After a month of travelling through Ecuador with the bare minimum of Spanish under our belt, we realised that we needed to do better. If we were going to travel through South America for at least 6 months, we really had to try and learn some more Spanish. We’d read that the small beachside town of Montañita was the best place to learn Spanish in Ecuador. In...
Last Update: October 2026 We recently spent five days in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Amazon, the one place in the world that I swore to myself I would never set foot in, ever! Why’s that? It’s for one reason only; I am absolutely terrified of spiders, especially large ones such as ugly, hairy Tarantulas. We all know that many fears are totally irrational and...
Last Updated: October 2026 After our awesome time in Baños, it was time to move on again. So, we hopped back on the Wanderbus to make our way to our next destination, Alausi. Alausi is a tiny town in Ecuador that is largely popular due to one thing, el Nariz del Diablo (the Devil’s Nose). The Devil’s Nose is a famous train ride that showcases some of the breathtaking...
Last Updated: October 2026 We absolutely love wildlife, so if there was one place in South America that we wouldn’t have missed, it’s the Galapagos Islands. Everyone we’ve met who’d been to the Galapagos has always come back raving about it and telling us wildlife lovers that we just had to go there. With Ecuador as the first stop of our South American trip, we...
Last Updated: October 2026 Nestled among lush green mountains at the foot of the mighty Tungurahua volcano, Baños de Agua Santa is one of Ecuador’s most beautiful and adventurous destinations. Known as Ecuador’s adventure capital, Baños is famous for its spectacular waterfalls, natural hot springs, scenic hiking trails and adrenaline-pumping activities...
Last Updated: October 2026 Perched high in the Andes at an altitude of 2,850 metres, Quito is one of South America’s most fascinating capital cities. Surrounded by dramatic volcanic peaks, Ecuador’s capital is famous for its beautifully preserved colonial architecture, colourful streets, historic churches and spectacular mountain views. Quito was our...
After Tallinn and Riga, the next and final destination of our rapid tour of the Baltic States had us heading to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. We weren’t quite sure what to expect of Vilnius, neither had we done much research about it. Out of the three Baltic capitals, it seemed like Vilnius was the least well-known. Given that, we were looking forward to...
After spending three nights in stunning Tallinn, we hopped on a bus and four hours later we arrived in Riga, the capital of Latvia. Riga is a great city to explore if you love architecture because apart from its medieval Old Town, Riga also has a huge amount of Art Nouveau architecture. In fact, Riga is the Art Nouveau capital of Europe. Riga is also a university...
Helsinki is the Finnish Capital but it certainly doesn’t feel like a capital city. Helsinki is surrounded by islands and a third of the city’s space is taken up by parkland and green spaces. That makes it a haven for outdoor lovers! Do you prefer shopping? Don’t worry, Helsinki is the Design Capital too, so there’s plenty of shopping to be done; just don’t expect it...
Paris is one of the most loved cities in Europe. It’s known as the most romantic city in the world and one of the four fashion capitals of the world. For me, Paris is the capital of my home country, the country I lived in for the first 18 years of my life. But for many years, I only ever saw Paris on TV. Back then, many people living in the small country towns of...