Alastair Simpson Zoe Bowden Travel Blog (Home)

Only a couple of days left, so a little indulgence from us with a look back at some of the highlights of the trip.  We have travelled a LONG WAY, in various forms of transportation and in varying levels of comfort, so here are our Best Journeys by:

- Car: Tupiza to the Salt Flats at Uyuni, Bolivia.  4 days, 1,000km, 5,000m altitudes, bumpy gravel roads, some of the most unbelievable scenery of the trip, all in the back of a 4x4.  Click here to see more.

- Foot: The W-Trek, Torres Del Paine Chile.  4 days, 65km, many blisters, snow capped mountains, turquoise lakes, avalanches, glaciers, driving rain and winds, pot noodle lunches….stunning.  Click here to see more.

- Boat: To The End Of The World.  Without heading to the Antarctic, you can’t go any further south than the mythical Cape Horn.  4 days, 3 nights sailing trhough the Magellen Straits, glaciers, storms and 12ft waves.  Click here to see more.  

- Bus: Patagonia, all of the many bus journeys.  32 hour bus trips, only passing through 3 towns….Its a big, big place, with vast open spaces…but stunningly beautiful.  Click here to see more.   

- Bike: La Boca to Playa Ancon, Cuba.  Picture perfect, sparsely inhabited Caribbean coastline, passing lobster restaurants and not much else until arriving at the white sanded Playa Ancon.  Click here to see more. 

- Horse: Tupiza, Bolivia.  Riding around the place Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid met their maker.  Click here to see more.  

Read the words, check the background, spot our 1 and a half hour problem….

A few days in Santiago, with our personal tour guide Ignacio……a few days in a real apartment was bliss and being shown around a city makes it all a far better experience. 

Valpo, (Valparaiso) one of the nicest cities by the sea (As rated by Ali…)…UNESCO listed, looks kinda like a shanty town with brightly coloured corrugated iron houses, but so nice to spend a few days getting lost in its many many alleys and very very steep streets….

And for the first time since I was a baby….I have no hair…..sorry mum!!! 

The question is….whose hair….

Our escape to the tiny, tiny beach of Ritoque in Chile to recover from being sick…Zoe made friends with the locals (any dog that she could find!) and lots of time was spent sitting by the log fire, and eating home made soup in our little wooden cabin by the beach.

The road from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile…through the Andes - literally at times through tunnels dug through the mountains. Also on some of the most crazy roads yet - hairpin bend, after hairpin bend…yikes! and a loooong way down!

Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine, Chile, Part 2.  See previous post for details.    

Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine in Southern Chile.  The W Trek (Almost all of it anyway…) 65 KM walked in 3 and half days through; snow, sun, sideways rain, sleet, 80KM/H wind, glaciers, mountains, valleys….bloody hard work, but well well worth the pain, sore feet, and the “joy” that is camping (Some people actually camp as a “holiday”…mad…), pot noodles as delicious lunches and flasks of tea to keep us going….