I’m reaching the 10.000 monthly readers with the blog this December, yippee ka yay! A nice way to end the year; time for something fizzy! ?? As I started out this blog last year, I was pretty surprised when I saw ‘the stats’. And yes I’m a happy about it, thanks a lot dear reader!
I created The Tiny Travelogue when I was living in Costa Rica last year for multiple reasons. First and foremost because I received a whole lot of questions from friends, family and friends of friends about where to go in Costa Rica. At some point I figured it would be so much easier if I’d just put all of the info I’d been writing to them on one big platform. Easypeasyjapanesey.
Moreover, as any friend or former colleague of mine will attest, I love to think along regarding itineraries 🙂 (sometimes a bit too much… it’s a secret hobby!). Also, I wanted to do something extra with my pictures apart from selling them on Shutterstock. Add to this that I’d already been writing travel articles for other sources ánd the idea for starting a travel blog had already been in my head for quite some time; et voilá, you understand that this all was a perfect recipe for an online soup with all of my travel articles.
I’m not much of a ‘follow me in my perfect dress’ kind of insta gal (so you won’t see many selfies), but I do love to go the extra muddy mile for the perfect wildlife and landscape shots. In between all of this I’m keeping you informed about my tips, recommendations, funky stuff that happened and my best shots and I’m glad it has worked out so far!
I get a lot of really specific questions (what’s your favourite diving spot in Latin-America, where are your readers from, how do you prevent yourself from mosquito bites in the tropics (a valid question indeed ?), what kind of breed is Chapo (spoiler: none of them (or all)!), and so on), and today I’ll answer one of them in the theme of the annual year-end lists: what are popular articles on your website? Well.. this is it, the top 10 of 2018 – all of them about travelling in Latin-America (and a bonus one in Hawaii)!
Hope they can inspire you as well, this and next year. Here’s a cheers to 2019!
#1. Five towns to visit at Lake Atitlán
Siii, this article about Guatemala’s most popular lake is leading the list!
Lake Atitlán just has something special. Though it’s not totally disconnected to the world, it feels like you’re travelling around a parallel one within Guatemala. Whether you’re looking for a yoga retreat, love luxury stays, are on a Mayan culture quest or in for some tranquility, every village has another purpose to fulfil. Here I tell you want kind of atmosphere you can expect in each of them! ↓
#2. Where to go in El Poblado, Medellín
Colombia is becoming increasingly popular as a travel destination, and so are my articles about the country therefore!
The uptown El Poblado neighbourhood is located south of Medellin’s city center on the eastern side of the Aburra Valley. It’s undoubtedly Medellin most wealthiest area close to the city center; and with a bit of money you can buy yourself a fancy lifestyle in here. Luxurious apartments with wonderful views are everywhere, and so are yoga studios, tranquil parks, lush avenues, vegan bars, plastic surgery clinics and doggy hairdressers.
Now if you’ve booked your ho(s)tel in here (and trust me, that’s a very fine choice if you like nice restaurants and drinks and want to get home safely), do remark that this area looks nothing like the real Medellin. So don’t stick around the entire time. For the evenings however, the Zona Rosa surrounding Parque Lleras is your absolute place to be with boutique shops, sky bars, cute restaurants and fancy bars. The list of places where to go is endless, but if need a bit of orientation here’s one for starters! ↓
#3. A day at Isla Grande, the star of Isla Rosario, Colombia
Hiding just a 45-minute boat ride from Cartagena’s shores, are 27 tiny coral islands located that together form the archipelago of Isla Rosario. The islands are one of Colombia’s 46 natural National Parks and well worth a visit for a couple of days off-grid. ↓
#4. Itinerary for Costa Rica: 1, 2 and 3 weeks
I’m glad to see this is a popular article! After two years of living in the country and having seen all of its corners, these are the spots that I’d truly recommend to you, while on a 1, 2 or 3 week(s) trip! ↓
#5. A day at Escobar’s old estate of Hacienda Nápoles
What to do when you belong to the aristocracy of crime, have money to burn (literally) and own a big piece of property with fourteen lakes just outside of Medellin? If you were Pablo Escobar, of course you’d go constructing a zoo, be importing a lot of exotic animals, building a bullring and a dinosaur park for your son. It was Escobar’s idea of a perfect paradise, away from the chaos he created in the rest of the country. ↓
#6. What to do: 4 days in Bocas del Toro, Panama
I’ve been in Bocas several times, on several islands and every time I got off the boat at Isla Colón I felt like stepping into a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’-like paradise, always with something new to discover. Whether you like snorkeling, deserted beaches, diving, starfishes, sailing, coconuts, wildlife, exquisite food, party places, ultimate quietness; Bocas has some for everyone. Except perhaps if you hate sunshine.
Are you not sure yet of how many days you want to go to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro? I recommend at least 4 days, if you can spare the days. If not, pick a couple of components of my top 4 days in the area that suit you best! ↓
#7. Cheap things to do at Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos
Yes I know, everything is so freakin’ expensive at the Galapagos Islands. Annoying right? Well.. that’s why it’s good to know that there are actually also a lot of things to do for the ones with a small budget! Here are some cheap adventures to go for on Isla Santa Cruz; the main island and biggest hub within the Galapagos Islands. ↓
#8. The alternative rainbow mountain tour to Palccoyo, Peru
The tour that most people take to the area has a focus on the mountain of Vinicunca. So if people talk about the rainbow mountain in Peru, Vinicunca is what they refer to. The hike towards this place is long (3 hours) and on very high altitude (above 5000 meters). Apart from that, I was put off by the popularity of the place. The daily amount of visitors is enormous and you won’t really have to place to yourself unfortunately.
As we informed about tours to the rainbow mountains in Cusco, one of the agencies mentioned the tour to the area near Palccoyo, nicknamed the “Three Rainbow Mountains.” You’ll basically visit the same area, but enter through a different access. The plus side of this trip is that the hike isn’t so difficult, but you still have the gorgeous views on the multi-coloured area. Although it was a bit more expensive than the regular tour; I thought the tour was absolutely amazing, easygoing and tranquil! ↓
#9. The best street art and graffiti in Palermo, Buenos Aires
No matter how long you’re planning on staying in Buenos Aires, I bet you’ll never have enough time to see all of the street art and graffitis in town, especially as the outlook on the walls just keep on changing every now and then.
I’d walked around Palermo Soho countless of times and had seen so many murals already, but little did I know about the stories behind them. And therefore I was super happy that I joined the graffiti tour of Buenos Aires Free Walks ↓
PHOTOS: The best street art and graffiti in Palermo, Buenos Aires
#10. 14 top cafes & restaurants in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
With nearly two years of experience tasting the menus of a great many a deal restaurants in this lovely Caribbean town, I picked my 14 favourites. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. ↓
#11. (Bonus) Adopt a dog for a day in Kauai
As most of my readers are from the States, I’m super happy to see that this article nearly makes the top 10!
National Geographic recently estimated there are a billion dogs, and 3/4 of those are strays – worldwide. A confronting notion.
So, what does this all have to do with Hawaii, I hear you saying! Well, while on Kauai I was very pleased to hear about a great initiative. The local shelter, The Kauai Humane Society, initiated a programme to ease the time of their dogs – until they get adopted – in here: you can take one (or two) out for a hike in the mountains or on the beach. Really a win-win for both! They get a great day and are able to get used to people and you will receive a bundle of joy for a day! ↓
Voilá, c’est ça! See you next year!
