MUST DO:
- Machu Pichu, hiking the Inca Trail to it
- Cuzco and surrounding Sacred Valley
- Lake Titicaca and it’s floating Uros Islands
- Arequipa and the Colca Canyon
- Inca Kola
NICE TO HAVE:
Destination guide – Peru
Machu Picchu, better when you’ve earned it
The lost Inca city of Machi Picchu is one the world’s wonders. The fact that it wasn’t discovered until 1911 speaks to its spectacular setting. To explore it, hordes of tourist take a train plus bus from Cuzco every day… But it’s still possible to reach Machu Pichhu emulating the experience of the ancient Incas, who walked kms and kms through the Urubamba Valley to their sacred city.
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Lake Titicaca and other weird Peruvian stuff
I love how this long trip has not exhausted my ability to be surprised. Buses in Peru have nothing to do with the luxurious ones in Argentina; there are no flat-bed seats, no blankets, no food trays… but they’re quite amusing with all their extravagances. They stop in the middle of nowhere to pick up vendors of food (anything from sugar cane to chicharrones), ointments or books; they show one pirated movie after another, and passengers chat lively. Peruvians might be poor, but 2 minutes after meeting you, they offer you to stay at their homes!
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Arequipa, hidden gem
I arrived in Arequipa on a bus from Chile. My main reason to stop in this city was the famous Colca Canyon. And while I did do some cool hiking and rafting there, what really surprised me was the city itself. Nicknamed “the white city”, Arequipa is a gorgeous colonial town, with a large Plaza de Armas in the center, built of volcanic white-stones (thus the name). The well-preserved, colorful Convento de Santa Catalina is a beautiful place to get lost, and the frozen mummy Juanita at the Museo Santuarios Andinos is a mandatory visit for those who like “weird stuff”. The city is surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes, completing an idyllic picture.
Destination guide – Chile
MUST DO:
- Atacama desert
- Learning about Chilean history and art
NICE TO HAVE:
Atacama, a different planet
The Atacama desert, in the north of Chile, is a inhospitable region. At more than 4,000 meters over sea level, temperatures range from -15 to +25ºC in a same day. But also offers some of the most amazing landscapes in the world, and all sorts of outdoors activities. I reached San Pedro de Atacama after yet another long bus ride, connecting in the mining (and rather depressing) city of Antofagasta. San Pedro is a cool village with no functioning ATMs, constant power outages and serious water problems… and crowded with backpackers.
“History is ours, and people make history”
Salvador Allende’s last words before being killed in the Palacio de la Moneda still manage to give me chills. Santiago de Chile’s downtown exudes history, but it is also terribly polluted and overly americanized. As I walked around the Plaza de Armas, Catedral, Cerro Santa Lucia and Mercado Central,and saw all these stressed people, I couldn’t but feel nostalgia of Buenos Aires.
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Destination guide – Argentina
MUST DO:
- Perito Moreno, Los Glaciares National Park
- Iguazu Falls
- Spotting sea mammals in Peninsula Valdes
- Buenos Aires
- Chatting with Argentinians
- Eating a lot of delicious, cheap beef
NICE TO HAVE:
Skiing and hiking in Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche was my last stop in Argentina, reached via another long bus ride from El Calafate. It’s a really nice town, specialized in chocolate and posh people. It was weird to see how wealthy Argentinians live, knowing how the rest of the country is doing. Bariloche is renown for skiing, mainly in Cerro Catedral, the largest ski center in Latin America. I went up for a day, but the weather wasn’t on my side. I still managed to have some fun, before being forced to descend back-country when the lifts closed due to a storm. And I made some local friends, so I felt more or less safe all the time.
Perito Moreno and other perfect glaciers
In Calafate I reached the climax of my 3 month South America trip: the Argentinian glaciers, with Perito Moreno as the crown jewel. The pictures can’t do justice to the perfection of the view, nor capture the cracking sound of the ice. You’ll have to trust me: it’s absolutely fascinating. Or better yet, come over to experience it for yourselves.
Bona Travels 