Holly
In Conclusion
It’s been three weeks since I landed at JFK and checked into my short-term rental, the owner of which took one look at my backpack and...
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Welcome to Holly's Blog
Updates from my 2023 World Trip
Recent Blog Posts
Holly
Nov 15, 20236 min read
The Cholatse Expedition
Disclaimer: This will likely be the final installment of the blog, as I’ll be returning to New York in a few days. I’ve now been in Nepal...
Holly
Oct 29, 20234 min read
Solo Trekking the Annapurna Circuit
After the Vipassana meditation course, my next objective was the significantly easier Annapurna Circuit: a 100 mile trekking route around...
Holly
Oct 1, 20235 min read
Vipassana Meditation in Nepal
I recently completed 105 consecutive hours of silent meditation over 10 days, breaking only to eat and sleep. It was the most challenging...
Holly
Aug 31, 20235 min read
Pakistan and the Spantik Expedition (Part 2)
After the trek and a few days of rest at the base camp, it was time to start climbing the mountain. Spantik is typically climbed in four...
Holly
Aug 25, 20235 min read
Pakistan and the Spantik Expedition (Part 1)
I’ve just re-emerged from Pakistan’s Karakoram mountain range, where I spent the past month without signal on a climbing expedition of...
Holly
Jun 22, 20234 min read
Ecuador
I had initially planned to end my traverse of South America in Colombia, where I wound up after taking a boat across the border from the...
Holly
May 22, 20235 min read
Into the Amazon
A trip to the Amazon is a right of passage for those backpacking South America, since at some point, nearly everyone spends a few days...
Holly
May 14, 20235 min read
The Huayhuash Circuit
I once wrote that the ascent of Chile’s Volcan Lanin was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I made that statement long before trekking...
Holly
Apr 19, 20235 min read
Bolivia Part 2
A fellow travel blogger once claimed that they should have been presented with an “I Survived Bolivia” shirt upon departure, and I don’t...
Holly
Apr 4, 20233 min read
Bolivia Part 1
I had been warned that Bolivia can be a real challenge, which was true from the very beginning, as it took 22 hours to get across the...
Holly
Apr 1, 20234 min read
Uruguay and Back to Buenos Aires
In mid-March I flew from Paraguay to Uruguay, where I traveled along the coast for ten days. A fun fact is that the coast of Uruguay has...
Holly
Mar 11, 20235 min read
Paraguay and the Aquidiban Boat
I’ve had some great adventures so far, but none that quite compare to the journey through Paraguay and up the river on the Aquidiban...
Holly
Feb 19, 20234 min read
Antarctica
The “seventh continent” is not on the typical backpacker route, but Ushuaia, Argentina is on the route, and boats to Antarctica depart...
Holly
Feb 7, 20235 min read
Puerto Williams and the Sail to Argentina
This was a great adventure in every regard, which was clear from the moment we arrived in Puerto Williams to find that the “airport” was...
Holly
Feb 1, 20233 min read
Argentine Patagonia
A few weeks ago I diverged from my route South through Chile for one week, crossing the border to Argentine Patagonia with the two...
Holly
Jan 25, 20234 min read
Chilean Patagonia
In early January I arrived in Puerto Natales on the Navimag Ferry and spent a full week (not by choice) in what’s typically a one-day...
Holly
Jan 9, 20233 min read
The Navimag Ferry
On January 1st I continued South through Chile via bus, from Pucon where I’d climbed Volcan Lanin and celebrated New Years, to Puerto...
Holly
Dec 30, 20223 min read
Christmas and Volcan Lanin
Christmas Two Fridays ago I arrived back in Santiago for Christmas weekend and checked into Ventana Sur. I promise not to describe each...
Holly
Dec 23, 20223 min read
Spanish School in Pichilemu
A week ago I left my job, sold my furniture, put my clothes in storage and flew to Santiago, Chile. Here’s a photo of me on the way out:...
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