CharlieFarlie

This small town in Chile is usually heaving with tourists in the summer, but at this time of year it was nice and quiet. We went white-water rafting on the river which was scary but lots of fun! It was also very beautiful as the river follows a deep valley, between lots of extinct volcanoes, and every so often you get a glimpse of the active one! The following day we got a bit closer to Villarrica volcano, and climbed to the top! It was a tough day though as there was a lot of snow right from the start and it is over 2000m, but we were very lucky with the weather and had sun and clear views all day. From every point that you stop to catch your breath you see the whole area ... read more

After a long bus ride up to Los Antiguos, Argentina, decided to begin the journey along the Carreterra Austral in Chile with a french couple, Mylan and Jeoff. The adventures began pretty much straight away- Los Antigous is a very pretty village that overlooks Lago Buenos Aires (known as Lago General Carrera in Chile), but it is pretty quiet especially this time of year! We were told that there was a mini-bus-taxi service to the next village, Chile Chico, but after waiting an hour and a half with no sign we decided to walk across the border (a distance of between 3km and 15km depending on who we asked!) In between the two frontiers we tried hitch-hiking; a truck stopped for us and we passed the border sat in the back of a pick-up in true ... read more

Spent just one day in Sao Paulo to get my flight down to Argentina. Not a very interesting city but it is incredible how massive it is- The metro gives you a rough idea of the scale (Se, the main station is about four times the size of kings cross!) and I went to the top of edificio italio in the centre. When you get up to the 41st story there is a viewing terrace and there are tower blocks and concrete in every direction as far as the eye can see. El Calafate was a really nice change from the big cities. Went to see the perito moreno glacier which is really amazing- the pictures dont do it justice at all! Big chunks of ice fall off every 20 mins or so and they make ... read more

16th April - 20th April First day in Rio I took in a few tourist hotspots- Christ the Redeamer (really strange as there is an escalator and lift up to it!), the tiled steps at Lapa where we met the Chilian artist who made it, Santa Theresa the old-style artistic quarter, the cathedral and finally went up to Sugar Loaf to see the sun setting. Rio looks absolutely amazing from up there. Second day I spent a bit of time on Copacabana and Leblon beaches- again just stunning panoramics, then went to a boat party at night (very touristy though!). Next day went with a charity to see a favella. This was by far the most interesting thing I did in Rio, it´s just extraordinary how people manage to live in conditions like that. The favella ... read more