The End of the Road in Rio

Sunset on the beautiful city of Rio from the Pão de Açùcar

Here it is: Rio de Janeiro is the end of the road for my trip, exactly 3 months after my arrival in Buenos Aires. Many thanks to all of you for following my little adventure. I hope to see you soon to share stories and pictures from this amazing trip!

Caïpirinhas Taste Better Here

A view of Ilha Grande on the way to Lopes Mendes beach

La Costa Verde is the wonderful stretch of Brazilian coast south of Rio de Janeiro, where white sand beaches meet the jungle. I only spent one night in Rio before I could resist the temptation of spending some time in Ilha Grande - and listened to my brother's advice to "go and relax on the beach, drinking Coco Gelados and Caïpirinhas".

Prahia Lopes Mendes, a surf spot and one of the best beaches in Brazil

I cannot write a whole lot about my activities on the island because they mostly consisted of just that: relaxing on the beach, drinking Coco Gelados AND Caïpirinhas. The island is a paradise for relaxation because there are no cars, no ATMs, little human activity (there are only a couple of villages around the island) and the only sounds here are those of the waves and those of the animals living in the jungle (a great combination, they should make recordings of it and sell it as meditation CDs - well actually I'm pretty sure it already exists.)

Sunset on Ilha Grande on the way back to Rio

Unfortunately the end of my trip approaches and I could only stay 3 days on the island in order to be able to visit Rio de Janeiro, even quickly. I recommend Brazil to all beach lovers, because in addition to have beautiful landscapes (and people), the country also has the nicest people on Earth: Brasileiros and Brasileiras are always smiling, friendly and very helpful. This creates the perfect environment for a great, lazy-type of vacations... Oh, and did I mention this is technically winter yet it is still 28 degrees Celcius?

Sweet Times in Sucre

I spent the last weekend in Sucre, Bolivia's official (i.e. constitutional) capital, and a charming colonial town that used to be the capital of the Virreinato del Perú under Spanish rule, a large area including parts of current Perú, Argentina, Chile and most of current Bolivia and Paraguay (the city was then called La Plata).

The architecture is reminiscent of southern Spain: it even bears the nickname of "white city" due to the color of most buildings in the colonial center.

It is a very pleasant city to visit, and there are many bohemian-style cafes and restaurants. The climate is also more temperate than in alto Bolivia due to its relatively low elevation (2700 m). Note: it was actually pretty cold and it rained last weekend, but at least it didn't snow like in La Paz!

Now I am back in La Paz for my last two days in Bolivia before flying to Rio de Janeiro. I'm sad to leave Bolivia, such an incredible country, but to be honest I can't wait to hit the beaches!

Those Crazy Quechuas...

The Apurimac river canyon

Choquequirao: a completely unobstructed picture of the site

I'm back from my trek in Peru and it was fantastic. I spent 5 days walking 64 kms, going through incredible landscapes, including a double-crossing of the Apurimac canyon to reach the Inca site of Choquequirao (1600 m of vertical drop going down, then up, then down and up again on the way back). This is the only way to reach the site if you are not Alan Garcia Perez - the Peruvian president - who comes regularly using a chopper, and as a result, there are very few visitors there, which makes the visit an incredible experience. During the 2 days our group of 4 visited the site, we met only a couple of frenchies and a small group of Peruvians studying to become guides. This contrasts with the 2000 to 3000 persons a day visiting Machu Picchu! This was incredible to spend hours walking through the site with no other people present. The site itself is currently smaller than Machu Picchu although archeologists believe they were approximately the same size before vegetation took over in Choquequirao. There is a team of 40 archeologists working on the site presently, trying to find and restore the 60% that are believed to be covered by the jungle. Their latest discovery, in 2004, was the Llama terrasses, a series of terrasses used for agriculture and decorated with Llamas.

It may seem like a crazy idea to build a city in a place so remote, at 3100 m of altitude, and I think it is. But the Quechuas (the real name of the people from this civilization - Inca was the name of the king) did not mind the altitude, the effort to get there, and these sites (Machu Picchu included) were believed to be both religious centers (and they had to be as close as the sun, Inti, the true God, as they could) and military centers that established dominance over the region, a little like castles that can be found all over Europe.

The Llama terrasses in Choquequirao, discovered in 2004

Even if this experience was everything I needed, I still had to visit Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world and a must-do in South America. I am a little torn because the site is well preserved (all of the city is uncovered and visible) and it is incredibly beautiful, but access to the site is so easy (trains and buses bring an incessant flow of tourists every hour, all day-long) that it has become a very crowded place - archeologists consider that the number of visitors should be limited to no more than 500 per day to limit the slow destruction of the site that has already begun. In sum, I had two very different experiences visiting two beautiful sites, and I would not change a thing if I had to do it again.

Now I am back to Bolivia for a while before finishing my trip in Brazil. Three months are definitely not enough to visit this incredible continent, so I will have to keep making choices...

The site of Machu Picchu (old mountain) and the Wayna Picchu (young mountain) in the background

On the Incas' tracks

Overlooking the beautiful city of Cusco

Gathering for festivities on la Plaza de Armas

I spent my last two days in Cusco, Peru, which was basically a giant party-city (hum, I mean, more than usual!). Indeed, Cusquenos were celebrating Inti Raymi, a big festival in tribute of the sun that happens every year at the turn of winter (June 24 is the date of the official celebration, of course a local holiday). It is a big carnival were people parade and dance in the streets in traditional costumes and reenact Inca ceremonials. It was mostly unplanned on my part to get here at this date, but it surely was a lot of fun. Now I am off to trek through the jungle to Choquequirao, a sister Inca city to Machu Picchu, for the next five days, then finish with the visit of the world-famous - but much visited - wonder of the world on the sixth day. This should be special, according to the locals, so wait for the report...

Cusquenos parading on the street for the Inti Raymi festival

Copa, Copacabana...

Overlooking the bay of Copacabana

Copacabana is a quiet Bolivian village on the shore of Lago Titicaca, at the border of Peru. Today, not much happens here, and it is a great place to relax and enjoy the sun and magnificent landscape with the Andinian peaks plunging into the frigid lake at an altitude of 3800 m. However, this region, and in particular the nearby Isla del Sol, is believed to be the birthplace of the Inca religion and civilization.

El templo el Inca en la Isla del Sol

The Isla del Sol is a relatively small island that can be crossed in one day - it is a 3-hour pleasant walk from North to South - and that bears a striking resemblance to the Greek islands, if it were not from its pre-Inca and Inca ruins of temples, villages (where houses were connected by what looks like a maze of pathes) and other energy-charged sacred rocks. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect way to spend my birthday. I hope to do more celebration this weekend in Arequipa, Peru.

Jungle Boogie

I am back from a trip to the jungle near Rurrenabaque, in the north of La Paz. The contrast is stunning between the two cities: in a 35-minute plane ride the altitude drops 3700m, and the temperature goes up 15 degrees C. After 3 hours of jeep, we reached the Yacuma river, where we "lived" for 3 days. The animal and vegetal life is unique and we can almost touch the hundreds of caymans, yellow monkeys and amazonian kingfishers. A few of my impressions just after the trip: hunting the anaconda is the dirtiest job in the jungle (feet in the swamp), piranha fishing requires a lot of patience (they know how to eat the chicken around the hook), and swimming in muddy water a few meters from the caymans is fun but not very comfortable.

A Cayman on the Yacuma River

Catch of the Day: Piranha

Not So Peaceful La Paz and The Death Road

View of the city of La Paz from El Alto

I love La Paz. It is a reasonably small city for being the center of economical and political power of Bolivia (about 1 Million inhabitants) and it is niched, at 3700m, at the feet of 5000m to 6000 m peaks, including the Huayna Potosi (the snowy mountain on the picture above). 300 m above the city is the Altiplano, a high plateau shared between Bolivia and Peru, from where views of the city are incredible.

The pace of the city is close to mad in the 'centro', where the traffic of pedestrians, cars, micros (buses) and minibuses is incessant (quite literally: cars never stop at red lights), while residential areas like la Zona Sur are much more quiet and posh. In town, there are markets everywhere and street vendors sell about anything, from DVDs to shampoos, from alpaca sweaters to vitamins. Women in traditional indigenous clothing talk on their cellphones while businessmen in suits chew coca leaves. People watching is my favourite activity here. The nightlife is incredible too, it starts early, unlike in Argentina, and ends in the morning at a time most people go to work. On top of all that, it is a backpacker heaven because it is very inexpensive - lunch costs 1 to 2 dollars, about the same as a taxi ride. I decide to use La Paz as a center for other activities, including the descent of the death road on a bike and a trip to the Amazonian jungle.

The death road - camino de la muerte - is the name of a segment of the old road between La Paz and Coroico. It is named like this because many people died every year (about 200) when it was still used by autobuses, trucks and cars. It is unpaved and very narrow, which caused many trucks and buses to fall over - particularly during rainy season - and because the vertical dropoff on its edge is sometimes over 600m, there are not many chances of survival for their occupants. A new road exists since 2006 and only a few cars and trucks still use the old one, in addition to the mountain bikers. Many less people die on the road now since it is not terribly dangerous on a bike when it is dry and when one keeps their two hands on the handlebar and their eyes on the road. The best parts of the experience are the views, and the vegetation change along the 61 km: the ride starts from an altitude of 4700m (basically: no vegetation) to arrive at 1200m in the jungle. Surviving it - and getting the t-shirt to prove it - is quite nice too...

El Camino de la Muerte at San Pedro Waterfalls

Bolivia is Dynamite!

Dynamite can be bought at the grocery store in Potosi

After a night in Uyuni, a 7-hour bus ride (200 km, I can forget about the comfort of Argentinian buses) on an unpaved but superb road through the mountains brings me to Potosi. It is a mining town that used to be the richest town in South America during the 16th and 17th centuries because of the supply of silver provided by the mountain the city is built on (Cerro Rico). Incidentally, it is also one of the highest cities in the world (4060 m).

Today, the situation is not as good, mining is still one of the main activities here but no more silver is found. Instead, miners work in horrible conditions (I went into a still-active mine for 2 hours today and thought I was going to die) to extract zinc, tin, and other minerals. It was really interesting to talk to the miners and share their daily life. We brought them some juice and cigarettes and dynamite (that we bought at the store, crazy!). Of course we finished with a little bit of fun: holding up some lit dynamite before blowing it up.

The only fun part of mining

More Salt... and Cactuses

The immigration office at the border crossing between Chile and Bolivia

The 3-day trip from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to Uyuni (Bolivia) starts with a picturesque border crossing - and breakfast - at an altitude of 4500 m. After that, we transfer our bags to a 4x4 that takes us through the Reserva Nacional Eduardo Avaroa to the great salt flat of Uyuni, the largest in the world. It is a great and unique experience, including the first night in a "hotel" without heat or hot water at an altitude of 4300 m (the outside temperature is -20º C).

Sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni

The last day, we wake up early to see the sunrise on the Salar, before visiting the cactus-friendly Incahuasi Island, which offers breathtaking views of the Salar. Under the crust of salt is a saturated solution of water, salt, lithium chloride and magnesium chloride which will probably start to be extracted in the near future (particularly for the lithium).

I have only been in Bolivia 3 days but I already love this country. The nature is incredible and the people are just great, simple and friendly.

The view from Incahuasi Island: Cactuses and Salt

Sand, Salt and All the Rest

La laguna Miscanti (Lagunas Altplanicas - altitude: 4120m - here it is very cold)

San Pedro de Atacama is an oasis in the desert of the same name and its location, at the door of the Andes and two other mountain ranges, make the small town an ideal departure point for many visits of natural wonders of all kinds: the salt lake of Atacama, of course, but also geysers, lagunas in volcano craters, oases in the world´s most arid desert and rock fomations... The variety and quality of experiences in these different locations (bathing in a salt-saturated lake, watching the stars, waking up at 4am to see geysers come to life at sunrise) are such that the town could be a great place to stay for weeks but after 4 days in San Pedro, tomorrow is the departure to Bolivia (3-day 4x4 trip to Uyuni, through the salar and more geological marvels). I have heard great things about this trip and I am really looking forward to it.

La valle de la muerte shares more than its name with the famous spot in Nevada (here it is very hot)

Walking on water (Salar de Atacama)

Chilling in Chile

I am in La Serena, a neocolonial beach resort and student town on the Northern Pacific coast of Chile. There is not much to do here but it is good to relax for a few days before I go to San Pedro de Atacama to see the desert and cross from there to Bolivia. So I use this couple of days to rest, read on the beach and enjoy la comida chilena.

'Round the Cape Horn to Valparaíso

Cerro Bellavista photographed from the old jail

I decided to continue my journey North through Chile, and stopped at the appropriately named Valparaíso - literally Valle Paraíso, or Paradise Valley. It is a fantastically beautiful city. It may be messy and dirty but it is part of the bohemian charm that made it a UNESCO world heritage site. There is a picture to take at every corner; there are colorful houses and open-sky museums with art directly painted on walls; plenty of cobblestone streets and hidden passages to get lost; miradors, balconies and terrasses where couples kiss and where you can patiently wait for the sun to slowly dive into the Pacific ocean, flooding the dozen of city hills with amazing light. I fully understand why the city greatly inspired Pablo Neruda, who chose to make it his home.

The port of Valparaíso

View of the downtown area and the bay of Valparaíso at sunset

Downtown at dusk, from the terrasse of the Brighton at Paseo Atkinson

Pablo and I are good buddies now

Earthquakes in Santiago (but it's not what you think)

Santiago de Chile and the Andes in the background

OK, Santiago may not be the most exciting city in South America, but I can attest it is possible to have fun there. A possibility is to go to La Piojera, a typical bar where people of all ages dance 'la cueca', and kill their Saturday afternoons drinking Terremotos (literally 'earthquake', a local cocktail made of the cheapest possible kind of white wine, fernet-branca and pinapple ice cream). If it doesn't sound like it would turn out as a good drink... well... it doesn't. But you would be missing the point: the essential is that you can meet real locals at the bar and practice your spanish with them. While they may initially seem a little colder than their Argentines neighbours, Chileans are very proud of their country and really make efforts so visitors can get the best experience here. For instance, Hugo, whom I met at the bar, was the one who told me that there is no better day to go up Cerro San Cristobal - the highest hill in Santiago - than a day after heavy rain because the humidity makes the smog, which bathes the city most of the time, dissapear for a while. So I woke up early the next day after the rain, and climbed the 6 km road to the top to find out he was right: here was Santiago, almost clearly visible up to the Andes.

Drinking Terremotos at La Piojera, Santiago de Chile

Mendoza - Santiago de Chile

I'm glad I chose to do the road from Mendoza to Santiago during the day because it is quite an experience. The ascension of the Andes is more than 200 km, starting from an altitude of about 800 m to reach the tunnel Christo Redentor separating Argentina and Chile at an altitude of 3175 m. The descent to Santiago is made of many hair-pin curves, numbered a little like at l'Alpe d'Huez but much higher and for much longer... While separated by only 150km as the crow flies, the trip takes about 7 hours, including a long stop at the Chilean border, but it is all worth it!

Veni, Vedi... Vino

Vineyards and 5000m peaks: this is Mendoza

About 30 minutes from Mendoza is the small town of Maipu. About a dozen wineries are located on a 15 km country road stretch in the middle of the vineyards. This makes it perfect for 'bike & wine', a self-explanatory activity. I met an American couple from Philly at my second winery stop and we finished the day together, eating parrilla in the middle of the vineyards and degustating all sorts of Malbecs (the main variety produced here) but also Cabernet Sauvignons and other types of blends. Although different than I imagined (no rolling hills like in Provence or Bordeaux), the landscape is no less pleasant with the majestic Andes in the background.

My bottom has been sore from biking but I have the impression the way back to the rental place was facilitated by the many glasses of wine I ingurgited during the day. I guess it makes sense since cyclists were using vino as one of the oldest forms of doping in the early days of the Tour de France, stopping to share saucisson and red wine with the fans...

How many drinks did Max have at the moment of this picture? Take a wild guess

Return to the Andes

Group picture on the way up

After spending a quiet day in Mendoza yesterday, I opted for a day trek in the Cordon del Plata to discover this part of the Andes. It doesn't look at all like the southern part I saw in Bariloche and Patagonia. There are more than 300 days of sun here in Mendoza, the vegetation is very dry if existent and the land is very rocky - all of which explain the excellent quality of the wine made from grapes that can grow here, primarily Syrah and Malbec.

The hike is not very hard - about 1000m of vertical rise - and the summit is one of the lowest of the mountain range (where peaks flirt with 6000m) but the view at the top is very nice: on one side, it extends to the Pre-Andes and the mendocino vineyards, on the other to the highest peaks in South America (the Aconcagua being the highest at 6962m but cannot be seen from there).

Drinking mate at the summit of Cero Arenales (3450m)

República de la Boca

After a Saturday night of partying in Buenos Aires until dawn with Argentinian friends I met back in New York, I spend my penultimate day visiting La Boca, one of its poorer neighborhoods but also the most vibrant (I was just recommended not to hang out there at night). Religion here - as you can guess from the pictures - is called football.

Tomorrow night I leave Bs. As. for Mendoza, returning at the door of the Andes to continue my journey North.

La Boca, home of colorful houses...

... fútbol...

... fútbol... (la bombonera, stadium of world-famous football club CA Boca Juniors)

... and fútbol... (on the left Diego Armando Maradona, a.k.a. el pibe de oro, a.k.a. la mano de Dios, on the right Maxi - my new latinoamericano nickname)

Pura Vida Uruguaya

Fishing is one of Montevideanos' favorite hobbies - here the port in the old town

Uruguayans, like Argentinians understand how to live a good life. Montevideo is only 3 hours from Buenos Aires by ferry boat, right across the Rio de la Plata, and there are many similarities between the two people, although they like to focus on their differences. One of those differences is just the matter of size: Uruguay is only 3 million inhabitants when the greater Buenos Aires alone is 13 million. This is palpable in Montevideo, which feels more like a town than a city (I went out with a local friend, Mateo, and he knew people everywhere we went). Because life is not as crazy as it is in Buenos Aires - but the weather is similarly good - uruguayos favor outdoor activities (sports, fishing, suntanning...) when they are not partying (Thursday is the best night out, I heard) or enjoying local cuisine, which most famous representative is the Chivito: a local hamburger composed of a flattened steak, bacon, ham, peppers, mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, olives, onions and a local type of mayonnaise (Note: it is delicious but one of the hardest things to eat granted the overwhelming amount of ingredients and the fact that my front teeth were not engineered to cleanly cut through steak).

Uruguay would have deserved more than 3 days, but I constantly have to balance between staying in cool places and discovering some new ones. I barely had time to lay my towel on the beaches of Punta del Este, enjoyed Chaja (a desert made of meringue and ice cream) at the terrasse of a cafe in Montevideo and visited the charming colonial town of Colonia that I am already in the ferry back to Buenos Aires. I will come back - who knows, maybe for retirement...

Punta del Este, South America's playground for the rich and famous

Back to Bs As

El Puente de la Mujer (Calatrava) and my temporary place (brick building to the right) in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

A 20-hour bus ride from Bariloche - much more pleasant than it sounds, buses in Argentina really are as comfortable as people told me - brings me back to the capital. I think I'm going to spend a week here, probably with a trip to Uruguay (a 2.5 hour ferry-boat ride away) in the middle. I stay at Piu's office/apartment next to the water in Puerto Madero and it is wonderful (thanks Greg for introducing us!). Buenos Aires seems to be a truly great city, combining the energy of a city like New York with a more latin pace of life. And the climate doesn't hurt either: it's 22 degrees in May (which is the equivalent of November in the northern hemisphere).

The Snows of the Andes y El Condor Pasa

I'm very lucky and the weather is wonderful for my hike to Cerro Lopez today. We are 5 to exit the public bus at the start of the trekking path some 25 kms from `downtown´ Bariloche - 2 couples and me. I will not meet any other people that day. It really feels like the mountains are ours. The hike to Cerro Lopez is not difficult past the first hour, and it is very pleasant to walk on the snowy path under the sun. Once again the combination of autumnal colors with the white of the snow and the deep blue skies makes for wonderful pictures.

I decide to descend using another path (a little longer) because the way up this morning was way too crowded ;-) I will only meet 2 cows, some condors and a few woodpeckers in the afternoon. Because I feel so genuinely happy I sing anything that comes to mind and whistle El Condor Pasa. I keep thinking that sometimes life is really, really simple. These are also the kind of moments I am traveling for.

The view on the Andes and Lago Nahuel Huapi from Refugio Lopez (1629 m)