2014 - Page 6 of 9 - LIVING THE DREAM

How to Get an Emergency Passport While Abroad

If you found this article via a search engine, then you probably lost your passport or, if you are like us, had your passport stolen. Since no one can go back in time fix it, there is only one thing to do and that is head to an Embassy and get a new one.

But what if you cannot wait the 10-15(+) business days for a full replacement passport to arrive? Well, the emergency passport is your answer.

Since there is hardly any information published online about getting an emergency passport, what they are, and how they work, we are publishing our experience to help those who may find themselves in a similar situation.

As most long-term travelers and nomads will say, it is only a matter of time before you are a victim of theft while traveling. No matter how skilled you are at keeping your gear safe and how cautious you are about protecting your valuables, one day someone will get the better of you.

After 550+ days of travel since 2008, being gone for almost a whole year on this trip, and visiting hundreds of cities in 62 countries, our day finally happened in Puno, Peru.

And we nearly lost everything.

When you travel around Chile, you will hear one expression in particular over and over again: “Valparaiso is the cultural capital of Chile.” Other than a few poor attempts to describe the meaning of this expression, with the most common being “all the artists go there,” you’ll be left wondering what it truly means.

We were so intrigued by this expression that we decided to extend our stay in Chile to figure out why everyone has such a high opinion of a city we rarely hear about. It only took a few moments in Valparaiso to understand, and the city quickly rose to a spot in our Top 10 favorite cities anywhere in the world.

But the question we were so interested in still needed an answer. Why is Valparaiso considered to be a cultural highlight of Chile?

Dulce de leche is an iconic South American flavor. Milk and sugar cooked until the mixture is intensely creamy, rich, and caramelized- what’s not to love?

Over the past two months that we’ve spent in Chile and Argentina, we’ve considered it our duty to seek out the best dulce de leche flavored things. While we’ve seen a few dulce de leche flavored desserts in Chile, Argentina has definitely felt like the epicenter of all things dulce de leche.

It’s in everything: ice cream, cookies, crepes, chocolates, and churros, the list goes on and on.

What’s even more amazing is that you can buy several kilogram tubs of it in grocery stores. Yum.

During our travels through Chile and Argentina, our top priority was finding the best dulce de leche ice cream, but along the way we also discovered some other delicious treats like dulce de leche crepes, cakes, and pastries.

This post features only the best of the best that you must try when visiting these Patagonia restaurants and stores.

How to Get an Emergency Passport While Abroad

After 62 Countries, We Were Robbed While Traveling

Valparaiso – What Makes It Chile’s Capital of Culture?

The Best Shops for Dulce de Leche in Argentina and Chile