Long weekend in Santiago de Chile - Climbing La Parva

About an hour ride from Santiago de Chile sit La Parva a Ski centre that rises 2750m from sea level.

At winter time people go skiing and in summer you´ll find avid cyclists and hikers riding the windy road that takes you there. When you get to the base you can pay the chair lift that will spare you an hour walk, for 13 bucks, or you can macho it up, but from the air lift station you´ll have 3 or 4 hours hike to the summit and back.

In all it is a great trek with a rewarding view.

Long weekend in Santiago de Chile - Climbing Cerro Manquehue

Mount Manquehue ("Place of Condors" in Mapucheche language) is the highest in the Santiago metropolitan area and is close enough to even get there by subway and urban bus. It is an excellent day trip if you´re in Santiago, but be aware that it is not that easy to climb it.
A good option is to do the "Travesía del huanaco"which will have you walking between 4 and 6 hours on loose gravel paths with absolutely no water source, and I mean none. The water that you bring is what you will have, so this a place where a camel pack comes handy whith at least 4lts per person.
If you have a clear day the view is spectacular and you are back home an hour after you finish your trek.

Long weekend in Santiago de Chile - Downtown Santiago

Taking advantage of yet another long weekend in Argentina, I caught
 a flight to Santiago de Chile to spend a couple of days there.
Now i had bought the ticket several months ago when Chile was still a calm place to unwind, A very different situation these days with constant riots.

Under cries of "Do´nt go, you will get killed" (something i´ve heard all my life) I went ahead with the trip and to my amazement i found Santiago in total peace, even late at night.

Even though TV broadcasts here in Argentina show daily conflicts between police and hooded protesters. I took these pic in downtown Santiago on a Saturday morning, maybe the rioters were sleeping.

Long weekend in Mendoza - Christ the redeemer Monument

Last but not least we went to the Christ the Redeemer monument that stands at one of the border crossings between Argentina and Chile.

Built as a sing of peace and friendship among the two nations it is located at one of the natural paths used to cross the Andes. It has beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - Brief stay in Viña del Mar

So, after a 24 hr bus ride from Iquique, I landed in Viña del Mar which is one of my favourite chilean cities, Unfortunatelly I could only stay 4 hours, enough to strech my legs and dine with friends, Cuz the bus that would take across to Argentina only leaves in the evening.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - From Iquiue to Viña del Mar by bus

So for my last leg in Chilean Territory  I took yet another bus.

That would drive me half way through Chile From Iquique to Viña del Mar on a 24hr. 1700 km ride.

It is really worth the pain cuz you get to see beautifull mountains and ocean scenery the whole trip.

passing through Atacama which is one of the most arid and dry deserts in the world.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - Downtown Iquique

As I said Iquique is a relatively small city with a big business output. Nevertheless it has a tiny but pictouresque downtown area.

I basically strolled throug it on my way to the bus station to catch my ride down to Viña del Mar.

the old buildings in a sort of victorian style are well kept and lend themselves to some nice shots.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - Iquique - Shopping paradise

One of the places i wanted to check out on this trip was the ZOFRI, or Zona Franca de Iquique, a place I heard much about in Paraguay and Bolivia, since Iquique is one of Chile's most northern ports where merchandise arrives fro Asia to America and many containers are destined to Bolivia and Paraguay which are land locked countries with no access to the pacific.

Iquique is more a border town than Arica in its aspect, with a small downtown area and a huge warehouse neighbourhood where you can find any imported object you desire, tax free for foreigners and some Chileans.

the Zofri is a big warehouse complex with many stores and also a big shopping mall where the common public can buy electronics and some other trinkets. Most of the stores sell cell phones and small electronics. contrary to my expectations none sold cameras and only two sold computers.

Many people come here to purchase second hand cars and bikes brought over from Japan, and even brand new vehicles tax free.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - Arica, Back to the Confort zone

Really when crossing down to Chile I was expecting to find in Arica a dusty border town, just an obligatory stopover to catch the bus to Iquique.
Nevertheless I came across a fully developed city with all the comforts of the modern world.

So frankly being a bit tired of having to pay to use a washroom, having to beg for wifi access or drinking warm beverages I ran to one of the huge malls they have in town and enjoyed civilized washrooms, free wifi and cold coke off a machine.
I also took some pics of its picturesque rocky shores and rested on the sandy part of the beach, which are not the most beautiful you will see, but alas a beach.

The trip to Bolivia - Peru - Crossing from Tacna to Arica

Arriving at Tacna Airport, my immediate goal was to get to the city and cross the border into Chile, so of course there were friendly taxi drivers that offered the ride for 20 soles for the 1km ride, its like 7 bucks, no big deal, but I prefer public transport for 1 sol.
Normally arriving at any airport I ask around if there is a bus and where I can catch it. Locals here are not very talkative and do´nt seem to care much for foreigners, the thing is that I felt like Captain Haddock from Tin Tin when he curses the locals for being oblivious to his questions.
I had to ask four times to find someone that would tell me that the bus stopped right where i was standing, and getting on the bus i saw a lady get on whom I had previously asked and supposedly did´nt know...and Spanish is my mother tongue, so I pity someone that doe´nt speak the language.

The bus ride was pretty interesting cuz it drove around the whole city before landing me at the bus terminal, 20 minutes in all. Over there I learned that there are some taxis that bring you across the border also for 20 soles, but this is a 10km ride.

You may wanna look for the biggest car cuz they jam as many people in them with luggage. I found a Lincoln continental so I travelled in style across to Arica.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Osorno

Last stop in Chile was Osorno in Chile´s Tenth Region

Besides the great scenery and the Osorno Volcano I had the pleasure of enjoying some delicious home made Kuchen pie and fresh rasberry juice.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Torres del Paine - Take 2

I thought before moving on I would share some more pics from torres del Paine, since it yielded so many great shots.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Camping in Torres del Paine

In Torres del Paine National park, there are plenty of places to stay, be them Hotels or campsites.

If your on a budget you might want to consider camping, and among the camp sites, the cheapest ones are those located outside the park itself.

We stayed at one that was just outside the Serrano entrance towards the south, Called Camping Serrano, and it was very comfy and cheap.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Guanacos gallore

I have discovered that Guanacos roam basically all over the Ruta 40 from top to bottom, besides neighbouring Chile and Bolivia.

The Guanaco belongs to the same family as the Alpaca,llama and Vicuña, being the llama the more domesticated version used in the Americas as transport before the coming of the Europeans.

That said I have to warn you that the Guanaco is more reluctant to friendship and it will spit you if you come too close. So bring your tele lens and enjoy from afar.

Exploring Patagonia - Ruta 40 - Patagonian Beasts

When I talk about "Patagonian beasts" I´m not referring to the many dinosaurs found there, nor to the guanacos that populate this vast extension of Land.

This post is dedicatted to the vehicles that are brought from all over the world to ride through patagonia and the rest of the Americas.

Be them Land Rovers or Benz, even some overkill all terrain trucks that would fit right in at the Dakar Rally, they are fine examples of all weather wheels that will do the job.