Flora The Explorer - Page 18 of 28 -

Give a Shit? My Most Terrifying Toilet Experiences Around the World

Posted on November 19, 2013

When travelling, you come across a lot of terrible toilets. Some are squats, while others are holes; some are on moving transport or in the middle of nowhere; some come with paper, some without; some require jugs of water or handfuls of rice husks to flush with. There are an infinite number of bathroom variables for the humble toilet experience, and it makes the unknown condition of a foreign toilet all the more concerning. Over the last seven years, I’ve…

Bolivia Photography South America

The Most Beautiful Cemetery I’ve Ever Seen is in Sucre, Bolivia

Posted on November 15, 2013

I have a bit of an affinity for cemeteries. As a child, on my family’s twice-yearly visits to my grandpa’s grave in Somerset, there were three other plots I used to say hello to. None of them were related to me in any way; but one man had died on my birthday, another woman shared my middle name of Alexandra, and the third girl had been as young as me when she’d passed away. Their graves were close to each…

Bolivia Challenges Personal Solo Travel South America What the hell?

An All Night Long Dance with the San Pedro Cactus

Posted on November 8, 2013

They say that Lake Titicaca is a place of magic. I didn’t know how true that was until I arrived. I’d been standing in the reception of my Isla del Sol hotel for at least ten minutes, waiting for a girl to bring me a bottle of water, when two figures stumbled in through the door. He collapsed onto the nearest sofa immediately; she stepped cautiously towards the narrow trestle table that held a thermos full of hot water for…

Bolivia Personal Solo Travel South America

La Paz, Bolivia: a City of Cold, Colour and Contradiction

Posted on November 1, 2013

“I don’t believe in the gods, but last night I prayed to them that you would come – and you did! And now I believe in them!” The man’s eyes were bright as he towered above me. I sat uncomfortably in the chair he offered, wishing he’d at least sit down too. The restaurant around us was empty – no small wonder, as it was 4pm – and I wondered how on earth I was going to get out. ‘Puma’…

Bolivia South America Volunteering

What It’s Like to Volunteer at an Artificial Limb Clinic in Bolivia

Posted on October 25, 2013

“Ah, shit! I’ve broken my leg…” Two Bolivian ladies flutter anxiously around me as I attempt to get up from the pavement, my spectacular stumble-and-fall still fresh in my memory. My leg is askew in front of me, battered and bruised. The knee joint has separated completely from the calf; the two halves lie a significant distance from each other. Just as well it’s a prosthetic leg, really. But I feel much worse about breaking this artificial limb than I…

Challenges Personal Solo Travel South America What the hell?

Can Drinking Ayahuasca Change Your Life?

Posted on October 18, 2013

Drinking ayahuasca: could it change my life? It’s what I’ve heard can happen. And I was dutifully sceptical, as many people often are when regarding things they don’t understand. Ayahuasca’s just a drug, right? A cooked up plant from deep in the rainforest that makes you trip out and hallucinate; a trip that makes you think you’re seeing your entire life and the universe and everything in between. Probably nothing more than a bunch of hippies getting high. Right? But…

Bolivia Challenges Personal South America Spanish Challenge

The Spanish Challenge: Don’t Speak English in Bolivia

Posted on October 11, 2013

Hola mis amores! Hola mis amores! El artículo de hoy es un poco diferente, porque ahora estoy en Bolivia – y mientras yo estoy aquí, he decidido que no voy a hablar nada de inglés. Sólo en español. Buena suerte para mí, no? … Just kidding. To those who don’t understand the above, hopefully the title will have given you a clue. I arrived in Bolivia three weeks ago – my fifth country in South America so far – and…

Brazil Photography South America

Batman’s Alley: the Best Brazilian Graffiti in Sao Paulo

Posted on October 4, 2013

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 a particular piece of graffiti I immediately think I should write a graffiti-focused article. Maybe “My Favourite Street Art in South America?” – or, as I’m steadily becoming more excited, “Top Ten Graffiti Pieces I’d Strongly Consider Getting as a Tattoo”? My Facebook and Instagram feeds are constantly littered…

Brazil South America

The Best View in Rio… And It’s From a Favela

Posted on September 27, 2013

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 blue-green building sits neatly on a corner of the narrow road that leads up, ever winding, to the very top of Rocinha: Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela. It’s also the one that most tourists visit – whether they’re there on a favela tour, or attempting to tackle it guerrilla…

Brazil Personal South America Volunteering

Community, Compromise and Hard Work: Back to Basics in the Brazilian Jungle

Posted on September 20, 2013

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 of a giant meringue, and things were only going to get whiter. Two coats down and I was starting on a third when I realised my paint stash was seriously depleted. I inched closer to the roof’s edge. Jumping down six feet to the ground didn’t seem like the…

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