Discovering South America

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Trip start
September 20, 2019
Discovering South America
Lima - The Grey
September 21, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
First day and the first 20 km walking around Lima. We have seen several nice parks, spotted few colorful birds, went to the the pre-Inca ruins and tried the street Picarones (Peruvian donuts) which I will probably “try” again tomorrow 😁
The city is really alive and in the evening the Magic Water Circuit show is a must see.
Tomorrow we have a new challenge...driving... 😝Read more
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Discovering South America
Driving challenge
September 22, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
After driving 270 km through quite a remote and deprived area of Peru, we were no longer sure of what was expecting us at the destination. 😳 😱 But Paracas was not disappointing at all and we had a great dinner with a sunset view. Now all that remains is to get accommodated with the -7 hours jet lag as tomorrow we have a full day ahead of sightseeing... 😁Read more
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Discovering South America
Ballestas Islands
September 23, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We decided to take a boat tour and visit the Ballestas Islands. Just 20 minutes drive with a spead boat and you are surrounded by birds, penguins and sea lions. It is a great place especially if you have a zoom lens with you. 🤓
But of course there is also a downside as the guanoo smell and bumpy waives can make your face a bit green 🤣😝 And don’t forget suncream as otherwise you will have a crab face just like us 🤩🥵Read more
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Discovering South America
Beautiful remote beaches
September 24, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Visiting Paracas National Reserve....
Instead of taking a tour, we decided to drive on our own and avoid the touristic rush hour...
Maybe it was sometimes a bit difficult to drive as we were not sure where the road is, but otherwise you feel like driving on the moon and being completely alone 😁 This is a place where we could spend a whole day strolling along the coast and the beautiful beaches. ☀️🏖Read more
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Discovering South America
An oasis or a touristic pond?!
September 24, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
After a long drive with the only delight being some tasty and fresh churros, we reached this extremely touristic oasis/pond located in Huacachina.To be honest we were a bit disappointed...😞 The dunes are really high and nice but everything around the oasis is made in such a kitsch way...
Nevertheless, we had some fun while riding the quads...Read more
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Discovering South America
Back to Paracas National Park
September 25, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Before starting back to Lima, we had to visit again this beautiful national park. We spent first half of the day in the company of birds, we’ve seen dolphins and even had a funny adventure with a pelican that got too close.... 😊
It was a great way to relax before starting the 4h drive. Another thing... we learned that there is almost no rule applicable for driving, you just need to have the headlights on 24/7... and even if you do so, police is still stopping you to have a short chat and try to pronounce our names 😂😁Read more
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Discovering South America
Long expected - Machu Picchu
September 27, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
It took us a while to get there...
1. Delayed flight as the aircraft had to be changed due to technical issues
2. Train to Aguas Calientes in the early morning
3. Rustic bus to reach Machu Picchu

But we got there and we were lucky with the weather. 😊 The archeological site is impressive...and it was the best decision to go with the last entry time as there were not many tourists. We enjoyed wandering around for more than 3 hours and even made some alpaca friends 🦙😁😊
For sure it was one of the highlights of our trip 😊Read more
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Discovering South America
Gateway to Machu Picchu
September 28, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Aguas Calientes is the doorway to Machu Picchu and as such, a necessary stop before visiting the Inca ruins. In this touristic and labyrinthine place we found a small and cozy restaurant that had great food and a friendly waiter that gave us advices regarding the local insects (they were quite aggressive during that day).

There are not a lot of things that you can do in this place that exists for one reason only... catering for tourists that want to strike Machu Picchu off their bucket list. 😳

After a bit of research on the few activities that can be done in Aguas Calientes, we decided to see the Butterfly House, a conservation project where locals ensure that different butterfly species and humming birds are winning the battle against pollution.Read more
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Discovering South America
High altitude experience
September 29, 2019 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Cusco is a nice city at 3450m altitude, surrounded by high mountains. Arriving at the hotel was a bit shocking as there were guests in the lobby with oxygen masks... luckily we did not have such an experience even if we struggled a bit in the first day with the side effects of high altitude.

We had a nice time, days were sunny, food was great (especially the alpaca 🦙) and people always friendly... we even got back the Canon zoom lens that we forgot in the hotel by mistake 😳... (that was quite a shock) 🤪😁Read more
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Discovering South America
Valparaiso - a maze of hills
October 2, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
We reached this place after a rough and long day as we landed in Antofagasta airport due to a medical emergency. This situation is understandable but in the end we had to spend 10 hours in this small airport without possibility of exchanging money, of having a working cash machine or wifi.

Valparaiso surprised us with the bohemian and colorful clifftop buildings that are at every turn and exceptionally friendly people. Even if we were tired, we enjoyed discovering the maze of artistic expressions and it would had been great to have 1-2 days more to spend in this place.Read more
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Discovering South America
Lagoon day
October 4, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C
One of the highlights of the Atacama desert are the Miscanti and Miniques Lagoons. These two lakes were separated by an eruption of the Miniques volcano.

The way to this beautiful place at 4140m altitude was full of surprises: we have seen wild ostriches, guanacos and it even started to snow (not the first thing that comes in my mind when I think of a desert).Read more
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Discovering South America
El Tatio geysers
October 5, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ -5 °C
What could be a better reason for waking up in the early morning then driving to El Tatio geysers, the third largest geyser field in the world and located at an altitude of 4320m. 😁
The curvy road was a bit difficult especially due to the condition of the “street” and darkness but it was worth it. Best time to visit this place is before sunrise as there are not so many tourists around and especially as the steam of the geysers is amplified by the outside temperature of -10 degrees.
On the way back the landscape was beautiful (we could see where we are actually driving) and thus we had good reasons to make several stops...Read more
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Discovering South America
Moon and Death valley
October 6, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
We were thinking that staying 4 nights in the Atacama desert will be a bit too much. But we took the chance and honestly it would had been nice to have 1-2 days more and see all the places.

Moon valley was a highlight and also a great spot to watch the sunset 🌅. It felt really nice to be at 24 degrees, with short pants and t-shirt and of course lots of suncream as we wanted to avoid the previous crab experience 😝😁

This day was full of landscape photos and hiking up and down on sand dunes and canyons. For sure we still need to work a bit on our selfie skills (or maybe just mine) 😁Read more
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Discovering South America
Unfortunately last day in Atacama desert
October 7, 2019 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
As everything comes to an end, this was our last day in Atacama desert and we made the most out of it. We had again nice weather and this time even no wind.

During the day we visited Laguna Chaxa where we have seen some flamingos and other birds in the middle of the desert...and not to forget about the donkeys that were blocking our way while driving in a canyon. The most challenging part was waking up at 3:30 for taking photos of the milky way and do some stargazing.Read more
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Discovering South America
Surprising city
October 10, 2019 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
In the middle of Buenos Aires we discovered a natural reserve with an abundance of birds living peacefully next to the rush of the city.

The city felt a bit under stress as most of the locals were carrying their bags or backpacks in front, like they need to really protect their belongings. We were also advised to avoid specific touristic areas during late evening as they seemed not to be that safe. Somehow all these “advices” and situations gave us a bit of unrest...but everything went smoothly. 😊

And of course, a steak 🥩 is a must when you are in Argentina... it was really delicious 😁Read more
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Discovering South America
South America highlights
October 11, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
South America left us with a nice feeling, with the great food, friendly people (especially in Chile) and the beautiful places that we visited. Even if we traveled 32.000 km by plane and car, in the end we have just seen some spots as there are still many places to visit and discover.

Our highlights were Paracas with the beautiful natural reserve and amazing beaches and a wide variety of birds, Machu Picchu that is a must at least once in a lifetime and Atacama desert that is full of canyons and unexpected fauna. We have seen wild animals (dolphins, birds, alpacas, lamas, guanacos, ostriches and many more) in their own environment which for sure is not comparable with any zoo we have visited before.

Unfortunately we had also a bit of a hard time with altitude in the first day in Cusco, a delayed flight and a medical emergency landing that led to 9 hours spent in a small airport.

All in all, South America gave us a great experience and adventure that for sure will remain the highlight of 2019.Read more
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Trip end
October 11, 2019