As we said before, our route was a little crazy during this part of the trip. From Sucre, we headed back to Chile so that we could see San Pedro de Atacama and travel the Lagunas Route back into Bolivia. Yeah, it was a big circle. Back in mid June of 2017, on the way […]
Secret Bolivia Loves Part I: Silver Mines, Dinosaur Prints, and Chullpas

To many, Bolivia is a country of unknown places and people. People want to uncover and explore it. People dream of crossing into this unknown and secret land. With many of the world’s MOST _______ places (most driest, highest altitude lake, most remote, most unique cultures). But, for us, it was important to realize these […]
The Sweet Spots of San Pedro and NW Argentina

From here our route gets a little wonky for a number of reasons. Please, bear with me while I try and explain it as succinctly as possible. Also, check out our Our Route So Far page for a handy visual aid. The first reason was that our 90 day Chilean visa was coming to end. […]
Stars, Desert, and Getting High (In Altitude)

Once we said goodbye to Todd’s AWESOME grad school friend Alfredo and his family, in early May 2017, it was time to head towards some major attractions, Chile’s San Pedro de Atacama and Bolivia’s Lagunas Route. These are both very high altitude locations so we began mentally preparing for the warm sunny days and cold […]
Thank You Coquimbo

After dropping Mom and Dad off at the Airport in Santiago, in mid March, we made a quick dash up the coast to Coquimbo for Easter weekend. We had plans to see old friends from my grad-school days in Virginia, Alfredo and Ivka. Back in grad school, when I was a young, and lonely bachelor, […]
Mom and Dad Came to Visit!

We had more visitors! This time they were very special, my folks! They agreed to come down for two weeks at the beginning of April and visit Chile. Just a little spoiler, we had a blast and we really enjoyed having them. Obviously we couldn’t travel, with them, the same way that Alex and I […]
Lakes, Volcanoes, and Forts- Chile at its Fiercest

Strange Auracania trees, volcano danger zones, tranquil blue lakes, sunshine and first tastes of subtropical Chilean fruit. This was our reward for staying strong in the tempermental and rainy Patagonian Andes. Our improved moods may have had to do with the fact we were excited for our upcoming visitors- Todd’s parents! We knew this would […]
Back to the Carretera Austral and Island Life on Chiloe

We crossed the Andes once more from dry Argentina into the lush valley of the mighty Rio Futaleufu. I am always struck by how the weather affects the way you perceive a new place. When we passed through the village of Futaleufu, or Futa as it’s known, months earlier, on our way south, it was […]
The Argentinian Coastal Ruta 3 Suprises

After leaving Tierra del Fuego we were faced with a big decision, which road do we take??? When we started our journey, we went south from Buenos Aires and there was one general path, but now heading north, we suddenly had many. We could either choose small roads that cut through the center of Argentina […]
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Back in the USSA, Boy do We Know How Lucky We Are!

We decided to take a 2 month “vacation from our vacation” from July 20th-September 20th. It was perfect timing for a cousin’s wedding in Las Vegas and perfect for catching the PNW summer. So what do you do when you haven’t been home for a full year? Eat out at your favorite restaurants? Eat your favorite […]