Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia – Days 12-17 // Sept 13-19 Torres del Paine means “towers of paine.” Paine means “blue” in Telhueche, an indigenous languange from some of the earliest people of Patagonia… It is so named, because of all the different blues that manifest in the Read more…
We are packed, it feels, for the apocalypse. David has 65lbs of gear and I have 40lbs. We struggled to get food and supplies yesterday because it was both Sunday and still off-season (see above photo). Luckily David bought an updated whisperlite that can handle canister and liquid fuel Read more…
Two cabs, two planes, and a three hour bus ride, and we are only one more hour and a half bus ride away from the park entrance. We are staying at a very nice hostel (Sheuen) and the crowd of young guys who run the place will be feeding Read more…
Today I woke up early and bravely navigated the Santiago metro, met with my contact at the Chilean Ornithological society, and headed out of town. About an hour outside the city, I got to watch as researchers caught and took blood and feather samples from six Andean condors who will Read more…
One long day of sights, plus a long day of travel and a long day of rest. We spent the first part of the morning heading along the southeastern coastline via ATV. The simple map from the tourism company showed several moai shaped icons, but we only saw crumbling walls Read more…
Today was long and my ass is sore. We started early, walking through town and then climbing to the Orongo crater at Rano Kau (I hiked straight up the slope while David ran a switch back road). Then, after a mercado lunch of fresh from the oven rolls, chorizo, and Read more…
The internet is terrible and I’m having a helluva time uploading pictures or really doing anything network related. The flight from Santiago to Hanga Roa on Easter Island (Isla de Pascua to Chileans and Rapa Nui to the indigenous people) takes about five and a half hours. Right now we Read more…
Today was International Vulture Awareness Day, but no one at the Chilean National Zoo knew it. We walked about 2 km to the Parque Metropolitan which includes the zoo, a funicular, a giant statue of the Virgen Mary on the top of San Cristobal Hill, and a bunch of other Read more…
I always breakdown crying at some point on the first day. Some trips have many first days: I remember crying in the lobby of a budget hotel in Antwerp, and again in a Paris train station and AGAIN in the lobby of my Paris hotel. I cried in Whangomomona Republic. Read more…
We woke up at 1:30 and it’s now nearly 5. We are checked in, at the gate, and almost finished with our shared breakfast sandwich. Already this trip is much different than my past trips. Our Atlanta layover is nearly 9 hours long, so David got a car and a Read more…