… one country at a time!
After the post about Santa Cruz, we talk about another major island in the Galapagos: Isabela. With some activities to do on a low budget as well!
Continue reading “Galapagos Islands on a budget: isla Isabela”
The Galapagos archipelago has always been synonym with wildlife. Made famous worldwide by Darwin’s studies that lead to the theory of evolution, they became the first Ecuadorian national park in 1959. Since then, the restrictions to ensure preservation of the native flora and fauna kept accumulating. These restrictions came hand in hand with a steady and significant raise in the cost of the stay on the island. But don’t worry, you can still enjoy the amazing animals of the Galapagos while being on a budget.
Continue reading “Galapagos Islands on a budget: arriving on Santa Cruz”
A few months ago we were arriving in Chile. Our very first stop was the capital, Santiago de Chile. It was the second capital we were visiting after Buenos Aires. To explore it better, we stayed right in the centre. Our Airbnb hosts were the most lovely people. They gave us so many advice on what to do and where to eat!
Continue reading “5 days in Santiago de Chile”
When we think about Peru, usually the first thing that comes to mind is Machu Picchu and the many beautiful hikes that you can do in the Andes. Most of the time we do not think about the coast, but in the north of Peru is pretty nice. Moreover, since you are almost at the border with Ecuador, the climates tends to be quite warm.
After more than one month hiking the Andes, we wanted some warmth and decided to go to Mancora. The city is located at the meeting between the warm current from the north and the cold one from the south. Such conditions create the perfect environment for a very rich marine life.
Long ago volcanoes could walk and talk, just like humans. One of them, Tunupa, had a child, the father of which was unknown. All the other volcanoes loved Tunupa and they wanted to be father of the baby. So a huge fight broke between them, until they kidnapped the baby. The gods got angry and took away the volcanoes ability to speak and move. But Tunupa’s milk and tears for the loss of the child continued to flow, creating what we now know as salar de Uyuni.
Continue reading “The Salar de Uyuni and the Sur Lipez”
Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire. After falling in the hands of the Spanish, the last remaining fighters looked for a safe refuge in the Vilcabamba mountain range. Here they established another capital, however, the access to the mountain range was controlled from another city: Choquequirao, ‘the cradle of gold’.
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Have you ever seen dinosaurs footprints? Done speleology? And climbed big rocks at the bottom of a huge canyon? We found a place where you can do all of these! It is called Torotoro National Park, in Bolivia. We went there for Caroline’s birthday and it was amazing ! Let us tell you a bit more about our experience.
Continue reading “Torotoro: The adventurers’ paradise”
Centuries ago, the Incas built a huge empire, spanning from Ecuador to Chile. One of the reason they were able to maintain it, until the Spanish invasion, was an efficient communication system. This system relied on multiple messengers and a huge network of trails connecting the different cities.
Continue reading “The Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu”
After Chile and Argentina, our adventures continued in Bolivia. We spent around 3 weeks in the country, but we could have stayed much more. Bolivia has amazing landscapes and you can do some really nice trekking and excursions.
But Bolivia also has some really nice cities to offer. Here is a description of three of them that we really enjoyed visiting: Potosi, Sucre and La Paz.
If you think about the desert, what is the first thing that come to your mind? A beautiful but rather monotonous series of sand and dunes, right? That’s at least what the majority of Europeans (us included) would say, given the vicinity of the Sahara desert. But, believe us, there is at least one desert in which you could spend five or more days and see different and amazing landscapes everyday: the Atacama desert.
Continue reading “Atacama: a desert like no other”