The president waved and gave us a generous smile – two white faces in the front row, waving madly with excitement in a sea of Bolivians – we certainly stood out from the crowd! It was our fifth day in Bolivia and we’d arrived in a small town called Tupiza to find a beautifully decorated plaza, locals dressed in their Sunday best and an infectious hubbub on every street. It was so nice of them to give us such a warm welcome!
Salar de Uyuni
9 Aug
The ‘Salar de Uyuni’ or ‘Salt Flats’ tour is one of the most fabled and talked about experiences on the Gringo Trail and we’d been looking forward to it for as long as we could remember. Whisperings of the blindingly beautiful landscapes we’d see had stirred our imaginations and tales about the remote and sparsely populated areas we’d need to cross, flared our excitement. We were about to encounter the biggest salt flat in the world which blankets 12,000 square kilometres, in addition to coloured lakes, bubbling geysers, snow-covered volcanos, thermal pools, a host of Altiplano animals and anything else that the trip, undertaken in a four-wheel drive, might throw at us.
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.
The greatest bus ride in the world…probably
22 Jul
The bustling Northern city of Salta was our final stop before leaving Argentina for the last time. In three months we’d travelled up from the very Southern tip of Latin America dipping in and out of Argentina and Chile and we’d clocked up six border crossings and no less than thirteen entry and exit stamps in our passports. Our wheels out of the city would take us 735km in 9 hours across the border to Chile, climbing to a height of 4,400 metres and delivering some of the most breathtaking scenery we’ve ever seen from the window of a humble bus.
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.
Mendoza – wine & wheels
4 Jul
Most people would agree that the idea of touring wineries in sunny weather while surrounded by beautiful scenery would be a heavenly way to spend the day and doing it all by pedal power so everyone can indulge in a healthy sized glass of wine – even better! And that was exactly our prime reason for visiting Mendoza. Continue reading
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.
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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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