Stokes in Peru

  Greetings again folks, Fall break arrived on the calendar last week for Marianella and I, providing us with another opportunity to seek out the wonders of southeastern Asia and escape the monsoon season that just does not want to end in Dhaka.  After some deliberation, Bali came into focus for us-a reasonable flight from home and a reputation as a tropical paradise drew us in.  After booking the plane tickets, our research began in earnest.  Opinions about the island paradise varied greatly when reading through various websites-while many attested to its beauty and culture, others bemoaned a destination overran by obnoxious tourists and stand-still traffic.  Fortunately, options on where to stay on the island abound and we chose two locales that proved to be wise choices-Ubud, located in central Bali and considered the cultural center of the island and Candidasa, located on the Bali's east coast, perched against the Pacific Ocean. Ubud 4:30 a.m.  It is a time of day we do

 The calendar indicates that it's September and here I am, writing about a trip taken in June.  As is customary, I have an excuse for my tardiness (you can decide if it's valid or not).  Our summer was a whirlwind with our two months equally split between the U.S. and South America; Peru was our primary destination in the southern hemisphere, but for one week, just before we headed up to Minnesota, we took a week and traveled to Colombia, specifically Medellin and the region.  While in Minnesota, there just wasn't much time spent at the computer, nor when we returned to Peru for a slapdash week before taking that big jet airliner to Bangladesh.  We've been back to Dhaka for a little over a month now and while readjusting to work life has been hectic, I also have time available on the weekend to share a bit of our summer adventures.  Three years ago Marianella and I first visited Colombia, spending our time in Bogota and Cartagena; on that trip we heard repeatedly