How to prepare for a long trip in Asia in 2024

While on Easter Island, we had the chance to meet other travelers that arrived there not from Chile, like us, but from French Polynesia. Before that, they had spent quite some time in south-east Asia, exploring several countries. Their stories planted the first seed of an idea that took five years to fully mature: to go for a long trip in Asia, similar to the eight-month one we did in Latin America. The trip will start this next October!

Preparing this kind of trip takes some time, as we described before leaving in 2019. Although, the experience we had with the first one helped a lot to speed things up. So here’s what changed, what remained the same, and what’s new for this trip around Asia!

Continue reading “How to prepare for a long trip in Asia in 2024”

Celebrating día de muertos in Mexico!

All along our trip, we had the opportunity to discover many different local traditions. Several times, ancient pre-Colombian stories and customs fused with the Catholicism brought by the Spanish, a process generally known as syncretism. From the Virgin Mary represented as the Pacha Mama in Bolivia, to the guinea pig at the last supper in the cathedral of Cuzco, and the peculiar customs of the Chiapas indigenous people, we were surprised time and time again. We knew nonetheless an example of syncretism well before our trip: the día de muertos celebration in Mexico. As a matter of fact, we organised all our trip around that day. We wanted to discover the holiday’s folklore onsite!

Continue reading “Celebrating día de muertos in Mexico!”

Discovering Mayan ruins in Mexico

Even after exploring the Mayan ruins of Copan in Honduras, Tikal in Guatemala, and Tulum, we were not yet satisfied. Plus, after our visit to Machu Picchu in Peru, we realised we had the possibility to see another one of the seven wonders. So we naturally decided to take our time while travelling to the north of Mexico. On the way, we stopped twice to visit as many ruins: Chichén Itzá and Palenque.

Continue reading “Discovering Mayan ruins in Mexico”

Enjoying sea and nature on the island of Cozumel

We definitely fell in love with the Riviera Maya. So much that we decided to extend our staying a bit more. To change settings just a bit, we moved to an island: Cozumel.

To get to the island, we first took a bus from Tulum to Playa del Carmen. From there, we took the ferry to Cozumel. During the whole ride you can enjoy a beautiful view of the spectacular Caribbean sea and all its colors. The water takes all the shades of blue and green, already from the harbor!

Continue reading “Enjoying sea and nature on the island of Cozumel”

Heading north: Lima and Trujillo

While on our way to the North of Peru, we passed by two other cities that offered some really nice attractions: Lima and Trujillo. They were not the highlights of our time in Peru, but then, between Machu Picchu and passing our diving license, we set the bar quite high. In any case, it is nice to visit this region of Peru, especially if you are interested in the pre-incan civilisations. 

Continue reading “Heading north: Lima and Trujillo”

Five things to do in Medellin

When we were still living in Paris, we offered on Couchsurfing our relatively comfortable sofa-bed.  We had the chance to host a lovely Colombian/English couple for a few days. They offered to return the favor if we were passing by Medellin. And just like that, Medellin became a mandatory stop during our trip. 

After some months we finally had the opportunity to discover the city, partly through their eyes, thanks to their amazing hospitality.

Continue reading “Five things to do in Medellin”