We made our way to Ica, a little further South Peru, about a week later. From here we visited the Ballestas Islands. These are a set of islands claiming to be the ‘poor man’s Galapagos’ and although we saw lovely little Humbolt penguins and sealions, they were not as impressive Read more…
We have taken buses everywhere in South America so it was strange to sit at the airport in La Paz. It was like we were off on a little holiday! We landed in Rurrenabaque to heat, heat, heat. It’s such a cool little jungle town; most of the restaurants are Read more…
One of the downsides of Peru is that it has had tourists for a long, long time so they are very clued up on about how to milk us! Because of this, one of the only real options to take to see Lake Titicaca is to go on a homestay Read more…
After leaving Santiago we headed to Valparaiso. We were expecting a ‘nice’, quiet, pretty seaside village. What we got was a very gritty, quirky town with amazing graffiti and a working port. It was fantastic; Chile’s version of Brighton and one of my favourite towns so far. Our favourite way to explore Read more…
The Galapagos. To go or not to go? We spent days walking around Quito trying to find a good deal for the Galapagos cruises. Next, we considered going without a cruise. Were the day trips good enough? They amount to the almost the same as the budget cruises. Argh, so Read more…
We were on a mission in South America to scale as many mountains as possible! When we read about Rucu Pichincha, a 4680m high active volcano, and then realised how close it was to the city we were immediately heading that way. We read posts about how this hike could Read more…
On our first morning in Salento we are up and in a colectivo by 7.30am ready to hike Cocora Valley, which is one of the sights that both of us are most excited about in Colombia. The ‘Willy’s Jeeps’ are lined up in the square and there will be someone Read more…
Salento is coffee heaven. It’s a lovely, quiet town surrounded by plantations so you have a big choice of farms to visit. I had read some reviews so based on those and the posters around the town it seemed that Don Elias was the town’s coffee godfather, and a bit Read more…
Playa Blanca is under an hour from Cartagena by bus. We took the shuttle bus from Mamallena hostel in Gestemani. This was a straight-forward way to get there and includes an open return, meaning you can come back whenever you like. As you arrive at Playa Blanca you immediately get Read more…
Have you read Marching Powder by Rusty Young? I’d read a lot about this book on travel blogs, and then managed to find a copy in a hostel. It’s a compelling story of an English guy locked up in a Bolivian prison,. It tells how corrupt the police and government Read more…