We had a few more days in Istanbul after Surabhi, Dylan and Safina abandoned us very early on May 30. We left our Beyoglu apartment, relocated to a guesthouse not far from Taksim square, and proceeded to search out another enormous…
Turkey Trots: The Family Takes on Istanbul
After a fabulous 5 months in South America, it was time for a major transition to Turkey. We were sad to say goodbye to the first phase of our trip, but thrilled that my brother Dylan, his wife Surabhi, and…
Caribbean Cartagena
After buzzing, modern-feeling Medellin and a few days in lush, isolated coffee country, Cartagena came as a surprise. First of all, it was steamy. Every day that we were there it was humid and extremely hot, so much so that…
Medellin Mini-Break
On the morning of May 2nd, we woke up on our boat amid the Galapagos islands, in Ecuador. That night we went to sleep in Medellin, Colombia. Getting from one place to the other entailed a Frolic & Detour record-setting…
Galapagos Adventures
Along with the Inca Trail and Patagonia, a trip to the Galapagos was a must-do for our time in South America, but the booking process was daunting, There are countless choices: island hopping or cruise, duration of trip, route of…
Sun, Sand, & Yet More Ceviche: Mancora, Peru
We flew from Lima to Piura airport, close to the northern border of Peru, on April 17. Brian, as usual, was extremely entertaining while in flight. After we landed it was about a two hour trip by car to Las…
Eating Our Way Through Lima
The travelers we’ve encountered on this trip haven’t had too many positive things to say about Lima, Peru– so much so that we initially had the impression that it was a potentially skippable city. After a bit of research, though,…
Inca Trail & Machu Picchu
Because of the limited number of permits issued, we booked our Inca Trail excursion several months ago. As a result, we’ve had a long time to look forward to it, and were lucky enough to be joined by friends from…
(Remarkably Belated) Three Month Roundup
We were in the midst of hiking the Inca Trail on our three-month frolic and detour anniversary. Below, some approximation of the stats: Countries visited: 3 Beds slept in: 16! (final two nights in tents) Long-distance bus rides: 5 Rental…
Lake Titicaca Love: Copacabana & Isla del Sol
Lake Titicaca is both the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest lake in South America. It sits on the border of Bolivia and Peru– quite convenient for us as we made our way from La Paz to…