Meet Gill Christie…

Gill is the latest travel expert to join the Andean Trails team. Find out more about Gill, her passion for travel, and seeing the bright side of early morning hoof soup.

How did you catch the travel bug? 

I fell in love with travelling as a teenager, starting with Interrailing around Europe. After finishing university, I went to Australia for a year and returned home overland. Those early experiences really got me hooked on travel.

I’ve lived and travelled worldwide, teaching English in China, Japan, Ecuador, Spain, and the Middle East.

When away, I like to try everything and take lots of (bad) photos. I especially look forward to the food and drink at the markets. I love to experiment when I cook, making new dishes with the different ingredients I find.

I love long hikes, especially through forests, bird-watching and spotting wildlife, or along the coast. Artisanal markets, finding pockets of indigenous cultures, and anything off-the-beaten-track interests me. That’s why South America really appealed to me.

My travel companions say I am annoyingly positive and always try to see the good side of every situation and have a laugh about it. That’s how I ended up being the only one eating cow hoof soup at 5am at a deserted train station in Ecuador after that day’s only train was cancelled.

Back home in Scotland, as well as rediscovering the Scottish countryside, another pastime is ‘slow art’, visiting galleries and museums regularly, but just taking in a room or two at a time.

My passion for South America

South America is where I spent most of my adult life.

After working for the British Council, I lived in Ecuador for over 20 years and set up my own language school in Quito. Over time, I got to know the country really well. Mindo, Cuenca, old colonial quarters, and markets are among my favourite destinations in Ecuador.

An overland trip took me to Peru through Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. From there, it was on to La Paz and the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia, then a train into Argentina and Buenos Aires.

I’ve also visited Chile, Brazil, and Colombia.

Talk to me about…

Ecuador, Galapagos, Peru.

Where would I love to go back to…

Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni because it is so different to anywhere I’ve ever been.

And Mindo cloud forest in Ecuador because every day there is different. It’s like living in a zoo, surrounded by birds and wildlife.

My top travel tip…

It has been said before, but after you pack, look again and remove half the clothes.