One of the first assignments Ben Box took as a freelance writer in 1980 was subediting work on the South American Handbook. The plan then was to write about contemporary Iberian and Latin American affairs, but in no time at all the lands south of the Rio Grande took over, inspiring journeys to all corners of the subcontinent. Ben has contributed to newspapers, magazines and learned tomes, usually on the subject of travel, and became editor of the South American Handbook in 1989. He has also been involved in Footprint's Handbooks on Central America & Mexico, Caribbean Islands, Brazil, Peru, Cuzco & the Inca Heartland, and Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.Having a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese studies from London University, Ben maintains a strong interest in Latin American literature. In the British summer he plays cricket for his local village side and year round he attempts to achieve some level of self-sufficiency in fruit and veg in a rather unruly country garden in Suffolk. Born and raised in Ecuador (Quito and Riobamba), Daisy Isacovici's pet peeve is being mistaken for a gringa. Robert Kunstaetter hails from Montreal, where Daisy attended university. Soon after they met in 1979, he suggested travelling in South America for 'a year or so', and they have yet to turn back. Over the years and miles, Robert and Daisy became regular correspondents for Footprint, contributing to the South American Handbook and other Latin American titles. Based back in Ecuador since 1993, they are authors of Footprint's Ecuador & Galapagos and Trekking in Ecuador. They also travel frequently to Peru and Bolivia. After all these years, Robert and Daisy still have difficulty distinguishing between work and play.