HUACACHINA: Five Reasons Why You Should Visit South America`s Only Oasis at Least Once in Your Life

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Once upon a time, beautiful native princess Huacay China retired to the remotest place on earth to mourn her lover`s death. Far from her kingdom and her father`s palace, her grief was interrupted by the sudden appearance of her deceased beloved. Terrified by the illusion, she undressed and threw herself into the pool of her own tears. The folds of her golden gown are rumoured to have formed the sand dunes the lagoon is girded with. As for the princess herself, she is believed to have been living as a mermaid guarding the oasis ever since. 

THE ANDES: 20 Latin Songs to Get You Across One of The World`s Largest Mountain Ranges

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Hey there, how`s life been treating you ?

I originally planned on meticulously chronicling my three-week adventure across the Andes in a lengthy, detailed post for you but have decided to cut it short(er) this time. The web is so overly saturated with advice, info, pack lists and itineraries that I figured you wouldn`t need another one of those bloggers explaining to you what sort of hiking boots to get and what kind of thermal underwear to pack. Nah. I fully trust your wit and ability to investigate should you need any guidance on visiting Latin America`s incomparable mountains. Whatever you choose and wherever you`re deciding on going - be it the Rainbow Mountains, the Inca Trail or Lares Trek, Machu Picchu, the Maras Salt-flats or the Colca Canyon - Google`s got you covered, belive me. What I`ll be sharing with you instead is something neither Google nor any travel blogger has managed to thus far (???), and that`s a fiery up-to-date latin playlist to ensure you`re actually gonna make it all the way to them snowy mountain tops. Like don`t get me wrong, I`m 98% positive that you`ll enjoy your experience up there, but I also haven`t met a single traveller - myself included - who didn`t hit a rough patch at least once during their Andean trip, which is why I`ve compiled a list of 20 songs that will give you the necessary amount of fuego to conquer any kind of boredom, fear, cold, exhaustion, altitude and potential food poisoning. See it as the circumstantial soundtrack to my own experience if you like and thank me later: There`s nothing more therapeutic than pushing yourself to your own limits somewhere in the middle of bloody nowhere between 4-5000m above sea level to the beat of a vibrant Latin song that is kicking your a*s truuust. 

    So I guess that`s it for today - enjoy the browsing, enjoy the music and hasta luego. 

Much love,

HF

LAKE TITICACA: Between Bolivia and Peru, Where Time Is Standing Still

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Welcome (back) to my page dear friends, strangers, travellers and other kinds of human beings. I must admit that I was left quite surprised by your enthusiastic comments in regards to my previous blogpost where I discussed 10 of La Paz` most curious quirks and perks. For someone who is inclined to criticise her own writing relentlessly, reading your encouraging words truly means a great deal to me, so thanks for that.

Well. By the time you read this piece I`ll have long crossed the border that separates Bolivia from Peru. On board of a tiny, white ferry I`ll have glided across the azure waves of Lake Titicaca - South America`s largest freshwater lake and the world`s highest navigable waterbody situated at an altitude of 3800m above sea level. I`ll have maundered along its shores that are home to crumbling ruins of pre-Incan civilisations and I`ll have climbed the surrounding Andean peaks and soft, rolling hills marked by farmland, fields and vast, desolate stretches of rocky altiplano. 

LA PAZ: 10 Curiosities Only Bolivia`s Second Capital Could Pull Off

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Welcome to La Paz, a swirling carnival of colours and cultures, pedestrians and honking cars, native rituals and Western architecture, street markets, food stands and more official languages than you can count. Inimitable in its mixture of modern capitalism and ancient indigenous traditions, Bolivia`s second capital city surely is a metropolis unlike any other. Impossible to ignore, each and every street pulses with the memory of its tumultuous - if not violent - history. La Paz is there, and it`s very much in your face, so here are my top picks of its quirks and twists that are not only unapologetically Latin America, but also quintessentially Bolivian:

SEVEN DAYS IN THE FAR EAST

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Well hello there,

it`s been a while, hasn`t it. After months of exams, dissertation and semi-ridiculous attempts to get a decent bachelor`s degree, I`ve finally managed to keep my word by writing up a little something about my time in the Far East. Hong Kong had been on my bucket list for quite some time, so the excitement was - correspondingly - super real when I finally boarded that plane that carried me for eleven dead-boring hours to the other side of the globe. Despite my desperate efforts to get some rest, I didn`t sleep for a single minute, quite in contrast to my mother who missed departure, landing and everything in between. Staying awake paid off though; the first glimpse I caught of the former British colony was a city bathed in golden evening light as the sun was about to set below its horizon. Mesmerised by the picturesque spectacle, I could not but wonder what kinds of adventures were waiting for me over the course of the following seven days.