Chile

  • Chile

    Lauca National Park

    May 20, 2015 - By 

    Literally every other traveller I met told me they had never heard of Lauca National Park when I told them that it would be our final destination in Chile before departing for La Paz, Bolivia. In the process of figuring out the logistics of getting there and away, transport, and lodging, I soon discovered why it was not a part of the typical backpacker’s route in South America.  Lauca National Park is highly underrated. In my opinion, its “wow” factor is comparable to the increasingly popular Torres del Paine in the far south. I think most people don’t travel there…

  • Chile

    San Pedro de Atacama

    May 13, 2015 - By 

    Going from one remote place to another wasn’t difficult; we had grown accustomed to marked up food, items, and lodging due to the necessity of hauling in products from major cities. However the difference between Easter Island and San Pedro de Atacama was a major one. Albeit both of Chilean territory, one contained the warmth and relaxation of island life while the other boasted volcanoes and salt lagoons in high altitude deserts. Both territories are remote but each come with their own distinct, opposite reputation of beauty and wonder. After returning from Easter Island, we spent two days in Santiago and packed…

  • Chile

    Fun On Easter Island

    May 8, 2015 - By 

    There is so much more to Easter Island than all the moai statues—the cycling, the hiking, the beaches. In my post about Easter Island On A Budget, I lay out all the logistics and costs associated with the trip, but in this post I will highlight all the activities we enjoyed. Day 1: Rano Kao It wasn’t until around 4pm when we were finally free to explore the island. Our plane landed around 2pm, we walked to Camping Mihinoa from the airport, and we “checked in” to our tent. The hike up to Rano Kao, the extinct volcano that is…

  • Chile

    Easter Island On A Budget

    May 4, 2015 - By 

    Just like anywhere you travel for vacation or adventure, you can spend money lavishly or frugally, but Easter Island’s reputation comes with a hefty price tag. Due to the remoteness of Easter Island (smack center in the Pacific Ocean with its nearest neighbor located ~2000 km away), it is clear why things cost so much. But with proper planning, budgeting, frugal decisions, and maybe a bit of luck (which I will later explain), it is actually not as expensive as one may think to travel to and explore one of the most remote places in the world. Flight Assuming you…

  • Chile

    Torres del Paine

    March 26, 2015 - By 

    I’m a little embarrassed to admit I’ve never actually backpacked in the woods for multiple days at a time.  Sure, I’ve done a lot of hiking, but I’ve never had to traverse valleys and mountains with sun and rain while carrying all my food and accommodation on my back.   All it took was incredible stories and photos, a different country, and a well-visited and straightforward backpacking route to convince me to jump aboard an approximately 100 km journey by foot.  Getting to Torres del Paine in Patagonian Chile was quite a hassle (a couple of flights, several cities, and numerous…

  • Chile

    Punta Arenas

    March 23, 2015 - By 

    Our main destination for the start of our South American journey was Torres del Paine Nacional Parque, which meant the following itinerary: – A long flight from San Francisco to Santiago, Chile (with a layover) – A 4-hour flight from Santiago (central Chile) to Punta Arenas (the southernmost town of Chile) – A 3-hour bus ride from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales (the nearest town to the park) – And finally, a 2-hour bus ride from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine Nacional Parque Instead of completely skipping through Punta Arenas and heading directly for Puerto Natales, we spent a brief amount of…

  • Chile

    First Class to Santiago

    March 14, 2015 - By 

    Currently there are no direct flights to Santiago from San Francisco.  Since we were flying via United, our best options were flights with a layover in Houston with Continental Airlines or a layover in Toronto with Air Canada.  We ended up choosing Air Canada for a couple reasons: 1. I was able to book flights using 1/2 the normal amount of points (55,000 instead of 110,000 for business first class) on a date that worked for both of us (March 12). 2. Air Canada’s 2-class 777 was decent enough. I know this is going to sound snobby, but I conduct extensive research on aircraft…