Exactly four years ago, I was embarked on a very special journey. Lacking a sabbatical year to travel around the world, I managed to gather the courage, money, and time to make part of the route through South America that I had in my drawer of dreams for a long time. Two months of travel through Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, with a little hop to Argentina, which I previewed here with great excitement but which, after returning, were barely reflected on the blog due to laziness, the race-against-the-clock routine, work, and having become a mother of two little explorers who take up all my energy. The time for excuses is coming to an end and this strange digital log is hungry for new content. So, as a result of these two circumstances, and after a two-year silence, this new story is born in which I compile some, yes only some, of the best memories of my trip through South America.
Itinerary of the South American Route
Before I start detailing my unforgettable moments, here is what was the itinerary over the course of two months for those who are thinking about organizing a route through South America. Starting from the premise that it was impossible to visit everything, I chose three countries: Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. All three carefully treasure some of what were my travel dreams, and other corners that weren’t in my top five but left me speechless.
Chile:
Santiago de Chile – Valparaíso- Punta Arenas-Magdalena Island (Strait of Magellan)-Puerto Natales-Torres del Paine- Argentina: Calafate- Perito Moreno -Tierra del Fuego-Atacama Desert
Bolivia:
Eduardo Avaroa Reserve – Salar de Uyuni – Sucre – La Paz – Rurrenabaque (Pampas del Yacuma)
Peru:
Arequipa – Colca Canyon – Cusco – Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu – Ica – Paracas- Chachapoyas – Kuelap – Yurimaguas (Pacaya-Samiria Reserve) – Lima
The satisfaction of conquering Torres del Paine
The Torres del Paine National Park had become almost an obsession, honestly I don’t really know why, or since when. The seed of that obstinacy was the panoramic view of the photo above, that small lake escorted by the three giant granite towers that give the park its name. But when I started researching I discovered that this corner of the Chilean Patagonia deserved much more than the classic climb to that viewpoint. So I decided to do the famous Torres del Paine W circuit, a trek of about 70 kilometers which I completed in four brutally beautiful days of hiking. The effort and fatigue tried to displace, unsuccessfully, a retina ecstatic by the landscapes I was treasuring.
During the journey, these three stone masses played hide and seek with my excitement over and over again from different angles. It seemed that the clouds were the perfect curtain to hide the main characters before rising, or not, for the show. Thus, uncertainty became another part of the backpack I carried on my back.
But when at last, on the final day of the trek, I was able to sit and rest in front of them, the fatigue and fears vanished and I could do nothing but contemplate. To contemplate in silence, without any rush and in the strictest sense of the word, that stone cathedral of nature. And to smile with happiness, from the satisfaction that comes from being aware that dreams can come true.
Among penguins in the Strait of Magellan
Seeing these animals in their natural habitat was another of my travel dreams that I turned into a memory, and twice over. In the middle of the Strait of Magellan, a place with significant historical weight, not far from Punta Arenas, lies the tiny Magdalena Island, a sanctuary for the small Magellanic penguins. Being able to have them so close and seeing yourself surrounded by them with their curious eyes scrutinizing you is priceless.
We had to go much further to see the true kings, to the only King Penguin colony in Chile. To the remote archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, a long journey whose sole destination was Bahía Inútil where this colony, totally unusual for those latitudes, nests. King penguins are the second largest species after the Emperor and you could spend hours watching and listening to them. Although there was some initial disappointment at how far away they were, binoculars provided the remedy, and the short time available to watch them flew by. Despite the briefness of the experience, it was absolutely unforgettable.
Facing the Perito Moreno, king of ancient ice
Brushing against Argentine Patagonia with your fingertips and not answering the call of its master and lord would have been an unpardonable crime. Fortunately, I did not commit it and was able to meet face to face with his majesty Perito Moreno. Thanks to a previous trip to Alaska, this wasn’t the first time that I contemplated a glacier, and even felt it under my feet. However, the Perito Moreno glacier impresses as if you were a novice. Feeling its frozen depths roar makes you hold your breath. Watching it slowly die before you as it loses giant icebergs causes a mixed feeling of sadness and fascination.
Piedras Rojas, the great surprise of the Atacama Desert
When designing what the route through South America would be like, I was very clear that this place in northern Chile was definitely going into the itinerary. I had a predefined image of what the mythical Atacama Desert would be like, and its starry sky, but what also made its way into my plans were other extras I hadn’t counted on. The excursion to the Altiplanic lagoons was a total bonus track and Piedras Rojas was an unexpected gift. This surreal and Martian landscape in equal parts, with its striking mix of colors, is a postcard worthy of any wallpaper.
The full emptiness of the Salar de Uyuni
Never has such an empty place filled me so much. Entering Bolivia from the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama is to do it through the front door. Crossing the surprising Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve to reach the salt flat is not a formality but an immense pleasure. If by the time I left the reserve my retina was already about to burst with impressive scenery, reaching the Salar de Uyuni was the final explosion.
Entering at dawn contemplating a stunning chromatic game thanks to the mirror effect that caused the entrance to the salt flat to still have water was already an unexpected beginning. Then, miles and miles of absolute nothingness, of a calm ocean of pristine white that stretches as far as the eye can see. And, suddenly, as if it were an iceberg made of earth, a tiny and curious island of cacti floated on the surface. Uyuni is certainly a must on any route through South America.
The challenge of Las Pampas del Yacuma
Just reaching the remote town of Rurrenabaque, in Bolivia, is quite an adventure. A light aircraft so small it looked like a toy and pitched as if it were about to crash onto the mountain range it was flying over. Once on the ground, the excursion begins to venture into Las Pampas del Yacuma, an Amazonian river that feeds wildlife to the plains that it seasonally floods.
Apparently, according to our guide, we were very unlucky due to the combination of excessive water and excessive heat. The result was a hell of mosquitoes, unbearable humidity, and barely a handful of animals. So much so that, for the first time on the route through South America, we decided to leave earlier than planned. But even so, before doing so, the Yacuma River gave us one of the best and most unexpected memories of the trip: swimming surrounded by pink dolphins. Thank you Yacuma.
Explosion of colors behind the walls of Santa Catalina
During this route through South America, I once again reaffirmed that not being too prepared for a trip had many more advantages than I thought. Arequipa was on the itinerary but I hadn’t had much time to research, so finding, behind a modest wall, the explosion of colors of the Monastery of Santa Catalina was a real surprise. I expected a typical convent and what I found was almost a miniature city full of history, narrow streets, flowers, and corners, each more delightful than the last, which make this visit a must if you go to Arequipa.
Machu Picchu, ultimate expression of a dream turned into a memory
The emotion of sitting down to contemplate a traveler’s dream come true is the exact meaning that defines having Machu Picchu in front of you. Hours and hours, when there were no limits, I was going up and down, taking photos, admiring this scene in a daze, amazed to think of the enormous work of engineering that the Incas built here, hesitating to decide what impressed me more, whether the Inca citadel or the natural setting where it is nestled… A cocktail of emotions
The forest of giant waterfalls
I admit it, I had never heard of Chachapoyas. This city, already in the Amazonas region, has a curious name, yes, but also a repertoire of attractions that are some of Peru’s best-kept secrets. One of them is the honor of having two of the highest waterfalls in the world, very close to each other. The Gocta waterfall is 771 meters high spread over two drops and is very famous because you can reach the base of the first one on foot or by horse.
The Yumbilla waterfall is less well-known, being less accessible, but quite a bit higher at 896 meters. I saw it for the first time on a television program and fell in love, so I didn’t stop until I managed to get there. Mind you, I wasn’t able to see it from the base because the muddy path with a huge incline was quite dangerous to do without a guide. Even so, it was impressive to see and hear it. Its location, hidden in the jungle, makes it even more special. But these are not the only waterfalls in the area they call the forest of giant waterfalls. A suggestive name, isn’t it?
Amazonia, the best possible farewell
One of the things I was most excited about on the route through South America was being able to visit some region of the Amazonia, but the trip was coming to an end and it seemed that this memory wouldn’t be coming home in my backpack. Until the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, in northern Peru, crossed my path at the last moment in the form of an Australian couple who, during breakfast at a hostel in Chachapoyas, told wonders about this corner of the Amazonia, less known than Iquitos. Only two hours later, earning a cum laude medal in travel improvisation, I was on the road to catch the last memory of the trip.
It was hard, but the ‘hunt’ was successful after a very interesting long wait in Yurimaguas. From a tiny motorless wooden canoe that cut through the calm surface of the river with each stroke of the oar, I watched, in the most relaxed way I could have imagined, a wild parade of sloths, monkeys, birds, crocodiles, piranhas, and even a tapir. The last-minute scavenger hunt to get to Pacaya Samiria had the best possible outcome, a perfect finishing touch in the form of an adventure in the jungle. So far, these are some of my best memories from the route through South America. There were many more, such as Ica, Paracas, Valparaíso, La Paz… destinations, encounters, visits, and sensations that I will evoke with more care in my Drawer of Memories.
