GUATAPE, COLOMBIA - I’ve only climbed 150 of the 740 steps required to reach the top of a mammoth monolith known as El Peñol and already I’m exhausted. My aching knees are in need of a Ben Gay fix. My heart is pounding so hard I think it’s about to leap out of my chest.

QUITO - It’s 3 a.m. — touch down at last! The first thing I notice when I step out of Quito’s airport is that the air is remarkably crisp. It’s a certain kind of crisp that leaves you feeling invigorated — this is what you get when you’re standing 2,850 metres above sea lev- el.

MEDELLíN, COLOMBIA - The Metro cable car lifts off from Santo Domingo station and the cows and horses grazing in the makeshift pasture beneath the gondola scatter in all directions.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - Agnes Garcia takes a long sip of her vintage French wine before responding to a question so many others have asked: “Why did you open a hotel in a country and city, both of which have made great strides to clean up their notorious past, but still remain suspect with most international travellers?”

CHACHAPOYAS PERU - My cabbie excitedly yells into his phone “Dónde estás se encuentra la entrada?” It’s the third call he’s made since we arrived at the ruins of Yalape in the Northern Andes of Peru. I soon learn it’s his first time here, too.

PANAMA CITY - When a country is shaped like the 13th hole at Augusta National, and its most famous landmark is a “water hole,” chances are it has some pretty good golf courses.

OTAVALO, ECUADOR - This Latin America beauty is so much more than the Galapagos and Quito. Though both these destinations are bucket list-worthy, I chose instead to explore a region two hours north of the capital city in the Andean province of Imbabura.

TECPÁN, GUATEMALA - Liria kneels before the fire, chanting and sprinkling small nuggets of copal resin incense into the blaze.

PITILLAL, MEXICO - As we traipsed along the narrow streets of this little community just east of Puerto Vallarta, our small group kept chanting the mantra, “Delicious! Delicious!”

PLAYA GIGANTE, NICARAGUA - On a hot, sticky Sunday afternoon, a jolt pushes me back to reality as the plane touches down in this lovely country’s capital city Managua.