Last weekend, we took a two night trip to Valparaiso, which is on the coast of Chile. It is an easy bus ride from Santiago, and we arrived there ready to explore! The highlight of Valparaiso is its funiculars, antique style cable cars that run up and down its many hills. On our first day…
Author: Karen
Shaking Santiago de Chile
After Easter, we headed back up to Santiago, where we have been for about a week (with a side trip to Valparaiso which I will write about separately.) We have loved staying with our friends Patrick and Trini, and being based at their apartment. Some of the highlights of our time in Santiago have been:…
Hot pools and lakes
Following our climb of the Volcan Villarica, we were ready to relax! After a day of rest, we went to the Trancura hot pools close to Pucon and soaked…it felt so good to sit in the hot water! On Good Friday we caught a bus back to Lake Calafquen, where we met up…
Far from home
The last week has been a difficult one for me (Karen). On Good Friday, my grandmother passed away from a heart attack not long after breaking her hip. My Gran has always been part of my life – she has lived near us for as long as I can remember. I was grateful to be…
Team Olson vs The Volcano
On Tuesday, we climbed the Volcan Villarica. We started at 6.30 and went by van up a long dirt road to the ski lift at the bottom of the volcano. I was a little daunted by the fact that we were wearing borrowed hiking boots which were very heavy and were carrying huge backpacks with…
Bienvenido a Chile!
We left Mendoza and travelled by bus through the Andes. The views were spectacular, with just a little bit of snow. We had booked the most budget seats we could but for some reason were seated in first class – leather seats that reclined and snacks and movies. This is the way to travel! We…
Reflections on an adventure in Brazil
As referenced in a previous post, a reflection on “How we each react when we are lost in Brazil with no visa in our passport and no local money”! First, to set the scene. How confidently we had set off from Puerto Iguazu! Armed with our Lonely Planet on our smartphone, we had a plan…
Mendoza
We arrived in Mendoza on a Sunday morning and found that Sundays here mean the whole town is extremely quiet. We couldn’t even find an open supermarket (despite Reuben determinedly searching for 40 minutes) and so wound up going out for dinner. The town was transformed the next morning when the sleepy, quiet streets burst…
Iguazu Falls
We arrived at Puerto Iguazu in North Eastern Argentina on Monday after an 18 hour bus ride. The buses here are surprising comfortable, and even brought us tasty empanadas as a snack. We managed to get a fair amount of sleep, and spent Monday finding our hostel, having a swim and getting used to the…
Meandering Kiwis 