Top 5 Spots

Ok I have been home for over a week. And I have had some time to reflect back on the wonderful journey. And many people have been asking me for my highlights. So I decided to compile a Top 5 list. This is the first of a few. Yes I have lot of time, yes I still love my blog, and yes I cannot get off the travel-bum mindset just yet!

Top 5 Spots:

Machu Picchu, Peru

Despite the amount of tourist, despite it being used in just about every possible adverts that you can think of, despite it being expensive, despite not being able to hike the Inca Trail to get to this ruin (3 months advance booking required) and despite it being touted as the "New Seven World Wonder" as voted in by popularity poll. Machu Picchu did not disappoint. Getting up there, seeing the ruins covered in a mist, it felt like only I was privy to this surreal other-world. The setting is spectacular, as it is surrounded by high mountain peaks and deep valleys. How did the Incas manage to build this city so high up the mountain?

Galápagos Island, Ecuador

It cost an arm and a leg, literally, if you got bitten by a shark that is! Otherwise it just hurts the wallet of a backpacker with the flights, the cruise and the Island tax. But I can say this place is well worth the cost and effort to get to. You may not have realized, but The Galápagos archipelago is comprise of many, many different Islands, all unique in it's own way. Many host animals that can only be found here. Such as the Galápagos Sea Lion, Giant Galápagos Tortoise, the Blue-footed Bobbies, the Galápagos Land Iguana and the Marine Iguana. And the most incredible thing for me, is that the animals are so friendly, since they know of no human predators. The baby Sea Lion would just waddle right up to your feet. And it took a lot of self control not to get down to pat them! The landscape is also varied and stark: Windswept, volcanic, green and lush, dry and treeless... Finally there were new and wonderful experience to had! Like having stingrays swim over and touch your feet as you waddle into shallow water!

Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Ever read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "The Lost World" and about it's amazing dinosaurs at the top of these errie Table Mountains? Ever seen Angel Falls? The highest waterfall in the world which drops 1km down one of these Table Mountains? At 2,810m Mount Roraima is the tallest of them all, located in the South Eastern part of Venezuela, just across the border from Brazil. The trek up the mountain is an adventure, and at the top, it is a totally different kind of world. Wet and stony, sparsely filled with animals and insects unique to the mountain. We lived in natural caves, exploring the surface by day. I felt like a caveman!

Patagonia, Argentina/Chile

Big big big!!! The area that is, stretching from Southern Argentina across to Chile. The Patagonia region is a wonderland for hikers and nature lovers. It serves up big mountains, big glaciers, big open empty space and big juicy lamb and steak. It is my favorite hiking region, as the setup allows easy access to many of it's parks and mountains. My favorite peak here is Cerre Torre. It is a series of sharp, jagged and rocky peaks. Some top with a lofty mushroom like snow cover. It is also one of the hardest peak to climb as it is all about your rock climbing skillz! Glacier Moreno is just mind blowing. Imagine standing 300 meters away from an ice shelf, at 70 metres tall, 2.5 km wide and then watching HUGE chunks rip off it and hits the water with a massive force, causing ripples all the way around, and hearing the explosion echo back. Un-fuckin-belivable! It is also a advancing glacier, one of three according to some sources. So nothing like the glaciers we have in New Zealand!

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

It is completely flat, blindingly white, and it stretches out as far as the eyes can see. This is the world's largest Salt Flat folks! Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is 10,582 km², and at 3,650m above sea level, it is one of the highest too! Due to the flat, horizon less and white environment, it is also the spot where groups of people pose for all kinds of abstract and ultimately, pointless, photo shoots. I know because my group did it too! And if you love salt, this is paradise! Lick it!