The Other Side of Bolivia: The Lowlands Part 1

This past week, for our final group excursion, we headed east to the department of Santa Cruz. It is easy to think of Bolivia as an Andean country - all of the national government is located in the Andes, the two largest indigenous groups are Andean in origin, and until now we had spent all our time there. But, in reality, only one third of the country is located in this mountainous region, and the rest is tropical Amazonia and the dry Chaco. So...

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Iceland in Photos

For those who believe a picture is worth a thousand words, or for the illiterate. A bunch of photos of Iceland, including many that didn't make the cut for the day-by-day trip report. Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.c...

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Bike Touring Iceland: The end days

Day 9: Snaefellsjokull to Stykkisholmur (by bike and bus) Day 10: Stykkisholmur to Reykjavik Airport (by bus) Our plan for the end of the trip was to ride the north coast of the Snaefell peninsula to the largish town of Stykkisholmur, from whence we would take a bus to Reykjavik and then to the airport. However, when we were forced to turn back by the snow, the need to cycle around the base of Snaefellsjokull added about 50km to the distance to...

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Bike Touring Iceland: Day 8

Lysahúll to Mt. Snaefell The snowy slopes of Snaefellsjokull (photo by Postyn) We got an earlyish start as we knew we had a big day ahead. We continued along the coast, stopping mid-morning at a beach where we had heard we could see seals. Indeed there were about a dozen seals on the rocks and in the water. On land they are ungainly oafs, in water, completely transformed. The seals are the not-quite-rock-color lumps among the rock-colored...

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The Rest of Our Excursion: La Paz and El Alto

After three nights on the Isla del Sol, we motored back to Copacabana (much warmer this time!) to head back to the city. The weather at 13,000 feet is quite interesting! The day morning that we arrived at the airport in El Alto, there was actually snow on the ground!Apparently this was the first time that the program has ever arrived to snow!The rest of that day was incredibly chilly, with thick clouds and threatening rain. The boat ride to the island...

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Bike Touring Iceland: Days 6 and 7

Day 6: Bodadalur to Landbrotalaug Day 7: Landbrotalaug to Lysahúll In the morning, we biked west, alongside Hvammafjördur. Biking next to Hvammsfjördur It turned to dirt, and after about 25km, we turned inland and began climbing. Beautiful, empty dirt climbing over the Snaefell peninsula As we descended the other side, we were on the lookout for some lava caves shown on our map. There were many signs which we found difficult to interpret...

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Bike Touring in Iceland: Day 4 and 5

Day 4: Húsafell Valley to Somewhere-on-Rt-60 Day 5: Somewhere-on-Rt-60 to Bodadalur The aim of day four was two-fold. First, to make a good distance to Bodadalur, where we would finally be able to find a supermarket. Second, to avoid cycling on Rt 1, the busy ring road. After a bit of a leisurely morning, we continued alongside the river where we had camped. We appreciated that the road was smooth, and that we didn't have a headwind. It was also...

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