Life's Hard As A Norweigian

With South America in the books, I finally got to start my travels back to Vancouver.. with a quick detour in the  Caribbean first! Landing in Fort Lauderdale, I was lucky enough to catch up with Vanessa for dinner who I had met 5 months ago in Brazil, as well as meet her friend Jennifer! It was definitely a highlight seeing an old friend, catching up as if we've known each other for years, and not for just for a few months. Good for the soul!

Ladies with accents..

Afterwards my parents picked me up and we had a big ole happy reunion! It was great seeing them after my trip and it couldn't have been a better reception stateside. Sitting in the car with them on the way to the hotel however, I realized I had just had one of the last conversations where I wouldn't have to explain any of the places, names or things that I've experience to the other person. Where they simply just understood what I was saying. I'm going to miss that.. a lot. Meeting up with the rest of the family in our hotel led to an epic exchange of personal belongings brought from Vancouver and a bag of presents from South America in return. Then after a short sleep we were off cruising!

Cruising!

The Norwegian Epic was my home for an entire week. Unpacking my bag into drawers and clothes hangers was definitely a huge change of pace for me. As was having catered food anytime 24/7, as was being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet.. as was having the same bed for more than four days, as were many many other things. Days were spent lounging on the sun deck, guzzling protein in between sets at the gym (ha), going to three hour dinners, drinking bottles with the cousins and sisters, and exploring three different ports of call! A hard life as a Norwegian indeed. 

La vida es duro

Three stops. Nassau, Bahamas. Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Cozumel, Mexico. 

Nassau! As we departed the cruise we got into a 15 passager bus and took off immediately. Or not. We ended up waiting for it to fill up to take off to Atlantis Waterpark when we were introduced to Sharky the Swiper. By that, I mean he literally convinced us to ditch the van and go into his air conditioned SUV to take off to Atlantis instead of waiting for more people. Service first right? Atlantis was beautiful, a "Mayan" temple had three slides built into it, two of which would shoot you through a glass tube filled with sharks! Many pools and and a few more rides dotted the park. A lazy river rapid on tubes ended up being the best ride of the day, full of laughs and smiles. A lunch date with a classmate of Rosalyn's led to a one really awkward handshake video and the dubbing of my "jobless travel bracelets". I definitely need to return. To get a real feel for the location. To get under the skin of some locals. To really discover it.. and obviously not just for a passport stamp and another patch on my backpack. Obviously. 

Mayan Temple. Discovered as is.

Ocho Rios! Ya maaaaan! No problems in Jamaica, only situations! Some of the friendliest people live here in Jamaica, also some of the best salesmen! We got a chance to explore Dunn's River Falls just outside the town. It's essentially a series of small waterfalls connecting into a river running down the course of some 600 feet to the ocean. Climbing/hiking/swimming up it from the bottom with my family including mom, dad, uncle, and aunt was awesome. Thankful that I was able to share an experience like that with the generation above. Definitely was a bit of a balancing act carrying my camera up it but well worth it in the end. A little jerk chicken later, a few snaps at a decent mirador and quite a lot of coffee bags later and off we were! Proximo?!

Dunn's River Falls

Cozumel! Palancar reef is suppose to be one of the world's best dive sites. I had tried to sign up with a seperate dive shop prior to the trip but a lack of wifi, 4 other people to deal with and a dive center on vacation crushed those hopes. Signing up for the cruise's diving excursion with equipment to Palancar and then a secound dive spot afterwards had me quite excited! Up until I got off the boat and saw the meeting place. Seeing all the people, filling out all the disclaimers and paperwork with "Sergio" left me feeling like I was just another person being shoved along the conveyor belt. It was to be expected and that wasn't a problem. What I didn't expect was the extra 12$ wetsuit rental fee (apparently a wetsuit doesn't count as equipment in Mexico), the impersonal divemasters and the fact that we didn't even go to Palancar! While the first dive site was pretty enough and the visibility 40m+, it wasn't enough to compensate for the piss poor secound dive, the lack of care and not going to Palancar! Seriously what the heck! With a serious bitter taste in my mouth I went in search of tacos, of course. I found the local marketplace off the tourist strip and replaced my bitterness with delicious tacos and iced horchata, a rice drink made with orange and cinnamon. Food can solve all problems in the world. Try it. 

Problem Solver

All three were beautiful, all three were serene, and all three were filled with tourists. Really I knew that and had prepared myself to brace for the worst. Landing in a cruise ship next to 2-3 other cruise ships who are all there at the same time for the same hours leads to my least favourite type of travelling. The obnoxious, waterproof passport sleeve around the neck, fanny pack & socks and sandals wearing type of travelling. It's simply not for me. Air conditioned buses jammed with people high on their horses, artisanal markets where every vendor has the exact same thing for the exact same prices, and 20$ plates of Jerk Chicken. Maybe it's something I'll grow into. Maybe I'm just not mature enough to understand it. Or maybe I'm just too adventurous for my own good. Wandering through the gritty parts of town where homeless orphans sleep in the street and shifty characters try to sell stolen goods. Eating at the local markets and grimy street carts even if I might get salmonella from the 2$ skewer of beef hearts sizzling over a charcoal fire. Too risky for my own good. 

But there's safety and security in travelling like this. You know that if you book a tour that you're not going to get swindled 100$. Three appetizers, a main course and two desserts topped off with a show afterwards is quite the norm. Doing nothing but sleeping in till noon and lying on a sundeck until sunset is far from abnormal. Anyway, I have no idea what kind of point I'm trying to make with this post so.. Highlights?!

High Lights

I got to see my family for an entire week after 6 months on the road. Awesome. 

I got to spend an entire week on Caribbean time, and not having to deal with any of the annoyances of being a short on time. backpacker. Fantastic. 

I'll be home in Vancouver in a few hours and can FINALLY eat all the asian food I can stomach. Entonces bueno. 

Finally, I'll be off again on my next adventure in two weeks. Can't wait!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 28th, Gate A12, PDX, USA

Time´s Up

Conclusions. Some adventures have proper ones, while some simply have a giant cliff hanger. This is just a brief interlude between adventures. This is simply just the end of one adventure. This is simply just the beginning of the wanderlust. This is just the beginning to it all.

I'll be home in Vancouver in just over a week and it's a bit of a bittersweet prospect. I'm utterly excited to see all my friends back home, and yet I'll miss the randomness of meeting people in hostels. I'm too stoked to eat some proper Asian food as anyone whose spent more than 2 hours with me in the last month should know, however I'll miss the tasty pollo a la broaster that's simply everywhere, all the sketchy street food that may or may not give me the runs for a week, and most definitely the freshest fruit juices on this planet with a little yappa/extra served on the top. I'm honestly excited for the weather, for the snow, rain and cold. In all honesty while I sweat like a pig in this 30 degree sunny weather, I already know that I'm taking it for granted, but I seriously just miss wearing jeans, my winterjacket and a toque!

To say that this journey has changed me would be quite cliche and a huge understatement. It's broadened my perspectives, awoken new passions in my life, made me more open to constant change, and simply made me learn about myself and who Nathan Chan really is. I realized that you seriously don't need a ton of money to travel and that it's simply a luxury travelling with it. I found out that I'm quite in love with Scuba Diving and Photography, two things that I would seriously consider as a career in the potential future. Last minute change of plans? Waste a little bit of money to stay another night somewhere? Roads washed out so you need to figure out a new path somewhere? No worries anymore! I started this trip with set dates of when and where I wanted to be in places and as time went on and on, it slowly dawned on me little to late that sometimes, or most of the time, it just doesn't matter.

Todos es possible, nada es seguro/Everything is possible, nothing is certain. 

Never say no just because you're scared or uncertain. I've ended up doing so many random and brilliant things that I hadn't thought of doing simply on other people's suggestions. Tango shows in Buenos Aires, going to Easter/Galapagos islands, horseback riding in Salento, trekking for 4 days in rainstorms and mud to the Lost City and countless other things. Looking back I would've actually had a somewhat boring trip had I stuck with "The Plan". At the start of the day you simply should just ask yourself - Por que no?/Why not? Push yourself to try something new and you'll constantly surprise yourself. 

This was my first big trip alone. 6 months on my own except for a 3 week visit from my sis Ros. While I always say you're never really alone while you travel, a lot of the time you seriously are. Hundreds of hours of bussing and very little of that has been with a friend next to me to pass the hours away. Many days in different countries that I've had no one to talk to all day and explored on my own. An unfortunate amount of meals that I've sat on my own with just a book to keep my company. As sad as that all sounds there's quite definitelty a silver lining. If I want to go rafting this morning, I'm going to go rafting. If I want to make quinoa with asparagus, mushrooms and broccoli, well that's what I'll make. If I desire to fly off to Easter Island, I'm going to book a flight that night. It's awesome. How often do you really get to be THAT in control of your own life?? Think about it. Have a job? Why 5 days a week instead of 3? Go to school? Do you get to choose your exam dates? Have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Don't even get me started on picking a movie to watch. 

New people. I've made the best of friends on several different continents and I simply want to visit you all. I want you all to come visit me so I can show off my beautiful city Vancouver! We've stared dumbstruck standing on top of Pico de Papaggaio in Brazil, grunted in pleasure over the first bite of an Argentine steak or struggled up and over Dead Woman's Pass, together. We've lounged on white sand beaches in Colombia, sat on 18 hour buses in Peru eating grapes and figs or simply bumped into each other in 5 different country, together. We've had countless birthday (everyday) meals that I've had the privilege (or not) to cook for all over the continent, built one giant pillowfort to share stories in at 5am in Milhouse and cycled down Death Road in Bolivia, together. We've done a lot, laughed a lot and I'll miss each and every single one of you dearly. Please keep in touch!

As for me? Well in a few hours I'll be boarding a flight to Miami from Cartagena where I'll be reunited with an old friend from Brazil and my family I´ll ultimately be putting an end to my South American adventures. I'll be trading dirty buses and 10 bed dorms for an awful week onboard a cruise bound for the Carribean, where every single one of my smallest whims will be catered to and cared for. All I get to do is workout, eat my weight in bacon, scuba dive Cozumel, explore Jamaica and run around Atlantis Waterpark for an entire stressful full week. After I have about two weeks home in Vancouver filled with snowboarding, eating at all my favourite restaurants and drinking pounds of coffee with various mates. Then I'm off on my next adventure! More on that soon enough. Life's hard ain't it?

Well obviously my final South American post in South America has to be completely scatterbrained and emotional. I'm not going to lie. I'm quite sad to leave this continent that I don't want to leave. Quite emotional to say my final goodbyes to people who I don't want to be away from. Quite disbelieving that my long long six months has finally now come to an end. I made a snappy jest about how it must be so, so sad to be closing in on the end directed at my British friend Vanessa weeks into my trip when her 9 month trip was coming to a close. She replied with "only people on the start of their trip say shit like that, you'll know exactly how it feels your times up as well." Well.. I know how it feels now, Time´s up eh. Hasta luego America del sul. Mucho gracias, muito obrigado por todos.

The Sun Sets Eventually

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 20th, Cartagena, the Final Stop

Catch Up

Lately I've just been a bit of a slob in all aspects. Forgetting to shower every day, missing out on a few key postcards for friends, keeping my life/backpack organized, and most noticeably having a very insignificant online presence. But I'm back on track-ish. This is going to be a whirlwind post updating you all on what I´ve been up to since Banos, which is quite a bit.

Quito, Ecuador

Bought hiking boots for the first time as my FiveFingers finally died after a good 3 years worth of service. Went go karting in the rain instead of taking the Teleferico to the top of Quito. Had my first camp fire/hostel rooftop bar fire in ages. Did a handstand over the (fake) equator line. Spend a friend's birthday dinner smashing out an entire roast chicken together. 

Quite a few meters off the actual equator line

Quilotoa, Ecuador

An awesome inactive volcano that turned into a lake a bit off the well worn path in Ecuador. Took a bus and a taxi there. Walked to the edge. Walked down. Walked around. Struggled up. Took a bus back to Quito. Got some snaps. 

Volcan Quilotoa

Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Unfortunately only had two days here. Such an epic little hostel/lodge tucked away in the countryside near Volcan Cotopaxi. Hiked to some decent waterfalls as well as up to Pasochoa! Didn't actually touch Cotopaxi which was the original plan.. But then again I didn't do a lot of things I planned to do and did a bunch that I hadn't planned!

Straight out of Lord Of The Rings

Cali, Colombia

1 hour long public bus, 5 hour bus to the border, 15 minute taxi to the actual border, 30 minutes stamping through both sides, another 5 minute taxi and finally a 10 hour bus ride took me from Quito to Cali. I stayed with David, Juan's brother and had him as a personal tour guide for a full two days. Through the eyes of a local, perspectives definitely change and I wouldn't have had as much fun as I did without the local insight. We also flew back to Rio de Janerio for the a day. Just because. 

Christ the Redeemer. Colombian style

Salento

Coffee country. Gorgeous landscapes and sunsets. Was able to meet up with Jason and Claire again from the Inca Trail! Hiked Valle de Cocora or Corona depending on how much I want a beer at the time. Coffee tours, coffee tasting, my first horseback ride and a tasty birthday dinner that I had the privilege to cook for with the help of my two sous chefs were what made Salento quite epic.

Valle de Cocora

Bogota

Changed my plans a bit to meet up with Eva and Bianca (also Inca Trail) and send off Eva on her way home back to Amsterdam!  Graffiti tour. SO MUCH GRAFFITI. I love graffiti and everything about it. Proper street art makes me happy and Bogota is at the forefront of it. Crepes & Waffles (a Colombian chain of you guessed.. Crepes and waffles), a kilo or four of street food, one bottle of red wine, perhaps a beer or two and three lovely dutch girls made for one fantastic time in the city!

View from the Telefrico

Medellin

Real City Walking Tour. The best tour I've been on in 6 months. Insightful, deep, and quite personal. Followed up by a night out watching the Nacional vs River Plate game with a good group of boys and girls! A quite monotone filled Pablo Escobar tour left my sleeping through most of the afternoon until I smashed a literal mountain of Ribs and Chips. Food Coma. Hiked up Piedra del Peñol. Here are some pictures, because it happened. 

Classic Photo

Guatape

Literally came here just for this view.

Piedra del Penol

Final two weeks on the Caribbean coast of Colombia before I end my backpacking journey and fly off.. To meet my family in Miami for a week long Caribbean cruise. Very muy bien!

Channy
Instagram - itsnathanchan

December 6, 2014, Dreamer Hostel, Santa Marta  

Everyday is an Adventure in Baños

Especially if you just so happen to find yourself with a few days here, the adventure capital of Ecuador. Mountain biking, canyoning, puenting (bridge jumping), white water rafting, paragliding, you name it and you can probably do it here! Half the adventure is the journey, not just the destination, and with one horrible Ecuadorian night bus the tale begins. 

Too hot. Sweating. Too cold. Shivering. Too paranoid about my bag. Can't sleep. Lights keep turning on every 45 minutes at a stop. People constantly funnel off the bus and new people scramble for the free seats. My 6.5 hour bus left me in Baños at 4:30am with about an hour worth of sleep broken up in several intervals. Cool. A man tried to get me to stay at his hostel but I told him I had reservations elsewere and he was nice enough to give me directions and sent me off. However his directions turned out to be a few blocks short of my destination leaving me thoroughly lost in the sleepy city. Backtracking to the bus terminal with a drunken and also lost Dutch man, I pulled out my screenshotted directions on my phone and groggily make my way to the hostel at about 5am now. Quick kick in the pants there. 

Turns out there was no space for me in a bed, but there would be tommorow night and the couch would suffice until the morning. Two hours later and I was wide awake eating breakfast and drinking my way to a caffiene overdose. A bunch of people were going canyoning and there wasn't much hestitation in quickly signing up to join them. Rappelling down slippery waterfalls is absolutely epic and having a solid group to do it with made it all the better. One quick dry for wet boxer change later and I was off to hike up to Casa del Arbol, sometimes touted as the "Swing at The End of The World". Unfortunately it was a touch of a letdown as there's a new support beam to prop up the falling tree against the slight hill that it rests on. Nonetheless, the hike, the people and the laughs made it all worth it. 

Manaña. White water rafting first thing in the morning is a wonderful thing. Inside out wetsuits, rain, an international bus full of gringos and class 3/4 rapids awaited our morning trip. Cowboy riding the front of the raft, paddle high fives and capsized boats were some of the best moments on the river. A quick rock climbing trip afterwards held down the afternoon and early evening. This was the first time I've ever been climbing outside on natural rocks and also the first climb since leaving Vancity. The difference between outdoor and an indoor bouldering gym are staggering, not to mention my soft climbing muscles being pushed to their limits attempting the few routes we were permitted to climb. Although I was slightly disappointed with how far I've let my health slip, it felt simply amazing to get going again and to feel that loving burn in the forearms. 

Later that night we just started playing pool, lots and lots of pool. A bunch of the boys in the hostel got involved. Game after game started, finished, and started up again. Conversations went on and on and on. Near the end of the night most people went to bed or slipped off and it was just myself playing with my new Aussy mate Jono. We played at least a dozen games after everyone had left and just ended up talking about anything and everything. We called it a night and got into a quick chat with a couple sleeping on the couch about going to the hot springs in the morning. Cue a 3 hour nap and 4:50am alarm clock. 

Waking Jono up in the morning was a bit of a challenge, it's similar to shaking a dead body with a bushy beard that grunts when you touch it (love you). Soon enough though we were off to our morning bath. Walking with my three amigos we quickly ditched our stroll in favour of a 3 dollar taxi. Donning our rented swim caps, we must have layed around in these natural hot springs for close to two hours. Situated at the side of a mountain with a river next door, my muscles quickly and thoroughly relaxed into dreamland. 

When everyone was awake we decided to make our way to Cascada del Diablo, a massive and powerful waterfall roughly 30 minutes out of town. Renting an armada of moterized vehicles consisting of two motorcycles, two quads, a 4x4 jeep like car and a barebones dune buggy, we took to the roads, racing and winding through the Ecuadorian mountainsides. Riding a motorcycle is one of the stupidest things I've ever started doing, however at the same time it's one of the best things. Risk for reward eh. We arrived at the Cascada and well.. Take a look of the view from the waterfall.. And not of it.. Because obviously.

Pool, beer, laughs and exclamations of "oh wow you're from Vancouver too?!" anchored the night down. One of the livelier nights in Baños, it seemed that everyone was having a good time and soon enough we had a pool tournament going. Being terrible at pool I was knocked out in the first round however my opponent ended up going on to win the whole thing (including the 8 dollar prize pool) so there's no shame in that. 

Baños is easily one of my favourite places in this continent. To be able to rafting in the morning and go climbing in the afternoon for 50$ is unbeatable. 

Currently I'm in Cali, Colombia. It took me four different cities and about two weeks to get this post up.. So finally!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

November 25, David's Penthouse, Cali, Colombia

One Last Day in the Galapagos

Times up. On the islands that is. Which I imagine is almost as sad as it'll be when my trips done. I've had 11 days in the Galapagos Islands and they've all been absolutely amazing. Sad times as I packed my bag and made the walk to the "airport" for my flight back to mainland Ecuador. My last day however is worth a post all by itself, let the reminiscing begin.

It all started with waking up to my alarm clock after I snoozed twice, brushing my teeth, packing my day bag and walking out onto the streets. After I had a delicious submarine sandwich for breakfast. Absolutely amazing start to the day. Couldn't have asked for anything better. 

In all seriousness, it started getting pretty good as I got my pre-dive briefing at the dive shop. My divemaster explained the routes perfectly and got me quite excited while listing off all the potential animals we could see today. As there were only two divers that day, we were put on a boat filled with snorkelers and off we went. A quiet boat ride later and we arrived at a beach close to the dive site for a quick tour. I had no idea we'd be doing this so it was a bit of an extra bonus, albeit a somewhat boring bonus. A single marine iguanas simply doesn't have the same wow facter after 10 days of seeing hoards of them. 

Dive One

Roughly an hour later we arrived at Kicker Rock, our dive site for the day. It's this incredible rock formation off the coast of Isla Isabella with a channel splitting through the right side with perfect vertical walls plunging as far as 18m. Our first dive was straight through the channel and around the right. We dropped in and the first thing I noticed was how extremely blue the water was. Three marine currents make up the contents of the ocean water in the Galapagos and the greenish plankton filled Humboltd current is weaker in this season, leaving conditions crystal clear and crazy blue waters at this site. As we hit the bottom below I was quite impressed with the corals, sponges and starfish clinging to the walls. None of the other sites I dived at had this sort of variety of life and vegetarion. We even spotted an octopus hiding in a hole in the wall with a rock shelf covering himself.  Almost immediately we spotted about 5 nudibranches on a rock, a type of slug about 1cm long that's brilliant blue with small coral like branches coming off its back. We swam north against the current, with a few hundred fish doing the same thing. Swimming the same path as everything else is awesome, you feel like you're apart of the ecosystem and not just intruding in it. At the end of the channel and the start of the bend we encountered a ton of turtles, black tipped sharks and a few barracudas roaming around. Sweeping around 360 degrees I watched four sharks float around us with one coming in for a closer look! At our 5m safety stop we found two sleeping turtles. However they were actually clinging upside down to the rock on an overhang, like underwater bats and we ended up waking them up as we got closer. Which is when one of them groggily approached me and came inches away from my face before turning away. Obviously I caught up to it and we had quite the intimate swim sesh.

Kicker Rock, Isla Isabella

Dive Two

Dropping in on the far left we slowly worked our way down and towards a rocky corner of Kicker to hang on for dear life waiting for Hammerheads as the current here was strong. We spotted one in the distance going away from us and hoped it would come back. In the meanwhile we saw a ball of angel fish feeding, an angry looking moray eel, another hiding octopus as well as a Galapagos Shark swimming next to a turtle as if they were good friends. Then it happened, two or three meters in front of us a huge hammerhead appeared from the distance and made a slow arc as if deliberately showing off to us. Moments later a male sea lion dropped in to feed, scattering fish left and right as the hunt begun. Watching a meter above the rock the sea lion stopped right below me, paused to take a look up at me and then dove deeper in search of food. Leaving the rock to go to the backside we didn't see too much, just a few turtles and black tip chasing a school of sardines. Approaching the backside I noticed a huge black shadow in the distance with gleams of silver every so often. Getting closer I realized it was a HUGE bait ball of Salimas? We slowly swam straight into the middle of it. Slowly getting engulfed by fish mere inches from your entire body is a new experience. 360 around were hundreds and hundreds of fish. Looking down, fish. Above, fish. Totally surrounded by fish, it was quite dark there except for a few rays of sunshine piercing through the top and bouncing off the silver sides of the fish. Absolutely unreal diving. I was somewhat "disappointed" by my first dives in the islands as they didn't reach my lofty expectations, but this was quite the satisfying wet dream.

As if I know what I am actually doing underwater

Runways and Sea Lions

Afterwards, meeting up with a few friends I had made earlier in the week from a diving trip we set off to buy some groceries for the night as I was cooking. Fresh tuna apparently is harder to find on the islands than you would think even though they're quite abundant in the waters. Nonetheless, we managed to find a decent grouper and the ball kept rolling from there. We all split off at this point and I ran off to Loberia, a beach about 30 minutes from town filled with sea lions. Next to the path to the beach is this crazy open pit mine with a ton of litter and garbage around it.. Absolutelt shocking. Seriously of all places humans have savaged, must we destroy the Galapagos too? Beach. Filled with adult sea lions and pups alike on the beach, I was quite happy to shoot a few snaps while getting quite enchanted with one pup before heading back. But the real gem of the trip was seeing a path that led straight to the airport's runway.. While there was a fence that covered half the path, doing little more than attracting my attention, there was also a sign but it was in spanish and I obviously could play the gringo card in a tight situation and decided to I press on. It was around twilight and I was standing in the middle of an airport runway.. In the Galapagos.. That was pretty sick, and I have the pictures to prove it. 

Airport Runway, Isla Isabella

Ceviche and Climbing

Meeting up with the three girls again we got back to one of their homestay's place that's sort of like a hostel for volunteers and students. These three girls are apart of a Marine Science exchange program in the Galapagos, 1 month on the mainland, 3 months in the islands and one hell of an epic adventure. Also their program consists of 48 woman and 5 men, 3 who are gay.. But that doesn't matter right? Right back to ceviche. This was one of the first chances I've had to cook for myself in quite a while and it felt fantastic to get back into it. Filleting a fish with a pocketknife however was pretty cowboyish, lacking a proper knife though you make do with whatcha got. Simple ingredients with a little love and a lot of salt always leads to a delicious meal. After a bastardized south american ceviche, a few glasses of wine and one epic Galapagos video in the making, we all called it a night. Walking two of the girls back across town I started my way back to my own place, only to find the door barred and locked. Looking up I realized I could climb up into the secound floor if I used the balcony of the restaurant next door. After breaking into my own hotel around midnight, I promptly realized that this, this was a bloody good day.

Baby Sea Lion at Loberia

I'm now in Baños, Ecuador. Adventure capital of the country, surrounded with rivers, canyons, volcanoes and La Casa de Arbol. It's really no surprise why backpackers from all over come to raft, rock climb, rappel into waterfalls and all other sorts of adrenaline activities. Personally I plan to get a least a day or two of climbing in. It's been far too long away from it and there's no better place to jump right back in. Also my muscles are quite soft from lack of hard use, my fault really but time to get back into it. Tired of feeling plump.

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

November 16th, Los Pinos Hostel, Baños, Ecuador

Island Time - Isla Galapagos

It all started with leaving Mancora, Peru. My final stop in Peru had been good to me and it was time to go to my 7th country of the trip - Ecuador. Only in South America can a 375km bus trip turn into an 8 hour drawn out snooze fest. We did stop for an hour at the border but still.. I took a day bus at 2pm as my flight was at 845am and I wanted to be on the safe side of things for once. The only problem was that there wasn't really a point in staying at a hostel overnight as my flight was early enough, I decided to sleep overnight in the airport.  Sure enough I arrived in Guayaquil at around 1030pm and the plan was to eat grab some food before sleeping on a bench inside the airport. A short taxi to the airport later and I arrive only to find every single restaurant closed on the land side with no way to go through to the air side. Fantastic. Leaving the airport in search of food I stumble upon a KFC attached to a gas station and have my first meal in Ecuador.. not the best of meals to showcase Ecuadorian cuisine that's for sure.  

I've never slept in an airport before and was wondering what it'd be like. Honestly it was pretty crap. Curled up in a sleeping bag, using another as a pillow, toque over my face to block out the light, arms wrapped through both my bags led to one super paranoid nap. Several uneventful hours later and I finally stepped off my plane into the Galapagos!

Flying over Isla Santa Cruz and Baltra

I wanted to dive on the Galapagos but wanted to do more then a discovery dive which I did in Easter Island. I ended up doing my Padi Open Water course for scuba diving on Isla Santa Cruz, the most populated of the islands. Two days of theory and two days of diving were all mixed together with a ton of Ecuadorian food and lying on the beach at Tortuga Bay. At the end of my course I passed my final exam and got certified to dive!

What do I do?!

Diving is fantastic. Underwater is a world of its own and I've barely scratched the surface of all there is to learn and see. One of the cooler things we saw were three hammerheads circling just a few meters below us at Gordon Rocks as well as a sea lion hunting at Punta Azul. My instructor Freddy was fantastic and really knew his stuff, couldn't have asked for a better guide. 

Hammerheads!

While diving is epic, snorkeling here is just as good. Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Los Tunneles on Isla Isabella and the wildlife was putting on quite the show. Literally. It's mating season in the Galapagos and to see 6 turtles going at the same time as well as a pair of giant manta rays mating was simply amazing. We ended up snorkelling in two different sites were we saw too many animals to list.. But among that list are turtles, white tipped sharks, manta rays, golden rays, sea lions and I finally got to see penguins in the wild. I missed the penguin season in Ushuaia by just a little bit which was quite unfortunate but to see them in the Islands so far away from Antarctica was epic. 

Many turtles engaging in cospicuous activities

One thing I love about travelling is the complete randomness of it. One night I ended up at the diving ship Captain's house who I barely knew having ceviche, popcorn and caipirinhas with a few people from the dive earlier in the day. Last night was going to be a quiet night when on my way back from the beach a few people I chatted with on the boat over to Isabella saw me and called me over for drinks. Few drinks later, my first few attempts at slacklining, and a hearty portion of sizzling parrilla/bbq left me quite happy. People are seriously just friendlier when you're travelling. 

Off to San Cristobal later in the afternoon, one more diving day tommorow and then back to the mainland where I'll be heading to Baños for some rafting, climbing, and tree swinging at Casa del Arbol!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

November 12, Hostal Lirio del Mar, Isla Galapagos

I Would Have Never Though I'd.. While Travelling

Travelling is full of surprises and mysteries and if I'm going to be quite honest, is simply a roller coaster with huge highs and quite unfortunate lows. Through it all, there are quite a few random incidents and moments that I would never have thought would happen on my travels. It's not just the rare one or two things either, but enough for an entire story of randomness.

I would have never thought I'd learn how to sew while travelling. Who sews now a days? Well my mom does.. And sewed everything I needed for my entire 20 year old life..When a button fell off within my first week of travelling in Rio de Janerio I was left in quite a situation. Find a seamstress? Live with the missing button? Learn how to use a needle and thread? One button, two pant legs, the bum section of my swim shorts and 7 patches later, and I can easily say I'm quite horrible at sewing and miss my mother's stitches BUT, I can now sew nonetheless!

I would have never thought I'd bake an apple crumble while travelling. Who bakes when they travel..? Considering most backpackers barely cook for themselves when they travel, baking is an even rarer discipline. A lazy afternoon in Pucon when I suggested to a pair of travelling Irish lasses that they should bake an apple pie for me quickly got turned around on me with a "you're the cook!" and "we'll buy the ingredients" as well. A quick trip to the grocery store and about 40 minutes later in the oven and we had one tasty ass apple crumble to share. 

I would have never thought I'd go camping while travelling. Which was quite foolish knowing I would during the Inca Trail but that doesn't really count anyway considering the gourmet meals and luxury of never having to set up or take down the tents. What I'm really referring to was my time in Easter Island, where almost all accommodations are ridiculously expensive, except camping. Camping, including tent rental and a priceless view of the coast and sunset managed to work out to about 11$ a night. Which is why when I finally settled into my tent while watching the sun set from it I couldn't really believe my luck.

Speaking on Easter Island, I would have never thought I'd go to Easter Island while travelling. It's one of those mythological places in the world that you hear about from time to time but never would have actually dreamt of touching down there. When the idea was presented to me in Ilha Grande and I started mulling it over, I knew I would end up going. Taking off on the flight leaving the Chilean coast and arriving in the middle of nowhere was absolutely surreal. As will the Galapagos islands, same story except this time my eye doctor planted the idea in my head via my sister.. Random. Take off in 2 days!

I would have never thought I'd meet one friend in 5 different countries while travelling. I first met Dimumu in Montevideo in Uruguay where we both stayed in the same hostel. A week later we met up for a Tango Show in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rumour has it a young little asian boy fell asleep halfway during the tango show.. but that's another story.  Roughly a month later and I ended up missing the man by 2 hours in Pucon, we met up again (of all places) in Easter Island, Chile. Finishing a blog post in Sucre, Bolivia I set up on the rooftop taking photos of the incoming storm when I was rudely interrupted by Dimumu waving at me from the ground. He had read my post, commented on it saying he was in the city, and when I never replied chanced the journey across town to find me. Finally I thought I was going to miss him in Peru when I found his flight home was earlier than what he told me earlier. Speeding up my post-Inca Trail itinerary I arrived in Lima, Peru to have one last epic dinner where I was able to get Dimumu quite liberally drunk to celerate his final night. Accidentally leaving the map at the restaurant, without a clue of where his hostel was we ran through the streets of Miraflores with not a clue of where to go..With 3 hours till his flight. See you in London mate!

Currently in Mancora, Peru. Another place I never thought I'd visit. Shocker. Will be spending my time on the beach, in the pool, and attempting to teach myself how to surf. 

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

November 2, Loki del Mar Hostel, Mancora, Peru

What Scares Me - My Boogeyman

This is one for all the ladies and gentlemen travelling solo or with friends. To those who've faced their fears and pushed on.

As a solo traveller life is quite fantastic. You and you alone decide what you want to do today, where you want to go tommorow, whether or not you catch a flight out of the country on a whim or whether you just decide to lie in a hammock all day with a bar or two of chocolate and caipirinhas.

I sometimes like to consider myself an independant 20 year old. Just so that I can pretend to be an adult sometimes. Full time job, living on my own, bills paid on time, the full adulthood responsibility package. Been there, done that. Now I'm travelling for 4 months and I'm still somewhat healthy, still mostly alive, still on track with my budget. I'd say I'm doing ok so far. 

I even like to doing "fearless" adventurous adrenaline junkiesque activities. Cliff jumping in my secret hidey hole in the sticks, skydiving back home, bungee jumping in Cusco, volcano climbing in Pucon, sewing my first button ever onto my shirt by myself in Rio. 

Now you might be thinking, if you're not scared of sewing a button back onto your shirt then what are you scared of?

Could you believe it's as simple as not wanting to be lonely?

That might seen a little ridiculous seeing as how I left Vancouver with a 6 month itinerary for South America all alone. But there's quite a difference in the two words. Lonely involves feeling alone, even though you might be amongst friends. While being alone is simply being by yourself although you might be perfectly fine.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. 

I arrived in Rio de Janerio in the middle of the World Cup all alone. I had one friend in the city who was letting me couchsurf for two weeks yet we rarely saw each other because of her schedule. I explored the city, played football on the beach, hiked up Christo & Sugarloaf among quite a few other things. Mostly alone, yet never did I feel lonely. Probably because I didn't know what I was missing out on yet. 

Fast forward 4 months and I've just finished the Inca Trail and now I'm on my way to Huacachina. I've just spend the last four full days with one of the greatest group of travellers out there doing one of the most revered treks on the planet. Together we spent four days worrying over the rain, eating a mountain of chocolate between us, laughing over games of Shithead and simply just enjoying our time glamping with each other. With my new friends from all over I was lucky enough to finish and witness Machu Picchu in all of its tourist infested glory. Afterwards, again I was lucky enough to spend time with them at the hot springs at Aguas Caliente before enjoying the BEST Pisco Sour I've ever had before half the group took off. Then as my 445am alarm clock went off the following day I was fortunate enough to climb Huayna Picchu and have breakfast with the last half of the group before my own train back to Cusco. 

Several hours later and here I am, on a crap sleeper bus on the way to Huacachina. Unfortunately alone, and quite lonely as I'm now missing everybody from the trek. As well as the good times from the group in La Paz. And the group in San Pedro. And the EPIC times from Buenos Aires. And well, really most of my friends from this trip so far. Not to mention my friends and family back home. 

Quite literally I'm facing my own personal Boogeyman right now. Even though travelling alone rarely means I'm actually by myself and lonely, the times where I am are definitely the worst. But I've seen this monster several times now in this trip and I know exactly how to deal with it now. Time to turn my attention back to the present and carry on with having new adventures with new friends in new places. Hopefully one day that'll include the old friends as well. 

Cheers to the future, to the unknown and to a sense of adventure. Love and miss you all. 

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

October 28, Huacachina, Peru

Into the Jungle

Lets just add bullet ants, fire ants, and cockroaches to the list of things I hate to find in the dead of night while in the Amazon. I'm back from a few days in the Amazon basin and to say that the experience was worth every penny would be selling it short.

I started this adventure by making my way to the overly crowded and somewhat disgusting Terminal de Omnibus in Cusco. After a way too hot, lights turning on at 3am, huge man snoring behind me kind of 10 hour bus ride that you can only find in South America, I finally arrived in Puerto Maldonado at the edge of the Amazon Basin here in Peru. 

I was greeted by intense humidity, mosquitoes and a lack of tour guide with my name scribbled on paper. Great start. Figuring out that my bus had actually arrived 20 minutes early, I realized that if I waited a little bit I'm sure someone would turn up for me. At least that is what I comforted myself with. Sure enough they did. Sweating profusely by this time due to the heat, we made it to the man's truck and were off to the marina. 

A few hours later, three mosquito bites and one thoroughly sore bum, we finally were pulling into the dock at the lodge I'd be staying at for the next three nights. Day 1 was spent on a jungle walk, exploring Isla de Mono and searching for caimans at night. But really that can all be summed up with a selfie with a monkey. 

Quite self explanatory 

Day 2. Sandoval lake is preserved within the Tambopata National Reserve and requires a 2km trek to reach. A short canoe paddle through dense jungle releases you into the middle of the lake which is spectacular to say the least. We were the first group to enter the reserve and to have it all to ourselves for about two hours was brilliant. Mirror calm waters, giant otters fishing next to us, monkeys flying through the trees, vampire bats clinging upside down to a trunk fast asleep, and butterflies. Ooooh the butterflies. 

Sandoval Lake

Tangent - In Buenos Aires a few of us were talking about how the German language sounds very rough and harsh to speak. Ms. Ena Lamont however spoke out defending it and showed us all how Smitelin/Butterfly in German actually sounded quite pleasant. Quickly asking the Dutch girl what butterfly was in her language (flinder) set off a chain of events that leads to present times. Just over two months later I now know how to say butterfly in 13 languages. It was 14 but I forgot how to say it in Turkish..

A night time jungle walk revealed giant tarantulas, bullet ants, fireflies and quite a few other creepy crawlies. The next day was spent canopying, ziplining, and kayaking down the river. One of the cooler things of the day was actually jumping out of the kayak and taking a swim in the river! It took a bit to get over everything I knew about what could kill/bite/maim/drown you that lived in the water but nonetheless felt quite obligated to take the opportunity. 

Big ass tarantula

Currently on my way back to Puerto Maldonado. Will be catching a quick flight back to Cusco where I'll be on my way to the Mercado de San Pedro for some late afternoon Lechon/Roasted Pig before getting my pack ready for the Inca Trail that I start tommorow! Lets just end this with another selfie with a monkey chilling on my chest. 

Me Gusta

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

October 22nd, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru

Well, I've Fallen in Love

With Peru. Maybe it's the Inca culture, or possibly the amazing food, more likely it has something to do with the incredibly friendly smiles I keep getting from locals.

I've been in the country for a grand total of 7 full days. While I've only been in the country for such a short time I've already seen enough to become thoroughly infatuated with the entirety of it, love handles and all. 

Arequipa

Secound biggest city in Peru really translates into a city of less than 800,000. While the city isn't actually enormous, the backdrop of 5000 & 6000m mountains leaves you feeling oh so powerless in this city. It's quite a powerful image.. That I unfortunately didn't capture. However a beautiful plaza paired with a great indoor Market left me with handfuls of figs, cucumber melons, strawberries, grapes and passionfruits. Gooseberries, pineapples and nonis too.. Simply a fruitgasm. This was also the city where I finally got a haircut! To be able to feel one's toque against the side of one's head is simply a beautiful thing. Did I mention destroying a giant ripping hot half roasted chicken plate in about 6 minutes..? As Juan would put it "absolutely phenomenal." 

Colca Canyon

World's second deepest canyon. Two days of trekking. 28km. 3:30am start time. We started the trek with a few hours of descending into the canyon with a blistering hot sun above us and a backpack full of water. We had a fantastic guide, showing us all sorts of poisonous and medicinal plants that could burn our eyes out or cure us of all sorts of complications. Why write about anything else when I can just throw in a photo of the beautiful landscape and be done with it anyway? ;)

Day two involved waking up at 430am and starting the final three hour hike ascending 1200m. I've been feeling pretty sick since attempting Huayna Potosi and to finally have my strength back felt absolutely brilliant. Again, photo photo photo. 

Cusco

This city is gorgeous. Small enough to walk around but big enough to have a little of everything. The market here is probably even better than the one in Arequipa and has everything you might need, two dollar set lunches, roasted lechon, pretty juice ladies, ancient potato ladies slicing papas by hand and even the neccessary stray dogs for that authentic feel. The Plaza de Armas and Cathedrals are stunning while the pace of the city is tranquil enough. Did I mention I went bungee jumping here? Because that's definitely a typical Peruvian activity. 

Currently off on a night bus that will take me to the Amazon Jungle in Puerto Maldonado for a few days to see all sorts of wild things. Unfortunately there are no Pink Dolphins in this region.. (Just for you Sally) and then I come back and immediately set off for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!

Will be out of contact for.. Quite some time. Love you all!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

October 18, 2014 - Milhouse Hostel, Cusco, Peru