I have a lot of visitors coming in May, which has prompted me to start doing some more serious thinking about where else I’d like to travel while I’m here in Chile. I realize that I have limited time and money, but it seems like I should take advantage of the opportunity while I have it to do as much as I can. Mom, Dad and Scott are coming on May 8th, followed by Taylor on the 15th. I’ll have to play tour guide for two weeks straight, basically! I think the fam and I will probably mostly do day trips around the Valpo area, but Taylor and I are going with a couple of my friends to spend part of the week in San Pedro de Atacama, in the desert up north.
Valle de la Luna - Valley of the Moon
I guess the most efficient way to do this would be to make a list of my top five places I want to visit while here. Maybe it’ll help jumpstart my planning process…
1) The Atacama! This one is definitely happening, as I already mentioned. The things to do in the world’s driest desert include the following: tour altiplano lakes where the flamingos and hundreds of other species of birds go to hang out, visit El Tatio geyser and take a dip in some thermal springs, see the salt flats (not as big as Bolivia’s, but just as cool, I’m sure), see the sunset at the Valle de la Luna (left), and go star-gazing under some of the clearest skies in this hemisphere. My guidebook says there are tons of local tour agencies that do the aforementioned trips daily, but that the quality of the tour guides is not always great. You get what you pay for though, so the more expensive the better. I’m looking into an agency called Atacama Connection, but the price listings
Vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina with Andes in the background.
on their website were conveniently not working–the page wouldn’t load. I wrote them an email to see what’s up. It looks legit, but I hope we won’t have to pay out the wazoo.
2) Mendoza, Argentina. Aside from the fact that my friend Elisa is there, I think Mendoza would be a pretty rockin’why not? It’s really close to Vina and Valpo–six hours by bus. The main attractions there are the wineries and the outdoor sports like biking, hiking, rock climbing, and so on. I’d love to take a weekend to do a bike tour of some of the wineries, maybe do some hiking through the Andes, and get Elisa to be my tour guide through the city! I wish that I had time to go to Buenos Aires or Iguazu Falls, but they’re too far away. I suppose I’ll have to save those for another trip.
3) Isla de Pascua, aka. Easter Island. This is probably not a realistic expectation for this trip, but I would really love to go if I could. It’s extremely expensive, so I’d probably opt to go for a cheaper journey(s) rather than blow all my money on this one trip and not get to see much else of the country. Also, although it might be a little cheaper during the off-season, the weather will be colder and will limit the things to do like snorkeling, going to the beach, etc.
The Maoi in Easter Island.
The historical aspect is the main reason for most people in going to Easter Isalnd usually…to see the Maoi and learn about the colonization and whatnot. Interesting stuff, but I think I’ll have to save that for another trip, sadly.
4) La Serena is the capitol of Region IV, Coquimbo, to the north of here. Though the main attractions are the beaches, there’s also astronomical observatories, a bunch of pretty churches to explore, pisco vineyards, and museums. Some friends of mine recently went there during Semana Santa and really enjoyed it. Some of the highlights of their trip were seeing flamingos and penguins on a boat tour along the coast, going star-gazing, etc. It’s about a 9ish-hour bus ride, I think, which means it’s accessible for the weekend! Just about any bus ride around or under 12 hours is doable for us travelers here in Chile. Gracias a mi amiga Nicole for the photo from her trip!
La Serena, Chile.
5) Parque Nacional Lauca is located way up north, almost at the borders of Peru and Bolivia. The most amazing sites to visit in this park include the twin volcanoes Parinacota and Pomerape (across the border in Bolivia) and Lago Chungara, one of the world’s highest lakes. Lauca is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with tons of wildlife, including vicuña and alpaca, which are relatives of the llama. Tours of the park are begun in Arica, which is outside the park, and are best over a 3-4 day period (so says my guidebook). Some agencies offer one-day blitzes from Arica to Lago Chungara, but the drastic change in altitude has a tendency to make folks very sick on these sorts of tours. From the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like a really beautiful park. Camping isn’t really an option, but visitors can stay in Putre (which is quite alright with me after my last camping excursion!
Parque Nacional Lauca, Chile.
So those are my ideal top 5 that I’d like to accomplish during this trip. If I had even more time to make trips, I’d also love to go to Machu Picchu in Peru and Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian and Argentinian sides, but I know that’s too much for now. I guess I’ll just have to plan on coming back again someday soon to see everything I want to see. Something to look forward to :)
Dad went to Easter Island for you. I traded my under-ware for the little statues. Concentrate on more worth while endevors. LV Dad
Your site is beautiful. Grandpa, Sarah, and I just got back from a lovely vacation in Ireland. When you return, I want you to show me how to set something like this up so we can all do it.