Blogs from Antofagasta Region, Chile, South America - page 3

We have been very lucky on our travels having hiked through some truly awe inspiring scenery with largely perfect weather, however, there has been something lacking. Gazing at the granite towers of southern Patagonia and witnessing the majestic peaks of the Andes range inspired a question in us - what is it like to climb one? Having never climbed anything over 2,000m and not knowing how our bodies react at altitude we set forth to find out in the safest way possible. We found a 5,600m (18,300 ft) volcano called Mt. Lascar that has a reputation as a good introductory mountain (in summer), we hired a highly regarded guide and we drank as much water as we could. This was a one day climb and it began at 4:30am for us, unlike other mornings when something ... read more

After a pleasant flight and nice few hours around the main square of Salta, we departed on an overnight bus to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. The bus was comfortable enough for a decent nights sleep, and we woke up somewhat short of breath at the Chilean border. We already got our first taste of high altitude there, since the border was at 4600m, and later crossed a pass at 4800. San Pedro lies in the Atacama desert, in the north of Chile. Normally the driest place on earth, the Atacama desert had 2 weeks of rain till a few days before our arrival. As you may have seen in the news this has lead to massive floods in parts of the desert close to San Pedro. Luckily for the people in San Pedro, as ... read more

Magical Place!... read more

Geo: -22.9058, -68.1951Birds and animals of Chile ... read more

19. November, Grenze - San Pedro de Atacama Der Grenzübertritt nach Chile verlief ziemlich reibungslos. San Pedro ist ein ganz hübsches kleines Dörfchen in der Atacamawüste, welches uns fast ein bisschen an die Dörfchen im Europapark und anderen Vergnügungsparks erinnert hat. Am späteren Abend haben wir an einer Astronomietour teilgenommen. Der Typ war recht lustig und hat uns mit zwei relativ grossen Teleskopen verschiedene Planeten, Sterne und Nebel gezeigt. Der Himmel in der Atacamawüste ist fürs Sternebeobachten ideal, weshalb hier auch die grössten Teleskope der Welt stehen. 20. November, San Pedro de Atacama - Calama - San Pedro de Atacama Helena hat es in der Nacht voll erwischt und konnte somit nicht nach Calama reisen. Fabian ist um 8:30 Uhr zum Busbahnhof hat im Bus zwei Schweizer getroffen, welche auch auf die Minentour gingen. Im Besucherzentrum ... read more