I’d been intrigued by Colombia’s Lost City ever since I had heard about it a few years ago: a fabled city of an ancient civilization hidden deep in the jungle, comparable to Machu Picchu in neighboring Peru, but much older (650 years older, to be precise) and far off the beaten tourist track, compared to the famous Lost City Of The Incas.
When the lost city of Teyuna was discovered in 1972, much of it had been taken back by the jungle, overgrown by trees and ferns, the centuries-old rocks covered in green moss. Only in the past decade tourists have started to discover this trek, but only few dare to make their way to the ‘Ciudad Perdida’.
That is because it isn’t easy to get to Teyuna – it takes a 2-day walk through the jungle to get to the bottom of the mountain on top of which the city sits, followed by a 2-day walk back to civilization, and the hike isn’t an easy one: steep mountains need to be ascended and descended, rivers need to be crossed, jungle forests need to be traversed – and all of this in temperatures in the 90s (33C), coupled with the humidity of the rain forest.
By Dani – Full Story at Globetrotter Girls
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The best way to see Iceland? Without a doubt, on a road trip! And since I love road trips, I didn’t have to think about it too long when it came to deciding how we’d spend our week in Iceland: we were going to drive the Ring Road. The Ring Road, or Highway 1, is an 828 miles (1332 kilometers) long road around the country, basically circling the island. It passes everything that Iceland is famous for: stunning waterfalls, volcanoes, glaciers and glacier lagoons, geysers, lava fields and geothermal fields, and the country’s incredibly diverse scenery. Since we only had six days (plus one day in Reykjavik, which I didn’t want to skip entirely) we opted for a self-guided driving tour, which was an excellent decision.
While I was researching Iceland road trip routes I came across Icelandic Farm Holidays, a local tour operator who offers both self-drive and guided tours of the country. There are several self-driving tours available, depending on how much time you have and what you’re most interested in, and the tour that caught my eye was the ‘Highlights of Iceland’ tour. It would bring us around the island in six days, leaving the seventh day to explore Reykjavik. Perfect!
Six days for the Ring Road is pretty ambitious and meant we would be spending a lot of time in the car – but if you don’t mind driving and are equipped with some good podcasts or/and entertaining travel companions, it’s not too crazy. In hindsight I have to say that I’ve driven longer distances on previous road trips, but if you want some time to hike or do some activities along the way, I’d recommend allowing ten days to drive the Ring Road.
As you can see, I was jumping with joy this week when I finally arrived at the beach! I admit, it’s not my best jumping photo, but I tried 🙂 It was probably right then when I was jumping around, frolicking in the sand when my bungalow in Palomino was broken into, in bright daylight.
Luckily I didn’t lose much, but I am still shaken up by the experience of returning to all my belongings strewn across the floor of my bungalow, thinking how different this could have ended (we assume the burglar was interrupt and had to flee). I will talk more about it in my monthly round-up, but here’s a short version of what happened.
Other than that, this past week has been amazing. I hiked in Tayrona National Park, where jungle forests stretch along the Caribbean coast, tempting me into a 5-hour jungle hike. I also went to Bahia Concha, a beach that also belongs to Tayrona, but wasn’t part of my sweaty hike.
I made it to Colombia! I can’t believe that after all these years, I’m finally here. To give you a bit more background: when I (we) started traveling in 2010, I started in the U.S. and made my way south through Mexico and Central America. The goal was to go all the way down to Tierra del Fuego, taking a catamaran from Panama to Colombia via the San Blas Islands, which is supposed to be a beautiful trip (proven by the photos I’ve linked to!).
However, by the time we made it to Panama, we had been traveling through Latin America for 9 months and were ready for a change of scenery & culture. So we hopped on a plane to Europe instead of a catamaran. When we returned to South America, we timed it so that we’d be in Argentina and Chile for their summer and flew into Buenos Aires. And never made it further north than Peru.
Now, nearly five years after my first attempt to visit Colombia, I’m finally here. Admittedly, the trip didn’t start without hiccups (I’ll be talking more about them in my monthly roundup), but I am slowly easing back into the ‘Latino way of things’…
My trip to Iceland feels almost like a dream now. But the photos (and video!) show that it really happened – for a week, I road tripped through one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever visited.
With its surreal landscapes that often made me feel like I was on a different planet, Iceland blew my mind.
Otherworldly, that’s how most people describe Iceland, and to be honest, I don’t think there is a word that fits better than this: otherworldly. The only other place I’ve been to that I described as such were the otherworldly landscapes of Chile’s Atacama Desert, where I also came across volcanoes, a bizarre moonscape, rugged mountains amidst wide open barren lands, geysers and geothermal fields.
Guys, I am freaking out! Only one more Polaroid from New York and I’ll be on my way to South America. I am torn between excitement and misery – on the one hand, I am drooling over pictures of pristine Caribbean beaches as I’ve finally started to plan my trip in more detail (I hope by the time the next Polaroid rolls around I know where I’ll rest my head when I arrive in Colombia in less than two weeks!), but on the other hand I am devastated about leaving New York.. as always!
However, since it’s getting quite chilly now, I feel like it’s a good time to leave, and to know that when I get back, I won’t need my winter coat and boots anymore.
As for the last week and what I’ve been up to.. I was happy that several friends who had left NYC for the Holidays were returning from their trips, making sure I wouldn’t turn into a crazy cat lady (I am looking after four cats at the moment..) by getting me out of the house more often again.
One of the things I was most exciting about when I got on the train to Italy? The food, of course! I boarded the train in Germany in the morning knowing that I’d get off the train in Milan a few hours later, and all I could think about was what I’d be eating for my first meal in Italy. I love Italian food – the pastas, pizzas, breads and pastries, risotto and pretty much everything that I can eat as a vegetarian (I am always told I am missing out because the meat dishes and seafood are amazing, apparently).
So while I’m inviting you to join me on a culinary tour of Lombardy and Veneto, the regions I traveled to on my recent visit, be warned: this is only a small fraction of all the good food Northern Italy has to offer, and it is the meat free version.
When this decadent customs wasn’t feasible anymore because of rising gold prices, Lombardians still wanted their food to look as if gold was used, which is why the color yellow is omnipresent – in the most iconic dish of the region for example, Risotto Alla Milanese. The color comes from the saffron, which is the most expensive spice in the world – did you know that? In addition to saffron, lots of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and butter are used. As you can see in the picture below, ‘Alla Milanese’ can also be made with pasta, not just with risotto.milan spaghetti milanesaSpeaking of butter – Lombardians are not afraid to use butter and lard, especially in the polenta dishes. Polenta, a corn meal based dish is together with risotto the most common dish in the region, and is usually served with meat or vegetables.