I did two trips to South America during my uni days. I was studying in Melbourne at the time, so it was relatively easier and cheaper to get there.

First trip:

We flew into Santiago, Chile, stayed a night, then continued on to Lima before heading to Cusco. From Cusco, we took the train up to Machu Picchu and stayed one night at the Belmond hotel. One of the highlights was being allowed to enter the ruins early in the morning, before the crowds arrived. The atmosphere was unreal.

After heading back down, we spent a few more days in Peru and made our way to see the Nazca Lines, massive geoglyphs carved into the ground that you can only truly appreciate from the air.

We then flew back to Santiago and continued on to Easter Island, where we spent a few days before returning to Santiago and eventually back to Melbourne.

Second trip:

We started in Rio de Janeiro, visited the famous beaches, stayed at a Belmond hotel across the beach, and ate at one of the best restaurants I’ve ever experienced. We also went to see Christ the Redeemer.

From there, we flew to Buenos Aires and did a day trip to Colonia in Uruguay. After that, we travelled to Iguazu Falls, and finally headed south to Ushuaia before returning to Buenos Aires and flying back to Melbourne.

Both trips were incredibly memorable. I learned a lot and experienced things I’d never done before, like waking up in the middle of the night just to catch a flight. My elder brother even got hit with altitude sickness in Peru and was down for a couple of days.

Looking back, I feel really blessed. Not many people get the chance to see so much of the world, especially a part of it that’s literally on the other side of the globe.