Confession: I am not an ethical traveller. I say this because when I think back over my travels, there have been many situations I probably should have questioned more than I…
Last updated March 2019 “I’m going to volunteer in South America!” This gleeful announcement was made to my dad in the summer of 2013, just three days after I’d flown back home…
Travelling as a woman will always open up avenues that are unavailable to men. Despite being foreigners and strangers, women often connect with local children, young mothers, and old ladies with an…
“You don’t know when you’re coming back from South America?!” I remember the face of my best friend, slightly astonished, as she took in what I was saying to her. Finally…
Before arriving in Sao Paulo, I’d never heard of Batman’s Alley. There’s a huge amount of fascinating street art pieces throughout South America, and every time I take a photo of…
His name was Francisco, and he’d always lived in the favelas. “I was born in Rocinha,” he told Kay in Portuguese, proudly, “but I built this house eighteen years ago.” The…
The late afternoon sun was strong as I clambered across the gleaming white peaks of the kitchen hut roof, paintbrush in hand. It already looked like I was standing on top…
Can I become fluent in Spanish in South America? Six months ago I relocated to Ecuador, a Spanish speaking country, with little to no Spanish speaking skills of my own. I…