Tag: hiking

The hidden Arenal volcano

On By Carmen BIn America, Costa Rica3 Comments

We woke up in the outskirts of San Jose, where we had crushed the night before after picking up our rental car. We drove a couple more hours to La Fortuna, on a very good road (the best we would see in Costa Rica, by far), taking in the tranquil surroundings. After finding a hostel in the center of the town, we went in the car again and drove up to the Arenal Volcano National Park. It was very cloudy, and we already knew that we would most likely not get to see the famous, perfect cone of the volcano (usually it’s visible from town). Still decided to do a short hike to the lava flows, some really old and gigantic trees and enjoy the rainforest overall. Also piggy-bagged on some tourist groups whose guides spotted animals, but after Corcovado, we were very hard to impress :S

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Pure nature in Corcovado

On By Carmen BIn America, Costa Rica5 Comments

Just 8 hours after landing in San Jose, and definitely short on sleep, Elena and I got on a Naturair aircraft to Puerto Jimenez. The flight is short and offers great views of the country, and it’s the best way to include the Osa Peninsula in your trip if you’re short on time, since the roads are bad.

We landed around 9am, and saw our guide Nito waiting for us at the tiny ‘airport’. We had hired him for the next two days based on raving reviews on several blogs (since then, he seems to be doing great: www.surcostours.com). They weren’t kidding; he’s knowledgeable, easy going and super passionate about animals, even though he’s probably seen them hundreds of times. Because we landed after the colectivo (a shared truck) had left, we had to hire our own taxi. He drove us to buy food and then ~1 hr to Carate and Playa Madrigal, where our hike would start. After about half hour walk, we hit La Leona, the official entrance of Corcovado National Park.

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Machu Picchu, better when you’ve earned it

On By Carmen BIn America, Peru5 Comments

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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Skiing and hiking in Bariloche

On By Carmen BIn America, Argentina3 Comments

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.

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Ushuaia, cold days at the end of the world

On By Carmen BIn America, Argentina4 Comments

This week, it was freezing cold, as you would expect when you explore Patagonia in the middle of winter. I spent a couple of days in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Leaving aside the fame of it’s location, and the fact that they abuse the expression “the end of the world x”, the town is really charming and peaceful, and a perfect center for nature excursions.

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Lhasa, a traveler’s dream

On By Carmen BIn Asia, China, Tibet3 Comments

Tibet is one of my favorite destinations ever, for its explicit  beauty as well as for everything it represents.

Entering Tibet is not easy, the Chinese government forces travelers to buy an organized trip (today even more so than when I was there). China is also wiping the Tibetan culture, so I’m afraid the Lhasa I knew doesn’t exist anymore… and the Lhasa of today won’t exit in the future, so hurry up!

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I recommend spending 2-3 days wondering the streets of Lhasa, visiting the Potala Palace (one of the most enigmatic structures in the world), the Jhokand Temple, and observing locals (many different tribes come in peregrination).

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It will take a bit getting used to the altitude, you’re at 3,650m/12,000ft after all.

From the city you can arrange a 1-2 day visit to the Namtso Lake area. I got to stay with a local family of gnu farmers and hike in the lower Himalayas.

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If you have more time, you can join forces with other travelers and hire a 4WD with a driver to get closer to the Everest, though most people recommend that experience from the Nepal side.

Full trip report coming up soon