South America Top 10

Having spent the best part of 8 months travelling through this incredible continent, it only seemed right to reflect on some of our highlights. You’ll know all the places we loved from the posts, but these were the little things that made a big difference. So here we go, the nominees in no particular order…

1. Plazas
From falling asleep post night bus in the square in La Serena, watching protestors march in Sucre, dancing along the cobbled streets of Cusco, and watching the clouds roll in to the hills around Banos; these charming little squares were where we watched life pass us by. We were reminded to take it slow, observe the little things and soak in all our surroundings -more often than not with an ice cream in hand…

One of the gorgeous squares we came across on our road trip through Valle D’Elqui in Chile. Local musician in bottom right corner included in plaza experience

2. Ice Cream Culture
And leading on from that, it won’t take a genius to figure out how this one ended up on the list. On every street corner it was impossible not to find an ice cream shop. Even more impossible was to walk past said ice cream shops, only to pass a local who had treated themselves to a cone and not turn back around immediately. At any time of day, in most weather conditions, we would find someone tucking into the towns finest and we (mostly Cal) quickly followed suit. Amongst all flavours, our pick always had us coming back to the favoured original – dulce de leche.

Normally justified as a reward after Spanish school, Cal became very well acquainted with the seller on Sucre square

3. Markets
While the plazas were the relaxed, let’s take life slow centre of each town, the markets were the bustling, firepots of activity. Selling everything from fruit & veg to gloves, tshirts and bags – for anything we needed, this was always our first stop. The markets also tested us, Spanish was practiced, local foods were tasted and provided the arena of fierce desperate attempts to hunt down a bargain or two.

The market in Sucre was one of our favourites for stocking up on the essentials and watching life go by in Bolivia

4. Fresh Juices
Being home to the Amazon we knew we were entering the world of exotic and exciting fruits, what we weren’t expecting was the compulsive need to juice. We just couldn’t resist. At every opportunity, we succumbed to to the juicers. From the markets in each town, to the men and women on plaza corners with their pick of the day, our every juice need was met – ice, crushed, slush, with bits, without bits, sugar, squeeze of lime, little bit of honey – you name it, they had it.

Our local juice shack off the plaza in Salento – just look at that selection. Colombia 1 – 0 England

5. Natures Finest
Having both travelled around a fair amount, when we look back at our last 8 months we are still blown away by the nature we have seen. From the metropolitans of the Atlantic coast, to the wetlands of the Amazon jungle, through the magnificent Andes and peaks of Patagonia, and back down to the Pacific coast, Galapagos and beyond. We won’t likely ever forget the beauty we have found here.

Of all the nature in all the world, we’re not sure how the Galápagos Islands off Ecuador will ever be beaten for untouched beauty and amazing animals.

6. Sunday = Family Time
One of our first memories of South America was landing in Puerto Madryn on a Sunday and being surrounded by families at the beach, playing in the sand and sharing asados. This weekly familiarity carried on as we travelled around and it was always a warm moment when we forgot what day it was, but saw a group of families either off visiting each other or just making the time to spend time outdoors with each other.

A candid photo of a family enjoying the sun in the beautiful cobbled streets of Colonia in Uruguay

7. Viva la Fiesta
South America is always in the mood for a party – dancing and music, fireworks and celebrations, there was always something going on. More often than not we would stumble upon an impromptu celebration that we had no idea was happening or that few people could explain. But we didn’t need a reason to join in – we danced the streets of La Paz, samba’d in the carnival crowds of Rio and stood in awe of Christmas Eve fireworks in Buenos Aires. Live the party, vive la fiesta.

The party of all parties, Rio Carneval was a spectacle to behold. Samba, street food and shots a plenty, it was one for the ages!

8. Friendly Faces
This whole continent is embodiment of kind gestures, everywhere we went, locals would wish us and each other a good day. Every. Single. Person. We were welcomed to each new place and given handy hints from friendly locals. The local people we met along the way substituted in as our nearest and dearest and it’s going to take a lot to get used to the hostile conditions of the London Underground again.

There was no man better duo than Hoshin & Margarita from the salt flat tours in Bolivia. This photo speaks a thousand warm memories from that trip

9. Football Fever
We had avidly followed the world cup during our time in Peru, but football in South America is so much more than a one-off occasion. It was everywhere we went, and we never had to look too far to find a local game. From the salt flats in Bolivia, to the high-altitude towns in the Andes, to the foot of Volcan Villarica – we found pristine football pitches absolutely everywhere, and more so, an opportunity to start an impromptu game with the locals.

Even on day 3 of the Salkantay trek in Peru, a make shift pitch was formed and tired legs managed to kick the ball about in this humid, dense jungle opening

10. Adrenaline Adventures
The continent, from top to bottom, was so varied in landscapes it became our playground for adventurous activities. Having never thought she would hike, Rosh conquered the peaks of Patagonia and the Andes, battling hypothermia and altitude sickness. We both took to the skies, gliding over the valleys of Colombia and Cal dared to bungee jump, diving towards rivers below. For the both of us, South America had been a place to embrace our inner-adventurer and conquer fears.

Even after all our adventures, climbing Fitz Roy in Patagonian Argentina will always stick with us as a damn tough hike with some pretty spectacular pay off