Blogs from South America - page 10

Peru I took and overnight flight to Lima followed by a flight to Arequipa and got there early in the morning. Arequipa The second largest city in Peru. High altitude, surrounded by volcanoes. The centre is very cool architecturally with cathedrals, monestaries, lots of Juliette balconies and courtyards. Lovely coffee shops, nice place to hang out for a day. The main reason why I wanted to do Arequipa was the Colca Canyon which is a very Deep canyon in the Andes. I did this with a 2 day trek tour with a very early pick up of 3am! We arrived at the Canyon after having breakfast in a town along the way and stopping to watch Condors. We then descended into the canyon and walked along the bottom for the day. We stopped for lunch and ... read more

It's been a relatively hectic two months, mostly because I've been teaching a lot. Two afternoons a week I teach English classes in my dining room (nine students in their 20's and 30's), Two more afternoons are the Spanish conversation class (a group of expats who have lived in Ecuador anywhere between one and twelve years, ages 32 - 75). Scroll to all the way to the end to see pics of these two groups of learners. I've been teaching more steadily during the past six months. Aside from some much-needed income, it also provides some rhythm to my otherwise leisurely existence. Although I prefer teaching in person, I still have two online students on Sunday mornings! I still schedule half- to full-day Scrabble dates with Shana two or three times a week. I enjoy preparing ... read more

Buenos Dias Minca From Cartagena I got a bus to Santa Marta which got in at half 8 so I had a sorting out evening and morning in Santa Marta. Thankfully, it was a little cooler than Cartagena but there is not much to do and the city lacks much character. I got a bus or ‘collectivo’ in late morning from Santa Marta to Minca. I have been staying at a super cool hostel called Casa Loma which is on the hill. There are private 1 bed huts which were a bargain so booked one of those. Minca is a village in the Sierra Nevada mountains and a backpacking haven, nice coffee shops, food and hostels. Lots of good walking and nature to enjoy. In the afternoon I got there I went to the Marinka waterfalls ... read more

It was cold at night. The typical desert weather – almost zero humidity, the days are hot, nights are cold; especially in the winter times. I made a mental note of turning on the propane tank heater at night when I would be back after the day trip. Yes, it would be a busy day; I knew that. During my planning stage, Daniela, the Manager from Ckoi Lodge made it a point we visit Piedras Rojas salt plain. It is located high above the sea level, over 4500m. Daniela chalked out the plan - on our way, we should visit the Laguna Miscanti and Minisque in the altiplano (high plain region of Andean region) of Atacama Desert. On our way back, we must stop in Laguna Chaxy. So, it was an all day busy, busy schedule ... read more

Hola chicas Cartagena Seems like 2 cities- the old town which is a fortressed l, walled part of the city and the very new skyscraper filled sky (Bocagrande). Is insanely humid- around 31 degrees but I was sweating buckets and it’s really difficult to stay outside for too long because of this. Arrived from long flight in the morning, dropped my stuff off at the hostel and then went to wonder round the old town and Bocagrande, went for a dip in the beach which was ok but nothing in comparison to the other beaches in the islands. After this I went back to the hostel to check in and went on a walking tour of Getsemaní, this was cute and had lots of culture and murals. Then went for arepas with some people in a ... read more