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South America

September 2022 - March 2023
6 months backpacking South America for our honeymoon. Read more
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  • TravelerSouth America
    11
    Day 6

    Taganga

    September 11, 2022 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Taganga is a small fishing village on Colombias Caribbean coast known for its proximity to Tayrona national park, the Lost City, and water activities.

    It's very picturesque, nestled in a Valley on the shore. We came here to scuba and visit Tayrona. We enjoyed our scuba trip and spent Zachs birthday on Cinta and Cristal beaches which we visited by water taxi. We got caught in a thunderstorm on the beaches which was a memorable experience to be sure!

    We mostly cooked cheap meals in our AirBnB but did enjoy some authentic street Arepas stuffed with chorizo, chicken and cheese, fresh off the grill and covered with guacamole and a sauce which don't know the name of but was delicious.

    We found Marijuana brownies which they told us are in fact legal here, and were QUITE strong, but it made for an entertaining few nights in the Bnb.

    Made some friends, one of whom we are hoping to see the Galápagos in a few weeks, and one of whom who bought us pizza and a couple drinks on Zachs birthday.

    All in all we had a great time, Zach really enjoyed his birthday and we are excited to be off to our second stop, Cartagena, tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
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    Day 9

    Cartagena

    September 14, 2022 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    One of the most important cities of the early Spanish empire in the Americas, we visited the old town, with gorgeous cathedrals, the old city walls, statues of revolutionary heroes.

    The Getsemaní district has amazing and haunting street art, we saw some beautiful afro-carribean dancing with drums and fire, and had delicious arepas and local style kebabs for dirt cheap.

    All in all a great 2 days exploring the city, the 400 year old fortress, the streets and observing the people. On to Medellin next!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
    Day 13

    Medellín

    September 18, 2022 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Medellín. A city that definitely had a reputation in the past and for good reason. It still wears some scars of its past but, just as they say, the city has matured immensely since the time of Escobar.

    I'll admit I was even a bit nervous to go out at first but as we spent some time and got to know the area we quickly felt comfortable. The locals as always were very friendly and helpful, this VIEWS of this city are magnificent beyond description and there is not an ounce of justice to be done by the photos. It's something you just have to see for yourself.

    We fed ourselves, snacks included for 4 days for under 50 CAD total, our room was equally cheap, in a safe neighborhood close to the metro system, which is is the pride of the city. It was a great experience taking the metro cable to the highest point of the city, 1200m above the core below.

    We visited Parque Arvi, Botanical Gardens (during a massive book fair) and the Parque Explora which was a ton of fun for adults and kids alike with interactive exhibits of the mind, music, time and film. There was an aquarium, many opportunities for funny photos and more. We had a beer in El Poblado, and saw some HILARIOUS art from Fransisco Botero, the city's most famous artist. (We are looking forward to seeing more in Bogotá).

    And I have to say the climate is absolutely perfect. Half Jungle, half alpine. Not too hot and not too cold, thunderstorms at night. It's truly a wonderful city and I look forward to the day we return.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
    Day 16

    Zipaquirá

    September 21, 2022 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We went to see the underground cathedral made out of an old Salt Mine.

    The story goes that the miners took it upon themselves and built an altar deep in the mine, this being such a devout country, and it developed in to what you see below over a period of decades.

    You start by walking down the mine and out of each of the 14 mining sites, some of which are gigantic chambers from which many thousands of tons of salt has been pulled, they made a tribute to each of the 14 stations of the cross. Station 10 was particularly eerie with its recordings of choir voices appearing to come out of the void.

    They stated the aim was to create a sense of abstract art in the way the stations were created and how they pertain to the story of the crucifixion. Another I found particularly impactful was the negative space cross representing when Christ's body was taken down from the cross, representing the void left behind in his absence.

    At the bottom of the mine, some 600 feet below ground, are a tribute to the divine infant, and a massive, massive nave for the main cathedral hall.

    The cross at the back stands 16 meters high, back lit in the usual stunning colors, and it really is a sight to see. The entire walk through took about 2 hours.

    We've seem some incredible churches in our travels but I have to say this one really does stand out. The originality, the literal depth of the work to be done to create this are just jaw dropping.

    And yes, we tasted the salt off the wall, and it was - salty.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
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    Day 17

    Bogotá

    September 22, 2022 in Colombia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Bogotá is a HUGE city. 7.9 million at 2600m above sea level at the beginning (or end) of the Andes mountain range.

    First thing we learned is that it does in fact get cold at this altitude. It wasn't too bad during the days but once the sun goes down (at 6 pm sharp this time of year) it can be quite chilly, even for Canadians.

    Luckily our BnB had a nice fire place and they left us some wood for the evenings. Our first was super cold though while we learned this lesson.

    The next biggest takeaway was that the traffic here was INSANE. Coming back from Zipa, it took us 4 hours to travel 56 kilometers. Didn't exactly ruin it for us but after 3 days we are ready for some country side.

    We got to chat with some firefighters to trade the first EMS patch for some of the locals which was really fun, it was nice to chat with them and they seemed really happy to help. Pretty sure they cut one of the patches straight off a uniform to give to us!

    All in all we enjoyed Bogotá, the views from Monserrate were incredible even if the weather wasn't perfect, Zipa was absolutely worth time, and did get to play some Tejo, where you throw a metal weight at packets of gunpowder. It's like Colombian darts meets corn hole meets, well, gunpowder.

    This was our last stop in Colombia. Ecuador tomorrow and straight to Otavalo via Quito. We both look forward to the day we return to Colombia to see some of the many things we couldn't this go round.

    Viva Colombia!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
    1
    Day 21

    Laguna Cuicocha

    September 26, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Cuicocha Lake is in an old volcanic crater outside of Cotacachi, Ecuador.

    At its base its over 3300 meters above sea level, and the highest point of the trail is at 3500 meters! The volcano neighboring the lake is called Cumbre Volcán Cotacachi and at its peak is almost 5000 meters, and Volcán Imbabura casts its shadow over the town from the other side.

    At 12 km around the hike itself wasn't terribly long but at this altitude the vert was really a challenge. We stopped to catch our breath often but there were almost 360 views of the 2 islands in the lake and we didn't mind taking a break to take it in.

    Great day, great hike, if you're ever in the area be sure to check it out!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
    1
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    Day 22

    Otavalo

    September 27, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Otavalo is a really cool, small city in the Ecuadorian Andes. It's 2 hours north of Quito by bus, known for its market, which they say is the largest South America. It's full of colourful fabrics, blankets, sweaters, shirts, indigenous dress, jewelry, traditional musical instruments, art, and fruit, bread, typical food and so much more.

    We had a pig roast for lunch with white corn, fried mashed potato balls they call tortillas, and salad for dirt cheap and did manage to find some cool hippie pants for a decent price.

    We hiked to the Peguche waterfall, did the circuit of the Laguna de Cuicocha, so named for the central islands resemblance to a guinea pig. (Cuicocha is the Quechua word for guinea pig.)

    We also hiked to what we thought was going to be a thousand year old, huge tree, and we were... surprised, let's say when we got to the top of that dusty, steep hill.

    It's a really cool town with its own vibe nestled in a valley between massive volcanos, a welcome change from the bustling cities.

    On our last night we went for dinner at local pub. We tried to find a traditional dish something like the pig roast we had had, but found nothing so we chose this place instead. It was DELICIOUS. We had cocktails, craft beer, and 2 huge plates. A churrasco, which is a piece of grilled beef with egg, rice, fries, and salad, and a parillada, a selection of grilled meats, south American style, with the same sides and delicious dipping sauces. Wonderful way to end our stay.

    Quito next!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
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    Day 24

    Quito

    September 29, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Not a whole lot to say about Quito, we spent the day coming back from Otavalo on our way to the Galapagos Islands.

    We visited the equator monument which was pretty cool! It was fun to officially cross the equator on our journey south. It was Zachs first time in the southern hemisphere, and Anna had been once before when she went to the Cook Islands.

    We learned a little about the experiments carried out in the 17th century by explorers and kings to prove the location of the equator, which was an effort by the French, Spanish and Ecuadorians, called the geodesic missions, and the monument was built to commemorate the bicentennial in 1920s and redone in the 1970s.

    Cool day, fun to see!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth America
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    Day 30

    Isla Isabela

    October 5, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    All we can really say about Isla Isabela is "Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!"

    It defies explanation. Around every corner, in every nook, busting out of every cranny is some exhibition of wild life that can be seen no where else in the world, and certainly not as close.

    Tortoises, turtles, sea lions, iguanas, penguins, flamingos, boobies, Albatros, pelicans, vegetation that seems like it could only be prehistoric. It's truly unique in every sense of the word.

    We spent 4 short days on this island, there was not a single dull moment, we were able to appreciate all this incredible nature pretty well non stop and there were still so many adventures we just didn't have the time for.

    We spent Annas 31st birthday here, our hosts went way out of there to help us celebrate. They hung balloons and streamers, sang her happy birthday, had cake, and truly helped make it very special for her.

    The giant Tortoise breeding centre is doing amazing work restoring the wild populations of galapagos tortoises, and I'm happy to say it really feels like the preservation of the nature and wild life is a high priority for the people of the island.

    It was not terribly cheap, (quite the opposite actually) but we were able to find some delicious local food for dinners which we had every single night and absolutely raved about.

    It was a journey to get to and its not a place I would describe as luxurious and but we will absolutely be back, and we leave invigorated by a sense of the importance of nature and its preservation, and a new perspective on what a healthy natural environment looks like.

    Until next time, Isabela!    Read more

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