KidZania in Santiago Chile

Our urban exploration in Santiago, Chile, featuring a mom-son day at KidZania, a great learning place for children.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 17, 2019sunset, mountain, children, clouds, lake, landscape, South America, ChileComment

A great example of how I photographed landscape during sunset with less than 10 minutes in hand, a common theme I had while traveling with kids.

Planning and LogisticsBelinda ShiOctober 14, 2019sunset, Chile, South America, panorama, cityscape, landscape photography

Volcanoes and Andrean Condors in Colca Canyon

We passed the highest point in our travel, at 4900m elevation, on the Colca Canyon trip, saw many alpacas, vicunas, and a few Andean condors, the largest flying bird in the world.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 14, 2019Peru, children, sunset, cityscape, landscape, canyon, South AmericaComment

What To See In Arequipa

We took our 9th flight of our South America trip yesterday and landed in Arequipa, the second largest city of Peru. I somewhat fell in love with it more than Cusco and Machu Picchu.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 9, 2019Peru, children, sunset, cityscape, landscape, panorama, South America, landscape photographyComment

Indigenous Dance In Sacred Valley

We spent one day in Sacred Valley today, and ran into a crowd of indigenous dance in Pisac. We spent our last evening in Cusco, with the mission to enjoy another authentic Peruvian meal.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 7, 2019Peru, children, people, South America, valley

Rain Clouds In Machu Picchu

I left all my landscape photography gear back in Cusco due to the weather. And people are only allowed to bring limited luggage onto the Perurail to Machu Picchu. It’s my least productive photo day, but we got a family photo.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 6, 2019Peru, children, clouds, mountain, animal, South AmericaComment

Unique Landscape at Maras and Moray

We took our first group trip to Maras salt flats and Moray archaeological site, both within a couple of hours drive from Cusco. We learned some agricultural and archeological wisdom from the Incas.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 5, 2019Peru, children, clouds, mountain, South AmericaComment

Inca Walk at Saqsaywaman

We were picked up by our private guide at Cusco two nights ago, and had one free day to acclimatize to the altitude yesterday. Our official tour starts at Saqsaywaman today, where we saw the amazing stone structures Incas built.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 3, 2019Peru, children, church, religious site, South AmericaComment

15 minutes of fame in Cusco Peru

Find out why we changed route, and wasted 4 plane tickets from Lima to Cusco, and instead, went from Lima to Chile and back to Lima. No regrets! Orion became popular on our first day in Cusco.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 3, 2019Peru, children, people, church, South AmericaComment

Sunset Photography At Mars Valley

Mars Valley, Valle de la Muerte, also called Death Valley, is a must-see in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. We had to hike in the flying sand for 30 minutes to the valley top to photograph landscape during sunset.

TravelBelinda ShiOctober 1, 2019Chile, desert, mountain, sand, children, sunset, landscape, valley, South America, landscape photography

Laguna Chaxa - The Most Beautiful Oasis in Desert

Can you imagine how it feels when traveling in the driest place on earth and seeing an oasis like this? Words can’t describe it.

TravelBelinda ShiSeptember 30, 2019Chile, desert, lake, landscape, animal, mountain, South America

First Hike and Sunset Photo in Atacama Desert

Traveling with young kids often means little or no landscape photography during my favorite sunset hours. I had to come up with different scenarios to photograph landscape. Check out the sunset scene and the milky way I captured at our remote desert hut.

TravelBelinda ShiSeptember 28, 2019Chile, desert, children, mountain, sunset, milkyway, night photography, South AmericaComment

Day 1 in Chile - Milky Way in Atacama Desert

We had a long and tough day transitioning from Lima, Peru to Atacama Desert in Chile, but the milky way scene was well worth every challenges we endured.

Iconic Galapagos Landscape at Bartolome Island

I took a solo boat trip to Bartolome Island today, just to photograph the most iconic Galapagos scene. Was it worth not spending the time with my family and kids? For just a day, I’d still say yes!

TravelBelinda ShiSeptember 24, 2019animal, children, Ecuador, landscape, panorama, South America, landscape photography

Our Favorite Galapagos Day - North Seymour Island Tour

If you are into wild animals (who’s not given you came all the way to Galapagos?), you have to visit North Seymour Island. It’s a paradise of rare birds, and iguanas. Check out our photos and video.

Travel, FeaturedBelinda ShiSeptember 22, 2019animal, children, beach, South America, Ecuador

Galapagos Day 3 - Giant Tortoises at Rancho Primicias

Who’s into tortoises? Our toddler definitely is! And seeing the giant ones and so many of them in a Galapagos farm was absolutely an eye opening experience for all of us.

TravelBelinda ShiSeptember 20, 2019animal, children, tree, Ecuador, South AmericaComment

Galapagos Day 2 - Wild Animals at Tortuga Bay

A photo journal of our first hike along the 1.5m Tortuga Bay on Santa Cruz Island in Galapagos. You’ll see our first encounter of marine iguanas, and a volcanic beach.

TravelBelinda ShiSeptember 19, 2019animal, children, beach, Ecuador, South AmericaComment

Day 1 in Galapagos

if you are interested in traveling to Galapagos by yourself (instead of on a cruise), you’ll find info about essential paperwork required to enter Galapagos. Also how we spent our first day at Charles Darwin Research Station to see giant tortoises.