A good friend of mine will be heading off to Europe this winter for some backpacker-style exploration with his girlfriend. Of course, I’m jealous. I also want to help them make the most of their trip, so I’ve been carrying out some research for them. This post will share some of what I’ve found. Off-Season…
Day 3: Italiano Camp to Paine Grande Camp GPS data here and here. Italiano Camp is at the base of the French Valley (Valle Frances), which made the hike up the valley our main objective for our third day in Torres del Paine. Unfortunately, it being the very first day of summer meant that weather…
Reaching Torres del Paine is no small feat. In order to enjoy the splendor that is Chile’s top national park, one must fly to the edge of the continent, secure local transport from any number of gateway cities, most of which involve will involve border crossings and indirect routing to reach the park, negotiate the…
Getting to the town of El Chalten entails a three-hour bus from El Calafate, during which time the only evidence of human life is a half-dozen estancias, some sheep in the fields, and the road itself. This is actually true of being five minutes or more outside any town in Patagonia; the steppe is vast and…
Chile is widely considered the most stable country in South America. Santiago, capital to the country and its most populous city, can easily be overlooked when compared to the vibrant, outgoing metropolitan cities of South America. That would be a mistake. Santiago deserves its place amongst the top cities in South America, with appealing cafe…
I’m still emerging from the travel haze that tends to occur when I’ve been away from home long enough to unlearn my daily routine. It’s a time where it’s easy to get caught between what was temporary and what is permanent, and to wish they might be reversed. This is an important moment. It’s like the ancient…
In just two weeks now, my friend Reuben and I will be departing on what will certainly be the most adventurous trip of my adult life. We will pass through gateway cities in Peru (Lima), Chile (Santiago), and Argentina (Buenos Aires) on our way to the far reaches of the South American continent to the…
Amtrak has made a large order of 130 new Viewliner II passenger cars in order to improve its long-distance travel experience. While I wouldn’t usually get to excited about the prospect of long-distance train travel, given my ability to accrue points and miles for free airline flights, the bicycle tourist in me is ecstatic! It…
As part of our preparations for backpacking Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia, my friend Reuben and I had planned on doing a route in the south part of Big Sur that takes in the highest coastal peak on the west coast (Cone Peak). That plan got nixed when we read trail reports suggesting we’d…
It’s now just 10 weeks until my friend Reuben and I embark on the most far-reaching expedition of my adult life. We will be flying through South America’s capitals on a hair-brained itinerary that will get us to the end of the continent for just taxes and fees. When we arrive, in Patagonia, we’ll take…
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