Category: South America

A Coffee with a View

From a cup of coffee with sunrise in the middle of the Flores Sea to a mug of strong espresso underneath Tibetan prayer flags looking on to the never-ending Himalayas, a coffee with a view is how it’s served best.

Bakeries rule, especially in Argentina.

Glorious snow capped mountains, endless hiking trails, lakes, vineyards, wine tasting, whales, red meat, jam-packed BBQs hanging from giant hooks in the ceiling, Summer and Winter weather days… these are all the things that attracted me to Argentina. Little did I know that I would leave the country after two months with an addiction to dulce de leche and an enormous love for their baked goods.

10,000 views! Let’s celebrate with a beer!

Don’t you hate it when work gets in the way? I’ve got about four half written blogs on my Dashboard, painfully waiting for completion but I haven’t visited my blog for so long they’re gathering dust. However, last week my inbox pinged with news of a comment on one of my rambling posts. A lovely comment from across the Atlantic drew my attention back to this dusty blog and I realised that despite my lack of posts it still gets a lot of views, 10,224 to be (very nearly) precise! In celebration of getting over the 10,000 mark I thought I’d share a beer or two with you.

I’ll go anywhere for food…(not prison).

The best thing about travelling has been seeing what everyone else eats, what do people queue for or reserve or slaves over the hob for? If they are doing all those things it means it’s good, possibly amazing. From tiny snails at a Taiwanese night market to the biggest steaks you could lay your eyes on in Argentina, I’ve been there to try it… more than once.

Bolivian Madness on The Death Road…

I stopped the 4.45AM (!!!) alarm before it even managed to sound. My eyes ached with tiredness, I hadn’t slept well at all, Yawn, argh, bleh it was time for The Death Road…

What and how do you pack?

How can I fit what I need into that rucksack?

That was one of the first questions I asked myself when I bought my rucksack at the beginning of 2008. I settled on (after much review reading) a Karimor Panther rucksack which could squeeze a whopping 65 litres of stuff inside. At the time I didn’t think 65 litres was that much at all. This makes me laugh because now (3 years of backpacking later) I think 65 litres is massive and I could easily travel with a smaller rucksack.

Magical, Mystical, Machu Picchu

An epic day spent at Machu Picchu & also up Wayna Picchu; one of the best moments in more than eight months travelling through South America. It was quite stressful getting a ticket though…

5 – 1 Day Remaining… A Return to Caracas

8 months and 24 days ago I flew into Caracas to start this South American adventure. Now I’m back here again, I just can’t believe it. It has taken me and Tom 8 months and 24 days of bus travel to go from Venezuela to Colombia, to Ecuador, to Peru, to Bolivia, to Argentina. Our backpacking adventure really stopped in Argentina at the incredible Iguazu Falls. We enjoyed a final Argentinian meal of steak and remembered fondly our favourite parts of the last 8 months and 24 days.

20 – 5 Days… Mountains, Whales, Penguins, a Capital City and an Endless Waterfall

Where to start?

I’ve been in South America for nearly nine months and eight of those have involved slow travel, my favourite kind of travel. I find a place, explore, eat, drink, stay in that place a little longer, explore some more, relax, wander, stay in that place a few more days and THEN after that maybe just maybe move on to the next place. There’s always been a lot of time to do everything. It’s great because it means you don’t get worn out by the endless bus journeys. However during this last month I’ve had to speed things up as the dreaded end date approaches. It has been absolutely fantastic, a jam packed, fun filled month but it’s put me behind in my blog and my head is spinning a little.