We’ve visited Otovalo just before entering Colombia. It is famous for its Saturday market, claimed to be the biggest in South America. It was an interesting experience indeed. Read the rest of this entry »
January 30, 2010
January 25, 2010
The Coriolis swirling tourist trap
Ecuador, as the name suggests, lies on the equator. It happens to pass by only several kilometers from the outskirts of Quito. There is the entire village called Mitad del Mundo, or “Center of the World”. Its most representative site and the main tourist attraction is a symmetrical monument crossed by an East-to-West line drawn on the ground. We haven’t yet figured out its purpose. Read the rest of this entry »
January 23, 2010
Valparaiso
We’ve decided to spend the remaining 3 days to our flight in an interesting port city of Valparaiso and a neighboring beach resort of Vina del Mar. Read the rest of this entry »
January 20, 2010
Stars, galaxies, the Universe
Atacama has 0.3mm of rain a year. It makes this region one of the driest places in the world. For some it is a definition of hell. But there are weirdoes for whom Atacama is a true paradise – astronomers. Read the rest of this entry »
January 13, 2010
Dakar
The famous Paris-Dakar race, as the name suggests, begins and ends in Buenos Aires. At least this year. It happened to be crossing not far from us in the city of San Juan, Argentina, so we decided to check it out. Read the rest of this entry »
January 12, 2010
Aconcagua in a weekend *
* almost; round trip from the base camp
Have you ever seen the book series ‘x in a weekend’ e.g., Tennis, Skiing, Sailing – a crash course manual that should teach you this activity in one weekend only? Well, in the case of climbing Aconcagua, this title could be indeed true. We’ve done it ourselves, almost. Read the rest of this entry »
January 3, 2010
New Year Eve at 4200m
Easter Island was nice, but a bit too low in altitude for us – a bit too much of air to breathe. When we came back onto the continent, we went straight to the mountains around Mendoza, Argentina, to the region of Cordon del Plata. It was such a relief to sleep at 4200m, Read the rest of this entry »