The world is our oyster

Greg & Nicky's travel blog

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Country #15

We decided to visit Ecuador on our trip for one reason - to visit the famous Galápagos Islands! As we got off the plane from the mainland, we knew this was going to be what we expected - bright blue skies, vast volcanic landscapes and glistening, turquoise water. We had heard lots about the wildlife here and were looking forward to seeing what rare species of animals we could find.

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☑️ Country #14

Peru threw up a few challenging situations for us but it was an amazing country to visit. It is full of diverse adventures - a huge lake, a canyon, more of the Andes, Inca ruins, a desert oasis and a capital city on the coast! The food was tasty here - we enjoyed lots of fresh fish and were pleasantly surprised by how good the meals were on the various tours we did. After this, we were on the last stop on our adventure - the Galápagos Islands.

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Lima Even though there was no running water for the first 24 hours of our visit to the capital, we still enjoyed exploring this diverse city. We strolled around the streets admiring the brightly coloured colonial government buildings and interesting graffiti, and took advantage of our last chance to eat ceviche and drink pisco sours! 

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Huacachina (waka-cheena) One of the most surreal destinations on our trip brought us to this real life oasis which we just had to see for ourselves! We booked onto a open jeep safari which took us deep into the sand dunes. It was great fun sitting in the front and we got to have a go at sand surfing and witness a perfect sunset. 

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Nazca We stopped very briefly here to do the quick 30 minute plane ride over the desert to see the famous Nazca Lines. We boarded the six seater plane and were soon wobbling around in the air! The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs etched into the desert sands which show different figures, including a spider, a monkey and various birds. Greg got a bit dizzy taking the photos but it was a great sight and definitely worth it!

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Machu Picchu Such a magical place! After waking up at 3am and being the first in line to go through the gates when the park opened, we were exhausted but extremely excited for the finale of our four day trek! Finally, at 6am, we climbed the very steep monkey steps to the sun gate and caught our first glimpse of an empty Machu Picchu through the clouds - an incredible sight. After lots of photos, we carried on the long walk down to the ruins. Once we reached the gates, we were finally able to put our bags into storage for the day - our shoulders were in pain! We spent the rest of the day exploring Machu Picchu and learning all about the history of the Incas. When we returned to Cusco and finally had a warm shower, we slept extremely well! One of the highlights of our trip and 100% worth the challenge!

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Inca Trail We were so glad that we decided to trek the Inca Trail - it was a huge challenge for both of us but it was definitely worth it for the amazing views. We walked 45km over four days carrying 10kg - we were aching so much when we reached Machu Picchu. The first day of the trek started quite flat and was relatively easy - it was good to get to know the others in our group and start to learn about the Incas and the many buildings dotted along the way. However, the second day was a lot tougher! Most of the trekking was uphill which is extremely tough when walking at over 3000m above sea level! The hardest part was walking uphill to the highest part of the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass, over 4000m above sea level! The downhill part wasn’t much easier but it meant we were getting lower. Day three was the longest day, 16km, starting at 5:30am. The steps on the trail were huge and made it quite challenging to go up and down comfortably! We finally reached our last camp site before dark and relaxed with a freezing cold wash in the river!

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Cusco After spending a night recovering from our trek, we made our way further north to the gateway of the Inca Trail. We spent a few days wandering around this lovely city relaxing before the main event of Peru, the Inca Trail trek! We had a lovely, but painful, massage, drank lots of tasty coffees and enjoyed watching the locals walk around with their alpacas on leads!

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Colca Canyon Leaving from Arequipa, we went on a two day, one night trek into the canyon - the second deepest in the world. The first day was a tough, 16km hike downhill and then back up to the top of the canyon early the next morning. We slept in an oasis at the bottom of the canyon and had to leave our beds to find other accommodation at midnight as there were rocks falling onto the roof - a very surreal experience! We were really lucky to see a huge condor up close and the views of the canyon were incredible. After not exercising for over six months, our muscles were aching but it was a great warm up for our Inca Trail trek a few days later!

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Arequipa We didn't spend long here but enjoyed wandering around the cobbled streets and exploring the various local markets.

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Lake Titicaca Our first stop here was this huge lake in between Bolivia and Peru and we could definitely tell we were at altitude again - we were freezing! The lake is 8400 square km and is 3800m above sea level which made it quite hard to climb the huge Inca stairs on Isla Del Sol. We caught a boat over to this island which took nearly two hours - the lake was huge but we had great views of it from the top.

[moksaryan]

Country #14

We crossed into Peru at Lake Titicaca which gave us incredible views of this huge lake and the surrounding countryside. Peru was cold compared to Brazil - we were nearly 4,000m above sea level and it was hard going from wearing our swimwear all day to wearing a woolly hat and gloves in the space of two days! We were looking forward to one of the highlights of our South America trip and had lots of other exciting things planned for our time here. Let's hope Peru lives up to expectations!

[moksaryan]

☑️ Country #13

What an amazing time of year to visit this country - the Brazilian people certainly know how to party. We had a vibrant, fun-filled couple of weeks here and the steak was as delicious as expected. We only had the chance to visit four different places in this huge country and we will definitely be coming back one day to see everything else it has to offer.

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Ilha Grande The perfect place to come to relax after lots of partying and exploring in Rio. The three of us had to catch a boat over from the mainland and there are no cars on the island at all which was a different experience! We spent one day relaxing on Lopes Mendez beach, which was beautiful and the sea was just the right temperature after sunbathing for a while. The next day, we boarded a speed boat to visit a few of the other paradise islands and their stunning beaches. Ilha Grande was refreshing break after the busyness of the cities here.

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A visit to the Sambadrome during Carnaval - an amazing experience!

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Enjoying the carnaval atmosphere at Copacabana!

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Iguaçu falls Wow, these waterfalls are amazing - we can definitely see why they are one of the seven natural wonders of the world! On our first day here, we went over the border to explore the views from the Argentinian side. It was extremely hot, but it was amazing to see some of the 275 waterfalls here up close. We took our time walking around the lower trails - seeng the water coming down towards us was spectacular, then we walked along the platforms on the upper trails and spent ages staring at the water falling over the brink. We took hundreds of photos between us! The next day, we went to see the Brazilian side. The trails here were a lot shorter but there were wooden platforms jetting out right into the waterfalls. The feeling of getting right in to the falls and feeling the spray of water was really refreshing, especially in the heat. A definite must see when travelling to Brazil!