The word quest has been niggling at me for some time now. Before we left, I was delighted with it. Yes, we were on a quest around the planet to find the answer to how we wanted to live in this world – to find what makes us happy – to, dare I say it, find ourselves. But something isn’t sitting right with that statement now. It implies there’s an endpoint and a definitive answer to who we are and what we want, when actually it’s a state that lives in constant flux. All we really know is what we want now – the quest to find a way to live ended the moment we woke up to that and stepped out of our lives in London. Before that moment, we were dreaming of ‘something else’, but now we’re living that dream.
Bikes and wine in Mendoza: 6 tips for a safe combination
When I dreamed of biking round the Mendoza wine region, I conjured a scene of quiet streets and pretty landscapes. What I didn’t envisage was speeding cars and heavy goods vehicles. Combined with wine-soaked tourists and narrow roads, this could be a disastrous combination and, having not been on a bike in years, I must … Read more
What’s worth 48 hours in a bus? Whale watching in Puerto Madryn
As with most of our Patagonia trip, to risk or not to risk was the question with Puerto Madryn. The southern right whales arrive around June, and we were going to be there at the end of May/first week of June. There was no guarantee they’d be there. This would have been an easy choice … Read more
A visit to Rio’s favelas by cable car
We were a bit unsure about visiting the favelas as the idea of a favela tour felt a little voyeuristic and uncomfortable. But when one of our couchsurfers, Aline, asked if we wanted to go to a favela for lunch with her, this seemed much more reasonable. As she said, we were just visiting a … Read more
Tea, cakes and Welsh cowboys in Gaiman, Patagonia
A rare post written by Steve! Growing up in the south-west of England, a short drive across the Severn bridge to Wales, I was always both fascinated and amused to hear about ‘Welsh cowboys’ lurking somewhere down in the wild and unforgiving landscape of southern Argentina, half a world away from the green and pleasant … Read more
What’s Patagonia like in Autumn? The day El Chalten became Narnia
Is it worth going El Chalten in Autumn? This is a question that puzzled us for weeks. Summer is the peak hiking season in El Chalten, Argentina’s hiking capital, but we could only get there for the end of May at the earliest, by which time Autumn would be in full swing. More than seventy … Read more
Perito Moreno glacier and a dash of whiskey: a photo essay
Seeing the Perito Moreno glacier was one of the most hyped moments we dreamed of when planning this trip – so much so that as the day approached we started to panic that we may have built it up a little too much. We needn’t have worried as the ice giant went beyond expectations. While … Read more
Our favourite five things to do in Buenos Aires
We’ve waved goodbye to Buenos Aires and are rounding up our posts on the city that became home for nearly two months. With Steve filming in California, I lived with an Argentinian girl and mostly spent my days learning Spanish, practising yoga, writing and working on a project that I’ll be launching sometime soon. I … Read more
Learning to live in the moment
“I don’t feel thankful to the universe. It’s mean.” Yes, I actually said those words. I was in Buenos Aires, a city I dreamed of since playing ‘Where in the World is Carmen San Diego’ as a child, and I was having a strop. Steve was in San Francisco talking about the splendour of the universe and … Read more
Six of the Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Buenos Aires
People often ask us how we coped as vegetarians in Buenos Aires, land of meat lovers, and the truth is, it was one of the best cities we have ever been in for vegetarian restaurants. This is a list of our top six best vegetarian restaurants in Buenos Aires. Not all are 100 per cent vegetarian … Read more
