In fact Chaiten is lovely. Nothing like a considerable town, it is a small village instead. Badly destroyed by a completely unexpected volcanic eruption in 2008 – the volcano with the same name as the town, 10 km north. But built back, spaciously, all wooden houses. Of which one is a pleasant B&B, and another … Read more
We have hit the Carretera Austral, the epic road that runs from Puerto Montt in southern direction, to the far end of Chile. We don’t know exactly what to expect, what the road conditions are going to be, whether most of it has been paved by now or whether there are large sections of ripio … Read more
From Osorno we continue south, checking out another scenic route which ultimately leads to the Carretera Austral, via Puello. It is a bit repetitive, more lakes, more volcanos, but scenic it is. There are few villages, few opportunities to eat, until we reach Cochamó, at the edge of Estero Reloncavi, a fjord in connection with … Read more
Having enjoyed the coast briefly, we head further south, to more volcanos and more lakes. After a few hours on the Ruta Panamericana, the main north-south motorway, we turn off towards the mountains again, with spectacular views of the Cordillera, including several snow-capped volcanos. The biggest of all, Tronadir, once again on the border of … Read more
A little south of the Pucon/Villarica region is the zone of Las Siete Lagos, the seven lakes, another rather touristic area. It is nice enough, with lots of green, forests, but also cattle farms, expansive grazing areas, quite like Argentina on the other side, actually. Interestingly, lots of construction – houses, barns, but also churches … Read more
Already before we started our already rather short trip, we had to make adjustments. Less time, so cut down further on the program. We sacrifice the colourful Mapuche markets and the museum of Temuco. We just sleep in Temuco, but only because the plane arrives there, and the car rental company is based here. What … Read more
Most people traveling to Guatemala will try to avoid the present-day capital, Guatemala City – a collection of crime, chaos and concrete – and continue to Antigua Guatemala, instead, about an hours’ drive away. This is the old capital, established in 1543 during the Spanish colonial times, and it shows, although most buildings date from … Read more
Taking it the easy way, we book a tour to visit the Lauca National Park and the Chungara Lake, with all the extra elements that come with a tour.
Of the various tourist spots we visited around Tengchong, like Heshun, most were underwhelming; the war cemetery was impressive, though, for a variety of reasons.
From Ende land inwards, to Moni and the Kelimutu crater lakes, and then on to the north coast beaches, and the towns of Maumere and Larantuka