Salar de Uyuni – the Salt Flats of Uyuni

Our last day on the tour was another early start – we were up and ready by 5.30am so that we could drive out to the Salar (the salt flats) to see the sunrise. It was beautiful standing on the salt flats and watching the sun come up. The amazing expanse of salt and the…

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Stone tree, lagoons and more lagoons

Our second day on the trip began with a stop at the Arbol de Piedra – the Stone Tree.  There were all kinds of cool stone formations here.         Following that, we drove past four more lakes – Laguna Onda, Laguna Hedionda, Laguna Chiarcota and Laguna Canapa – before stopping for lunch…

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Into Bolivia…and into altitude!

We booked to do a three day tour to the Salar de Uyuni with Pamela tours, as they had been recommended by our hostel and were one of the cheaper options.  I had read really mixed reviews of all the tour companies, including stories of jeeps breaking down, terrible food and lodging etc…so we were…

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Valle de la Luna

On our last day in San Pedro, we borrowed bikes from the hostel and headed to Valle de la Lune – Valley of the Moon.  We started from town at about 2pm with approximately a 4km bike ride to the information centre, where we got a map of the Valley and paid our admission fees. …

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El Tatio geyser field

Our second day in the desert began with an extremely early morning start…4am to be precise! We joined a tour heading to the El Tatio geysers. My family had tried to do this tour when we were here last but our vehicle broke down – so I was super excited to have another chance to…

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Sandboarding and sunsets

Leaving Santiago behind, we took a 22 hour bus ride to Calama, followed by a 2 hour ride to San Pedro de Atacama, a town located in the driest place on earth – the Atacama desert.  When I last came here 11 years ago both hot water and electricity were quite sporadic. It has modernised…

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Valparaiso

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…

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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:…

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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…

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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…

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