For me, maps are little gold mines of information. I love to pour over them imagining what the place is like, or letting them remind me of my favorite parts of a trip to a specific area. As we spent our 9 months in the Spanish Speaking world the one souvenir we kept from every location was the local maps. I'm sure that in years to come these will be great for kickstarting our memories.

Historical Maps of Latin American Locations

I just read in a travel briefs article about an increase in robberies at Mexico City airport money exchange offices. I think this is really just a reminder that in Mexico CIty, as in any major megalopolis, you have to be street smart and watch your back.

Seattle Times article on Mexico City Airport

This was my costume for Halloween/ Day of the Dead 2007. I was a Day of the Dead Altar, with my head as the sugar skull on the altar and various other traditional offerings on a table made of poster board with a hole cut in the middle for my head and and crepe-paper table cloth.

The Dutch seriously know how to start businesses abroad.

Ever since a trip to Central America two summers ago when we were introduced to our first favorite Dutch-pat enterprise, Via Via, we've sought out other DOBs (Dutch Owned Businesses).

Some Favorites:

Via Via, Copán, Honduras: A hostel and restaurant, this place is a hip travelers oasis. Our favorite was the great fresh food with plenty of our favorite Dutch options, which is to say flavorful food inspired by the cuisine of Dutch colonies Suriname and Indonesia.