Whether you're an architecture buff or just enjoy getting lost in a maze of pretty cobbled streets, there are a multitude of colonial cities in Latin America that warrant your time and attention. Some of the best colonial cities are easily reached by public transport, so there's no reason not to include them in your itinerary. They usually also … [Read more...]
Best Dozen Posts of 2012
With 2013 barely off the ground, a new blogger relay has taken the travel world by storm. The idea? To pick your best posts from the past year, depending on twelve predefined categories. When I was nominated by JdombsTravels to take part, it sounded like a great opportunity to reflect on everything I've been up to and to scrutinise my blog posts … [Read more...]
Homestay on Amantani Island on Lake Titicaca
There’s plenty to see on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. While Puno itself doesn’t have the best reputation, it makes a great base for exploring both the floating reed islands of the Uros people and the permanent islands of Amantani and Taquile. It’s great fun visiting the reed islands and dressing up like the locals, but these have become … [Read more...]
Eating Guinea Pig for Tea
Would you eat your childhood pet? Lucky for me, I was only allowed a goldfish (which oddly enough I called ‘Blog’ before I’d even discovered the internet) and a hamster that met a sticky end when my dad drowned it in a bucket! I’d been whinging about eating guinea pig for weeks and our last night in Cusco was possibly the last chance I’d … [Read more...]
A Day in Machu Picchu
After 3 days of fun-packed adventure on the Jungle Trail, it was finally time to see Machu Picchu. It’s one of those places I’d dreamt of visiting my whole life, and one of the few places I was happy to get up at 3:30am for. Aguas Calientes is a strange place, because it comes to life so early in the morning. Its sole reason for existence is to … [Read more...]
Jungle Trail to Machu Picchu
There are many options for visiting Machu Picchu. The easiest and least satisfying is to get the train to Aguas Calientes and then the bus up to the ticket station in the morning. But there are plenty of treks, typically lasting 3 to 5 days, which make the journey more exciting and rewarding. The official Inca trail is a challenging but … [Read more...]
Santa Catalina Monastery: Isolation, Self-flagellation and Spooky Paintings
Santa Catalina Monastery was founded in 1579. It is the only convent in the world comprised of a city within a city. Over the centuries, it has been the home of hundreds of cloister nuns, who had little or no contact with the outside world. In the early days, nuns were only allowed to speak to their families once a month, if they had been screened … [Read more...]
In Search of the Andean Condor
The main reasons people flock to Arequipa in Peru are to hike in Colca Canyon and to visit the aptly named Condor Cross in the hope of spotting Andean condors - the largest birds in the western hemisphere. I'm the daughter of an avid bird watcher and, other than requests for updates on where I am and whether I'm safe, the most common question my … [Read more...]
Hiking Colca Canyon: Lost in a Maze of Maize
Now we know which way we should have gone, my Aussie friend Christina and I are baffled as to how we got so lost on the Colca Canyon trek near Cabanaconde in southern Peru. We'd already dismissed the hot Peruvian hostel owner's advice to leave at 7 am in favour of a lie in. How hard could it be to descend into a canyon and back out again in one … [Read more...]
TEFL in a Graveyard: Chauchilla Cemetery
I'll start this post with a warning. It's going to get weird. I'll attempt to explain how I ended up teaching English as a foreign language in a graveyard - surrounded by mummies - while interspersing it with disturbing shots of mummified humans from the Nazca civilisation! I thought I'd struck a good deal when my hostel Inti Wasi put together a … [Read more...]
