The surfer girl from Honolulu who is so passionate about global travel that she'd like to share her world with you is happy to correspond with you. Check out Bren's online travel journal or email her at brendayun@gmail.com

Arequipa itself is a very large tourist hub in the southern high plains for trekkers and adventure travelers. After a nap and a late breakfast, we walked the crowded streets trying to get a sense of the place."

Pisco unfortunately lives up to its reputation as "The Armpit of Peru."

Who knew sand dunes could be so much fun? I'm in sunny Huacachina and the electricity has been out all day. It's the perfect time to catch up on work and relax. I left San Bartolo yesterday and I finally felt like my usual traveler self, busing it to Ica"

I too should be surprised. I've been here in Peru for two full days and have yet to leave the cool comfort of the beachfront house I happened to find (the house also happens to be right in front of one of Peru's finest barrels). More on that shortly."

Thursday and Friday nights were complete with farewells and “festivities.”"

It turns out the boys had slept through all of their alarms and missed their morning bus. When they finally woke up at 9 a.m. they promptly arranged for another transport to Habana that would be leaving at 2:45. Perfect!"

Having traveled only three weeks abroad, I can still safely say that my travel bug as well as my appreciation for being a U.S. have been re-energized and renewed."

A recap of how our Monday and Tuesday were spent: we didn’t do a whole lot of anything. Let me explain."

Well, we’re here – safe and sound in Havana (but why do we call it Havana with a ‘v’ when all of the signs here in the city and all of the locals call it “Habana” with a ‘b’?)! I think I prefer to call it what the locals do – with the ‘b’."

Yesterday was full of rain – from when we woke up until 5 p.m. it was a constant and miserable kind of drizzle. Despite the poor weather, we made a very full day of it."

So the Melia Habana. We were not aware such luxurious resorts were available for just $50 a night! Had I not come with Lora there would be no chance to stay in such a place."

Just how cold is the water in Nicaragua, I say to myself as I scuttle up to the lapping ocean's edge. Mike had told me it was going to be colder than I would normally think."

Christopher Elliot, over at Tribune Media Services, reported how 2009 will likely be the year of the "naycation." While Gadling writer, Tom Johansmeyer, agrees to some extent that this could be the case, I hope we might be able to see a light at the tunne"

I arrived in Bogotá by bus at midnight and after a $12 taxi ride and a great deal of indecision on my part as for where to stay, I made it to Hostal Fatima in La Candelaria, Bogotá’s historical district."