Cerro Castillo Trek

Just like in previous years, we took some time out at the end of December for a little holiday in the South of Chile. We only had a rough plan: start with a trek in Cerro Castillo National Reserve in Central Patagonia, thereafter travel overland back North, all the way back to Puerto Montt. This post will be about the trek (more about the rest of the trip will follow in another post in January).

Cerro La Cruz

Doing Cerro Ramon, a few weeks ago, reignited our thirst to try Cerro La Cruz which limits to the west with the Sierra Ramon.

The traverse of Sierra de Ramón

On most days (though somewhat smog dependent) one can see the Andes mountains from Santiago. Many people even use them as a point of reference when giving directions, such is their dominance above the cityscape. Much of what is visible from the city, of course, is no more than a - in the context of the Andes - modestly sized ridge that runs for approximately 25km along the eastern edge of Santiago and which covers direct views of the bigger mountains beyond. It is called Sierra de Ramón, rises to about 3250m above sea level, and a traverse of it has been on our to-do list pretty much since we first arrived in Santiago.

Ilhabela - Brazil

At the end of August we went to a conference in São Paulo, and having traveled all that way we thought we may as well stay around for the weekend and take a little mini holiday. Last year, with a similar "excuse", we managed to spend some time in Paraty and we loved it. This time we picked Ilhabela, which was a new place to discover for us, and also a bit closer to São Paulo.

Desierto Florido 2017

Only 2 years ago, we visited the Atacama Desert to see it was covered in flowers in what is known as Desierto Florido, This typically occurs in El Niño years when it is more likely to rain in the area between La Serena and Copiapo (you can click here for a map).

San Pedro de Atacama

Back at the end of June we treated ourselves to a long weekend in San Pedro de Atacama. This was the third time in six years we made it up there, and June is a great time to visit, with plenty of sun and pleasant temperatures. It's also a nice time to escape from the wintery Santiago, which this year has been fairly wet (for Santiago standards, all you UK folks would laugh).

A mix of solstice celebrations: We tripantu, Wintersonnenwende Feuerzangenbowle

In many countries of the northern hemisphere, autumns and winters can be very cold, dark and miserable. We think that as a result of that, it was useful to have something like Christmas to break this part of the year down a bit and give people something to celebrate in the deepest and darkest winter.

Pica, an oasis named "the flower of the sand"

We recently took a 3000 km road trip from La Serena to Iquique for work. The Atacama Desert is an incredible landscape and it is also very diverse. At this year we have had some rain in the desert, it is likely that we will have blooms again in September. In fact, some areas, were already starting to be covered in green patches with plants.

Niebla, por que deberias considerar adoptar a un abuelo

En enero, en Chile, una pareja decidió que la mejor forma de sacar un perro de la tercera edad de una galería era a palos. La pareja había sido pagada por la dueña de la galería. No es sorprendente que el perro se pusiera nervioso cuando empezaron a golpearlo… lo impresionante es que siguieran hasta que mataron al animal de una paliza que duró casi 30 minutos. La escena fue grabada desde un teléfono móvil y se hizo viral.

Nevados de Chillán and Valle Las Trancas

As it is our usual tradition, we normally take a weekend out at the beginning of May to celebrate Patricia's birthday and take a breather from the routine. This year we went to Valle Las Trancas which combines opportunities for outdoor activities and outstanding natural beauty (as well as peace and quiet!).

Parque Nevado Tres Cruces

We visited the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park a couple of weekends ago. It had been a while since we last went to the Atacama Desert, and since we have a friend who now lives in Caldera who we wanted to visit, this seemed like a great opportunity for an excursion.

Termas el Plomo, Laguna de los Patos and a little rafting

It is nice to be able to escape Santiago every now and then, especially at weekends. Cajon de Maipo is near enough for that so a few days ago we planned a rafting, exploring and hot spring trip with a few friends.

Carretera Austral y Parque Los Glaciares

It has become our Christmas tradition to spend the second half of December somewhere beautiful (...ideally where we have not been before). Since we have so many options to choose from, this year was no exception. The Carretera Austral (...and beyond) had been on our list for some time, and while it is not exactly a journey that we would recommend squeezing into just 2 weeks (which is how much time off we allowed ourselves during this holiday season), we did try to cover some ground and explore its southern part a bit.