Arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay from Iguassu Falls via Curitiba, BR and Sao Paulo, BR. Long flights and long delays made the trip very exhausting. Then upon arriving in Montevideo airport i took out 7,000 pesos and that was just a little too much money. But the taxi ride was 600 in itself, so maybe not. We are staying in the Ciudad Vieja, or old city, and it reminds me of the french riviera in winter. Very classic looking buildings. Today we are searchin...

Here in Rio and loving it. Its winter but it is still nice to go to the beach and remind myself that it is summer back in the states. I cant believe i have been gone one month, but i still have three weeks left for some amazing cities. I will be here in Rio for nine more days then Lincoln, David, and I will fly to Iguassu Falls, Brazil, only if Varig stops being babies and gets some more money, so that is a little concerning right now. Well the sites and...

Curitiba, Brazil: finally made it back to brazil after about 24 hours of plane rides and sitting and sleepiong in airports in South America, which is not as fun as you may think. But we have presentations tomorrow at the university so this will be a very short message. Loooking forward to great times in Curitiba, a very clean and beautiful city with a lot of parks and cool architecture.

Arrived in Arequipa in the early afternoon. Immediately the altitude took its affect. Travelig from Lima at sea level to 7,000 ft. is a major change in your body, so coca tea helps the body adjust to the altitude. We spent some time walking around the main plaza de armas. El Misti, the volcano can be seen in the distance and the views are spectacular. Tomorrow we are going to walk around the city and sketch. And in two days we leave for Cusco.

Arrived in Lima yesterday and started touring this wonderful seaside city. It is very different from Sao Paulo, the buildings are much smaller because of the earthquakes, but we are learning a lot about the materials that are used to make the homes including adobe brick and quincha, a mud with plastic-like properties. We have visited cathedral after cathedral because they are the oldest buildings in around these parts. Most of the other buildings just look old...