Where I rest my head: Sur de America

As I prepare to depart South America after 3+ months, I can't help but feel bittersweet that the adventure is coming to an end. However, I am constantly reflecting on the amazing experiences, languages heard & learned, sights seen and friendships formed. Although, I've never been a complete homebody, one of the most challenging aspects of my trip has certainly been not having a home per say...but rather the clothes/things on my back (quite literally) and the excitement of finding home in the jungle, beach, mountains, desert, farm and city. It's also been some of the best parts of the trip as there has been such a variety of places I've stayed and the people, scenery and adventures at these places are what I will remember most and what has made each place feel like home if only for a few hours. Thus, a brief reflection on the final month of travel and "where I rest my head"....
note: some of the images are taken from the internet

Peru
Lima: Elio's apartment
Graciously, a friend of a friend let Sabrina and I crash at his place the night before we departed for Cusco. Located in the posh area of Miraflores, it was amazing to have our own apartment to call home for 24 hours.

Cusco: Loki Hostel, 2 nights before and after the Inca Trail Trek

Great staff, but more ideal for the traveler who wants to party until all hours of the night! The restaurant and bar on site and volunteer opportunities in the community are definitely highlights.

Inca Trail: Tent

 

Sleeping bags and camping tents were our home for 3 nights along the Inca Trail. Not ideal during a thunderstorm, but certainly an adventure!




Aguascalientes: Hotel Presidente
This simple hotel proved to be heaven after our 4-day Machu Picchu trek. Hot showers and a full breakfast were a plus!

  

Puno: Camino Real Hotel

Another simple hotel booked through our tour company, this was conveniently located to the main pedestrian street of Puno where the shops and restaurants were concentrated.










Amantani: Lucy's house
On the island of Amantani in the middle of Lake Titicaca, Sabrina and I huddled for warmth under massive blankets in the spare bedroom of our host, Lucy. A true Peru experience.

Brazil
Rio de Janeiro: Atlantis Copacabana Hotel
In Rio, I stayed with Erika and Ashley at this centrally located hotel steps from the beach and on the border of Ipanema and Copacabana. Although the staff wasn't the most helpful, the hotel was more than adequate and a treat for me, the backpacker!

Sao Paulo: I camped out for the night in my friend Paul's amazing apartment in the Campo Bello neighborhood. Such a treat and awesome to have a local host for the weekend. Too bad I didn't get any pictures!

Manaus: Gol Backpackers

This quaint hostel was an ideal location just outside the main square of Manaus and perfect spot for getting some rest before my tour in the Amazon.






Amazon: For two nights, I slept in one of the huts on the lodge property. My favorite part was the oversize hammock in the back, perfect for a siesta!

On the last night in the jungle, we camped outside in hammocks hung across a shelter, a little scary, but totally worth it.













Bolivia
La Paz: Hostal Estrella Andina

This was probably one of my favorite parts of my 24 hours in La Paz. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the city, this hostal was perfection. My new friend Tonya and I had an amazing private room and bathroom with the most comfortable beds I've experienced on the road.









Overnight bus to Uyuni

Following a packed 24 hours in La Paz, we boarded our 10-hour Todo Turismo bus for Uyuni to begin the Salar de Uyuni tour the following day. The bus company is new in Bolivia and is in answer to the terrible bus conditions that once existed, it's comparable to other coach bus companies in South America and was completely comfortable for the overnight ride....driving through death road on the other hand, not quite as comfortable...



Salar de Uyuni 3-day tour: Many people complain about the shelter conditions during the 3-day, 2-night tour of the Salar de Uyuni, but I found our company, Red Planet, to provide us with totally adequate accomodations, in fact more than comfortable.

Night 1

Night 2

Chile
San Pedro de Atacama: Backpackers Hostel
The Backpackers hostel just outside San Pedro's main town square was super chill and a great atmosphere for our 2 nights we stayed. Complete with a fire pit and hammocks for relaxing, the only downside was the cold showers and lack of water late at night.

Overnight bus to La Serena: we treated ourselves to Cama for the 16 hour ride, sooo comfortable!

La Serena: Hostal El Arbol
One of my favorite places of the whole trip. We only found and booked it the night before and it turned out to be a fabulous little B&B run by the nicest Chilean mother and her daughters. All the travelers were super nice and the rooms and beds were really comfortable, we contemplated staying longer as many of the others had...

Overnight bus to Santiago: Since the ride was only 6-7 hours, we took semi-cama (aka not a full recline seat) so it wasn't quite as comfortable, but totally doable for the quick overnight trip

Catemu: Eka Chakra Farm

During my stay at the Hare Krishna farm, Eka Chakra I was put up in a super comfortable room in one of the guest huts. Aside from the near freezing temperatures at night, it was super comfortable and very tranquilo

Santiago: Hostal Luna Calypso
For our first night back in Santiago, we stayed at this quaint hostal with a super-friendly staff. Located in the Providencia neighborhood, it was a great location to get situated for the weekend adventure with my friend Melanie.

Following our night in the hostel, we moved in to a friend's apartment in the Vitacura neighborhood for the weekend. The view from Andres' balcony was breathtaking and it was so nice to have an awesome local host in the city.

views of the city from Vitacura

For my final week in Santiago, I was taking additional classes at Ecela, so I moved back in with my host family that I had stayed with in February. It was nice to be back to a place I felt like I knew and spend my final days in a home. I am also pleased to announce that I had my first dream in "Spanglish" here during this week, certainly a monumental occasion to end the journey!

Adventures in the Amazon

Following big city life in Brasil, I ventured to a more tranquilo atmosphere in the heart of the Amazon jungle. In order to get to the more remote areas of the jungle and river, most tours depart out of Manaus, the capital city in the Amazonas region of Brasil, which to be honest wasn´t anything spectacular to write home about, but I had a clean, nice hostel and time to re-gather my things before departing to the middle of the jungle. I had booked a 4-day tour with Amazon Brazil Jungle Tours, which I would highly recommend. It took two boats to get from Manaus to the remote lodge I stayed at on the Rio Juma.

Boat 1 from Manaus

Boat departing second stop

arriving at the lodge

The lodging was basic; there were about 6 huts for guests, the kitchen/dining hut and the family´s home, but it was perfection. Right on the river, hammocks in every hut and even running water which I wasn´t prepared for! All our meals were eaten together in the dining area and each day was filled with amazing guided adventures via canoe through the river animal watching and enjoying the wonder that is mother nature untouched. I was blown away by the peacefulness and beauty, I don´t think I ever been somewhere quite so serene. In the evenings we fished, searched for caymans and even camped in hammocks one night in another area of the jungle away from the lodge. It was a spectacular 4 days, I think I will remember watching dolphins playing as the sun set into a picturesque pink sky for the rest of my life!

Canoing through the jungle

I caught one!

playing with caymans at night

canoeing at sunset

camping in the jungle

Sun and Fun in the big cities of Brasil

Even after an exhausting overnight of planes, there was no controlling the excitement I had upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. For starters, its Brasil (en español)...and the beach...and I was looking forward to some relaxing fun in the sun after chilly Peru, secondly I had two amazing friends, Erika and Ashley, who had traveled from the States for vacation and to meet up with me along my journey. 


Our hotel, conveniently located on the border of copacabana and ipanema was steps from the beach and a total luxury for me after spending a lot of time most recently in hostels and tents! We started our day at the beach, of course, and enjoyed some quality time catching up in the sun amidst the constant barage of vendors selling everything from bikini tops to shrimp on a stick. Later that evening, we got changed and headed out on the town. We started the night walking around the funky, bohemian area of Lapa known for great bars and clubs. We grabbed our first of many caipiriñas at a bar with outside seating and people watched as the cachaza (local rum) slowly started to take affect. Those drinks do not mess around... After staying to hear some live music, we left to get dinner at one of the famous, and probably most eccentric, steakhouses. Although the food was beyond delicious (I stuck with seafood and the salad bar) the amount was actually quite sickening and we all felt a bit ill as we made our way out of the ornate seashell-adorned resto and back to the hotel, there was no chance anyone could drink or go out after that. Instead, we vowed that was the last churrascaria of the trip and got ourselves up early the next morning for a jam packed day of tourist sightseeing. 

Copacabana Beach

Crazy decor in the churrascaria

First on our list was Christo, probably the most famous monument in Rio, and one most people associate with the city. It really is cool that you can see it from almost any point in the city and once we got to the top and could see up close the actual size, it was truly magnficent. 

Some spectacular views of Rio

Christo up close

After taking our share of gorgeous vista pictures from the top, we headed back towards Copacabana where we were to begin a tour with a group to see some of the Favelas of Rio. This might have been my favorite part of the trip as it was most interesting to me in terms of the history and economy of Rio. Essentially, the favelas are shanty towns, and used to be solely illegal settlements, in and around Rio inhabited by about 1/3 of the population. What was especially interesting on our tour, was that in the 1980´s a luxury Sheraton hotel was built right at the edge of one of the largest favelas in Rio, which we visited. This hotel, which pictured the favela in the background of the image of the hotel it used for publicity, created a revolution of sorts as it represented a change in the way the legal citizens of Rio regarded the illegal settlements and created awareness about them. The history of the favelas is quite interesting and of course has its roots in illegal activity and poverty, you can find more detail here, however, some of the favelas have the best views in all of Rio and have created sustainable businesses, schools and a better quality of life. Our tour`s fees actually supported an NGO responsible for improving living conditions and funding a school for children in one of the favelas we visited, so although parts of the tour felt odd to essentially be staring at impoverished people and their homes, at least proceeds were helping children in the community. I would definitely recommend those visiting Rio to take a similar tour or take some time to research more about these communities as I found the whole concept and history really fascinating. 

views from the streets

A few from atop one of the Favelas

The following day we took a beautiful walk around the gigantic Jardim Botanico (botanical gardens) and later that afternoon we went to the other most famous tourist destination, Sugar Loaf, a huge mountain with possibly the best views I have ever seen of any city. We stayed for sunset to capture the best pictures and then got ourselves ready for a final night on the town. Following dinner, we went to a famous Samba bar where we listened to the live band and even tried a bit ourselves. Let me just say, Brazilians are quite passionate on the dance floor, but it was fun to get the "full experience" with some new male friends....

Jardim Botanico

Sugar Loaf from the gondola

beautiful sunset view

Samba bar

Our last day, we ventured over to Ipanema beach, which was of course beautiful and a bit more tranquilo than Copacabana. Following a day in the sun and a quick break for a delicious Acai treat, I headed to the bus station to make my way to Sao Paolo. 

Although the bus is only supposed to take 6 hours, for some reason it took 8 and I think my friend Paul, who I was staying with, might have been a bit worried when I showed up 3 hours after I said I would at his apartment in the Campo Bello area of Sao Paolo.  The following day, he took me on a typical Saturday day in the life showing me his local farmer´s market, shopping along the posh area of Jardim and riding bikes in the Ibirapuera Parque (Sao Paolo´s central park). We ate a lunch/dinner of feijoada (bean stew) and later headed out for drinks at the super swanky Sky Bar at  The Unique Hotel. A spectacular full day in one of the biggest cities in the world! 

amazing fruits at the farmer´s market

make your own havainas!

spectacular rooftop bar at Unique Hotel

I had to leave for airport basically in the middle of the night on Saturday, as I was taking yet another overnight flight to the city of Manaus which would be the jumping off point for starting my Amazon jungle tour.