JANUARY 2020
A question we get asked a lot is: “What is the best destination you have visited during your three month travels”? It is really hard to answer that question with just one location, so I decided to make a blogpost with some of the highlights of our travels. Hielke agreed with most of my highlights, though he would like to add New York to this list, but as I was sick for most of our time in New York I could not honestly add it to this highlight list… Even though I love making lists, I couldn’t manage to pick a number one, therefore this list is in a random order.
Southern States of the US
We loved getting an all-American experience in the Southern States of the U.S. and visited Nashville, Charleston and Savannah. We found Charleston to be particularly charming with its cobblestone streets, houses full of history and Rainbow Row. What we really liked about this area is the diversity of it; it combines beautiful nature (amazing oak trees) and a very accessible culture. These cities are mainly frequented by American tourists, Charleston and Savannah were in fact not very touristy at all, and the locals are proud that you are visiting this region of the U.S. and are very welcoming to let you participate in the culture. This area also has a dark side, as it took a long time to abort slavery. As a result of this you can still visit a lot of plantations, as some of them are used for educational purposes. Even though this is a very ugly part of history, we found visiting the plantations very humbling and educational and still super relevant.
Tatacoa desert, Colombia
Colombia was one of our favorite countries to visit. It has only recently had a rise in tourism and because of this the inhabitants are not ruined by tourism yet and we found them operating very honestly. As life in Colombia has been very tough in the past due to the drug wars, Colombians are now super eager to show you what their beautiful country has to offer. One of the hidden gems in Colombia is the Tatacoa desert. It takes a little more effort to visit this area of the country and long hours in slow buses but it is definitely worth your time. The Tatacoa desert actually is not a desert, but a dry tropical forest. Because of erosion beautiful shapes have emerged. As this area is not largely discovered by foreign tourists, you will have the Tatacoa desert all to yourself. Apparently this is also one of the best locations for star gazing in the world, so go check it our yourself!
Iceland
When it comes to landscapes Iceland totally could have been the number one on our travel list. The landscapes in Iceland are incredibly dramatic, when you hire a car every hour the landscape changes and you will discover other dramatic sights. Iceland has many hot springs and it is really easy to visit a few along the way, which also makes this a super relaxing location to visit. One of the most special places we visited in Iceland is the Solheimasandur plane wreck. I don’t know any other place where you can climb on a wrecked plane in the middle of a black sand beach (knowing that all the passengers survived). Unfortunately we hardly met any Icelandic people during our travels, we didn’t even meet the owners of the Airbnbs where we stayed. Therefore I would recommend to go for the nature and not for the culture.
Cartagena, Colombia
Of all the colonial towns that we visited during our travels, Cartagena in Colombia was by far our favorite! The colors and architecture of this town are absolutely gorgeous and because it is relatively safe there are people on the streets until late in the evening. When you go to Cartagena I would recommend to stay in the historical city center, preferably in a hotel with a swimming pool in a courtyard or great views to soak in all this city has to offer. Cartagena is the most touristy place in Colombia and can be visited year-round, as some cruise-ships visit Cartagena you might have to put up with crowds on some days. Cartagena has an amazing foodie culture, you will find super colorfully decorated restaurants competing for the best ceviche. Another benefit: tap water in Cartagena is safe to drink, so you don’t have to worry about any of the dishes, so you can really indulge in all the cuisine that Cartagena has to offer. Near Cartagena you will find the tropical Rosario islands that are surrounded by crystal clear water.
Torres del Paine, Chile
Visiting Torres del Paine has been a dream of mine for several years, but not being a fanatic hiker kind of put me off from visiting for a long time. Luckily I can now say that it is absolutely possible to visit Torres del Paine without being in the perfect condition. We visited the park for two days and loved discovering the blue lakes, rough mountains, vicunas and condors. We did a day-hike to the beautiful Torres del Paine base (and survived) and hired a car to drive around for another day to see the stunning lakes. Another wonderful thing when visiting in December is that you get to see fields of lupins, being a huge flower lover this was almost more exciting than climbing the Torres del Paine base 🙂
Mendoza, Argentina
I wish I could put all of Argentina on this list, but that would be a little bit insane.. however we loved Argentina! Mendoza was my favorite spot in Argentina. If you are a wine lover, you have to visit this region. Mendoza is a very low key location, definitely not as fancy as visiting the wine regions in South Africa. I have to admit I had to get used to that when we arrived, but I ended up finding that very charming. We stayed in a little family-owned hotel between the wine fields and I would definitely advise to visit this region like that. We used taxis and bikes to get around, so we could taste all the Malbecs and amazing gastronomy. Mendoza felt like a mini-holiday in a huge holiday and should definitely be on your list of places to visit in Argentina!
Huacachina, Peru
This is a more controversial choice, but I absolutely think it should be on the list. We loved Huacachina for the thrilling activities such as dune buggy riding and sand boarding, but we also loved it for the stunning views of the desert and the oasis. Huacachina is often described as too touristy and yes, there are a lot of dune buggies stationed next to the oasis, but the desert is big enough not to run into other buggies while taking a tour. Because of its touristy status it is really easy to book a tour on the time schedule that you prefer, making Huacachina a really easy stop. Sunsets in the desert are absolutely magical, so make sure you plan a trip including a sunset!
