We crossed a number of land borders throughout our 6 and a half months in South America – quite a novelty for two Brits! Here are some of our border crossing photos. Leaving Peru, we were pleased that the border crossing was well marked with the iconic Peru sign and a big bottle of Cusquena beer! We walked across the border into Bolivia and were less delighted with the queue for Bolivian immigration that we were confronted with. We left Bolivia…
Sunset on the boat Overview On a map it looks like it would be relatively straightforward to get from Colombia to Panama. The two are linked by land and so you’d think that there must be regular transport between the two. But you’d be wrong! The Darién Gap is an area of dense jungle and swampland of 160 kilometres in length that links the two countries together and there is no road that goes through it. The area is also home…
Pisco Sour: Peru and Chile One of our favourite foodie discoveries from South America was the Pisco Sour. Pisco is a grape brandy made in both Peru and Chile. In Peru, lemon, angostura bitters, sugar or syrup and egg whites are added to the brandy to make a Pisco Sour. Traditionally in Chile, the egg white and the bitters are not added. First Pisco Sour! It is the national drink of both countries and both lay claim to have invented…
As one of the most expensive countries in South America, you do have to shop around for a good deal on accommodation in Brazil. We paid around £10 ($15) more a night in Brazil, compared to Argentina, mostly staying in private double rooms. Here’s a breakdown of where we stayed for our just over two weeks in Brazil and what it was like. The Pantanal In the Pantanal, we stayed at the Pousada Santa Clara, which we’d booked after a rep from…
Plaza Cisneros in the centre of Medellín Once home to the brutal drug lord, Pablo Escobar, and known as the most dangerous city in the world, Medellín has really cleaned up its act in the last 5 to 10 years. In 2013, it was named the most innovative city in the world in recognition of its remarkable turnaround, notably through regeneration projects, such as the building of cable cars to improve transport links up and down the mountains. For visitors,…