April 27 – May 4, 2019 Out of 5 countries we visited while in South America, we were most pleasantly surprised by Colombia. I was amazed by how clean and orderly everything appeared, the streets were super clean, lawns manicured, parks were noticeably orderly, everyone we encountered was extraordinarily friendly and helpful, there was fresh … More Bogota, Colombia (Part 2)
April 23 – April 27, 2019 From Galapagos, we got back to Quito, Ecuador, rented a car and braved our way through north Quito, driving on the roads with 3-5 lanes of traffic with no road surface markings, in a car that could barely pull us up any hill. For the last 4 days of … More Mindo, Ecuador
April 19-23, 2019 We didn’t think we would be able to make it to Galapagos. You don’t usually do Galapagos on a budget. The “proper” (usual) way to do Galapagos is to stay a minimum a week, preferably longer (1-3 weeks) and do a guided cruise that includes visits to all the islands. We did … More Galapagos, Ecuador
April 14-19, 2019 After Peru, we went to Quito, Ecuador where we spent 5 days. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and it has a reputation of a good retirement spot for various expats (the whole Ecuador, not just Quito). It uses US dollar as its national currency. We all claim that we didn’t enjoy … More Quito, Ecuador
April 11 – 14, 2019 We spent 3 nights in Cusco where we did some school work, lounged around a lot and ate some good food. We spent considerable amount of time in the town square where people watching was our main activity. Nina chased some pigeons, Maksim learned to do a good cartwheel and … More Cusco, Peru
April 9-11, 2019 The most expensive part of our trip to Machu Picchu was local transportation. In most countries so far, most of our budget went on accommodations and then food, with transportation being in the 3rd place. However, in Peru, we spent more than 36% of our budget on local transportation: 1 – round … More Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, Peru
April 6 – 9, 2019 Originally, when planning this Refresh trip, we were going to stay in Buenos Aires for a couple of months with 1 or 2 side trips during that time. Pedja was unsure about moving too much with 3 kids, and he insisted we experience one place in South America in a … More Ollantaytambo, Peru
April 1 – April 6, 2019 We were in Montevideo, Uruguay for only 6 days. Our time there was colored by our feelings of sadness for leaving Buenos Aires. However, we loved the neighborhood we stayed in Montevideo. We stayed in Pocitos, a block away from a beautiful and impressively clean beach. We spent some … More Montevideo, Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay April 5, 2019 I find myself overwhelmed with all the different aspects of our travel experience that are hard to put in words. Logistcs are ok, we are well organized and have been transitioning smoothly. What’s hard for me is processing all that we are experiencing.I do not have enough mental bandwidth to … More Not Much Time for Reflections
Buenos Aires, Argentina April 4, 2019 This post is a testament of the good times the kids had in Buenos Aires. Even though it is mostly about Nina, the pictures include all three kids. Petra insisted on claiming she missed Seattle that month but these photos are a proof that those moments of sadness were … More Funny Young Man
Refresh Journey 