Usted está aquí. You are here. These three words embossed on the corner of the trail map proclaim both our physical arrival at the start of Chile’s famed W Circuit as well as our spiritual.
Category: Americas
North and South America
The phrases ‘must-see’ and ‘bucket list’ get thrown around alot, but visiting Perito Moreno Glacier in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field is one of those locations you really should try to get to.
Patagonia, covering the bottom third of South America, is home to the second largest ice field outside the arctic and some of the most spectacular hiking in the world. In our first week of hiking in Patagonia we discovered why El Chaltén is the Argentinian heart of the region.
Beautiful Bariloche, in the Lake District of Argentina, feels like a small slice of Switzerland. Perched at the edge of the Andes instead of the Alps, it offers stunning mountain views and all the chocolate you can stomach.
Wine tasting in Mendoza for a week we discovered Argentinian wines are so much more than just Malbecs.
Hiking to Aconcagua Base Camp (‘Confluence’) is a five-hour, 14km round trip. The trail head is a three hour drive from Mendoza, so the trek is doable as a (longish) day trip. It’s well worth the effort, with spectacular views of the highest peak in South America.
Magnificent Mendoza has 48,000 trees lining its streets, an oasis of green at the foot of the Andes. The region is responsible for 85% of Argentina’s wine production, and we’re determined to experience as much of it as we can.
We’d heard a lot about the bus ride over the Andes mountain range from Santiago to Mendoza with its famous ’29 curves’, and it didn’t disappoint.
Central Chile is only about 200km wide. While Santiago is in the foothills of the Andes, a short two hour drive finds you on the shores of the South Pacific at Valparaiso, and nearby Vina del Mar.
Our guide screws up his face, waves his arms, contorts his body and generates remarkable sound effects to help make his points. He brings the bottle he’s casually holding up from his side and mimics pulling the cork out of the bottle, replete with the matching ‘thrrwwwp – pwap’ sound.
Travellers tips including currency, ATMs, getting on the internet, mobile phones, car rentals, taxis, and getting to and from the airports.
Sitting on Cartagena’s historic wall at sunset, we buy a cervesa from a local street seller. Her 7 year old son is teaching us the mantra of the cart seller: “AGUA-CERVESA-COCA-COLA-GATOR-AA-ADE”.