Coffee and cocktails

Our last stop in South America was Colombia, and as we were left with a bit of extra time in Bogotá, we did some research and decided to head to Salento - a town in Zona Cafetera famous for it’s coffee. We chose to stay in a hostel called Luciérnaga which we’d recommend despite it’s rather patchy wifi connection! The must-do in Salento is a coffee farm tour and there are loads to choose from. After a bit of research we settled on Finca Don Eduardo, the coffee farm attached to The Plantation House hostel, which ran tours in English everyday at 9am.

The Inca Trail

If I’m completely, brutally honest, South America was never high on my list of travel-musts. I might not have planned this trip had I been in charge of the itinerary, but a happy coincidence - in the form of my lovely boyfriend, Oliver - brought me to Peru, in December 2016. Here, we spent the last few days before Christmas doing something that I had always wanted to do, hiking the classic four day, three night Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. 

Lake Titicaca

During the time we’ve spent travelling, hiking has become an excellent way to pleasantly fill up a day without breaking the bank. So, when we arrived at Lake Titicaca, we were slightly disappointed to hear that the one notable hike from Copacabana (Lake Titicaca’s main tourist town) took place on Isla del Sol, an island we would have to take a ferry to and from, at a cost. 

Bolivian reflections

We arrived in Bolivia not really knowing what to expect. Starting in Argentina and Brazil had set a precedent for South America as being moderately expensive so Bolivia provided quite a stark contrast because the cost of living in Bolivia is much lower. Although accommodation costs remained fairly steady (around £5 per night each), food and goods were miraculously cheap in comparison to what we had been paying in previous countries. 

Viva Brazil

Unfortunately, my fear of having my camera stolen followed me to Brazil, so this blog post is also going to be supplemented with a couple of Instagram photos. What I do have, however, are a few recommendations for anyone planning a trip to the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro. While Rio was a rather out-of-the-way stop on our South American itinerary, we felt it was important to see, so we packed our backpacks (for the hundredth time) and hopped on a flight from Foz do Iguaçu to Rio International Airport. 

Don't Cry For Me Argentina

After an incredible week spent scuba diving on a live-aboard boat on the Great Barrier Reef, and another lovely week living in luxury at our friends' place in Auckland, New Zealand, we set off on the next leg of our world tour. South America. From Auckland we took a direct flight to Buenos Aires. From this point on The Three Musketeers became the Fantastic Four as we met up with another friend of ours - Tom’s girlfriend, Liv. 

Lazy Whitsundays

Once we got far enough north, the Australian weather we were waiting for finally materialised. It had even started to get too hot to sunbathe by the time we got to North Queensland due to the lack of wind. So where better to catch a tan and keep cool than on a sailing trip around the beautiful Whitsunday Islands?