Jungle Tours, Scrabble and Machu Picchu

Mom and Allie came down to visit with me in Bolivia. We headed up to Lake Titicaca for the first few days. Then we headed into the jungle for 4 days. The pictures are lacking on my end because Allie and Mom took most of them.

Boat riding down the Beni River on the way to the lodge. We stayed at the Chalalan Lodge which is a community run and owned lodge it was great! Here is the link.... http://www.chalalan.com/chalalan_ing/home.asp
We were able to see loads of wildlife; birds, monkeys, snakes, HUGE ants, etc.
After Mom left, Allie and I headed up to Peru. First stop Machu Picchu/Cusco. Here is the infamous Banoffee Pie with of course a scrabble game. Who travels without scrabble?

Sun rise at Machu Picchu, absolutely stunning.
Pre-sunrise Machu Picchu shot.


After Machu Picchu we took an overnight bus to see the Nasca Lines and then headed up the coast to Ica/Huacachina. We spent three days poolside reading in the middle of a desert. Greatly needed warmth and sun.

Salt Flats

After Southern Chile, I headed to San Pedro de Atacama in the north to see an area known as the salt flats. The only way to see these areas is to take a tour through to Bolivia (where they actually are).

We got up early one morning to watch the sunrise on the salt flats. Look at the cool patterns that the salt makes on the ground. It feels exactly like walking on ice/snow it was wierd to think it was salt. The salt is 10 meters thick in some areas!

Here is wiki to help us out again : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni

Where else in the world can you find cactus, salt flats, mountains and snow?

Izzie, Beth, Trevor and I freezing our asses off in the early morning but enjoying the beauty!
Jump shot!
Playing cards, a major part of every backpacker´s life.

Lago Azul.....literally translated means blue lake....orginal I know. It is quite pretty though.

The terrain in Southern Bolivian changed so quickly from mountains to the salt flats to dry arid areas, it was too cool.

Next up pictures from my adventures with Trish Dish and Allie Kat! (mom and sister)

Torres del Paine and Punta Arenas

After leaving the beautiful nation of Argentina for the last time and headed over to Chile! First stop, Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park.

Most people who head to Torres del Paine do a 5 day trek but we arrived at the wrong time of year so we just spent one day at the park. It was not the sunniest day possible nor the warmest but we still enjoyed ourselves.

It was a bit windy, in fact probably the windiest weather I have ever experienced.

The ¨Blue Lake¨ with some of Torres del Paine´s natural creatures. The lake is so blue from suspended particles.
A view of the city of Punta Arenas.

On the road again...............a very long road through Patagonia

The very long road to Patagonia. After finishing three weeks of classes in Bariloche I headed south. First to a small town called El Bolson for a few days. I spent my time hiking and enjoying the beautiful fall foliage Patagnia has to offer!

La Cabeza del Indio...an Indian head that has naturally formed in a rock face in El Bolson.

The view out of the bus on my 33 hour journey to El Chelten. It was monotonous to say the least.

At the end of my journey.........so worth it! Beautiful El Chelten in Los Glaciares National Park. We spent 5 days doing day hikes and seeing the beautiful Fitzroy Mountains. I was also able to visit Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the few advancing glaciers in the world.

FItzroy Range. It is a bit chilly here believe it or not, but I am still enjoying each minute.

Saad, Will, Anna and I at the end of our hike up to the Fitzroy Range. Such a beautiful sight, totally worth the 9 hours it took roundtrip. We totally lucked out on weather for the day with sun and very little wind!

Our view during lunch at the top.

The view from the visitor´s center.

Afternoon shot during a hike on day.

Making use of my headlamp! (Thank you Regina and Steve!)

Fitzroy Range from behind Laguna de Cerro.

Perito Moreno Glacier. It´s huge. 5 Kilometers wide, 13 kilometers long and 60 meters high!

Two men having a chat with the glacier in the background.

It is so hard to convey how big the glacier truly is. Every day bits crash into the waters below creating a most amazing sound. I always seemed to miss the bits of ice falling only to hear people go wow!!!!

Lake in El Calafate at sunset.

Black and White shot.

I am a long way from home for sure!

Nice artsy picture of me taken by Anna.

Mas, mas, mas Bariloche

Yesterday some friends and I rented a car. Bariloche is the captial of the Lakes Region in Patagonia and we drove around to explore a bit.

We stopped here for lunch, sure beats the office hey??

Post lunch mate that we have all become fond of. Will and Chris seem to be our resident experts, although I was taught the techniques by a couch sufer last night! You all be ready to drink some mate when I get home!

Random stop along the way, beauty and more beauty!

The Bariloche adventurers- Will, Anna, Chris, Tin and Myself. As you can see both by the snow on the mountains and our clothes, winter has definitly hit Bariloche. Send warm thoughts and clothes!

Another random stop, it is so beautiful here.

As the sun was begining to set on our way home, notice the moon just begining to show it´s face.

The road back into Bariloche.