Hi guys!
I know it’s been a while since we’ve had an awesome traveller tell their stories to inspire you to hit the road!
Thankfully, a couple of friends of mine from Uni have stepped up to the plate! Dean (23) and Sully (24) hit the road earlier this year to visit South America… eventually ending up in Brazil! I’m dying to head to South America, so a huge thanks to Dean for taking the time to share their travel stories of places I know nothing about!
Where have you been & how long were you away for?
We went to South America from 28th April to 28th July. Just a few of our destinations included:
Peru (2 weeks) Lima, Paracas, Haucachina, Cusco, Machu Pichu Bolivia (2 weeks) Copacabana, Isla del Sol, La Paz, Rurrenabaque, Uyuni
Argentina (4 weeks) Salta, Mendoza, Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Puerto Iguazu
Brazil (4 weeks) Foz do Iguacu, Bonito, Sao Paolo, Florianapolis, Paraty, Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro
What experience so far are you most proud of doing?
Machu Pichu for the physical achievement of how far we had trekked and climbed. At the beginning of the 5 day Trek I looked at Sully and thought, I don’t want to really do this. But getting to know the group and the amazing guide, horsemen and cooks made it an amazing experience. The altitude made normal things very difficult but we dug in and made it in the end. But ultimately experiences of facing your fear or improving your confidence will be everlasting. Also, mountain biking down ‘Death Road’ in Coroico, Bolivia comes to mind because at the beginning I was apprehensive, but I soon overcame it and it spurred me to try new things and not be scared of a new extreme activity.
But I think the experience most out of my comfort zone was making the effort to talk to people and be more confident in groups etc. As it is being English, this doesn’t come that naturally but travelling almost forced me to talk to people and make friends with people that I knew I probably wouldn’t ever see again! By the end of the trip we were making friends quicker, sharing experiences and basically having a better time than we would have had just keeping ourselves to ourselves. Hostels had a big hand in this social affiliation. The one that broke us in was Wild Rover in Cusco. A very lively hostel with an excellent Irish bar, and hanging out by the bar and the pool table just naturally got us chatting to other travellers. Some with mutual friends at home, some from different countries, different hemispheres.
Tell us about your funniest moment on the road…
In La Paz they have a little street that is full of barber shops. We went in one to get a trim but not our beards as these were our pride and joy. Sully made it explicit he didn’t want his beard touched, next thing you know the aged Bolivian barber had taken a chunk out and trimmed the whole thing anyway. Lost in translation. Sully wasn’t too keen on his actual hair cut either. Also, managing to lose a towel in every country I went to… I came back with none!
You travelled with a friend – did you fall out at any point?
The main fall outs we had were when drunk which is understandable and actually common-place. A particular story is that we went to get more drink from a shop or somewhere in Buenos Aires. Sully was a lot more drunk than me (and it was early) and swore blind our hostel was down this particular street which we walked up and down no word of a lie 4 times. I realized we were completely the wrong side of the main road in Buenos Aires (city grid systems eh?) and could tell by the radio building depicting a large image of Eva ‘Evita’ Peron. Cue a lot of effin and blinding at each other before me storming off in that (the right) direction. Something we reflected on with laughter. I think one of the things was that Sully was a lot more organized than me and knew where we going most of the time and I relied on that too much which must have been an irritation to him.
Personalities certainly can clash in this situation but also complement each other which I can only really detect on reflection. Sometimes you need to be more organised and sometimes you need to loosen up when travelling and being with another person can find the right balance. In general we got on amazingly well considering. Being with just one other person for that amount of time most of the day just naturally can annoy you sometimes even though you love them to pieces. I’m sure I probably annoyed Sully more than he annoyed me. At the end of the day we wanted to do the same things and seek the same qualities in the people we met and chose to spend time with.
You did some amazing things, including cycling Death Road in Bolivia and climbing Machu Pichu – if you could pick one thing from your trip to go on everyone’s bucket list what would it be?
It’s very difficult and I would love to put on here so many places and things but I don’t want to cheat! I would say to go to Rio de Janeiro because it’s probably just about the most unique place I have ever been to. Buenos Aires almost beat it, but Rio for its natural beauty, it’s demographic, it’s vibe, it’s flaws, it’s weather… The view from sugar mountain is probably the best Ive seen and that’s when you appreciate Rio’s uniqueness of how the city almost interacts with the mountains, forest, the bay and the beaches. The favelas are truly an experience. They come with quite a reputation but thinking of how the majority of the people in the city live in favela’s: shop assistants, bus drivers, waitresses; in that relative danger, it really does make you think about the social diversity of Brazil. The beaches are amazing, go watch the sunset over the largest favela Rocinha from the rocks at the very left (as you look at the sea) from Ipanema beach. The people are almost too friendly, although they give you strange looks on the subway (really good subway by the way) just for being a ‘gringo’. It’s a country whose demographic is made up of immigrants – why are we so strange?? The nightlife is sick. Our last night was spent at a favela funk party. You never have a bad view in the city, and always being able to look up at Christ the Redeemer is somewhat a very spiritual and a very cool feeling.
What was the name of your favourite hostel & why?
El Misti in Rio (the people and staff we met as well as the activities they organized) and Wild Rover in Cusco (for the amazing Irish Bar) are nominees, but quite oddly I think it was Baluch Backpackers in Cordoba. Now, ultimately the people that were also staying there, that we became good friends with, were a huge factor but I think it was because the place had a charm about it. Right in the heart of Cordoba it kind of summed the city up in that it was quite urban and gritty and not much to do but explore the amazing social and art scene. They had a big hostel party every other weekend (luckily the weekend we were there) which was crazy, inviting the students of the many universities in Cordoba and it may or may not have been shut down by the police. The owners were mad but really helpful and went out with us every night. The kitchen was big and well equipped, the rooms were more than fine and roomy. I don’t think it was the hostel facilities but the experience this kind of laid back hostel brought with it. Baluch made Cordoba for us and I woke up every morning practically laughing from the antics the day/night before.
What one piece of advice would you give someone who is getting ready to set off on their first travel adventure?!
Hardly book anything in advance unless it’s doing the Inca Trail for Machu Pichu (6 months waiting list for the Inca trail – just do the Salkantay trail!). You can book hostels, flights, activities, whatever at such short notice so long as you have access to the internet. We booked a flight at a specific time from Buenos Aires to Iguazu but if we hadn’t we would have spent less time in Argentina and more in Brazil (because of it being colder and low season in Argentina) but couldn’t because we had the flight. You may come to places and hate it or other places and fall in love. We moved on quickly from Lima because it had more of a business and economic vibe and so it was easy to book a coach onto the next place. We also met a Brazilian guy when in Huacachina who was just travelling for a few weeks who lived and worked in Sao Paolo. He invited us to stay with him because Sao Paolo is a huge metropolis difficult for travellers and he didn’t want us to miss out on his hometown. If we had booked to have missed Sao Paolo then we would have missed out on a very cool part of our trip. Whatever you do, don’t book your whole trip through a big agency (you know the ones) as it’s a massive waste of money and just plain lazy. Look at forums and in books and talk to people to plan your trip.
Quick Travel Tips!
Hostel or Hotel?
Hostel 100%. Sociable, cheaper, but most have such good standards anyways.
Train or Plane?
Coach! South America’s train system is basically non-existent and some of the coaches we were on were rock-star-on-the-road-esque.
Backpack or Suitcase?
Backpack. Duh.
Card or Cash?
Card. But cash to start with. The Post Office have a credit card which has 0% on purchases abroad.
With Friends or Solo?
If I went again for as long (or longer) then solo. But with friends can be amazing if it’s a shorter trip.
Did you like Dean’s tips?!
Follow Dean on twitter: @deanmbyg
& again a HUGE thanks for sharing some awesome experiences & travel tips! Will be even more grateful if they take me with them next time…!
Lots of love,
