Disrespectful Travelers
I was horrified by a story I heard today. A friend who was recently in the Galapagos Islands told me about a couple of girls he was with during his travels, who spent a day by themselves exploring the island. [...]
Hostel Review – Community Hostel, Quito
Over the past five months I've stayed at Community Hostel four times, and it has become my home away from home when I'm in Quito. I was recommended Community Hostel by other travels I'd met in South America, and all [...]
How I live on USD$35 per day
Many people ask me how I can afford to travel as much as I do. It's not that I'm rich, far from it. Last year when I traveled around the world my budget was AUD$50 per day including accommodation. My [...]
Enjoying the Older South American Crowd
I’ve been traveling through South America for almost three months now and in every hostel, hotel or tour I’ve pleasantly discovered a mix of traveler age groups. South America, refreshingly, is not filled with eighteen year olds. I don’t have [...]
Sick Solo Traveler
Being sick whilst on the road is something that everyone experiences, especially long-term travelers. It's awful, especially if you are vomiting and diarrhea sick and staying in a hostel dorm room. Wanting nothing more than to escape into a room [...]
Hostel Review – The Dreamer Santa Marta, Colombia
Discussing my Colombian travel plans with other backpackers before arriving here, as soon as I mentioned I was headed up to Cartagena almost everyone said, "Go to Santa Marta and stay at The Dreamer." When talking about Santa Marta almost [...]
How I’m growing to love Quito
I'm back in Quito this week after spending an amazing week in the Galápagos, and as you may have seen from my previous Quito post I wasn't a fan of the city when I first arrived. I'm happy to say [...]
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are amazing. Over the past week I have swum with sea lions, giants turtles, penguins, huge schools of fish, octopus and hundreds of other marine species. This is by far the best snorkeling I have ever done, [...]
Hostel Review – Casa del Sol, Montanita, Ecuador
My first impression upon arriving at Casa del Sol was that it looked like a multi-level, bungalow style hotel rather than a hostel. Built of wooden and stone pillars with hammocks hanging lazily on each level and surrounded by lush plants, [...]
Quito – The city that doesn’t feel quite right
Today is my 2nd day in Quito and whilst my altitude sickness is starting to ease, my unease with the city is not. It's 5pm and I'm sitting in my hostel room just having spoken with a couple of other [...]