Last year when I was travelling people had told that me that Colombia was fantastic and it really was no word of a lie.......and thats why Ive been so poor keeping the blog up to date. And here I am with only 2 weeks left and struggling to fit it all in.... After Bogota I went to a place called Villa de Leyva. After a long winding mountain route I arrived to a very pretty colonial town...a place where a lot of Bogotanios go on the weekend or for holidays.....and when you get there you know why. It is nestled in [View Full Entry]

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It´s very strange starting my blog again. I feel like a bit of a con when I´m only away for 5 weeks so I´m not really a long-haul traveller anymore. I was waiting to be inspired before I started it & it just so happens that I´m not fit for sight-seeing at the moment too after a very large almuerzo (a 2-3 course meal at the middle of the day...a lot of carbs too) so now is as good a time as any to start!! I arrived in Bogota on the Saturday of the May bank -holiday weekend. It´s a massive [View Full Entry]

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I've been putting off doing my very final blog because it marks the end of my travels & even though I'm home a month now, I haven't accepted that this is it. I finished out the last week of my trip in Buenos Aires after spending a few days at the magnificent Iguazu waterfalls....las cascadas. I never expected to feel so sad about going home....for so much of the trip I missed home but it's very easy to slip into the rhythm of life in South America......maybe it's the life of Riley that was so easy to enjoy....no work, only play....complete [View Full Entry]

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It was finally nice to touch-down after 3 days of traveling. I can´t say I was a happy bunny though.....having come from Ecuador´s sunny smile to arrive in Argentina´s winter I started to feel climate-related depression....& I think it reminded me of the days to come (& look forward to!?) at home!! I´ve been so lucky on my travels because I´ve had sunshine for most of the journey.....so finishing off my last 2 weeks in winter was a tough come-back to reality. I stayed in a hostel in Iguazu that comes highly recommended by lots of travelers. It´s a massive place [View Full Entry]

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Fresh off the beach with a tan to go I thought that I´d tell you about Monatñita before the memories slip away with the last grains of sand!! I arrived in Ecuador to a big busy city in the south called Guayquil. It´s not somewhere you go to look at the architecture or marvel at anything in particular....just a pass-through to get you to the next place. I was sitting in a salad bar the day I arrived & a lady came up to me to tell me to be very careful & watch out......apparently it´s a dangerous enough city with [View Full Entry]

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Mancora, Peru. Beach. The first beach I´d seen since Australia really.....first beach that had all the neccessary factors for a proper beach experience. I´d forgotton how much I love the beach & was sorry that I didn´t get there earlier. Trekking is so over-rated!! Mancora is a small town where you´ll hear the blow of the passing buses at regular intervals as they steam through on the main Panamerican highway. The sun was shining with not too many tourists littering the beach & with handfuls of people jumping, flipping & spinning as they kite-surfed their way out to sea. It was [View Full Entry]

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Huaraz is a city nestled in the Andes mountains from where a lot of travellers set out on various types of treks, from 3 to 10 days or more....depending on time & adventure! For me this was to be my last trek......the Santa Cruz trek over 4 days...although in retrospect I probably would have done it in 3 days because it isn't very hard...there is only one pass to cross & after that it is a walk in the park!! What I have found in Peru more than any other country is that the people are much more opportunistic & will [View Full Entry]

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There isn´t a whole lot to say about Lima from my experience I´m afraid.....not because it has nothing to offer but I was still on a go-slow after the trekking in Cusco & couldn´t bring myself to traipse around in search of the billion museums that are dotted about the city. After listening to the woes of other travellers I decided to fly there as apposed to the 25 or so hours it can take by bus.....the long bus-trips I can handle but living on my nerves for that length of time isn´t fun......all this finger-printing & smiling for photos before [View Full Entry]

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Like most bus trips in Peru, arriving into cities in the early hours of the morning is part & parcel. Usually I just go to the first hostel I see or with the people toting at the station....it doesn´t always work out though. On this occasion I ended up in a complete & utter s***hole....now it wasn´t expensive but you couldn´t pay me to sleep here. So after a few minutes I loaded up again in search of somewhere that would be less offensive to all the senses!! And I did find somewhere. The city of Cusco itself is a major [View Full Entry]

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After just a night in Puño I was on the early morning bus to Arequipa. Arequipa is a big city in the southern parts of Peru & is famous for the Colca Canyon that is located relatively nearby. It is one of the biggest canyons to be found in South America & apparently makes a great trek. But after day in Arequipa I realised that my uncharacteristic lack of appetite was indicative of dark days to come. I suppose I should know by now that a bout of the worms is always followed by a gastrointesinal infection.....thought I was getting quicker [View Full Entry]

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