After spending three months in the heat of Central America, bouncing between coastal towns and looking for mountains wherever we could, we were ready for something bigger. We found what we were looking for in South America. A cooler climate, bigger mountains, badass glaciers, and some incredibly unique deserts. We had some awesome visits from friends & family and met some seriously amazing people — both local and fellow travelers. Given the size of the continent, we spent almost double the amount of time here, but left a huge part of it untouched. We will definitely be back!
One thing you packed that has been essential:
B: This was a tough one. Living out of a 60L backpack for eight months meant that every single thing was important. We sent a few things home with family in Colombia, but otherwise, everything was used and used frequently. Our sleeping bags enabled us to camp anywhere without worrying about being cold. Our UV filter let us drink water from any source without worrying about getting sick and drastically reducing our plastic consumption. The laptop helped us blog, research, work, and buy a house all while on the road. But, as boring of a choice as it is, the most useful thing has been my cellphone.
Paired with Google Fi, my Pixel has enhanced our trip in so many ways. Every border we cross we instantly have service, allowing us to navigate confusing border crossings without paying touts or expensive tours. Downloaded maps on Maps.ME let us solo hike every trail without a guide worrying about getting lost. It was a translator, a money converter, a hostel booker, and a map. I could text from anywhere, allowing us to keep in contact with friends and family along the way. It’s our GPS and radio in the car and I read 25+ books on it while traveling. Plus — it takes great waterfall selfies!
Even though I studied abroad without a smartphone and somehow managed to travel without one, I can’t imagine doing a trip like this even 10 years ago. While I’m sure we would have made some more local friends and found some cool places, we would have missed out on some seriously incredible things and spent waaaay more time lost in the woods. So, while it may make me a classic millennial — I’ll take the smartphone every time.
K: It is definitely the UV water purifier, and we seem to have the best one out there although ours is pretty old at this point. Basically, it is a steri-pen that is USB chargeable and kills all of the bacteria in clear water in one minute. In Patagonia, we saw these two older gentlemen hogging the community sink in the back, pumping water with several hoses attached to their water bottle, and it looked exhausting after a long day of hiking. Three separate couples (two of them were Maggie/Alex and us) mentioned this new invention to them. Not only is it an excellent conversation starter when you’re in the hostel kitchen, it has saved us in sketchy towns and remote hiking adventures. Of course we love that we’re doing our part to reduce the use of plastic and help the planet a little bit.
Favorite City:
B: As if we needed any more confirmation, this trip has proved we are not city people. Small towns are where it’s at, from El Chalten in Argentina to Salento in Colombia. But… we did manage to stay in a few nice cities along the way. We started off with a great one in Cartagena, Colombia, but it was just a bit too hot for me. Most of the other cities had small little neighborhoods that were really cool, like Lima’s Barranco district or Buenos Aires’ San Telmo area. But for me, if there was one city I could actually see us working in, living, and enjoying, it would be Cuenca, Ecuador.
We spent four thoroughly enjoyable days in Cuenca in February. The downtown was small enough to walk around but big enough to provide variety and have distinct areas. Given its location near the equator and higher elevation, every day was a perfect temperature. There were cool breakfast spots, fun student bars, and plenty of original architecture. It probably didn’t hurt that Jodoco’s sour beer was the best beer we’ve had on this whole trip. We shopped in local markets for fresh fruit and veggies and visited local butcheries and bakeries and stayed in a delightful hostel on the outskirts of the downtown. We know we’ll be back to Ecuador and will certainly be visiting Cuenca again.
K: Hmmm…this is a tough one, but Cartagena, Colombia immediately comes to mind. It is an old city with so much character. Because we were with Mama Coons and Maddi, our accommodations were gorgeous and right in the heart of the downtown! I loved the free walking tour we went on because the gentleman giving the tour was so proud of his city. The old doors with the different door knockers, the architecture, the statue of that naked lady, the colorful houses, and the lights! It is so vibrant and lively. I love that the streets are lined with graffiti art and then above your head are hundreds of colorful umbrellas or flags. There are a ton of cool shops. We went to a dive bar to listen to a band with some of the Wilson boat crew, and everyone was dancing salsa. There was live music, street performers, and the food was absolutely incredible! I don’t know if I’ve ever had better ceviche in my life!
However, this being said I do not think I could live there. I will forever have dreams of Cartagena and taking a yacht from the shore to the islands in Panama for a weekend in my yellow bikini, because of course in my dreams, I also have the physique of a Colombian, but alas it was not meant to be. I need mountains and a city that sleeps — one that’s small enough I can find my way around and maybe ride a scooter — perhaps with that funky sour beer from Cuenca, Ecuador.
Favorite Country:
B: Given our time constraints, we weren’t able to fit Brazil into our South America schedule, meaning Argentina is the largest country we had visited to date. While we didn’t see everything, we certainly saw a lot. Down south in Patagonia we spent time hiking in El Chalten and saw the Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate. In the east, we visited Buenos Aires (twice), saw some tango dancing, and had the best pizza ever! We went north in a luxurious overnight bus on my birthday to visit Iguazu Falls, then headed cross-country to the west where we hired a car in Salta and took a road trip through the desert and wine country.
Argentina had one of my favorite small towns in El Chalten, a top-five hike to Fitz Roy in El Chalten, the best waterfall in South America with Iguazu Falls, and was the first time we had been behind the wheel of a car since starting the trip. The distances were big (may have set a record for the number of overnight buses we took) and the dialect was tough to understand, but the scenery, food, people, and wine were all top-notch.
K: Yikes! This is even tougher! I loved our adventures in every country we visited, so I think I am going to cheat a little and say Chile. We actually visited Chile last August to go skiing in Portillo, a gorgeous mountain resort centered around a lake. We went heli-skiing with our ski fam after a huge snow storm and despite some “headaches” had a wonderful time. We visited Valparaiso briefly, a large city on the water with great bars, restaurants, and filled with street art. In San Pedro de Atacama, we went sand-boarding, enjoying its desert-like conditions, and biking in Valle de la Luna. Then there is Torres del Paine in Patagonia. Those views of the snow-capped mountains at Camp Dickson and the enormity of Glacier Grey will forever be burned into my memory. Maggie and Alex’s visit was extra special because they’re the couple that would be up for any adventure we planned and love it. What a fantastic week we had hiking the O Circuit. Chile really has a little bit of everything we love!
Favorite Thing You’ve Learned So Far:
B: Taking this much time off from work, we didn’t want this just to be a vacation. We knew we wanted to explore, hike, and see as much as we could, but we also knew we wanted to keep learning. We had tons of free time now and we wanted to make it count. We took surf, cooking, and Spanish lessons. We learned how to mountaineer equipped with crampons and ice axes and became Advanced Open Water Divers. But my favorite skill we picked up was photography, allowing us to finally use our “good camera” as it’s affectionally named to its full potential. After three weeks hiking in Patagonia, we had decided to book a place on the beach in Uruguay for a week and learn to surf. I had purchased a photography course a while back through Udemy, but never had the time to take it. This was our chance!
We spent our mornings surfing in La Pedrera and our afternoons watching tutorials and playing around with the camera’s settings. We learned a lot of new vocab like aperture and bokeh, how to shoot in manual, and how to edit photos in post-production using Lightroom. We got up early to shoot in the “golden hour” and practiced long exposure shots at night. Finally, we had a way to make sure the pictures captured what we were actually seeing with our eyes! The course gave us a great overview of the different aspects of photography and also prompted us to buy some new accessories. Thanks to Kristian for bringing us a new lens, tripod, and ND filters on your trip to Africa!
Spending so much time in some of the most beautiful places on Earth and without much room for souvenirs (sorry, Kourt!), our pictures are the primary thing we’re going to have to be able to look back on and to share with friends and family. I only wish we had done this course earlier.
K: I think I would have to say salsa dancing. I love learning new things and I learned something about myself: I love feeling in control and I am definitely more of a leader than I am a follower. In salsa, the man is in control and he guides the woman with his hands and feet. We learned the four basic steps and four turns and practiced most nights at a salsa club. The salsa club we went to in Cali was lively. It didn’t pick up until probably 11pm or later and the people there can go all night. These people look like they were born to dance and the people watching is intoxicating! Even watching tango in the streets of Buenos Aires over dinner and drinks was incredible. Tango is intimate and romantic and salsa is sexy and fun. I really appreciate that Coons is up to try new things and not afraid to shake that booty. He is a great dance partner, and I just wished we had learned the basics earlier! Plus dancing kind of makes me feel like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing!
Biggest Bummer:
B: Given the fact that we were backpacking in South America for six and a half months, I’d say overall we were very lucky. We ran into a few snags here and there, and it wasn’t all rainbows and waterfalls (despite what our Instagram may look like), but nothing too serious. In terms of biggest bummers, for me, it was in Ecuador at the start of the Quilatoa Loop hike. We were all set for a four-day hike through central Ecuador, traveling from one small town hostel to the next, ending at the Quilatoa crater lake. We took a local bus from Latacunga and put our backpacks underneath the bus like normal. What was not normal was the amount of liquid on the front of my bag when we pulled them out. Shoot — did my water leak? I immediately thought. Then I took a whiff. NOPE! It smelt like the alley behind a seafood restaurant. Some local must have put raw fish underneath the bus in a bag that failed miserably at containing the contents. My bag reeked. Thankfully, my clothes were in drybags, but this was not the way we wanted to start our hikes. Normally, I hike in front of Kourtney, especially on a hike like this without a clearly defined path to stick to. Not gonna be an option today!
Once we got to our first hostel we hopped on the wifi to look for some ideas to de-fish my bag. Vinegar and baking soda were the two top options, so we snagged some vinegar from the kitchen, doused my bag in it, clogged the drain, and let my bag soak in the cold water. We left it to dry by the fire (a bit too close, rendering a couple of straps useless) and tossed some baking powder on it. This made a small dent in the smell and we repeated the process the next few nights as well, but putting your face close to the bag still elicited a strong gag reflex. At this point, we were about 5 months into the trip, not even halfway, and the thing I put literally all my belongings reeked of dead fish. Not great! Back from the hike and starting to panic a bit, we went from laundromat to laundromat trying to explain in Spanish what happened and asking if they could launder the bag. I was starting to seriously consider the idea of bathing it in tomato sauce. We finally found a place that said they could do it and we left the bag in their hands. Thankfully, when we returned the next day, the smell was all but gone and we could resume our travels.
K: After much consideration, I am going to say the failed Chimborazo hike in Ecuador. However, “bummer” is putting it lightly. I was heartbroken. I have never been so physically exhausted in my life; each 10th step at a 45 degree angle at 3am was excruciatingly painful and required me to take a break. But, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to reach the top so badly, so we could stand on the summit closest to the sun, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. I was in shock. We headed to Baños after and it rained for the next five days straight, so there were few activities to lift our spirits. Then the Patriots won the Superbowl and that helped, although — seriously — that game was a little boring. We chalked Chimborazo up as our “white whale.” We felt redemption with the success of the Cotopaxi hike, so that also helped a lot, but I figure we’re going to have to return to Ecuador and conquer that beast. Bummer!
Favorite Activity (minus the O Circuit trek):
B: I think for both of us our favorite experience was trekking the O Circuit in Patagonia — so to make it a little more interesting we’ve excluded that one from the list. Removing that, my next favorite has to be summiting Cotopaxi in Ecuador. At 19,347 feet, this was the highest either of us had ever climbed and was a bit of a redemption climb for us. After spending a couple of weeks prepping to climb Chimborazo, the tallest peak in Ecuador and the closest point on Earth to the sun and coming up short due to unstable snow conditions, we were a bit depressed (as depressed as two people on permanent vacation can be). Knowing that we didn’t succeed due to Mother Nature, as opposed to our abilities, made it a little easier to swallow, but it still left a sour taste. After stewing on it, we decided to hike Cotopaxi, the second tallest peak in Ecuador.
Spoiler alert — we crushed it! We were super acclimated, super motivated, and led by our amazing guide Fabian, we summitted in no time. In reality, we went too fast and had to stop for multiple 20-minute breaks on the way up to try and wait for sunrise. While the two twenty-year-old Americans hiking near us really needed those breaks, for us, it was a chance to take in the night sky and munch on some snacks. As it was, we had to wait over 45 minutes at the top in sub-freezing temperatures just to get some color up there. Once the sun came up we started down and finally regained some feeling in our hands and feet. Being able to see our surroundings on the way down made it seem like a whole new hike. The ice formations, crevasses, and caves were unreal. It’s really another world up at that elevation. While we definitely wanted to summit Chimborazo and will be back to Ecuador for it, we were in such good shape that it made climbing Cotopaxi a breeze and allowed us to really enjoy the experience rather than struggling for each step.
K: Oh, come on…is Fitz Roy off the table too? Hiking aside — the Salt Flat tour instantly comes to mind. I knew there were places in the world with great diving, high mountains, clear lakes, etc. I really couldn’t fathom the Salt Flats and their enormity. It doesn’t seem that thrilling on paper, but I was just blown away. Just nothing but salt for as far as the eye can see. We got the mirror effect in the morning and then the bright sun for the rest of the day. It was so serene. First of all, if I have to wake up at 4am, few things excite me. I have honestly never had so much fun that early in the morning, nor have seven hours, seemingly uncaffeinated, passed so quickly. I just adored the people we met on the tour, and taking the perspective pictures was soooo fun. What a group effort! It was just a wonderful day.
South America by the Numbers:
- 7 – Countries visited
- 53 – Towns visited
- 158 – Days spent traveling
- 17 – Nights spent in our tent
- 15 – Nights spent on a bus/plane
- 23 – Total books read
- 4 – Friends and family that visited us
- 1 – Wedding dresses purchased
- 307 – Ben sneezes as counted by Kourtney to practice Spanish
- $113 – Average cost/day