Exploring Salar de Uyuni: the good, the bad and the ugly

September 27, 2015December 12, 2015Leave a comment

Uyuni. If you are planning a trip to South America or simply love travelling, you probably have heard this name before. This small town on the west part of Bolivia is world wide famous for its the salt flats that have its name, the biggest in the world, spreading over more than 10.000 square km (4.000 square miles). For many travellers, it is a bucket list item and a top attraction to visit during their trip to South America. But behind the dream and the attractive pictures the reality can sometimes make you frown or get you scared.

In this article, I am talking about what you should know before getting on a Salar de Uyuni tour.

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Hiking around El Chalten (Argentina) – a 3 day trek by Fitz Roy

September 17, 2015December 12, 2015Leave a comment

After 22 hours of bus, on a straight road in the middle of flat and boring steppes land, we saw its silhouette in the distance: the famous Fitz Roy chain. Slowly, the silhouette becomes sharper and bigger, until revealing a fantastic mountain range like created from shark tooth, surrounded by a beautiful grey laguna and several glaciers. We arrived to the promised land of El Chalten, self-proclaimed capital of trekking of Argentina.

The dream starts at the end of a 22h bus ride.

El Chalten offers plenty of hiking possibilities: you can easily take day hikes but why not going for a mini trek for a more immersive Patagonia experience?

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Travel with older loved ones

August 30, 2015December 7, 2016Leave a comment

“You are crazy, making me climb all these stairs!” she said, pointing at her crutches and trying to look upset before bursting into a big laugh. Nicole is 55 years old than me and for 4 days, my travel companion for a mini road-trip on the roads of Normandy (France).

We all know that life is too short. A couple of months before this trip, I felt the urgency to spend time with her. The first time I met Nicole I was barely a few weeks old, and I have always said she is my 3rd grand mother. But lately, with me living abroad we barely meet each other twice a year for a couple of hours over dinner or coffee.

“And you would like to go with me?” If you love travelling, why not sharing this passion with this (these) special one(s)? Many older people didn’t really had much opportunity to travel and at this age, regrets and loneliness may be a huge part of their daily thoughts. In this article I want to show you that with a bit of planning and some concessions it is possible!

Show them it’s never too late to travel. Share with your older loved ones a moment you will both remember.

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In my backpack – Hiking equipment

August 18, 2015January 8, 2017Leave a comment

Packing for a travel is never an easy process, but when you are heading out into the wild with no option to buy missing items, it becomes even more critical to give it some good thoughts.

What to pack and what to leave home? How to make sure you can keep going even if the weather change? I am sharing here my packing list for the happy trekker along with a few learnings and tips, acquired kilometre after kilometre.

So, what’s hiding inside the backpack?

Packing list for going trekking

If you want to be a minimalist packer, any item that goes into your backpack should answer one of the 3 essential goals of a hiker: stay dry, stay warm, stay clean. This, and some good food of course, will ensure you remain a decent human being even if you are trekking for more than a week without showering (think it’s too gross, it is still time to move to another post ;-)?)

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Kungsleden, a 7 day trek above the Arctic circle

August 2, 2015July 21, 20191 Comment

Kungsleden, “the royal trail”, is a 450km trail running into the Swedish mountains of Lappland, above the Arctic circle. Thousands of hikers come every year in summer to complete a portion (or all!) of one of the most beautiful treks on the planet and enjoy full wilderness – not even phone connection! The first part of the trail, between Abisko to Nikkaluokta is a rewarding 5-7 days trek.

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A week-end in Kungshamn, on the West Coast of Sweden

June 23, 2015September 20, 2015Leave a comment

Kungshamn at dusk, west coast of Sweden.

Driving 6h across the country on a Thursday evening after several stressful weeks is not exactly what I had in mind when I talked about “spending a relaxing midsummer week-end”.

But going out of town to enjoy life in the family stuga (cottage) is what you are supposed to do for midsummer when you live in Sweden. With no family cottage to crash in, we ended up renting one on the other side of the country (“the right side of Sweden” according to the ones who live there). “It has better worth it!” I mubbled as I packed my bags, annoyed. What I will realise during the week-end is that the great thing about Kungshamn, is that you don’t have to do so much over there. And just for this reason, it was worth the long drive.

Kungshamn, small town of the west coast is the perfect place to be off for a few days and reconnect with your senses. Here are 5 simple pleasures to experience during a week-end in Kungshamn, Smögen or pretty much anywhere on the Swedish west Coast.

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How much does it cost to travel 7 months in South America

May 3, 2015February 15, 201618 Comments

“How much did you spend for the trip in South America?” This is probably the question that we have been asked the most since we came back from South America (ok maybe after “How was it?“). And I know that actually, many more didn’t dare to ask it. But it’s ok to ask. I have been so much under the charm of South America that I am whising everybody to have the opportunity to go and travel on this beautiful continent one day. People usually skip the continent because they think South America is too expensive for a long trip. But is it really?

During our 222 days (more than 7 months) in South America, we tracked our expenses on the road day by day and upon our return I did a proper financial reconciliation to check that our travel budget figures were right. – 🙂 Yes, that’s a professional deformation.

So here you get it all: the full break down of our spendings, cost item by cost item and country by country, figures you can use to plan your RTW trip, a 6 months long trip or even just a nice vacation in South America!

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Hiking the Quilotoa Loop, one of Ecuador´s best self guided trek

September 8, 2014February 21, 201638 Comments

This is a trek that should be on any hiker´s bucket list!

Just 3 hours from Quito, the splendid “Quilotoa Loop” has gained the heart of many travellers. During your time over there (from a day to 2 weeks), you will get close to rural indigenious life and enjoy a variety of landscapes with majestic canyons, lagunas and volcanoes. And, ice on the cake for independant travellers, you can do it 100% self-guided! Get inspired by the pictures and start planning your trek with this article.

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