All posts tagged: travel junkie’s guide

Wanderlust Wednesday: Travel Junkie’s Guide To Hiking The Quilotoa Loop

Photo Credit: Antony Scott The Quilotoa loop is a hike in Ecuador that spans across the Cotopaxi province.  It is a relatively easy hike and you can even find families along the way.  The highlight of the trek is reaching the lake hidden beneath an extinct volcano, but you can also alternate and start at the lake and make your way backwards.  The indigenous people of the region believe that there are mystical powers from the bottomless lake. Expect to get lost Photo Credit: Antony Scott The route to Quilotoa is not very well marked, although this is quickly changing as it becomes more popular; but still expect to get lost.  It is inevitable, don’t lose faith if you do get lost and enjoy the detours in the meantime.  Try your best to plan your route, but be prepared to have to improvise.  At each of your stops speak to other hikers, passersby and the lodging staff.  Everyone will have something to offer or tips for what to do or avoid.  Also, remember that you don’t have to …

Wanderlust Wednesday: Travel Junkie’s Guide To Columbia’s Hidden Treasures

Today’s Wanderlust Wednesday feature is by Michelle Lockwood, a world traveler and environmentalist currently based in the Cayman Islands.   Recently voted number two in the Lonely Planet’s must see countries of 2016; Colombia is gaining much more positive attention than it used to and with direct flights from Miami to numerous cities it is now incredibly easy to reach. Often having been associated with cocaine trafficking and the violence led by drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s and 1990s; its reputation has long hindered its growth as a tourist destination, but in the recent years there has certainly been a resurgence of the beauty that makes Colombia iconic.  With exports such as Sofia Vergara, Shakira and of course coffee the world is starting to take notice of Colombia’s geological and cultural beauty.  Backpackers are now swarming to get to know this still hidden gem before it becomes the main event as soon enough it will be out of the shadow’s and on everyone’s South American travel itinerary. La Ciudad Perdida In English known as …