One of my favourite places I visited in South America was the small town of El Chaltén. It’s located in the south of Patagonia, close to the Chilean border, in a truly stunning area. Many people visit for hiking and there are some incredible walks to take in. The main highlights are Mount Fitzroy and Laguna de los Tres, one of the best one-day hikes anywhere in the world.
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If you have just one week in Argentina then Patagonia is the perfect location. And for the best place to start in Patagonia look no further than San Carlos de Bariloche, commonly known as simply Bariloche. Part of the Patagonia Lake District, it is ideally located to start any Patagonia adventure. Bariloche, in the north of the region, functions as a gateway to Patagonia in Argentina and Chile.
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If you love wildlife and beautiful scenery then Patagonia is the place to go. However, one area offers something a little different. Puerto Madryn is on the east coast in the north of the region and, like many of the surrounding area, there is so much wildlife. What sets it apart from the others is the language. Not only will you see and hear Argentinian Spanish, but also plenty of Welsh.
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One of my favourite and most common occurrences whilst travelling is hearing about places I never knew existed. Half of the areas I saw the first time I went to New Zealand were unknown prior to my arrival and the same happened in Paraguay when I heard about a little place in nearby Uruguay. Cabo Polonio.
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One of my favourite places in Chile was the adventure capital of Pucón. Not least because of my excursion up the side of an active volcano. But more on that later.
If exciting activities grab your attention, then Pucón is the place for you. There is a whole heap of activities to try out, from hiking and hot springs to white-water rafting and skydiving. It takes roughly 8.5 hours to travel south to Pucón from the capital Santiago, some 800km away. Alternatively, if you’re travelling north through Patagonia as I was, then it’s a good stopping point after the likes of Puerto Montt, Valdivia, Puerto Varas or even Bariloche to the East.
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As an Englishman it always confuses people when I say I don’t drink tea. “But you’re British!” they protest. Well sorry to ruin your stereotype. I don’t drink coffee either and that really messes people up. “Well what do you have with breakfast?” As difficult as it seems for some people to understand, it’s nothing compared to the complexity of drinking maté. (more…)
Easter Island. Isla de Pascua. Rapa Nui. One of the most remote places on the planet featuring an unusual mix of Polynesian and Latin American cultures. It’s on a lot of people’s bucket lists and rightly so. Not least because of the mysterious giant stone figures known as Moai. However my memories of the island are somewhat different. (more…)