This is where the monarchs go. We arrived on a cold day so they were mostly clustered in the pine trees above, looking like pinecones. 

Right before I told my friends, don't take pictures!

The tallest of pyramids at this site- and not an easy climb.

Site where a scene from Star Wars was filmed, from the top of temple IV.

I love Guatemala. Being so close to it meant I got to visit a number of times.

We got up pre-dawn well after these families gathered to create inctricate designs on the street with coloured saw dust, palm fronds and flowers. The incredible thing is their work is ephemeral, trod upon by the religious processsion that represents 500 years of Catholicism imposed by the Spanish colonialists-- the Passion, Crucificion and Resurrection of Jesus.

The incence was so intense. I added to the incredible spirituality of the moment.

In 1992 I traveled with a friend to Peru, disregarding the embassy travel warning sparked by activity of the Sendero Luminoso. It was the most magical time. Seriously, magic everywhere. Like this scene I conjured in a Cusco street.

Typical boulder and stone construction of buildings in the old Cusco streets.

Sacsayhuamán stone fortress outside Cusco made from quarried stones moved by thousands of men with much ingenuity. Not by aliens. The massive boulders were stacked to fit so tightly without mortar that no knife blade or piece of paper can squeeze between them.

The fortress was built by 15th century Incas for to protect Cusco, the capital of the Incan Empire. After the Spanish Conquistadors ransacked Cusco's gold supply, they tried taking some of the boulders but had to leave behind the largest ones as they could not move them.

The Sapa Inca is carried on a throne to Sacsayhuamán where performers do rituals and a faux sacrifice of a llama to thank the Sun.

It's crazy I could get so close to all of this. There were simply fewer people (ie: tourists) because of the travel alert. 

This is one of the most magical places on Earth. 

I believe this is the official Inca Trail poncho.

Second pass, I believe. Almost no one else but our group of 12 on the trail, including "Sherpa dudes" who carried all our gear and food and water.  Luxury. But the hardest thing I had every done in my life. 

Traveling to Peru for a third time, now with Pete, was just splendid. Apparently we had missed each other the year before by a week, before we met! So it was a nice pilgrimage to go together along with good friends.

The money shot. Our group waited a long time at the Sun Gate for the clouds to part to see this. It takes one's breath away. Not unsual after a  three days' hike that peaked at over 4000 meters (the grisley named Dead Woman's Pass.) You will notice no people. It was the second time for my friend and I, a year after the advisory. I would see it one more time the next year.

Pete and I hiked the Inca trail with our friends. This was my second time on the hike. This one was much easier (using "much" loosely) because apparently living at Quito altitude for almost a year was better than a year at sea level doing weights and aerobics.

My friend and I continued on our South America tour to Bolivia and Chile. The area looks a lot like Atlantic Canada with its colourful houses. Sadly, this is the only decent shot worth sharing of the tip of the continent. Maybe later I might include the one of me having a smoke after conquering the Bambi ski run at a ski run outside of Santiago.

Living in Colombia in the mid 90s was not a good time to travel due to FARC activity-- violence between the guerillas and liberation army among others. So we took the advice to travel cautiously. Colombia became the starting point for Costa RIca, Guatemala, Ecuador and Peru.

The Santa Marta mountains and its coast was a lovely outing just east of Barranquilla where I lived. 

I got hired to teach in Quito via telephone, and was very excited to visit my future home so I went with friends to explore during a break. Living in the Andes had always been my dream, and Quito is a dream city.

While in Colombia, my parents came to visit and we arranged a small group tour of the Amazon River where we passed indigenous villages. The people carried on a normal life while we intruders came by to ogle them. It was a different time.

This place holds special meaning to us. It was not long after I arrived in Quito when a fabulous group of friends formed and made Ecuador our magical playground. Owner Tony asked us to create a logo for his new business-- cafe and rental rooms. It grew into a small franchise! Yiou would think I'd have more Ecuador pictures-- apparently there was more partying documented than travel!

No filter needed to show the age of this photo. It ages us in a scary way.

Named so because of the waterfalls.

I could live here till the end of my days. 

We didn't make much salary, so it took me a couple of years to save for a trip to The Galapagos. Pete had gone earlier so I journeyed with good friends and cruised around several islands. Also a magical time.

I loved this lizard's expression. I made the invitations, that said under the photo: Did someone say wedding? 

No filter needed to show how this photo has aged, along with its other subjects.

Other than ransacking the burial sites for valuables, skeletal remains have been manipulated over time. Note: We did a flyover of the Nazca Lines lines, but every shot is garbage because it was just before that when my camera died and I had to resort to disposables. 

On they way to Bucharest we stopped for a quick honeymoon in England. This is the only decent photo of that time. I guess we were busy.

Greece was one of our top spots. We got to let it all hang out. We considered it our second honeymoon. Every island has its own character and everything is lovely and chill. Much like this cat.

Turkey was also close by, and a very exotic destination we visited a few times. 

This mosque is actually prettier than the famous Blue Mosque. It has a crazy history, from its early construction as a Christian basilica in the Byzantine Empire when the city was Constantinople, to its conversion to a mosque by the Ottomans to its purpose now as a, it has had a tumultuous history. When we visited, it functioned as a museum, but it has recently reclaimed its status as an Islamic place of worship.

The Blue Mosque was built well after Hagia Sofia, and purposely built for worship. It felt weird to take photos while Muslims were doing their prayers, so I have no photos from inside. It is called "blue" because of the colour of tiles decorating the interior.

Another of our must sees was Cairo and the pyramids. It was overwhelming on a lot of levels-- noise, heat, masses of people and trafffic, plentitudes of ancient history. Magnificent.

Our river cruise on a small boat was like rolling through a National Geographic magazine. Unfortunately, all of us got serious food poisoning so some of the magic at archaeological sites was lost on me. 

The feluccas or sailboats on the river were like white swans. 

Ah, Prague. There are not enough words. We visited at each season, and each time it was magical. White swans float along the Charles River-- I mean, come on! This is Old Town Square, watched over by Jan Hus, Czech philosopher and symbol of Bohemian Reformation and religious dissidence.

Back to the tropics for me, and over to Bali we went many times to soak up the ambiance of incense, food, colour, happy people. So much magic and spirituality here too. You'd think after four years in Indonesia I'd have more pictures of it. Jessie was about to be born, so our focus naturally turned elsewhere.

Australia was super close, so we made some visits to both coasts, with and without baby Jess. How is this the only shot I found of Australia? We must have more albums buried. Stay tuned!