Porto, Portugal

November 08, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

Unfortunately, the last stop in Portugal. A little lonely, but the day spent in Douro was impressive, even if it rained most of the day. Good company, tranquil views and some Port wine helped. Experiencing my first Champions League game (FC Porto vs. Leipzig) was a highlight - the passion from the crowd (the guy next to me jumping out of his seat and yelling out Caralho! every time a player messed up) actually put Old Trafford to shame. Smoking is allowed inside the stadium (and in most nightclubs), so I left Porto with half of my laundry smelling of cigarettes.

London, Manchester and Edinburgh, UK

November 05, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

I've quickly realised that 3 months is next to no time at all to explore Europe. I felt an attachment to Portugal, as it reminds me of my many trips to Brazil, however I begrudgingly had to move on. To colder weather, and a more familiar culture in the UK.

London is gigantic, and within it is more than anyone would need of anything - people, shops, rain and traffic. Fortunately I had some friends here to hang out with, which made it feel a little more familiar. The London Tower was impressive, however apart from that I didn't feel a strong connection to the city and its culture. I could see the appeal, however I think because of the strong UK influence in Australia, I didn't get the feeling of exploring the far corners of the world when I was there.

Next stop was Manchester. It was five years ago that I met Louise, Ross & Caroline on my first solo adventure (it was in South America), and on my first night in Manchester we all went out for dinner and some drinks. It's times like this that make you appreciate the friendships that travelling can provide you with.

Manchester was also an eagerly anticipated destination as I was able to fulfil a dream I've had since childhood - seeing Manchester United play at Old Trafford. I met up with another mate of mine who's now living in Leeds, and we soaked up the atmosphere (and some gin & tonics) in a bar outside the stadium before the game. The game itself was an incredible experience and whilst I was worried for a while that the game would end goalless, it was nice to see United score a winner with only 10 minutes to go.

My final stop in the UK was Edinburgh, and to be honest I was eager to get back down to Portugal and Spain. Another place I wanted to see on this trip was the home where my Dad grew up in Scotland - and luckily enough in Jimmy I had an old family friend who was more than happy to take me there. After trying some haggis and walking around the city early the next day, I was back on a plane to Porto, Portugal, where wine tours and more football matches awaited.

A statue of the famous dog "Greyfriars Bobby", who apparently spent 4 years guarding the grave of its owner

A Yelp style review of Lisbon, Portugal

October 25, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

I never thought I'd be someone to have a favourite book or author. However on my last trip throughout Latin America, I stumbled upon The Art of Travel and was soon hooked on the writing of Alain de Botton. A few years on and I now found myself attending his The School of Life Conference here in Lisbon.

Given the subject, I shouldn't have been as amazed as I was by the people I met and the conversations I had with at the time complete strangers. I left the 3 day conference with new ideas, friends and experiences that well and truly inspired me.

For reasons of brevity and otherwise, I'm going to sum this post up with a Yelp-style review of my experience of Lisbon:

Overall I recommend this place to literally everyone who isn't boring. It's a beautiful city with friendly people, fantastic food, great hostels and luckily for me it happened to be hosting a just as impressive gathering of like minded people.

Do: Try the beef rolls at As Bifanas Do Afonso, go out for a Portuguese Feijoada and Fado show, walk around the Alfama district, and talk to the cute girl who caught your eye at the conference.
Don't: Book your flights to leave the day after the conference finished (leaving you with no option but to come back in a few weeks to see more of the city), book a 7 bed dorm the first night of your stay because this is undoubtedly where the terminal snorers sleep, and don't spend an hour on the Tram to Belém Tower, arriving at 5:30PM only to realise that it shuts at 5.

4 stars out of 5.

São Miguel and Madeira, Portugal

October 19, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

Sao MIguel was probably everything I'd hoped the Canary Islands were, and Madeira everything I was glad they hadn't been.

Incredibly lush, alive with rolling green paddocks everywhere you looked, the beauty of the island beats you into submission. The views underwater were just as impressive, as I managed to squeeze in a couple of dives to a WW2 wreck and the reef of Lava Quita, where an Octopus got hold of my hand, which took surprisingly more strength than I expected to pull away from him.

Unfortunately Madeira was a bit of a letdown. More brown than green, and the skies more grey than blue. But we found a rock to sit on, and a cliff edge to make you fairly uncomfortable peering over. The traditional snack Bolo de Caco was also a resounding success for many meals spent with Adam and Paul. We'd for years talked about travelling together with the three of us, and in Madeira we finally made it happen.

Málaga and Las Palmas, Spain

October 10, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

Well I wasn't planning on blogging this trip, but I had a few requests from friends, family, and even someone from the other side of the world who had been following it and wanted to show their friends.

I'm feeding the travel bug again, this time for 3 months across Europe, Asia, and I've left a good chunk of it unplanned to allow for some surprises.

The 30+ hour journey took me to Málaga where I was picked up by Adam, a good mate of mine from school and football back home in Perth. After spending the day in Torre del Mar and Nerja, we spent this night in the centre of Málaga, getting about 3 hours sleep before hopping on another plane, this time to the Canary Islands.

Having our own car meant we could explore a fair chunk of the island, although as they drive on the other side of the road, it took my brain a few hours to stop reaching down with my left-hand for the non-existent gear stick. The other thing that took getting used to was the amount of nude beaches in Maspalomas, I actually felt a little self-conscious by having clothes on.

The highlight of the Canaries for me was Roque Nublo. I experience for the first time in a while that transcendent feeling of being awestruck by nature. The trek to it from the entrance was an arduous rocky ascent taking about 25 minutes, which was even harder the second time around after I ran back to get my camera that I'd left in the car.

Santiago, Chile

March 03, 2016 by Cameron Yorke

My year on the road had almost come to an end, and the final stop was to be in Santiago, Chile. Besides the exorbitant prices (compared to the rest of South America), it was a great place to end the trip. A well developed, clean, accessible city with temperatures lingering around 30 degrees all week, a superb hostel, and most importantly, great company.

On Sunday afternoon I met up with Constanza, a girl I got chatting to on Couchsurfing. We went to the nearby Parque Arauco with some of her friends from the United States, and spent the evening enjoying the sunset over a picnic and some beers, gazing at the impressively large moon hanging low over the horizon.

The next day over breakfast I made friends with a few Aussies and Brits, and we spent the afternoon on the city walking tour. We learned about the infamous Salvador and Pinochet governments of Chile's past, but perhaps the most interesting story for me was that of Chile's dog culture. With so many stray dogs to be seen all over the city, our guide explained why they looked perfectly groomed and healthy. It turns out a lot of people in Santiago will care for and feed the dogs, some even going to the trouble of giving them the required vaccines and neutering them. They get enjoyment out of sitting in the park and being able to enjoy the company of a dog for a while, without having to take them home and pick up their poo.

The dogs there really are a different breed (pun intended) however. They look both ways before crossing the street, or sometimes even wait for the green man to light up before walking. They walk around with a focussed look on their face, as if they legitimately have an appointment to make, and I even heard stories of them taking buses to other neighbourhoods.

Another interesting facet of Santiago culture we learned about was the "Coffee with Legs" phenomenon. At some point in the past, someone decided that more men would come to coffee shops if there were girls in short skirts serving them. So, a bunch of these sexy coffee shops sprung up over the city, some even going to the extent of being a strip club, with a side of coffee. Of course, being a group of young boys, we made a beeline for one of these places as soon as the tour ended.

We walked back to the dodgy looking establishment that was pointed out to us during the tour, complete with black tinted windows and a small neon sign showing "Cafe". We walked in and immediately stood out as the overexcited gringos, and sat down for one of the most interesting, and surprisingly decent coffees I'd had in a long time.

With the Aussies and Brits leaving the next day, it was time to find a new gang. So on Wednesday I went out with two Americans to Cerro Santa Lucía to get a nice view of the city. Afterwards we walked around the Bellas Artes neighbourhood, sampling a few delicious empañadas, and then visited the fish markets. In the evening we went to the upscale wine bar Bocanáriz, and proceeded to down a bunch of incredible Chilean wines. Luckily, one of the Americans was in Santiago to progress his career as a Somelier, so we were guided by someone who knew what he was tasting.

On Thursday I hiked up Cerro San Cristobal, to get an even better view of the city, stopping by the Zoo halfway up the mountain. On the way down I popped in to La Chascona, an intriguingly designed house built by famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, for one of his many mistresses.

The next day I went shopping with Jessica, a girl from Buenos Aires who was staying in my dorm at the hostel, and made good use out of my credit card, replacing many of the clothes that had over the past 12 months become increasingly dirty, small and worn out. We had an ice cream at Emporio La Rosa, voted by one website as one of the best 25 ice cream shops in the world, and spent the afternoon in Parque Arauco taking in the beautiful weather.

As I was enjoying Santiago so much, I only had time to do a day trip of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. I'd definitely have stayed longer if I had the time, but I already had plans for the next day.

Funnily enough, I have a relative who lives in Santiago, and so a couple of days earlier I got in contact with them. They invited me over for a barbeque, and some delicious Chilean beer and wine. It was a bit strange to be in the heart of Santiago, and having a barbecue and a chat with 3 strong Scottish accents, but it was a great way to end the weekend and my time in Santiago.

On the way back, I stopped by Paruqe Arauco once more to enjoy the final sunset of my trip, and briefly reflect on the year that had been. There wasn't one prominent feeling or emotion at the front of my mind, it was more like there were dozens of them floating around, cancelling the other one out. I was sad that it was over, happy that I was going home, dying to see my family and friends again, yet devastated that some genuinely special people I'd met I will probably never see again. I was completely exhausted from the entire trip, yet excited for the next one. I was upset that some of the most incredible experiences of my life were over, but glad the bad ones were too. Having got nowhere on deciding which feeling would win out over the others, I made my way back to the hostel and begun to pack my bag. That was one thing I certainly wouldn't miss doing for a while.

Easter Island, Chile

February 21, 2016 by Cameron Yorke

Over the past 12 months travelling around South and Central America, I’d only ever met one person who’d been to Easter Island (Isla de Pascua in Spanish, or Rapa Nui as it was originally named), and he highly recommended visiting. I’ve always been interested by things a little different to the norm, and the idea of setting foot on one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world intrigued me. The problem was trying to find reasonably priced flights. The first time I checked several months ago, return flights were in excess of $1,000.

I kept my eye on the prices, until the start of the new year when I found return flights from Santiago (Tahiti is the only other place in the world that flies to Easter Island) for about $600. This was enough to tempt me and I bought the flights immediately.

Before I begin to cover my time in Easter Island, I need to go over my flight from São Paulo to Santiago. Before I left home last year, I’d spent the previous 12 months racking up up a considerable amount of Frequent Flyer points by signing up to credit card promotions, and so I used up a chunk of them in upgrading my flight to Business Class. This was my first time ever flying Business, and I can now safely say that it’s ruined Economy flying for me for life. Now every time I fly, I know exactly what I’m missing out on behind those curtains.

The differences are incredible. First of all, the hostesses are considerably more happy to see you. You’re first to enter the plane (you want to get the most out of your next couple of hours of luxury), upon which you’re given a glass of water, a small bowl of nuts, and a hot towel to refresh yourself. After taking off, a meal soon comes out, and this is probably the greatest benefit over Economy, because the food is actually a LAND SIZED SERVING. Not crammed into a tiny tin foil container that you have to wrestle your food out of, trying not to not burn or cut yourself in the process. The wine (you get to chose out of 4 different ones) and bread are seemingly infinite in supply and are constantly offered to you before you can finish the previous one.The toilets are nicer, and also include hand wash, body lotion, and aftershave - all of which I made good use of. Whilst only going for a quick wee, the other passengers must’ve though I left a horrible surprise in the toilet, because I came out smelling way too good.

You get proper, over-the-ear headphones, and a higher quality screen to watch your movies in. Not to mention, the whole movie experience is enhanced by the fact that your chair (bed) FULLY RECLINES into an almost 180 degrees position. You get a pillow and a soft, thick, fluffy blanket, which the hostess gently drapes over you with a smile. I watched The Martian with Matt Damon, then after a few more wines I drifted off to sleep. 20 minutes later I had probably the second sweetest wake up of my life, as the air hostess slowly stroked my shoulder and whispered “señor, señor” as we begun to descend back to my economy class reality.

I spent less than 24 hours in Santiago, then was back in the air towards Easter Island, some 5 hours of flying and just under 4,000km out from Santiago. Luckily, the adjustment back to Economy Class was aided by getting an exit row seat. The runway was actually extended in the 1980s by the US for use as an emergency landing strip by NASA space shuttles, and since then it's allowed for full size aircraft to move to and from Easter Island.

Patricia, the owner of the hostel I was staying at, was waiting for me at the airport, complete with a sign and flower necklace which she presented to me upon arrival. We walked back to her hostel, chatting in broken spanish and admiring the incredible view of the night sky.

On Tuesday morning I hired a bike and planned to ride over to Orongo and see the Rano Kau crater. I rode for a while, stopped when I saw the sign for “Orongo Trek”, locked my bike up and walked the next hour or so to the top, only upon arriving to realise there was a tarmac road I could’ve taken my bike along the whole way. Great. In the afternoon I joined up with a tour group, which took us to Puna Pau, the quarry from which the Rapa Nui locals made the hats for their moai, finishing up at Ahu Akivi.

The moai statues really are incredible to see up close. And they get even more incredible when you learn how they were carved using such primitive tools. Then your mind is blown once more trying to figure out how they moved these enormous and ridiculously heavy things tens of kilometres across the island. I won't try to educate you on the entire history of Rapa Nui, so if you want to learn more, go to the Wikipedia article.

I had a full day tour take up all of Wednesday, taking us to some of the best spots of the island, such as the moai quarry at Rano Raraku. An incredible place where the moai were all sculpted from, and there you can see moai almost everywhere. We visited Tongariki just before lunch, then spent the afternoon a tthe beautiful Ahakena beach. In the evening I went to a show of local song and dance, and enjoyed a few of the Rapa Nui pale ales.

In between scouting the many moai on the island, I visited the local museum, and spent a great deal of time haggling at the local markets for souvenirs. I don't usually buy a lot of souvenirs, as my backpack is incredibly small for a one year trip, and most of the things you see are cheap and tacky anyway. Yet the same tacky items seem to have a bit more charm when you can tell people you bought them from Easter Island.

On Friday I went scuba diving all morning, which included a dive to see an underwater moai (unfortunately it’s fake and was placed there for a movie. Nevertheless, it was still impressive). The second dive took us through some coral reefs, where the visibility was incredible, however there wasn't much marine life to see.

In the afternoon I visited the post office to get a "Isla de Pascua" stamp in my passport, then went to see the sunset down at the beach, before heading over to a hotel to see a screening of Kevin Costner's 1994 film Rapa Nui. The acting was at times laughably poor, yet it was cool to get an idea of what life might have been like on the island back in it's heyday.

Easter Island is a place I feel extremely privileged to have had the chance (and the money) to visit. However, It's super expensive - I realise just how adjusted I am to South American prices when I baulked at having to pay $6 for a beer - yet you can't blame them, considering the extremely remote location.

It feels more like a country town squeezed into an island, and the way the locals all know each other sometimes makes it feel like you're in the middle of an episode of Postman Pat. It's a place you can quickly slip into the rhythm of. There's little care for time, as most places don't really get going until 9 or 10 a.m., and the fact that the sun doesn't set until 9 p.m. means no one is in a rush to get home either. It's a place I remember learning about in early Primary School, and thinking I'd love to visit, but probably never get a chance to in my lifetime. Now, it gets added to the list of places I've been on this trip, and one that I feel incredibly lucky to say I've seen.

The Brazil Return

February 14, 2016 by Cameron Yorke

It's been a while since my last entry, but I have a good excuse - Carnaval happened. There was little time to sit in front of a computer, editing my photos and trying to turn my thoughts and experiences into words. Now that it's over, I've finally had the time to take a (quick) breather, while I wait at the airport in Rio de Janeiro.

After Quito, I spent an entire day enduring a ridiculous flight itinerary (Quito to Bogotá, Bogotá to Panama City, Panama City to São Paulo), to then fly the next morning to Belo Horizonte. It was all worth it of course, to return to the place where I made an amazing last year friend in Maria. She invited me to stay with her for Carnaval, where we could once again party it up with her and her friends.

Walking back into her apartment, where I spent over a week back in April last year, it felt like I was returning home. That feeling was helped by the fact that Maria had sent me a key to her apartment back when I was in Recife, so it really did feel like I was opening the door of my own house. I was able to unpack my bag completely, and have my own bedroom and shower. We had home cooked meals, my laundry was done for me and we spent a fair bit of time on the couch watching Netflix. After 11 months of travelling out of two small bags, a break from the traditional backpacking experience was exactly what I needed.

We partied for days on end, then took a few days off to recover, where we ate a lot of Japanese food, watched TV shows, went to the cinema and even adopted an abandoned puppy for Maria on the day I left.

Just as I had expected, it was another special experience with some great friends, and the return to Belo Horizonte only cemented our plans to catch up again somewhere in the world in the near future. I had plans to fly to Sao Paulo for 2 nights after Belo Horizonte, but decided to stay in Belo Horizonte for a couple more nights to recover from a bug I still seem to be shaking off (to be fair the heavy partying didn't help).

Nevertheless my time in Belo with Maria came to an end, and I spent the following 2 nights back in Rio de Janeiro, I place I just can't seem to bypass when I'm nearby. It's such an incredibly picturesque city. Whether it's due to it's beauty, the fact that it was Carnaval, or maybe just because the amount of special memories I have in this city, it always has a unique feeling which to me brings a lot of happiness.

Unfortunately, I only had one full day to enjoy Rio, and being a Saturday during Carnaval, it was impossible to do the one thing I really wanted to do - hang gliding over the city. But, it makes for a good excuse to return again one day. I met up with Lydia, who works in a hostel I stayed at last time I was in Rio, and we walked around the city, eating and drinking our way around Ipanema, Leblon, Copacabana. We finished the day enjoying the sunset on Ipanema beach, then went for dinner at one of my favourite Brazilian restaurants, Fogo de Chão.

We ate way more than anyone should have in one sitting, but the meats are too delicious to say no to, until you've actually reached the point of being in pain from eating so much. Hopefully, the rest in Belo Horizonte and the amount of food I ate in Rio will give me the energy for the last leg of the trip - Chile, and one other surprise destination... stay tuned!

My 27th Birthday

February 04, 2016 by Cameron Yorke

The final bus ride, out of Colombia and into Ecuador, wasn't any easier than the previous few I'd taken recently. We were stopped for about 2 hours while a bike competition passed through, so we didn't arrive until about 6 p.m. After starting to stress when the bus driver couldn't find my checked bag, he finally found it and I was on my way to the hostel.

As I was still suffering from some mystery bug or virus, I was quite looking forward to doing nothing in Quito. I'd almost resigned myself to staying in bed on my 27th birthday, until I was convinced by Carolina to meet up with her and celebrate the day. She kindly bought lunch for me at a sushi restaurant, then we went to the Quicentro shopping mall so I could replace some clothes that in truth should've been thrown out months before. We shared some ice-cream and a juice in the afternoon before I headed back to the hostel and in to bed. Considering I'd never met Carolina before (we'd only met and talked via Couchsurfing), and the fact that she'd been up since 2a.m. that day working at the airport, it was an incredibly nice gesture from her that not only made me feel a little better, but made what could've easily been an unforgettable birthday into a really nice day.

The next day I met up with another friend off Couchsurfing, Keika, whom I met when I was last in Quito in September 2015. For the second time in two days I was spoiled, this time Keika and her boyfriend buying me a birthday cake after our lunch together. Again I was made to feel incredibly lucky by the awesome people that I've met whilst travelling.

In between this I spent a lot of time laying in bed and watching tv shows, while recovering. I've been pretty lucky on this trip so far in terms of getting sick, never having needed to go to the doctors. But even the mystery bug/illness aside, travelling for one year certainly takes it out of you.

When I first started this trip, I met other travellers who had been going for months on end, and they would tell me, "I just feel tired all of the time". I didn't get it then, but now I can certainly appreciate the feeling. And not only is my body tired, my clothes and luggage look tired too.

It's been great to settle down in Quito for a few days, see old friends and make new ones, and recharge the batteries. I needed it, because I can't see myself getting much of a rest over the next few weeks during Carnaval in Brazil!

Ipiales, Colombia

February 01, 2016 by Cameron Yorke

Unfortunately, the only way out of San Agustin was back out through the horrible road I came in on. This meant another 5 or so hours on the bus, after which I didn't dream of spending the night on another bus to Ipiales, so spent another night back in Popayán.

I was back at the bus station early the next morning, and again spent the whole day on a bus to Ipiales. Thinking I'd be safe in shorts and a t-shirt during a day bus, I was unpleasantly surprised to find the air conditioning on full blast. I grew colder and colder as the trip wore on, and finally arrived in Ipiales in the early evening. To make matters worse it was freezing in Ipiales when I got off the bus, and I couldn't stop myself shivering as I waited for my bag. I picked the first hotel I saw, which was conveniently located across the road from the bus station, and booked a room for the night.

Hotel Metropol was everything you'd expect out of a hotel located across the road from a bus terminal. It seemed like the place you'd go if you'd had an argument with your wife and got kicked out of the house. The red neon sign out the front flashing 'agua caliente' got my hopes up, only to be torn straight down as I hopped under the shower - a metal pipe protruding from the wall - to receive one thick stream of lukewarm water.

Yet, I spent the night here in order to see the spectacular Las Lajas Sanctuary. And it was worth it.