To save a bit on driving time and gas consumption and to take advantage of a unique opportunity to check out the beauty of the Chilean fjords, we decided to take the Navimag Ferry from Puerto Natales more than 2,000 kilometers north to the town of Puerto Montt. The ferry is basically a commercial operation transporting commercial goods such as produce and livestock from the isolated southern coast of Chile to Puerto Montt, where the main highway begins and runs all the way north to Santiago and beyond.
Category Archives: South America
New Photos – Torres del Paine
January 23, 2009 – 1:37 pm
One of the highlights of Chilean Patagonia is definitely the mountains and peaks in Torres del Paine National Park. We planned to catch the Navimag ferry from Puerto Natales, Chile in a few days and it was a convenient location because the national park was only an hour dive outside of Natales. Torres del Paine is notorious for bad weather and since we were there during the end of winter, we did not know quite what to expect.
New Photos – El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier
January 22, 2009 – 2:49 pm
After pigging out on asados in El Chalten and being amazed by Cerro Fitz Roy, we headed south to El Calafate, one of the biggest tourist destinations in Patagonia, mainly because of the spectacular Perito Moreno glacier.
New Photos – Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia
January 21, 2009 – 8:01 pm
Tierra del Fuego is the southern most province in Argentina and in the world for that matter. Just as La Paz is home to pretty much the highest everything in the world, Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world, are home to pretty much the southern most everything in the world.
And back to New Years Eve, or should I say new years month?
January 20, 2009 – 11:32 pm
As we approached Christmas, it seemed like nothing really changed. Being close to the equator, no snow was falling, no Christmas trees were decorated, and while the spirit of Christmas was still in the air, its presence was was more known than felt. South America seems to keep Christmas as more of a religious and family holiday, but the introverted family times turn into an absolute free for all once the bell rings in the new year. We believed the
Photo of the Week – What seems to be the problem, officers?
January 18, 2009 – 5:58 pm
In the vast majority of the country there is a very real police and state military presence. Whether you see groups patrolling the city streets, or whizzing by you on their motorbikes, they are generally pleasant-regardless of the M-16’s strapped to their back or draped across their laps. On all of the drives we have taken since crossing into Colombia, there have always been at least half a dozen police roadblocks/checkpoints. Most of the time, they wave you right through, but the trucks also have a tendency to catch their attention. First they will inquire about our destination before checking over some of the truck’s documents. Several of those occasions have led to all of us getting out of the trucks, shaking their hands and re-tracing the route on the back of the Sequoia for our latest audience. This time, the muchachos de la carretera weren’t getting away without answering some of our questions…most importantly: Can you take a picture with us?
The lighter side of Colombian current events!
January 16, 2009 – 7:04 pm
When it comes to current events in Colombia, the hard-hitting and leading news pursued by the media is rarely positive. The problems here can still be quite severe, however, the nation is far less troubled than it was even 5 years ago. But as we experience more of this beautiful nation, it becomes apparent that daily life here maintains the same familiar values that are threaded throughout humanity…and more importantly Colombians not only love to have a good time, but they know how to have a good time! So in order to shy away from some of the more negative perceptions the world might have towards Colombia, here is a look at some of the more upbeat newsworthy topics sweeping the nation.
Photo of the Week: Tierra del Volcan
January 14, 2009 – 4:33 pm
Here is Cotopaxi volcano, at 19,347ft the tallest volcano in the world, and the surrounding landscape of the Cotopaxi National Park, in Ecuador.
