Johnny

Boxer, dancer, tech guy...now living free and carefree around the world. I'm not traveling, I'm just going home to a new place.

Itacare – quick travel guide

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Beautiful raw “roots” type of beach-town with dozens of amazon beaches and the best magical beach vibe in the world.

I don’t know how to begin describing it. And part of me doesn’t want to because I’m hoping you won’t find it and ruin it. After seeing what happened to Tulum (Mexico), I’m deathly afraid of that happening here. Itacare really is one of the most perfect places in the world. I’ve watched people come here and get stuck…extending their stay 3 times and constantly changing flights and crying when they had to leave. It’s THAT GOOD.

You can try to book 5 days, but hahaha…trust me. You’ll probably get stuck and want to do at least 2-3 weeks. I highly recommend not being silly and planning anything less than 5 days. You will absolutely regret it with every bone in your body.

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Olinda – quick travel guide

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Small cute colonial town in Northeast Brasil.

Go here because it’s got some personality and vibe, rather than the big city Recife nearby. It’s relatively safe, cheap, and some interesting viewpoints. Easy to spend just 2 days to see all main parts…or spend 3 or 4 if you want to relax.

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iPhone repair guide

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Because your iPhone is bound to have issues during traveling and you’ll need assistance on what to do.

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Northeast Brasil – quick travel guide

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My own personal idea of what’s worth seeing in north-east Brasil.

I didn’t go everywhere so you shouldn’t take my word for it. But from my researching and also firsthand experience of places I’ve already been…this is how I felt:

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Sao Paulo – quick travel guide

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Sao Paulo is a big livable non-beach city (Brasil’s biggest)…loved by some, hated by others.

Haters say it’s boring, no beach, no “vibe”, nothing to do, they hate the sprawling. Those who love it (like myself), appreciate that it’s very safe (not dangerous atmosphere like Rio), has many livable neighborhoods to explore, so much more partying (numerous streets of fun bars/clubs unless sporadic lone spots in Rio), feels more local and not full of tourists, feels like everyone enjoys the city (not like a haves-vs-havenots in Rio).

Not only that but there’s just more people in Sao Paulo. Even the people who live in SP (but hate it) can’t help but still live there as it’s nice to live. Those who don’t like Rio can easily leave immediately because it doesn’t offer much other than naturally-beautiful scenery of beaches and rock mountains.

2 days is enough to visit some highlights. 4-5 days if you want to do all tourist things. But generally, everyone flies into Sao Paulo and leaves immediately for a beach area.

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Semuc Champey – quick travel guide

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Semuc Champey is a national park in Guatemala (deep in the mountains/jungles) between Antigua & Flores. Features beautiful turquoise pools, river rafting, caving, and other nature-based activities.

As beautiful as Semuc Champey is…there really isn’t much to do. And the whole logistics of getting here and planning where to stay can be a mess. For this reason, many people say it’s overrated and I totally agree. A lot of hassle to get there and there isn’t that much to do unless you absolutely want to do some nature things or party in a jungle hostel with your clothes off. Of course…they try to invent little activities to make you feel like it’s a theme park but there really isn’t much. Maybe a young college kid would see all this as adventure. As for myself…I’d prefer spending extra time in creature comforts in Antigua or even Lake Atitlan.

Still insist on going? Ok fine…let’s cover some tips for getting the most out of your visit here.

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Acatenango & Fuego Volcano – hike tour guide

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Beautiful overnight hike up one volcano to get you incredible views of other surrounding volcanos and then back down safely to the real world.

Let’s cover some basic information you should know so you don’t gotta read a hundred sites to get all the info I share here.

  • What to expect
  • What volcano tour companies to choose
  • What gear you need
  • Logistics to plan (weather, travel)
  • Other helpful tips

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Lake (Lago) Atitlan – quick travel guide

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A beautiful lake with many cute towns along the water, each with their different personalities.

Enjoy a relaxing waterfront with plenty of nature (hikes/tours), partying, bars, and restaurants to keep you occupied. This is a top-3 popular destination in Guatemala that’s easy enough to see within 3-4 days but keep you occupied if you want to be here for a month. Oh and it’s cheap!

Many people (usually Europeans) say it’s their most favorite place on earth, with all the wild nature and proximity to the water. I personally preferred the cuter city comforts of Antigua. To each their own.

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Guatemala – quick travel guide

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A country of raw wild jungle and mountains, feels like a less-developed Mexico (sharing language and food similarities, as well as overlapping Mayan cultural history).

Guatemala is an uncommon travel destination for casual tourists, but common destination for off-the-beaten-path hardcore travelers. Hardly no Americans here since they’re scared by its danger reputation, but super popular destination for British (especially in the 18-22 age range). It’s cheap and nice partying.

Guatemala is a small easy country to visit. You can see everything in a month, and some people even fall in love (with its chill wildness) and stay 2-3 months. You can go here because you love it or because you need to do a visa run to renew your Mexico visa. I also notice many people who like Guatemala also like Nicaragua (beautiful wild landscapes and super nice local people).

I’d say British find Guatemala’s wild undevelopedness more enchanting whereas Americans and others may prefer countries with more infrastructure and common 1st world luxuries like hot water, electricity, working internet.

Get the scoop on where to go and how to get around. Find out why going off the beaten path to Guatemala is worth it.

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Antigua – quick travel guide

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Cute colonial town in Guatemala, perfect for relaxing with food and nightlife, or more adventurous activities like volcano/nature hikes.

Antigua is definitely a common destination in Guatemala. Only 1-hour from the nearby Guatemala City (GUA) airport, handful of fun unique activities (like the Acatenango volcano hike), and other nearby-ish cities like Lago de Atitlan (3hrs) and Semuc Champey (9hrs).

While most people come here mainly for the volcano hike, I kept discovering more and more hidden gems in this place (with each passing day). Lots of great restaurants and shops, interesting architecture, and spots to sit around town and people watch. Also it’s super safe. Antigua is awesome and more than just a convenient volcano viewpoint. You can definitely live here!

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Brazil – quick travel guide

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Big exotic paradise of nature, friendly people, food and vibes.

Brazil…a huge and beautiful country in South America that is more relatively untouched by US influences than others. I love how exotic it is…the wide range of landscapes, food, culture, music, and people. Love that they mostly only speak Portuguese, no English or even lesser so Spanish. Very authentic local experience.

The minimum time to get a sense of Brazil about 10 days, and you can hit 3 places. Probably some combination of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and some small vibey beach town or colonial town in between Rio & Salvador. If you just wanted a taste and are already nearby…3 days in Rio de Janeiro might just do the trick. But you could easily spend a month in Brazil and feel you barely scratched the surface.

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Rio de Janeiro – quick travel guide

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Big beautiful beach city with rock landscapes, and also a bit dangerous…

For others, Rio de Janeiro is a magical place…full of beauty, wonder, and festivities. And it certainly seems that way when you look at the beautiful beaches with rocky islands and towering mountain silhouettes in the distance. There’s no other major beach city I’ve seen like this, with towering rock formations in the distance. As with everything Brasilian, it’s always sexy!

But for me, Rio was bittersweet. It is a beautiful place and fun…but it is not safe. I hated having to look over my shoulder constantly. Having to not bring my phone to certain areas because I didn’t want to risk getting robbed. Also it not being a good place to wander around solo (which I often like to do). It was easily the most dangerous feeling of the 20 countries I visited during that year. So let’s cover all the highlights in the safest way possible.

3 days is enough for main tourist highlights. 5 days if you want to enjoy more beach days and night life, also hikes.

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Local SIM cards – buying & recharging

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Everything you need to know about dealing with local SIM cards.

Purchasing a local SIM card is absolutely key as it’s way cheaper, more reliable, and also doesn’t spam your home number. But I’ll cover the usual methods of purchasing and recharging…as it’s not always as common sense as you think.

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Mexico City (CDMX) – quick travel guide

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My favorite city in Mexico. Big city charms mixed with warm pleasant Mexican vibes.

Big, beautiful, eclectic, amazing restaurants, partying, multiple neighborhoods to live and explore. What made me stay in CDMX over 3-4 months was this super comfortable vibe. You’re not on vacation…you’re home!

There’s tons of things to do, people to see, lovely spots to chill at when you’re not living the epic party life like you would in other cities in Mexico. Let’s go over all the gems I found.

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DuoLingo vs Babel – which language app is better

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Can’t choose which one is a better language-learning option for you?

The question is interesting to me because when I researched, it seemed everyone liked Babel more. But when I actually tried the apps, I loved DuoLingo soooooo much better. I’ve used DuoLingo consistently for over a year now whereas Babel was annoying and I quit within the first 5 minutes.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to one main distinction.

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Portland – quick travel guide

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Portland was and still is one America’s most (authentically) hipster, hip, trendy, coolest towns to live in.

It has the authentic Portland quirky weird vibe, beautiful pacific northwest landscapes and trees (which actually looks like real nature vs California’s desert landscape and beaches), beautiful craftsman homes in giant forest ambiance, and a vibe that feels very authentically white-American rather than the typical hispanic immigrant culture you’ll find in America’s other big cities.

For many years since 2010, it was one of the fastest growing cities and taking in the millennial exodus from burned-out overpriced cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. The original Portlanders were all “F**K YOU, CALIFORNIANS! GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND DON’T CALIFORNICATE OUR BELOVED PORTLAND!”

And rightly so…because all the outsiders were bringing in their money, buying up property, raising property values and rent beyond what local Portlanders could pay, clogging up streets with traffic, and just ruining the organic hippie ambiance.

Let’s find out why I (and everyone) think Portland is so cool.

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Oaxaca City – quick travel guide

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Colorful charmy vibrant cultural city in inland Mexico. (One of my top 3 favorite cities in Mexico.)

Amazing culture, food, visually beautiful, haven for artists (and street murals), and off-the-path hipsters…great for a fast tourist visit or to live for a long time. I absolutely loved this place. Can’t say enough. Come here and see a very authentic lively Mexico that isn’t burned out by tourists and cliche marketing.

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