Chris Backe's Blog, page 87

Lima’s street art, in pictures: 18 awesome shots of the capital city

Peru’s capital city has plenty of street art around – but like most other pieces, they may not be here tomorrow.

Start around theMuseo de la Electricidad (Electricity Museum) in the Barranco district, the Parque de Barranco, and along streets Pedro de Osma, 28 de Julio, Jiron Union, and Jiron 2 de Mayo for the best chances:

You’re welcome =)

Love the two different styles on the same wall.

Shutters can make such interesting backdrops.

Some pieces end up being a little more complex… so spe...

Review: Peru Hop, Peru’s first hop-on-hop-off bus service

Having spent almost 9 months getting around South America, the one thing that’s been the most difficult is getting around. Presuming abus, minivan, orcolectivo actually goes where you want it to, there’s then the matter of comfort and staying on schedule. If your South American trip involves Peru or Bolivia, I’ve found the company to use.

Disclosure: we received two hop-on-hop-off tickets from Peru Hop for review and traveling. As always, all words and opinions are my own.

Peru Hop is a hop-...

Questions from readers, the April 2016 edition

Presenting a new monthly series to answer reader’s questions! If you have a question about traveling, digital nomads, destinations, or the like, headhere to ask privately or to Wiselike to ask publicly.

This month’s questions (click or scroll down): Where did you feel the safest? What are some of the scariest traveling experiences that you ever had? Any tips for starting a blog? What’s a good way to monetize your blog when services like adblockers exist? What did you have to cut back for...

April book reviews: driving abroad, travel hacking for Canadians, and more

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

Also, a quick disclaimer: review copies were provided or downloaded for free, and links may be affiliate links. These reviews cover the version of the book Ireceived, not necessarily the version that’s currently available. A newer or updated version may have become available – check for yourself using the links below.

The Essential...

Getting around Lima: a guide to the crowded, chaotic, and confusing transportation system

Figuring out Lima’s public transportation system is like doing calculus blindfolded while riding a bicycle through molasses – a mental and physical challenge.

Lima is officially the gold standard of confusion when it comes to getting around the city. Though it might be a little naive to think we figured out Lima’s transportation system after only two weeks, that’s all the time we had to puzzle things out.

A few things to know upfront: This is an up-to-date, real-world look as ofApril 2016....

A tale of two food tours: Devour Barcelona and Food Walking Tour Peru

Despite being of the ‘eat-to-live’ variety, we definitelyenjoy trying new things while traveling.

While not alwaysweird, there’s a definite link between food and culture, and it’s one we sometimes explore.

Start with Devour(ing) Barcelona

Welcome to Devour Barcelona, a walking food tour offering family-run and owner-operated Catalan cuisine in Barcelona, Spain. The goal of the tour, beyond tasting plenty of different elements, was to get a feel for some of the Catalan history and culture tha...

(Guest post) Warwickz Farm: A Rare Breeds Farm Stay In New Zealand

[OWG note: this is a guest post ofShannon Ullman over atlivesabroad.com.]

This post was timed to celebrate the release of the newest Choose a Way book about Auckland. Check it out here!

New Zealand has a well worn tourist trail. Hoards of Lord of The Ring fans traverse the country looking for movie scenes and gangs of campervans are filled with backpackers gunning for the tourist sites. Underneath the Tongariro hikes and boat rides on Milford Sound, New Zealand has a quirky underbelly of lit...

Review: Context Travel Tours – for the more intellectual traveler

During our epic trip across Europe, we had the opportunity to go on a couple of guided tours aimed at a more… intellectual crowd.At some companies, seemingly any local can be hired to recite an approved script; with Context Travel, tour guides have a Master’s or Ph.D. degree. There are no scripts in sight, and it’s clear tour guides are speaking from their own experience and knowledge. Better still, small groups (no more than six people per tour) encourage questions and interaction.

Since I’d...

12 things I wish I knew before coming to Prague

Prague offers a great introduction to the Czech Republic – but boy there were some things I wish I knew before heading there. Czech isn’t that bad, actually – it just looks that way.

The good news: it probably won’t even matter all that much. This Wikipedia page has plenty to help understand how things sound, if you’re the sort that learned the IPA in college.

Don’t. Miss. The. Beer.

Some aspects of the city might drive you to drink – but for beer-lovers like myself, I’ll get on the tram. C...

Random pictures, the Peru edition

As always, Random Pictures posts highlight those shots that didn’t make it into other posts.

Every so often, you wonder what goes into the naming of a restaurant. In this case, it seems a safe assumption of where the ‘Jackie Chan’ name might come from.

Oh myy.

That awkward moment when the roadends in a dead end… of a huge pile of earth…

Nowthat’s what I call a busy backroom…

Go on, admit it. You’ve always wanted to sit on an alligator (crocodile?).

How the humans have scarred the earth…...