Author: Nick
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Cape Town
We’re sorry for the lack of updates lately, but we’ve been too busy experiencing all that South Africa has to offer (not to mention that much of our accommodation has been off the electric grid, running on solar power, wind power, or generators, to say nothing of Internet access). We hope to get a few…
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Buenos Aires: Pretending to be Locals
Buenos Aires was one of the South American sites that we were most excited to visit, because we had heard nothing but glowing reviews from those who had been there previously; and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a lively city that loves its food, drink, music, dance, handicrafts, art, and antiques, and we decided to take…
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Yum: Yerba Mate
Whereas coffee is the daily morning beverage for most of the world, in Argentina it’s yerba mate, except change “morning” to “all the time”, and “beverage” to “religion”. It’s an herbal tea (or infusion for our nonexistent British readers out there) with its own unique and traditional delivery method containing two parts: a hollowed out…
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Bariloche: Just the Tip of Patagonia
Our original plan for South America was to go as far south as the Patagonian glaciers–essentially all the way to the southern tip–but because of time constraints, uncertain weather, and the fact that Argentina is just really big, that turned out to be unrealistic, so the farthest south we’ll get is Bariloche, in Argentina’s lake…
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Salta
We’re getting good at border crossings. After a little trouble finding our bus from Tupiza to the border, and a little roadwork on the trip, we arrived in Villazon, Bolivia, got our exit stamps, skipped across the bridge marking the border to Argentina, got our entry stamps, and then hopped on another bus to our…
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Yum: Jugo de Durazno Seco
We’re always on the lookout for new street food, especially if the locals are eating it, so after seeing stands in La Paz selling glasses of amber liquid with a strange round object at the bottom, we eventually worked up our courage to ask what it was and try a glass. Despite our best guesses…
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Southwest Bolivia: Tour from Tupiza to Uyuni
After a relaxing few days in Coroico, we high-tailed it south to the small town of Tupiza, famous for being near the (possible) final resting place of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and for being the less-popular gateway to the fascinating high-mountain desert of Bolivia. We booked a four day tour and hopped in…
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Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas
Cusco, our last stop in Peru, sometimes gets pigeonholed as merely the gateway to Machu Picchu and the Incas’ Sacred Valley, but it’s also a vibrant and enchanting city in its own right. We had some great food, and enjoyed exploring the city’s narrow, cobblestonedstreets. The city was the Incas’ historical capital and there are…
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Our Pace or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Journey
One of the things we’ve had the most trouble with on this trip is our pace: we’ve budgeted a year for this trip, and we also have set up several intermediate deadlines for ourselves, such as volunteering in the Galapagos and meeting friends in Tanzania and India. Because of these set plans, it’s necessary to…
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Huaraz, Peru and the Santa Cruz Trek
Fresh off our five day journey, we arrived in Huaraz, Peru tired and travel-weary. After resting in our wonderful hostel–Churup–for a few hours to recover from the overnight bus, we spent the better part of two days researching trekking companies and trying to decide on the best way to explore our beautiful surroundings. In the…