred Valley of the Incas to the village of Ollantaytambo.  This valley has lush, fertile terraced land where farmers still grow potatoes, corn and other tubers just as in Incan times. Enroute, we passed through Pisac, a typical modern city in the valley.  Thirty-five years ago, I can remember…

Spent an afternoon visiting Korikancha, or Temple of the Sun, in Cusco.  This site was formerly the main Incan temple of Cusco and was believed to have walls covered in gold.  The Spanish looted the temple when they invaded and converted it to the Convent of Santa Domingo, using the original Incan walls and adding…

Chinchero is a charming Andean village about an hours drive outside of Cusco. It has an important Incan archaeological site with well preserved terraces and an Incan fort. Incans believed this site was the origin of the rainbow – an important mythical symbol of fortune. In fact, all over Peru people fly rainbow flags. The…