Mountain biking in the Atacama desert

Biking in the Atacama desert was one of my most highly anticipated adventure of the trip. Picturing majestic canyons, colorful rock formations and gigantic duns of sand, I couldn´t wait to be there. It didn´t disappoint. Get on your bike, this half day self guided tour to Vallee de la Luna at sunset will delight even those who have never done mountain biking before!

Admire the impressive amphitheater

A good way to discover Vallee de la Luna on your own

Renting a bike gives you the opportunity to explore the beautiful Valle de la Luna on your own, and cheaper (around CH$4000 to rent the bike) than if you will book a tour or rent a car. Non technical but sometimes a bit tough -steep- with landscapes rewarding the braves at every turn. At the end of the day, you will have biked in the driest desert in the world!

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Want to meet a real witch? Go to La Paz!

The witches are respected characters of La Paz. On the streets Jimenez and Linares in the bolivian megapole, their shops attract tourists´eye with their colorful candies, herbal potions and dead llamas.

A couple of secrets from the witches of La Paz
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Here, you can buy anything you need to accomplish your rituals to mother earth!

Don´t expect them to tell you their secrets or to let you take them in pictures. In fact, if you show a bit too much curiosity, they will stare at you with a black look, making you fear they just casted an evil spell on you. The witches market is something serious.

Don´t be scared by the usual sight of dead animals or skeletons hanging on their doors, pacha-mama (mother earth) requires sometimes bigger offrandes than just candies and herbs. The local habit is to burry a dead llama under a future house, to bring luck and prosperity over the new home. A majority of the population has strong beliefs towards pacha-mama and the witches rituals and most of construction workers will refuse to start working before the proper completion of the ritual. (Don´t worry, if you don´t know how to perform it yourself, you can always hire the witch to do so!).

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Mummies and mountains – a creepy visit to the museum

If you are visiting the north of Argentina, the beautiful town of Salta should be on your list. Along with its animated night life and beautiful surroundings, the city is also home to the museo de Arqueologica de Alta Montaña, that may worth the trip to Salta itself. This really interesting yet creepy museum conserves a singular collection: the mummies of 3 inca kids.

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Packing tips for active travelers

The road is the best teacher. During my 7 months of travelling in South America, I have been packing/ unpacking what seems to be ten thousand times. I got a rid of a few things, lost a few others. In this post, I am sharing my “packing learnings and tips” for the active traveler, getting ready for 3 days or 12 months of active explorations. Discover the items I loved and what I should have never packed.

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Meat, music and dancing: welcome to Argentina!

This was everything like the cliche of the Argentinian night we had in mind. After 11h of bus in stunning landscapes, with reach Salta, our first stop in Argentina. Exhausted and starving (the bus company only provided us with a small sandwich), we headed off for our first Argentinian dinner, craving for meat.

A night in a peña, in Salta

In Salta, all the places to go out are concentrated in the same area. We picked a busy restaurant and got sitted at a small table in front of the stage. We had just ordered than a man dressed in traditionnal costume went on stage and introduced a groupe of dancers. While zipping our Malbec (6 euros for a 1/2 bottle), we assisted astonished, to a serie of local and national dances based on a mix of quick steps similar to tap dance and movements of puffy skirts that remind me of flamenco. We were in one of the many peñas of Salta, where you enjoy a nice dinner while being entertained with folkloric dances and music.

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Is going to the mine something for you?

It was not planned, it should have never happened. Already at travel planning stage, when Adnan expressed his desire to visit the mine of Potosi, the biggest silver mine in the world, I answer “No problem, I will find something else to do.” Maybe because I grew up in the north of France, a former mining area, I have always associated mines with danger. The idea of going in a dark, and narrow space for a couple of hours was nothing that I felt relaxed about.

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Cerro Rico (in Potosi, Bolivia), the biggest silver mine in the world

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Coroico: when it´s time to unplug

When you spent several days trekking, biking, kayaking or on other active explorations, comes a time to slow down and take a day off. Treating yourself with a couple of nights in a cozy hostel with pool and a great view. is just the perfect way to recover.

Exhausted after our conquest of Huayna Potosi (6088m), we found ourselves taking it easy in the touristic town of Coroico, just 3h of La Paz. The weather is warm and the views splendid, here it´s so simple to indulge yourself in being lazy and regain energy for your next adventures.

In Coroico, Little Big Explorations recommands:

We loved the hostel El Cafetel with its great pool over looking the valley and the Cordillera Real. Located 10min out of town, it´s an oasis of tranquility. The rooms are basic but clean and cozy and the on site resturant serves a delicious breakfast. (Double room with shared bathroom B$100).

Best of all: admiring Huayna Potosi at the sunset (summit on the left)

Joining the 6000 club

People say you can´t describe this feeling. They are right. Few things in the world compete with the sensation of accomplishment of conquering a summit. After 5 intense hours of climbing, on Monday the 7th of October at 6.30am, I conquered Huyana Potosi, 6088m (Bolivia). I am on the top of the world. And I just caught the summit bug.

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