Author: Amandine D.

Amandine is an explorations junkie who enjoys challenges and outdoors and tries to predict the future. She never gave up her french accent or her love for good food and wine, even after living several years as an expat' in Stockholm. When not trying out new activities, Amandine blogs at Little Big Explorations.

5 ways to get close to glaciers in Patagonia

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 Ever since I watched the fantastic documentary Chasing Ice by James Balog (see the trailer here) I have been fascinated by glaciers. I wanted to get close to them, to touch them, to explore them. In Patagonia, my dreams became true.
The glaciers of Patagonia are among the most accessible in the world. Did you know that the Southern Patagonian ice field is actually the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water? It stretches between Chile and Argentina, over 12.000sqkm. It feeds more than 40 glaciers in the area among them the famous Perito Moreno (El Calafate,  Argentina) but also glaciers Viedma (El Chalten, Argentina) and Grey (NP Torres del Paine, Chile) , all really accessible to the active traveler.
Getting close to glaciers is the number one  on the list of my must do in Patagonia.

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A guide to prepare your visit to the falls of Iguazu

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iguazu_falls_and_butterfly

 

You can hear them from far, way before you can get a glimpse of them. A constant throb, deafening. More than 1.700 m3/second.  More than 270 falls spread over 2.700m (almost 2 miles) in a semi circular shape. Iguazu Falls are a gigantic nature wonder. At the border of Brazil and Argentina, the falls have everything to get on every traveller’s bucket list. Here are my tips to get the best out of your visit to the cataracts.

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Sao Paulo’s gourmets’ secrets

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19 millions inhabitants, 13.000+ restaurants, 15.000 bars. The figures talk for themselves: Sao Paolo is a monster city that can easily intimidate travellers. But it’s an excellent destination that gourmets should not miss during their visit to Brazil.

Thanks to my dear brazilian friend Regina, I discovered a trendy, sophisticated and hipster Sao Paolo that delights even the pickiest gourmets. For those who aren’t lucky enough to have a brazilian friend -get one!-, I am sharing a few local secrets…

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How much should you pay for your trek to Machu Picchu?

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Arrival at the camp on the first day of the Salkantay trek

Arrival at the camp on the first day of the Salkantay trek

For many travellers to Peru, the trek to the inca site of Machu Picchu is the highlight of their trip to Peru. Many prepare it many months in advance, but many arrive without anything booked. In Cusco, the old capital of the inca empire and departure point for the mythic ruins, trying to choose a tour operator for what shoud remain as a once in a lifetime experience can be quite overwhelming. Hundreds of agencies are lined up on the streets and where you can’t walk around without being shout at by some dynamic “Machu Picchu? Tourist information?“. The situation gets even more tricky once you realize that, for what seems to be the very same experience, prices of a trek can vary from $195 to $600 (or even $2000 if you don´t want to camp). In this jungle of offers, how to choose?

 

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Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu: it’s like Peru in a nutshell

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With this 5 days trek, you leave from bursting Qosqo (Cusco) to start hiking into a fantastic valley, you will pass amazing snow y andean peaks, admire glaciers and lakes, cloud forest and humid jungles before ending up at the amazing archaeologic site of Machu Picchu.
The trek brings you in the steps of the chaskis´ steps, the inca messengers. Thanks to a vast network of inca trails which was connecting Cusco, mountains and the jungle and a system of relay, a message could reach Machu Picchu from Qosqo in only 5h. For you, it will be in 5 days, on one of the world´s top 25 treks, according to National Geographic.

salkantay_trek

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About turning 28 after 222 days of travel in South America

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Turning 28: awesome!

Turning 28: awesome!

Exactly one year year ago, on the 7th of February 2014, I gave myself the most extraordinary gift ever: I handled my resignation letter, quitting my corporate job to go on an amazing adventure. One year later the circle is complete: I am back and I am wondering who is that girl in the mirror. And this has little to do with the fact I haven’t seen myself much in a mirror these last months or that I have a brand new haircut. I am back the same, but different.

 

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The End

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We reached it. After 7 months on the road, all the way from Cartagena, Colombia, we eventually arrived. Ushuaia, the most southern town on planet Earth. The end of the world.

So how far is the end of the world?

More than 30.000km on the continent, 103 buses, 6 planes, 13 boats, 67 taxis, 1 train, 1 car and 1 scooter? The figures speak for themselves. We are far!

Really? The GPS do not leave any doubt, our furthest position is S 54 51’40”. If you are looking for a reference from the north hemisphere, it would be Belfast, in northern Ireland or almost Copenhagen. In other words, living in Stockholm for 3 years, I was closer to the north pole than now, in Ushuaia, to the South one!

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On the roads of Chilean Tierra del Fuego (Porvenir and around)

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“There is nothing to see there“. “Yes, it’s precisely what we want to see“. “?” He could not get it, why should we spend 2 days on a small town where there is nothing to do? But for us, it seemed like the only way to truly discover it. Tierra del Fuego. The name inspires hectares of emptiness as far as the eye can see. Wind and desolation. After reading about the small town of Porvenir in our Lonely Planet, we were determined on exploring the place. We didn’t regret it. Adventure starts where good roads ends.

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Under the charm of Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia (Chile)

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If you are following our trip “live”, you may have noticed we have been silent for more than a week. No posts, no tweets, no Instagram pictures. So what did we do the last 8 days? We walked. 151kms to be precise, for more than 47 hours of hiking, over 8 days and 8 nights of camping to explore one of the jewels of Patagonia: National Park Torres del Paine (Chile). I am now sharing the magic of this place in 14 pictures captioned with extract from my travel diary. Enjoy the trip!

 

1. Kilometer 0, day 1: the starting point of the “Circuit” trek

Fresh and excited. Note that we are doing the trek in autonomy and carrying around 30kg of equipment between us 2: tent, mattress, sleeping bags, food for 8 days.

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Rio Azul loop, 3 day trek around El Bolson

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Is it the fresh air of the mountains and the tasty water from the glaciers that makes people from El Bolson so happy? Guidebooks have described El Bolson as a hippie community, and if not all wear dreadlocks, you have to admit that these people seems to know how to live! The good news is that the mountains around El Bolson offer infinite possibilities for hiking, a good chance to check it by yourself, for example with this beautiful 3 days trek.

Why go hiking around El Bolson?

hiking_el_bolson

Is it the Shire? No, it’s Argentina!

 

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