It is always sad when travels come to an end but I knew that my trip around South America would be relatively short so I have been considering various plans for my next step. The options have included: making a …
#FriFotos – SAND
Every Friday on Twitter various bloggers celebrate beautiful photography following a common theme, using the hashtag #FriFotos to share their pictures. It’s a great opportunity to see pictures from both amateurs and talented photographers, as well as being the …
Travel or Family, Do You Always Have to Choose?
Today is my birthday.
It is not a significant birthday, the last one of those was three years ago, and the next one is still way off in the future—although we all know that the next significant birthday is …
Why Tipping Infuriates Me
Does anybody else find the concept of tipping completely infuriating? I find it annoying that in many situations I pay for a service and then am expected to pay extra, sometimes quite a lot extra, afterwards.
I understand why it …
A Tale of Two Skylines: New York and Panama City
After a blissful few days in the stunning San Blas it was time to get back to some city living in Panama City, our last stop before flying to New York. I must admit that when we booked our flight …
Three Days in Paradise: Sailing the San Blas
You have been travelling around South America and you want to get to Central or North America but the Darien Gap makes land travel impossible. You could fly: the quick and efficient method.
Or you can cruise the warm waters …
Stahlratte: The Pearl of the Caribbean
With no road passing through the Darien Gap, land travel between Central and South America is impossible and the only way to pass is to fly or to go by sea. As the route from Colombia to Panama takes …
The Beautiful Beaches of Parque Tayrona, Colombia
“I’m not going to Parque Tayrona because I’ve been to the San Blas islands and I’ve heard that the beaches are not as beautiful” said the tanned Australian girl to her friend as they stood chatting on the …
Santa Marta. The Beach: So Near, Yet So Far!
After nearly five months of chasing the end of winter around South America I was beginning to dream of spending some time lazing on the warm sand of a tropical beach, so it was with great excitement that I …
Meet the Escobars – Medellin’s Most Unique Tour
It’s a rainy Tuesday afternoon: thunder is raging overhead and I am sitting in the lounge of a 64 year old man. He sits opposite me, looking older than his years. He is dressed casually and wears a US Polo …
Medellin: From Murderous to Marvellous
Let’s get the grisly facts out of the way. Medellin is Colombia’s second largest city and—thanks to the thriving cocaine trade in Colombia—was once famously known as the ‘murder capital of the world’. During the 80s and 90s, Medellin was …
The Life of an International School Teacher
7 months ago I wrote the post ‘Goodbye Classroom, Hello World!’ because I was taking a break from teaching in order to travel. Now I reflect on the profession that I have temporarily left behind.
I became an International School …
Open Wide! – Visiting the Dentist in Colombia
After having Lasik surgery in Vietnam, I am very happy to have cosmetic procedures during my travels. Perhaps this is incredibly vain of me, I don’t know. But with prices in the UK and Sweden being so high, …
What a Year! 2011 in Pictures
It’s the end of another year and with New Year’s Eve just around the corner it’s the time to reflect on the year that has gone before. 2011 was a good year. Living in Sweden rather than Vietnam meant …
Be Prepared for Bogota—what the travel guides don’t tell you!
Bogota is the sixth capital city that we have visited on our trip around South America, and so far it has proven to be the most difficult to enter, get around in, and to leave. One of the reasons for …
Machu Picchu—the City in the Clouds
Day Two of our Machu Picchu tour began at the unearthly time of 5am. Without a guide to tell us what time to be there we had decided to take the advice of numerous friends and guide books, which was …
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Any backpacker travelling around South America will inevitably end up on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu—it is the Mecca of the Gringo Trail. Many will opt to trek for a few days, and the more hardened may …
The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca
At 3811 m above sea level, Lake Titicaca—a lake that sits in the Altiplano basin between Bolivia and Peru—is known as the highest navigable lake in the world. Its location mid-way between the Bolivian city of La Paz and …
Surviving the Jungle
As you may know, I once went to the jungle (if you didn’t you can read all about it here) but that was the jungle in Vietnam; to be honest it seemed to be more like a forest …