A Year Abroad
Taking a risk
In early 2017 I quit my job in North Carolina and spent a year traveling throughout South America with my girlfriend (who I would eventually marry). We started in her home country of Brazil and traveled as far south as the Argentinian Patagonia and as far north as Lima, Peru. It was the most unusual year of my life. The photos below are snapshots of some of the interesting experiences that we managed to capture.
Memories
Cabanaconde, Peru
We spent a couple months volunteering at a bar and hostel in a small mountain town which sits at the edge of the Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon on earth. We would work a few hours at night serving cheap beer and pollo milanesa to French tourists and explored the surrounding mountains on our days off. This photo was taken from the edge of town which provides great views of Sabancaya, an active 19,000 ft stratovolcano.
Ventisquero Colgante, Chile
We camped in Queulat National Park which is in the remote regions of southern Chile. The highlight of which was Ventisquero Colgante or the "Hanging Glacier” which is 1.4 km long and spans two mountains. As we reached the end of the trail and the glacier came into view we could hear giant chunks begin to break off as the afternoon sun melted the glacier. We managed to get this picture of the ice collapsing into the valley below.
Carretera Austral, Chile
We bused and hitchhiked our way down most of Chile’s famous Southern Highway, the Carretera Austral. This image was taken somewhere in rural Patagonia and is typical of how we would spend many mornings and afternoons. Larissa, myself, and an English girl we had met at a hostel the night before were waiting to get a ride further south. Little did we know we would end up getting picked up by two extremely kind Chilean girls. Those girls would end up driving Larissa and I down most of the Southern Highway. We became such good friends that we’ve invited them to our wedding in 2019!
Ollantaytambo, Peru
Larissa and I spent a couple months volunteering at a hotel in Peru’s sacred valley. We worked the reception area for a few hours a day and would use our days off to explore the surrounding mountains. This photo was taken during one of our daily walks to the town market.
São Paulo, Brazil
We spent a good deal of our time couchsurfing, or in this case “floorsurfing”. We spent some time with friends who live in São Paulo’s Japanese district. We arrived just in time for an annual free street party where the city shuts down entire blocks and has concerts in the street all night. This is yours truly recovering after spending a night with the coolest cat, Zine (pronounced Zeeny)!
Machu Picchu
The train ride to Machu Picchu is absurdly expensive when you’ve become accustomed to $40 cross country bus rides. So instead we decided to pay a few soles for a taxi to a hydroelectric station. From there we hiked along the railroad tracks that cut through the jungle and dead end at Machu Picchu.
The Chile, Argentina Border
We managed to hitchhike, bus, and somehow drift our way to the main town through which most backpackers cross from the Chilean Patagonia into Argentina. Well, as we found out the next morning all buses to Argentina were cancelled indefinitely. So we said screw it and spent the day crossing the desert when in the distance appeared this magical sign…
As praias do Brasil
We spent a good deal of time in Larissa’s hometown of Recife. A morning ritual of ours was to walk to the beach and buy popsicles in strange flavors unlike anything I’ve ever had. As far as I know Americans don’t have a word for “Cajá”. It’s a Brazilian fruit that’s typically translated as “caja fruit”.
Parque Pumalín, Chile
We spent a month or so volunteering at a food truck in the rural mountain town of Chaitén, Chile. Chaitén was destroyed by a volcano in 2008. The local beach is still covered in ashes. In our free time we would hitchike to Pumalín park, which was bought and preserved by American billionaire and conservationist Douglas Tompkins. He’s also a native of Conneaut, Ohio. Just saying.