Salta: Cold In The Capital City With a promising nickname “Salta La Linda,” this province didn’t have much for me within the capital itself. No sun, lots of cold, but an essential stop to plan and connect to all the magic nearby. Getting There Bussing is a stab in the wallet. I took one from Mendoza, $86, 18 hours. And I had gotten the… Read More
Mendoza Capital of the province responsible for over two-thirds of Argentina’s wine production, Mendoza itself was largely uninteresting. Still, the city will be forever special because I loved my hostel so much. Getting There Luckily the borders were open and I bussed eight hours from Santiago, Chile, $26. That would be my last decently-priced bus for months. In Argentina… Read More
Border Crossing: Chile to Argentina ft. Los Andes Moving between Chile and Argentina means passing over real mountains. It means it’s a stunning bus ride. The coldest passport stamping. Have your cameras charged and don’t sleep through it! As the days get colder, Paso de los Libertadores at the border between Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina is often closed because it’s in the middle of the Andes… Read More
Stuck in Santiago Okay, fine, the city grew on me. At the beginning of the trip, I met one single backpacker who had anything positive to say about Santiago. Three weeks later, I had yet to meet another. One group of backpackers was yelled at by con artists until they got confused and their bag with two passports and… Read More
Day Trip: Sandboarding The Dunes Of Concón For backpackers, a desert means sandboarding, and sandboarding means obnoxious tour companies that try to turn it into a party with tank tops and pop music. Las Dunas de Concón is a precious exception nobody knows about. Loved it. It’s cheap, the slopes are on the beach, and it’s cheap. Getting There From… Read More
Four Incredible Stories From My Santiago Couchsurf Host Francisco. Born and raised in Santiago, in the land of hot dogs and empanadas and mountains of mayo, he was everything I don’t associate Chileans with—very tall and slim, eat’s so healthy, and cooks with a wok. And coconut milk. And curry paste. He puts on American blues while carrying out said cooking. Makes juice from fresh apples with… Read More
Easter Island: Dum Dum Give Me Gum Gum The entire plane was buzzing with curiosity as we landed, craning our necks to look out the windows. Every morning I woke to one screaming rooster, followed by all the other roosters across the island. The only reasonably priced food was bananas. My departing flight was full of friends I’d made. I’ve had… Read More
Valparaiso I love a city that can stand out from the rest. Instead of the classic central plaza with a cathedral, Valpo was 42 hills of never-ending colors, chaos, and crap (on the streets from the copious amounts of stray dogs). Once a crucial shipping port, this UNESCO site has been largely ignored government funds since the construction of… Read More
Valle Del Elqui And La Serena The Elqui Valley is strange to me. The mountains are so barren and deforested, like mounds of stone and dirt. Below is tons and tons of fruit trees like figs, and of course endless vineyards. Fields of yellows and reds greet the cars on the highway and visitors often stop to watch the dam, which… Read More
San Pedro de Atacama On A Budget The Atacama desert is another world. Stark valleys and high-altitude geological wonders that are nothing short of mesmerizing. Night skies clear enough to see other galaxies with the naked eye. The popular town of San Pedro is isolated and overgrown with tourism, yet it remains the optimal base for excursions, especially when connecting to Bolivia by booking… Read More