Category: South America
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World-Class Birding in Manizales
From Jardín, our journey continued along some of the most scenic roads in Colombia towards the city of Manizales. Nestled in the Central Andes range, Manizales sits at a higher altitude of around 2,150 metres and is surrounded by diverse ecosystems, including cloud forests and montane rainforests. It also lies in the shadow of Nevado…
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The birding starts in Jardín
If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you might have noticed a significant trend over the last year we’ve been travelling… More and more birds popping up in the posts. Yeah… sorry about that 😂 I’ve always been into wildlife, more than the average person, for sure, and most of my travels in my…
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Medellín: From Notorious to Noteworthy
So… We were supposed to be going to Panama next, to complete the journey through central America, then fly onward to Colombia afterwards. But as I was starting to seriously plan the Panama trip (aka looking the land border crossing, the bus to David, then a bus to Almirante (the port for boats to Bocas…
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In search of Hammerheads on San Cristobal (Galapagos)
With my time on the Galapagos almost at the end, and indeed my whole Ecuador trip nearly ended, I had one destination left, the inhabited island of San Cristobal. I took a short 8-seater flight from Isabela island to San Cristobal, which was insanely cool, mostly just for the views. The Galapagos is famous for…
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Island Life on Isabela (Galapagos)
I left Santa Cruz early in the morning to get the public ferry over to Isabela island. The journey was amazing, and I saw SOOO MANY Giant Mantas from the boat, especially since I was sat on the top deck with the driver and just 3 other tourists. Arriving in Isabela, I instantly felt the…
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Cycling Around Santa Cruz (Galapagos)
The next day in Pueto Ayora, I wanted to visit Tortuga bay and do a little self-tour of the island, so I started by hiring a bike from across the road from my accommodation. I nipped into town to Acai bar, which serves vegan coffees (oat latte) and vegan acai bowls, it was delicious, then…
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Day Trip to Bartolome Island (Galapagos)
One of the most iconic images of the Galapagos islands are the double bay beaches of Bartolome island, and overlooking Santiago island. In order to get to visit these uninhabited islands you need to get a day ferry from Santa Cruz island which takes about 3 hours each way. I booked my trip from home…
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DIY Galapagos Backpacking
Visiting the Galpagos has always been a dream of mine, as a biologist, everyone is aware of the impact these tiny islands has on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Plus, after binge-watching nature documentaries my whole life, the Galapagos seems like a relatively untouched nature-paradise, where animals and humans live in harmony, with as little…
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Beautiful Baños
After an amazing few days in the Amazon, I still had a couple of days before my flights to the Galapagos Islands. For a long time before my trip, I wasn’t sure where to spend these… Either in a different cloud forest area, perhaps Mindo or around the Sumaco region, perhaps the Quilotoa loop, or…
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Experiencing the Amazon – Cuyabeno River Cruising
I was so sad to be leaving Mashpi, and honestly, it already felt like I’d been on holiday for 2 weeks, but actually, I’d only been in Ecuador for 5 nights so far! The next adventure was going to be just as good though… after being dropped back in Quito, I checked into a cheap…
Travel Alchemist 