Before arriving in Thailand, I had come across pictures of a White Temple that I wanted to visit. Upon further research we found that it would make for a perfect day trip. So we set out the next day to the city of Chiang Rai to see what it had to offer.

We began our day with renting a bike for our trip and then stopped at a local cafe for a coffee and pastry. I am not a coffee connoisseur by any means but the beans they use and the way they prepare the coffee here is exactly to my liking. After Columbia, Thailand probably has the best coffee we have had on our travels so far.

Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple)

Our first stop was the Blue temple, it is a Buddhist temple also known as the temple of the dancing tiger. Reconstructed in 2016, it is still considered to be a work in progress. The colour blue, in Buddhism, is associated with purity and wisdom. The blue and gold of the temple stood out against the clouds that day, providing a stunning contrast.

Baan Daam (Black House Museum)

We made our way to the Black House Museum next which is a temple styled museum/art gallery by Thai artist Thawan Duchanee. The grounds consist of buildings constructed of wood and metal, painted in black. There are various displays of art inside the buildings as well as installations on the museum grounds. Personally, the art displays themselves were not to our taste but the museum grounds were soothing.

It started raining whilst were there, so we waited it out a bit before heading for lunch at a roadside restaurant. After a satisfying lunch of chicken and fried rice, and khao soi (considered a Chaing Mai speciality, made of egg noodles and chicken in a coconut curry broth) we searched for what other attractions were nearby.

Doy Din Dang Pottery

Our next stop turned out to be somewhat of a hidden gem. We were looking for a place that was a bit off the beaten track and came across Doy Din Dang pottery. It was exactly the peaceful retreat we were seeking after being on the motorcycle for a good part of the day. It is an art gallery and a pottery studio; an impressive collection of pottery is found through out its tranquil grounds. Luckily, we were the only ones there which allowed us to move around at our own pace and experience some quiet and calm. This stop was completely unplanned but turned out to be our favourite of the day. We indulged in some refreshments at the in house cafe before setting off for our final destination of the trip.

Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)

We decided to make this our last stop of the day because it is a popular destination and can get very crowded during day time; visiting nearer to closing time meant we could evade some of the crowds. It took us close to an hour to reach the temple from the pottery studio. When I first set eyes on the temple my jaw dropped in admiration.

It is imagined by the local artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and is truly eccentric in its essence. Made of plaster and mirrored pieces, on a bright day sunglasses are an absolute must. Inside, the temple is quite small and photography is not allowed. I had read you can find murals of the likes of Batman, Harry Potter and other fictional characters, painted inside the walls of the temple, which makes for both an interesting and captivating choice. However, I completely missed them when I was inside. But I hadn't travelled all this way to let this opportunity slide, so after exiting the temple, I circled back to the entrance and asked staff where I could find the painted murals inside the temple. At first, staff did not appear to understand my question, so I rephrased, this time making it more personable, 'where can I find Harry Potter's painting inside the temple?' I inquired, and they understood immediately! 'Oh, of course, Harry Potter', they smiled, nodding their heads, 'as soon as you enter the temple, just turn around and look behind you'.

There were many other equally fascinating artworks and buildings throughout the grounds of the temple that kept us busy until closing time. Had we booked a day tour we might have been able to cover more sites and attractions that Chiang Rai had to offer, but because we always prefer DIY'ing our trips we got to experience each place at our own pace without hordes of tourists and albeit the long hours on the motorbike it still turned out to be a worthwhile day trip and a dazzling exploration of the Thai art scene.

We are in Bangkok, Thailand! We arrived on the 5th of May, 2023 via London. It was a very long flight. The effects of jet lag were not felt on our first day, but on day two (the day we were meant to check out from our hotel) we were awoken by a knocking sound on our hotel room door. As I arose from my slumber and answered the call, I was greeted by one of the reception staff  to be reminded that it was now 12:30 pm in the afternoon...we had slept through our alarms. Our check out time was 11:00 am and they had given us so much grace time. It was mortifying. I apologised profusely and told the staff we would be at the check out desk in the next 15 minutes. We packed our belongings in a frenzy and rushed downstairs. If it were anywhere else in the world we would have been expected to pay an overstay fee. Still in a daze, we kept apologising and thanking the staff as we left the building. They were all smiles and showed nothing but kindness and understanding. This was just a preview of the warmth of the people of Thailand.

We spent a few days in Bangkok, exploring the city and eating the best food. I would consider it a food lover's paradise, especially if you like spicy food. I was having the time of my life exploring the food culture in Thailand and would go back in a heartbeat just to re-experience that.

It was now time to head to our next chosen destination, the city of Chiang Mai. We bought tickets for the overnight sleeper train departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat station. After a delicious lunch, we called an Uber to take us to the station, but unfortunately got stuck in traffic on the way. We were not anticipating this. There was a chance we could miss our train.

We reached the station with the train due to depart in 10 minutes. I thought we cannot make it and should just give up, but Munis insisted we at least try, so with our 12kg rucksacks in tow, we began to run. We ran through the station like a couple of headless chickens, without any idea where we were headed. In our panic we couldn't even read the signs properly.

A quick google search will tell you that Krung Thep Aphiwat is the largest station in south-east Asia. It has 26 platforms and is absolutely massive, we kept running but somehow our gate still wasn't in sight. Miraculously, one of the station staff recognised our panic and asked if we are heading for the Chiang Mai train? We shouted yes in approval and got directed to the way. As we made our way towards where he was pointing, he simultaneously alerted staff of oncoming passengers. We ran, took an elevator, ran some more and staff at every corner asked us to hurry, 'c'mon, c'mon, c'mon', making sure we did not miss our train.

For me, up until this day Bollywood had romanticised running for trains - a melodious tune plays in the background, the train honks its final horn alerting passengers of its departure. As smoke from the engine fills the sky, the actor emerges from the smoke, in super slow motion. The train doors are starting to close...the scene cuts to the actor running towards the train in all their glory and makes their way onto it with ease - but now I can tell you that, that couldn't be further from the truth. We ran frantically, gasping for air, our running slowed down due to the weight on our backs. It would not have been romantic, even if there was a Shahrukh Khan song playing in the background.

Thanks to the help we received that day we got on the train with seconds to spare. Panting and gasping for air we made our way to our booth and heaved a sigh of relief! We put our luggage down and crashed into our seats, laughing. That was a close call. I later looked at the heart rate chart on my smart watch and saw it had climbed from 84bpm to 134bpm in a matter of minutes.

We settled into our seats and ordered some dinner, a delicious penang curry with rice and a chocolate brownie for dessert. The train itself was clean and very comfortable. Around 08:00 pm, the train staff came and converted our seats into beds and provided fresh sheets and pillows.

In the booth opposite to us, we could see two policemen with a civilian but didn't make much of it. But I soon noticed that the man had his hands cuffed to the seat. We were going to be spending the night, on a train, in the same carriage with someone who was being escorted by police. How many times does one get to experience that? I had had my fair share of excitement for the night. I drew the curtains of my booth and slept like a baby.

Here's us looking back at some of our favourites

Favourite city we visited

Ayesha

''For me it has to be Medellin, Columbia. Maybe it was the friendliness of people or its year round spring weather or purely for sentimental reasons as it was the first city in our travels we spent the longest time in, Medellin will always have a special place in my heart.''

Munis

''Medellin definitely in terms of experience, we spent a lot of time there and were able to experience and develop an impression of the different areas of the city. I feel we missed an opportunity in Buenos Aires due to illness and various reasons.''

Favourite local food restaurant

Ayesha

''Mi Chola in Bolivia was such an amazing experience, I loved the fusion dishes and the imaginative presentation of the food.''

Munis

''For me it was Brisas del Titicaca Asociación Cultural in Lima, Peru. The BBQ lamb was exquisite and probably was one of the best cooked grilled meats I have had to date. Mi Chola was a very nice high-end offering but it was definitely a close second.''

Favourite western-styled restaurant

Ayesha

''Mistral in Bogota. The eggs were cooked to perfection, the pastries some of the best I have had and the coffee, second to none.''

Munis

''A tie between the broaster chicken shop in Sucre near the bus station and Mistral in Bogota that we had on Valentine’s day.''

Favourite tour we took

Munis

''Discounting the big ticket tours I liked the tour of the Contemporary Art Museum in La Paz, which provided a critical re-reading of the art from an indigenous lens.''

Ayesha

''I will have to second you on this one. The big tours were all amazing but considering the smaller ones the tour of the museum was pretty remarkable.''

Favourite accommodation

Ayesha

''We stayed at a lot of good hotels/hostels/Airbnbs during our stay. In terms of comfort and complete experience, I would say the Mashaquipe lodges of the Bolivian Amazon were pretty spectacular especially given the location.''

Munis

''Mashaquippe lodges were indeed the best accommodation we have stayed at. The facilities and comfort were top notch.''

Country with the best street food

Ayesha

''It's a close call between Mexico and Peru but I will have to go with Mexico on this one. The tamarind micheladas and the mango slices with a spicy tajin sauce were so refreshing in the heat and tasted delicious.''

Munis

''Mexico definitely, the food we had near the bus station in Cancun was quite nice and similarly the food from various street vendors across Yucatan was delicious.''

Favourite natural attraction

Munis

''Amazon by a long shot. Being in the rainforest was a dream of mine and finally getting there was surreal. Standing in the dark in the Amazon jungle was the closest to feeling magic. Whilst there can be no direct comparison between Amazon and Iguazu, Iguazu showcased the sheer power of mother earth and it was very much in your face whilst Amazon was much more subtle.''

Ayesha

''For me it has to be the Iguazu waterfalls, in Argentina. It forces you to stop, be present, and is awe-inspiringly beautiful.''

Favourite museum

Munis

''The Ore/Gold Museum in Bogota, it was amazing to see Maya artefacts and mythology. The Shaman section was of great interest to me.''

Ayesha

''Museo del Tesoro, the gemstone museum in Sucre because it was so unexpected, owing to the brilliant guide at the museum. I have no interest in gemstones but left with a new-found appreciation, the Contemporary Art Museum in La Paz, was also incredible.''

Most surprising experience

Ayesha

''The salt flats of Uyuni, mainly because of the absence of emotional reaction it evoked in me which was both puzzling and unsettling. The desolateness of the planes is not something you can gather from pictures.''

Munis

''Salt flats definitely, it was like a video game glitch, a place which defied laws of physics, land of flying mountains, weird rocks and colour vegetation.''

Favourite coffee place

Ayesha

''It was hard to find a bad cup of coffee in Columbia and unsurprisingly the worst one we had was at the airport in Bogota. The best I would have to say was in Salento, at the coffee tour we did. I would also rate Tostao's coffee up there with it because we had it almost everyday.''

Munis

''Agreed, Tostao's coffee was really good. I looked forward to having it every day.''

Favourite hike/trek

Ayesha

''This is a difficult one, because we have done so many amazing hikes on this trip but I would say the Salkantay trek to Macchu Pichhu. Given the amount of days we walked was a first for us especially because I was so skeptical at the start and the way the landscapes changed day by day was quite memorable. I was very proud of us for completing the hike unguided.''

Munis

''Just as a hike I would say Mount Fitzroy because in a single day the scenery changed all the time and it was incredibly beautiful. Reaching the base of Mt Fitzroy and looking at the majestic lakes was the cherry on top. The shadows, location, geography made the whole scene ethereal and I was absolutely mesmerised. Salkantay Trek was for me a different kind of trek and was the lead up to amazing Machu Picchu.''

Most memorable moment

Munis

''Standing in pitch black Amazon with deafening animal/insect sounds looking at  glowing leaves.''

Ayesha

''The soothing symphony of sounds of birds, animals, insects and rain in the Amazonian rainforest.''

Total Distance covered: 8 km loop

Total Duration: 3 hrs 30 mins

Total Ascent: 554m

Difficulty: Easy (some difficulty due to altitude if not acclimatised)

We took all of yesterday to rest from our Salkantay trek and now have another hike to look forward to. We will be walking to Montaña de Colores, or the Rainbow Mountains as they've famously come to be known in English.

The Rainbow Mountains are a vibrant multi coloured mountain located in the south-east of Cusco, Peru. The stunning colours are due to the weather and mineralogy. The mountains are only a recent discovery, unveiled by the melting icecaps in 2012, due to global warming.

We contemplated whether this hike was worth doing given its popularity and the environmental impact of over-tourism, but the fear of missing out on one of the more popular sites in Peru made us give in. Since we were short on time to plan the hike ourselves, we opted to go with a tour; it included a pick-and-drop service, breakfast and lunch.

The bus dropped us at the starting point of the hike, from where it is an hour and a half's walk to the Rainbow Mountains. We were provided with walking poles, (which as we later realised aren't a necessity, as the path is quite flat with only a gentle ascent). Our group guide also gave each one of us some eucalyptus oil, to rub between our palms, the aroma is supposed to help with the altitude.

Since this is a more popular hike, there were many beginner hikers in the group, which is why everyone was encouraged to walk at their own pace. The guide instructed us all to meet him in the parking lot in 4 hours' time.

We started the hike from an elevation of 4600m and finished at 5000m. I was already panting when I got out of the bus and thirty minutes into the hike, I began to struggle with my breathing. The altitude had finally caught up with me! I found myself taking regular breaks as I slowly made my way up.

On the way you see many stalls selling drinks and snacks, we stopped to buy some chocolates and more eucalyptus oil to help us but once I spotted the colourful mountains and the cute llamas, all of my tiredness magically disappeared!

After our fair share of pictures at the destination, I was feeling re-energised and the effects of altitude had started to diminish. Almost all the travel blogs we read in preparation for this hike, mentioned to not miss the spectacle that is the Red Valley. It is only a 30 minute walk from the Rainbow Mountains and is a must visit site of the region. You pay an additional fee to enter the area.

The valley is truly breathtaking, not only is it less crowded, the views are even more spectacular than the Rainbow Mountains in my opinion. The crimson coloured valley stretches for miles and you get to see the towering Mount Ausangate (highest mountain in Peru) in the distance.

Day 112 - The feel good playlist

Today we planned to meet up with one of our friends, Sergio, from the Salkantay trek, who is a Lima local. He suggested we meet at Brisas del Titicaca Asociación Cultural which is a restaurant serving traditional Peruvian cuisine alongside a showcase of live performances of folklore dance and music from different regions of Peru. After every performance, they would invite the audience to join in on the dance floor. Families, couples, older and younger people would all congregate on the dance floor after each performance in a jovial celebration. We were too shy to get up and dance but the infectious energy of the atmosphere certainly got us grooving in our seats.

The food they served was delicious and probably one of the best meals we had in our stay in Peru. We asked Sergio to help us order some traditional dishes and he recommended we get the following (pictured below). We got some Tamalitos verdes (ground corn and spinach which is wrapped in corn husk and boiled until firm in texture), Papa a la huancaína (boiled potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce) and some traditional Peruvian grilled lamb. I am a bit biased when it comes to Pakistani food and would even go as far as to say that few countries do grilled meats as good as they do in Pakistan, but this dish could easily rival any Pakistani barbeque, it was so, so flavourful and literally falling off the bone.

After the show ended we headed back to our Airbnb in Barranco, Lima and enjoyed a beautiful sunset overlooking the sea. Watching the sun dissolve into the blue sea, and reflecting over the tranquillity of nightfall, was a perfect way to end our South American adventure.

Our rucksacks are packed and we will soon be making our way towards South-east Asia to begin the second leg of our trip.

Total distance covered: 84.13 km

Total duration walking: 33 hrs 34 mins

Total days: 5

Total ascent: 3166m

Total descent: 4777m

Difficulty: Moderate - Difficult for seasoned walkers, might be Very Difficult for beginners due to length and altitude of certain areas

We arrived in Peru a few days ago and have been spending time in the UNESCO world heritage city of Cusco/Cuzco. These past few days we have visited multiple attractions of the city, tried Peruvian cuisine and have been familiarising ourselves with the fascinating history of the Incan empire. One of the first sites we visit are the ruins of Sacsayhuaman; resting at an altitude of 3700m, it is the highest point in Cusco. It is a 40 minute walk from the centre with all encompassing views of the city along the way. The ruins of Sacsayhuaman are an impressive feat of engineering. It does not take an interest or understanding of stonework or construction to appreciate the ingenuity of the craft. The massive boulders of limestone are cut to such precision and joined together so tightly that no mortar is required to hold it in place. Although now only 40% of the original structure remains, in its prime it would have served as both a political and military base as well as a juncture for religious ceremonies.

We have tickets to enter Machu Picchu six days from today which means stocking up on stuff for our 5 day long hike including snacks and lunch items, renting trekking poles, loading route maps onto our smart watches and packing our rucksacks. Coincidentally, today marks 100 days of us being on the road and we are now about to embark on the adventure of lifetime. The thought is as nerve-racking as it is exciting.

Day 1 - Cusco to Soraypampa & Lake Humantay

It is the year 1200 AD, a group of settlers arrive in the warm valley of Southern Peru, and the city of Cusco is founded. Their leader calls himself Sapa Inca, which in Quechua translates to 'Lord without equals'. His followers will come to be known as the Incas. Over the years, the Inca tribe expands greatly and in the year 1438 AD, Pachacuti Inca Yapanqui, a conqueror known for his fearlessness and unmatched skill becomes their new leader. Under his reign the Incan empire stretches to the whole of South America. He builds irrigation channels and terraces and the road system flourishes. In 1440 AD he builds the city of Machu Picchu, high up in the clouds. . .

Today we set off on the road towards Machu Picchu via the Salkantay trek. (Thanks to the following blog which inspired us to do this hike unguided and helped us plan our route). To start our journey the plan is to take a collectivo (shared van/taxi) to Challacancha and then complete a 2-hour walk from there to our first stop of the day, Soraypampa. We hail a taxi from the centre of Cusco to the collectivo stand at 6am, hoping to make an early start. The early start because, not only is it good hiking etiquette, but because we are doing the hike unguided and do not have pre-booked accommodation, we need to reach town before the hotels run out of vacancy.

Since collectivos are shared, they only leave once full and it takes its sweet time to fill up this morning. We wait in the van for 2 hours (!) and are finally on the move by 8am, exactly the start to our day we were hoping for.

We drop off most of the passengers on the way and reach Mollepata when the driver offers to drop the remaining bunch of us directly to Soraypampa instead of Challacancha, as we are all doing the unguided Salkantay trek. After some back and forth, we all finally agree and reach Soraypampa by collectivo around 12:00pm.

We immediately begin asking around for rooms, the couple of hotels we find are all fully booked with groups doing organised tours. My worst fears start taking shape, what if we do not find any rooms? We do not even have any camping gear on us! Where will we sleep? Luckily, a short walk from the parking lot we find Soraypampa Hotel, which is available and ends up being our accommodation for the night. The accommodations on this route, offer dinner and breakfast (some, at an additional cost others inclusive) and can do packed lunches for the next day if you pay extra. We are carrying enough cans of tuna, a bottle of pesto, and lots of salty and sweet snacks to keep us energised for the next four days. But just for today we think a warm meal would do us good, so after a quick lunch at a nearby restaurant we go for a side hike as part of the Salkantay trek to Lake Humantay. It is a short but steep hike, and turns out to be harder than we'd expected, mainly due to the altitude. We spend a good hour at the destination, take lots of pictures, enjoy snacks and soak in the views before heading back to our cabin to rest for the night.

Day 2 - The Salkantay Pass

Tupac Inca Yupanqui, Pachacuti's son becomes the emperor after his demise and continues his expansion of the Inca empire. In 1493 AD Huayna Capac, Tupac's son takes the reign and under his rule the Incan empire reaches its peak. In 1500 AD Huayna Capac dies suddenly of a mysterious illness, it is a disease brought on by the European ships that have anchored near South American shores, but the Incas have yet to encounter them. A funerary procession holding Huayna Capac's mummified body makes its way to the city of Cusco. Upon their arrival the once beautiful city is now a calamitous display of death and destruction. The plague has weaved its way to the capital. Without a leader and in the throes of ruination, there is civil unrest and a war breaks out. . .

According to the route map, today will be our longest and most difficult day of hiking, as we are due to make the crossing through the Salkantay pass which lies at an altitude of 4600m. We have coca tea for breakfast to help us with the altitude and set out 06:15am. It is a gentle yet tedious incline towards the pass until at one point the road forks into two, the map we are following is taking us along the trail on the right, the trail on the left is a mule path which we see many guided groups taking.

I am skeptical at first because almost everyone seems to be taking the trail on the left, however, we run into a local on the way who informs us that both paths collide at the end. So we follow his advice and our instincts and soon find out that the incline is much gentler on this path and also much quicker.

After a intense and demanding four hour climb we reach the Abra Salkantay pass, 4630m. It is a spectacular site to behold, the towering mountains in the background provide a picture perfect backdrop. We spend half an hour here immersed in the beauty of our surroundings and replenishing our body with much needed rest and plantain crisps. After this short break we begin our descent towards Chaullay.

The descent is long and exhausting but luckily the weather is amazing and the views make up for all the walking. Thankfully we have our walking poles which our knees thank us for. Once we exit the valley we enter a forested area and the weather begins to get warmer. We arrive at the village of Puente Challuay around 16:00pm and find accommodation at a bed breakfast. It takes us five hours to reach our destination. After dinner and a welcomed cold shower, we call it a night.

Day 3 - Chaullay to Lucmabamba

Huascar Capac, in Cusco, and Athahualpa Capac, in Quito, are two of Huayna Capac's sons who are now fighting over the crown. After several years of war, in 1532 AD Athahualpa's fury proves no match for his half brother and he is crowned the 13th Sapa Inca. Unbeknownst to him the European ships which have landed in South America with far superior technology and weaponry, are already on their way to Cusco, led by Spanish conquistador, Frank Pizzaro. The Inca army which has already been weakened by civil war and disease are easy for the Spaniards to defeat, and in 1532 AD, the same year that Athahualpa is crowned emperor, he is captured by Pizzaro and held for ransom. . .

According to our route map, today looks like it will be an easy day. After breakfast we prepare our lunch sandwiches and leave the accommodation. As soon as we exit town we are faced with a dilemma. The trail splits and we can see two paths, one going through the road and the other 'traditional' route through the jungle. Much to our dismay, we are forced to take the path through the road because a local standing near the jungle entrance advises us not to go from there due to a landslide. We still have our reservations because we see a few folk with a guide entering the area. Nevertheless, we decide to follow the advice and keep walking straight. (Later we overhear a couple of fellow hikers who had taken the jungle route on how they had to traverse their steps back as the landslide made it near impossible to cross the mountain).

Shortly afterwards, it starts to rain and immediately brings back memories of the hike we did in Patagonia when my phone broke down. I realise I do not have a phone, so I toss my worries aside. We could have sat out the rain in a small cafe at one corner of the road, where we see several others take shelter, but we are feeling energised and decide to keep on our feet to finish the day early. The path has minimal ascent, so we keep walking. The rain eventually stops and the sun comes out, we welcome it with open arms. Everything seems to be going fine until we get to a point where we have to cross a small water stream flowing on the side of the mountain, there aren’t any rocks to cross over the stream and no way around as the path is quite narrow, so we just walk through the water in our shoes, only realising later that crossing it barefoot would’ve probably been a better idea. We cross a few more streams and have wet feet for the most part, but the sun is out and our shoes dry quickly. When we come to almost the end of the road, we see another stream, by this time our shoes are completely dry so we decide to cross the flowing water stream barefoot. The cool water and smooth rocks under our feet feel very relaxing. It also gives us a chance to sit down and change into dry socks.

We arrive at Viamonte Eco Lodge around 12:40pm that day. This is one hotel we had read about prior to starting our trek. We were hoping to find accommodation here and we are in luck. Our room is beautiful and our hosts are charming. We arrive during lunch time so after eating our packed lunch of, (you guessed it), tuna and pesto on bread, we head for a coffee tour run by the family in their coffee farm, not far from the lodge.

At the coffee tour, we have the sweetest encounter with a person who works at the farm, who is intrigued by England and the fact that we have travelled from so far. Although he only speaks Spanish and our Spanish is abysmal to say the least, somehow we manage to communicate with each other. We also end up buying a bag of coffee beans for friends back home.

During dinner time, we meet some locals from Lima, who are staying at the same lodge and were also on the bus with us to Soraypampa on the first day. We get lots of local recommendations for places to visit from them and exchange numbers in hopes of meeting again.

Day 4 - Lucmabamba – Llaqtapata – Hidroeléctrica

Athahualpa is executed by the Spanish in 1533 AD. In the years that follow, a puppet king is instated as the ruler and Pizzaro founds the city of Lima, renaming it the capital. After this more and more Spaniards arrive in Peru. In 1537 AD a giant rebellion is led by Manco Inca, Athahualpa's younger brother, who retrieves to the mountains and founds a new capital, Vilcabamba. Pizzaro is killed in this battle. For the next 37 years the Incas fight the Spaniards, until in 1572 AD the last of the Inca emperors is executed signalling the end of the Inca empire. . .

After a delicious breakfast we leave bright and early for our last day of walking. It offers us our first glimpse of Machu Pichu, albeit very tiny.

After the initial zigzaggy ascent towards the ruins of Llaqtapata is over, the remainder of the hike is mostly a descent going through a forested path. The path is steep and is not easy on the knees. It is long and tiring. The warm weather does not help either. We try and distract ourselves along the way with the flora and fauna that we encounter.

At the end of the forest is a sign welcoming you to the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, a short walk from where you are required to sign in a registry. Soon after we are in Hidroelectrica, where the Peru rail, the train carrying day trippers to Machu Picchu runs from. On either side of the rail tracks you will find shops and restaurants, we decide to treat ourselves with some hot food for reaching this milestone in our trek.

After lunch, we start crossing the rail tracks walking towards the hotel we have short-listed. Turns out this is no easy feat by any means. Maybe because the exhaustion from walking for four days is finally settling in, maybe because our bodies know the end is in sight, maybe because there is nothing to see for miles on end except rail tracks, somehow it feels like this walk goes on forever. But, we keep putting one foot in front of the other and finally find our way to hotel Mandor. (In case you are wondering, it is not dangerous or an offence to walk on the rail tracks because not many trains cross during the day. There is also plenty of room to walk on either side of the tracks).

Following advice from the blog, we decide to stay at this hotel and not walk towards the popular destination of Aguascalientes because it is a 30 minute walk to the Machu Picchu entrance gate, which means we can grab our bags from the hotel on the way back to Cusco. The hotel is not the cheapest we have stayed at during this trek and nor the most comfortable, but the hosts are friendly. After a quick shower and dinner we pack for our last day of the Salkantay trek. The thought of what tomorrow may hold is absolutely gripping and I am barely able to catch any sleep.

‌ ‌Day 5 - The ancient city of  Machu Picchu

More than 300 years have passed, it is the year 1911, Harry Bingham, a professor from Yale is searching for Manco Inca's lost city of Vilcabamba and accidentally stumbles upon Machu Picchu. A city that was hidden from the modern world is intact, atop the mountains, a singing testimony of its glorious yet tragic past.

We have tickets to enter the site at 06:00am which is the earliest entry slot. In order to reach the Machu Picchu citadel, you can either take a pre-booked bus or walk 1700 steps up a flight of stairs. Of course, we are walking.

We leave the hotel with our headlights on at 04:00am and reach the entrance gate for our ticket and passport check at 04.30am. At 04.45am they open the gates and start letting people in. We now have the mammoth task of climbing 1700 steps to reach the gate to the citadel. On little to no sleep and in pitch black we slowly make our way up the giant steps. It takes us a total of 40 minutes to complete the feat. The first few hundred steps are the hardest, and I keep thinking to myself, what have we gotten ourselves into but soon the legs get used to putting one foot in front of the other, and climbing becomes a breeze. With almost rhythmic movement we dance our way to the top.

Once at the gates, we undergo another security check, hire a guide (you can find many local guides outside) and enter the site. It is still foggy at 06:15am when we enter but soon the clouds start to disappear and we see Machu Picchu emerging from the fog.

When I first see Machu Picchu, words fail me. I am too moved to comprehend anything. Amidst the crowds that have started to gather and our guide ushering us along, it is impossible to take my eyes off of the citadel. Even when surrounded by people, I can feel my heart beating against my chest, I can hear the sound of my breathing and on this cold, chilly day, I feel a warmth glowing inside of me. All I know is that I am happy to be alive in that moment to witness this spectacle.

I try to picture how Harry Bingham must have felt when he first came upon the ancient city or what was it about Machu Picchu that inspired Ernesto “Che” Guevara to start a revolution.

I try and reflect on my experience of walking through the Salkantay trek over the past four days. Reading about and thinking of the plight of the indigenous Inca people and how bravely they must have fought against the conquistadors, I have felt hurt.

Remembering the impressive Inca ruins and how they have been destroyed by the Spaniards for their own gain, I have felt anger.

Now as I walk through different areas of the citadel and look at the stonework and carved terraces, I feel admiration.

As I listen to our guide narrating accounts of the Inca people, talking about their cultural and religious practices, I feel inspired.

After spending two hours at Machu Picchu absorbing the magic and sharing this experience with Munis, I leave the site feeling grateful.

On our way back to Cusco, we grab our bags from the the lodge, cross the rail tracks again to reach Hidroelectrica from where we are able to book a bus back to Cusco on the spot. The bus ride is the most exhausting part of our entire journey, which is saying something considering we have just walked for five days. The bus goes very fast on narrow irregular roads, I feel nauseous on most bends and try to catch some sleep the rest of the way. It takes us close to 7 hours to reach the city. Once back in Cusco, we check into our hotel, grab dinner and drift off to sleep.

If reading through this blog has piqued your interest even a little bit, I would encourage you to watch the following documentary on YouTube about the Incan Empire.

References:

1. Puente, J (2014, Aug 12). Sacsayhuaman: Ruins of a Magnificent Inca Fortress. https://www.peruforless.com/blog/sacsayhuaman/
2. N.A (2022). Inca Empire: Timeline. https://www.ducksters.com/history/inca/timeline_of_the_inca_empire.php
3. Grover S, Lakasing E. The Incas: a journey through history and spirituality. Br J Gen Pract. 2009 Feb 1;59(559):134–5. doi: 10.3399/bjgp09X395175. PMCID: PMC2629829.
4. 2. MacQuarrie K.  The last days of the Incas. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2007.  [Google Scholar]

Isla del Sol is an island in Lake Titicaca situated on the Bolivia-Peru border. The island along with the lake holds a lot of significance in Tiwanku and Incan cultures, it was a common pilgrimage site for the Incans and according to their mythology this lake was the resting place of sun and the moon.

Compared to other travel destinations in the region Isla del Sol did not offer something dramatic but in my view it was gentle and serene introduction to Incan culture. We did not plan for a hike that day but we did it anyway in scorching heat, we were rewarded with maze like ancient ruins of Chinkana, beautiful vistas of shimmering beaches and quaint scenes of the local people.

We hiked the island end-to-end, taking these pictures and stayed overnight.

The salt flats in Bolivia are probably one of its most unique offerings. We went on a 3 days/ 2 nights tour of the salt flats which we booked through TransAndino a day before the tour left and booked on site after comparing with a few others. Munis' friend from university also joined us on this tour. There were a total of 7 of us in the 4x4 including our amazing guide and driver, Luis, and we couldn't have asked for better company. The three days were packed full of fun, banter and mind bending sites to explore.

Day 1 - Train Cemetery, Colchani, Salt Flats

We met at the TransAndino tour office in Uyuni early morning and left for the train cemetery which was a 30 minute ride away from the the town of Uyuni. It was a collection of old, abandoned trains left to rust in the middle of the dessert, which is now a rather strange but interesting tourist attraction. After exploring the site and unable to resist the urge to climb some of the trains we headed to a nearby salt factory.

Our next stop was the Dakar monument in Colchani, which offered us our first glimpse of the white vista. The monument was erected in the year 2016 to welcome the Dakar rally in Bolivia. There was an area dedicated to flags of different countries, but we could not find a Pakistani flag in the mix. Our guide informed us that we could hang a flag of our country if we were carrying one with us, so for any future visitors, please take a flag of your country.

After some rest and a delicious meal at a restaurant on site, we set off for our most awaited destination of the tour, the actual salt flats. To say I was excited about what was to come next would be an understatement, but I was not prepared for what we were about to witness.

Of course, I had seen many pictures and watched countless videos of people at the salt flats before but never in my wildest imagination had I thought I would be visiting them in person one day. My heart started beating faster as we got nearer and nearer. However, what I saw and felt during our time there was quite unexpected. I was almost taken aback by the lifelessness of the place. The sound of salt crushing beneath my feet felt unnatural. There was the blue sky above and us traversing the soul-less grounds below. I am writing this blogpost in hindsight, but to this day I cannot fully fathom the experience.

Nonetheless, it was a peculiar adventure and we got to take some amazing pictures, thanks to Luis' creativity and photography skills (as you can see below).

During the rainy season the salt grounds become a giant mirror, but the past few days had not seen any rain, there was a collective disappointment amongst us having walked away without experiencing the famed mirror effect of the salt flats so our guide gave us a choice - as per our itinerary, we were supposed to head to the cactus forest but if we as a group were willing to forego that we could go looking for the water, which in the end, we were lucky enough to find (and were the only ones there!). This was truly a mind boggling spectacle and according to Munis, the  mountains in the distance which appeared to be floating seemed like a 'computer glitch', as you can see below.

We soon made our way to view the sunset from a location near our accommodation for the first night, where we enjoyed a lovely spread of drinks and snacks and called it a day.

Day 2 - Llamas, Viscachas and Flamingoes

I did not realise how long you would spend riding in the jeep, purely given the distances between places. So we were up early the next day and hit the road again shortly after breakfast. We reached a beautiful location where we got to see llamas in the wild, needless to say they were as curious to see us as we were them.

We spent a good amount of time admiring the space and soaking in its serenity and were off on the road again when we got a flat tyre! To be fair, being stranded in the middle of nowhere with incredible surroundings and friends did not seem so bad. This was our second flat tyre experience in Bolivia. The first time was only a few days ago, enroute to Sucre, when the bus broke down at midnight on the highway.

Once Luis changed the tyre we were on our way again and stopped for a little picnic lunch where we saw the cutest rock rabbits called Viscacha. They appeared to be a cross between a rabbit and chinchilla given their rabbit like ears and hind legs. These species are native to South America. The rocks where the Viscacha were residing had a unique moss like plant growing on it called Yerata. It grows on altitudes between 3,200 and 4,500 meters and according to our guide, is estimated to grow approximately 1.5 cm per year, many are estimated to be over 3,000 years old!

After a filling lunch of chicken, veggies and pasta, our next stop was the valley of rocks, which was such a dramatic change of scenery from our previous location from this morning. That was one thing I had noticed about Bolivia from the start, the ever-changing landscapes. It really is an underrated travel destination.

The valley of rocks as the name suggests is a valley with different rock formations.

This was a vast area to explore but there were still distances to cover and sites left to see, so we could not spend as much time climbing rocks and boulders as we would have liked. We stayed here for about half an hour before arriving at our next stop Laguna Hedionda, home to thousands of flamingoes.

This was turning out to be a very long day indeed! We headed to the Valle de Rocas after this, home to the famous Arbol de Piedra, a tree-shaped rock in the Siloli dessert.

The next stop for the day was Laguna Colorada, the jaw dropping red lake and breeding ground to thousands of flamingoes. The lake gets its colour from sediments in the water and red algae. The colour can appear more pink or orange-y depending on the light conditions and the time of day you visit. We visited around 1500 hours and it had hues of pink and orange both. It was truly stunning.

We stopped one more time to view the bubbling muds of the Sol de mañana geyser, before calling it a day and what a long day it had been!

Once at the accommodation, Munis complained of feeling under the weather and wanting to rest. We thought it may be tiredness from being on the road for two days and some recuperation will do him good. However, when he refused evening snacks and then also dinner, our antennae went up and we knew something was not right. A few hours after Munis complained of feeling unwell, he had an upset stomach and nausea. We had had our first case of food poisoning of our travels and who knew we were going to be in for a riveting night; Munis can describe the feeling better than I can because I was just a bystander, but without being too graphic lets just say it involved projectile vomiting and sweeping sick off the floorboards of the shared toilet and our bedroom.

Day 3 - Last day and drive back to Uyuni

After a thrilling night Munis woke up feeling a lot better *phew*. The last day did not involve as many activities as the previous two. We stopped maybe a few times, first to explore the Dali mountains, so called because the barren scenery resembles the paintings of Salvador Dali, but we did not get many pictures because a) it was extremely cold, b) we were tired from not getting enough rest last night, and c) Munis being our main photographer wanted to take it easy.

The rest of the drive was spent relaxing and enjoying the scenery pass us by. We made various stops for snacks and then lunch and finally arrived in Uyuni to say our goodbyes.

Perhaps my only qualm would be that the trip was too packed and we did not spend enough time at one site to fully enjoy it, but that's often the case with planned tours like this and it wasn't something one could DIY. Nonetheless, it turned out to be one helluva trip, where we met amazing people and saw the best of what Bolivia has to offer.

After one month we finally said goodbye to Argentina and crossed into Bolivian territory on foot.

10.00 am

Yesterday we took the 3.30pm bus from Salta to La Quiaca. After breakfast this morning, we checked out of the hotel at 10am and headed to the border for immigration to Bolivia. It’s as simple as just walking to the next room in your house. We walked into Bolivia completely missing the migration kiosk, and without getting a stamp on our passports, and had to walk back where staff directed us to the immigration area.

The next task on our agenda was to get our remaining Argentinian pesos exchanged into Bolivianos and find a sim card for Munis (I am still without a phone at this point). We got some money and headed to the town centre of Villazon, which was quiet and the shops were closed mainly due to it being a Sunday but also we were told, by a taxi driver, on account of Fathers Day celebrations in Bolivia.

09:30 am

We also realised that we had gained an hour by crossing into Bolivian territory so it was actually 9.30am now and not 10.30am as our watches were showing us.  We got a taxi to the bus terminal to find out about tickets to Sucre for the night, but because we did not have enough money on us, took a taxi back to the town centre to find an ATM and withdraw cash, got into a taxi again to the bus terminal to buy tickets and leave our luggage and then took the taxi back to the town centre (sadly walking was not an option with our luggage, therefore, the multiple trips!). We still had 10 hours to kill, oh boy.

12:00 pm

We idled away time by walking around, found a sim card for Munis and then sat down for lunch at a local restaurant which seemed quite busy. Here we had our first introduction to Bolivian cuisine. After eating somewhat simple and plain tasting cuisine in Columbia and Argentina, a meal of rotisserie chicken, rice and chips was exactly what our palettes had been craving. If this is what food in Bolivia was going to taste like, I'd be a happy camper! Next we headed to the park to amuse ourselves as nothing else was opened. The weather was sunny but cold, we found a sunny spot where I laid on the park bench, whilst Munis read, and was able to catch some zzzs for about half an hour.

14:00 pm

The coffee craving had kicked in by now and we wanted some place we could sit and use our laptop. According to google, a couple of coffee shops were due to open at 3pm on Sunday so we waited until then in the same spot, however, come 3pm everything remained closed so we got up in search of any place that would serve us hot drinks. Luckily, we found one where I had the largest mug of coffee of my life.

16:00 pm

After coffee we returned to the park again (!) because there was no where else to go. It had started to fill up by now. We got some ice cream, soaked in the remaining sun, called bhai and then started thinking about options for dinner.

18:00 pm

Somehow we made it to this time and sat for a dinner of chicken milanesa and chips and soon afterwards headed to the bus terminal to get our luggage and board the bus which was due to leave at 8 pm.

20:00 pm

We took out our down jackets as it was freezing outside, got on the bus and were quite happy to finally have a home for the night. The bus was comfortable, the seats reclined all the way to the back, what more could we want. On the bus we read for about an hour and finally called it a night.

22:30 pm

I woke up as the bus was stationary, thinking we might be in a queue or traffic jam and hoping we'd be on the move again soon, I closed my eyes, but when I heard commotion outside I peeked out the window and saw the bus driver and a couple of other people standing near the rear wheels with flash lights, it was when the driver turned off the engine that I knew something was amiss. I soon saw one of the guys outside bring out a jack and roll out a tyre. We had a puncture! The number of buses we have taken in our travels in South America is ridiculous, so I guess sooner or later this was bound to happen. But it was only 10.30pm, I was hoping I'd been asleep for much longer. I won't lie, it was quite amusing to be on a bus on the side of the highway in pitch black with two punctured tyres!

00:00 am

We were finally on the move again, it took almost two hours for them to change the two rear tyres of the bus. I fell asleep as soon as the bus started moving again.

When I woke up again it was 07:30 am on March 20, 2023, we had entered the city of Sucre. It was 2 hours later than our initial arrival was planned but gladly we were able to check into our Airbnb early and begin our Bolivian adventure!

If you would like to read about my first impressions of Bolivia you can check out the following post.

Have you ever visited a place and thought to yourself how can this be real? It's a 5D experience yet your brain fails to register the magnanimity of it? Such was our visit of the Iguazu waterfalls. I can only describe it as a dreamscape, no picture or photograph will ever do justice to what you will experience in person when you visit this spectacle. The power and force of nature is on full display, it captivates your attention, and for a moment you forget about everything else that exists in this world.

If there is one place I would describe as heaven on earth, it would be here. The cascading falls against a backdrop of greenery, the sound of gushing water, the mist clouds which spray on you and cools your skin as you get closer and the sun's reflection causing rainbows in every which way you look. The hundreds of butterflies, and the birds flying in and out of the waterfalls adding a dreamlike quality to the scene. How else would you describe it but as surreal?

We spent a total of three days exploring the Iguazu national park (yep, it is massive), two days at the Argentinian side which have 85% of the falls and one day on the Brazilian side - both, equally stunning. The Argentinian falls offer you an up and close view whilst the Brazilian side offers you a panoramic view. The Iguazu National Park on the Argentine side has 6 different circuits to complete. We covered 5 of these on the first day and came back a second day to cover the one remaining circuit. When you visit two consecutive days in a row, you get a 50% discount on the entrance fee on the second day. On the third day we visited the Brazilian side.

DAY 1 - SUPERIOR, LOWER & DEVIL'S THROAT CIRCUITS

We covered the superior circuit, the lower circuit, and the devil's throat circuit on day 1, which can take upto 2 hours to complete individually depending on how fast you walk. Another interesting circuit we completed on this day was the green trail which was a short pleasant nature walk. We also had the chance to take the train from the gargantan station to the devil's throat which is arguably the most famous spot on the falls.

DAY 2 - MACACU TRAIL & DEVIL'S THROAT

Because one day wasn't enough, we came back a second day to see the falls again and also complete the one remaining circuit, which was a jungle walk. We had initially planned to go on a boat tour of the falls where you can get up and close to them however I remember the ticket being too expensive so we decided to skip the boat ride and instead visited the devil's throat, a second time in a row, such was the magic of that place, we couldn't stay away.

DAY 3 - BRAZIL & PARQUE DAS AVES

On the third day we hopped onto a bus from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina to reach Brazil. It took us under an hour to get there. Once at the national park, we bought tickets for the falls and took their shuttle service to the trail head. The Brazilian side has only one circuit and it can take up to 2 hours to complete, where you get treated to a panorama of the falls through out the walk (pictured below). A short walk from the waterfalls park is an avian sanctuary/conservation centre where we saw birds including toucans, macaws, pygmy owls, a harpy eagle and many more. 50% of the birds in this centre have unfortunately been victims of traffic or mistreatment and the park works on rehabilitating and sheltering these birds.

This post is a photo diary from our time in Patagonia. We crossed into Argentinian Patagonia after hiking Torres del Paine in Chile.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Perito Moreno is often touted as one of the few advancing glaciers on the planet, I am unsure about how true that is but it is certainly a sight to behold. The height/depth of the glacier averages around 50-70m, to compare, Minar-e-Pakistan is 70m high.

Los Glaciares National park

Los Glaciares National park is located in the Argentinian Patagonia. We came here after hiking Torres del Paine in Chile and walked the following trails:

• Los Condores - Las Aguillas hike.
• Cerro Torre trail.
• Mount FitzRoy (El Chalten) hike.

Los Condores - Las Aguillas

This one was a fairly easy jaunt and a perfect warm-up to our longer hikes in the upcoming days.

Cerro Torre

I couldn't take pictures from my camera as we encountered constant freezing rain. We were only able to record a few videos on the GoPro and some pictures from my phone. On this hike Ayesha's phone got water-damaged.

FitzRoy Hike

This day hike is the best I have done so far. The weather was perfect, the views were wonderful and changing every hour. The view of the two lakes with Mount Fitzroy were absolutely mesmerising. I was unable to take my eyes off of it. The teal lake directly below the mountain had an ethereal quality due to the light conditions and shadows coming through the adjacent peaks, I was awestruck by it's natural beauty.

Nearing the end of the hike, we also saw Andean condors elegantly flying and doing low-passes around the hikers. They are considered the largest bird of prey in the world.

Distance: 22.32km

Ascent: 1392m

Descent: 1439m

Duration: 8 - 9 hours

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Its the 25th of February, we are in Chilean Patagonia, more precisely in the Torres del Paine national park and are here to do its iconic hike that goes by the same name. This blog will not go into details about the hike itself or how to plan a trip to it because that information is available in countless other places in painstaking detail and they do a much better job of explaining the logistics than I ever could.

This is one of the most popular hikes in the region and gets really busy come mid morning, so following good hiking etiquette and wanting to beat the crowds we decided to start the hike as early as possible and booked the earliest bus which was leaving at 7am from town to drop us off at the trail head. After approximately 2 hours in the bus we arrived at Torres del Paine national park only to find out there is an additional 10 minute bus that needs to be taken to the ‘actual’ trail head. We had to wait in a queue for about 45 minutes to board this next bus.

It was now 9.45am and we were finally starting our hike, not the start we would have wanted given its length of 20km which can take anywhere between 6 – 8 hours to complete and having to catch a return bus to town at 8pm which is the last one. Keeping all this in mind, we were on our way and picked up speed to get some headway. This was hard to do given the amount of people who were starting the hike at the same time and the narrow paths that would only allow one person to pass through. There were also people making their way down, they are the ones who were either camping or staying at a nearby hostel and got to start the hike early to catch the sunrise. That, unfortunately was not an option for us, as
everything was booked months in advance plus it was ridiculously expensive.
The hike started off pretty flat, then came a zigzagged gentle incline and it was mostly up and down from there.

The trail was well marked and you couldn’t be alone for more than a few minutes given its popularity. We rented trekking poles for this hike given its rocky terrain and our knees surely thanked us the next day for it. The path meandered in and out of a forest which gave some much needed shelter from the winds and rain which were a constant during the walk but the hike felt gentle for about 8.5km until we reached the part which would lead us to the viewpoint. The last 1 mile is when things got a bit interesting, let me paint a picture for you.

Imagine having slowly walked uphill for about 3 hours straight in light rain. Now imagine the rain starts to freeze and is almost like tiny hail. Add to that ferocious winds of 60km/hr that blow this freezing rain diagonally in your face so hard they start to feel like tiny pellets...and we are not done yet...you still have to climb an additional 1.3kms on a steep slope, scrambling and moving across rocky terrain fighting the wind that could literally blow you off the face of the hill. All the elements were making themselves heard loud and clear. It felt as if they almost didn’t want us to be there and yet we put one step in front of the other to slowly make our way to the mirador. At one point I wondered whether the name torres del paine translates in English into ‘towers of pain’, given how miserable I was feeling.

The torres del paine viewpoint offers views of the iconic granite towers and a lake. Given the weather we could not see much of the towers and could barely stay to enjoy the scenery or take pictures because it was freezing cold. After 15 minutes at the lake, a couple of clicks on the camera, and a quick snack we started making our way back down but as soon as we started our descent the sky miraculously cleared, the sun came out and lo and behold you had full view of the three majestic towers in plain sight! No longer obscured by clouds or rain (typical, isn’t it?).

For a moment we considered going back to the viewpoint to take some nicer pictures, but given how cold we were and also lacking a bit in energy we decided to continue our descent which were the longest 4 hours of my life! Honestly, it kept going on and on and on. We couldn’t stop to enjoy the scenery on the way back either given our bus was to leave the Park entrance at 8pm. So there was the added time pressure. We eventually did get to the park entrance with two hours to spare which we spent sat out in the cold waiting for our bus with countless others. From there it was an additional 2 hours until we would reach town and eventually our accommodation, where a hot shower was awaiting us.

Once back at the hostel, we ordered some vegetarian pizza (which was quite terrible) and because pizza wasn't enough, cooked some packet ramen (which was quite bland) and even though the meals themselves were disappointing and the weather hadn't been the best, I was not going to let it ruin my mood and the incredible day I had just had.

...quite literally! We are in the southern most city in the world, Ushuaia, which is the last town before Antarctica (it's distance from London 13,361 km and from Pakistan 15,705 km).

🐧 Penguin Island Tour

2.5hrs from Ushuaia is Isla Martillo, where you will find colonies of penguins. Only 20 people are allowed to be on the island at one time. We booked our tour with Pira Tours and boarded a jeep that drove us to Haberton Ranch from where it was a short boat ride to Isla Martillo.

Before we got off the boat our driver instructed everyone 'control your emotions' on the island. This announcement was followed by a collective laughter but it was only when I set foot on the island did I understand what he had meant. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of joy I have rarely experienced before. Although I have seen penguins in captivity previously, seeing them in their natural habitat was very, very surreal. It made me question the morality and value of zoos and whether they do more harm than good.

We saw two types of penguin colonies on the island; gentoo penguins stay on the island throughout the year, whereas magellanic penguins stay for only six months. They breed with the same partner year after year and migrate to the North during winters after the breeding season is over.

We walked on the island for about an hour, learning about their nesting times and the lives the penguins lived on the island.

Day 53 - Hike to Laguna Esmeralda

On our second day, we decided to do a trek of Lake Esmeralda, probably one of the more popular walks near Ushuaia. It is a 3-4 hour long round trip along a boggy terrain to beautiful views of the laguna.

The blogs we read as preparation, talked about peat moss bog and how wellies or gore tex shoes were a must, because we did not have any, we hired some for $3000 Argentinian pesos/person and took the 10am bus to the entrance of the hike (30 mins from Ushuaia). However, to our surprise there is now a boarded walk where you will encounter the boggy terrain so you need not hire any boots.

The walk was fairly easy and the views were beautiful. It was however windy in sections. It started snowing once we reached the lake but we still managed to get some nice pictures. We packed a delicious lunch that we'd prepare the night before. Our favourite lunch to pack for walks these days is crusty bread with basil pesto and tuna in olive oil, any crunchy veg like onions or celery are a plus.  

By the time we finished the walk we were so cold that all I could think of
was a cup of hot chocolate. Once back in Ushuaia we were waiting for the boots rental guy to collect his boots, he arrived shortly and handed us two free vouchers for hot chocolate. I couldn't believe my luck! We told him he'd read our minds, thanked him profusely and went to enjoy our delicious cups of hot chocolate.

When we arrived in Salento, Colombia on 12th February 2023, it appeared to be quite the tourist hotspot, a tiny town popular for its coffee plantations, wildlife and wax palm trees. Colourful buildings and craft shops lined Calle Real, a popular street of the town. Having only two days in this town we decided to divide our days between hiking to the famous Cocora valley and visiting a coffee plantation.

Cocora valley is famous for its wax palm trees which are considered vulnerable. They are the tallest palms in the world and can grow up to be 200 feet tall in an altitude of 2000-3000m above sea level providing home to many species of birds. We jumped in an early morning jeep from Salento, which took us to the entrance of the trail-head. Here you can choose to do the wax palm route which will take about 30 minutes and takes you directly to the viewpoint or do the longer classic route which is a 5 hour hike through the forest.

We decided to take the longer route which took us through mesmerising landscapes eventually ending in Valle de Cocora where you can see the tallest palms in the world towering through the clouds. The palms are spectacular and unlike anything you have ever seen before, but it’s the walk towards them that I cherished more. The ever changing landscape takes you through flat lands, hills, and the forest. You walk, you scramble, jump across small streams, cross suspension bridges, climb steps, all the while the low hanging clouds add a dreamlike quality to the journey. Half way across our walk we came across a man walking in the opposite direction smiling to himself and appearing in awe, so perfectly mirroring our own emotions in that moment.

Day 44 - Coffee Plantations Tour

Columbia is the third largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil and Ethiopia. After having such excellent coffee in Columbia during our stay we couldn't have left without going on at least one coffee tour. So, on our last day in Salento we went on a coffee tour at The Plantation House with Don Eduardo. A family owned coffee farm with tours offered in English and Spanish two times a day at 9am and 2pm.  The tour starts off with going into details of the life cycle of the coffee bean and then a walk in the coffee plantation where you get to pick the coffee cherries, see how the beans are dried, ground and, roasted and end the tour with a delicious cup of coffee.

Some interesting facts we learnt during our tour:

• Most coffee is grown at an altitude of 1200-1600m
• The coffee plants can grow up to be 10m tall and are usually planted 2-3 metres apart. The plants prefer shade so other trees such as banana or apple are usually planted with the plantations offering them shade.
• Coffee tends to ripen in the rain and is hand picked during the wet season.
• There are over 100 types of Arabica coffee beans.
• In Colombia coffee is graded on size of bean, therefore the bigger the bean the better the coffee is considered to be.
• There are 30,000 coffee farms in Columbia and farms are generally 2 - 3 hectares wide.
• It takes 9 months from when the plant flowers to when the coffee cherry is picked. The cherries are usually red and yellow in colour.
• The type of coffee produced in Colombia is Arabica. Robusta is more common in Ethiopia and Southeast Asia.

The tour was informative and a fun learning experience for us made all the more exciting by the presence of Don Eduardo's friendly dogs. It made us think of where our coffee comes from and how to spot a good type. We ended the tour with a cup of delicious coffee that strangely had a tea-like quality to it. A perfect ending to our Colombian adventure.

Amazon river and the forest

I feel, visiting the Amazon has been one of the most stimulating places in our journey which has etched an indelible mark on my mind.

We visited the region in Colombia. Before researching the trip, I had always thought that the Amazon rainforest exclusively existed in Brazil but in fact it is shared by Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. Whilst no two rivers are the same, the Amazon is a phenomenon on it’s own. The river level changes drastically by 9 metres (30 ft) between the dry and wet seasons. It’s water discharge is at least 5 times that of any other river in the world, enough to fill 83 Olympic-sized pools every second! Interestingly, there is not a single bridge over it. The Amazon river, it’s countless tributaries and the surrounding rainforest is home to many peoples and cultures, it can also be very remote in places, having some of the last un-contacted tribes of the world.

Having grown up watching documentaries about the river, it was an absolute delight to see it in person when we reached Leticia, the gateway city to Amazon in southern Colombia. My excitement knew no bounds when we finally embarked on a boat towards our destination, the remote village of San Martin in a protected national park of Amacayacu. The first thing I noticed was the sheer width of the Amazon river, it took over all the horizon, no wonder it’s called ‘Brother of the sea’ in Brazil. It felt unreal when this water filled horizon now changed into towers of dense trees on both sides, as we took a turn into ‘Rio Amacayacu’, a smaller river flowing into the Amazon. The river was calm and the awesome green-ness of the surrounding forest had cast it’s tinge on where ever I set my eyes. Ayesha and myself were not able to stop smiling throughout this journey of about an hour, it felt as if we were living inside a BBC documentary.

After settling down a bit in the village we visited the forest twice, first in the day and then in the night. The forest is classified as primary and secondary, the difference between the two being very stark. On our jungle trek we encountered the secondary forest first which means that the land has been modified by humans, in our case the villagers had their plantations of Yuca and Plantains.

Soon, we entered the primary forest where the scene changes dramatically; the tree canopy closes in, not letting much light in, the sheer density of plant life increases and almost hugs you. The realisation of being in a place which has been untouched was sharp and almost emotional, realising that this place has existed for millenniums and maybe this is like visiting a primeval version of Earth.

Don Eusabio, our guide showed us:

• Fruits like cacao beans, and a sugar-cane like plant, which we also tried.
• Plants used for medicinal purposes for ailments.
• Fruits, seeds and tree bark which can be used for colouring and creative purposes.
• Trees that are used for constructing houses.
• Insects, spotted monkeys, identified different birds through their calls.

Being the world’s most biodiverse place, the Amazon forest was full of life but spotting animals is no easy task in a such a dense forest.

Whilst hiking in the day was spectacular, the night hike we did in the jungle was something else. We equipped ourselves with head lamps and marched towards the primary jungle in pitch black.

There are moments in life where extreme emotions make thinking seemingly so loud that one is afraid that somebody else might hear them and in these moments sometimes you learn a lot about yourself. I like to think I am calm and rational most of the times but in this moment I was not able shake of the idea that we might become victims of a jaguar attack. My mind was in two: my primal instinct of being afraid of the darkness, at odds with my rational brain. The jaguar is the apex predator in the Amazon and has one of the most powerful bites of all big cats, but it is also one of the most elusive creatures in the Amazon. I had to remind myself that jaguars don’t prey on humans and in all of recorded history there has only been one fatal attack. Our guide who has spent all his life in the area has only seen them twice, that’s how well-hidden they are. Ultimately, the rational part of my mind won and I was able to calm down. All of these thoughts and the internal infighting lasting but a mere thirty seconds.

Whilst moving towards the jungle, I was noticing tiny reflections carpeted on the ground, like small gems almost. Upon further inspection I realised that these were actually spider eyes. I am usually averse to insect life but I felt strangely calm in the forest despite being absolutely surrounded by them. Also, contrary to what one might think, the jungle was deafeningly loud at night, insects, frogs, birds and other nocturnal animals were out and about singing their songs.

One of the most magical experiences which we had during that night was when we were asked by our guide to switch off our head lamps and then asked us to observe glowing leaves and tree bark. Standing in the pristine Amazon rainforest, in pitch black surrounded by this abundance of weird and wonderful life-forms, I felt a mix of emotions of awe, contentedness and unity with Earth.

Spirit of the Forest

Being on the river and in the forest, I felt both had an incredible feminine energy, the forest much more so. The forest gives shelter, nourishment, medicine and creative tools to humans and also does not discriminate but provides for all insects, animals, plants and creatures unconditionally much like a mother does. Overwhelmingly, the forest just gives and gives. It’s no wonder we refer to nature as female (Mother-nature, Pachamama, Gaia etc). Being in the jungle I was able to really appreciate that.

Junglee Khayalaat (Wild Thoughts)

To provide context, San Martin is populated by ‘Ticuna’ people and inhabitants of this place wear western clothes and are Catholic since 1970s, there are also villages and settlements which still follow Shamanism/Animism. I wondered how people of my own culture (Urdu-speaking/Pakistani/North-Indian) would refer to them and I think they would definitely term them as junglee (wild), it’s connotation is overwhelmingly negative and is used as an insult. My point of view is that we look down upon these people and consider them uncivilised and beneath us but in fact these junglee people can teach us a lot and we need to learn from their ways. These are the people who live in harmony with the environment, taking only what is required from the nature unlike us who greedily hoard. These people are the guardians and protectors of forests of the world standing against the ravenous engine of capitalism.

In contrast, we, the civilised people, live in jungles of the concrete kind. Away from nature, the place which we all rely on for the oxygen we breath, the food we eat. We have forgotten what living in harmony is. In my humble opinion, for creating a sustainable future for the world, we need to look towards these junglee people on how to strike a balance between living in the modern life and being in harmony with nature. I feel, we, as humans fundamentally do not need a lot to survive, and in our modern lives we are much too intertwined with our made-up playthings instead of being close to the natural world.

I strongly feel, we should look at how we use language and modify it according to the needs of the day to advance it, in this case we can see junglee is a rather outdated and elitist term loaded with a sense of superiority and entitlement.

After months of speculation and ardently checking the news and traveller groups on the unfolding political situation, two days ago we crossed the Bolivian border to make it to Peru. We are currently in Cusco and getting ready for the next few days of our journey, nonetheless today I could not help but reflect on the last 21 days we spent in the wonderful country that is Bolivia and would like to share some of those reflections with you.

We arrived in Sucre, Bolivia on the 19.03.2023. It sits on an altitude of 2700m and is referred to as the White City given its colonial architecture and cobbled streets. The white buildings against the bluest of the blue skies give the city a pristine quality.

One thing that caught my eye immediately as I strolled around, besides the indigenous population, were the amount of women in the workforce. You will see women hawkers, women cashiers, women in bakeries, supermarkets, juicerias, parlours, in restaurants, cafes, road side markets, police, as gardeners. Everywhere you see more and more women and girls. We went to a central market selling fresh produce and goods and all of the stalls were run exclusively by women vendors. As I walked into the market I felt a sense of calm and a feeling of security gripped me, and I wondered why? I then realised it was because there were women all around me. Even as they called out to me to come visit their stall or taste the fruit they were selling or eat at their restaurant I couldn’t help but smile. They had a gentle way of calling as well, smiling and waving at you and at no point did I feel harassed or felt I wanted to get away as I have had in some cities before. I stood in the middle of the market foolishly smiling at the vendors around me and could not help but sing to myself:

'Who run the world? Girls! Who run the world? Girls!'

Well, they certainly seem to do in Sucre :)

I wanted to add a disclaimer at the end of today's post. When we first arrived in Cusco, we saw many street vendors walking around with baby alpacas, asking for a small fee to take a picture with the animal. I could not resist their cuteness and paid to pose for a picture with the innocent animal, a decision which I later regretted when I found out that these baby alpacas are separated from their mothers when young and mistreated. Their place is in the mountains with their mothers and not being forced to roam the streets of a city. Please be a responsible tourist and say no to such practices.