Directly in the middle of the ecuador, water goes straight down when poured into a bowl with a hole at the bottom. Step a few away and the water starts to spin clockwise or counterclockwise depending which side you’re on. Go on the opposite side of the ecuador and it spins in the other direction. The GSP tells us all zero’s. This is the exact middle of the earth.

The museum has several other experiments. I’m not a scientist so I don’t know how this all technically works. On the red line with my eyes closed, I could not walk in a straight line. It was surprisingly difficult without tipping over. Outside of the redline, it was easy.

For our next experiment, we had to balance an egg on a nail. Usually, I don’t balance eggs on nails but I’m going to assume it’s usually difficult. Well at the middle of the earth, it’s a breeze. I balanced it in under a minute. How is that happening?!

Real middle of the earth

A few minutes away by car is a huge monument declared as the middle of the earth. It’s enormous. Built between 1979 and 1982, they thought they had figured out the exact middle. It was as center as they could figure out. The french first figured out this location in 1743. Now the monument and its surrounding area is filled with tourists, restaurants, and souvenirs. Almost like an entire small neighborhood. Reminded me of a theme park but the only attraction was really the monument and the museum inside which I didn’t go in. Apparently the museum holds history of the tribes that were in that area.

Balancing an egg on a nail

Crater of the extinct volcano Pululahua

How To Get There and The Entire Journey:

1. If you have 4 people to go with, definitely take taxi. It’s a HUGE bargain for what you get. We were initially quoted $40USD. We bargained to $30 since it was three of us. Seems to be rare to get this price though. The taxi’s know exactly where to bring you. It’s always the same route.
2. It takes about 45 minutes from Quito to get there by taxi.  We were gone for about 4 hours in total.
3. The taxi first goes to the crater of the extinct volcano Pululahua. A small village lives inside the crater. You get a nice full view from the top. Cost $1 to go to the top. Taxi is worth paying for this alone. Takes about 30 minutes in total for this part of the trip.
4. Next the taxi brings you to the REAL museum. This place is not easy to find if you had taken the bus. It’s actually a far walk. Also really far from Pululahua. Many people seem to skip but the real museum and the crated because they take the bus.
5. Next is the big monument at the fake location. It’s neat for the pictures but there isn’t much you can do there. Just nice to walk around.

If you take the bus, you won’t be saving much. You’ll spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out how to get to the real middle of the earth and you’ll miss out on the crater. The real attraction to me was the museum than the monument. The monument area just felt like a tiny Disneyland which is kind of cool in a way but I would have been disappointed if that’s all I saw.

Middle of the earth monument. Fake location.

Visiting the Middle of the Earth in Ecuador is a post from Art of Backpacking

Here’s episode two of our Travel Talk series. We decided to do something different with this one and asked other people in the hostel for tips. We were staying in Quito, Ecuador at the Secret Garden Hostel. The hostel had a beautiful view of the city. We enjoyed it so much that we stayed for a week and a half to celebrate one of Ecuador’s biggest holidays.

As I mentioned in the video, December is festive in Quito. Although the Quito festival falls on December 6th, the days prior to the main event is a big deal. Numerous parties on every street in preparation for December 6th. The street our hostel was on had street parties with people dancing, drinking, and having fun. People of all ages in all hours of the night partying for days at a time before the main event. A huge parade falls on the actual day.

December 6th is the day of the spanish foundation of Quito. It’s the beginning of a month long partying that occurs right after that. For the month of December, Quito and the rest of Ecuador turns into one giant party. Christmas is around the corner from there and the big celebration ends with new years.

My hostel tip

Take the business card of the hostel. If you get lost, you can show the card to someone on the street for directions or just tell the taxi driver to tell you there. It’s extremely handy when you don’t speak the local language. Its saved me many times. Something else I forgot to mention in the video is that you can hand it to other travelers who need your advice on where to stay. I’ve stayed in hostels other travelers gave me their cards of. As long the hostel has a good business card with directions and address, I’d stay there.

What do you think of the video series so far? Any questions you’d like to see answered?

Video Ep2 – Hostel Tips From Travelers and the Quito Festival is a post from Art of Backpacking

In a small town on the border of Colombia and Ecuador is a beautiful enormous church called Las Lajas Sanctuary. It was built from January 1, 1916 to August 20, 1949 and looks more like a church out of Europe than South America with it’s massive neo-gothic look. Before 1916, it was a much smaller church and went through several phases before it became what it is today.

The church was built after a family in the 1700′s saw the Virgin Mary in the sky right where the church is during a heavy lighting storm. The Virgin of Las Lajas has presumedly performed miracles for the families thereafter.

It’s often skipped by travelers unless you’re crossing to or from Ecuador. It’s out of the way from most destinations if you’re only traveling within Colombia. For this reason, you’ll mostly see Ecuadorians and Colombians visiting the church. It’s obviously busy on Sundays so if you can, try to visit during the weekdays although the services are interesting to listen and watch as well.

There’s a small museum right outside the church that’s worth a visit. Not much to see besides a brief history lesson but it’s a nice stroll.

How to get there:

Real easy. There are colectivo’s (they look like taxi’s) and fit about 4 people. They go to and from the church. Take it from the corner of Carrera 6 and Calle 4. It costs less than 2,000 pesos each way. You could also take a regular taxi but it costs more. You’ll have to hike down the hill from the entrance. If you’re hungry, they have great local foods along the path on your way towards the church. The whole trip to and from Las Lajas can be done in two hours with a nice easy stroll and taking pictures.

The town of Ipiales doesn’t have much. The only reason to be staying here is to cross the border and see the church. Hotel Belmonte is popular among backpackers and cost us $14USD for a private room with bathroom.

Be sure to arrive to and from Ipiales during the daytime as it’s notorious for hi-jacking buses. You’ll also want to cross into Ecuador during the day time.

Las Lajas Sanctuary in Ipiales, Colombia is a post from Art of Backpacking

Close to 5,000 meters / 16,400 feet. It was the highest altitude on land I’ve ever been to in my life. From where the van dropped us off, we still needed to climb for about an hour up to reach the glacier, our destination. We were climbing one of the world’s highest active volcano. It hasn’t had much activity in the last 100 years though. I didn’t know Cotopaxi existed until I saw signs by CarpeDM Adventures at my hostel advertising it.

It was an hour and half drive up the volcano and it wasn’t until we got to the drop off point where the clouds started clearing and we could see the volcano above us. The second we got out of the van, I felt a massive amount of pressure on my head due to the lack of air. I immediately took my camera out and took as many pictures as I could. Unfortunately for the rest of the journey up hill, it was the only time I could actually see the full volcano before the weather gods decided to punish us as they usually do our travels.

The snow didn’t stop us and we continued up the snow capped volcano. I dragged my feat, nearly slipped, felt dizzy, and felt exhausted. I felt bad as the guide had to stop frequently for us to catch up. I didn’t think I could make it. We made our final stop and the guide tells us we were standing on a glacier. He congratulated us and shook our hands. I didn’t show it but I was feeling emotional. I felt a huge rush of accomplishment and achievement. On our way down, we had a cup of hot chocolate and talked about our experience.

Normally we’d have a beautiful view of the volcano above us but there was a heavy thick cloud and  it was snowing heavily. It was an unfortunate view but I was so happy to have made it and experienced that. At least we got to see the volcano in its full view at all.

This was the first time I’ve ever climbed that high. That emotion and sense of accomplishment in the end must be what athletes experience as well. To struggle and push the human body beyond what we think we could do and then survive it. It’s a rush and probably what makes it so addicting. I’d do it to feel that again.

TIP:

• Go during dry season. You might be lucky enough to catch the volcano in it’s full view as you hike up.
• The hike itself isn’t that bad. It’s the altitude that destroyed me. Stay in Quito for awhile and get use to the altitude.
• Do your research on how to deal with high altitudes. Our guide told us nothing. Not even to drink water.
• It doesn’t matter how fit you are when it comes to high altitudes. It affects every person differently.
• During one of the stops before you continue up with the van, there’s a stall that sells Cocoa tea. It’ll help with the altitude and provide energy.
• There’s a lot of snow and it gets cold. Bring good footwear and wear comfortable warm pants. It gets hot as you climb so a light jacket and shirt should be okay.
• If you’re biking down, you won’t be going to the snow part of the volcano. You get dropped off at the starting point and you bike down.
• You have the option to hike to the very top of the volcano. This is serious and it gets difficult. It goes as high as 5,897 m (19,347 ft). You sleep at the refugee camp, wake up at midnight to start your climb and reach the very top during sunrise.
• A day trip costs $40USD. I don’t think it’s worth staying in town. Cotopaxi is pretty close to Quito.

Cotopaxi volcano in the background

Climbing up Cotopaxi. The red is from lava.

Cotopaxi Volcano

Refugee camp for climbers of Cotopaxi

Wolf chilling by the side of Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi, Ecuador: Climbing one of world’s largest active volcanoes is a post from Art of Backpacking

I don’t know what I was expecting out of Colombia but I don’t think it was this. I loved it.

First, I’ll tell you where we went so you can get an idea of how much we traveled in the country. We house sat in Bogota for 3 weeks. I had to go to LA so we stayed in Bogota an extra week till we I got back from LA. We were in Bogota for over a month. From Bogota, we went to Villa de Levya → Santa Manta → Tayrona → Cartagena → Medellin → Salento → Popayan → Ipiales. Everything listed took us exactly 2 months.

Bogota

I was safe

Colombia was our first stop in South America and before we left home, we were drilled by family and friends with safety concerns. The U.S Department of State has huge warning about Colombia. It’s also listed on TripAdvisor and of course the media plays a big role on this.

Nothing got stolen. In fact, I felt safe.

This might be hard to grasp since it’s the opposite in the U.S but military and police security presence actually means it’s a safe place to be. There were several check-points along the roads ensuring nothing dangerous or illegal was in the bus and I.D checks were frequent. Even while purchasing your ticket and again several times on the bus. The I.D is cross-referenced on  devices to ensure that person isn’t wanted.

Colombia has had a bad history and it’ll likely take a long time before it can clear up its name. Dangerous areas are still present and FARC is still active. The worst areas of Colombia are areas tourists would never go to. I also took advice from locals and other travelers about being safe. For example, Popayan to Ipiales has had a bad history of bandits stopping the bus late at night. Naturally then we traveled by day for this route.

Honestly, I felt more unsafe on the bus rides than anything else because the drivers are absolute maniacs. It was either that or I was going to freeze to death because the air conditioner was on full arctic blast.

It’s really just using common sense and doing a bit of research on where to go and where not to go. It’s the same routine you’d take for any other destination in the world.

Police in Colombia

Friendliest people I have met in South America

I have never been so welcomed in any other country in South America than in Colombia. The people were insanely friendly. So much that even the language is MUCH friendlier. No matter who I asked for help, how lost I got, or how frustrated I was – everyone was helpful, patient, and relaxed. Very rarely was I ever pressured to purchase anything and taxi’s were even honest.

This will be one of the top things I’ll miss about Colombia.

Friends from SeeColombia.Travel

It’s not that cheap

I spent a little over $2,200USD in two months. The number is skewed though because I house sat for 3 weeks which meant free rent and I could cook most of my meals. It could have been higher if I had not been house-sitting. I’ve pretty much budgeted that traveling with hostels, sight-seeing, buses, and eating out often would cost about $50 a day depending how often someone travels from one city to the next and what they choose to eat.

Buses alone are quite expensive compared to other South American countries. I paid from Villa de Levya to Santa Marta 100,000 pesos. That’s about $50USD. Looking at flights, they are not that cheap either. I met a few travelers that were able to nail cheap flights for just another $20 compared to taking the bus but it was rare. Traveling within Colombia can get expensive. Buses overall are somewhat comfortable. Some better than others. Beautiful scenery in pretty much every bus we’ve been on.

Accommodation was okay. The cheapest I paid for a private room was $14 in Ipiales and $35 for a room in Santa Marta which had AC and bathroom. Most hostels and guest houses seemed to have been priced around that range for private rooms. In Tayrona where we rented a hammock and tent, it was around $10 a person. Dorms are somewhere between $10 to $30 a person depending on the city. We jumped between private and dorms. I carry a bunch of expensive electronics and it’s usually not that much more for private. The absolute best hostel we stayed in was in Popayan called Hostel Trail.

Ipiales - Las Lajas

Not the greatest food

I wasn’t terribly happy about Colombian food. It got repetitive and everyone seemed to have the same menu.

The best deal of the day is lunch where they have set menus that they cook for everybody. You can only choose between about two different set menus. It usually includes an appetizer, meal, juice, and sometimes dessert. It’s an absolute fantastic deal for anyone on a budget. The meals usually cost around $3 to $5. The thing is, I got sick of this meal. The choices were usually chicken or steak (not good steak either). It almost always included a side of rice and salad. The salad for some reason always had way too many onions. No dressing either. The meal tasted okay and it did the job but it’s not a ground breaking meal. It just gets you full.

Hopefully I don’t piss off any Colombians with this statement but it seemed to me that the food in Colombia is to get the job done and feed you. Not so much in the art of food and having a bigger selection.

Even in Popayan where it’s declared a UNESCO for gastronomy, I just didn’t really find it that great. I was confused because you’d think that as a UNESCO site on food, you’d find great dishes but the truth was you had to specifically look for the restaurant gems to get the good food. I’m sure if I had been to the right restaurants, it would have been great.

I didn’t even have good coffee in Colombia. Just okay coffee. All the good stuff is exported and you’d have a better chance of finding the great Colombian coffee in your home country than in Colombia itself. I did go to Salento where some of the best coffee is but because of the massive amounts of rain, I was unable to go to the fields and try it out.

You really only have three or so selections for beer and that’s Club Colombia, Aguila, Poker, and a few more. The best beer I had was in Bogota at the Bogota Beer Company but those can only be found in Bogota. Not many options for beer.

My favorite foods in Colombia however are definitely the plantains with cheese in the middle, hot chocolate with cheese, tamales, and the huge selection of fruits. 

Hot Chocolate and Cheese

Colombians know how to party

I went out with Troy from FoggOdyssey in Medellin to the most interesting club I have ever been to in my life. It’s difficult to describe as I didn’t have my camera that night. It was a cartoon themed club for adults full of decorations from Disney, Warner Brothers, Marvel, and more. I highly doubt they approved of this club to use their characters. Workers were dressed as different characters like Daffy Duck, Mario Brothers, Alice, and all sorts of super hero’s. Each room had a different theme to it. The room where we had our table had hundreds of dolls nailed to the ceiling. It was creepy but awesome. The club was called Dulce Jesus Mio (check out that article for some of the wackiness).

Liquor bottles were flying in every direction, people were dancing on chairs and tables, and the age went from 18 to 80. Everyone was into the music, singing, and just having a great time. My kind of party. It got me thinking of how the scene is at home. To me it seems our culture at home is heavily influenced by picking up girls at the club rather than enjoying the music but in Colombia it was ALL about the music. Even when dancing with a stranger, it still meant nothing. It’s just someone to dance with and then you go your separate ways.

Salento

Rainy season sucks and it gets cold

It seemed to have rained the entire two months I was in Colombia. It killed travel plans and killed our moods. Floods were destroying roads and houses all across the country. It made everything difficult. We did our best in seeing as much as we could in the rain but I feel our experience would have been different in the dry season.

Friends and family seemed surprised when I told them I was freezing cold in some of the places I visited. There’s these mountains called the Andes and the higher you are, the colder it gets. Bogota is 2,625 meters. It gets chilly when it rains and at night. In fact, out of all the cities we visited, we were only extremely hot in Cartagena and Santa Marta. Every other place we went to was either somewhat warm, room temperature cool, or freezing because of the rain.

Cartagena

Overall

• Medellin was my favorite city.
• Tayrona had the best beaches.
• Bus travel is pricey and scary.
• I felt safe in most places.
• Did not enjoy the food but I do love tamales, hot chocolate, plantains, and their selection of fruits. Also Arepas having a boring taste. Sorry Colombia!
• The climate in Colombia changes dramatically as you travel and the season you’re in.

I had a great time in Colombia. It was interesting because I think I expected something different and I know I surprised everyone at home with how things really were in Colombia. I knew very little about Colombia before going there. It’s definitely a country I would love to explore more of and even perhaps settle in Medellin for a little while. It’s an up and coming country offering so much to backpackers for adventure, culture, and exploration. It doesn’t have nearly as many travelers as Peru and it offers just as much.

I think what’s missing from Colombia is a tourism infrastructure like Costa Rica and Peru has. As their economy continues to grow, I think they’ll realize the potential in international tourism and provide a better system then what they currently have. It does make traveling in Colombia a bit more unique than the more traveled countries and provides some great stories. I definitely recommend any type of traveler out there to check out Colombia.

Thank you Colombia for treating me well!

Check out all the pictures I took in Colombia.

Thoughts on Colombia After 2 Months of Travel is a post from Art of Backpacking

I was recommended to take Mike’s Bogota Bike Tours by a dozen different people all with good things to say about the tour. Through all the recommendations, no one explained what to expect or what I’d see. The website is pretty simple and generic. Most of what was to come from the tour I was completely surprised by and mostly because I had no idea what to expect.

Mike is from California and has lived in Bogota for the last 6 years. Before living in Bogota and starting the tour company, he lived in different parts of South America as a journalist. His tour company is now very successful running two tours everyday. The store itself has a hole-in-the-wall look to it. Nothing special about it, just has a few old books, bikes, maps, and pictures hanging around. His reputation has been earned through character rather than appearance. Even Mike’s bike looked like it’s been around for years. The bikes we rode in were up-to-date though and worked great.

Starting at 10:30am in front of the shop, the tour started right away biking down to a plaza and getting right to the introductions and history of Bogota. His high spirited attitude and easy going personality made the tour feel comfortable straight from the beginning.

Much like other developing countries, the traffic and roads of Bogota are chaotic. Biking became a game of playing chicken and Frogger. We had to dodge cars through the streets and swerve through pedestrian. Surprisingly though, it was somehow easy to bike through. Pedestrian had eyes on the back of their heads and cars noticed the momentum in which we were coming. There was no explanation of safety before the tour. We signed a paper that basically said they hold no responsibility if we get injured during the tour. Once we were out of the main streets and onto the sidewalks and back alleys, it became easier to ride and enjoy the scenery.

It didn’t take long to notice Mike’s fascination with street art and statues in Bogota. He knew every statue and graffiti location down to even the meaning behind it all. He took us to hidden streets covered in beautiful art work.

Graffiti in Bogota

Mike brought us down streets I would have never thought of going to. One particular area was the red light district in Santa Fe. This is one of the few areas of Bogota that are tolerant of prostitution and allow it to be publicly displayed on the streets. Along the roads as we were riding down were brothels and girls showing what they got on a somewhat rainy Monday morning. That can’t be a good shift.

One of the things I noticed about Mike was how many people he knew around Bogota. He seemed to have connections everywhere. To have a business such as Mike’s in this kind of city, I would imagine you need connections to run it. He handed out fruits, cookies, and printed photographs as a thank you to a few of the guards and workers at the places we went to. He was able to take us to places that were generally closed off for tourists.

Central Cemetery, Bogota

Bullfighting at the Plaza de Toros only occurs in January and February during the Spanish off season. The gate is closed and has the appearance of not allowing visitors. Mike however seemed to have broke a deal with them. He rang the bell at the gate and the guard allowed us in free of charge. We had the whole stadium to ourselves. He mentioned the guard works on tips to allow us in so I tipped him 500pesos (25 cents).

I love trying new fruits so I was excited to find out that we were at the second largest fruit market in Bogota. He had us sampling a dozen different fruits I never knew existed. I’ve seen some them on the streets but I had no idea what they were or how to eat them. I loved this part of the tour.

Another really neat part of the tour was the cemetery tour. If I had went to the cemetery on my own, I would have no idea who anyone of the people buried were or their history.

Central Cemetery, Bogota

Here’s more information about the company:

Our tours vary with riders’ interests and abilities. Duration also varies, but is usually three to five hours. Places we often pass or visit include the Plaza del Chorro, the Botero Museum and the National Museum; Plaza Bolívar, Plaza San Victorino,  Parque del Renacimiento with its Botero Sculpture; Bogotá’s Central Cemetery, the fruit markets of Palo Quemao and the Egipto neighborhood; The Cafe de la Fonda coffee factory; the Londonesque La Merced neighborhood; Third Milenium Park and its Disarmament Sculpture; the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Cultural Center, the National University with its Che Guevara Plaza;Independence, National and Símon Bolívar parks; the Bullfighting Stadium, the Train of the Savannah, the Plaza de Lourdes and many others. On our tours, we also talk about human rights and Colombia’s troubled and often violent history and present. Generally, you’ll also see some great graffiti on our tours.

The tour cost 30,000 (~$15USB) a person and lasted close to 5 hours. That’s an amazing bargain for how much you get to see, learn, and experience.

Have you taken this bike tour before? How was your experience?

Mike from Bogota Bike Tours

Bogota Bike Tours: Biking The Hidden Corners of Bogota is a post from Art of Backpacking

I wanted to volunteer abroad. For three days, I volunteered at the Guarani indigenous village of Peruti in the province of Misiones, Argentina. This was with the same organization I was volunteering with in Buenos Aires.

There’s about 1,000 people living in this village and with at least 300 to 400 children. Most families have multiple children at a young age. A 28 year old being a grandma for example. A few families do work but with extremely low pay and others are supported through the government though that is obviously not enough. Education is also poor. Parents are uneducated and have very little to teach their children as they grow up. This creates a cycle since the children are uneducated and will grow up to have their own kids whom will also be uneducated. For what would seem to be common sense to us, is completely new to them. There are hardly any opportunities here. It’s not like the slums of Buenos Aires where they DO have choices to live better and have other options. Give someone an opportunity to live better in this village, and they’ll grab it.

We were there to provide food and clothes but most of all, hope. In between the endless amount of hours cooking, cleaning, serving, and handing out clothes – we were to play with the kids to just make them smile. They were not shy at all as they quickly grabbe us as if we had known them for years. We were treated more than just friends but also as part of their family. My nickname for the entire weekend was Michael Jackson simply because my name is Michael.

I was basically attacked by the kids. At one point I had three kids tackling me to the ground. Laughter and smiles in every corner of the room. We were all surrounded by them. Somehow I gathered a fan club from a group of 13 to 16 year old girls that wanted endless amount of pictures with me.

A little boy I think about 5 years old was hooked on me. He didn’t want to let go of my sight or arms at all. Every time I put him down, he would jump right back up or attack my leg. He asked for my camera nicely and though I was hesitant, the smile got me. He faced his hands up in a cup and gently took the camera. He grabbed the camera tightly and put his hands through the rope around his wrist securing it to make sure it didn’t fall. That was too cute. Saying good bye ended up being much more difficult than I had imagined.

Digital cameras were really exciting to them and most were really glad to have their pictures taken to see themselves on an LCD screen. The weekend ended with a dozen kids screaming fotos (picture) asking for more pictures.

It’s proven by what I’ve seen – money doesn’t create happiness – people do.
I have faith in humanity.

The following article has been sponsored.

Volunteering at an indigenous village in Argentina is a post from Art of Backpacking

From November 2009 to January 2010, I volunteered with a nonprofit organization in Buenos Aires, Argentina called L.I.F.E. I found them through Google but what I really found came back to me with a surprise. I was about to volunteer in an area where my mother had spent years growing up in and I had no idea.

When I told my mother that I was going to be volunteering at an area called Laferrere, she was shocked. She spent years here as a child and a few of my family members stayed there even longer than she did. My uncles and aunts were just as surprised. I remember her telling me about her childhood but I never put it into perspective. I would listen to her stories but for some reason I could never actually picture it and neither had I remembered the area she talked about.

Laferrere is about an hour away from the city of Buenos Aires. Although it has improved dramatically since my mom had been there as a child, it’s still predominantly known as being extremely impoverished and dangerous area. We couldn’t even take the train there because it was too dangerous and instead we would take a private van. The air was dusty from all the smog and dirt roads. You can immediately see a change in environment compared to downtown Buenos Aires. While McDonalds may help remind you of the current year, everything else has an old fashion grungy look to it.

When I told my mom there was an old ferris wheel to give her an idea of where I was volunteering in the city, she was excited to tell me she remembers that ferris wheel well and she used to go there as a child. The old house that my grandma had is still there and she even still owns it but rents it out. A few blocks away was also where my mom had first met my dad. My family history was created here.

Drawing and worksheets.

I was so amazed that I was volunteering in the exact area that my mom grew up in that I took a leadership role for this area. My title in the organization meant organizing all activities, leading the group, and getting to know the kids well. I had no volunteering experience before but I felt inspired and motivated to help these children. At L.I.F.E, we had children from ages of 4 to 16. Our mission was to have after school activities to keep educating them and to keep them out of trouble. Sometimes we taught them English, played soccer, or just built things out of legos. The children were all great and high spirited. Our goal was to make sure they had a brighter future and to keep them smiling.

If you’re in the Buenos Aires area and staying for longer than two weeks, check out L.I.F.E Argentina. They have accommodation options as well.

Was this fate?

(This is in a two part series. My next article will be when I went with the organization to volunteer in a indigenous village in the northern part of Argentina.)

Streets of Laferrere

They loved getting their picture taken.

Motivated children working hard on their worksheets.

Smiles all around.

How Volunteering in Buenos Aires Accidentally Took Me Back to my Roots is a post from Art of Backpacking

I had an apartment for a few months that was two blocks away from this cemetery. As you can imagine, I visited this cemetery several times. Every time I had a couchsurfer or traveler stopping by, they wanted to go to the Recoleta Cemetery. I had memorized the maze. It was equally as impressive every time I went. Evita Peron is buried here. Other burials are of famous presidents, soldiers, writers, boxers, poets, journalists, governors, scientists, painters, politicians, and musicians.

Photos: Recoleta Cemetery is a post from Art of Backpacking

This colorful and pleasant city is surrounded by the Andes mountains. Salta has more of a Spanish influence compared to the rest of Argentina. There are museums, art galleries, and beautiful churches throughout the city. Very charming city.

Saint Francis Church

View of Salta, Argentina

Photo: Salta, Argentina is a post from Art of Backpacking