Bolivian musician at Tiwanaku

On the eve of Evo Morales' swearing-in to a second term, AP's Dado Galdiero captures a musician at Tiwanaku.

My aching lungs and Bogota's ozone

I got paranoid about the air quality in Bogota after exhibiting asthmatic symptoms for the first time in my life and visiting an excellent pulmonologist, Dr. Alvaro Morales. He prescribed Symbicort, which includes a a steroid that has rid my lungs of inflammation and that also opens the bronchial passages. Attempting to mitigate the effects of Bogota's pollution on my lungs, I did two things. First I researched the devastating health effects of ozone. And then I began monitoring the city's air quality to make sure I wasn't running when conditions were dangerous. Most serious Bogota runners go out early. Even if it is COLD at 6 a.m. (about 8-10 degrees celsius, or 50F).

La Brincha - Quimbaya, Colombia - Bird Paradise

The finca where we spent New Year's 2009-2010. Those are egrets that alit on a tree in what amounted to our front yard on the Rio Vieja.

Coffee country - Upping mileage

Back from six days in the Eje Cafetero, Colombia's coffee country, where I logged 30 miles running in addition to a few nice hikes. I also helped clear some lungs partially inflamed by Bogota's pollution, for which I've purchased a nose-mouth mask with a filter for commuting to work on my bike. The sulfur content in Bogota's diesel is poisonously high and nobody seems to care that the buses are spewing this stuff into cyclist and pedestrian lungs with a vengeance. Meantime, I'm boosting my mileage a bit as time allows, at least while on vacation. Check out this WSJ article about Dr. Paul Williams, who recommends that people who regularly exercise add more to their menu to significantly lower the risk of everything from stroke to prostate enlargment.