Level 5 NYC: Rolling (Carolina's Audio Story)

Like many of us, I think, Carolina has wanderlust (the innate desire to travel). After getting married, Carolina and her husband traveled for many months through South America, Central America, and finishing her trip with a submarine ride to Antartica!

a yellow submarine

In Carolina's audio story, Rolling, she takes us with her. And with each new destination, we'll hear music from that country.  Play the audio story and read along with her text below, which includes images from her trip.

-Eric, NYC

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ROLLING

It is awesome how you can pack all your life in a bag and start a crazy adventure 
you never know where is going to take you; but that is exactly the idea, let life 
surprise you and then, pack your bags back full of unforgettable memories. Good 
and bad experience but all of them unrepeatable; experience full of flavors from 
each traditional food and rich in energy, because it is literally what you need, 
when you decide to live a dream for one and a half year being awake.
This is how on January 10 -2011 everything started.

Two tickets to Ecuador; one with the name of my husband and the other with 
mine, were the farewell to Bogota city and the rain that love wetting the street of 
this Colombian capital. Now a big sunshine was going to wake us up every 
morning, and we were looking forward for this moment.

The itinerary was Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Chile; six 
countries in the same continent but absolutely different each other.

Ecuador: Invited us to get in a beautiful and clean ocean in Montañita and enjoy 
the warm and white sand in Salinas, without forget the relaxing and healthy hot 
spring waters in Baños.

 Montañita’s beach in Ecuador­

Bolivia: With the expectation of a country you think you know because are gentle neighbors, we learned every day about a culture is still looking around the way to keep growing up.

Places some people have no idea exist in the map and in my opinion are just natural miracles. Coroico, La paz, Tupiza, Samaipata, Copa cabana and Salt flats in Uyuni; Salt flats, the perfect way to find a mineral can be turned in a stunning painting; a perfect giant extension of neat salt with a pretty little hotel in the middle built in salt. Walls, beds, sofas, art all made in salt.

Bolivia, a real paradise they have no idea they have.

Salt flats in Bolivia

Brazil: Here we are. Too much to talk about this country no just because it is huge in size; It is huge in happiness, good energy and Samba, one of my favorites music genres.

We arrive to Campo Grande; nice place and then we took a bus to Bonito; a place called Bonito has to be beautiful, because that is exactly what this word means in Spanish and Portuguese, beauty. 

Maceio, Maragogi and Porto galhenas ; their natural pools make this three towns the most romantic place to live a real sweet experience.

And then came what you expect about Brazil; Carnival. We did it in Salvador city.

This is called the “the singles carnival” so it is impossible to describe the intensity provides this colorful festival. Men and women from all the world have a common place to live the life of carnival like never before and may be like never again.

All the excesses in alcohol,  food, people, music, smile faces and friends. This was the place where everybody that stayed in the hostel “casa amigo” became in a family. Always together from the first day until carnival closed the doors to the party and opened the streets back to the busy traffic.

Brazilian Carnival in Salvador City

But we had to keep rolling so, Mojo de Sao Paulo, Olinda, Canoa Quebrada, Fortaleza and Sao Luis were still waiting for our visit.

Nothing like drinking a beer in the middle of the city with the Amazon River in front of you. This was in Belem; a big city with the Amazon River almost touching our feet was an amazing experience; but we had a last place to visit and this is a place I am never going to forget. Lancois Maranhenses; stretches of sand with a natural bright gave me the most spiritual experience ever. Dunes with natural pools made from the rain and the seawater getting mixed with the sweet and fresh river’s water, is something you cannot see very often. The three waters of the world in the same picture make this place unique.

Lancois showed me you don’t   have to wait to die to be in heaven. The best way to say good-bye to this gorgeous country.

Lancois Maranhenses in Brazil

Peru; Beautiful with two special places that caught my eye.

Huacachina, a desert with a tiny town in the middle, and this town has a beautiful lake in there. It is a oasis, something than in pictures looks like a Photoshop work; and Nazca lines; have the opportunity to over flight the lines and try to find the meaning of this mysterious revelation was something out of this world.

What really made me love Peru was the gastronomy. The most tasty seafood and ceviches with the most exquisite ingredients makes Peru the number one place to eat and drink pisco sour in all south America.

Huacachina Peru

The next two countries took us on a very different way.  They made us an experts in something we keep enjoying in home; the wines world.

We walked every winery in Argentina and Chile in very fun tours they offer you where the wine is the only objective of everyone.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Carmenere,  are some in the list as the best way to taste a grape .

Now it was time to go back to Colombia and we did it; but with travel happens the same than with some drugs, you become an addict to the adrenaline, the unknown, the adventure.

So, we decided to follow our instincts .

Harvest festival in Mendoza, Argentina

For the second adventure we booked Panama, Guatemala, Paraguay and Honduras.

Panama; A very organized country with a huge American influence; but we were not in Panama to feel in USA so, we left Panama City to continue with the plan.

Boquete, Boca Brava, Bocas del Toro, and Punta Burica; this last one, a beach Paradise. To find the only option we had to sleep, we had to walk quickly for 3 hours, before nigh fall.

All this exhausting walk got a reward…in front of us one little cabin with  out walls or windows;  just a clean and comfortable bed that was waiting for our tired bodies and was going to offer us the most beautiful view of the best scenery  in the world, the infinite sea. This was our favorite home in this country.

Punta Burica, Panama

Guatemala; In front of the Atitan lake you can find nice hostels with stunning views of the lake; but this place made me feel  for a little while in the TV show “lost”.

An amazing place with a very characteristic culture had to accept how the lake makes them feel so proud, is the same without  mercy  is taking every house on its shores. Just the rooftop of some houses were one day hostel, churches or stores are who remind us one day they existed.

And it is impossible not to talk about the Mayan temples in Tikal; the culture that has prophesied the end of the world at the end of the month; December 2012!!

Tikal, Guatemala.

Atitlan Lake.

Paraguay; Another carnival week brought to my mind flash back of my first carnival in Brazil.

Encarnacion, Paraguay

Honduras; Isla Roatan; the opportunity to live the most fun and irresponsible  adventure in a tiny submarine 2000 feet deep in the water, where the only thing you find in this depth is simple; it is a new planet. Rocks than looks like strong flowers , fish that may be confused with work tools and animals you don’t know what they exactly are, but move very softly dancing in front of you; A very impressive performance.

A submarine without any kind of regulation and just allowed in this island made this adventure very irresponsible but absolutely unforgettable.

Roatan Island

And after all this year and a half, imposing mountains of ice were waiting to give us their blessing. The end of this fantastic tour is Antarctica, our honeymoon. The last experience before moving to the United States and becoming serious citizen.

I’m never going to forget the first time I opened the window of my cabin in the boat the morning after crossing the artic circle.

This is something everyone should have the opportunity to experience; the paradise built in ice and snow with elegant penguins exited to see humans and unique red sunsets than matched perfect with the impressive icebergs floating on the water.

Antarctica

Now New York City. Back to the reality that for me is a very exiting reality.

The adventure is not over; this was just the beginning.