Alaya at Sol y Luna Coroico

A year on the road in photos…

It’s 365 days since we stepped out of our empty London home onto the early morning streets of Peckham and made our way to Rio. Twelve months and twelve countries later, we’re in Mexico with no intention of stopping our travels. It’s been an epic year and, short of reading the blog in its entirety, … Read more

Alaya, Sol y Luna, Coroico, Bolivia

Top 15 South America highlights: our year in pictures

This time last year, our journey was still a dream. I had another couple of months at work, we needed to find tenants for our house and the number 2012 was still synonymous with the Olympics. Now, twelve months later, that number has come to symbolize the year the dream came true. Choosing to travel … Read more

Building a garden in a Wichi village, Argentina

Working with the Wichi people in Salta

Have you ever heard of the Wichi people? We hadn’t until we went to Jueves a la Mesa, a vegetarian puerta cerrada in Buenos Aires. A couple from New York – Leigh and Noah – were holding an exhibition there of photos taken by Wichi children. They had given kids in the community digital cameras … Read more

Eight things to love about Salta, Argentina

We spent about six weeks in Salta, Argentina and fell in love with its laid-back charm, cobbled streets and terracotta roofs. Practically the whole town closes from 1-5pm – even the surgeons go home to spend time with their families – giving a taste of the pace of life and values of the city. These … Read more

Garganta del Diablo, Quebrada de Cafayate

The colours and shapes of the Quebrada de Cafayate

I have a confession. When I went to the Grand Canyon on the tail end of my gap year, aged 19, I was such a brat that on the way there, I moodily declared: “So what, it’s just a big hole”. Cringe. This was mainly to annoy the very keen group of German girls on … Read more

Barcelona with a baby- Hotel Barcelona Catedral

Cafayate wine: a charming alternative to Mendoza

After a slightly treacherous but splendid time in Mendoza, we were intrigued to hear about Cafayate – a smaller wine region in Argentina, most famous for its Torrontes white wine. As a bigger fan of white than red, this peaked my interest even further and we decided to take a look. What greeted us was … Read more

Teens from Barrio Solidaridad in Salta

The selfishness of teens: volunteering with Cloudhead in Salta

Teenagers are obnoxious, right? Rude, selfish, little creatures that think they know everything better than everyone. This is what the British right-wing papers would certainly have you believe. While I can’t vouch for UK teenagers (although they seem pretty harmless on the whole to me), I can say that the Argentinian teenagers we met blew … Read more

Pena at the Casona del Molino 1

Video: Folklorico at La Casona del Molino, Salta

Salta is famous for its peñas, venues where musicians come together to play traditional folk music. Most of these have been turned into touristy nightmares with an organised sit-down dinner and staged show. We avoided these but were luckily told about one that retains its authenticity – La Casona del Molino. The casona is a … Read more