Hola
After Santiago, we took a route north to La Serena, a cute little town
on the harbor. The town is the entrance of the Elqui valley, known for the
nationally famous grape schnapps “Psico”. Of course it was not our
intention to see the valley for it’s schnapps! Nevertheless, the
highlights of the trip were undoubtedly the visits to distilleries and
tastings. Next, we bussed (new term for traveling by bus) to Antafagasta
in order to see the famous arch of Portada. After that, the bus took us to
San Pedro de Atacama, a laid back hippy-village where we could relax.
Besides relaxing we made trips to highest geysers of the world at an
altitude of 4200 meters, is where we set up a new record for getting up
early( 3:30 am), and to the Valle de la Luna.
We left Chile behind and crossed the border to Bolivia by jeep. It was a
three day tour during which we discovered white, green and red lagoons,
flamingos and lamas as well as more geysers, interestingly formed rocks in
the desert and a gigantic, dried up salt lake. On it, there was an island
full of cactus and a hotel made of salt. After this adventure, we crossed
through Bolivia to La Paz. This is the capital with the highest altitude
in the world: at 3600meters, it can sometimes be hard to catch your breath!
After the rather short stay in Bolivia, we traveled to Peru. We saw the
highest lake, the Titicaca. After all the high altitudes in the past few
days, you’d think we’d be in good shape when back to normal levels…
On the lake, we visited several swimming islands completely made of reed
and islands with inhabitants who have a very simple lifestyle. The next
stop was Cusco; a pretty city and a great place to party. On a two day
trek, we hiked along the Inka trails to Macchu Picchu. The old ruins of
the Inkas in the midst of the mountains were absolutely fascinating.
After our short visits to Bolivia and Peru, we flew from La Paz to Rio de
Janeiro.
Muchos saludos desde America del Sur
Bene y Reto
