South american awards 2012

After 5 months of travelling around and through South America we thought it's about time to pick our favourites in different categories. It's all just in our opinion based on what we've experienced in this time. Decisions are mostly influenced by the limited budget of a backpacker.

 

 

We travelled through Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Out of these we chose the winners.

 




easiest travelling award

Travelling in Colombia is affordable, some streches are not more expensive by plane than by bus and those are in good shape and taxis generally have fixed prices or at least fair fares. If you're lost everyone is happy to help.

 

 

 

 

 

friendliest people award

 

Before we reached Colombia we had no doubt it'll be Bolivia. But Colombians won our hearts just after we crossed their border.

 

 

 

 

 

easiest spanish award

 

No doubt, bolivian spanish or castellano is the easiest to understand, no weird accents or slang. If you don't understand them you can be sure they talk Quechua or Aymará.

 

 

 

 

 

must see national park award

Madidi NP in Bolivia is absolutely beautiful, full of life, well protected and only accessible by boat. We'd go there again any time.

Very close second place, that has to be mentioned here is Galapagos. Just unique.

 

 

 

 

most perfect beaches award

Galapagos wins by its unspoiled, tourist and rubbish free beaches full of sea lions and iguanas. You never get bored.

 

 

 

 

 

best hostel breakfasts award

Nowhere else in the whole continent the breakfast came even close to those in Brazil. Fruits, fruit juice, cheese, ham, sausages, different bread rolls, croissants, cakes, coffee, tea. All included in the price. Good morning!

 

 

 

 

 

most relaxed award

Not much is happening in Uruguay which just suits us. Calm little towns, empty beaches and flat farmlands. Quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

budget friendliest award

Bolivia is cheap. Everything. But only in a bus you notice why.

 

 

 

 

most beautiful landscapes award

Colombians green, tree covered mountains, beautiful cities and the caribbean coast with splendid snorkelling and diving.

 

 

 

 

best buses award

 

Argentinian buses with luxurious chairs, dinner with wine, clean toilets.

 

 

 

 

 

outstanding ruins award

Peru with its Machu Picchu, just unbeatable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

best food award

The cheap and tasty food in Bolivia caters to everyone. There's a lot of meat, yes, but half of us is vegetarian and she voted for Bolivia too. If you cook for yourself you'll find the freshest veggies and the juiciest fruits just around the corner in a market. Chef's paradise!

 

 

 

 

most memorable wine award

Uruguay's Tannat you'll remember forever. Best enjoyed with a dinner. Also works without.

 

 

 

 

 

most different to home award

Everything is different in Bolivia, we really felt like somewhere else. And in every taken photo is at least one indegenious person, we like.

 

 

 

 

 

the country we're most likely to return to award

Colombia wins by it's comfortable climate (we say too hot is better than too cold), it's beautiful vegetation, friendly, beautiful people and the Caribbean coast which we didn't explore long enough. Let alone the San Blas islands...

 

Desert town, wine heaven

Arriving to Cafayate felt like we had come home. Cafayate is a small town with a population around 12,000 and only 40 rainy days a year. It's surrounded by mountains, cactuses, desert and vineyards. It's a cute little place with just enough restaurants and shops to keep you entertained, but not too much to scare you away. There is plenty to do around Cafayate if you are into desert and nature sights. We were planning to stay in Cafayate for a few days, but ended up staying 8 nights and even then we felt like we could have stayed longer.

 

We decided to rent bikes to explore the surrounding area and do a hike up to a waterfall, which sounds very nice and easy until you realise that it's midday with 30 degrees and you're going uphill only. What was 5km on a bike felt like much more, but eventually we found the hiking trail to the waterfall. We were told by locals that the waterfall is impossible to find without a guide. We tried to follow the river anyway, but had to admit that they were right. We got very close to it, but the last climb up was too dangerous when you are just trying to guess the right way, so we gave up and instead just enjoyed the afternoon walk. And it wasn't a bad walk at all.

 

Next day we did a tour to Quebrada de Cafayate, which is a long valley following a river between colorful mountains. Amazing shapes, colors and views.

 

One day we spent tasting wines in the vineyards in town, and the next day was for recovering... Never tried wine in ice cream form before.

 

Before leaving we wanted to go to the ruins of Quilmes. It is an archaeological site, ruins of a 1000-year-old city that was inhabited by 5000 people. They are supposed to be the best preserved ruins in the country. A must see. They make tours from the town, but it was a bit pricy for us, so we decided to take the local bus instead. The only bus going early goes at 6 in the morning, next one is at 2 in the afternoon, so we decided to take the morning bus. It's an hour ride from Cafayate and after that it's a 5-kilometre walk in the dark before sunrise. Desert nights are freezing, but the sunrise over the cactuses and mountains was worth it all. We finally made it to the ruins in the early morning light. We were only expecting some ruins, but nobody told us that they were located partly on a mountain hill with a breathtaking view over the valley. So we climbed up the hill to have a breakfast with a view over the ruins while the sun was getting up. Not a bad start for a day.

We spent the day exploring the ruins and wondering the purposes of the buildings, chasing llamas and goats, trying to spot wild guinea pigs and birds and just enjoying it all. In the afternoon we caught a bus back to Cafayate.