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A few weeks ago, I shared a short and surly post f

A few weeks ago, I shared a short and surly post from James about India. Here's a nicer (and final) one describing his experience of Sri Lanka

https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/08/01/sri-lanka/

We've been back in the US almost two months now, b

We've been back in the US almost two months now, but I still have a little backlog of things to post. Here's one more (short and unhappy) blog post from James.

https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/07/12/india-kochi/

We're home! One year ago today, we landed in Stock

We're home! One year ago today, we landed in Stockholm for the very start of our trip and 3 1/2 weeks ago we left Colombia to return back to the states. We stopped at my parents in St Louis, but have now spent the last two weeks in Chicago slowly unpacking things into our house after 343 days of travel.

Here are 10 of my favorite all-family pictures from the second half of our trip. I've also written a "by the numbers" blog post about the trip that you can find a link to in the first comment of this post.

Another Half Marathon! This was my motivation for

Another Half Marathon! This was my motivation for runs over the last couple of months in South America, knowing I was going to do this course through three of the best parks in all of Chicago. Fun bumping into my friend Dan on the way there and catching up before and after the race. (The race was a little too hot, and my IT band tightened up during the last 4.5 miles, but still finished with a decent time!)

Cartagena, Colombia! (5/14-5/17) The final city of

Cartagena, Colombia! (5/14-5/17) The final city of our trip! It was hot and humid, so we spent a fair amount of time relaxing at a spacious and air conditioned Airbnb, but enjoyed a very nice Mother's Day lunch, wandered through the beautiful historic city (looks similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans), dragged the kids up to the top of a castle they thought it was too hot to see, visited a museum that covered the history of the Spanish Inquisition, and ate KFC for dinner three nights in a row (shock therapy for returning to American culture!) I also had my first cigar in about a decade (Nicaraguan) paired with a very nice Colombian rum. And, I cut short a planned 9-mile run because, again, wow it was hot!

Medellin and Guatape, Colombia! (5/10-5/13) We had

Medellin and Guatape, Colombia! (5/10-5/13) We had one full day in Medellin and visited three different sites, which is way more than we usually drag the kids to this many days into our trip. First we went to a museum chronicling the several thousand murders and disappearances that plagued the city for decades during the peaks of guerilla conflict (not pictured). Then we went to the excellent botanical gardens, where the highlights were not the plants but rather the iguanas and baby ducks. Finally, we spent a couple hours at the really great science museum. The boys enjoyed these things, but really loved the few excellent meals we had along with the opportunity to drink tap water again! (It's the little things.) We then spent a couple of days in the nearby getaway town of Guatape, which boasted idyllic views, good food, and lots of weekend tourists from Medellin (like us!)

I've got one more travel post left, but quick trip update: we're back in the states as of 5/18! We're at my parents' home in St Louis for a week or so and then are heading back to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. (The kids might stay back in St Louis and my parents' pool for another week or two while Karen and I unpack into the house.)

50 COUNTRIES! Mindo, Ecuador (5/7-5/9) Just as we

50 COUNTRIES! Mindo, Ecuador (5/7-5/9) Just as we celebrated 50 COUNTRIES for each boy, we got a cake in Mindo, Ecuador to celebrate it being our 50th country of the trip. We also stayed at a lovely lodge in the cloud forest, visited a butterfly/hummingbird site, went ziplining and tubing and saw lots of birds! It was a very nice few days!

Quito and Otavalo, Ecuador! (5/3-5/6) We only had

Quito and Otavalo, Ecuador! (5/3-5/6) We only had a few days here, but I was excited to visit Quito because it's where I first studied Spanish in 2002 (after an initial couple of semesters at Northern Virginia Community College). Like many of these Andean towns we've been visiting, it's still stunning, with hilly streets and great views. We visited the (cheesy) Mitad del Mundo museum and took pictures straddling the equator. The highlight for me in Quito, though, was Karen and I grabbing dinner with my friend Amit from business school, who just happened to have taken a job there a couple of years ago. Regrettably, we forgot to take pictures. (Ironic, because Amit takes famously good pictures.) In Otavalo, we visited the biggest market in South America and, of course, bought souvenirs! (Now that we're near the end, the burden of carrying them is less.) I'm also almost certain we found the stall of a painter who sold me a painting 21 years ago, and his wife was kind enough to pose with me, so that was pretty neat.

Lima, Peru! (4/26-5/1) We mostly relaxed here at a

Lima, Peru! (4/26-5/1) We mostly relaxed here at a nice Airbnb while the kids tried to catch-up on homework, but enjoyed getting "churros españoles" at the main square and exploring the nearby catacombs. I also enjoyed a long run along the Pacific Coast, and Karen and I experienced a fancy dinner at Mayta, which was recently awarded "Best Restaurant in the World" by the World Culinary Awards. (Not the best we've ever been too, though.) Part of why we spent so long in Lima, though, was so I could sneak back to Chicago for 48-hours for an important grad school reunion that coincided with my friend and mentor Harry Davis' impending retirement after over 55 years of teaching at the school! (Hurray for $400 Spirit Airways flights!) Part of the celebration included UChicago renting out Wrigley for the afternoon, so that's me with friends Todd and Eric in the dugout.

My eight-year-old son's takeover of my travel blog

My eight-year-old son's takeover of my travel blog continues! Here's what James wrote about our time in Jordan: https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/05/09/jordan/

Machu Picchu and Cusco, Peru! (4/22-4/25) The high

Machu Picchu and Cusco, Peru! (4/22-4/25) The highlight was visiting "The Lost City of the Incas" and everyone was enthralled by the stunning views and detailed explanations of history by our guide. During my first trip to South America in 2002, my Dad met me for two weeks in Peru, so coming back reminded me of some great memories with him. (Two differences since then: there is now a $1500/night hotel at the entrance and I was able to briefly make a video call to my parents from the middle of the city.) In addition to a long day taking the bus/train to and from Machu Picchu, we enjoyed some outstanding food in Cusco, toured other Inca sites in the Sacred Valley, and bought a couple of new hats. My new hat, Roberto, is probably not going to be a permanent member of the family the way Charlie's hat, Bob, is. (We almost lost Bob in Arequipa, but the amazing staff at our hotel there spent an hour reviewing security camera footage to figure out where he went missing and located him for us!)

Arequipa, Peru! (4/19-4/21) we had a pleasant coup

Arequipa, Peru! (4/19-4/21) we had a pleasant couple of days in the "White City" of Peru, mostly focused on food--eating a couple of meals each at a fancy grill place (the stairwell behind Charlie was designed by Gustave Eiffel) and an authentic (and cheaper) Mexican place, and took a cooking class where we made Causa (depicted) and Lomo Saltado. Also, we visited a beautiful monastery and I took a run to the north of the city to scope some stunning views.

Copacabana, Bolivia & Puno, Peru! (4/18) We left L

Copacabana, Bolivia & Puno, Peru! (4/18) We left La Paz very early with a planned 30 minute stop on the shores of Lake Titicaca at Copacabana before taking a bus across the border to Peru. Unfortunately, political protests in Peru meant the road after the border was blockaded and we needed to change our plans. Instead, we took advantage of several extra hours to eat a relaxed meal and hike 800 feet up the local mountain for views! (Henry and Karen stayed behind.) After, we took a brief bus to the Bolivian side of the border and got our passports stamped for exit before trekking a bit through sheep fields to an informal port where a ferry picked us up and spent 5 hours delivering us to the big Peruvian town of Puno. There, because it was after hours, an immigration officer met us at a hotel to give us our entry stamps to make our stay in Peru official. We had to pay a small fee, but appreciated the creative problem-solving!

Happy 15th Birthday, Henry! We found a Mexican pla

Happy 15th Birthday, Henry! We found a Mexican place in Lima, Peru for his choice of dinner to celebrate. Also, before our flight here, the staff at our hotel in Cusco surprised him with "birthday pancakes"', which he happily ate even though he'd already had a full breakfast. 15! (I'll note that globally the availability of Mexican food is WAY better than it was 10-20 years ago. One of the good surprises of our trip!)

Another guest post from James, this time on Israel

Another guest post from James, this time on Israel! You can read it here: https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/04/07/israel/

THIS GUY wrote a blog post about our time in Egypt

THIS GUY wrote a blog post about our time in Egypt. You can read it here: https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/04/08/egypt/

La Paz, Bolivia! (4/4-4/17) We stayed two weeks he

La Paz, Bolivia! (4/4-4/17) We stayed two weeks here so that the boys could study Spanish with their awesome teacher Mery, and we very much enjoyed our time! It helped that La Paz might be the most beautiful city in the world, and we took full advantage of the Teléferico cable car system to see it. We also went shopping in the Witches Market as well as the enormous citywide market in "El Alto," the city on the plateau that overlooks central La Paz. I also shouldn't forget some great meals! 8 excellent courses for me and Karen at Gustu, and the whole family joined the cousin of our hosts, Kim and Brian (thanks again guys!), at a "Tarija style" restaurant with typical live music. La Paz was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

I wrote about managing risks, especially as it rel

I wrote about managing risks, especially as it related to an Ebola outbreak in Uganda. You can read more here:
https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/04/15/how-much-risk-is-too-much-uganda-and-rwanda-with-a-happy-ending/

Sucre and Tarija, Bolivia! (4/1-4/3) A delayed bus

Sucre and Tarija, Bolivia! (4/1-4/3) A delayed bus left us with only 12 hours in Tarija, some of which we tried to use for sleep, but it was a charming town. Sucre is a lovely UNESCO World Heritage site, though, and is the constitutional capital of Bolivia. Lots of places throughout town have stunning views of the white facades. We caught a Palm Sunday parade, but the highlight might have been the zebra crossing guards. Who knew? (We'd actually heard about them in La Paz, although haven't seen them here yet, but we're surprised to find they'd travelled outside the capital city.)

We're spending 12 days relaxing and studying in La

We're spending 12 days relaxing and studying in La Paz, Bolivia. You can see the trip update here https://kidsoncamels.com/blog/2023/04/06/nosebleeds-y-nadie-no-habla-en-la-paz/

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Last Guest Post by James (for awhile): Sri Lanka
Guest post by James: India, Kochi
The end of the road (one year later)
Guest Post by James: Jordan
How much risk is too much? Uganda and Rwanda (with a happy ending)

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