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Showing posts with label Uruguay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uruguay. Show all posts

Saturday, 21 October 2023

Charlotte's Travel Adventures is 5 Years Old!

This blog, Charlotte's Travel Adventures, is turning 5 years old, so I felt it was only right to write a post to celebrate this special anniversary!

I published my first post on the 25th October 2018, which doesn't really feel that long ago, even though a lot has happened since then. At the time, I was back at university in Nottingham, having just completed a life-changing Year Abroad, and I wanted to try to keep this whole spirit of travel and adventures going, even though my everyday life had gone back to being something more mundane, which is why I decided to start this blog.

I didn't post again until January 2019, when I wrote about my trip to Chile to visit my boyfriend Claudio, who I'd been with for about half a year at that point. And after that, I didn't write much else until I finished final exams at university in June 2019. But since then, with the exception of the first couple of months of Covid lockdowns, I've written here pretty regularly, no matter what my situation is, or whether or not I've had many opportunities to travel.

The last five years have not always been easy for me. When you leave university, it's quite a weird time, where you don't have the structure of school and university anymore, and you're thrown out into the world to figure out for yourself what you're going to do next; it's hard to know if you're making the right decisions until you can look back with the gift of hindsight. Not long after graduation, I decided that being a teacher of English as a foreign language out in Chile was what I wanted to do for the next year or two, if not longer. So I got myself TEFL qualified, started teaching online, and eventually managed to find a job at a language school in Santiago, which I planned to start at some point in 2020.

Then, of course, the pandemic happened, and life was pretty much put on hold for two years. With the exception of the last few months of 2020, when Claudio came to visit me and my family, the pandemic was a time of just having to be patient and get through each day and week at a time, while waiting to be able to get my life started again.

And then in February 2022, I was able to finally move to Chile, and since then I've been making up for lost time! I had some fantastic experiences during my 15 months in South America, and then moved to Malta for a few months to complete an internship in digital marketing, and now I've got a permanent role in the marketing sector and am currently based in the city of Bristol.

Even more excitingly, Claudio and I had a civil union in May and plan to have a proper engagement and wedding in the near future! He'll be coming to join me here in the UK later this year, and I can't wait! 

So although there were a lot of of challenges over the last five years and there will surely be more to come, I'm really happy and grateful for how things have turned out.

And there has been a lot to document on this blog! I've spent 18 months of the last two years living abroad and have been on various exciting travels over the last five years. Since starting this blog, I've travelled in 12 different countries (13 if you count England and Wales as separate countries!), 6 of which I'd never visited before.

Here are a selection of highlights...

Visiting the Atacama Desert in January 2019












































Visiting Madrid in November 2019



















Visiting Lisbon in November 2019



















Visiting Buenos Aires in February 2020



















Visiting Uruguay in February 2020



















Exploring London with Claudio in October 2020



















Visiting Stockholm in October 2020



















Exploring Cardiff with Claudio in December 2020

























Moving to Chile in February 2022



















Visiting Machu Picchu in October 2022

























Visiting Rio de Janeiro in December 2022

























Visiting the Chilean Lake District and Chiloé in April 2023



















Our civil union in May 2023

























Living in Malta between May and August 2023



















Visiting Sicily in June 2023




















I hope that in another 5 years' time, I'll still be writing on this blog and will have plenty more exciting travel adventures between now and then!

Saturday, 12 February 2022

Country Guide: Uruguay

Name: Uruguay

Continent: South America

Capital (and Largest) City: Montevideo

Language: Spanish

Currency: Uruguayan Peso

Drives on the: Right

Time Zone: Uruguay Standard Time (UTC -3)

Adaptor Types: Type C, Type F and Type L

Description: Uruguay is one of South America's smallest countries and can be found in between Argentina and Brazil. It also has a coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and Río de la Plata. Like its neighbour Argentina, it is famous for football and tango dancing, and it is also often considered to be the most progressive country in Latin America.

Why You Should Visit: Uruguay isn't one of the top Latin American tourist destinations, but I would definitely recommend going there! The UNESCO World Heritage town of Colonia del Sacramento is just a short ferry ride away from Buenos Aires, and is such a picturesque place to spend a day exploring. There are also some great beaches and beautiful green countryside to discover all over the country. And the fact that it's so small compared to most other South American countries makes it easy to get around!

Fun Fact: 95% of the energy used in Uruguay now comes from sustainable sources.


My Blogposts About Uruguay


- An Eventful Day in Uruguay (Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento)

- UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Colonia del Sacramento)

- Travel Tips: My Ten Favourite Beaches (Colonia del Sacramento)








































Clockwise starting from top left: Parroquia San Francisco de Asís, Montevideo; all other photos taken in Colonia del Sacramento

Check out the rest of my Country Guides here!

Sunday, 5 December 2021

Travel Tips: My Top Ten Historical Destinations

This week's blogpost is going to focus on my favourite historical destinations. Now, of course, nearly every town or city in the world has some kind of link to the near or distant past, and could therefore be counted as a historical destination, meaning there are various places I could have included in this list. But the ones I've chosen to write about today are the ones that really seem to bring history to life, and which have given me an insight into different periods of the past...


Avebury, England, UK












This prehistoric stone circle, along with the other nearby stone circle, Stonehenge, are probably the closest thing we have in the UK to a site like Machu Picchu or the Egyptian pyramids. And both happen to be located in my home county of Wiltshire, which is pretty cool! Stonehenge is definitely the more famous and popular of the two, but I personally prefer Avebury, as it's much much bigger, and access is less restricted. No one knows exactly why the circle was built, but it's amazing to look at it and think about how long it's been there for. 

Read more here!



Bath, England, UK

























Bath is another historical place that I'm lucky to live quite close to. This beautiful city was very important during the Roman era, and you can still find many Roman columns around the city centre, most famously at the Roman Baths (pictured above). The Roman Baths was a spa and temple complex that attracted visitors from far and wide, and now it's a museum that brings in tourists from all over the world.

Another reason to visit Bath is for its more recent, Georgian history. It was a very popular city amongst the wealthy during that time period, and was famously written about by Jane Austen. You can find many examples of Georgian architecture around Bath today, including the iconic Royal Crescent.

Read more here and here!



York, England, UK

























York is another British city with a long history and many beautiful old buildings. Like Bath, it's known for its Roman history, and you can still see some of the architecture from that period today, including the column pictured above. York was also a Viking city in the past, and was known as Jórvík during this time. In fact, one of the city's most exciting attractions is Jorvik Viking Centre, a museum which literally takes you on a ride through a recreation of this era.

Read more here!



Oxford, England, UK



















The final English city in my list is Oxford, which has some of the most beautiful architecture in the country. It has many historical buildings, some of which were built hundreds of years ago. Radcliffe Camera (pictured above) is actually one of the newer ones, being completed in 1749. Some of the the even older ones include St Michael at the North Gate tower, which was built between 1000-1050, and Oxford Castle, which was originally built in the Norman era.

Read more here and here!



Chepstow Castle, Wales, UK



















The last UK destination in this list is Chepstow Castle in Wales, located right next to the border with England. Construction on the castle first began nearly 1000 years ago, in 1067, and it's still looking in pretty good shape for its age! Actually there are many amazing old castles in Wales - it's the country with the highest number of castles per square mile - but Chepstow's one is actually the oldest, so it's definitely worth a visit.

Read more here!



Nîmes, France















Now I'm moving on to international destinations for the last half of this list, starting with Nîmes in the south of France. This isn't one of the best-known cities in the Hexagon (I don't think I'd heard of it before I went!) but I believe it should be, because it's really an incredible place to explore, featuring various Roman artefacts that have been unbelievably well-preserved. Two of the most impressive are the Arena of Nîmes (pictured above), which is very reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and Maison Carrée, a beautiful temple.

Read more here!



Berlin, Germany



















For me, Berlin is an interesting city because of its more recent history. It wasn't that long ago that it was divided into two parts: the democratic West Berlin (comprised of British, French and US sectors), and the communist East Berlin (originally a Soviet sector, and later part of the GDR). There are still many reminders of this period that tourists can visit, including the East Side Gallery (painted sections of the Berlin Wall), Checkpoint Charlie (pictured above), and Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), a former border crossing which is now a museum.


Florence, Italy















The capital of Tuscany is one of the most popular destinations for those interested in history of art, as it was the birthplace of the Renaissance movement, which took place during the 15th and 16th centuries. Many great artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, lived and worked in the city, and you can see examples of their artwork there today. Two of the most famous galleries are Galleria dell'Accademia, where you can find Michelangelo's famous sculpture, David, and the Uffizi Gallery (pictured above), where you can see The Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

Read more here!



Dubrovnik, Croatia

















Image by veeterzy from pexels.com

This medieval walled city on the Adriatic Sea, which was at one point an independent country, seems to have barely changed in hundreds of years. It's also incredibly beautiful, especially when viewed from above. I went there on a family holiday nearly ten years ago, so my memories of the place are slightly vague, and I didn't have a camera phone at the time, so I have no photos from my trip there. But I do remember really enjoying exploring the city, and I'd definitely go back there in the future.


Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay



















This picturesque town in Uruguay was at times a Spanish colony, and at other times a Portuguese colony, before becoming part of Brazil, and then finally Uruguay. It has a blend of Spanish, Portuguese and post-colonial architectural styles, and has been recognised by UNESCO for this reason. Going there and seeing its old buildings and cobblestone streets really does give you the feeling of stepping back into the past. 

Read more here!



I think it's really fascinating to learn about different periods of history and about how life was in the past, but it's even more interesting when you can actually explore history in a more literal way, by visiting historical destinations such as these.

I definitely plan to visit more historical places in the future; when I'm living in Chile again (which should be very soon!) I would like to visit the Chinchorro mummies in Arica (Edit: Saw them in June 2022!), and possibly Rapa Nui (Easter Island). I'm also planning on visiting Machu Picchu in Peru (Edit: Made it there in October 2022!), and maybe Ciudad Perdida in Colombia. The other historic sites I'd most like to go to around the world include Chichén Itzá in Mexico, Rome in Italy (Edit: Made it there in March 2024!), Athens in Greece, Petra in Jordan, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Hopefully, I'll have one or two to write about within the next few months!


Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!

Sunday, 2 May 2021

Travel Tips: My Ten Favourite Beaches

This week I had a very nice trip out with my parents to Dyrham Park, and enjoyed seeing the spring flowers there and saying hello to two lovely cats! But as I've blogged about Dyrham twice before, I decided it was time to write another Travel Tips article, this time about my favourite beaches.

I've always had a real love for the ocean, swimming, and warm, sunny weather, so it goes without saying that beaches are one of my favourite types of destination to visit. There is something very special about looking out to sea or being in the sea and remembering that the ocean stretches out across the whole planet; it is something that makes us feel connected to the rest of the world, wherever we are. So I try to visit beaches as often as I can.

Here are the ten most memorable ones I've been to so far!

Algarrobo, Chile



















This seaside resort in the Valparaíso region of central Chile is a really popular holiday destination amongst santiaguinos, as it has several beautiful beaches including El Canelillo, which is surrounded by a pine forest. I first went to Algarrobo in April 2018 during my Year Abroad, but my most memorable trip there was in January 2019 with my boyfriend Claudio. We went on a boat trip round a little island just off the coast, where we saw lots of Humboldt penguins!

Read more here and here!


Brighton, England, UK



















Given that Brighton's beach is both located in the UK and is made up mostly of pebbles rather than sand, it's not the best for relaxing and sunbathing. But what makes it special is that there are various interesting attractions located along its shoreline, including the iconic Palace Pier (pictured above), the British Airways i360 Viewing Tower and the Upside Down House. Claudio and I visited the vibrant city for the first time in December last year, and had a great time.

Read more here and here!


La Serena, Chile



















In 2019 we went on a road trip to the Coquimbo region in the north of Chile, where we stayed in the city of La Serena. It's one of the largest cities in the country and has many interesting architectural features such as the Monumental Lighthouse, which is located on its long stretch of beach. Because of its northern location, the beach is quite a bit sunnier and warmer than the beaches near Santiago, which is a definite plus point!

Read more here!


Cannes, France



















The glamorous city of Cannes in the south of France is known for its prestigious film festival. (There's a red carpet out all year round where you can take photos!) But it also has a beautiful sandy beach with warm Mediterranean water to swim in and lots of great restaurants. And when you're swimming in the sea, you have great views of the city's elaborate buildings, such as the Carlton Hotel.

Read more here!


Reñaca, Chile




















This town just to the north of Viña del Mar has one of the most attractive and popular beaches in Chile. It's well known as a great destination for surfing, but it's also perfect for swimming in the sea or simply relaxing on the sand under the palm trees. 

Read more here!


Cap d'Agde, France















Cap d'Agde is another seaside resort in the south of France, but it's a lot smaller and quieter than Cannes. It's known for the natural beauty of Plage de la Grande Conque (the volcanic black sand beach pictured above) and it also has other beaches with golden sand. Be aware that part of the town is a nudist village, but the beach above and others nearby are normal beaches!

Read more here!


Bournemouth, England, UK



















Bournemouth is just a couple of hours away from my home in Wiltshire, but when I went there with my parents in 2019, it felt like we were in a foreign country. The weather was hot, the sea was bright blue and warm enough to swim in, and the beach had golden sand and palm trees. Maybe we were just lucky to be there at the right moment - I'm sure it's not like that most of the year - but it definitely felt like a great alternative to taking a flight to another country.

Read more here and here!


Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay



















Most of the beaches on this list are by the sea, but of course beaches can also be by a lake or a river. One place with several beautiful river beaches is Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, located on Río de la Plata, opposite Buenos Aires. It's a very idyllic place with amazing architecture, palm trees and great weather. In fact, its mix of architectural styles have earned it a place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Read more here!


Navagio Beach, Greece
















Image by Pixabay from pexels.com

When I was little, my family and I went on a couple of summer holidays to the Greek island of Zakynthos. One time we went on a boat trip to see Navagio Beach, also known as Shipwreck Beach or Smugglers Cove. The plan was that we would swim from the boat to the beach, but unfortunately the weather had other ideas. In the end, we ended up just seeing the beach from the boat while clutching onto sick bags! But I have to say it was one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, and I can understand why travel experts have voted it as the world's best beach.


Slano, Croatia

















Image by Rachel Claire from pexels.com

One of my favourite family holidays was when we went to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2012. We stayed in Slano, a village in the south of Croatia located in a bay. The hotel had a private beach which was surrounded by mountains, and I remember the views being amazing. Back then I didn't have a phone with a camera, so sadly I have no pictures of it! The photo above is of the incredible walled city of Dubrovnik, another place we visited during the holiday.


It's been really nice to compile this list of my favourite beaches, as beaches and swimming in the sea are things I've been missing recently! I can't wait until I can finally move back to Chile and visit some of the beaches there with Claudio. On my list are Zapallar (Edit: Made it there in July 2022!), Bahía Inglesa, Iquique (Edit: Made it there in April 2022!) and Arica (Edit: Made it there in June 2022!), and it would also be amazing to visit the beaches in Cartagena, Colombia and Rio, Brazil (Edit: Made it there in December 2022!) while I'm in South America. Other cities around the world with beaches I'd love to visit include Barcelona, Miami, Havana and Sydney. Hopefully soon I'll have the chance to explore another great beach, whether that's in the UK or further afield!


Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!

Also check out my 2023 follow-up to this post here!

Monday, 19 April 2021

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

One of my favourite websites for finding travel advice and inspiration is Lonely Planet. Recently, they posted an article on their Facebook page, written by a photographer who has visited over 70 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It got me wondering how many I'd been to, and so I spent an interesting evening on the UNESCO website working it out. According to my calculations, I've visited 31, which isn't too shabby! And in fact, the vast majority are places I've visited since I first started travel blogging in 2017, many of them for the first time. It gave me the idea to write a post reflecting on the World Heritage Sites I've written about on both my Year Abroad Blog and this blog. So here it is!


My Year Abroad Blog 2017-2018

















The canal, which was built in the 17th century, stretches 240 kilometres across the south of France. I visited it near Béziers, and you can see the town's cathedral on the hill in the background.

















The entire city centre of Avignon in Provence has been designated a World Heritage Site thanks to attractions such as Palais des Papes (pictured above) and Pont Saint-Bénézet, the famous bridge from the song Sur le pont d'Avignon.




Across France, there are many important sites along the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. One of them is Gellone Abbey in Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (pictured above).






Salzburg is well-known for being the birthplace of Mozart, and is also famous for its beautiful architecture, including Mirabell Palace and Hohensalzburg Fortress, both of which can be seen in my picture.

















Austria's capital is also recognised by UNESCO, thanks to its range of grand and beautiful buildings, including the Hofburg Palace (pictured above).

















Another of Vienna's palaces, Schloss Schönbrunn, has a special recognition of its own, as it was the residence of the Habsburg emperors. Both its interior and exterior are incredibly grand and ornate.

















The capital city of Tuscany has a strong artistic heritage as well as many beautiful historical buildings.





















Another of Italy's famous cities, Venice, is also recognised by UNESCO. It's famous for its canals, gondolas and stunning architecture.





















The colourful, Bohemian city of Valparaíso on the Chilean coast is famous for its street art and its interesting architecture, including Palacio Baburizza (pictured above).





















You can find many of the capital of France's iconic landmarks along the banks of the River Seine, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral and the art galleries Musée du Louvre and Musée d'Orsay.





















Versailles was the residence of the French monarchs, and is famous worldwide for its formal, manicured gardens.





















Le Havre in Normandy was bombed heavily during the Second World War and rebuilt in the years that followed by an architectural team headed by Auguste Perret.


Charlotte's Travel Adventures



























This ancient road system was built by the Incas and spans six South American countries. I visited a marker of the route with my boyfriend Claudio, when we were in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile.





















The city of Kraków in the south of Poland is filled with amazing architecture at every turn, featuring buildings such as Wawel Castle, St. Mary's Basilica and the Cloth Hall (pictured above).



























In the Belém neighbourhood of Portugal's capital, you can find two famous attractions that make up a joint world heritage site: the huge Jerónimos Monastery and the beautiful Torre de Belém on the banks of the River Tagus.



























Parliament square is one of the touristic centres of London, thanks to its impressive architecture and its historical importance.





















This pretty town on Río de la Plata is known for its mix of Spanish, Portuguese and post-colonial architectural styles.




The beauty of the Lake District's natural landscapes have inspired many famous writers over the centuries.


Tower of London, England, UK


In the past, this spectacular castle was used as a prison, but now it's one of London's most famous landmarks.


City of Bath, England, UK



The entire city of Bath has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its Roman and Georgian heritage.





These two famous neolithic stone circles in my home county of Wiltshire, make up a joint World Heritage Site.


Other sites I'd visited prior to starting blogging are the Dorset and East Devon Coast, and Blenheim Palace in the UK; the Historic Centre of Prague in Czechia; Budapest in Hungary; the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia; the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Flemish Béguinage, the Belfry, and the Historic Centre in Bruges, Belgium; and Museumsinsel in Berlin, Germany.

It's really interesting to reflect on these places that are of such cultural and natural significance to our planet, and I hope they'll still be here for many centuries to come. I also hope to have the chance to visit many more during my lifetime. There's at least a few I'm looking forward to checking out once I'm living in South America again!


28/07/2021 Update

I'd always planned to keep updating this post once I'd visited more World Heritage Sites, and I'm updating it now, because as of today I've visited 35 sites, which is 4 more than I'd visited as of this time last week. However, I haven't actually been anywhere over the last seven days! 

In fact, the reason why the number has increased is because UNESCO have just added 28 more sites to their list, and I've been to 4 of them! One of them is Nice, capital of Riviera tourism, in France, one of them is the works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana, in Slovenia, and the other two are ones I've been to since starting this blog. Here they are!




Two parts of Spain's capital have now been given UNESCO status: Paseo del Prado (one of the city's main boulevards) and the beautiful Retiro Park (pictured above).


The Great Spa Towns of Europe; Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy and the UK



Bath is now a double World Heritage Site, as it is recognised both on its own for its Roman history, and as part of a group of towns across Europe, for its heritage as a spa town.


I hope to update this post again in the near future with some more sites that I've visited!


25/11/2023 Update

It's been over two years since I last updated this post, and it's definitely long overdue! Since my last update, I've actually visited 10 more UNESCO World Heritage sites and another one that I visited in the past has been added to the list, which I believe brings my total up to 46 sites visited. Still not quite as many as the photographer who wrote the Lonely Planet article that inspired me to write this post, but I'm catching up!

Having spent close to 15 months in South America between 2022 and 2023, and then 3 months in the Mediterranean, I've had the opportunity to explore lots of interesting new places, including several UNESCO sites, and I also found time to visit a new one for me in England when I was back home for a few weeks last year.

Here are the new additions to my list...





These "ghost towns" in the Atacama Desert are preserved exactly as they were at the height of saltpeter mining in the late 18th century and early 19th century.




The Chinchorro people lived in and around the city of Arica in the far north of Chile between 7000 and 1500 BC. They are best known for their mummies, which are even older than the Egyptian mummies and which can still be seen in museums today!


Maritime Greenwich, England, UK



This is quite an unusual World Heritage Site in that it's located in two hemispheres! Greenwich Park is beautiful and full of wildlife, and the views across London are stunning.





Cusco was once the capital of the vast Inca Empire, and still retains much of the amazing architecture and culture from that period. Although at first I found it rather crowded and touristy, I came to really love this beautiful city by the end of my stay there.




A UNESCO World Heritage Site which is also one of the 7 Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu is an indescribable place. Making it up there last October was a real dream come true!




Two months after my Machu Picchu trip came another World Heritage Site (the city of Rio de Janeiro) and another Wonder of the World (Cristo Redentor). There is so much to discover in this incredible city, and I really hope I'll get to go back there at some point.





The Chiloé archipelago in the south of Chile is almost like a different country to the rest of Chile - it has its own unique culture and folklore, landscapes and architecture. 16 of its colourful wooden churches make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the one pictured above, which is located in Castro, Chiloe's capital city.




Moving back over to Europe, Malta's capital city Valletta is designated as a World Heritage Site thanks to its beautiful 16th-century architecture.





Six prehistoric temples across Malta and Gozo make up this UNESCO site. I visited two of them during my time living in Malta - Tarxien Temples (pictured above) and Ġgantija Temples.




The city of Syracuse in Sicily is famous for its extensive range of Ancient Greek and Roman archaeological sites.





When I visited Nîmes in 2017, I was surprised it wasn't a UNESCO site, because the Roman archaeological sites there are so impressive. So I was glad to find out that one of its most amazing Roman buildings, the Maison Carrée, has now become a UNESCO site!


In my opinion, these 11 recent additions to my list are among some of the best out of the 46 UNESCO sites I've visited so far. I hope it won't be too long before I'll have more sites to add to this post!