Two Backpackers

Discover Quito Ecuador

| by Jason | 20 Comments » | Ecuador, Photo Essays, South America

Quito is the capital city of Ecuador and stands 2,800 m (9,186 ft) above sea level, making Quito the second-highest capital city in the world behind La Paz in Bolivia.  Its official, less popular name is San Francisco de Quito.

Quito, Ecuador

Quito is most often visited for it’s proximity to the celebrated middle of the world, equator line (La Mitad del Mundo).  In addition, Quito’s old city (Centro Histórico), also boasts the most exquisite Spanish colonial architecture that attracts photographers from around the world.  Cathedrals dot the landscape and the Andes mountains wrap the city valley.  Looking off into the distance at the 45 m (148 ft) tall aluminum monument of a madonna that stands overlooking the city from a hilltop, I felt I was in a special place. (more…)

Preparing to Travel To-Do List

| by Jason | 26 Comments » | Reflections, Travel Tips, Trip Planning

Packing And Selling Stuff

Preparing to travel, regardless of travel style, can be a stressful task.  We weren’t able to sleep; awake until 3:00am thinking about all that remained to be done for our backpacking trip.

When you live in the United States, traveling to another country typically means you have a long trip overseas.  It means you have to research passport and visa requirements, book flights, and ensure things at home are taken care of.

Don’t expect your planning to be perfect, it’s impossible for long term travel.  This is a journey that will be filled with the unknown; new cultures, language barriers and obscure villages.  For me, it is was about letting go of control.  “I am unable to prevent the inevitable stress we will experience.”  Being able to control yourself when in a situation that is out of your control is a skill you will attempt develop. (more…)

10 Weird Things From Latin America

| by Jason | 77 Comments » | Central America, Photo Essays, Reflections, South America

One of my favorite things about traveling is being humored by things that seem strange or awkward to me.  We’ve traveled extensively through Central and South America and noticed many different customs, products and behaviors that don’t exist in the United States.  Each individual country does have distinct cultural norms when compared to their neighbors, however, we were still able to observe some common weird things across them all.

10 Lessons Learned While Traveling

| by Aracely | 47 Comments » | Reflections, Travel Tips

Jason Jumping Over a Land Cruiser on the Uyuni, Bolivia Salt Flats

It is hard to believe it has been 270 days (9 whole months) that we have been on the road.  Nine months of moving around, nine months of living out of our backpacks, nine months of not seeing family and friends, of hostels, of street food, of meeting strangers, of making friends, nine whole months of travel.  The worst for me has been the nine months of worrying about where I last left my passport.

We have definitely traveled further, taken more pictures, and had many more adventures and mishaps since our 6 Month Summary.  This time around we would like to share a few pictures that you would normally not get to see, and with them some important lessons learned while on the road. (more…)

10 Things We Miss While Traveling

| by Jason | 29 Comments » | Reflections

Volcano El Hoyo Trek Campsite in Nicaragua

It’s been just 3 three months since we began our round the world journey and we now find ourselves ecstatic over the idea of a hot shower.  That leads me to write a follow-up to the original post of “What Will I Miss” written by Aracely before we began our trip.  This list excludes family and friends, which we always miss.

1.  Hot Showers

This is the top dog of things we miss.  Maybe we miss it so much because we are teased with 1 hot shower about once every 6 weeks.  Yes, it is very hot in Central America and most of South America, but if you spent most of your life with hot showers, you never forget them.  We are usually spoiled with hot showers when we travel to high elevations where the weather is much cooler. (more…)

Guatemala’s Travel by Numbers

| by Aracely | 21 Comments » | Central America, Guatemala

Here is a few fun statistics of our first week of travels in Guatemala.

Miles traveled: 250 miles

Hours in a bus: 21

Unidentified Criter #1 found in our bathroom

Number of hostels stayed in: 4—The hostels we’ve stayed in have been quite nice and comfortable.  El Portal in Semuc Champey was the most picturesque, but the walls of the bungalows are not sealed from the outside so you are guaranteed to sleep with a few critters.

Things lost: 3—Clothes liner, carabineer and pillow case.  We forgot them in Semuc Champey.

Mosquito bites: Aracely 13; Jason 0—I came to the conclusion that mosquitoes don’t bother Jason because he’s got hairy legs.

Cold showers: 2—I have been pleasantly surprised with shower water temperature.  Shower water pressure on the other hand, has been very low most of the time.

(more…)