Fire Water Wind Earth? Earth, Sea, Sun, Sky? Earth Wind Fire? Try Torres del Paine’s Patagonian combination of natural elements (and deluxe comforts) on for size: Continue Reading…
Chile, Destinations, Patagonia, South America
Chile, Destinations, Landscape Architecture, Musings, Patagonia, South America
Trekking through the Ashes
March 12, 2012“μ” Trek, Day 1: The western lands of Torres del Paine greeted us with smells of charred wood and scenes of black ash, remnants of a tourist’s mishap when burning waste at a campsite at Grey Glacier. To the south, we could see smoke rising in the distance. Our route was safely finished smoldering, but remote areas of the Park still suffered in flames.
Torres del Paines’ recent forest fires altered the face of the landscape and changed the availability of Refugios and campgrounds along the common trekking routes, prompting us to explore Chilean Patagonia’s 598,338 acre natural wonderland on an alternate to the Park’s famed “W Trek.”
The traditional “W” is commonly traveled in five days, four nights from East to West or West to East, depending on preference, and includes trails up and back to three main points in the park: Grey Glacier, The French Valley, and La Torres.
Since Refugio Pehoe on the West end and Campamento Italiano and the in-lying campsites in the French Valley were closed and temperamental weather dealt us clouds on day designated for the middle fork, we let go of the French Valley trail and created our own “μ” Trek. Continue Reading…
Chile, Destinations, Patagonia, Travel Plans
Paying Respects to Torres del Paine: Planning A Visit After the Fire
March 8, 2012We were dressed in high-tech mourning clothes, attending a funeral for the landscape, all but a few square inches of our bodies covered in black rain-proof, wind-proof, sun-proof zippers and Velcro, laces and glasses. The acrid smell of disaster burned our nostrils, a reminder of the recent tragedy that swept its fiery way across Chilean Patagonia…
We’re sharing our Torres del Paine tales this coming week, but first, a flashback to set the stage: Continue Reading…
Chile, Destinations, Featured Places, Patagonia, South America
Birthday Magic in Patagonia
March 7, 2012La Casa Escondida: “The Hidden House.” With less than one day to spend in Punta Arenas, Chile between arriving by plane and departing by bus, we put our trust in a quick bit of internet research, made a booking, and hoped for the best.
It’s a tall order to ask to visit a region and get a feel for the people, the food, the architecture, the industries, history, and unique beauty of the place in one week, let alone a twenty-four hour whirlwind visit. It’s a taller order still to ask for a meaningful birthday celebration in the midst of transportation flights, connections, and transfers.
What a gift when outlandish travel hopes and wishes come true!
Our stay at this charming guest house nestled in the woods between the airport and the city perfectly kicked off our eleven day adventure in Patagonia. Continue Reading…
Musings, RTWdinnerparty, Tidbits About Us, Travel Plans
RTWdinnerparty Leap Day Edition: Summer Salads in Buenos Aires
February 29, 2012Welcome, friends, to our corner of the web! On this Leap Day, we’re hosting our second {digital} dinner party as a way to take a pause and enjoy an exchange with fellow travelers we’ve met through Twitter. For the backstory, see #RTWdinnerparty: Friends, foods, and table talk from travels around the world.
Pull a chair to the table and enjoy! When you’re done here, head on over progressive-dinner-style to our friends’ #RTWdinnerparty dishes and stories. Link roundup at the bottom of the post.
{Meet and Mingle} Bethany and Ted, here. Welcome to our dinner party. We’re just eight weeks into our journey around the globe; this hot on the heels (ha!) of eight years of dreams and schemes and plans.
As landscape architect and social worker, we’re taking time during travel to experience and share observations about the world through the lens of compassionate care for the planet and its people. At each destination, Ted puts new friends at ease, investing in conversations and teasing out details; Bethany heads up writing and photography to wrestle with tensions, catalog milestones, and share with readers an honest look at life across cultures.
Beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina is temporarily home base.
We arrived on Valentine’s Day, via a harrowing airplane ride from southern Patagonia (see Daily Travel Journal Day #41). We’ve paused for a bit and set up house in a cozy little apartment, complete with seafoam green glass shower tiles, cement kitchen countertops, and a solitary steak knife. (Details forthcoming on the cutlery.)
{Dinner Specialty} Summer Salads
We could <insert salad photo> right here and be through, but, well, you’ve seen Portlandia, right? It’s not all a joke. You’re going to hear the story of the food before it’s served. Continue Reading…
Bolivia, Destinations, Musings, Photography, Social Work, South America
Sunrise, Sunset: Bolivia to Chile
February 27, 2012
Our final morning on the long road south between Bolivia and Chile, we awoke at 4:30am to make the geysers by sunrise and Aguas Termales hot springs by breakfast. The kindness and tech-savvy of our driver, Edgar, allowed us to plug in iPods to the speaker system and create a crowd sourced soundtrack to our travels…
We alternated between The Avett Brothers, Mika, Josh Garrels and more as the sights melted into the rear view mirror, and we tried to forget the difficult night behind us. Continue Reading…
Bolivia, Destinations, Musings, Photography, South America
Travels Through The Middle of Nowhere
February 25, 2012
Sometimes, I don’t do my research.
I sign us up for random 4×4 tours through the middle of nowhere South America and, aside from the Salt Flats, haven’t the foggiest idea of what we’re about to see through the car window…
Sometimes, the surprise is worth the negligence.
Day two of our three-day-expedition meant little to me when I saw the route on the tiny 4×6 map we were given at the outset: tiny mountain symbols, a few “Lagunas,” dashed lines, and some lingering memories of beautiful flamingo snapshots from a fellow blogger.
Sometimes, as we travel, time is spent on today. The people, the places, the tasks at hand.
Sometimes, we trust that at a certain point, neglecting the planning and research means that tomorrow really will take care of itself.
How jaw-dropping to encounter plants and wildlife, mountain scenes and colored lakes, high country snow (the first snow of our Brazilian companions’ lives!), and approach each new bend in the road with wide eyed anticipation and wonder.
Sometimes, we have no idea what to expect. And that’s when travel comes alive.
Enjoy the peek at beautiful, wild, surprising altiplano of Southern Bolivia…
Bolivia, Destinations, Photography, South America
Salar de Uyuni: Please Pass the Salt {and the Chocolate, too}
February 23, 2012
Island Vacation? No, not a golden beach on tropical shores: a vast, evaporated lake of salt sitting 11,995 feet high in the land-locked country of Bolivia. The 4,000 square mile Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flat) is roughly the size of Oregon’s entire Willamette Valley floor.
A visit to this natural phenomenon was part of our transportation scheme as we maneuvered overland through southern Bolivia and on into Chile. Continue Reading…
Bolivia, Destinations, Photography, South America
Cementerio de Trenes: Where Transportation Hopes Come to Die
February 22, 2012Hello, hello, friends! This is the beginning of a rapid-fire blog journey following our tire tracks south from La Paz, Bolivia by overnight bus to Uyuni and then onward via 4×4 through cemeteries, salt flats, volcanoes and lakes, through lands of geysers and hot springs and high elevation passes, and finally past the Chilean border and into the Atacama desert. Enjoy the ride!
He stopped the vehicle and welcomed us to the Cemetery of Trains. An auspicious beginning. Continue Reading…