Central/South America 2019

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Day 84
Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 61 °F
Altitude: 12,014 ft
Bolivia Provincia Nor Lípez -20.24167, -67.6283320°14’30” S 67°37’42” W
76. Bolivia - Salar de Uyuni 2
November 14, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
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Day 84
Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 10:00 PM
🌙 48 °F
Altitude: 11,982 ft
Bolivia Uyuni -20.38833, -66.9920°23’18” S 66°59’24” W
77. Bolivia - Salar de Uyuni 3
November 14, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ 🌙 48 °F
TravelerThanks Karen for sharing your journey!
11/16/19Reply
TravelerWe're having a blast Mike - thanks for following!
11/17/19Reply
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Day 86
Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 68 °F
Altitude: 12,044 ft
Bolivia Uyuni Airport -20.45796, -66.8270220°27’29” S 66°49’37” W
78. Bolivia - the Laguna Route
November 16, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
The Laguna Route is a passage from Uyuni in southwest Bolivia to San Pedro Chile, located at the North end of the Atacama Desert.

The route is mostly sandy dirt and rocks, aptly named for the spectacular colorful lakes that you pass along the way.

It took us about 8 hours, including one stop for lunch and to reduce the air on the tires for the ride, to get to the first lake. Here are some pix before we reached the lake.Read more
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Day 86
Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 3:00 PM
⛅ 46 °F
Altitude: 14,052 ft
Bolivia Provincia Sud Lípez -22.22, -67.7983322°13’12” S 67°47’54” W
79. Bolivia-Laguna Route-Laguna Colorado
November 16, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
Laguna Colorado is a shallow salt lake on the Laguna Route. It's depth runs between 14 & 60 inches, depending on the season.

The Laguna is all about the color and the almost extinct puna flamingos.
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Day 86
Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 6:00 PM
⛅ 45 °F
Altitude: 14,219 ft
Bolivia Provincia Sud Lípez -22.26333, -67.8166722°15’48” S 67°49’0” W
80. Bolivia - Laguna Route - Hostel
November 16, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
Craig and I had originally expected we may be camping out at night on the Laguna Trail. We were delighted to learn that there were some simple accomodations in the area.

We located a set of very basic hostels about 5 miles from Laguna Colorado. No town, just these crumbling brick buildings, specifically for Laguna Colorado visitors. But, there were dormitory rooms with 4 walls, 2 beds & a shared bathroom, and that sure beats dropping a sleeping bag on the floor of a tent, so we were grateful.

$9 for the room, $3 each for dinner (first time I ever tasted llama), and $1.50 for breakfast.Read more
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Day 87
Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 2:00 PM
☁️ 43 °F
Altitude: 15,958 ft
Bolivia Sol de Mañana -22.43, -67.7533322°25’48” S 67°45’12” W
81. Bolivia-LR-Sol de Manana Springs
November 17, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
Continuing on the next morning, we stopped to check out a goethermal area called Sol de Manana (morning sun) Springs. It extends over 10 sq. km and is filled with mud lakes and steam pools.
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Day 87
Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 4:00 PM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: 15,791 ft
Bolivia Provincia Sud Lípez -22.36667, -67.7822°22’0” S 67°46’48” W
82. Bolivia- more Laguna Route pix
November 17, 2019 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
The last of our journey through the Laguna Route before crossing the border to Chile
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Day 87
Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 6:00 PM
⛅ 82 °F
Altitude: 3,868 ft
Argentina Salta -24.79051, -65.4195424°47’26” S 65°25’10” W
83. Chile - San Pedro
November 17, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
We end of the amazing Laguna Route put us on the doorstep of Chile. We crossed the border with ease, and landed in a little town called San Pedro.
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Day 90
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 10:00 AM
☀️ 81 °F
Altitude: 3,855 ft
Argentina Salta -24.79037, -65.4195324°47’25” S 65°25’10” W
84. Change of Plans - off to Argentina
November 20, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Due to all of the demonstrations and roadblocks in Bolivia, we were forced to cut out many of the Bolivian cities from our itinerary, and ended up in Chile about 10 days ahead of schedule.

Chile is plagued with political unrest as well, so rather than fight it by heading down the Chilean coast, we scooted over to Argentina. I do have a flight home from the Chilean capital of Santiago on Dec 4, where the political demonstrations are focused, but we're hoping tensions subside before then, so I can get to the airport. If we can't drive through Chile safely, I may have to grab a flight from Argentina to Chile, just to get access to the Santiago airport. Geez. (Btw - when I mention this to my youngest sister, she just says "Well, that's what you signed up for, right?". And yup, she's right)

In the meantime, we went north in Argentina to a town called Humahuaca, which is described as "a painter's palette of color on barren hillsides". Enjoy the astounding colors of the mountains in these pix - they are not touched up.Read more
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Day 94
Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 12:00 PM
⛅ 64 °F
Altitude: 10,233 ft
Argentina Cachi -25.23333, -65.9416725°13’60” S 65°56’30” W
85. Argentina - Salta to Cafayate
November 24, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Today's travels took us from Salta City to the wine region of Cafayate. If you're tired of the mountain pix, just skip this step. For some reason, when we're driving through them, my camera finger gets trigger happy!

Tomorrow - wine tasting.Read more
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Day 99
Friday, November 29, 2019 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 79 °F
Altitude: 2,523 ft
Argentina Mendoza -32.88451, -68.849632°53’4” S 68°50’59” W
86. Argentina - Mendoza
November 29, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Love Mendoza! Greater Mendoza is a city of almost 2 million people. Strolling through the streets, I feel like I'm in a mini version of NYC (without the skyline). The city of 21 sq miles is lined with shops, restaurants, bars, and plenty of accommodation options. There's no shortage of plazas and small parks as well.

The main industries here are olive oil and wine production, with a focus on Malbecs. We took a wine tour at 2 wineries, including Domiciano Winery, with a mostly Spanish speaking group. I connected with an old friendly woman who walked with a cane. I think she got hammered pretty fast. I didn't understand a word she said, but she made a joke and laughed, and I laughed too. (Maybe I was a little hammered as well?)Read more
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12/1/19Reply
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Day 99
Friday, November 29, 2019 at 6:00 PM
☀️ 91 °F
Altitude: 2,490 ft
Argentina Mendoza -32.885, -68.8416732°53’6” S 68°50’30” W
87. Argentina - Mendoza 2
November 29, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F
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Day 101
Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 3:00 PM
☀️ 48 °F
Altitude: 7,592 ft
Argentina Río Colorado -32.82833, -69.7116732°49’42” S 69°42’42” W
88. Mendoza Argentina to Santiago Chile
December 1, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F
The sights on the drive from Mendoza across the border back to Chile included the mighty Aconcagua, the highest peak in North/South America, as well as several ski resorts. Portillo Resort is famous for Inca Lake that waits to punish any out of control skiers with an icy bath. Lends a new sense of urgency to the phrase "ski in control"!Read more
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Day 103
Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 12:00 PM
☀️ 72 °F
Altitude: 36 ft
Chile Caleta Osas -32.99667, -71.5483332°59’48” S 71°32’54” W
89. Chile - Santiago & Vina del Mar
December 3, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
My last stop in South America before I head home!

Because of more political unrest and protestor demonstrations, Santiago was a bit of a bust for us. At the suggestion of the concierge, Craig and I set off on a day trip to Vina del Mar and the coast. It was a casual day of people watching at the beach and on the peatones, along with lunch overlooking the water. Truthfully I think both of us had our minds on the changes that would occur Thursday, with me travelling back to the States and Craig continuing south on his own.Read more
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Day 105
Thursday, December 5, 2019 at 7:01 AM
☁️ 28 °F
Altitude: 6,414 ft
United States Lookout Point 39.3809, -119.685939°22’51” N 119°41’9” W
90. HOME
December 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 28 °F
On Wednesday evening, Craig accompanied me on the shuttle from our hotel to the airport, where I was scheduled to catch an 11 hour redeye flight from Santiago to LAX, with a 7 hour layover before my connection to Reno. All went well and I'm home safe and sound.Read more
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Trip end
December 3, 2019