In the early 1960s, Mac Tschanz helped establish a Department of Geology in Bolivia, high in the South American Andes. Unfazed by political intrigues, his next assignment was in Colombia where he trained geologists while mapping in the lawless Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. During nine years in South America Mac and his wife, Ginny, lived a continuous adventure in exotic surroundings. Their story is recorded in contemporaneous letters, imparting immediacy to an amazing family saga.