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Latin America
  • Elly Blake
Feb – Aug 2017

Latin America

A 189-day adventure by Elly Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 3, 2017
    Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Heathrow T5

    February 3, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    So my journey starts, as all journeys do with a failed attempt to smile my way into one of the airport lounges. After driving to the airport and saying goodbye to my parents with a brave face on I then headed through airport security alone and waited to board my plane. I am naturally apprehensive about what is on the other side and as I'm sitting waiting to board I'm also nostalgic for all that I'm leaving behind. That first step is always the hardest and I'm looking forward to what I hope will be the trip of a lifetime. First stop São Paulo, Brazil. Interested to see what one of the worlds largest cities looks like. Will let you know if expectations hold up.Read more

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    Vila Madalena

    February 4, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    When I arrived in SP I got the bus from the airport to the metro and then three different changes until I got to Via Madalena. It was exactly like using the London underground but i was still super impressed with myself 😏 ...although it did take nearly two and a half hours to get there!

    I'm staying in Cafe Hostel in Vila Madalena. After settling in I decided to walk round the neighbourhood. It is such a cool part of SP and has a bit of a surfer/ bohemian vibe to it. It doesn't feel dangerous at all or like the concrete jungle I have heard SP be described as. Whilst exploring I stumbled across Baco de Batman or 'Batman's alley' which was full of some incredible street art.

    When I got back to the hostel I just chilled for a bit and read my book until I met three English girls. We chatted and cooked dinner together, spaghetti bolognese. By that point I was completely wiped out from the days travelling and headed off to bed although it took forever to actually get to sleep because of how noisy it was.    Read more

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    São Paulo

    February 8, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So I am now ready to move on from São Paulo up to Recife. SP has been lots of fun but I am looking forward to going to the beach and getting a tan because I am so pale.

    After my first day which was a bit of a shaky start, I met my Brazilian friend who took me to a pre-Carnival pool party. This was really fun although most of the songs were in Brazilian so I was just pretending to singalong. A couple of drinks in though we started making loads of friends and it was a really good evening. Except being the clumsy idiot I am I fell over and twisted my ankle and now it's a little bit swollen 😖

    The next day I met Mariana again and we went for sushi at one of SPs many Japanese restaurants. We went to Tekemaria e Cia which did really good sushi for a fairly reasonable price. We then walked to Ibirapuera Park which is huge and we ended up walking around it nearly 3 times, walking about 20km in one day. When I got back to the hostel the English girls who I met were there and we went out for dinner in Vila Madalena. We ate at this really good place that did the best roast beef with mozzarella, tomatoes and olives. We also got this pulled beef joint which was incredible. Brazil does good meat.

    The next day we made banana pancakes for breakfast with chocolate and mango and went to MASP which is the must see art museum in SP. I do not think we were that impressed with it tbh. After that we walked round the shopping malls, had some lunch and walked to Ibirapuera Park again and this time there was a band playing, I'm guessing they were practicing for Carnival. After Lucy and I came back to the hostel because we were tired and ended up getting some amazing ice cream in Vila Madalena. We were planning on going to a hip hop night but in the end we just stayed and drank in the hostel.

    All in all, I really can't make my mind up about São Paulo. Half of me thinks it's a really cool city with amazing restaurants, nightlife and shopping, especially in Vila Madalena. The other half thinks it's a big anonymous concerete jungle with not much to do in terms of sight-seeing. I am happy I can tick SP off the list but not sure it is somewhere I will return.    Read more

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    Olinda & Recife

    February 9, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After arriving in Recife from São Paulo, I hopped in a taxi to Olinda. First impressions of Recife weren't big - driving through the town at night it did not feel very safe and I was relieved to get to Mameluco Hostel and into bed.

    The hostel is so nice - the owner Rebecca is really friendly and the space itself is really cool. There's a big garden with a nice chilled out breakfast area and mango trees which you can pick and eat.

    In the morning I explored the town but I managed to forget suncream so my face and neck are pretty burnt and I now look like a typical gringo haha. I've also developed a bit of an eye infection too as my eyelid is swollen so I'm not looking my best at the moment.

    Olinda is a charming colonial town but also a bit tired and run down with graffiti and rubbish everywhere. That being said, it's still got bags of atmosphere and some really artsy cafes and bars. In the evening I met some people from my hostel and we went for a few drinks around the town. This was so much fun as there are loads of different street parties with lots of live bossa nova music. We also got 3 beers for £2.50 - a bargain by anyone's standards.

    The next day we headed into Recife, which is the capital of the state Pernambuco. We had been told about São Jose mercado - a market which sells just about everything including clothes, furniture, food and even animals. We had some freshly squeezed orange juice and wondered around the markets. After we crossed one of Recife's many canals and went for lunch.

    After we went to Embaixada dos Bonecos Gigantes also known as 'the Embassy of Giant Puppets' which sounds really strange but it was actually really cool! They have human sized puppets which they parade at carnival and they are all made to be different famous people.

    Then we stumbled into a frevo museum - I've never heard of frevo before but it's a type of Brazilian music and dancing popular in Pernambuco. There was a live band playing frevo music and and this crazy man got up to dance and was trying to drag up everyone else. Luckily we bumped into the two Brazilian guys who were staying at our hostel and they offered us a lift back in their car, instead of us having to get the bus.

    Tomorrow we are heading off to Porto De Galinhas which is a beach place about two hour's drive from Recife. I've also arranged to go to a beach town called Pipa with another English girl I've met at the hostel. After that I will fly to Salvador for a few days before Carnival in Rio :)    Read more

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    Porto de Galinhas

    February 13, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Porto de Galinhas is about a 2 hour public bus ride south of Recife and claims to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil. I think having been to Jericoacoara and visited probably one of the best beaches ever, everything else is a bit of a let down in comparison. Porto is nice but very commercialised and aimed for the Brazilian family holiday rather than the gringo trail.

    We are staying in Che Legarto hostel which I hate. The woman behind reception makes me irrationally angry, the wifi doesn't work, air con doesn't work, nothing seems to work and the kitchen and bathroom are dirty. All in all, I'm looking forward to getting out of this hostel and on to somewhere with a bit more soul.

    The place itself however is nice. On our first night, Lizzie and I went out for a really nice dinner and drinks. We ended up meeting these Brazilian guys who were a lot older than us but really funny and we ended up having drinks with them. After our 3am night we were tired and decided to lie on the beach.. all day. This is what I quit my job for. It was a really chilled day but I still somehow managed to get burnt even with factor 50 on 🤔. In the evening I was completely knackered and just booked hostels for Salvador and Pipa.

    The next day we were supposed to be going on a buggy ride to all the different beaches for R$50. We waited in the hostel until 1.30pm only to be told that the other couple we were supposed to be going with wanted to go alone and so it would cost us another R$50 each for another buggy (another hostel fuck up). Instead we decided to get a motor taxi to this beach called Maracapie where the river meets the sea. It was slightly overcast and I ended up sleeping on the beach for most of it, or listening to podcasts. We also got caipis on the beach and managed to get back to the motor taxi before the tide came in too far and cut us off from the path back. In the evening we just chilled mostly and ran a few errands like laundry...

    When we left we had a 9 hour trip north to Praia de Pipa which is beautiful..    Read more

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    Praia dos Carneiros

    February 14, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Whilst in Porto we went on a tour to Praia dos Carneiros. I was super excited about going as I'd seen it on the internet when researching what to do in Brazil & I'm happy we went because this place is awesome. It took an hour's drive down the coast and when we got there we did all sorts of activities like a 'hydrariting' mud bath, snorkelling with the fish on a coral reef (which has blatantly been killed due to humans which is sad) and a walk to the famous church on the beach. On the boat over to the next activity we even had this guy who came on and danced as Michael Jackson 😂 so random.

    We met this really nice Argentinian family who took me in as their own and gave me flip flops to wear when we went onto the reef because there were sea urchins on the floor and they were worried I would hurt my feet.

    The lunch, although expensive, was actually so delicious. Fresh white fish with plaintain chips, rice and salad. Although Porto de Galinhas isn't my fave beach in Brazil, this place certainly does give Jeri a run for its money. In some ways you feel like you've been washed up on a desert island as there are so many sandbanks everywhere which disappear when the tide comes in.    Read more

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    Pipa

    February 17, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Pipa is paradise.

    After a 9 hour bus/ metro/ bus/ collectivo ride to Pipa we were happy to have arrived. The journey was quite funny actually as the guy in the collectivo was trying to stuff our big back packs into the boot and then as we were driving he realised the boot had opened and the bags had fallen out, so they had to go back to find them.

    When we arrived at our hostel, Lagarto na Banana, we accidentally walked right into a yoga session not realising and were saying 'why is it so quiet here??' really loudly whilst everyone was in deep meditative trances haha. Everyone at the hostel is super friendly, it's a really great atmosphere here and we've met loads of nice people.

    On our first full day we went on a day trip with the hostel to an island. It was about an hour's drive in this retro little Volkswagen campervan and the scenery was beautiful and so remote. We got a boat to this little island and spent the day under this tree, sunbathing, swimming, and eating grilled vegetables. It was so relaxing and when the boat came to pick us up and take us back I really didn't want to go. After we drove back to the centre of Pipa and had some acai (yum) and then drove to this huge sand dune to watch the sunset. It really was the perfect end to a perfect day and it has definitely been one of my favourite days of my trip so far.

    That night we went out for dinner to a really great Japanese restaurant and then had some drinks and played cards and ended up at a traditional Brazilian dancing event. I even ended up dancing with this Brazilian guy and actually I wasn't as terrible as I first thought.

    The next day I was quite hungover but we just went to the beach and I sat in the shade on my own haha and read my book. I quite enjoyed being alone as I've been with people 24/7 for the last two weeks and sometimes it's nice just to have a bit of space. In the evening we chilled, played more cards and socialised with everyone from the hostel.

    In the morning I got up for the 8am yoga session which was relaxing but really difficult at some points! After we ate breakfast and fed the leftover fruit to the monkeys, they are adorable. In the day we got a group of us and went to what is known as 'dolphin beach' because dolphins swim there and we even saw a few jumping out of the waves. It was a really amazing day and we played heads up and tennis on the beach. After I tried to smash out a 5km run but was pretty exhausted.

    In the evening a group of us from the hostel went out together to a few bars and also a salsa dancing event. I ended up going to bed at 3am which was great as i needed to get up at 7am to catch my transfer to Natal airport.

    I was really sad to leave such a great group of people behind, especially Lizzie as we get on so well and have had a such a good time together. We are definitely going to meet up once we are back in London though for some drinks, and hopefully I will see some of the others in Rio for Carnival.    Read more

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    Salvador

    February 20, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I arrived in Salvador dead af on 4 hours sleep so the first day was pretty eventless. Taxi to the hostel as I couldn't be bothered to faff around with the bus, got some food and then socialised with people at the hostel during the unlimited happy hour. After I went to bed and had one of the best nights sleep I've had in ages! Feeling totally refreshed the next day.

    After that I met these really sweet English girls who are on their gap yah. They invited me to a couple of museums with them in the day so we explored the old town, and had lunch and then more free caipis. The evening was another chilled one as I'm on a budget and couldn't afford to spend anymore. So I ended up just watching Netflix but tbh really enjoyed it as it's the first time I've watched tv in ages.

    The next day it ended up raining buckets the whole day so I didn't really do that much but we did go to this really tasty vegan restaurant for lunch and then in the evening we ended up going to a bloko party as part of pre-Carnaval in Barra which was loads of fun. I was really hungover the next day haha.

    On my last day, everyone was pretty dead out but we decided to go to this island which is about a 45 min boat ride from Salvador called Itaparica. It was really nice but the boat swayed loads and that plus hangover made me feel really sick. On the island we chilled on the beach and had a really nice lunch, such a perfect and relaxed last day in Salvador before I jetted off to Rio for Carnaval.

    I had to get up at 4am for my flight (stupidly booked it for 6am) and had a mini melt down whilst I was waiting to board the plane when I realised my bumbag with my money, cards and GoPro was missing. The security guys were all trying to help but I was completely flapping and couldn't understand anything they were saying or vice versa. Luckily, it had been handed in and it was just unnecessary stress for so early in the morning but it could have been a lot worse!    Read more

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    Rio De Janiero

    February 27, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    It's finally time for CARNAVAL! This has been an amazing experience, dancing in the streets for days. Seriously everyone goes really hard here from 8am all day everyday and it's difficult to keep up.

    I've been staying in a favela called Chapeu Mangueira and it's been such a unique experience. I've been to a favela before but actually living here is quite different and I have to admit that when I first arrived on around 3 hours sleep from Salvador, that I was a little bit culture shocked. However, I'm glad I stayed here as there is a really good sense of community and our view from the balcony to Copacabana is stunning and we get to feed the monkeys every morning. It's even got one of the best restaurants in Rio in it! When I got here I met so many people and even met some of my friends from São Paulo and Pipa.

    Because I've done a lot of the touristy things before and they get expensive I've decided to miss out doing them again so it just has been party party party. I am now ready for my liver to have a rest because I'm 75% Skol Beats and the other 25% water.

    The street parties are called 'blocos' and we went to a few in Copacabana, Lapa, Gloria, Santa Teresa and Flamengo (I think). I also went to this DJ night called RioMe with Jackmaster headlining which was fun.

    It's been difficult to take photos as we've been warned not to take our phones out in case we get robbed but I managed to take a few. Next stop is Iguazu Falls, got a 24 hour bus ride to get there 😖 and I was so so hungover and probably the sweatiest mess I have ever been because its 36 degrees but I'm so excited to be in the outdoors again and have a good detox.    Read more

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    Iguacu Falls

    March 2, 2017 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    My bus journey ended up being 27 hours long in the end, so I was pretty happy to finally arrive in Foz do Iguacu. I didn't mind the coach though as the countryside leaving Rio and in Parana (the state where Foz is) was so beautiful, it made staring out of the window and listening to music enjoyable.

    When I got off the coach I jumped onto the bus and into the town to get to my hostel. My hostel is pretty cool as it is made out of old shipping containers and has a pretty chilled vibe. Most people only stay a couple of days to see the falls and then head off, either to over the border to Argentina or further into Brazil.

    As I got there probably around 4pm I just FaceTimed Josh and bought some food. After carnaval I'm on a bit of a health kick so I made myself a salad (my first so far 😳) which was divine and I didn't even want a caipirinha at the happy hour.

    I met some English girls and a Canadian girl at the hostel and the next day we headed out to the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. It exceeded my expectations as the falls are just as incredible as I hoped they would be. We even saw a rainbow above the falls which made my day. The best part was the ledge over the 'Devil's throat' where you get soaked but can see right over the edge of the falls. We had lunch in the park and there were these vicious animals similar to raccoons which terrorised us and tried to claw at our food. After the Brazilian side we headed back to the hostel and just sunbathed.

    The second day of the falls was on the Argentinian side and my first taste of Argentina as a whole! Everyone says the falls on this side are much better because they are a lot bigger (it's split roughly 80:20 between Argentina and Brazil) and you get to see the falls up a lot closer, so you really get to understand their force.

    We went on an organised tour consisting of the lower and upper trails and then the Devil's throat again but from the Argentinian side. The day was made funny by our tour guide who decided to point out every single spider he saw to us and some good people we met. On the way back, we got stuck for about an hour and a half in between a protest. Then we went to the point where the 3 countries - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay - meet, which was very underwhelming. By this point I think everyone wanted to get home as it was starting to get dark and we still had to get over the border back into Brazil.

    In the eve I went out for drinks and food with some people from my hostel and organised crossing the border into Argentina again the following day.

    All in all, Iguacu Falls is one of those 'must do' things in South America. You don't need longer than 2 days but definitely don't skip either side because you get the panoramic views from Brazil but really feel the magnitude of the falls in Argentina. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip so far.    Read more

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    Buenos Aires

    March 7, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Within the first ten minutes of arriving to BA, these two guys on my coach had already been robbed of their bags with their money and passports in. Luckily, I got a taxi from the bus station to my hostel so I was okay, but this instantly put me on high alert.

    When I arrived at my hostel I decided to try and work out what I'm going to do when I get to Torres Del Paine in Chile, as this requires some forward planning. With not all the availability for camping which I wanted, I think I have managed to book accommodation to hike the 'W' route. I'm so excited, this is one of the thing I've most been looking forward to when coming to South America.

    My hostel is by far the worst one I've stayed in South America so far. It's in a really good location and the rooms are actually quite nice but it just lacks any sort of vibe and is not good for solo travellers looking to meet people. Most of the people staying there just lie in their bed in the dark ALL day it's so weird. On the plus side though it was cheap, but I know for next time to not book somewhere on price but on atmosphere.

    Other than that, I'm loving BA and have managed to do the six things I wanted to do whilst there:

    1. Visit San Telmo market on Sunday and watch the tango in the market square which I loved (it felt like we had been transported back to the 1920s with all the music).

    2. Go to Recoleta cemetery and see Evita's grave - this place is eerie af and you wouldn't think a cemetery would be one of the must do things in any city but it was really good to see.

    3. Eat steak (parrilla) - this ended up being expensive but so worth it. I met a really great English couple in Iguazu and have been meeting up with them in BA. They described me eating steak as 'introducing a vegetarian to meat for the first time' which I found hilarious because they had to explain to me that bifo de chorizo was a cut of meat and wouldn't come out with chorizo on it.

    4. Visit La Boca, this really colourful neighbourhood in the south of BA which something I didn't want to leave without doing but the tour we went on was very disappointing.

    5. Go to La Bomba Di Tiempo on Monday night. Everyone who I've met that's been to BA raves about this so it was definitely good to go and see what all the fuss was about.

    6. Volunteer at Fundacion Banco de Alimentos - I've been planning to do some volunteering on my way round South America. This is a food bank in the suburbs of BA. I did two days of sorting food, checking sell-by dates and packing them into boxes for distribution and I really enjoyed myself (and met some really lovely people). For me, BA is a tale of two cities as there is a lot of poverty which you don't see in the city centre so it was interesting getting to know a different part of BA.

    Next stop is Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world and the gateway to Patagonia. One of the things I have most been excited about this trip.    Read more

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    Ushuaia

    March 15, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    So what is the bottom of the world like? It's a great place to visit to say you've been but it's not somewhere you want to stay for a long time - very cold and VERY expensive.

    I only wanted to spend 2-3 days here but ended up staying longer than expected because the buses don't run everyday and the one I wanted was full. Over the course of my time in Ushuaia I did manage to get a feel for the place as the southern most city in the world.

    I celebrated my 24th birthday in Ushuaia too - that day on I went on a tour across the Beagle Channel to see sea lions and walk with penguins. We had to get a tiny motor boat to the penguin island where we saw different types of penguins including king penguins and also Magellanic penguins. They are so cute - and we got to get up really close to their nests and take photos.

    On the other days I went to the prison museum which, as you can imagine, is a pretty bleak place. I also decided to put my hiking skills to the test and climbed Glacier Martial which is 825 metres above. The hike was 25km in total and took me about 4 hours. The weather that day was particularly bad, the wind blew me off my feet and onto the floor at one point because it was so forceful. When I reached nearer the top it started to sleet and snow really badly but the view from the top was well worth it.

    Next stop is... 🇨🇱 CHILE! 🇨🇱 Punta Arenas for one night before I catch the bus to Puerto Natales so I can do the W trek of Torres del Paine.    Read more

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    Torres del Paine

    March 20, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    After having only spent 3 days in Chile, all I can say is I LOVE CHILE. It's by far the most beautiful place I've been on this trip.

    The actual journey into Chile was a bit of a faff as crossing the border took 3 hours whilst the immigration police ransacked people's bags looking for fruit, cheese and meat (but ironically no mention of drugs or guns). After that it was pretty much plain sailing to Punta Arenas and then Puerto Natales, the base for Torres Del Paine.

    I've spent the last 5 days (4 nights) camping in Torres Del Paine, one of Chile's national parks, as I've been hiking the famous W trek which is about 75km walking and I was so lucky to be blessed with such good weather (after hearing horror stories about how bad the wind/ rain/ snow can be!).

    I won't bore you with all the details because it will literally make no sense to anyone who hasn't been, but it was 5 days of intense walking with a big rucksack, camping and chilling in the refugios, meeting some really nice people, having jokes along the way and seeing some of the beautiful nature and countryside that Chile has to offer - it's truly serene/ still/ out of this world. Next off I'm back into Argentina to El Calafate, for one of my last stops in Patagonia before I head back up north where hopefully it's a lot warmer.    Read more

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    El Calafate

    March 24, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Back to Argentina 🇦🇷 El Calafate is the in Santa Cruz province of Argentina and it is a really pretty little alpine town. The main reason to come is to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier in the national park, so I'm only staying a few days to do that and then leave because Patagonia is very expensive!

    Los Glaciares National Park is 82km north of El Calafate so I went on a tour to go and see the glacier. It's probably (apart from Iguazu) the coolest nature I have seen so far on this trip! The glacier itself is 5km wide and 70m tall. The closer you get to it the more you realise just how huge it is, and they say that only 10% of it can be seen above the water so it's even bigger below. The day itself was really sunny and so picturesque. If you wait long enough you can even see and hear some of the bits of ice fall off the glacier which is really cool. We had 4 hours there which was a very long time so I managed to get loads of photos.

    Next up I've got a 2 day bus to Bariloche 😖 before I say goodbye to Patagonia for good and head up north to eat cheese and wine (and hopefully catch some more rays as my tan from Brazil is now virtually non-existent). Patagonia has been literally amazing but I am sometimes a bit disappointed with how ridiculously expensive things are which make it an off-putting place to come. That being said I've seen some incredible landscapes which you just don't get anywhere else in the world!    Read more

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    San Carlos de Bariloche

    March 29, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    To understand Bariloche you first have to understand the 32 bus journey it took to get there from El Calafate which was, by no definition dull but BY NO DEFINITION fun or something I ever want to repeat.

    The journey was going great until half way through, when we stopped off at Perito Moreno and picked up Willie - a crazy Argentinian man who thought it would be a good idea to provoke us by singing, playing the guitar, shouting at the tv, laughing hysterically and generally being the biggest pain of my life. That being said, he was a great uniting force for the rest of us on the bus and that's how I got to meet 2 South Africans and 2 Danish girls :)

    So fast forward, we finally arrived at 1.30am in Bariloche. Arrived at the hostel and the next day decided to walk round town - bumped into the South Africans and planned to do the cycling route round Circuito Chico the following day. I then got to the bus to Campanario which is this amazing view point of all the lakes in Bariloche (known as the Argentinian Lake District).

    The following day I met the saffers and 2 other Argentinians from their hostel and we headed out to do the Circuito Chico. This was really fun but really hard - I haven't cycled properly in years apart from the odd bike ride so it gave my muscles a real workout! At points we (mainly I) had to walk up the hills because I was so out of breath! We stopped off at different points including the Patagonia Cerverceria which is one of the best breweries in Patagonia apparently. We sat in the garden and had a beer in the sun with this amazing viewpoint. Bariloche looks a lot like Swiss Alps so you can imagine how pretty it was.

    That evening I met up with the saffers and Danish girls - we were gonna go for some drinks but there was one thjng we had to try first 🍦 ICE CREAM of course, as Bariloche is also famous for its ice cream. It finished us off however and after that we all had food comas and went to bed.

    Next stop is Pucon in Chile. Leaving Argentina again (sad) but I'm gonna be coming back in a few weeks time to do Mendoza (I didn't have time before going to Santiago and didn't wanna rush). I love Argentina, it's so hard to leave as there's so much to do here and so much more I haven't explored. I know I'll be coming back for more. Until next time..    Read more

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    Pucón

    March 30, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Pretty Pucón. After another 12 hour bus ride 🙄 (I'm so over them) I finally got to Pucón in Chile. This place is super nice, it reminds me a lot of Mt Fuji in Japan as the town sits in the view of the volcano and is surrounded by lakes too.

    The whole reason for coming here was to climb the volcano because it's still active and you can see lava at the top, but I'd heard from a few people that the clouds were so low that some people had to turn back only half way up the volcano and didn't see the lava/ get their money back (it costs about £100) so I thought it was too risky and decided I will climb a volcano in Central America instead. 🌋

    When I got to my hostel I met Sam and we decided to go to one of the thermal springs the next day. We shopped around for a deal and managed to go to one of the cheaper thermal springs and when we got there it was virtually empty and we had the whole place to ourselves. It was (a less than luxury) spa day of thermal pools, lunching and red wine. My perfect day. Over lunch time we found out we had mutual friends and had even been a the same birthday party together 😂 this world is seriously too small. In the eve I was sad to say bye when he left for Santiago but hopefully we'll meet up again.

    Next day I met up with this Swiss girl Sarah who was on my bus from Bariloche to Pucón. We decided to go and find this waterfall which was about 5km away. It was funny because we got within 20m of the waterfall and could hear it, but couldn't find it because there were no signposts and the map they'd given us was really inaccurate. We walked past the place a good 5 or 6 times and had nearly given up and decided to walk back to the town when we bumped into two Americans, and then 2 locals who gave us a lift and showed up to the waterfall (which we would have never of found without them). After that we hitched another lift back to town as we were exhausted. It was a 6hr walk in the end.

    Next I'm off to Santiago which I'm sooo excited about as I'm staying with a friends I met in São Paulo and were going to BRUNCHHH. Been hyping about this brunch ever since Rio. 🙌🏼    Read more

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    Santiago

    April 2, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    After spending the past month in Patagonia, arriving in Santiago has made me realise how fun it was to be in a city again.

    I've been lucky to meet two English girls who live in Santiago, and one of them Robyn invited me to stay at her apartment for a few days. Her apartment was in Las Condes which is a really nice part of town 👌🏼

    We also met the other English girl Lucy and went for food at Parque Arauco which is a shopping centre that reminded me of Westfields in Stratford. It even had a TopShop and I felt so at home (although I'm too poor to actually buy anything). We ate really good Peruvian food and it was so nice to have the gang from carnaval back together again. In the evening we went on a hilarious night out to Casa Jungay and ended up getting home at 6am. The next day was a bit of a write off (we didn't make it to brunch but I might go next when in Santiago!) but it was such a fun evening.

    The following day I met up with Lucy and Hattie and we went to look at some cool street art in Museo A Cielo Abierto. After we went to Santa Lucia for coffee and cake, and to walk up and see one of the city's viewpoints. Santiago as a city itself very pretty but it is surrounded by the Andes mountains range. In the evening I met up with Robyn and her friend Alana and we went for more drinks - this time we got buckets of mojitos and piscolas and a huge plate of chips with meat (so good).

    The next day I moved into a hostel because Robyn's mum was coming to stay for her birthday. I arranged to stay in the same hostel as the couple I first met in Iguazu (Lucy and Andy). As they were arriving later in the afternoon, in the day I met up with Sam who I met in Pucón and we went to the museum about Chile's dictatorship in the 1970s. It was really interesting but I was feeling a bit hungover and we got the audio tapes which went on a bit. After we got ice cream and I went back to my hostel and waited for Lucy and Andy to arrive 😃 (I was so excited as I had such a fun time with them in Buenos Aires). When they arrived it was soo nice to see them again and we caught up on everything we'd done since we last saw each other.

    Deciding we wanted to have good pizza which has been hard to come by up until now, we managed to find a really great Italian restaurant that even did mozzarella dippers. The pizza was spot on and we had lots of wine to go with. After 4 days of drinking I was supposed to be going to Valparaiso the next day but sacked it off in favour of just doing nothing and getting ready for Easter Island as I had to be up at 3am the next day to go to the airport.

    All in all, Santiago was really fun - so nice to catch up with people that I've met along the way and of course, meet even more new people. I wouldn't say there is a lot to do in terms of site seeing but it's like London in that it's a really fun place to go out to eat or drink. That being said, I've eaten and drunk far too much and now I'm looking forward to reigning it in a little over the next few days at least.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Easter Island

    April 9, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    Arriving on Easter Island was so surreal! Like can't actually believe I made it here 😱. In a way, it was like being back in Brazil as it's so tropical here! Finally I might get my tan back.

    Amazing as it is, as Easter Island is really expensive I've opted for camping and I really like where I'm staying! (Bar the typical Chilean style of customer service - slow verging on non-existent). The campsite backs onto a beach and so every night you can cook dinner and watch the sunset with one of the fisherman playing the ukulele in the background. I love my tent, I've been sleeping so well here - so much better than in hostels - and so I was sad to leave my happy place :(

    On my first full day on Easter Island I walked to Orongo Village where there is an extinct volcano. On the way, I stopped at Ana Kai Tagata, a cave by the sea where you can see drawings on the cave walls from the Rapa Nui ancient civilisation. I also got a misleadingly named 'hop-on hop-off' bus around the island, but it only drives you round and you see the maoi statues from the bus - you can't get off!

    On my second day I hired a bike and cycled to some of the closer moai statues, Ahu a Kivi and Ahu Huri a Urenga. On the plus side I've been really active since being here and my non-existent cycling skills seemed to have improved since Bariloche as now at least I don't have to stop and walk up every hill. Just the odd one now.

    If I didn't think I'd already done enough hiking on this trip to last me a lifetime, I also climbed up to Mauna Tere Vaka which is the islands tallest point (507m). Although it was a long walk, there was a really nice viewpoint at the top. It makes you appreciate how small/ remote the island is as you cannot see anything but sea.

    On the last day, and in my opinion the best day, I took a guided tour of the island to see all of the main sites (and get a lot closer to them than I was on the bus). It was good to get some the history of the place because you don't get any of that otherwise. Although it's all pretty amazing, the highlights for me were Rano Raraku, the quarry where the Rapa Nui tribe used to carve the moai statues. This was such an amazing place, as there are nearly 400 moai statues here and some were left unfinished and still half-carved into the rocks. After this, we went to Ahu Tongariki which is the most famous of the sites because there are 13 statues there all lined up (this also makes a pretty good picture). Last but not least, a little bit of beach time at Anakena beach which has white sands and turquoise waters. Being here really reminds you that you are on a Polynesian island.

    I also met this Austrian guy at my campsite who I hung out with. One evening we were walking along the beach when we came across an expensive-looking hotel and outside there were lots of signs and it looked like a there had been a protest. We got talking to a woman who told us that the land the hotel was built on originally belonged to one of the indigenous families who live on the island. The Chilean Government had asked one of the family members to sign a document but she couldn't read or write, so unknowingly signed the land titles away. This had resulted in a huge legal battle and at one point the army had to be called in because the family would not leave the land and so they cut off the water/ food/ electricity supplies to try and make them leave. We met the family and they invited us to eat their fish with them caught straight from the sea. I'm including this because although I am a tourist and tourism can be such a wonderful thing for the economy, it's also important that we realise how tourism can negatively affect local communities and do our part to be responsible and minimise the harm.

    Leaving was pretty sad as the place is so special, but I'm happy I choose to come here and experience such a beautiful and historic place. It's also made me really want to explore more of Polynesia (hehe). But now back to South America and onto the next leg of my journey. Back to Argentina (this country keeps pulling me back!) for wine and cheese.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Mendoza

    April 13, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Mendoza was hilarious and I'm so glad I didn't skip it! Firstly the bus from Santiago was amazing, we drove through the Andes and the view was just incredible. I spent most of the journey gaping out the window and filming on my GoPro. Also such a small world I met an English guy on my bus who grew up in Welwyn Garden City and went to St George's.

    I came to Mendoza for one thing and one thing only: wine. With Hattie who I met in Santiago, and Chris who we recruited in the hostel, we got the bus to the Maipu wine region and straight to Mr. Hugo's bike rental. At our first wine tasting we also met a really nice couple from Essex and united to form a super team called 'the Mendoza maniacs' and started our Tour De Mendoza in peloton formation.

    The wine tasting was so much fun but escalated so quickly from small glasses to bottles and bottles of wine. By the end I was so drunk that I could no longer cycle in a straight line without falling over and eventually fell into a ditch and managed to cut my lip. Then the tourist police pulled me over and gave me a lift back to Mr. Hugo's because the brakes on my bike weren't working and the bike was completely written off. Even though we got back to Mr. Hugo's an hour late with a completely broken bike he didn't seem to mind and invited us all in for mango juice. I don't remember the bus back but that's probably for the best and I think I pretty much passed out when we got back to the hostel.

    The next day was a complete write off and ended up having a film day which was just what was needed. Hattie and I thought we were getting the same bus back to Santiago in the evening but it turned out my bus was the one half an hour later! My luggage was already on the other coach so I had to fish it out quickly before it drove off.

    Now I'm leaving behind Argentina for good and I'm feeling pretty sad about it! This country is so incredible, I've had loads of good times here and seen some amazing things - from BA to the end of the world, and back up through Calafate and Bariloche. There's still so much more of the country that I haven't explored, and so I'd love to come back one day and do the north. Thanks for the memories Argentina - and my very sore head! Don't cry for me.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    San Pedro de Atacama

    April 15, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I have heard so many good things about San Pedro so I was so excited to come here. Before heading there I made another quick stop off in Santiago, to visit Robyn again as it was her 21st birthday party. We went on a night out in Las Condes which was really fun and I was prett hungover the next day for my flight to Calama.

    The flight there even was so cool as the views over the mountains were amazing. When we got to Calama there were mini buses to take us to San Pedro. The whole journey spent looking out of the window as this place makes you feel like you've just landed on the moon. I've never seen anything like it.

    The next day I booked a tour to the salt lagoons. There are 7 lagoons which you drive to and 2 you can swim in. Although it was cold, swimming in them was so fun as you only float - there is more salt in the lakes than the Red Sea! After we went to watch the sunset at a viewpoint overlooking the moon valley. That night I also did the astronomy tour. You go out into the desert and away from all the light pollution and can see the stars. We were explained the constellations and also able to see the moon, Saturn, Jupiter and over star clusters really clearly. This was one of my favourite parts of my stay in San Pedro because I've never really done anything like that before.

    On my last day in San Pedro and Chile as a whole, I went on a tour to see Valle de la Luna, 'the moon valley'. It was so much fun because I met an English girl named Holly and we got on really well. The first part of the tour was caving which was cool. You can really understand why it is called the moon valley because there are rock craters and sand dunes everywhere. At the end of the tour we went to watch the sunset over the valley which was perfect for photos. The sky turns an amazing red colour and the mountains turn purple. In the evening we out for pizza but we were so delirious from being out in the sun all day and kept forgetting what we were talking about.

    The next day I'm headed off on the Salar de Uyuni tour which marks the end of my travels in Chile 🇨🇱. Chile is an awesome place with some of the most breathtaking, out of this world landscapes I've ever seen. I'll be leaving in behind for Bolivia which I've heard a lot about and can't wait to explore.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Salar de Uyuni

    April 20, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Wow. Welcome to Bolivia. It's bloody freezing.

    Arriving in Bolivia could not be more of a contrast to Chile. After leaving Chilean customs and arriving at Bolivian immigration which can pretty much be summed up by 'one man and his dog' manning the border, we put on all of our extra layers as it was absolutely freezing and ate some breakfast.

    We then were separated into groups and got into the 4x4s. My group was great - Helen and Andrea who I got on really well with and were in my hostel in San Pedro, a German guy called Peter and a French couple. Our driver was called Eddy and he was a G.

    The first day we were in the national park, and drove to different lagunas including the white lagoon, the green lagoon and the pink one. We also stopped off at thermal springs and geysers. That night we were staying in a Refugio in the national park. There was no heating or electricity and that night you could hear the wind blowing so loudly and when we woke up it was -20 degrees outside. Some people had really bad nights sleeps because it was so cold, but I wasn't too bad because I had put so many layers on and also had my sleeping bag.

    The next morning we drove to a couple of other places but because it was so cold and the wind was so bad it made getting out of the car for longer than a few minutes really difficult. At one point when we were driving there was a huge sandstorm and you couldn't see anything out of the windows. We ate lunch in Alota and then continued driving through villages (basically ghost towns - it's pretty remote around here) until San Juan.

    That night we stayed in a salt hotel. At first I was really disheartened when I saw the hotel from the outside, because in all honesty it looked like a shack. However, I was surprised as the inside was actually really nice! We were able to have hot showers and charge our phones which was nice. I was in a triple room with Andrea and Helen which was good because it's one of the first times I've managed to sleep without being woken up by snoring! That night we had a really nice dinner and we were also able to use wifi for an hour which was good because I hadn't spoken to Josh for nearly two days.

    The next day we got up at 4.30am to set off in time to see sunrise on the salt flats. The salt flats really exceeded my expectations - they are huge and just as cool in real life. The sunrise was really special, and we all took lots of photos. After we drove to this island where there are loads of big cactuses and good viewpoints. It's weird having to walk uphill and be really out of breathe from the altitude. We also got loads of the typical tourist photos and Eddy was pretty good at coming up with ideas of what we could do. Someone in the other group brought a drone with them and they took loads of cool videos.

    After we went to Colchani market and I bought some tourist souvenirs and also paid 5Bs to get a picture with a baby llama which was so adorable. It tried to kiss me and my heart melted. We had lunch and then went to the train cemetery as the last stop before the end of the tour.

    I was sad the tour was over because I really enjoyed myself. It was nice to be looked after and have all your meals cooked for you. I was also sad to leave Helen and Andrea as we got on so well but they were staying in Uyuni and I was moving on to Potosi with Peter.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Sucre

    April 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I couldn't for the life of me tell you what Sucre has to offer as a city because all I did was drink in the hostel and go to the same vegetarian restaurant three times.

    The first night me and Nicole arrived and went out to eat to the vegetarian restaurant which was really good food. We wanted to go on a night out but in the end we had a glass of wine and it made us feel really tired, so we ended up going to sleep instead.

    The next day, we moved hostels to Kultur Berlin which is a party hotel. I spent most of the day catching up with messaged and FaceTiming Josh and my mum and dad, before my dad comes out to Bolivia next week. We also went out for lunch and then started drinking pretty early. We played this hilarious Dutch drinking game and then went out to the veggie restaurant again. This time I had the falafel sandwich which was actually so delicious and only 25 Bs (£2.80).

    That night we went back to the hostel and carried on drinking. There's also a club in the hostel which was pretty funny and I ended up meeting people and continued partying with them until 6am.

    The next day I literally had 4 hours sleep and then had to check out at 10.30am. We went to get some breakfast - again the same restaurant and I had the pancakes which were banging. Nicole was staying in another hostel so we went to her new hostel and slept and hung out there for most of the day. It was a lot quieter and more chill which was exactly what I needed in my state. After, Charlie and I went back to our hostel and just got ready for our night bus to La Paz. We went for some food and I had a really tasty burger for 35Bs.

    I'm really excited for La Paz and for my dad to come out next week. It seems everyone from Kultur Berlin goes to the same hostels (Wild Rover) so I'm sure I'll recognise some faces there.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    Potosi

    April 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After being told not to stay in Uyuni, I got the bus with Peter and Nicole to Potosi. Although there is a lot of poverty there, it was quite a nice city in the centre. I was told it's one of Bolivia's more affluent cities which unfortunately isn't much of a statement.

    I only stayed in Potosi for one night as a stop off before Sucre but my hostel was fairly nice. I was told by others about the mine tours there, which was absolutely terrifying but I'm also so happy I did it.

    Our tour guide was an ex-miner and had a good sense of humour. At first we were given overalls, hard hats and wellie boots to put on for going into the mine. We then were driven to the miners market where for 20 Bolivianos (less than £2.50) you can buy a 'goody bag' of coca leaves, cigarettes and 96% alcohol for the miners. We then went to the refinery where you see how the miners extract the zinc and silver from the rocks. This was really interesting, but the main part was actually going into the mine itself.

    At first you have to climb down a ladder and into the mine which was actually terrifying. I was pretty scared because at some points the passage was so small and narrow that you had to crawl or climb. My heart was racing but I eventually got used to it.

    We went a lot deeper into the mine and were shown different parts of it. There were people working in there and they wheel around the rocks in carts. The conditions are pretty rough as they work 6 days a week from 3am until 6pm. One of the miners started at the age of 13 but they said it's less common for children to now work in the mines.

    We met two miners and got to ask them questions, and when we had finished speaking with them we thanked them for having us. They said that they liked having tourists come down into the mine because otherwise they don't get to see people and it makes them sad - especially the ladies haha. As terrifying as it was, I was really happy I experienced it. It felt like I was supporting the local economy and the miners by going and it was nice to know that they actually like the mine tours instead of finding them a nuisance.

    As good as it was, it was nice to come back up out of the mine and into the daylight. After, Nicole (this cool Dutch girl I met) and I got a three hour taxi to Sucre for around £5 each! It's crazy how cheap this place is.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake
    1

    Rurrenabaque

    May 3, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The Pampas Tour was incredible, maybe even one of my favourite things so far.

    Dad and I got up at 5am to get to El Alto airport for our flight to Rurrenabaque. It was funny because we by random coincidence got the plane with some people I had met in Patagonia (small world eh). The plane was the tiniest plane I've ever been on - it could fit about 20 people and you could see into the cockpit from where you were seated. Once in Rurrenabaque we met our tour group (2 Belgian guys, 2 girls from Holland and a South African woman) and drove 3 hours until we reached the Yucuma river.

    We then got onto canoe boats and had a 2 hour boat ride to our jungle lodges. The boat ride was incredible because we stopped and got to see all sorts of different wildlife - pink dolphins, cappuccino monkeys, eagle, turtles and loads more. I really liked the lodges we were staying in, they were built on the water and have caymans beneath us named Pepe and Santa 😂. Dad and I got a twin room which was good because the others had to share a dorm.

    We went to watch the sunset and when it got dark we went looking for caymans. This was difficult because you can only really notice them from the light reflecting off their eyes. We did see some but the best bit was the stars because there was no light pollution so you could see the whole Milky Way so clearly. That's only thing we really do miss out on in England, especially in London.

    The next day we went looking for anacondas in the swamps. This was made more difficult because it was the rainy season and so there was more places to look. We had to get waist-deep and wade through the water, and we only found one snake at the end and it was really small. After we went swimming with pink dolphins which was fun. Once we got back in the boat and started to leave we saw a green mamba coming towards our boat like it was about to attack our boat. This was pretty scary because we had just got out of the water and it was really close to where we had been swimming. Our guide said that if a green mamba snake bit you you'd only have 30 minutes to live.

    We went back for lunch and then had a siesta in the hammocks. After we went piranha fishing which (I never had myself down as someone who would enjoy fishing) but it was actually really fun. I kept nearly catching the fish but you have to pull the line out of the water really quickly and the fish had escaped by the time I pulled it out. In the evening we played cards and pool.

    The last day of the tour we got up early in order to watch the sunrise. We also did more swimming with the dolphins and then headed back to Rurrenabaque for our flight back to La Paz. The airport is also a one man and his dog kind of place but it was nice because we sat outside and drank beers until we had to get on the flight.

    We had such a great time in the Amazon, made even better by a fun tour group and a really good guide. The wildlife there was incredible - some of the best I've seen in South America so far. I'm so glad I can tick the Amazon off my bucket list and I got to do it with my Dad.    Read more

  • Elly BlakeLatin AmericaElly Blake

    La Paz

    May 3, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    La Paz is a big, sprawling, chaotic mess - it's a really cool city but I stayed here too long and there isn't tonnes to do.

    The first few days I was so sick off the altitude that I was basically bed-bound and couldn't really eat or move without feeling really dizzy. After recovering, I went to the tour agency to book the Pampas Tour from Rurrenabaque for when my dad arrives and also did a bit of life admin, cos travelling isn't always beers and beaches.

    The third day I finally did some touristy stuff and did the walking tour and the witches market which was really interesting. Bolivia is a really cool and culturally interesting/ progressive country so it was good to find out more. There are also loads of really good vegan and vegetarian restaurants and we went to Namas Te which did tasty food.

    In the evening, our hostel (Wild Rover - where basically every English person stays) did a karioke night which was actually hilarious. We got a group to sing 500 miles by the Proclaimers and everyone joined in. After we went out to a few bars and ended up getting home at around 4am.

    The next day we were all feeling pretty rough so Charlie, Sadie, Ali and I went to Mercado Lanza for the best £1 sandwiches ever and juice. This was honestly my saviour as I was feeling pretty bad. We then had a film day in the TV room and watched Moana, Harry Potter, 50 Shades of Black but unfortunately not Mulan (the running joke for the day). I was knackered so I went to bed pretty early and I wanted to feel fresh cos my Dad was arriving in La Paz the next day.

    The next day I went to meet my Dad at the hotel we were staying at for the next couple of days. I was so excited to see him as it had been just under 3 months since I left England! I was worried he was going to be dying from the altitude just like I was, but actually apart from being tired and a bit out of breathe he was on pretty good form. We had a walk around the city centre and got some food before going back for a rest in the hotel. The hotel is SO nice - such a treat after staying in hostels/ tents/ overnight buses for the last 3 months. In the evening we went for more veggie/ vegan food at a place called Magick which was really nice.

    The last day of La Paz we got the cable cars all around the city. This was nice because you really got to see all of the city, from the quite rich Western parts to the poorer parts at the top of the city near El Alto. Even though it's not exactly a pretty city, the views are pretty spectacular. After we went got some lunch and juice at Mercado Lanza and then chilled in the hotel for the afternoon because Dad was still adjusting and also it started to rain quite heavily. In the eve we went out for food at Ali Pacha which is one of the best restaurants in Bolivia. It's insane how cheap it was - we got a 3 course meal for 100 bolivianos which is the equivalent of £11. The food was so beautifully decorated, it was like something you'd see on Masterchef. Each course came out and we were explained all the different ingredients and flavours. It's nice to push the boat out and spend a bit more sometimes.

    All in all, La Paz is a cool city with some really amazing restaurants. I spent a bit too long here, and didn't do things like Death Road or Valle de La Luna, which maybe I should of done if I had got my act together a bit quicker. But in all fairness, I don't really mind because I've already done so much stuff on my trip that to miss out on 1 or 2 things doesn't bother me that much. Anyways peace out La Paz - you big chaotic sprawling mess ✌🏼    Read more

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