After all the excitement of Bolivia we went back into northern Chile and slowed the pace down a little. Our first stop was Arica, which was only a few miles from the border with Peru. Dominated by a massive rock, the area was famous for a war with Peru. Now peaceful, the area is a […]

Whilst we have been to many tourist areas, and visited the usual sites, it has been fairly quiet. We have met lots of guides, and a few locals for beers etc., but not many tourists. This is principally because it is winter in Chile, and does not coincide with European or Asian holidays. This all […]

After the small town of Pisco Elqui, we then moved onto Copiapó. A similar town to La Serena, but one which was based on mining, so was a bit more industrial too. It wasn’t the main reason for stopping here, except for it being on the main route northwards for the very efficient Chilean buses. […]

After the city of Valparaiso, there are not many big places to visit, as Chile starts to get more spread out. Our first stop going north was La Serena, which was the starting point of the Atacama Desert region. La Serena is a small town, about the size of Reading, and where we realised how […]

After our start into Chile, we moved north towards, hoping for warmer climes. As it is technically winter in Chile, it can get cold at night, but is generally warm during the day. However, this was put to the test slightly when we go to Valparaiso. Valparaiso, and it’s neighbouring seaside town of Viña del […]

After a few days in Santiago we flew six hours into the Pacific to Easter Island. Known as Rapa Nui by the locals, this is a relatively small island on the edge of Polynesia, and we had arrived at the most remote airport in the world and almost 1,800 miles from the nearest other people. […]

So we have started the second phase of our travels. After four months running around the UK and Europe, we are geared up for travelling again. Paul has had a good result from all the doctors’ tests, so it is a good time to start again. South America holds a whole different set of places […]