Valparaiso I love a city that can stand out from the rest. Instead of the classic central plaza with a cathedral, Valpo was 42 hills of never-ending colors, chaos, and crap (on the streets from the copious amounts of stray dogs). Once a crucial shipping port, this UNESCO site has been largely ignored government funds since the construction of… Read More
Valle Del Elqui And La Serena The Elqui Valley is strange to me. The mountains are so barren and deforested, like mounds of stone and dirt. Below is tons and tons of fruit trees like figs, and of course endless vineyards. Fields of yellows and reds greet the cars on the highway and visitors often stop to watch the dam, which… Read More
San Pedro de Atacama On A Budget The Atacama desert is another world. Stark valleys and high-altitude geological wonders that are nothing short of mesmerizing. Night skies clear enough to see other galaxies with the naked eye. The popular town of San Pedro is isolated and overgrown with tourism, yet it remains the optimal base for excursions, especially when connecting to Bolivia by booking… Read More
Border Crossing: Peru to Chile ft. Arica In An Hour Day 8 Fresh of the bus from Cotahuasi, I bought a ticket for Tacna, the southernmost city of Peru, which never showed up. I looked through all the bus ramps, went back to the office where the staff whipped out my refund out of no where and shoved it in my hands, and switched… Read More
Cotahuasi: The Deepest Canyon In The World Over twice as deep as our Grand Canyon, this was a treasure. In between peculiar rock formations, bull fights, cacti forests, thermal baths, and deadly waterfalls with unrestricted access and layers of rainbows, I was able to see much deeper into the Peruvian culture through the countless heartfelt interactions with the villagers of Cotahuasi Canyon.… Read More
Arequipa And Picking A Canyon Arequipa is just pretty. In this lovely city of Southern Peru with the distant icy peaks of Chachani Mountain and Misti Volcano constantly watching, I found the best ceviche and welcoming backpackers. Most use this place as a launching point to visit world-class canyons. Getting there: connections through Arequipa are easy. The bus… Read More
Update: Summer And My Near Future This summer I’ll be in the winter, immersing myself in the world of South America. I craved the cultural isolation of solo backpacking, and the deeper understanding of different cultures only found from longer stays abroad. I wanted to test my capability to be one of those backpackers, who don’t have plans, except to travel… Read More
Backpack Peru It’s hard to summarize something that offers so much. Definitely start with Machu Picchu, and from there you’ll find lakes, beaches, jungles, and deserts. Some say Peruvian cuisine is the most underrated in the world. The rich indigenous culture is still evident all over the country. Still trying to grasp this beautiful land myself, I’ll keep updating… Read More
Lima In A Day Lima is huge. This capital rises over the Pacific and is divided into 43 districts, some newer and richer, some more historic and less wealthy. As always, we saw as much as we could without collapsing from exhaustion, and spontaneously threw in a football match in the national stadium. Day Eight Crashing on couches… Read More
Pisac and Cusco With little time left in the Sacred Valley, we couldn’t appreciate the overdone, overpriced feel of Pisac and quickly moved along to the markets and architecture of Cusco. I’d say the cold and altitude added to the charm of this bustling city that was once a trade capital of the Inca Empire. Day Six (cont.) A very… Read More