Bref McHugh
Bref Sarah
Bref McHugh
Thank you for enjoying our blog. Sarah and I completed an amazing year which took us from India and around South America from November 2010 to November 2011. We are delighted to be sharing our trip with you. Enjoy.
We initially travelled India for a month which was amazing. From Mumbai on the West coast we, travelled to Pondicherry on the East, to KodaiKanal via Mamallapuram, Mudamulai wildlife park, Mysore, Hampi, Goa, Kahna Jungle Park, and back to Mumbai.
London was great! We got to see some of our amazing family and friends and enjoy a mini-christmas.
Then we have wrapped up a brilliant month in Brasil. Starting In Sao Paulo and then moving onto the Iguazu Falls, from Ouro Preto to Rio de Janeiro, Paraty to Sao Sebastiao, and the stunning beaches of Florionopolis and Praia do Rosa.
From Brasil we popped down to Uruguay for two great weeks in Cabo Polonia & Montevideo, where we began Spanish lessons.
After saying farewell to Montevideo, we got the ferry across to Buenos Aires which was an incredible stay. After dragging Sarah from BsAs, we trekked across Patagonia - an absolutely amazing and beautiful region in ARG and CHI.
We got some wine in in Mendoza and popped across back into Chile, through Santiago, Valparaiso, up to Iquique (for adventure sports and surfing) and back down through the Atacama Desert.
Crossing through the incredible Salt Flat of Salar de Uyuni, we advanced to Bolivia. After leaving Uyuni we traveled to Potosi, where we experienced life as a Silver Miner on an amazing tour. Sucre is a beautiful, Bolivian colonial town where we stayed for 3 weeks and studied Spanish. Next up was the Bolivian Amazon and our first time to assemble a wooden raft which we used for 6 days to make our way up river to the Pampas. After surviving the Amazon, we flew back down to La Paz and stayed with a good friend.
Getting from Bolivia to Peru didn't prove easy due to blockades, but we managed to navigate our way across Lake Titicata and up to Cusco in time to meet our friends for the Inca Trail that took us to Machu Picchu. After spending some time in and around Cusco doing various treks and white water rafting, we traveled to Arequipa and got to catch up with a good friend of ours. Next up was the little beach village of Mancora where despite its lack of waves proved a fun place to hang out for a couple of weeks before we pushed up towards Ecuador.
Our six week long adventure in Ecuador began in the capital of Quito with familar faces; Sarah´s brother and his girlfriend. We had some more great times and squuezed a lot in including visiting the Otawala Market, the stunning Cotapaxi volcano, and trekking into the Amazon Basin. Barely had we returned from the jungle when we were heading back to the coast. The Humpback Whales appeared in Puerto Lopez and we kicked back for a week in Montanita, where the waves also appeared and we got to surf. Then just when we thought our trip couldn´t get any more provide any totally different experiences, we were scrubbing up in surgeries in Rio Bamba while volunteering on a medical mission with our friend Kiris! Next up was the incredible Galapagos Islands. No words can come close to describing how amazing this place is, but I´ll try in our blog.
The journey from the Galapagos to Colombia wasn´t short, but we made it just in time for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Soccer Finals! The final match was in Bogota, which was a fun place and where we also caught up with some good friends. Moving on from the capital we arrived in beautiful Cartegena on the Caribbean coast. The next couple of weeks blended Sarah's Birthday, the arrival of our friend Dominic, finding the 'Lost City'of Tayruna and relaxing on the most beautiful raw beaches of Tayronna National Park. After some beach time we dropped down to Medellin, the 'City of Eternal Spring', where we first began our love affair with South America. During five fantastic weeks in Medellin we did everything from meeting Pablo Escobar's brother to founding an artisanal and handmade gift company (www.TheNativeSource.com).
The San Blas Islands are an autonomous society of tribal communities that we passed through from Colombia to Panama. You can see some of the most picture perfect photos that we took here! We also met one of the Kuna Tribe chiefs and brought some tribal handmade items back with us.
Before we caught our flight back to Florida, we had time to check out the Panama Canal and the capital city.
We met some great people, experienced some amazing sights & nights, AND photographed a lot of it. We look forward to continuing our adventures and sharing them with you.
You can read more about our story and see the collections of unique handmade gifts at our new website TheNativeSource.com.
Love and Best wishes, always-
Bref & Sarah