Heading south again, through the desert and along the California-Nevada border, we entered the Mojave desert. The road follows hill tops and valleys, among barren fields, presenting a exhilarating driving experience and some of the best photo opportunities of a road...
Just before noon, we crossed the Oakland bridge and took Highway 580 and then Route 120 to the Yosemite National Park. The feeling was more like driving in mid-western America than in California. Things got more interesting after we started climbing the Sierra Nevada....
Santa Barbara is a nice little town, with low rise buildings with red tiled rooftops, reflecting the Spanish colonial heritage. There is a pleasant and easygoing ambience, all in accord with what the traveller expects to find after viewing so many Hollywood movies. We...
Being on a road trip with my two sons has only been one of my dreams. The opportunity came up when Nikitas graduated this year from high school. Chris, the young one, is already fourteen, old enough to follow and maybe appreciate a road trip. We set out to California....
I visited Ecuador for the first time in 1992, by accident. My intention was to spend one week under the sun of Venezuela. When I was ready to board the American Airlines Miami-Quito flight, I discovered that I had no visa stamped on my passport. Since AA failed to...
We arrived in Quito on Friday evening, after a long flight form Madrid. Mariscal Sucre, the new international airport is about one hour drive form the old town. We lodged in the beautiful Hotel Patio Andaluz, now declared a National Treasure, close to Plaza Grande....
Still overwhelmed by the rainforest and the Huaoranis, we started early in the morning from Quito to go south. We rented a car and a driver without any guide. Our planned itinerary included the Quilotoa loop, Baños, Riobamba, Guamote, Alausí and finally Cuenca. Then...
We returned to Quito and met with Nana and Vassilis who had arrived from Athens the day before. Our hotel for the night was on La Ronda, the nightlife strip of Quito, but surprisingly the sound isolation was perfect and I slept like a stone. The next morning we got on...
Originally, we did not intend to include Galápagos in the itinerary to save some time and money. Then, fortunately, I changed my mind. The Galápagos was going in and out of the bucket list for quite sometime and since I did not go the during my first visit to Ecuador,...
It is so kitsch that it is ingenious! The “strip” is a 4-mile stretch of Las Vegas Blvd. South where many of the world’s largest casinos and hotels are located. Fifteen of the largest twenty five hotels in the world are here. I stayed in the MGM Grand, a gigantic...