Like every other girl who´s watched A Walk to Remember, I´ve wanted to be in two places at once for ages. I never imagined that I´d check that off my bucket list by standing in two hemispheres.
For two days, a local Ecuadorian family hosted our private tour of the cloud forest and surrounding rural cities. We went to the Equator, ziplined through the canopy, visited a butterfly farm, saw an artisinal chocolate-making production, hiked through calf-deep mud to a waterfall, milked a cow and spent the night in a cabin without electricity. But even better than the slew of thrilling activities was getting to know a local couple and their adorable youngest daughter.
I walked across the Colombian-Ecuadorian border a few days ago, and have been enjoying my time in Ecuador´s capital city, Quito, since. So far, I am completely in love with this country, and the best has yet to come.
Nora and I set off on a wild goose chase to find Colombia´s largest waterfall, in part because we love adventure but mostly because we love cheaper options. Long story, short: It´s difficult to reach the falls without a tour group and guide. Here´s the long story (which is much more facinating than the short one).
My friend Nora and I are into our first week of two months backpacking through South America. First stop: Bogotá, Colombia. The country is reputed to be full of cocaine and violent rebels, but the Colombian slogan tells a different story: The only risk is that you might want to stay.
My friend Nora and I are flying to Bogotá, Colombia, and will then take buses to about 16 other cities on the way back to Santiago. We’ll live out of our backpacks on a bit more than $40 a day as we jump from hostels to Hashes through the Amazon Jungle to Inca ruins, around Lake Titicaca to the world’s largest salt flat and over the Andes to the driest desert on Earth.
