The final stretch!

It has been an action packed final week in Ecuador to say the least! I spent an amazing 3 days in Banos-- hiking, checking out the many gorgeous waterfalls (via party bus with blaring music), taking sketchy cable car rides over canyons and of course soaking in the thermal baths that Banos is so famous for! I met some amazing people along the way, which all started with a long hike and a miniature Jeep ride in the mountains that surround Banos...

I was finishing up my hike with a friend from the hostel and we ended up not exactly getting lost, but rather believing misguiding signs-- a very common predicament in South America! As it was starting to get late, we were getting tired and the thought of finding our way back down to town was somewhat worrisome. And then, along came a speeding miniature Jeep packed with other tourists who asked if we wanted a ride-- to which we responded HELL YES! We ended up cruising around for over an hour in the mini Jeep up high on the mountain roads and then I ended up kicking it with the Jeep crew for the rest of my time in Banos! Fortunate and random things like this happen all the time while traveling-- but it never loses it`s awesomeness!

After a great stay in Banos, I headed to the secluded and gorgeous Secret Garden Hostel near Volcan Cotopaxi at an awesome 3,500 meters. A true gem, the Secret Garden is surrounded by multiple snow-capped volcanos, amazingly beautiful farmland, waterfalls and many trails and open green spaces to explore by foot or by bike. The hostel itself is heaven: hammocks, a hot tub, fireplaces galore (including in the dorm room), 3 delicious homecooked meals a day and lots of wine, beer and hot beverages! I spent my time there hiking (we had an epic adventure pictured above where we got lost in extreme fog on our way to Volcan Pasochoa) and basically soaking in the amazing views and enjoying the incredibly relaxing environment. It was nothing short of amazing!

This afternoon I arrived to Quito, where I will spend my final days of my journey. Tomorrow I will be taking a little day trip to the equator (Mitad Del Mundo) and the rest of my time here will be spent exploring the colorful colonial streets of the Old Town of Quito and a little bit of time on the new side. It is also important to note that it is now Carnaval, which is celebrated in Ecuador with crazy waterfights, intensified by the inclusion of eggs and flour in the celebrations. People walk down the streets dripping wet and covered in eggs and flour-- it is quite the sight to see! So far I haven`t been attacked (Gringos are far from exempt from the festivities)... but I don`t think I will stay this lucky!

The days left of my trip are numbered-- but they will be amazing until the end!

Living In a Galápagos Paradise

It is always hard to put into words for this blog the amazingness and wonder of my travels... the many adventures, the amazing destinations, the colorful people, the breathtaking beauty, etc. But this post is the hardest of all-- how do I possibly capture 8 of the best days of my life? I will try and hopefully the over 500 photos I took will help further illustrate my amazing Galapagos experience!

After exploring the many options available to cruise through the Galapagos (trust me... there are many and none of them are cheap), I chose an 8 day sailboat trip which featured lots of physical activity geared towards a younger crowd. I can say without a doubt I picked the perfect boat for me! It was so amazing to sail the ocean on our tiny boat-- the fresh ocean breeze and crystal clear views of the ocean surrounding us. I must say our boat was not luxurius, nor spacious for that matter-- but it was the perfect home for our 8 days and 7 nights in the islands. Each night I watched the sunset over the ocean and each morning I also watched the sunrise. I slept every single night out on the deck of the boat-- falling asleep while star gazing at the magnificently clear sky above with the fresh ocean air breezing by.

We started each day early and had a pretty standard and fabulous daily routine: 2 - 3 snorkel excursions, a hike around an island or 2, some time sailing at sea, 3 delicious meals a day (and a tea/snack time in the early evening) and star gazing and libations on the deck at night. It was heaven!

The Galapagos are incredibly beautiful and full of the most colorful, interesting and unique birds, reptiles, and marine life anywhere on earth. In my 8 days on the island I swam with sharks, sting rays and colorful fish of every variety, hung out with sea lions, watched giant tortoises mating (true story), paid a visit to some penguins, watched a Galapagos shark (the dangerous kind of shark found in the Galapagos) do circles around our sailboat, I saw iguanas that are over 80 years old dominate islands, watched various birds soar with blue feet, red neck pouches, long tailfeathers, and even saw a Galapagos hawk search for it`s prey. It all was absolutely incredible. The ocean and islands themself are pristine and gorgeous on their own and then when you add in the wildlife-- it is a combination beyond compare!

My birthday on the boat was incredible-- starting from the very first few moments when I woke to watch the sunrise from my cozy `bed`on the deck. The chef on the boat even made me a birthday cake and some of the other people on the boat even gave me little presents they were able to rummage together from their backpacks... It all was a wonderful surprise! Turning 27 years old has been fabulous so far-- I feel incredibly forunate for such a special birthday!

Our 8 days in the Galapagos went by in the blink of an eye-- but we did, saw and experienced so much in that time it was unreal. A beautiful, amazing and powerful experience from beginning to end-- I truly fell in love the Galapagos Islands! (I know I say this about everywhere I visit, but I mean it more than ever in this case!)

I am now currently in Cuenca, Ecuador where I arrived late last night. Today I spent time enjoying this amazing colonial city (including Inca ruins, a museum with shrunken human heads among many other things, a flower market of course a few cathedrals) and tomorrow I will travel about an hour outside of Cuenca to hike in Parque Nacional Cajas. If all goes well I will catch a night bus tomorrow heading towards Banos, where I will spend the next few days bathing in thermal baths, hiking and biking it up in the mountains. Oh and it will be Carnaval too-- bonus! Life is oh so good!

I am in utter disbelief that there is only just over a week left of my trip. Instead of feeling sad for such an amazing experience to end (although the emotions and the end are inevitable)-- I am going to focus only on making the most of the next 9 days! I have a jam packed agenda ahead of me-- bring it on Ecuador!

The Valley of Longevity

After a delightful 48 hour journey (via almost every mode of transportation possible) from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Vilcabamba, Ecuador-- I arrived in the evening to the well known and loved Izhcayluma Hostel perched high up on a hill overlooking the Valley of Longevity in Vilcabamba. As it was dark when I arrived, I had no idea exactly how gorgeous my home for the next 2 nights was-- a pleasant surprise waiting for me in the morning. Exhausted from all my travels, I had a drink at the bar and called it an early night in my cozy and full sized non-bunk bed... Heaven!

In the morning I was blown away by the beauty of the valley and the hostel itself including it`s gardens, the pool and the 360 degree views it offered of the surrounding mountains. Izhcayluma provides a beautiful (and included in room price) breakfast of homemade bread, eggs, crepes, fresh fruit, juice, etc. It was an amazing way to start my day eating high up on a hill with such breathtaking views and the sun shining. I was able to easily fill my 2 days at Izhcayluma with ample pool, hammock, hike and spa time-- treating myself to a massage and facial while there. Again... heaven!

Vilcabamba is a mecca for expat hippies who dig the tranquilo lifestyle. I found out that 10% of the Vilcabamba population (over 600 people) are expats from all over the world. In my short time in Vilcabamba I met my fare share of expat characters like the `Coconut Man` from Germany (he always was always carrying coconuts around with him) who joined me one evening for sunset at Izhcayluma. He told me about his raw diet and the positive energy he feels in Vilcabamba... Which the latter I could actually relate to! Then there was the dreadlock shoeless crew who hung out (maybe worked-- hard to tell) at the Juice Bar in town. They greeted me on both my visits there with a long drawn out hippie style `Heeyyyyy`. I got some crazy green smoothie there, which was delicious-- I can see why the local gringos love that place so much! And how could I ever forget the lady at our hostel who sat most of the day wrapped in colorful silks and beaded necklaces of all lenghths, doing something or other with tarot cards and crystals. A true hippie haven-I felt right at home in Vilcabamba!

They call Vilcabamba the Valley of Longevity because the people who live there lead ridiculously long (and seemingly happy) lives. From the moment I arrived in Vilcabamba, I truly loved being there. There is something so special about this tiny town and surrounding areas... the lush gree mountains, the spectacular sunsets, the birds, the flowers and butterflys-- it is all incredible. The only hard part about visiting Vilcabamba is of course leaving...

After 2 glorious days in Vilcabamba I made my way to Guayaquil where I arrived bright and early this morning. Although I have actually really enjoyed my time here so far, Guayaquil is the largest and perhaps most dangerous city in Ecuador. That said, Guayaquil is where all flights to the Galapagos ultimately depart from, so it is pretty much the best place to arrange your Galapagos journey and therefore is somewhat set up for tourism. I had a nice day today walking along the amazing waterfront called the Malecon 2000, hanging out with a new friend I made from of all places Brighton, Michigan (shout-out to Camp Tamarack) and shopping around for Galapagos tours. I am beyond excited to announce that I booked an 8 day sail boat trip through the Galapagos departing on Monday. Pretty much a dream come true, it has not quite sunk in yet what lies ahead! I cannot believe I will be celebrating my 27th birthday in the Galapagos Islands! Bring on the blue boobies, giant tortoises, dolphins, penguins and sunshine! Ahh-- I am so excited!

In other news, I miss Beth a lot and there have been countless moments (esp. during my 48 hours of travel) where I have turned to comment on something ridiculous to her, share a laugh, reflect on our trip, etc... But instead of Beth it is some random person next to me! 4 months is a long time to travel with someone-- we were practically married by the end of our journeys together. Sharing a hostel bunk bed with someone else will never be the same. I also miss her excellent Spanish and translating skills-- it`s time to up the ante with my Spanish!

So that is the update for now. Next stop Galapagos, where I will turn a year older, potentially wiser and for sure more tan. I will report back on my epic sailing adventures!

My Newest Passion In Life... Tango!

I am excited to announce that I have yet another passion in life-- right up there with bowling, long city walks and ceramic classes-- TANGO!

Not only have I fallen in love with Buenos Aires (where we have been for over a week now)-- but I have also taken a strong liking to tango, which I have been fortunate to to experience plenty of! My first tango experience was at an elaborate dinner tango show-- complete with a multi-course meal and a few bottles of wine. Although touristy, a tacky tango show is a must while visiting BA! The show was thoroughly entertaining and certainly struck my interest in this passionate dance. Next Beth and I stumbled upon a tango performance in a park in San Telmo one sunny Sunday afternoon. We sat for well over an hour just watching the dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes strut there stuff with an enthusiastic crowd watching composed of locals and tourists alike. I am not sure which was more entertaining-- the actual tango dancing itself or the people watching at the park... it was a fabulous combo! Tonight (our final night in BA) we went to a milonga (after yet another amazing steak dinner at the famous La Cabrera), which is a traditional tango hall where locals (few to no tourists could be found... besides us of course!) go to tango the night away. It was the perfect way to spend our last night in BA! Steak, red wine and tango... classic BA.

Beyond tango, our 10 days or so in BA have been beyond incredible-- there are so many amazing things to do and see here and we have been in the comfort of a wonderful home (mucho gracias Emiliano). Some highlights of our time in BA include: the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, a visit to Casa Rosada (the President´s office featuring the historic balcony that you picture Evita standing on to address the nation), a day trip to Tigre to boat around the Parana Delta, Shabbat dinner at the Moishe House BA, the Recoleta Cemetery, crafts fair and cultural center, many adventures on the subte (subway), reuniting with amazing friends we have met throughout our journey (Liz, Ana, Tanja, Katie and Jon to be specific), walks, window shopping and lunch in Palermo, so much amazing food and way too much delicious Mendoza wine. It has been an amazing experience spending time in Buenos Aires-- I am already excited to return!

In a few hours time I fly to Ecuador (well, actually to Lima, Peru and then I take a bus to southern Ecuador-- it is a money saving tactic that will cost me a lot of time instead) and embark upon the final leg of my trip. My travel buddy Beth flies back home to SF today and I will spend my last month solo. I will miss Beth very much-- it has been an amazing experience traveling through Central and South America with her over the past 4 months. I am also looking forward to the challenge of traveling solo and the ultimate independance that coincides. I know it won´t always be easy (especially with my limited Spanish... although it is much better at this point in my trip)... but I am incredibly excited for all that lies ahead in the weeks to come.

So, on that note I am now off to the airport to start my long journey to Ecuador.

Adios Argentina... it has been an AMAZING month and I truly hope to visit you again soon! In the meanwhile, I will start learning how to tango!

Chasing Waterfalls

We just arrived back to BA yesterday,  from an amazing 3 day trip to Iguazu Falls. I cannot quite put into words (check out the Flickr photos-- which even those scarcely do the falls justice), the incredible beauty and splendor of the falls and the surrounding jungle- it was an experience beyond compare to stand above, below and at one point (on a speed boat) under these incredibly powerful natural wonders. While in Iguazu we stayed at an amazing hostel that was in reality more like a resort, conveniently at a hostel price: huge swimming pool, poolside bar, restaurant, and nighttime entertainment! It was amazing! On our last night at the hostel they had an all-you-can-eat BBQ followed by a free samba show for all the guests. I am not going to say that the samba show was of high quality (it actually resembled a show I imagine could occur at a low quality strip club)... but it was a blast none the less!

We arrived back to BA yesterday and were greeted upon our return by Beth`s friend Emiliano who we will be staying with in a proper HOME (a wonderful respite from hostel living) for the next week or so. Not only are we staying in a home, but Emiliano was asked to house sit this week at a family friend`s incredibly nice house-- so here we are! The home has 2 bedrooms, a great bathroom, roof deck (with an asado grill), laundry, etc. It is beyond wonderful to be here-- even if it means sleeping on a kid`s sized trundle bed with Star Wars sheets! We had an amazing first day back in BA and I am so excited to spend the next week in this incredible city!

Before heading off to Iguazu, Beth and I put our tourist hats on and did a Hop-On-Hop-Off city bus tour of BA (double decker of course), which was amazing! BA is a HUGE city and the tour allowed us to learn a lot about the history of the city and pretty much see all the main areas/attractions over the course of the day. Now that we have more time, we will go back and explore our favorite parts further. Today we are going to walk around Recoleta an old, wealthy and historic part of BA. Recoleta is where the most famous cemetery is located-- where Eva Peron is buried and other BA political figures, artists, philosophers-- basically the old school rich and famous. Tonight, depending on the weather (so far overcast) we will either be checking out a tango show or hosting an asado (Argentine BBQ) on our roof deck-- we really can`t go wrong in either case!

Believe it or not, we have already been in Argentina for a month! I absolutely love this country and am excited to cherish our final week here! Tango, red meat, red wine, shopping, night life, markets, music, handsome men, mate, parks, plazas, monuments, museums...

Oy Veh, BA

Well, I must admit that I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with Patagonia... and not just with the gnome above, although he did play a factor! Although we scarcely scratched the surface of just northern Patagonia I feel a strong connection and appreciation of this gorgeous land. It is now my goal to make it back to Patagonia as soon as possible, if only for a few weeks, with my gear ready to go, to backpack my way around... who is with me?

Our final destination in Patagonia was to San Martin de los Andes, which similar to our other northern Patagonia adventures was a gorgeous little town surrounded by mountains and lakes. We spent our time there hiking, trying to find the beach (which ended up in us getting a wee bit lost as per usual), shopping around the many cute and quaint shops and of course drinking good wine and good food in the company of (you guessed it) the good people at our hostel. After 2 nights in San Martin, we decided to "take a break from it  all" (which obviously is a joke, because our lives are a wonderful big ol' vacation at the moment) and spend a night outside of town and away from the hustle and bustle of San Martin... which is actually not that much hustle and bustle at all in reality! With some ultimate R and R in mind we headed to Hostal Rosales, located just outside of Lanin National Park (about 15 minutes outside of San Martin) and spent a full 24 hours in the good company of the mountains, Laguna Rosales, ourselves and our books. Hostal Rosales was extremely peaceful – an adorable log cabin out in the middle of pretty much nowhere for us to call home for a night. Tranquilo to the max –it was a wonderful escape from it all... whatever that may mean!


After our hermit time at Hostal Rosales it was time to trade in the peaceful beauty of Patagonia for the exciting chaos of Buenos Aires! We took a 1st class 20 hour bus ride from San Martin to Buenos Aires. Highlights include wine with dinner, whiskey before bed and seats that fully recline. Life was good on our first class bus!


This afternoon we arrived to BA (as it is cool to call it) and our day has looked a little like this...

1. Arrive to our awesome hostel called Milhouse Avenue
2. Cocktails and lunch on the roof of our hostel
3. A stroll around downtown BA
4. Dinner out at one of the most popular steakhouses in BA, which was beyond incredible and fully earned it's popular standing in my books. Although we had to wait an hour for a table, they served free champagne while we waited and what could really be better than that? The restaurant is called La Cabrera... go there if you are ever in BA!
5. Party at our hostel, with DJ and cheap drinks
6. Night out at a club in BA

I must admit that I was a bit of a party pooper tonight (as I may very much be while in BA, as to my disability to nap and my fondness of nonstop day time activity, which is essentially impossible to maintain on zero sleep) and I made my way home around 4 am – while the party will go on long past the sun rising. That is just life in BA for you.

Tomorrow we will continue to explore this gigantic city and then on Friday we are off to visit the glorious Iguazu Falls for a few days. After Iguazu... Well, of course back to BA to live it up some more! Oh vey, BA... Bring it on!

Wine, Beer and Beauty

 

Greetings from PATAGONIA! No longer just an overpriced line of outdoor clothing to me ... Patagonia is now on the top of my list of the most beautiful places I have ever been! We started our time in northern Patagonia in Bariloche-- a gorgeous ski town that looks a lot like Switzerland mixed with some Aspen flare: log cabins, Bavarian style restaurants, chocolate galore and giant St. Bernard dogs with small kegs hanging from their necks... not too sure what exactly that is all about, but I dig it! We spent our time in Bariloche hiking (we did an amazing full day hike to Refugio Frey), walking around the charming town, drinking (finally!) good beer and relaxing in the hostel jacuzzi... Yes!... I said hostel jacuzzi! Our hostel in Bariloche (Tango Inn Downtown) was awesome! Conveniently our dorm room reservation (the cheapest room one can book at the hostel) got messed up, so when we arrived the only room available for us was the hostel equivalent of a pent-house suite with lake views, nice linens, a queen sized bed, a private bathroom and free jacuzzi access! We were in heaven! Unfortunately, 2 beds in the dorm room opened the next night-- but we still got to enjoy the jacuzzi the 2nd night as well! After months of dorm room living, we were happy to take even just 1 night in the posh room!

Earlier today we took a short 2 hour bus ride from Bariloche, south to El Bolson-- a charming hippie town surrounding by gorgeous and jagged mountains peaks. On Thursday El Bolson has an awesome artisans market in the park with fresh local foods and tons of artists selling everything from mate gourds and jewelry to hippie style aladdin pants and of course candles a plenty. I managed to not buy anything (which was a miracle)-- but did enjoy 2 different local dark beers and a delicious sandwich which turned out to be cow tongue-- I did not realize that when I ordered it! Tomorrow we will enjoy another awesome hike in the mountains and explore more of El Bolson.

I wouldn`t properly be capturing the glory of our past week without writing a little something about MENDOZA! Where to begin?... Our first night in Mendoza our hostel (Mendoza Backpackers) was offering in honor of the full moon, a late night rafting trip followed by a bonfire fiesta in the mountains... Count us in! The night was nothing short of amazing and ended around 6 am when we finally made our way back to our hostel from the fiesta! By day when we weren`t occupied by dancing around a giant bonfire in the mountains, we spent time exploring Mendoza, a great city to walk around and enjoy: clean, spacious and lots of green parks and plazas to relax in. Bonus-- Mendoza has lots of Subway restaurants, which allowed us to eat fresh even while traveling! Of course, we also spent a lovely day in Mendoza biking from winery to winery (and a beer garden too) enjoying the delicious wines of the area. My personal favorite was the winery Tempus Alba which not only had gorgeous grounds and delicious wines-- but they also had a phenomenal menu-- so clearly I treated myself to a succulent medium rare steak for lunch, accompanied with seasonal veggies and potatoes! Even our 18 hour bus ride from Mendoza to Bariloche was incredible... comfy seats, decent food served, 3 great movies played (including The Proposal-- who doesn`t adore Betty White?) and even a game of Bingo was played (with wine as a prize) to keep us entertained. I was highly impressed with our longest bus trip yet!

Argentina has treated us extremely well so far. Although I have spent more money (pesos to be exact) in my 2.5 weeks here than I did for all my time in Bolivia-- the splurge is well worth it to spend time in perhaps one of the most beautiful and delicious countries in the world!

Adapting to the Argentine Lifestyle... One gourd of mate at a time!

It has certainly been an action packed first week in Argentina! We began in Salta and continued south to Cafayate (wine country) and arrived this morning to Cordoba where we will be spending a few days in and around the city.

Argentina is absolutely gorgeous, the food superb and the people who call Argentina home are beautiful, interesting and somehow have the ability to stay up all night-- dancing, eating and drinking into the early morning hours! Dinner in Argentina usually starts around 10:00 pm and you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant even open prior to 9:00 pm. Bars and clubs get busy around 1:00 am (around when bars and clubs back home start to close their doors) and every city we have been to so far takes a few hour siesta around 3:00 pm-- when stores, restaurants, etc. close for a few hours. It takes some getting used to-- but it certainly is a fun structure to the day.

Our time in Salta was great-- a pretty city with amazing food and fun streets and parks to explore. It was a bit of a culture shock coming from Peru and Bolivia, but we have managed to adapt just fine... starting by taking showers more often! We spent an afternoon hiking in a nature reserve in San Lorenzo (just outside of Salta) and took a gondola to the top of a small mountain where we had amazing 360 degree views of Salta and surrounding areas. We even took in our first peña show (folk music, dancing and general entertainment-- usually combined with dinner and drinks) and we got more than we could have ever bargained for... In addition to the usual peña line-up we also got a Michael Jackson music video, a creepy ventriloquist act and a power outage at 1 am which caused the show to end abruptly an hour early. At the market in Salta, Beth and I also bought mate gourds and have taken up the fine art of sipping on mate throughout the day-- it is an acquired taste, but I have grown to enjoy the taste and process very much! Also important to note that I had the best steak of my life in Salta at a parilla called Viejo Jack´s. Yum.

Cafayate was charming and a wonderful place to spend a few days sipping on wine and soaking in the gorgeous scenery. Over our 3 days in Cafayate we visited 5 wineries (our favorite was Bodega Etchart), experienced the thrill of ATVing for the first time (I think I may have a new hobby-- both dangerous and expensive), went on a hike to a waterfall (which we actually could not find due to poorly marked trails-- a lovely hike and picnic in any case), spent an afternoon at the chaotic and gigantic community pool (until a child vomited next to me and then we left), we visited a goat farm and rented bikes to get around town to go wine tasting. Cafayate was lovely-- it`s as simple as that. Cafayate has the best empanadas I have ever had made with love by Norma and Eduardo who own the Casa De Empanada. Again, yum. I higly suggest any of the empanadas with blue cheese.

And now Cordoba, where our first day has been great, just walking around the city and getting a feel for everything. I was shocked today when I spotted a synagogue in town-- the first Jewish institution I have spotted this entire trip! Unfortunately the synagogue was closed (Jews take siesta too), but hopefully I can make it back over the next few days-- after visiting likely well over 100 churches so far on my journey it would be great to visit a synagogue or 2 and get a feel for Latin American Jewry.

It is now 8:30 pm, which means it is almost dinner time. The day is still young here in Cordoba... And you never know what your night may hold in Argentina!

Ciao amigos!

Don`t Cry For Me Argentina

Top 5 Reasons We Know We Are Not In Bolivia Any More:

(or any other South American country we have visited for that matter)

1. We no longer can afford everything and anything our heart desires.

2. We can drink the tap water.

3. Alpaca and a pisco sour for dinner has been replaced with high quality steak and fine wine.

4. The bars open at midnight rather than close at that time.

5. We are now the least fashionable and least sophisticated people in town.

Here we are (after a 14 hour travel day including a 4 hour dusty and hot border crossing) in Salta, Argentina-the first city of our month long tour of Argentina. It has only been a day and already we are in love with the country. Let the abundance of red wine and red meat begin... Starting with dinner tonight!

Flamingos and Geysers and SALT... Oh my!

On January 1, 2011 we made our great escape from La Paz (almost as quickly as the transportation strike began-- it thankfully ended) and we headed south to Uyuni. We spent a relaxing day in Uyuni (much needed after the chaos of New Years combined with an overnight bus trip on an extremely bumpy road) and booked our Salar de Uyuni tour (salt desert) for the next day.

I do not even know how to begin to describe our salt desert experience... It was as if Utah, Southern California and the Moon had all combinned together to create the most beautiful scenery one could ever imagine. Our tour was 3 days and 2 nights and each day was jam packed from dawn until dusk with amazing sites to see and things to do. We got around in a giant Jeep loaded up with 8 people (Beth, myself and 4 friends we met in La Paz), our guide Maria and our driver Milton. We had great music blaring the entire trip and it turned out to be one epic road trip through the desert! I have always loved road trips, but this just went above and beyond any experience I had before... A personal driver, delicious meals cooked for you, a guide and honestly the most incredible and unique surroundings you could ever imagine!

Some Salar de Uyuni highlights include: an abundance of beautiful flamingos chilling in pristine lagoons, my first vicuña spotting (another member of the llama/alpaca family), staying at a hostel made out of salt, an early morning dip in a gorgeous natural hot spring, salt flats a plenty, getting up close and personal with geysers, visiting an island composed fully of blossoming cactus plants, a visit to the Salvador Dali desert and of course the general experience of road tripping from destination to destination across a salt desert... It was beyond amazing!

After our salt desert experience we spent another night in Uyuni and then continued on south to Tupiza-- a beautiful little town surrounded by red rock. It is a relaxed, gorgeous and extremely friendly town-- we are really enjoying ourselves here! Today we spent the entire day poolside and did pretty much the same yesterday-- it was heavenly! The weather here is mostly hot and sunny, which is exactly what we need after an insane amount of time at extremely high elevations which feature extreme weather. Tomorrow we will be partaking in the Tupiza Triathlon: biking, horseback riding and Jeeping our way through the red rock country that surrounds Tupiza... Should be amazing!

After Tupiza we are off to Salta, Argentina and the next chapter of our journey begins! Bolivia has been simply incredible and I am sad to leave. Hopefully I can make it back here within the next 5 years-- afterall they make US citizens pay for a 5 year visa-- I want to make the most out of my $135 entrance fee! That said, for now red wine and red meat are calling my name...