Welcome to the Atacama desert, #Chile – where you can find spectacular landscapes, endless desert roads, and thousand year-old cacti (3rd slide)! 🌵 As in most desert environments, water is scarce, so the growth of each cactus is extremely slow: about 1cm per year. So a 3 meter tall cactus like in the first slide is about 300 years, and for a ten meter one presumably a thousand! They used to be cut for their wood, but as the practice is (of course) very unsustainable, they’re now a protected species 🙏

Take my hand and never let it go ❤️ (I couldn’t resist using a cheesy caption about hands for this one, I mean, c’mon 😆) All jokes aside, the one holding my hand here has been my brightest light last year. I used to believe that relationships were a burden to true fulfillment in life. That I’d always have to choose between either living life to its fullest potential, or having a boring one with someone else. You can only pick one, at least that’s what I thought. To now have someone by my side who not only lives up to everything I ever dreamed of (and quite honestly didn’t think existed), but exceeds all of those with flying colors, pushing and supporting me the way I never knew before, being my shoulder to cry on (and phew, 2020 sure brought some strong waterworks), making me come out of my shell and teaching me things about myself I never even knew, or had buried deep inside. Thank you for being my person @thepilotwhoexplores ❤️

You bet I had sand in my hair for a week after this 😆 this place is called Oasis de Huacachina, and it was such a strong contrast to the lush Andes of Peru we had been exploring the weeks before. So much diversity in this country 🙌🏽 (and it’s got the Amazon too!). Had a blast here, literally, cause the wind was blasting sand into my face non stop 😂 will post the little behind the scenes fail from here in a bit (in case you haven’t already seen it in stories) 😄

A glimpse into the streets of old town Cusco ☺️

Trying to blend in with the Rainbow mountain of Peru! With my beloved poncho that after about a million photos & videos in it, you guys are probably more than familiar with it! 😂 Rainbow mountain, or by its local name in the Quechua language – Vinicunca, is elevated over 5,200m / 17,000 ft, so you breathe like a machine going up here! 😅 Luckily it’s a short hike (took us 45 mins, but apparently the average time is about 2h). Because of the high elevation, take enough time to acclimatize when you arrive to Cusco (where these excursions start), take a day to relax and another couple of days to explore the area to really get used to the altitude, and plan in your trip to Vinicunca by the end. And the day of the excursion, hike at your own pace and avoid exhausting yourself, and spend 30min max. at the peak. More people than necessary have underestimated the effects of altitude and suffered from it. I’m sure none of us wants to be one of those 😅 Happy adventuring 😌

Don’t you love being a woman? Man, I really do. But you know what I don’t love so much? Predatory men. In the past years of mostly solo travel, I’ve become pretty darn good at blinding myself from this issue. Because, especially when you’re alone, it’s easier to close your eyes to something that makes your stomach turn in disgust and opens up the feeling of helplessness in the face of an endless list of societal issues that come along with it. I carry around my own set of trauma induced by men who seem to have never heard of what’s appropriate and what’s not, like most of us women do. And although what’s been done to me is insignificant compared to what countless of us have to go through, it still has pushed me to revolve so much of my behavior around it in the past. I’d wear fake wedding rings so men wouldn’t bother me. I would ignore most of them no matter their intentions. And if I got into a conversation, I’d try to not be “too friendly”, or pretend that my “husband” was waiting just around the corner. The list goes on. And that’s just behavior to the outside, don’t get me started on how it can f* us up mentally. I’ve rarely spoken up about it publicly, mostly because we are already constantly told to be afraid of anything and everything, and I didn’t want to add to that noise. I never want to discourage women from the amazing rewards that solo travel entail, but damn, this problem... it’s real. And it can be anywhere. On the street, at work, for some even at home. And this time - got to catch I teeny tiny fraction of what haunts women on the daily on camera, and I couldn’t help but to share it.

When we visited Machu Picchu, we opted for a local guide to get a better understanding of this site, contribute to the struggling tourism sector here, and also to get a better insight into life here in Peru – got the chance to ask Dario several of the questions you sent in about covid and tourism here in Peru too. Swipe to read his answers 😊 Excited to do more of these soon!

It’s been a couple of amazing days in the Peruvian Andes (and beyond) with little to no internet connection. Will update you on everything soon 😌 meanwhile, here’s me being happy (and exhausted!), back in Cusco & overlooking the streets from our cozy balcony. Was going to ask how your weekend has been, but then I realized it’s already late Wednesday 😂 oh the joys of disconnecting!