Blogs from Chile, South America - page 5

Patagonie Qui dit voyage extraordinaire dit forcément article pour garder une trace. 2023 s'annonçant pleine d'événements et de voyages, ce voyage n'était pas forcement une évidence. Il a été évoqué puis remis à plus tard pour des raisons raisonnables. Mais Patagonie. Un nom qui fait rêver rien qu'en l'évoquant. L'immensité sud-américaine s'étalant sur des milliers de kilomètres jusqu'aux prémices du Pole Sud. Des sommets enneigés se perdant dans les nuages. Des plaines sans fin. Des lacs étincelants reflétant le ciel sillonné par les condors. Des caballeros à cheval, des ciels étoilés, des feux de bois pour griller la viande élevée dans cet environnement unique. Patagonie. Ce nom mythique aura eu raison de mes derniers doutes. Surtout quand ça me permet de retrouver mes deux potos absents depuis longtemps. Alexis en vadrouille pendant son année sabbatique. Nathan ... read more

Wednesday 18th January - Saturday 21st January 2023 After a simple and comfortable night bus, even with a guy snoring softly away (no, it wasn’t Paul), we arrived pretty chirpy into Puerto Varas and were happy to realise our Hostal was just around the corner from where the bus dropped us off and that he would let us check straight in. A small basic room, it was a shame that the conversion (a row of rooms in a long shipping container) was not done very well, with water clearly sitting all underneath the flooring and big mould problems; still, it was only for two nights. Dumping our stuff, we headed out to wonder the small city on Lake Llanquihue, known for its origins of German settlers creating pretty wooden houses (some still standing boldly in various ... read more

A one-night sail transported us to San Antonio (Santiago), Chile for our Friday, January 20, 2023 day in port. I had signed up for the “Easy San Antonio & Villages by the Sea” Optional Excursion which began on board at the World Stage at 0830. Given that I usually have my coffee delivered at 0700 and set out for breakfast at the Lido Café about 0800, an 0830 meeting time wouldn’t allow much time for breakfast, so I opted to have room service deliver a full breakfast, as I had done once before under the same circumstances. Over the decades, Holland America has perfected the art of moving people quickly and efficiently. Upon arrival at the World Stage, each participant is given a colored sticker with a number to affix to his/her shirt. My sticker was ... read more

We departed General San Martin (Pisco), Peru in the afternoon of Monday, January 16, 2023 but didn’t arrive at our next port, Coquimbo (La Serena), Chile, until the morning of Thursday, January 19, 2023. That’s three nights and two days of sailing the ocean blue; however, there were some interesting things to occupy our time at sea. I don’t know how strictly ships’ routes over the vast expanse of the oceans are regulated (probably less than aircraft and that’s, probably, a good thing), but the captain announced just as we had left the pier that he had obtained permission for us to pass near a prehistoric rock art formation, or geoglyph, known as the Paracas Candelabra, or the Candelabra of the Andes. I’m not a prehistoric art enthusiast but do find them interesting and worth a ... read more

Monday 9th January - Saturday 14th January 2023 A small patch of oasis, with trees, birds and a river (albeit dried up!) San Pedro de Atacama is a little town in the middle of this hot, dry and dusty desert. It’s also a key lifeline for the many tourists travelling between Chile and Bolivia, as we did, with many hostals, bars and restaurants. Instantly feeling the higher level of wealth here (actual roads!) we enjoyed the feeling of cleanliness and the familiarity of a more western style bakery and coffee shop, but we also paid for it! Yep, as expected, Chile’s prices are definitely closer to home; yet, signal and the WiFi was really bad! I guess it is a desert after all. With a couple nights here, we enjoyed wondering around the town, sitting in ... read more