Two Backpackers

Mendoza Wine Country

| by Jason | 5 Comments » | Argentina, South America

Wine Tasting at Vines of Mendoza

Yes, while in Argentina we visited the home of the world renowned Malbec wines of Mendoza.  No, we didn’t think it was awesome, but we aren’t wine connoisseurs either.  Once we promoted that we were visiting Argentina, our friends and family immediately asked, “Are you going to visit Mendoza?”  At first, we didn’t think it was going to fit into our route, but after our friend Kevin from home arrived to spend 2 weeks with us, things changed.

The The Mendoza wine region is situated at the foothills of the Andes Mountains on high plains.  The consistent weather, mountain water runoff and extreme high and low temperatures provide the ultimate environment for growing vines at an amazingly high altitude.  The natural, cold mountain water is irrigated to create a fixed and consistent watering system for the grapes.  It rarely rains, so they don’t incur flooding.  The extreme temperature change between night day builds a thick skin on the grapes.  But, best of all, its cheap and fruity delicious! Continue Reading

What’s Next For Two Backpackers

| by Jason | 13 Comments » | Reflections

Our Last Day in Hoboken, NJ

It all began as a casual conversation during lunch in a restaurant in NYC in March of 2024.   Five months later we set off on a year long round the world travel backpacking journey.  Now, we are back home in New Jersey trying to figure out what’s next for Two Backpackers.

Flexibility

What we learned most from our trip was to be flexible.  Flexibility turned our around the world trip into a Latin America backpacking trip.  It turned 1 year into 11 months so we could surprise family.  We discovered Colombia is awesome, El Salvador has some hidden gems such as Alegria and traveling with strangers such as Andy and Paulina from London is lots of fun. Continue Reading

Otavalo Market In Ecuador

| by Aracely | 10 Comments » | Ecuador, Photo Essays, South America

The Otavalo Market is one of South America’s most grandest and famous markets.  The best day to experience the market is on Saturdays.  From Quito, it’s a 2 hour bus ride to the city of Otavalo.  Passengers will start to get off the bus at several stops after you enter town, but be patient and you will arrive at the bus terminal.

Within five minutes of walking the vendor lined streets,  Otavalo made my top 5 most interesting places I visited in South America.  The energy felt while browsing the endless market is uplifting and fun.  It evokes curiosity and an uncontrollable desire to shop once immersed in the chaos.

We have chosen pictures that best provide an idea of what the Otavalo Market is all about.  To be fair, I feel as though this is one of those cases where you really need to experience the market to know what it’s truly like.

Plaza Simon Bolivar in Otavalo

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Discover Chone Ecuador My Hometown

| by Aracely | 10 Comments » | Ecuador, Photo Essays, South America

As I stare out the window of the bus, I watch a world passing by.  It is moving quickly through my window and it’s incredibly different from my world today.  Every time I visit my hometown of Chone, located in the province of Manabi in coastal Ecuador, I can’t help but wonder what my life would be like had I never left.  Where would I be?  Who would I be?  I can only wonder.

Here are few pictures to show what my hometown of Chone is all about:

Local Transportation In Chone, Ecuador

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How We Paid For A Year Of Travel

| by Aracely | 40 Comments » | Travel Tips, Trip Planning

Working at the Beach in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Perhaps you are expecting me to reveal a secret formula or quick way to make money that gives you the means to travel round the world for a year.  I’m sorry, we do not have one.

It’s similar to asking a trainer or nutritionist what’s the best way to loose weight and their response is always, “eat healthy and exercise,” uh, what a bummer.  Who wants to do that!  We never want to do the work we just want to bask in the results. Continue Reading

Budget Travel: The Good, Bad, And The Ugly

| by Aracely | 35 Comments » | Reflections

Cocktails At Playa Blanca Colombia

It seems all of us in the travel blogging community agree that travel is good.  The majority of posts that are produced within the industry are intended to  either sell the reader on the idea that travel is one of the most amazing activities one can partake-in and that they too should travel, or momentarily take them into a world of travel fantasy (as Gary Arndt from Everything-Everywhere.com likes to put it, travel porn.)  In both cases, the story of travel is almost always good.  However, there is indeed a bad and ugly side to travel, more specifically, to budget travel.

There are different styles of travel and each gives the traveler a completely different experience.  Usually, the type of style can be defined by how much money is being spent on that experience.  For example, a luxurious trip to a five star hotel in Rome will be completely different than backpacking through Southeast Asia.  That said, the following issues apply to a budget traveler and only to most places of the world, mainly to the less developed world. Continue Reading

Inti Raymi Festival In Cusco Peru

| by Jason | 10 Comments » | Peru, Photo Essays, South America

Inti Raymi Festival is the largest festival in Cusco and lasts one full week.  The festival takes place during South America’s winter solstice (June 24) and it is in honor of The Sun God which the Inca’s believed to be the most important God of all.  To be specific, the Inca’s actually worshiped the sun rays not the sun itself.

Band on Plaza de Armas

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