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Hidden Gems of South America

By Witt Sparks on May 23, 2016

Sometimes travel is all about expectations. If you go somewhere because travel websites or guidebooks talked it up and you’re expecting amazement, beware – it may not be all you’ve built it up to be!

Here are some places that for us were just the opposite – we stumbled on them because we happened to be nearby or someone mentioned them to us in passing. You probably wouldn’t fly all the way from North America or Europe to visit some of these spots, but if you’re in the area they’re worth a detour!

Salinas, Ecuador

If you Google Salinas, Ecuador, you’ll get images of a seaside resort city billed as the “ultimate retirement destination.” I’m sure it’s nice there, but that’s not the place that I’m talking about. Search instead for “Salinas de Bolivar” or “Salinas de Guaranda” and you’ll find a tiny hamlet nestled in the highlands of Central Ecuador.

Many of the locals here work in cooperatives making cheese, chocolate, and salami. There are no campgrounds in town, so we camped in the parking lot of the cheese factory, and the next morning saw the farmers from the surrounding countryside delivering milk jugs strapped to donkeys and llamas. The factory offered a variety of yummy European-style cheeses. Some have even dubbed this town “The Cheese Capitol of Ecuador“.

Morning milk delivery

Chocolate is also made in Salinas, and we stocked up on several bars of dark chocolate for about half the normal price.

Instead of going back the way we came, we continued on the dirt road as it climbed higher into the Andes, eventually crossing Highway 491 to enter Chimborazo National Park. This was a pretty drive, even though it was an overcast day. On a clear day the views of the volcano would be spectacular.

Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Located a few hours from Bogota, Villa de Leyva is a popular weekend destination for people from that city. With a sunny, cool high altitude climate and lots of nearby attractions including hiking in a nearby national park, mountain biking the back roads of the valley, and several cultural and paleontology attractions, Villa de Leyva is a great place to unwind for a day or a month.

Villa de Leyva is set in a rural valley, surrounded by mountains with great hiking as well as cultural attractions.

The Salt Cathedral — Zipaquirá, Colombia

This mine has been actively exploited since pre-Columbian times, and is still in production today using modern automated techniques to extract salt from the underground rock structure. In colonial times the work was done using traditional methods, and miners began carving altars and crosses out of the rock to help increase their likelihood of surviving this dangerous occupation.

Over time these carvings became more and more elaborate, and eventually evolved into the tourist attraction that it is today. The underground setting is spectacular, and the lighting makes the whole thing a stunning underground tour.

The cross in the background is 170 feet high.

Colonia, Uruguay

Just across the river from Buenos Aires, Uruguay is like a diamond in the rough. High fuel prices and an apparent relative lack of corruption mean the highway quality is consistently top-notch.

The town of Colonia is a great place to visit for a day or two. A well-preserved walled city in the center features shady, cobbled streets, waterfront restaurants and lots of museums. It’s the kind of place that invites an afternoon of strolling the streets taking in the sights and wondering at the inexplicable derelict cars from the fifties and sixties that dot the roadways.

The streets of Colonia feature sidewalk restaurants, shade trees, and classic cars

Urubici, Brazil

We spent a few rainy days here, and enjoyed ourselves none the less. Located in the highlands, this region is one of the few parts of Brazil that receives snow in winter, and people visit here just to have a one-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing the white stuff, even if it is just an inch or two of heavy wet snow.

Even if folks from the US, Canada, and Europe might scoff at the snow, Urubici is still worth visiting for its great hiking in beautiful scenery.

This overlook is near the highest point in Brazil. It was foggy and overcast, but beautiful nonetheless.

San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina

This was one of those places that just felt like home to us. Located in the mountains of Central Patagonia along the Argentina’s famous Ruta 40, San Martin, according to locals, is what Bariloche was 30 years ago.

With a ski area nearby, hiking trails, and judging by the number of bikes for sale, lots of mountain biking, San Martin would be on our short list of places to visit again.

With mountain biking and skiing, San Martin felt just like home.

The Carretera Austral, Chile

Stretching 770 miles through rural Patagonia, this mostly unpaved route passes through some of the most picturesque scenery found anywhere. The area is remote and very sparsely populated with farmers and ranchers who must be largely self-sufficient due to the long travel times in the area. There are fantastic camping opportunities everywhere, and numerous hikes access alpine lakes and glaciers.

The area is also known for as a world-class fly fishing destination, and an handful of high-end lodges cater to foreigners on fishing holidays.

If you go, budget at least 10 days to explore this amazing region!

Between the rough roads and the nonstop photo opportunities, progress was slow, but it gave us time to enjoy the amazing scenery.

Trinidade Beach, Brazil

We originally planned this as a one or two night stopover, but between the beautiful beach and enjoying time with our friends from Adventure Trio, it quickly stretched into four days.

We believe that this section of Brazil’s coastline is littered with many more beautiful beaches, but we couldn’t pull ourselves away from this one to find out for sure.

One afternoon we walked to a restaurant and enjoyed a 3 hour meal with our toes in the sand.

Casa Nacional de la Moneda — Potosí, Bolivia

Potosí has been a silver mining town for hundreds of years, and it’s said that enough silver was pulled out of the mountain there to build a silver bridge all the way to Spain. Coins minted at the Potosí mint found their way to all corners of the globe.

Today co-op miners still risk their lives to pull out enough ore to support their families, but the mine’s heyday is long past. One of the best museums that we visited in South America pays tribute to that heritage. Located in the building that formerly housed the mint, the giant mule-driven silver pressing machines can still be seen. An excellent guided tour explained the regions history in detail.

This museum makes a trip to the otherwise somewhat bleak town of Potosi worthwhile.

This complex wooden gearing is a mule-driven press dating back 250 years. It’s still in the same location as when it was constructed.

Parque Cretácico (Dinosaur Park) — Sucre, Bolivia

Sucre, just a few hours from Potosi, is a much nicer place to spend time. It’s the constitutional capital of Bolivia (La Paz is home to most government administrative functions) and is the source of most of the political activism in the country. With a sunny climate and markets featuring a variety of fresh foods, Sucre is a good place to relax for a few days.

Dinosaur footprints were discovered during excavation at a local cement factory just outside the city, and a museum was built to showcase this amazing find. The story goes that roughly 70 million years ago, a flat muddy plain was traversed by all types of dinosaurs, including the gigantic brontosaurus. As layers of mud covered previous tracks, new tracks were laid over the old ones. Eventually geological forces folded this plain, and today visitors can stand at the bottom of a 300 foot high vertical wall and visualize dinosaurs walking across the ancient mud flat.

This is the rock face where the footprints are. Imagine this as a mud plain 70 million years ago with dinosaurs walking across it. Then through geological movements it was crushed into a V shape. There’s no telling how far down it goes, and the other half exists somewhere nearby.

This entry is filed under Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador. | 1 Comment

The Best of South America

By Witt Sparks on April 17, 2016

This post was prompted by someone filling out the contact form on our website. It always makes us feel good when we hear that other people find our travels interesting, especially those planning their own trips!

So without further ado, these are some of the highlights of our travels in South America

Galapagos Islands

Wildlife so thick they have to stack it.

Investigating whale bones

Yes, it was a lot of money (about three months worth of our normal budget) but it was so cool. I’ve never been anywhere before that you had to be careful where you walk because you might accidentally step on the wildlife. From arid moonscapes of hardened lava covering entire islands to lush, cloud covered volcanic peaks, the archipelago is justifiably famous.

We lived aboard a smaller tour boat with about 10 other guests for a week. It was great to relax and not have to worry about shopping and cooking for a little while, and the tours on the islands were varied and educational.

Quinn enjoyed a week out of the van, and the other guests on the trip were very friendly and welcoming toward him. It’s definitely a part of the trip we’ll always remember fondly!

Traveling with Friends

Time with friends and family is precious

Long term travel can be lonely at times, even for a family. We treasured the times we were able to spend time with new friends, meet up with old friends, and especially when our families made the extra effort to join us for a part of our journey.

Patagonia

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the views.

Being from Colorado, we love the outdoors. We’re most at home in the mountains, hiking, biking, or just soaking the alpine sun and fresh air. You’d think that when the time comes to take a vacation, we’d want to do something we can’t do at home – go to the beach or experience city life. On the contrary, some of our most enjoyable vacations have been when we travel somewhere to be in the mountains.

It’s no surprise, then, that we loved Patagonia. With another beautiful lakeside camping spot around every turn and small mountain villages that made us want to rent a house and move in, Central Patagonia reminded us of home. And perhaps that’s what we needed after two years away.

Peninsula Valdez, Argentina

Another sunset from our campsite.

One of the best things about overlanding is the ability to camp in remote places – you never have to get back to your hotel at the end of the day because your hotel is with you all the time. And some of the best places are wild camps. Just find a level spot on the beach and call it home for the night. Or for the week.

Peninsula Valdez is one of our favorite such spots. Somewhat remote and desolate, its numerous sheltered bays serve as home to mother whales and the calves while the babies are taught how to be whales. We spent four fantastic days camping on a beach on the peninsula. We played in the rocks, went for walks on the beach, and yes, watched the whales.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

With the cold air and the white salt, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for an actic landscape.

With the cold air and the white salt, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for an arctic landscape.

“Like nowhere else on Earth.” That’s the official tagline for a destination I’ve heard advertised on TV. But that’s exactly what comes to mind when you experience the world’s largest salt flat. Let your 7 year old drive? Sure. Leave your car in gear and jump out to walk alongside it? No problem. Get a 4 ton van up to 85mph? Yep – It’s the smoothest, flattest surfaced we’d driven on in months.

When the sun begins to dip below the horizon, the cold bites at your nose, and all you can see for miles is salt plus the occasional hill rising from the plain the scene looks like nothing so much as a frozen lake with islands in it. Bundle up in your down and walk out onto the salt to marvel at the bright red sunset, then retreat into to your cozy sleeping bag. It’s a harsh, yet spectacular environment.

Rio de Janero, Brazil

The view from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain makes it obvious why Rio is considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

Set on Brazil’s coastline and justifiably famous for it’s amazing beaches and backed by thousand foot jungle-clad cliffs, Rio is stunning. Views abound from the many lookouts including the famous Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain. On the subway it’s common to see people clad in business attire alongside beach-bound surfers. Topped off by a wide variety of international food and yet maintaining it’s laid-back atmosphere, Rio should be on every traveler’s hit list.

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

$This is a small fraction of the falls.$

This is a small fraction of the falls.

Off the beaten path it is certainly not, but there’s a reason why Iguazu is considered one of South America’s biggest tourist attractions. It’s not one single waterfall, it’s thousands of them covering a huge area. We spent two days there – one on the Argentina side and one on the Brazil side. Sure it was crowded and touristy, but we’re very happy to have seen this natural wonder for ourselves.

Cheap Wine

Aging at Domaine Bousquet

Last but certainly not least is the abundance of cheap wine in Chile and Argentina. Sold in the grocery stores everywhere, we quickly got used to a new price scale. Everyday bottle of good, drinkable wine? Less than $5. Want to splurge on a nice bottle of reserve malbec? $7-8. We visited the Domaine Bousquet vineyard outside of Mendoza and bought their grand reserve for about $10 per bottle after the case discount. We looked it up online while we were there, and a those bottles go for $24 in the States. I was at a liquor store this afternoon and bought an Argentinean bottle on sale for $12 that I paid $3.50 for there. Sigh. Enjoy it while you are there!

Jen and I discussed this post for awhile over dinner this evening and we agree that “best of” memories are very dependent on the situation. A ho-hum place can yield a great experience just by meeting a bunch of really cool people and having a good time together. A place that gets five stars on trip advisor might be the worst experience of the trip if you happen to get ripped off there.

We also, of course, came up with some great experiences that I missed here, including some specific museums and other places we visited. Stay tuned – that will be the subject of an upcoming post!

A big thank you to all of our readers, and especially to Diana who is planning her own trip and was the inspiration for this post! If you have a topic you’d like to see covered here, please let us know in the comments.

This entry is filed under Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador.

Through the Salar de Uyuni

By Witt on June 5, 2015

The night we camped by the old locomotives near Uyuni turned out to be the coldest night we’ve spent in the van, getting down to about 13 degrees F (-10C). We didn’t really expect that, since we were at lower elevation than in Potosi, and we didn’t run the heater.

We were fine in our down sleeping bags, but our water pipes froze! We were really worried that we’d broken something, but once everything thawed out we were relieved that no damage had been done.

We spent a few hours stocking up on food, fuel, and water for the next leg of our journey. We planned to drive out onto the salt flats, spend the night there, and then head south through a national park to enter Chile. From talking to other travelers, we expected the roads to be very rough and for the whole trip to take three to four days.

We were told we could find fuel in a couple of the towns along the way, but we filled our tank up to the neck and filled our 5 gallon jerry can as well. We also filled the tank that supplies fuel to our heater, expecting more cold nights.

The first 25km from Uyuni through the town of Colchane where the access to the Salar is was very rough, but once on the salt flats all was smooth sailing.

The salt flats are not mis-named. They’re flatter than most of the roads in Boliva, and you can go pretty much as fast as you want. It’s a lot like driving a boat. You pick a spot on the horizon and head for it. Who needs roads?!

Q gets his first driving lesson. We got the van up to 80mph out here!

Jen finds her bliss…

… And Quinn uses his dump truck to push the van out when we got stuck!

It’s really hard not to look at this as a frozen lake. We kept calling the salt ice, and we camped on an island.

We enjoyed an amazing sunset that evening, at least for as long as we could stand the cold.

The next day we re-filled our salt container.

Leaving the salt, we went from a perfectly smooth surface to a horrible road where we could only go 10-15 MPH. That lasted for a couple of hours before we reached a still-unpaved but much better road. We stopped in the town of San Cristobal where we had been told we could get fuel, only to be told, “No hay. Mañana?” (“There isn’t any. Tomorrow?”) We were glad we’d filled up our jerry can, and after we had the salt washed from the underside of the van we carried on.

Because of the cold weather and high altitude, we decided to skip the southern part of our planned route past Laguna Colorado and take the shorter and easier route directly into Chile. We camped that night in the Valley of the Rocks.

There were dirt piles at the campsite, which are second only to wifi in making for a great camp.

There were dirt piles at the campsite, which to Quinn are second only to wifi in making for a great camp.

The next morning we enjoyed a spectacular sunrise with a full moon setting over the mountains.

We passed many lakes and salt flats on our way into Chile the next day. This one even featured flamingos.

This entry is filed under Bolivia, Chile. | 6 Comments

The Origin of the Almighty $

By Witt on June 1, 2015

One thing I took away from the month we spent in Bolivia is that they’re a very proud and patriotic people. Evo Morales, their current president, is loathed in Washington because he continually refuses to take loans and give away the country’s resources in exchange for perks and bribes like so many other Latin American leaders have done over the course of the past 50 years. His people seem to be very proud of him for that stance, and Bolivia may be better off for it.

We were fortunate enough to be in Sucre for Bolivia’s independence day celebrations. Sucre was one of the first cities to gain independence from Spain, in 1825, and it’s citizens are very proud of that. That pride showed in the three days of celebrations.

The start of one of the many marching bands parading through the city to mark the celebrations.

This long procession wound past our campground. We could hear it, and ran down the street to watch.

We got to visit Sucre’s Liberty Bell, which features its very own crack.

Sucre is famous as the “White City.”

Sucre had a great central market, featuring fruit from the jungle regions of the country and eggs and cheese from the highlands.

Quinn found this fuzzy caterpillar in our campground. At first I thought he was going to eat it like a brochette!

One of the city’s many plazas hosted a pick-up soccer game on a Friday afternoon.

We departed Sucre for Potosi on Saturday. Potosi is a silver mining town with a long history, having supplied Spain with silver since the 1500s. The Spanish crown set up a mint soon after the silver was discovered, and the coins produced there became the world’s first international currency. The museum showed the entire history of making coins from the early crude hand-stamped coins up through the modern techniques employed before the mint was finally closed in the 1950s.

The mint mark for the Potosi mint was a P, T, S, and i superimposed on each other. According to our guide, this is where our modern $ symbol originates.

This complex wooden gearing is a mule-driven press dating back 250 years. It’s still in the same location as when it was constructed.

Potosi is still a mining town today.

From Potosi we headed southwest toward the dusty outpost of Uyuni, gateway to the famous salt flats that bear it’s name and have the distinction of being the flattest place on earth. On the way we stopped to visit another ghost town, again complete with rusting locomotives.

Just outside of Uyuni is a locomotive graveyard, a must-see attraction for us. It was pretty surreal, and we spent the afternoon exploring the wrecks. We even decided to camp among the rusting hulks.

No safety rules here. We could climb around on the rusting locomotives to our heart’s content.

The setting sun amongst the aging giants made for a spectacular sight.

We enjoyed a full moon camped in the desert.

This entry is filed under Bolivia. | 3 Comments

Sucre, Bolivia

By Witt on May 23, 2015

After crossing the border into Bolivia, our next stop was to be the city of Sucre where we intended to stay and work.

We had a choice of routes and weren’t sure which was better, and in the end followed the main road to La Paz as far as we could before turning off toward Sucre. The road was mostly dirt after that, but they’re in the process of paving it and most of it was pretty fast and we enjoyed the scenery.

The road we took to Sucre was an unexpected surprise, winding through beautiful countryside.

We saw many ruins of small churches along the way. They tended to be set by themselves in the countryside rather than being in a village. They were strangely captivating.

We stopped to take pictures and explore one of them.

The roof was caved in, but you could still see the altar in the back with simple carvings.

Our first night in Bolivia was spent in a bush camp along a side road. There weren’t many people about, but those that were looked at our van with great curiosity.

The next day we passed through the dusty town of Oruro where we re-fueled. That night we made it to some thermal baths we had read about. Quinn and I enjoyed a swim in the warm waters.

Quinn’s first bath in awhile…

There was a whole lake that was warmed by the hot springs and in the morning the steam rose off the water into the chilly air.

The next morning we drove to the town of Potosi, the site of a huge silver mine. We wanted to visit a silver museum and mint in the town, but when we tried to get into the only parking lot we could find, we were told that the man with the key was still asleep. At least he wasn’t dead.

With no place to park, and since we have to come back through Potosi on our way to the Salar de Uyuni, we decided to head to Sucre. When we arrived, we found a great campsite, but poor internet connections. With winter coming and temperatures in the Salar dropping with each passing week, we decided to only stay two weeks, and to live in the van instead of renting an apartment for a month.

We were happy we did, as we got to meet lots of other travelers there.

Our first sightseeing trip was to a local dinosaur park. It was really well done and Quinn had a great time.

The park was conceived when a local cement factory was digging for raw materials and uncovered this sheer rock face covered in dinosaur footprints.

10,000 footprints have been cataloged, making this the largest dinosaur footprint site in the world.

A Swiss visitor to the campsite brought out his alpenhorn and played a little for us. Yes, he kept an alpenhorn in his camper.

Another Swiss family arrived a few days later. Quinn had a great few days playing with their daughters.

The city of Sucre was one of the first cities in Latin America to gain independence from Spain. It is still the official capital of Bolivia, even though the seat of government is in La Paz.

The climate here is similar to Colorado in the fall. The skies are vivid blue and the sun warms things up during the day following chilly nights.

This entry is filed under Bolivia.