Our stories

Discover our travel stories, like a logbook

Our stories

Discover our travel stories, like a logbook

Our stories

Discover our travel stories, like a logbook

Our stories

Discover our travel stories, like a logbook
A Carnival float at the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome

Explore our Stories

Backpacking is all about collecting those unexpected moments that no guidebook could ever predict. Whether it's volunteering on a farm in Paraguay or spending two weeks at an animal rescue center in Carhuaz in Peru. Listening to our guide on the Salkantay Trek share the incredible history of 5,000 years of Andean civilizations, from the Caral people all the way to the Incas. Or making an unplanned stop in Vicuña in the Elqui Valley in Chili, where we got to experience some of the clearest astronomical observatories in the Southern Hemisphere.

All our travel stories:

Cuenca

Shrunken heads and Amazonian tribes: Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca

Discover the fascinating history of tsantsas (shrunken heads), Amazonian tribes, and Inca ruins at the Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca, Ecuador. With 10,794 ethnographic artifacts, it offers an incredible window into the Shuar worldview and ancestral rituals.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Ecuador

Shrunken heads and Amazonian tribes: Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca

Discover the fascinating history of tsantsas (shrunken heads), Amazonian tribes, and Inca ruins at the Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca, Ecuador. With 10,794 ethnographic artifacts, it offers an incredible window into the Shuar worldview and ancestral rituals.

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

Carhuaz

Animal volunteering in Peru: our experience at a sanctuary

Volunteering at a dog shelter and looking after 98 dogs for 2 weeks is quite an adventure—you really build an amazing bond with the animals!

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

Animal volunteering in Peru: our experience at a sanctuary

Volunteering at a dog shelter and looking after 98 dogs for 2 weeks is quite an adventure—you really build an amazing bond with the animals!

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

Inca engineering

Inca engineering: the questions everyone asks

Imagine 60,000 km of roads built without wheels, 200-ton stone blocks seamlessly fitted without mortar, and suspension bridges swinging over deep canyons. On our Salkantay Trek adventure, we set out to answer the big questions about the marvels of Inca engineering.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

Inca engineering: the questions everyone asks

Imagine 60,000 km of roads built without wheels, 200-ton stone blocks seamlessly fitted without mortar, and suspension bridges swinging over deep canyons. On our Salkantay Trek adventure, we set out to answer the big questions about the marvels of Inca engineering.

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

The Andean civilizations

5,000 years of Andean civilizations: from Caral to the Incas

Long before the Incas, Peru was home to Caral, the Chavin, the Chimu, and dozens of other forgotten civilizations. We retrace 5,000 years of Andean history through the stories shared by our guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

5,000 years of Andean civilizations: from Caral to the Incas

Long before the Incas, Peru was home to Caral, the Chavin, the Chimu, and dozens of other forgotten civilizations. We retrace 5,000 years of Andean history through the stories shared by our guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

Salkantay

Apus, Pachamama and Syncretism: Understanding Andean Spirituality

Deified mountains, high-altitude sacrifices, and Christian festivals packed with Inca roots: here is your guide to Andean cosmology, all shared with us by our local guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

Apus, Pachamama and Syncretism: Understanding Andean Spirituality

Deified mountains, high-altitude sacrifices, and Christian festivals packed with Inca roots: here is your guide to Andean cosmology, all shared with us by our local guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

The glaciers of Peru

The story of Peru's tropical glaciers

Peru is home to 75% of the world's tropical glaciers. While hiking the Salkantay Trek, our guide explained what they mean to the locals, as well as the natural disasters they can cause.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

The story of Peru's tropical glaciers

Peru is home to 75% of the world's tropical glaciers. While hiking the Salkantay Trek, our guide explained what they mean to the locals, as well as the natural disasters they can cause.

Kisses from us! 
Mathilde and Tristan

Cuenca

Shrunken heads and Amazonian tribes: Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca

Discover the fascinating history of tsantsas (shrunken heads), Amazonian tribes, and Inca ruins at the Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca, Ecuador. With 10,794 ethnographic artifacts, it offers an incredible window into the Shuar worldview and ancestral rituals.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Carhuaz

Animal volunteering in Peru: our experience at a sanctuary

Volunteering at a dog shelter and looking after 98 dogs for 2 weeks is quite an adventure—you really build an amazing bond with the animals!

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Inca engineering

Inca engineering: the questions everyone asks

Imagine 60,000 km of roads built without wheels, 200-ton stone blocks seamlessly fitted without mortar, and suspension bridges swinging over deep canyons. On our Salkantay Trek adventure, we set out to answer the big questions about the marvels of Inca engineering.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

The Andean civilizations

5,000 years of Andean civilizations: from Caral to the Incas

Long before the Incas, Peru was home to Caral, the Chavin, the Chimu, and dozens of other forgotten civilizations. We retrace 5,000 years of Andean history through the stories shared by our guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Salkantay

Apus, Pachamama and Syncretism: Understanding Andean Spirituality

Deified mountains, high-altitude sacrifices, and Christian festivals packed with Inca roots: here is your guide to Andean cosmology, all shared with us by our local guide on the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

The glaciers of Peru

The story of Peru's tropical glaciers

Peru is home to 75% of the world's tropical glaciers. While hiking the Salkantay Trek, our guide explained what they mean to the locals, as well as the natural disasters they can cause.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Peru

Peru, a country of true superlatives

From the Atacama Desert and tropical glaciers to the richest coastline in the world: here is what makes Peru truly exceptional, well beyond Machu Picchu. Discovered while hiking the Salkantay trek.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Vicuna

Vicuña, the city of stars: an unexpected stopover

Observatories, museums, bike tours, and pisco: here is the lowdown on our stopover in Vicuña, a charming Chilean town tucked away between the mountains of the Elqui Valley. Includes practical tips, great places to eat and stay, and our recommended itinerary.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Valparaiso

Valparaiso, the street art capital of the world

The capital of street art—or how a city hit hard by economic crisis and natural disasters managed to reinvent itself, all thanks to the sheer creativity of Chilean artists.

Kisses from us! 

Mathilde and Tristan

Our stories about regions of the world

South America

Central America

Europe

Asia

Welcome to our travel blog

With Mathilde, we made the choice to travel slowly, prioritizing land transport and connecting with locals. This pace, a bit slower than average, allowed us to experience moments that a classic itinerary simply doesn't offer: staying with locals in a village far from the tourist trail, sharing an impromptu meal on the side of a Bolivian road, or discovering an archaeological site that hasn’t made it into any guidebook. That’s exactly what we share here.

Our stories are also meant to serve as practical inspiration for planning your own trip. We describe the real vibes, actual costs, travel times, and the surprises (both good and bad) at every stop. If you're still on the fence about going, these stories will give you an honest picture of what to expect on the ground, unfiltered and real.

Browse our travel diaries and let yourself get swept up in the adventure. And if a story makes you want to learn more about a destination, our detailed travel guides

are right here to help you turn that inspiration into your next itinerary.


A Carnival float at the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome

Choose a country to discover our recommendations!

South America

Choose a country to discover our recommendations!

South America

Choose a country to discover our recommendations!

South America

Choose a country to discover our recommendations!

South America