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Tag Archives: south america


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Ready Ready Ready.

I will always be grateful that our Delica took us 17,000 kms across South America and kept us safe, warm and dry. Badass!


I will always be grateful that our Delica took us 10’560 miles/17,000 kms across South America and kept us safe, warm and dry. Badass!

Ok, first off…here I am saying sorry for having fallen off the radar again which makes me cringe a little bit because I was determined not to leave my blog neglected and feel a tiny bit like a cliché, but during the trip I realised that it’s environment-permitting whether I get to post or not. The good news is that our travels took an adventurous turn which meant we either didn’t have electricity, didn’t have time to sit down and write the posts because we were spending a night in a small town and then moving on, or the internet was just too slow where we were to keep up with the blog. Although I am behind, we’re back in a fixed place now so I have all the time I need to get back into it and get those tips down and I have quite a few after travelling over 15’000 miles last year.

Another thing: at the start of the trip I had the dilemma of staying in a hostel where the owner was lovely to us but the room just wasn’t up to scratch. I think it’s common to be in that predicament- she was a sweetheart but the bed sheets were dirty and when I asked for a clean set, those were dirty as well. I decided not to say anything and I didn’t mention anything on this but I thought to myself, it kind of defeats the purpose of passing on information if I’m not being completely honest so starting from now I will be 100% fair when I’m writing about certain experiences. Starting with the next post.

Happy new year, I hope everyone has travel plans this year and that you manage to have a little escape be it for a few days, weeks or months. Even if you’re a tourist in your own city, it’s still great to get out and see and learn. Although my parents are in a little bit of a pickle over my lifestyle, I hope to be heading to Asia and Australia with my babe later on in the year so will be working solidly for the next few months to make sure we are prepared. I’m excited and I hope we can pull it off so all tips on Asia (and I mean anywhere, we still don’t have any concrete decisions on what countries we shall be visiting) are extremely welcome.

Ok, let’s do this.

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If you’re driving from Puerto Lopez to Manta…

Showing us his good side

Have a look if you can see any tarantulas crossing the road. Apparently they go onto the tarmac on the roads in the early afternoon to warm themselves up and then carry on into the trees.

We drove past one and looked at each other like “…was that a?” and then saw the one in the photo a few minutes later. After jumping out of the van and taking a few snaps, we stood near him until he had disappeared into the trees to make sure he wasn’t run over. Unfortunately, a tarantula a few metres down the road didn’t meet the same fate- even though we stood pointing and warning the oncoming motorist, he didn’t care and ran straight over it (this was on an A road and there was no traffic so slowing down or swerving wouldn’t have caused an accident), it was such a shame.

After sending my mum the photo, she replied that when tarantulas feel threatened they can run extremely fast and flick hairs on you which itch like crazy. So there you go, this was a friendly tarantula who didn’t mind us taking his photo.


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Just before we get stuck in to Ecuador…

So, let’s get our little tour of Ecuador started but just before I begin, may I once again stress how amazing the motorways and connections between cities are in Ecuador. If you’re thinking of touring a country in South America in your own vehicle or motorbike, Ecuador would be one of my recommendations not only for the quality of the roads but also the seriously cheap petrol prices- we were paying $1.03 per gallon of diesel.

Heading to the forest after a few days in Quito

Heading to the forest after a few days in Quito

 I ask myself why I had never been tempted to go to Ecuador before, and I still haven’t come up with a decent reason. I think since the first time that I visited Brazil I became very partial to going back, which bode well with the fact that I studied Brazilian Portuguese. In more recent years (before visiting Arica) I thought of going to Peru, possibly tempted by the recent food boom in London amongst other cities. Then came Colombia when friends began to go and came back declaring their love for it which led to me googling images of ‘Colombia beach’, yes I google beaches I am not ashamed to say, it has led to me creating many dream destinations lists. But Ecuador…it had just never occurred to me. We travelled very nearly the entire coast of the country and I absolutely fell in love with it. In certain areas there were a lot of North American tourists because of the dollar, in others there were also Europeans and in other places I didn’t see many foreigners at all. If you are thinking of or have thought of going to Ecuador, now is the time. It is cheap, a lot of attention is being paid to Colombia and Peru these days so it isn’t over run with tourists and last but certainly not least, the locals are being well educated on recycling and the environment. I was a little sad to leave but I know I shall be back.
PS One very important thing! If you go to Ecuador in dry season, be prepared to very nearly not see the sun along the coast. I didn’t know that until we got there!