South America

Rio de Janeiro and the wonderful beaches

After witnessing the magical Iguazu Falls we headed for Rio de Janeiro only to see that the Brazilians have the same habits of eating very late like their neighbors, the Argentinians. When half of the bus was already sleeping around 10:30 PM, we stopped for dinner while the other half was hurrying to get a … Continue reading »

Categories: Brazil, South America | 1 Comment

The Iguazu Falls – one of the “Must see before you die” destinations

After a heavy rain which flooded the airport in Buenos Aires and led to the cancelation of all flights, we ended up spending the night in the airport. Fortunately for us, the airline tried to make it up on us and offered us a night in one of the most luxurious hotels in Puerto Iguazu … Continue reading »

Categories: Argentina | 4 Comments

Montevideo – where drinking mate is a religion

The capital of Uruguay is situated just a 35 minutes flight from Buenos Aires. In the short time that we spent here we tried some typical Uruguayan food like chivito (a steak sandwich with cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato and spicies), pamblona (pork or chicken meat stuffed with pepper ham and cheese, a little bit similar … Continue reading »

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Buenos Aires – the capital of beef steaks and tango

After a flight that felt almost like in a shaker and a landing which tested the plane’s structure we arrived in Buenos Aires. The portenos (that’s how the people from Buenos Aires are called) do most of the things that are important for them with a lot of passion. And we tried to experience these … Continue reading »

Categories: Argentina | Comments Off

Torres del Paine – Patagonia’s dream and nightmare

On the last 4 days we hiked more than 60km on the “W” trail in the National Park Torres del Paine in the Chilean Patagonia. This is the most hiked trail in South America with over 200,000 tourists every year. It’s called “The W trail” because of its shape which looks like the letter “W”. … Continue reading »

Categories: Chile | Comments Off

Isla Magdalena – a colony of penguins

When we left El Calafate we headed to Puerto Natales because we wanted to hike the National Park Torres del Paine. Unfortunately the weather forecast was very bad for the days to come so we decided to head further south to Punta Arenas. Here you can book a tour to the Island Magdalena which has … Continue reading »

Categories: Chile, South America | Comments Off

Glacier Perito Moreno – incredible blue ice

The first big stop in Argentina was at El Calafate where we arrived after a 27 hour bus ride. The first funny thing that we found out about Argentinians is that they have dinner very late and in the evening restaurants are closed until 8 PM. Even on the bus to El Calafate when almost … Continue reading »

Categories: Argentina | 2 Comments

The Lake District – gorgeous landscape with active volcanos

This region is one of the most beautiful ones in Chile and probably one of the top things to see in South America. It’s the Chileans’ favorite place to spend a vacation because here you have tons of options to spend your time. You can go horse riding, which we did. It was very nice … Continue reading »

Categories: Chile | 6 Comments

Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso, a normal world again

Oh my God, we arrived in a country where drivers stop at the “STOP” signs and pedestrians are not invisible anymore… it’s unbelievable…. Jokes aside, Chileans are very friendly and are the first ones we see in South America which seem to really respect the pedestrians and their colleagues in the traffic. In fact driving … Continue reading »

Categories: Chile | 5 Comments

Salar de Uyuni – more than just salt

We arrived in Uyuni and because the town is nothing spectacular we hurried up in finding a hotel and went to look for an agency which could offer us a tour to the salt flats and the lagoons. If you google for deadly accidents in the Salt Flats you find a frightening amount of results. … Continue reading »

Categories: Bolivia | 8 Comments

La Paz and Sucre – the two capitals of Bolivia

After we successfully crossed the border to Bolivia, we stayed for one day in Copacabana before going to La Paz. In Copacabana people have to pay 1 Boliviano just to enter the town and people who bought a ticket directly to La Paz also have to pay it, no matter if they want or not…. … Continue reading »

Categories: Bolivia | 4 Comments

Isla de Los Uros – the place where the time stopped centuries ago

From Cusco we went to Puno on the shore of the Lake Titicaca. It is called the highest navigable lake in the world at 3812m. From Puno we booked a tour to the floating islands of the Uros people. The islands are made of bundled reeds and are completely floating and the first steps on … Continue reading »

Categories: Peru | 5 Comments

Cusco and Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas

Cusco is one of the most touristic places in South America because it’s the main starting point for all the treks or trips that go to Machu Picchu. Though it’s very touristic we liked its nice little old town and the markets where you can buy almost anything. If you want to go to Machu … Continue reading »

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Arequipa – the white city

In Arequipa we stayed a lot longer than we initially planned because we went to a Spanish course for one week. We also decided to stay with an Arequipan family because the Spanish school has a list of families which are recommended to the students. The family which hosted us was really friendly and we … Continue reading »

Categories: Peru | 7 Comments

Canon del Colca – the world’s deepest canyon

Last weekend we went for a 3 day trekking tour in the Canyon del Colca, the deepest canyon in the world which is situated near the city of Arequipa. The trekking tour was for sure one of the highlights of our trip so far, not only because the scenery was very beautiful but also thanks … Continue reading »

Categories: Peru | 7 Comments

Huacachina – a real fata morgana

We took the bus from Lima to Huacachina and we chose a company named Cruz del Sur because it was recommended by almost all the travelerswe met in South America. It sounds crazy but the bus services that you have here cannot be compared with anything else in Europe. It could probably be compared with … Continue reading »

Categories: Peru | 3 Comments

Lima – city of kings

We decided to go by bus from Quito to Lima, a ride that takes around 35 hours. The planned departure of the bus was 03:00 AM but we were told to arrive at the bus station around 22 – 23:00 because the bus comes all the way from Venezuela and could arrive earlier and after … Continue reading »

Categories: Peru | 2 Comments

Galapagos – In the footsteps of Charles Darwin

After we did not find good offers in Quito for a cruise in the Galapagos Islands we decided to fly there and try to find some better offers directly in the main port, Puerto Ayora. And we’re glad we did because it was not a high season anymore and we found offers up to 30% … Continue reading »

Categories: Ecuador | 5 Comments

Quito – Gringo, welcome to a different world

Right after landing in Quito everybody tries to rip you off somehow because you’re a gringo (slang word used to denote you’re a foreigner). Starting with the taxi driver which asks for 3 times the normal amount for a ride from the airport, continuing with the hostel manager that tells you a price in the … Continue reading »

Categories: Ecuador | 4 Comments