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Published: March 23rd 2016
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Latin America was a new adventure for me. All I can say is I’ve fallen in love with it! The culture, the people and the language. There’s so much more still to see and experience, I’ve just touched it really. This trip I’ve experienced so many new things about the world and myself. I’ve kayaked on a volcanic lake for the first time, seen an active volcano full of lava, been in my first earthquakes, seen wild howler monkeys, toucans, parrots. Swam with sharks and turtles, eaten new traditional cuisines, met amazing locals and lived with them and made some amazing new friends. I’ve also discovered that I love the mountains. I’ve always been a beach girl and I still love the beach but right now I love walking in the mountains.
But what I’ve also discovered is how much I appreciate such simple things. Like a cup of coffee – some poor 9 year old has had to skip school to pick those coffee beans in a field for hours. I appreciate good chocolate, good chocolate isn’t really on sale in these countries, yet they are some of the biggest producers?! There’s families growing and exporting cacao
and living in what I would call an iron shack with 2 beds for 8 people. That chocolate is special. I appreciate that I can afford to buy food, there’s a lot of poverty in Latin America and never again will I bin any food – even if a dog has it. I spent many times, packing any leftovers and making sure I found someone or some animal to give it to. As much as I may have moaned about my salary (which still isn’t fair for the amount of work 😉 ) but atleast I can travel to places with it. I love how there are so many communities in these countries of families and friends. People always look out for people. I’ve always been very weary when I’ve travelled as you always read about local dangers. But Guatemala and Colombia have really shown me what real trustworthy and caring locals can be like and just a simple smile or ‘Buenos dias’ in the street can really make my day. Every destination you visit you appreciate and learn something new..I think anyway .
Traveling, I honestly believe it is the best thing in life you can
do whether it’s solo, with a mate or a partner. It can be for 1 month, 6 months or 2 years whatever you prefer. It’s not a long holiday in anyway it’s so different it’s a lifetime memory and experience in my eyes. From getting lost on journeys, to eating some random food which you have no idea what you’ve ordered, to meeting inspiring people from all around the world. A lot of people say to me they are too scared to travel, every trip I go on I’m not going to lie but I feel scared. It’s not easy to leave the comforts and what you know behind when we live in such a planned and organised day to day basis. But that’s what travelling is its going out of your comfort zone and in my eyes it really opens you up to the world.
I often get asked how I plan my trips. So here it is:
Some top tips for traveling Latin America: I have always planned my trips myself as I love researching. However when I travel I’m very much go with the flow, I don’t book
accommodation in advance very rarely but what I do have to say is in Latin America everyone books their accommodation, so many times we’ve had to move a lot which is a little frustrating. The things I used to plan my trip are:
*The lonely planet – no matter what anyone says I love these guides whether it be the books or website. Also look at travellers reviews and post any queries on the forums.
*TripAdvisor – read those latest reviews – I like this for things to do in the area.
*Air b n b – I used in a couple of places for long stays. This was great in Medellin so cheap!!
*Couch surfing – we tried this in the states, this takes quite a lot of planning ahead and with me my plans never go to plan but if you are on a fixed time its brilliant way to meet locals.
*Ask the locals – especially in Cuba, locals will help you to find a nice place to stay or tell you about somewhere.
*For volunteering – workaway or
contact a company direct! Do not pay some British company loads of money to volunteer!!!
To end with here are some of my top highlights of my trip that I totally recommend:
*Climbing Acatenango and camping near Fuego (active volcano) – Guatemala
*Swimming with turtles in Mexico and the cenotes
*Snorkelling with sharks in Belize – second biggest reef in world.
*The jungle of Tikal – Guatemala
* Sunrise kayaking on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala
*Drinking cheap rum cocktails on amazing white sand beaches in Cuba
*El Penol Guatape - Colombia
*Staying with locals as and when you can
*Staying in a treehouse in Earth lodge – Guatemala
*Swimming in clear water rivers and walking in amazing green mountains – San Rafael - Colombia
*Taking a ride in an old 1950s car - Cuba
*Learning the language where you are! Go to a school its great fun
*Camping in Parque Tayrona - Colombia
*Walking in the tallest palm trees in Salento – Colombia
Go travel central and south America I really have fallen in love with this part of the world! And want you to as well
So sadly my 6 month trip has come to an end - this is my last blog as I venture back home. I’m not going to lie I’m gutted to have to end such an amazing adventure but at the same time I’m happy and grateful for everything I’ve experienced over these 6 months and going home is not a dread. I’m actually really excited to get back in the classroom, see my family and friends and get back to the gym (too much fried food). So to me going home well it’s just the start of the next adventure 😉! I hope to update this on more trips in Latin America or other places in the near future as I love to share my memories and advice. Thanks for reading my blogs and I hope you’ve enjoyed following my trip.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –
Mark Twain Go travel!
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