12000 km2, from 1cm to 10m thickness, it would take 10 days to walk across it: Salar de Uyuni, the stunning salt desert in southwestern Bolivia – the largest salt flat in the world!
Just as unbelievable as these facts sound, was the experience to actually visit this marvellous creation of nature. Spending 8 hours out there, enjoying the views, taking loads of pictures, absorbing all this beauty, was definitely THE highlight of my little Bolivia excursion. Continue reading
Saturday, July 30th – 9 am: sitting on the big terrace of our hostel, overlooking the beautiful lake Titicaca and the other houses that are spread out all over the cliff that emerges from the water. Yesterday, we hiked up pretty far with our backpacks to get to this place but this amazing morning view makes up for it once again. In the evening we had dinner at a little place called “Inti Jalanta”, eating Trucha (Trout) and Quinoa Soup (both of it was so good!) and again, sitting on a terrace, overlooking the still water of the lake and watching the sun set behind the mountains on the mainland. If it wouldn’t have gotten so cold, we could’ve spent ages there, just enjoying that view. Right now, the sun is beginning to warm up the air but chilly winds still make it too cold to take off my jacket. Continue reading
Let me start this post with a traveller fact: no matter what happens or how messed up a situation seems, in the end everything ALWAYS works out – promise. So, even though I didn’t get picked up at 3:30am yesterday morning, like I was told at the tour agency (they also didn’t come at 3:45 or 4am), I didn’t stress out about it. With a certain composure for situations like these that I adopted last year in Asia, I asked my friend at the reception to call the agency and ask if they might’ve forgotten me. They assured that they didn’t forget me and that someone was on their way to pick me up in around 10 minutes – of course I knew that they had forgotten me, but as long as someone picks me up, I really don’t care all that much anymore. Continue reading
“KOKOPELLI is a fertility god, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player, who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwest of the United States.” He is also said to walk around from village to village, playing his flute and collecting songs in his bag. This habit kind of reflecting the life of us backpackers, Kokopelli became the symbol of the Kokopelli Hostels in Lima, Paracas & Cusco.
“We are a community of open-minded travelers who live life without boundaries” being the Motto of Kokopelli Hostels, you feel at home right when you enter this magical place – or at the latest, when you enter our amazing bar ;) I’ve stayed and worked here for about 3 weeks now and I gotta say that it just doesn’t get boring. Not only is the atmosphere at the Hostel so chill & friendly, with all the staff & backpackers greeting each other and everybody smiling all the time, but also you can’t really call it “work” to hang out at the bar, meet great people and mix drinks all night long.
I don’t even know where to begin. There are no words that could possibly describe the feeling that place gives you. Seeing MACHU PICCHU, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, was simply amazing. Standing on top of that hill, looking down on the ancient Inca city (which was never finished, because the Incas abandoned it during the Spanish Conquest), being surrounded by these huge mountains, which seem so unreal, you feel really small and humble all of a sudden. ‘Overwhelming’ would probably describe it best. Continue reading
It’s my 14th day here in Cusco and yesterday, I realised that I only have one more month in Peru, before flying to Texas. It’s crazy how time flies when you’re travelling and experiencing so many new and exciting things every day. After about two weeks in the city, I have developed some kind of routine, or at least some sense of direction, when walking the streets. And that fact really strengthens the feeling of having found yet another home somewhere far from my actual home even more. Continue reading
Cusco, with it’s southeastern location in Peru, lying within the Andes, used to be the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th century Spanish conquest and is today considered to be the historical capital of Peru. The ancient name of the city means “navel of the world”, due to its many roads that connect the city with almost all of South America, from the south of Colombia to the north of Argentina. Since I haven’t been to any other countries or places in South America, I can’t really judge this city in comparison to others. But what I know for sure, is that Cusco got me hooked from the very first second I arrived here. Continue reading
I always enjoy visiting local markets: you find the freshest and most delicious fruits, vegetables, bread, sweets, nuts – really, anything you can think of. And at the same time you’ll most definitely be surprised by some crazy things or dishes you’ve never seen before. It’s always a little adventure to go and explore the food and typical ingredients of the locals, plus: prices are unbeatable! Every time I go to a market, I wish I was actually living in my own apartment somewhere in the city, so I could go and buy fresh ingredients every day to cook amazing local dishes myself. Unfortunately we’re not allowed to use the kitchen at the hostel to cook ourselves, so I’ll just have to stick to buying dried fruits, nuts, fresh fruit & sweets, which I am also perfectly fine with. My sweet tooth always gets satisfied while travelling ;)
If people were to ask me what I like most about backpacking and travelling, the answer would be simple: everything. I mean, what’s there not to like? You get the amazing opportunity of seeing places you’ve never been to before, you meet different great and open-minded people every day and through that make friends all over the world, every moment is an adventure, you wake up thinking ‘so, what am I gonna do today’ – no stress, no responsibilities, no worries. The only things you actually worry about are: what & where am I going to eat, did I just pay too much for that sweater, should I do this tour or not, when’s the next cool event or party, will there be wifi, and most importantly… will my money last until the end of the trip? Besides the last question (which I guess many of us are asking ourselves on a regular basis anyway), those are pretty chill problems to worry about, don’t you think?
It’s almost 7:30pm here in Cuzco, Peru, which means that I’ve been up for 37 hours with about 3 to 4 hours of naps in between – and that’s exactly how I feel right now. Don’t get me wrong: I’m super happy! New continent, new country, new people, new adventures.. all the things that make my little backpacker heart beat faster. I’m just also really tired and exhausted and that’s why this is just gonna be a quick update on how I’m doing here down south:
lenacatherine 