We were travelling from Quito, Ecuador’s capital, and heading across the border into Colombia. We decided to break the journey up with a stopover in Ecuador’s northern highlands and the small town of Otavalo was our choice. Otavalo is famous for its indigenous market, which dates back to pre-Inca times and is now the largest of its kind in the whole of South America. We were initially concerned that the whole town would be like one giant theatre production, where stone faced locals dress up for hordes of tourists to shamelessly flog them tacky reproduction handicrafts at rip off prices, but we were very wrong…so wrong in fact we ended up extending our stay in Ecuador by several days so we could discover more about the friendly and culturally rich Otavalenos (people from Otavalo) with their beautiful hand crafted products, and also to explore the rolling hills just a stones throw from the town.
Quilatoa crater lake
29 Jan
A clapped out old bus with rattling windows, faded velour seats and a never ending soundtrack of Andean pan pipes dropped us off in the small settlement of Quilatoa. The indigenous farming village didn’t look like much, just a cluster of basic brick and tin roof homes, but we’d learnt that this was the access point to one of Ecuador’s most spectacular sights – the unbelievably beautiful volcanic crater lake, Quilatoa.
Bonito – the Caribbean of central Brazil
16 Sep
Bonito is a small, charming Brazilian town set on the edge of Parque National de Serra de Bodoquena – a beautiful nature-lovers paradise complete with dense forests, stalactite filled caves, crystal clear lakes bursting with fish and scenic waterfalls. Bonito and the Mato Grosso do Sul region have become increasingly popular as a tourist destination in the last few years, especially amongst holidaying Brazilians. We’d heard that out of peak season (December – February) Bonito was a laid back, friendly town and an excellent place to relax for a few days so we headed there after our trip to the Pantanal and before returning to Bolivia.
Desert oasis – San Pedro de Atacama
30 Jul
As our bus hurtled down the steep road from the altiplano, San Pedro de Atacama looked nothing more than a collection of mud huts and farms. However, we soon came to consider this place as our oasis in the middle of the Atacama desert.
Cafayate – you may never want to leave…
20 Jul
Warning – If you love warm, sunny climates, access to excellent wineries, and beautiful countryside to explore, you may find it difficult to leave this place! Located in the Calchaqui Valley in the North of Argentina, Cayfayate is fast becoming a ‘must’ on the traveller itinerary and from the moment we arrived we knew we were going to love it here.
Valley of the Moon
13 Jul
Parque Provincial Ischigualasto is located in the San Juan province of Argentina and was declared a provincial park in 1971 due to its paleontological significance and stunning landscapes. The park was relatively unheard of until a series of events made it one of the regions most popular tourists sites. William Sill, a leading paleontologist and researcher helped to put Ischigualasto on the map by documenting the Park’s abundance of Triassic Period fossils and dinosaur bones, some up to 180 million years old. Then, a photographer published a series of stunning pictures capturing the park’s fantastical landscapes and he cleverly entitled the portfolio ‘Valley of the Moon’ which captured many people’s imaginations. To seal the deal UNESCO declared the area a ‘Natural Heritage of Humanity’ site in November 2000 and visitors started to arrive in their hordes.
Big starry skies – the Elqui Valley
2 Jul
The further North we travelled in Chile the drier the climate and landscape became. Lush, green and forested hills were replaced by dry, multi-coloured mountains studded with cacti. The Elqui Valley starts roughly 30 minutes inland from the coastal city of La Serena and stretches to the remote mountains bordering Argentina.
Valparaiso – the bohemian little sister
27 Jun
” Valparaiso how crazy you are, how mad, crazy port, what a head of hills, unkempt, you never arrive to brush your hair, you never have time to be dressed, always life caught you by surprise, death awoke you in a night shirt.” Pablo Neruda
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Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and […]
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