South America

Destination

Adventures in Chile

A New Favorite

We spent 17 days in Chile, August 29th to September 13th… and we wish we had more time! We really liked Chile and only scratched the surface on what it has to offer. We were pretty skeptical after Argentina and Uruguay, but something about Chile just felt right. It was really comfortable for us. Our major highlight of Chile was Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. It was the perfect mix of outdoor adventure and history. It was tropical without being too hot and was simply breathtaking. We’ve also added Valparaiso to our list of favorite cities.

(more…)

Colors of Chile

Nomadic Cadence - Header - Color - RAINBOW

Chile – Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Sunset

Chile – Valparaiso – Street Art

Chile – Valparaiso – Fine Arts Museum

Chile – Valparaiso – Street Art

Chile – Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Matu Tautara

Chile – Valparaiso – Street Art

Chile – Valparaiso – Laundry Day

A collection of some of our favorite photos from Chile, one for each color of the rainbow. Click on the first photo to view a slideshow. Check out our Flickr page to see all our photos from Chile. Also, check out our photo collections by color.

BLACK & WHITE

Chile – Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Sunset

Chile – Santiago – Cerro Can Cristobal

Our 7 Rules for Traveling in South America

Traveling through South America has been quite an adventure. We didn’t know what to expect since neither of us had ever been to the continent. We weren’t sure if it was going to be easy or exhausting or what the food was going to be like. But, like traveling anywhere, it’s best to be prepared (or overly prepared). Here are seven rules we followed on our journey through South America that made the ride go much more smoothly.

Peru – Machu Picchu

Bolivia – Salar de Uyuni – View from Tunupa Volcano

Bolivia – Salar de Uyuni – Perspective shot

Bolivia – Valle de la Luna – The sun is REALLY bright!

Peru – Cusco – View of Plaza de Armas Celebration preparation

Argentina – Buenos Aires – The Boca

Peru – Arequipa

Bolivia – Chacaltaya – Illimani Peak in the background and the highest we have ever been! 17,785 feet

Read up on a country before arriving. Not only is the history interesting, but sometimes there are local customs that are important to know. It helps to be prepared with this information so you aren’t surprised or upset by it. For example:
- In Argentina, many restaurants charge a fee for table service, similar to a cover charge. We ran into other travelers who were upset when this charge showed up on their bill and felt cheated. Since we had read about it before, we were prepared and knew what to look for on the menu.
- Peru and Bolivia nearly always charge for bathrooms. Sometimes they are clean, but usually not. Sometimes there is an attendant who will hand you a small amount of toilet paper. And sometimes the toilet will have a toilet set, but probably not.
- In Bolivia, bus services are often interrupted by strikes. When strikes are particularly bad, bus companies will not sell tickets before the day of. This means you may get stuck, or at least play it day-by-day for a while.
Pack light. We are each carrying 40 liter packs with 18 liter day bags. On a good day, we probably could narrow it down to three bags instead of four, but we usually want our day bags with us for convenience and safety (our day bags have our camera gear and other electronics). We always have room for temporary extras (see #5 and #6 below). On travel days, we feel comfortable walking long distances with all our gear.
Carry a SteriPen. I was really skeptical about bringing this water purifying device, but I’m so glad we did. We use it daily. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s saved us more in bottled water than it cost.
Carry US cash. In Peru and Bolivia they will accept US cash for most things (even taxi rides), but it must be new, crisp bills. They will not accept any worn, torn, folded, or marked bills. In Argentina, inflation is so bad that the peso isn’t all that reliable. Locals want US dollars for savings. They don’t care about the condition of the bills.
Carry toilet paper. Both Peru and Bolivia have lots of public bathrooms you can use for a fee. Sometimes they have an attendant handing out toilet paper, but it’s a very small amount. Often there is no toilet paper at all. Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile do not typically have public restrooms, but if you can find one there’s a chance they won’t have toilet paper.
Carry snacks with you everywhere. This is especially important on bus rides in Peru and Bolivia. Sometimes they will feed you, sometimes they won’t. And sometimes your bus will break down or you will get stuck in a strike and be delayed for hours. We usually have peanuts, raisins, fruit or packaged cookies.
Remember to PMA. PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude. This phrase came from our guide, Herlin, on our Machu Picchu trek. Every morning he would give a pep talk and remind everyone to PMA through the day (yes, it was used as a verb). We liked it so much that we kept saying it to each other (especially through parts of Argentina). It helped us get through some tough days, like it was pouring rain in Montevideo while we couldn’t find a hostel with space and we kept wandering the city like wet stray dogs.

5 Surprises from 99 Days in South America

Wow, 99 days sounds like a really long time, but it has flown by! South America has been a wonderful adventure, we truly experienced the good and the bad of travel. The good – saw amazing places, met wonderful people, learned about incredible histories. The bad – got food poisoning, rode terrible transportation (bus hitting a pedestrian, breaking down), got stuck in the rain. All in all, it was wonderful. We are a little sad to be leaving South America, but are incredible excited about exploring new continents.

We chose to start our trip in South America precisely because neither of us had ever been there. That way, it was a whole new frontier for both of us. We did lots of research so we would be prepared for those little eccentricities that can trip up travelers. Even with all of our reading, there were a few surprises.

Surprise #1 – Food in Peru

Peru – Arequipa – Cuy and pisco sour

We didn’t really know what to expect for food in South America, but we were still surprised the incredible food of Peru. It’s some of the best food we’ve had anywhere. Not only is it delicious, there’s a huge variety. In the same day we could have fried pork sandwiches, ceviche, stir fried alpaca, and cuy (guinea pig). It was also easy to find food at all price ranges. We could grab street food for a few dollars or sit down to a fifty dollar meal.

(more…)

CADENCE Week 15 – Santiago and Rapa Nui, Chile

Run – 16 miles

Long runs and beautiful places.

This week I started out with a ten mile run up the Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago. I had run most of the way up the hill before but had yet to run to the top. It was a rainy day, my favorite, so I felt ready to go all the way to the top. I ran up the hill hard and had a great time. The views at the top were great, you can see the city laid out before you with snowcapped mountains in the background.

Chile – Santiago – Cerro Can Cristobal

In the middle of the week we headed out to Easter Island or Rapa Nui. Our first day I got out and ran along the coast. Amazing! I ran by 10 Moai, the famous statues, and lots of cows and horses. It was the most beautiful run of the trip.

Chile – Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Tahai

Chile – Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Horses roaming free

For the rest of the week we hiked the island. We are in love with Rapa Nui, so we were hiking over 15 miles most days. We ended each day sitting on the porch watching the sun set – paradise. Next, Tahiti.