Chile Part 2

This border into Chile was a bit special, very severe and at 4500m altitude. Chile is very strict with things you can bring in, so after scanning all our bags the dogs were sent through to find drugs or any food products. Even tea bags are not allowed.

But after that I could enjoy the great views during the ride down to Santiago.

In Santiago I did some sightseeing and met Cecilia again. She offered me to stay with her family in their house. It was so nice I got a home away from home and her mom made a big family dinner and tried to make everything perfect for me. Simply a mom. ;-)
I went out with Cecilia to some bars and I met some of her friends. Even my time was short I enjoyed it very much. Hope to come back soon. Thanks to Cecilia and her family!



After so much welcoming kindness, it felt hard to continue. But I went to Valparaiso to see the graffiti arts and enjoy a few days at the coast. It was colder than in Santiago and had more wind but sunshine all the time. Perfect weather for a stroll through the streets and to check out some of the view points, art works and cafes.





Then I took a bus north along the coast to get to Calama and then San Pedro de Atacames. Long empty surfer beaches for hundreds of kilometers, dry desert landscape and in the background the Andes with some volcano peaks. And the closer I came to San Pedro the drier it got. The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth with no rain the whole year. And you can feel it, within minutes you are thirsty and your skin dries out. But the landscape is an odd beauty, sand dunes and canyons and the rock formations seems to be from the moon.
I visited the worlds largest copper mine and for a short while I had the feeling to be back at work with a helmet on my head being on a construction site. ;-)


But I enjoyed the strange landscape and wanted to see more of it on the other side of the border.
So I tried to get one of the buses to Bolivia. There are only four a week and its hard to get tickets. As well the border office is only open at this time when the buses cross. But I was the first one in the ticket office and got a seat for the next day early early morning. The road is not paved and so the ride took 5h for 200km and another 5h to Uyuni in Bolivia. The border was the loneliest place I have ever seen. The border town is more a ghost town, there might be only ten people living and on the Bolivian side even less.
But it was a good experience and interesting to see.
And I was finally in Bolivia.

Argentina Part 2

A look out of the window of our bus showed a very deserted landscape in both countries Chile and Argentina when we crossed borders again. There was wide empty grassland wherever you look. This is how Patagonia looks like too, it is not only mountains.
But our first stop was way north in the mountains again in El Calafate. The town looked very clean and touristy and so it was expensive as well, but like all over Patagonia. But you gladly spend the money to see all the beauty.

We came to see the Perito Moreno glacier there. And it was amazing, the glacier was incredible, blue ice from a 74m high and 5km long wall melting or more crashing in bits and peaces into the lake. You can hear the noise like a thunder when blocks brake/fall down from the glacier end every few minutes. It's a very special place and so beautiful. And this glacier is one of biggest outside the north and south pole areas that is still growing and not shrinking like most. We spent an afternoon enjoying the view and then went on the next fabulous stop. El Chalten.

This little village lies at the entrance of a national park with great trekking and camping options. We hiked up the Condor view point and for a day trek into the park to see Mt. Fitzroy. What a gorgeous place. The colours of autumn were over the fields and in the trees and we had blue sky. And at the end of the trek we got rewarded with a view over a turquoise glacier lake and the impressive peak of Mt. Fitzroy. Well I think I can say I love Patagonia, it's so stunningly beautiful and well organised for travellers.

From El Chalten we took two long day buses to get to Bariloche. The routa 40 is not paved and only passable by day. On the way we saw many people who travel this famous route by motor bikes. That must be an awesome experience, too.
Finally in Bariloche we enjoyed the atmosphere of a German/Swiss styled town and very good food. This place is famous for chocolate as well. So we spent one afternoon just sitting on our hostel terrace on sunbeds enjoying the sunshine and, to top it all off, having red wine and chocolate. What a hard life... ;-)

We met some hiking friends again and explored the place together. A little hike with everybody up a view point to see the lakes was easy and nice. Great views again like everywhere in Patagonia. The lake district in general with all the lakes and green hills is perfect for outdoor activities.
On top I even got to stay in a luxury time share in Bariloche that two American guys offered us. With a fireplace and a jacuzzi really special and a welcome change to dormitories although the hostels in Patagonia are very modern and comfortable.

But after a few days I continued traveling north to Mendoza to explore the most famous wine area in Argentina. And the first thing to do is to join in a wine tour through the vineyards and enjoy drinking! So that's what I did for the next couple of days, drinking red wine and eat delicious food. But the area has more to offer, so I went to see the highest mountain in whole America, Mt. Aconcagua 6964m, an old natural Inca bridge, a canyon and the impressive Cristo statue at the border between Chile and Argentina, at 4200m. What a great finish for my time in Argentina!

And so I crossed into Chile again over the Andes and saw the famous ski area between Mendoza and Santiago. Well it had no snow at that time but might be interesting to check out in winter as well.