South America 2021

We enjoyed our Christmas day by appropriately eating too much food, watching movies, playing board games and table tennis 🏓. Read more

After Christmas ended and one week has passed in Mancora we planned to continue our journey on the seaside. Ideally, we wanted to go to Ecuador which is very close to Mancora. However, due to omikron Ecuador has closed the land border with Peru and the only way to go there is to go back to Lima… Read more

We’ve got to see more of Mancora today. The hardest thing has proven to be crossing the street with tuk-tuks going non-stop on the street. On the other hand, we never experienced such efficient transportation as after barely taking a step out of Airbnb at least one tuk-tuk is always waiting for us 😅. Read more

Today I had my first surfing lesson 🏄‍♀️. The waves here in Mancora are good for beginners so it was a good chance to try it out. At first, we learned the basics of correctly standing up and afterward moved to the water. Although I had a couple of good falls still managed to stand… Read more

This morning I continued learning surfing. This is a popular time now in Mancora with a lot of people arriving to celebrate the new year so there were tons of other surfers in the water. The big challenge was not only to surf but to try not to bump into anyone 😅. Despite that, still,… Read more

Today we moved out of our hot Airbnb and took a bus to leave Mancora. We might have stayed throughout the new year celebrations but nearly everything was booked and super overpriced. We still wanted to be at the seaside during the new year celebrations so we picked a random town to travel to. After… Read more

The last day of the year began by catching a ridiculously old and small taxi to get to the bus station. We took a 3-hour ride to the town of Pacasmayo. When we arrived it looked quite cute and colorful. Much tidier and calmer compared to Mancora. We went to our beachfront hostel and got… Read more

We started 2022 with a walk through the town and as the beach was still closed we could see people continue partying at home throughout the day blasting the music in the street and kids still throwing firecrackers. We on the other hand were in a bit calmer mood and climbed on the roof of… Read more

Pacasmayo town where we stayed is more or less in the middle between Lima and Mancora so we decided to take a bus and finish coming back to Lima. We had the bus in the evening so we went to the beach which was finally open. It was Sunday and the beach was packed with… Read more

After 1.5 months we were back in Lima. In the morning we were already in Miraflores district and our hostel. We felt an incredible contrast being here compared to other places in Peru. It was super clean, calm, modern, seemingly no chaos, no dogs or tuk-tuks going around, something we felt we missed, at least… Read more

We continued crossing off items on our checklist throughout the day. We also had a problem with the airline we booked our flights with as they wanted to move us to the flight in the evening. After a day-long back and forth we settled on a flight that will be 2 hours instead of 12… Read more

In the morning we got on the plane to fly to Pucallpa with the goals to get to know the daily life of local Peruvian jungle communities and participate in ayahuasca ceremonies. In the airport, we were greeted by Alberto, an uncle of Peruvian friend Pio who we traveled with to Machu Picchu. We took a tuk-tuk to a… Read more

We woke up by the buzzing sound of the jungle. We went to the kitchen to have breakfast and were greeted by a laughing grandmother telling us preparar para vomitar which was our first of many encounters with their wonderful sense of humor. One of the most important things for them and ceremonies is to have a… Read more

We woke up in a temple and went to have breakfast. Since we didn’t have much sleep strong breakfast, coconut, and cold showers were essential to start the day. The day turned out to be even hotter. We spent the first part of the day laying in hammocks and reading books. After lunch, we went… Read more

This morning I tried to exercise but mosquitos attacked too much so I had to stop 🦟. Throughout the day we heard stories about the people who were coming here for the last 20 years as well how young local people balance their lives in a jungle with the more common lives in a city. Read more

It was finally a cloudy day which made life much easier. Also, we got treated to massages to relax our bodies. In the evening the heat of the week resulted in a strong and refreshing jungle rain 🌧. Read more

Today was an eventful day. We saw how ayahuasca is being boiled in the village, walked around the jungle seeing amazing nature, and held a small alligator which is grown at home. The moment we went away just a little bir deeper into the jungle to see a huge mango tree we got attacked by… Read more

Today we went to the nearest town to get on the internet. We went to a classic internet café which we haven’t seen since the 2000s. They even had classic games such as Counter-Strike 1.6 so it felt like taking a time machine. Read more

The morning meant the end of our special time in Ceilan. We had our last breakfast, played a match of checkers (with Inca v Spanish-themed chess pieces that we absolutely loved), and said goodbyes to family members who made our stay there for a week really amazing. Shaman Alberto with his wife Maria have accompanied us… Read more

Being in Lima again was so familiar that it almost felt like home. After a week in nature, it felt great going to the hairdresser and doing obligatory beauty procedures. They even give neck and head massages after cutting hair (I remember the same being done when I went for a haircut in Egypt) and… Read more

It was our last day in Peru. We were amazed by how much contrasts this country can offer: beaches, deserts, volcanos, penguins, rainforests, mountains, varieties of foods, and deep cultural heritage. It’s a true travelers paradise and we still have entire regions unvisited. For the last time, we enjoyed the beauty of Lima’s coastline and… Read more

After getting some sleep at night we woke up for our first day in Bogota. Traditionally, we went out to a local mall to check ATMs, buy a SIM card and check the overall city environment. We are either becoming more experienced or Colombia has a good level of services, as we have taken care… Read more

At night I had a bit of a fever and in the morning we both felt sick. It was quite difficult to get a spot to do a Covid test but eventually, we reserved a time and the PCR test came out positive. So at around day 90 the reality of today’s world caught up… Read more

This disease has proven to be a no joke, after the fever and other symptoms have ended the energy of our bodies still felt completely drained. We felt that this was the time to start recovering so we allowed ourselves to walk around the botanical gardens and local parks. They were lively and comfortable. In… Read more

We went out for an hour to look around the historical part of the city. One of the main 7th street was crowded and full of people. It had a feeling of a cheap resort as there were street musicians, performers, and sellers but nothing looked of good quality. We didn’t feel comfortable walking around so many… Read more

After 10 days we were finally recovered from Covid. We went up the Monserrate hill to look at the panorama of Bogota. The rain and fog distorted the view a little bit but it was a good feeling being tourists again. In the last few days, we moved from the hotel to Airbnb so we could have… Read more

At 2 AM we were woken up by the sound of someone entering our apartment 😱. Gabriele reflectively shouted “who is that?” and for me, everything went too fast as the doors of the apartment closed before I could react at all. Needless to say, we were frightened and stunned by what just happened. I… Read more

We started the day early to go for a hike to the Cocora Valley. To go there you need to take one of the colorful jeeps that are going back and forth from the central square. The valley itself was breathtaking with the views we never witnessed before. Green jungle-like hills were surrounded by extremely tall… Read more

It’s the 100th day! It has also proven to be a classic South American bus travel experience with mountain roads and traffic jams which has caused us to arrive at Medellin only after sunset. Fortunately, we were able to immediately witness the good vibes of the city when we saw a crowd dancing salsa in… Read more

Medellin is a city that transformed greatly from its recent tragic past and we were eager to learn more about it during our visit here. In the afternoon we went on a tour to Comuna 13, a neighborhood that just over twenty years ago was one of the most dangerous places on earth now turned into… Read more

Today we continued educating ourselves about the city this time going on the tour in the city center. The city is unique in a way that for ages it was ignored first by the Spanish conquers and later didn’t play any part in the liberation and independence movement thus they feel more like their own… Read more

Early in the morning, we went to the town of Guatapé. Next to it is the rock La Piedra del peño that the locals claim has the best view in the world so we decided to climb it and check it ourselves. The climb was steep but not too hard. At the top, the view wasbeautiful with many lakes and… Read more

We took a flight to Santa Marta, the city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The airport was right on the sea so the views when landing were incredible. Next to the airport, there were yellow taxis and all the drivers with yellow Colombian football t-shirts. It’s not a coincidence as numerous people in the… Read more

For the next 2 days, we’re moving a bit away from the sea deeper into jungle valleys of the north coast. We took a hot collectivo van ride to the town of Minca where we switched it to a moto-taxi to go to our hostel. The moto ride was up the hill totally offroad with us barely… Read more

Minca area which we arrived to is famous for its waterfalls, hikes and many coffee and cacao farms. After having breakfast we started a hike around the area which we soon found out to be too ambitious. In the middle of the hike, we had a relaxing waterfall experience under the freezing water. When we… Read more

In the morning we repeated our 30min moto rides this time downhill to the town of Minca. When 90% of the ride is going through nonstop bumps it again felt more like a separate activity rather than the only transportation available. Before going back to the coast we wanted to go to a cacao farm.… Read more

Today we enjoyed the beaches of Palomino. This area is not famous for its beaches and attracts people more for the general atmosphere. The beaches were narrow but had a nice shade created by the trees which made them very cozy. In the evening strong tropical rain has started which eventually cut the electricity in… Read more

In the morning we had a moto ride and a 20min walk up the hill to participate in a popular activity here in Palomino known as tubing. Basically, you sit on your swim tube (doughnut), open a beer, and float down the river for 1.5h until you reach the sea 🏞. It was very relaxing and… Read more

We had a relaxing day sunbathing, swimming in a pool, and planning our last week of travel. Read more

We packed our bags to go to the city of Cartagena. We haven’t checked how to get there but by this point in the travel, we knew that we were going to get there somehow. We went to the main road in Palomino and caught a bus that goes back to Santa Marta. Before even… Read more

We went out to take a look at the city center of Cartagena. Today was a cloudy day but it was still hot and humid so walking in the streets was still a bit uncomfortable. Cartagena proved to be a pretty coastal city. The sea, bays, boats, and skyscrapers mix with old colonial architecture and… Read more

Colombia has plenty of Caribbean islands and we wanted to visit at least one of them 🏝. We chose one of the most easily reachable but for this reason probably most popular Isla Grande. In the morning we went to a port from which speedboats depart. It had a chaotic atmosphere so it took us asking… Read more

Today was just a calm day in Cartagena spending time in a hostel and walking around the neighborhood. Read more

We were in a touristic mood but the hot weather didn’t allow us to walk too much around the city so we decided to take a red touristic bus around the city which we haven’t done yet on this trip 🚌. In the afternoon we moved into AirBnb that unexpectedly had clear views of the… Read more

For the last day in Cartagena, we enjoyed our terrace with a jacuzzi and in the afternoon went to a Colombian cooking class 👩‍🍳. We learned how to make traditional coca rice, patacones from green bananas and combine them to make delicious seafood meals 😋. The chef also surprised us with his knowledge of Lithuania… Read more

In the morning we had our Covid tests and went to have a dip in the Caribbean sea for the last time 🐳. Afterward, we packed our bags and flew back to Bogota so we would be ready for tomorrow morning’s flight back home. Bogota was cloudy and cold so we calmly spend the last… Read more

We had a nice morning walk to the airport. The surrounding neighborhoods were cozy and safe with many people on bicycles going to their work or studies 🚲. We had two long flights throughout the day and night first to Newark and then to Amsterdam. The flights weren’t too calm with more than a few… Read more

Due to the time zone shift, we had no night. We sat on the plane at the start of the evening and after 7 hours it was the morning in Amsterdam. After 4 months of feeling tall, we got our reality check in the airport as we needed to look up at all the Dutch… Read more

What an amazing trip that was! To finish the trip properly we collected some interesting statistics and facts: Name Occurrences Days 119 Countries 4 – Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Netherlands Countries 1 day trips 2 – Argentina, Paraguay Flights 17 – Vilnius – Amsterdam, Amsterdam – Madrid, Madrid – São Paulo, São Paulo – Rio de… Read more