… one country at a time!
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”
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”
The south of Peru has more to offer than just Cuzco and the Titicaca lake. Here are some other ideas on how to spend some time in this amazing region.
Continue reading “The south of Peru: Arequipa, Ica, Nazca”
The northern coast of Colombia does not only offer one of the best colonial cities of the Caribe, but also a heavenly natural park: the Tayrona park. It is not far from the city of Santa Marta, a perfect base for the exploration but that does not offer much more. In the Tayrona park you’ll find a thick forest, beautiful beaches, an incredible amount of fishes and much more. The only way to explore the park is by walking, but you can also dive into its warm water.
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After living in a van in Chile, and before spending three days in a Jeep in Bolivia, we went back to Argentina. Here we discovered yet another fantastic region, different from the ones we already saw: the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Its small villages are surrounded by mountains of the most amazing colors. We made base in Tilcara, which allowed us to move around using only public transportation. If you want to rent a car you would instead need to pass by Jujuy, more in the south. The main villages of the area are: Tilcara, Purmamarca, and Humahuaca.
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When thinking about the Caribbean sea, the first things that come to our mind are crystal clear waters, sun, and pirates raiding the coastal towns. This last part has of course changed, but you can still immerse yourself in that period by visiting Cartagena de Indias in Colombia.
Continue reading “Cartagena, the pearl of the Colombian Caribbean”
When we were about to leave Bogota for Cartagena we realized that the trip would have taken us 22 hours. Having some days to spare, we decided to look for an additional stop along the way. The most natural one would have been Medellin, but we would have to pass by there later to take our flight to Guatemala. We asked some help online, and some suggested San Gil. They presented it as a great place to do some extreme sports and we were immediately interested.
Continue reading “San Gil: Colombia’s adventure capital”
While preparing our trip in Latin America, we did not really know what to do in Colombia. We didn’t have a travel guide to help us as we had for the other countries but we had the opportunity to speak with several Colombians we met in Paris. They all told us that one of the things we couldn’t miss was the Eje Cafetero (the coffee region). Paolo being a big fan of coffee, we decided to spend a full week there.
Continue reading “El eje Cafetero: more than just coffee”
It is said that the first Inca, Manco Capac, was created by Inti, the god of the sun and emerged from the depths of lake Titicaca. He created the Inca civilization, establishing it in Cuzco.
With such a story, no doubt we wanted to visit this famous lake and some of its more than 30 islands. At 3800 m, lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and it is situated at the border between two countries: Peru and Bolivia.
Continue reading “Titicaca: one lake, two countries, three islands”
Cuzco was the capital and center of the Tawantisuyo, the Inca empire. From it, four main roads departed to reach the four regions of the empire.
Continue reading “Cuzco: the capital of the Incas”