End all...Be all...
02/16/26: The customs arrival procedures are pretty intrusive in Bogota. I found it to be quite ironic, considering we were entering into (not leaving) the epicenter of the cocaine storm of the world....
Read More →One Monkey's Adventures Around the Globe
02/16/26: The customs arrival procedures are pretty intrusive in Bogota. I found it to be quite ironic, considering we were entering into (not leaving) the epicenter of the cocaine storm of the world....
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2/09/26: In the morning, I headed over to the bus station in Lima. Big city bus stations in Latin America are humongous. I walked into the main entrance and was overwhelmed with options. There had to ...
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I landed in Lima, and praised the SIM gods that I wasn't landing in a new country, having to dodge yet another SIM nightmare. Don't worry, I have one more country left to tussle over the SIM.
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On 02/02, Boy, lots to be said. I got another 1.5-hour deep tissue massage [+/-$45, I mean, who wouldn't?!], which was highly needed, then started uphill back home to go to the mercado and grab a quic...
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I left off still in Bolivia, on my way to Puno on Lake Titicaca — the world's highest navigable lake. What followed: a janky plank ferry, an altitude-defying hike I swore I wouldn't do, and an alpaca with strong opinions about the structural integrity of my pants...
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Arrived in La Paz in the evening of January 18th. When my feet hit the ground after my first night of sleep, I could tell the altitude was going to be a force to be dealt with. My stay, fyi, is $16.22...
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After Heather departed, I was left to my own devices once again. Against the wind, the train pulling outta the station, no turning back. What follows is a tale of SIM cards, altitude sickness, and the occasional octopus ceviche...
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Enter, the best day that couldn't have been planned or purchased as a tour. Meeting Verona, exploring the Yungay neighborhood, Pisco Sours at Zarita, crashing a birthday party at 3am...
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Lost tickets to Rio, spontaneous flights to Mendoza, mythical credit card machines, wine country adventures, and a rainy Andes crossing that almost wasn't...
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Brazil visa disaster at the airport, the blue market currency exchange, flower shop backrooms, and stumbling into a Venezuelan expat celebration...
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Feliz ano nuevo! Ferry from Uruguay, meeting the incredible Fernando, New Year's Eve with recovering attorneys and Israeli coffee pushers...
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The lord's day, time to chill for us, and mozy around Colonia today. Looking to score a scooter [hopefully I don't get in a fight with it and the road like in Laos/Cambodia or wherever I was where I b...
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I'm done with Costa Rica, no mas. Ridiculously expensive, yet lots to offer, though [outdoorsy-ish stuff], I guess, but very touristy. It is beautiful, 1st week we spent time in a beautiful beachfront...
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Hola, Been in Guatemala City for a couple of days now. If you read between the lines on the prior "Journey" update, that whole day was spent getting from Point A to Point B. Got up at 6:30 am and I ar...
Read More →I'm Erich — the Trunk Monkey — and this is the unfiltered logbook of wherever I've wandered off to. Expect mishaps, questionable decisions, the occasional profound-ish thought at altitude, and an ongoing feud with every SIM card in the Southern Hemisphere. If you came for the polished highlight reel, you're on the wrong trunk.
No forms, no newsletter, no “subscribe” nonsense — this whole place is just for you lot. Got a reaction, a favorite disaster, or proof that one of these stories is a bald-faced lie? Just reply to whatever text or email pointed you here. It lands with me.