My name: Kate Beall

How I earn my keep: Writing for Travelocity.

Best meal I've ever had: It depends on what you mean by "best." While it wasn't the tastiest thing I've ever eaten, the cuy (guinea pig) I chowed on in Peru was by far the most interesting. It had too many visible bones (and teeth and claws) for me to make a reasonable meal of it, but it was one of those situations where you feel like it's your PATRIOTIC DUTY to eat the weird thing or go to the scary club or jump off the really tall thing. Taste-wise, the alpaca was much better.

First thing I do in a new place: Check out the bathroom. Anything more than an hour on a plane or in a car, and I start fantasizing about soap.

View that took my breath away: Staring down from the crest of Triple Divide Peak. As a bit of an acrophobe, I was simultaneously awestruck and panicked. But it was an amazing sensation to be standing on frozen rock and snow, peering down into this Eden of Sierra greenery. Best of all? The group broke out candy bars to celebrate. After eight days of powdered milk and peanut butter, that was almost as good as the view.

Most challenging travel moment: Surviving 36 hours on various buses while traveling from Santiago, Chile to Arequipa, Peru. You might think, "Oh, but what lovely views!" Nope. Most of this stretch is straight through the Atacama Desert, which is nothing but sand and sand and the occasional military vehicle off in the distance. (Okay, except for when the desert blooms, and then it's amazing). To add insult to injury, the last bus we caught had chickens in the rafters, no bathroom, and seats so broken I feared for my spine. A hard lesson in booking ahead!

Favorite way to get around: On foot. Always.