Category: South America

Chile, Chilean Patagonia, Latin America, South America Vol.2Leave a comment

Chile Part One: Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine (W Trek Day 1)

Ellis

Friday 7 February – Saturday 8 February 2020

It took us around 5-6 hours by bus to journey from El Calafate, in Argentina, to Puerto Natales, in Chile. Our journey took us through a small building that constituted the Chilean border, where we had to disembark and go through border control. This involved putting our hand baggage through security scanners but apparently we didn’t need to do the same with our big bags which stayed on the bus – maybe border control were going through these while we queued but if they did then I couldn’t tell. Continue reading “Chile Part One: Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine (W Trek Day 1)”

Argentina, Argentinian Patagonia, Latin America, South America Vol.2Leave a comment

Argentina Part Three: Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego & Penguin Island)

Ellis

Saturday 1 February – Tuesday 4 February 2020 Our next journey was our longest internal flight journey in South America. We were flying from Puerto Iguazu right down south into Patagonia to Ushuaia – the most southerly city in the … Continue reading Argentina Part Three: Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego & Penguin Island)

Argentina, Latin America, South America Vol.22 Comments

Argentina Part Two: Puerto Iguazú & Waterfalls

Ellis

Thursday 30 January – Saturday 1 February 2020

Our airplane touched down in the town of Puerto Iguazú on Thursday evening. As we came out of baggage claim, we spotted a local bus company’s stall with quite the queue in front of it. We figured we’d join and catch the bus into town. We got tickets quickly enough but then did have a bit of a wait until our minibus arrived to collect us (the queue might have moved quick but that did mean there were several people in front of us getting onto the first buses to arrive). Continue reading “Argentina Part Two: Puerto Iguazú & Waterfalls”

Argentina, Latin America, South America Vol.2Leave a comment

Argentina Part One: Buenos Aires

Ellis

Sunday 26 January – Thursday 30 January 2020

My usual Sunday night sees me in my bed or on my sofa, wearing pyjamas, with either a ridiculously oversized bowl of pasta covered in an entire brick of cheese or some kind of takeaway. The last Sunday in January, however, I forwent my usual routine. This Sunday night saw me in Heathrow airport, dragging a 16kg suitcase behind me. I was embarking on a six week trip to South America. Continue reading “Argentina Part One: Buenos Aires”

Bolivia, Latin America, South America Vol.1Leave a comment

South America Part Four: Bolivia (La Paz to Uyuni Salt Flats & Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve)

Ellis

Monday 24th July – Friday 28th July 2017 

My backpacking adventure to South America lasted a mere three weeks. This was already an inordinately short amount of time, which I could easily have spent entirely in Peru but my friend and I decided to duck out of the country, between our trips to Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain, for a few days to visit one of Peru’s neighbours: Bolivia. We had a specific destination in mind that made it worth a whirlwind visit: the Salt Flats in Uyuni.

Continue reading “South America Part Four: Bolivia (La Paz to Uyuni Salt Flats & Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve)”

Latin America, Peru, South America Vol.1, Time TravelLeave a comment

South America Part Three: Peru (Machu Picchu & Rainbow Mountain)

Ellis

Tuesday 11th July – Monday 31st July 2017

We returned to Cusco from our Amazon trip and Puerto Maldonado but we didn’t stay for long before we hit the road again for our next adventure. This time we had booked a tour from an agency in Cusco that would take us to what must be Peru’s most famous offering: Machu Picchu. There are several different ways of getting there, via the nearest town of Aguas Calientes. You can simply get the train or you can spend several days trekking the famous Inca Trail or the longer Salkantay Trek. Another option is to do what my friend and I did and take the adventure route. Continue reading “South America Part Three: Peru (Machu Picchu & Rainbow Mountain)”

Latin America, Peru, South America Vol.11 Comment

South America Part Two: Peru (Cusco, Puerto Maldonado & the Amazon)

Ellis

Tuesday 11th July – Monday 31st July 2017

After a 17 hour overnight coach ride from Ica, we arrived in Cusco. The journey wasn’t as bad as it sounds. We travelled with a company called Palomino. The ticket prices weren’t bad but unlike our Cruz Del Sur bus, we didn’t get our own in-bus entertainment screens. There was one TV between everyone on the ground floor of the double decker coach and that was playing in Spanish, which made particular sense since our bus companions mainly seemed to be locals as opposed to fellow backpackers. Continue reading “South America Part Two: Peru (Cusco, Puerto Maldonado & the Amazon)”

Latin America, Peru, South America Vol.1Leave a comment

South America Part One: Peru (Lima, Huacachina & Paracas)

Ellis

Tuesday 11th July – Monday 31st July 2017

My three week trip to Peru and Bolivia did not start drama free. On the Sunday before my Tuesday flight, I received a text from British Airways, telling me that the first leg of my journey – from Heathrow to Madrid – had been cancelled. Many stressed out minutes later, I had managed to rebook myself onto a flight that would be taking off just an hour before. Crisis averted. Things picked up en route when I got an upgrade for the second part of my journey. I’d be spending the 11 hour flight from Madrid to Lima with Iberia in business class. Continue reading “South America Part One: Peru (Lima, Huacachina & Paracas)”

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, The Netherlands, Travel Lists, United Kingdom, Vietnam11 Comments

My UNESCO World Heritage Checklist

Ellis

After doing my list of the Seven Wonders of the World, I wondered how many UNESCO World Heritage sites I’d seen without knowing it and how many I had left to do. It turns out, that out of the 1,121 (as updated) preserved cultural and natural landmarks, I have been to 58. Only 1,063 to go then – I may complete my Seven Wonders list first: Continue reading “My UNESCO World Heritage Checklist”