This morning wasnt too stressful surprisingly – the airport in Santiago is certainly not as chaotic as Juliaca up in the Andes or Lima in Peru and we were flying Qantas which was departing on time unlike almost all the Lan and Aerolineas flights we had taken. We managed a visit to the American Airlines…
Category: south america
Back to Glasgow!
Sitting in our air conditioned room in Santiago I have to say thank heavens we are not in the hot box we started out in here at Santiago a lifetime ago at the beginning of our trip. Last night was another long night flying from Puno to Lima and then, and after being delayed in…
Lake Titikaka and the Altiplano
We are sitting in a plane high above the Andes heading back to Lima and then to Santiago in readiness for our final flight home. We are both reflecting on how on earth the Spanish found their way to Cusco and beyond – these Mountains make Australia's Great Dividing Range look like a walk in…
Macchu Piccu Our Way!
Maybe it was the way he tangoed in Buenos Aires – you know – with style and ease, never to be forgotten – I dont know but on the train on our way back from Macchu Piccu a young English girl leaned across the aisle and said she had seen us at tango. I told…
Inca this and Inca that
We know we have a lot of reading to do when we get home (just quietly if you have decided to follow this blog you may have a lot of reading to do too!), but after spending a few days in Peru we are emotionally scarred by the atrocities committed by the Spanish and yet…
And onward to Peru
We eventually touched down in Lima just before midnight and we were met at the airport by a lovely young university student who was working as an English guide while he studied music – the driver couldnt speak English so we needed two people to take us to our hotel apparantly. We had just been…
Iguazu and Iguacu Falls
We have just spent two nights in Iguazu (the Argentinian side) and were pleased with the recommendation of Grandad and Joan to stay in the only hotel actually inside the national park as the town itself was definitely nothing more than a pile of hotels and taxi stands at least twenty minutes away. Sadly my…
Reflections on Argentina
Well, as you know we arrived at the worlds Southerly most city before flying half way to Buenos Aires and visiting Puerto Madryn. There we felt like the only foreign travellers as the peak season was over and there were no ships in port lending the 2 thousand or so day visitors to the place….
Colonia del Sacramento Uruguay
Colonia, as it is known to the locals, is a lovely little UNESCO listed town on the shores of the Rio del la Plata opposite buenos aires. Apart from some modern buildings there is a very old city with early portuguese architecture and also has the oldest church in Uruguay. My friend Ximena recommended a…
Lord of the Tango
We were picked up early from our hotel and after a zig zag ride in the mini bus through the city, we were herded up the stairs into a dance space that looked like it had been operating for over 100 years. (I later found out it was built in 1895). There were probably 30…
Visitamos Buenos Aires
Okay he did it – he learnt to tango – and he was hot! But more on that later. So we left Puerto Madryn for Buenos Aires with my beloved feeling a little less than ordinary. By the time we boarded the plane he was threatening to be sick. I was deeply concerned as he…
Our sea lion trip – Was it the calm before the storm?
I do hope not. But since we disembarked from our sea lion trip the wind has steadily increased throughout the day. I have also received a message from the airline saying our flight was leaving earlier than planned. Fortunatemente (my second most favourite spanish word) this will be our last Aerolineas flight as the rest…
Dont Cry for me Argentina!
The truth is I never left Chile! Yes that’s right, I think I’m having Chile withdrawals. We disembarked in Ushuaia yesterday morning and, due to Aerolineas schedule changes, had to fly out the same day to Trelew. There we thought we’d get to look around a bit but the transfer to Puerto Madryn was almost…
An elbow on the table
I awoke very early this morning. Too darn early in fact. The boat was a rockin and it wasnt because of loud music and dancing. We were nearing Cape Horn and I was filled with fear and excitement all at once. I wanted to catch the sun rise at the end of the earth and…
A return to civilisation at the end of the world!
I guess we are going to learn a lot more about the history of Patagonia when we catch the boat down to Cape Horn. For now though I should tell you that between Torres Del Paine and Punta Arenas there are lots of sheep and the land stretches forever – I guess the hills in…
And onward to the Towers of Pain!
Firstly let me apologise for the many typo’s and errors in spelling and or grammar. Whilst I am usually somewhat of a perfectionist in regards to correspondence etc I am typing this on a bluetooth keyboard often late at night or on a moving bus so I just want to get the blogs out there…
Torres del Paine
I actually thought that Torres del Paine meant towers of pain in spanish. I was however mistaken. It seems the indigenous folk down this way use the word paine (or something like it) to describe the colour blue. So there you go another fact that you probably didnt need or want to know – I…
Leaving the land that time forgot
The bus trip out of Vina and Val (as the locals like to call them) was like a journey out of a movie set. At 7 in the morning the the sky was still dark and the city was cloaked in fog. I could imagine how in days of old the pirates would have slowly…
Bucea Quintay
Well this was a fun morning. My beloved was about to have his first diving experience in South America and we had to catch the local bus to the departure point in Valparaiso for a collectiva – a share taxi to Quintay. He was in high stress mode as nothing was happening on time (read…
Santiago on foot!
So another day in Santiago saw us walking, walking, walking. We caught the subway to Plaza de Armas, the point from where all distances are measured in Chile. We circled around this main square and through one of the museums and then headed for the mercedo central (thought I should test out security on my…
City of Saint James
So far my on again off again years of Spanish language lessons has held me in good stead – I can say please, thankyou, I dont understand, and “como se dice in espanol?” We have managed to buy food, get directions, catch a taxi and even mind a young lady’s lunch for a short time…
Let the journey begin
The word chaotic would not be too strong to describe our departure to Latin America. Awake at 5am, bags packed, out the door at 5.30am – or was that 6am? – actually it was 6.15am which was pushing it when we had get petrol and be on a plane to Sydney that was departing at…
Time to Tango
I’ve told my beloved that we are going to learn to tango in Buenos Aires and I know he’s shaking in his shoes! But that’s not all we are going to do – after a week in Santiago and surrounds we plan to glamp it up and sleep in fully decked out tents for our…
Wandering Aussies 