I’m back from my amazing trip to South America. Having had a few days to rest and catch up, I thought I’d share some reflections on how it went.
I’m spending a month in South America this winter (South American summer).
I’m back from my amazing trip to South America. Having had a few days to rest and catch up, I thought I’d share some reflections on how it went.
Before embarking on the long journey home, I took one last tour to see some highlights of Quito.
This morning I went for one more walk around downtown Cuenca before heading back to Quito.
Yesterday I flew down to the mountain city of Cuenca. Today I took a guided tour of the city. Lots of fun scenes to share!
I spent most of today flying from the south of Chile to the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. I had a long layover in Chile’s capital, Santiago, so I hired a cooperative taxi driver to show me around the city before I had to embark on the multi-hour journey north to Ecuador.
I did the Andes Crossing today and it was absolutely beautiful. The Andes Crossing is a combination of bus and boat tours that lead across the Andes between San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, and Puerto Varas, Chile.
Not much for photos today; it was mostly a day of relaxing and enjoying a much-needed shower after last night’s water system misadventure. I started my journey back north today. I’ll stay tonight in San Carlos de Bariloche, on the eastern edge of the Andes.
Today I took a tour west from El Calafate to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, home to the Perito Moreno glacier.
This morning I strolled around La Recoleta Cemetery, near where we are staying. Our time in Buenos Aires was much too short, but such are the choices made in an ambitious trip such as this.
Looking across the river this morning, we could see on the horizon the skyscrapers of Buenos Aires. Such a difference from the sleepy historic town that is Colonia. We’ll be crossing over in a few hours …
And now for something completely different!
We’ve spent the last few days driving around and exploring various parts of rural Uruguay before winding up in the coastal resort community of Punta del Este.
Iguazú Falls was amazing. Today, we’ve moved on to Montevideo, Uruguay. We’ll be in Uruguay for the next five days.
Wow isn’t enough for this place. The name Iguazú (or, in Portuguese, Iguaçu) is adapted from an indigenous name meaning “big water.” That still isn’t enough to describe it. The important thing to understand when looking at each of the photos I’m showing here is that they each represent a small portion of the falls.
Today, we left Rio and took a short flight to the national parks that surround Iguazú Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil.
No visit to Rio is complete without a visit to the iconic statue; wouldn’t you agree?
This morning I bid farewell to the convent/hotel where I was staying. Such a lovely hotel. Amazingly well renovated.
Today, I took a bus tour up to Praia do Forte, a tourist beach village about 80 km / 50 miles east of Salvador.
Today I took a brief driving and walking tour around Salvador.
Today I have arrived in Salvador, Brazil, where I will spend the next three days. I am absolutely thrilled with this last-minute historic hotel find in Salvador.
A delightful breakfast here at Hotel Santa Teresa and then it’s off to a new location in Rio. This was a great place to crash and rest up from the rigors of travel. On to the next place!
So it turns out that just showing up in Brazil without a rock solid-plan for what you are going to do and where you’re going to stay is … not great.
First impressions, while I enjoy lunch …
Rio is a study in contrasts. It wears its slums out on its sleeve. There is no escaping that part of the city as you are driven to wherever it is you’re going.
I have two hours in Atlanta and then south, south, south!
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Thank you for following along!