Travel

The most visited city in the southern hemisphere. Incredible beaches, landscapes, and monuments. Perhaps the sexiest women in the world with golden brown skin, rythm in the blood, a sexy smile and off course – the booties:)
I had the luck to stay with some friends in an apartment just a block away from Ipanema beach. I also stayed a couple of nights in one of the favelas, where a swede had started a small hostel where just Swedish people stayed (yay..).
Among all the other tourists spots I visited one of the most famous landmarks in the world – Cristo Redentor. The Jesus statue looking over Rio de Janeiro, standing 40 metres tall on a 700 meter hill with a crazy beautiful view over Rio.
You can’t miss this place, trust me!

Click the image to view 4 panoramas form Rio, including 3 views from Cristo Redentor and a beautiful sunset on Ipanema Beach!

Rio, I’ll be back!!!

On the border between Argentina and Brazil lays one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of The World – Iguazu Falls.
With 2,7 km of waterfalls and almost 300 drops you can understand the humongousness of these waterfalls.
If you’re ever around the area you will thank yourself for the rest of your life by visiting this place.
Many people are having problems choosing what side of the border to visit. I say, take two days for the waterfalls and visit both sides. They’re showing different views and it never felt boring walking another day watching this fantastic creation of earth and water.

Click the picture to see the full 360-panoramas (actually 4 of them:)).

The morning coffee just went down. After sitting up till 5 am last night, stitching panoramas my eyes, body and mind are tired like a hard working man should be. My current location is Oslo, Norway where I bought a spontaneous bus ticket to last week, hoping to find a job and experience a new exciting city and its people. Job – Check! People – Check!

But let’s get to it. My South America trip is over, for this time. Could I have asked for a more action packed place to go to? The answer is no indeed. With all the wonderful places and people in South America, you know I’m rather happy to snap some photos of some of most of them. Therefore am I now presenting a bunch of kickass panoramas from Peru and Bolivia (don’t worry, have dozens from Argentina and Brazil waiting for you;)).

Posting the newest ones first.

 

A must-do in Tupiza, Bolivia is the well known horse riding tours in the amazing landscapes with red sand, crazy rock formations and off course – horses:)

 

Here standing by the Devil’s Door.

 

After a wonderful three hours of horse riding we drove to some other sick scenery around Tupiza. Moon Valley looks like another planet with its naturally carved rocks.

 

Deep down in the mines of Potosi, Bolivia. Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world with an altitude of 4090 metres above sea level. Another super touristy but exciting thing on your list of things to experience in Bolivia.

 

The biggest salt flats in the world with 10,582 square kilometres of salt – Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia. Can you imagine that there were several prehistoric lakes that created this huge salt desert at almost 4000 m.a.s.l.

 

Just outside the Salt Hotel.

 

On the three day Salt Flat tour (which I highly recommend) you go to, among many other places, to these boiling geysers outside of Uyuni. I have never felt like being mars-like planet more than when walking around here. Superduperextra-cool!

 

Lo and behold, the giant yellow wall that lies in the background is actually filled with real, dinosaur footprints! Welcome to El Parque Cretácico (Dinosaur Park) in Sucre, Bolivia.

 

On what seemed to be a normal day we woke up in La Paz, Bolivia not knowing that the day we survived the famous Death Road was actually on Friday 13th! It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the “world’s most dangerous road”. One estimate is that 200 to 300 travellers are killed yearly along the road (from Wikipedia).

 

Our camp on the Pampas tour in the Bolivian Amazonas Jungle. Swimming with pink dolphins, and boating around the rivers all day was truly incredible and something one must not miss! PS. Can you spot the alligator in the panorama?

 

Probably the coolest airport I’ve ever been to. Rurrenabaque Airport in the Amazonas Jungle.

 

And this plane, taking us to the airport above, wasn’t what you would say “spacey”:) Fun thing is that the pilots didn’t even notice me putting up a big tripod and taking “weird” photos in the cabin:)
 

 

After missing out on a superb sunset we took off to a view point in La Paz the next evening. And I shit you not when I say that this night, presented in front of our eyes, was the most dramatic sunset / storm clouds I’ve ever witnessed! La Paz, Bolivia.

 

Lake Titicaca on the border between Peru and Bolivia is known as the highest lake in the world.
Here we’re walking inside the Temple of the Sun.

 

A three day trek in Peru’s Colco Canyon took us to this place where we luckily saw a handful of Condors. Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world and twice as deep as Grand Canyon in the US. Colca Caynon is Peru’s third most-visited tourist attraction.

 

Walking the street markets of Cusco, Peru.

 

This is on a sunny day a beautiful view over Cusco. Unfortunately not on this day:P

 

Taking a winery tour in Huacachina, Peru. These wines are not the normal wine you would to your dinner but almost all of them were super sweet. But cheap as chips and it’ll get you goin;) If you’re going to Huacachina (which is an absolute MUST) I would highly recommend staying at Bananas Hotel. From there you can book all trips you want, the staff are great and don’t forget to try the Veggie Sandwich in the bar – delicato! (However, don’t order if you’re in a hurry. The Peruvian service is not the fastest… really)

 

Outside the surfer town of Huanchaco is the big city Trujillo where you can find many temples and ruins. A nice day tour if you’re in the area.

 

Huanchaco does not only offers great surf, but on the beach you can see plenty of the typical and ancient Peruvian fishing boats Caballitos de Totora.

 

Sunset view from the lighthouse in Mancora.
Mancora is the often the first or last place your visit in Peru (depending on what direction you’re going). One can describe the little town with two words. Surfing and partying:) Mancora has also one of the coolest hostels I’ve ever been to, Loki Mancora which I’ve written about here on blog before. Go there!