Arequipa is Peru’s second city with just under 1 million inhabitants. It is nicknamed the White City because it is almost completely built out of a white volcano stone called sillar.
Most come to Arequipa as the base for treks to Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world.
The White City is also one of the few Peruvian cities outside of Lima which has a gay scene, albeit very small, with a handful of bars and gay owned businesses worth checking out.
The gay scene in Arequipa is not as big as the gay nightlife of Lima but it has a few gay hangouts. The city is easy to navigate with most of the restaurants and bars located around the central Plaza de Armas.
Gay Arequipa is small but there are a few fun places worth checking out:
Imperio / Freetown Disco / Open Mind: the main and only gay club in Arequipa. It has 3 different names, (Imperio, Freetown or Open Mind) but most refer to it as just Imperio. It’s the place to come on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening after 11pm with drag shows and themed nights like Sailor Night. It goes on till late, closing at 6am. Imperio is located at Calle Jerusalén 201i, just a few blocks from Plaza de Armas.
By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys
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When my mosquito bite count reached one hundred and my laptop’s cooling fan started making noises as if it was trying to tell me ‘I can’t deal with this heat anymore’, I decided that it was time to get away from the beaches for a while and give both my laptop and my itching limbs a break.
The beach had been nice, but I needed to get somewhere high enough for the mosquitoes to not get there. And so I headed to Cuenca, at 8,370 ft (2,550 meters) too high for mosquitoes to continue to feast on me and cool enough for my laptop not to overheat.
Cuenca is a popular expat destination, with 5,000 mainly North American expats living there, and it is easy to see why. Life in Cuenca is pleasant, cheap and tranquil. Mountains surround the city, and you can walk everywhere in the center.
Cuenca has 52 churches and the best preserved colonial architecture in Ecuador, so much so that UNESCO declared the city center a World Heritage site. It was a city that I liked immediately – the first time I had this feeling during my time in Ecuador!
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After my week in hot and sticky Guayaquil I couldn’t wait to get to the beach for a fresh ocean breeze. I had heard great things about Montañita, a small village on the Santa Elena Peninsula on Ecuador’s Pacific Coast. Montañita is the country’s number one surf spot, and, as I learned when I arrived there, a prime party destination for people from all over South America.
Think South America’s answer to Ibiza, only with less mega clubs, but with loud music right on the beach instead, blasting from several discos right along the shore.
The problem with that? I was just not in the mood for a mega party, and I had also been warned about walking around town at night by myself. A couple of backpacking girls from Argentina were brutally murdered in Montañita less than a year ago, and I didn’t get a good vibe from the village. The beach was okay, but nothing special, and the waves were so insanely high that there was a red flag on the beach every day, warning people that the surf was intense and the current was strong.
We made it! A magical memory from our Nomadic Boys journey we will share forever. This was what was going through our minds, whilst sat atop Wayna Picchu mountain, peering down at the Inca world wonder beneath us.
After an intense 4 days trek along the acclaimed Inca Trail through the Sacred Valley in the Peruvian Andes, we finally reached the climax point. This is our Inca Trail review of our 4 days trek to Machu Picchu with Journeyou.
Machu Picchu is the highlight of most people’s itineraries to not only Peru, but also to the entire continent. It receives over 1.2 million visitors annually, most of who come by train as part of a day trip from Cusco.
The famous Inca site is 2,430 metres (7,970 feet) above sea level. The name Machu Picchu means old mountain in the Quechua language and was initially built in around 1450 at the climax of the Inca Empire. It was then abandoned in 1572 when the Spanish invaded, until 1911 when it was discovered by the American explorer Hiram Bingham.
I held the little bamboo cup with both hands and quickly gulped down the thick, dark liquid – Ayahuasca. The bitter taste in my mouth was repellent, and I tried to wash it down with some water as soon as I sat back down on the wooden floor of the ceremonial hut in the Colombian Amazon.
“You should be feeling the effect of the ayahuasca in about twenty minutes,” the shaman named William told us in Spanish. “If you don’t feel anything then, I’ll give you some more.”
He then pointed to my left, where on one side of the hut, the wooden wall was only chest high, above that it was open until the ceiling, like a window, but without glass.
“You’re very likely to throw up when the ‘medicine’ begins to work. If you feel it coming, throw up out the window.”
He then turned his headlamp off, the only source of light in the hut, and the four of us were suddenly sitting in the pitch black dark, cross-legged, waiting for Ayahuasca, the ‘medicine’, as William called it, to work.
Jaipur City Palace is your window to royal extravagance of ancient India. The complex is a maze of courtyards, palaces and architectural beauty, ready to blow your mind away. And oh, it’s super pink, too, like the rest of the city. This Palace was used as a royal residence of the Singh family who ruled the city for a long time. This isn’t just huge but it’s also a marvellous place to learn history and admire its architectural designs.
It’s right in the heart of the old city surrounded by pink buildings. Thus, it got its monicker, “The Pink City.”
The City Palace in Jaipur is a mix of Mughal, Rajput and European architectural influences.
As soon as you enter the courtyard, Mubarak Mahal greets you in all its splendour. In Urdu, Mubarak can be translated into auspicious. Today, it’s a textile museum with great collections of royal clothes.
Beyonce was born here. And with 2.3 million inhabitants, it’s the US’s fourth largest city, after NYC, LA and Chicago. But despite knowing the basics, gay Houston, Texas always remained a bit of a mystery to me. I guess I harbored a very ‘red’ perception of the city. I assumed that, like the rest of the Lone Star State – Austin aside – it was not for me.
But visiting H-Town last year, I got an education. Epitomized by its jagged, futuristic skyline (one of my favorites ever), the city was far more progressive and cosmopolitan than I expected.
Keeping politics out of it (although I will say Trump was in town, and there were protests), I was impressed by the locals’ openminded and welcoming nature.
After cruising around the Galapagos Islands, I was in urgent need of a break to catch up on work projects and to deal with the hundreds of emails that had piled up in my inbox while I was on the boat (I get so many emails these days, I can barely handle the volume anymore!).
I decided to stay in Guayaquil, the city where I’d flown to the Galapagos from, which happens to be Ecuador’s largest city, and one of the largest sea ports in all of South America. Beyond that, there’s not all that much to do and see for tourists though. A newly revamped river walk, the Malecon 2000, made for a great running track in the mornings, and for some good entertainment in the evenings (people watching, and an IMAX cinema that showed LaLa Land).
Just north of the Malecon sits Las Peñas, the city’s oldest neighborhood, where colorful little houses are built into the side of a hill, Cerro Santa Ana. The neighborhood used to be a slum, but a regeneration project transformed it into the tourist attraction that it is today. 432 stairs lead up to the top of the hill, each one numbered, so that with each step, you are painfully reminded you how many more stairs you still have to climb.
Italy Gay Pride is on its way! So, what are you doing the last weekend of September? Join me for an amazing 4-day beach party in one of the most beautiful places in the world! We are hosting the biggest party of the year on the wonderful coast of Gallipoli, in Puglia, Southern Italy!
Yes, Italy Gay Pride is coming! And it is going to be a big bold celebration in Gallipoli, the Ibiza of Italy!
This year, for the first time, from 21st – 25th September 2017, Italy Gay Travels and I will be hosting the highly anticipated Italy Gay Pride Summer Party. A 4 day sensational Summer Party in one of the most beautiful undiscovered gems of Italy: the bay of Gallipoli (not in Turkey)! Are you ready to celebrate with me? Book now and join the fun!
Italy Gay Pride Summer Party gives you the chance to discover one of the trendiest holiday destinations in Italy. A destination that, as you know, is very familiar to me! Puglia, an amazing region in Southern Italy, is the talk on everyone’s lips! It is no surprise the gay community in Italy and around the world are flocking here. Gallipoli, and Puglia as a region, is developing a reputation for openness and tolerance. For this reason, Italy Gay Travels is confident that everybody can feel safe and be themselves in this beautiful stretch of Paradise.
The first time I heard about the ruins of the Ciudad Perdida, an ancient city hidden deep in the jungles of northern Colombia that is only accessible on foot on a strenuous four-day hike through the mountains, was in 2010, during my first visit to Latin America.
“You have to do this trek,” a fellow traveler who was making his way north towards Mexico as I was making my way down towards Colombia through Central America, urged me, “it’s an adventure of a lifetime.” Back then I was skeptical, even though I was intrigued by this Indiana Jones-like adventure. But I had never done a multi-day trek, let alone in the jungle, let alone in the Colombian jungle. I didn’t even know if I could walk that far: a 32-mile (52-kilometer) round-trip.
Fast forward six years and I found myself walking on a dusty unpaved road, braving the 90% humidity and heat of the Caribbean coast a few miles north of the starting point of the trek to the Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City. A mere fifteen minutes after leaving the village where we started the trek, we made our first river crossing – the first of about twenty river crossings along the way. Luckily I wasn’t doing the trek during rainy season, when the water can reach up to your waist. One hour into the hike, as I felt the sweat running down my arms, my stomach and my back, I was already regretting my decision.
Even though now, a few years later, I had a few multi-day treks under my belt, I still wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it all the way to the ancient city. The river we were walking next to looked inviting, and just as I was fantasizing about jumping in for a refreshing dip, our guide announced “We’re stopping here for a quick swim break. After this, the real hike starts.” All of us stripped down immediately and jumped into the water, slowly starting to get to know each other while cooling off.