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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.

So How Was the Trip?

By Witt Sparks on November 30, 2015

Whenever you come back from a trip everyone always asks, “How was your trip?” I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, trying to figure out how to answer it, and realized I can’t. When you go on vacation you and all of your friends back home have the expectation that the vacation will be “Great” or “Awesome.” That’s why you went on vacation, right? Because you want a break from the routine, a short period of time where every day is amazing.

When you’re away for longer than a month or so, every day can’t be amazing. The “trip” starts to become “life.” There are highs and lows, good days and bad, just like at home. So how was the trip? It was life, differently. Or as another group of travelers called it, “Life Remotely.”

What I can say is that over the past two and a half years we’ve covered over 40,000 miles in our van. That in itself isn’t amazing – the average car in the United States travels almost the same distance. What I think is cool is that almost none of our miles were ever the same twice. During our life pre-trip, they almost all were. That means that most days we were seeing or doing something new, going somewhere we’d never been before. So yeah, that was pretty amazing.

Enough waxing philosophical, time to get on with the show – our last road segment in South America!

On the way down the pass into Argentina we stopped to look at what we call “Old Train Stuff.” This was a snow plow for clearing the line that once ran over the pass.

Looking back at the Andes from the East

Sunset from our campsite in the town of Uspallata

The next day we drove to Mendoza and spent a day there just relaxing – we realized it had been a couple of weeks since we’d stayed in the same campground for more than one night. We couldn’t leave Mendoza without visiting a winery. There are so many you could spend a lifetime and not see them all, so on the advice of our friends from Buenos Aires we choose Domaine Bousquet, one of the few organic vineyards in the region.

Wine tasting (and train drawing) at Domaine Bousquet

From there it took about three more days to reach Buenos Aires. We spent an afternoon driving around looking for the parts we needed to build the security wall in the van for shipping, then headed for Herman Zapp’s house where we’d stayed way back in June. Herman and his family have been traveling the world in a classic car for the past 8 years and are currently in the Middle East. Eduardo and Clarita, who live in and care for the house for the Zapp family, organize parties for a living and since it’s they’re busy time of year they unfortunately were away from home during our stay. But they generously allowed us to use their house which made it much easier to pack up for the transition from “van life” to “backpack life” and to get the van ready for shipping.

On a Monday we said a sad farewell to the Sparksmobile, our home for the past two and a half years, as we left it sitting a the port in Zarate waiting for a boat to take it to Jacksonville, Florida.

Now toting our backpacks, we took a bus to an apartment we found on Craigslist in the Recoleta district of downtown Buenos Aires. It was nice to be able to visit a city without the stress of trying to find a place to park the van!

This two hundred year old rubber tree provides welcome shade for a plaza.

We tried again to visit the BA train museum. It was closed again, this time to repaint the floors. Fortunately there was one engine outside that we could look at.

We took the metro to the end of the line at the town of Tigre.

The train station in Buenos Aires reminded me of European stations.

Tease: After ordering a sampler at a local microbrewery, I decided on a pint of the IPA. Sorry, only enough of the IPA left to serve samples. What!?

One of the main tourist attractions in Recoleta is the cemetery. Argentina’s rich and famous are buried there, including the famous former first lady of Argentina, Eva Perón.

The cemetery features ornate marble structures. Each tomb houses caskets from an individual family.

We visited a couple of children’s museums in Buenos Aires. Quinn learns to be a checker at a grocery store.

Or maybe a McDonald’s employee is more to his liking. All the french fries you can eat!

After a few days in Buenos Aires, we boarded a plane for Santiago, where we would spend the rest of our time before heading to Philly for Christmas. The flight was KLM, and it was great! Plenty of leg room even in the cheap economy seats, on demand in-flight entertainment, and OJ imported all the way from Holland (and probably made with Spanish or Moroccan oranges)!

Instead of staying in the city of Santiago, we decided to rent an apartment through AirBnB in Valparaiso on the coast. Our apartment is on the 17th floor giving us an amazing view of the city and the harbor. Valparaiso is a funky town and we’re looking forward to exploring it for the next couple of weeks.

This entry is filed under Argentina, Chile. | 8 Comments

Fun with Friends in Central Chile

By Witt on November 16, 2015

It was over a year ago that we first met Rick and Letitia from California in Colombia. We enjoyed a Superbowl party with them in Ecuador before parting ways as we continued South. After spending more time in Ecuador and exploring Peru, they are now heading for Southern Chile to explore the Carretera Austral and Southern Patagonia. Our paths crossed once again in Villarica and we got a chance to meet up once again.

We spent a few days catching up with them as we explored the lakes and mountains of the region camping in Villarica, Pucón, and on Lake Caburga. It was great to spend time with friends once again, and although our time together was brief, we were grateful for the opportunity to share a few dinners and laughs with them.

Steam powered contraptions are always a great place to stop for lunch.

Fields of rapeseed plants (the source of canola oil) create a vivid yellow carpet.

Enjoying a yummy treat in Villarica

Camping with Rick and Letitia on the shore of Lago Caburga

Rick grilled up a yummy salmon fillet for dinner one night. The local cats thought it was great too.

We spent a relaxing afternoon at one of the area’s many thermal pools.

After saying goodbye to Rick and Letitia, we drove to Conguillio National Park.

We’d hope to drive all the way through the park, but late season snows kept the road closed and we were forced to backtrack.

On the advice of a couple we met in the campground in Pucón, we decided to visit Villa Baviera. Formerly known as Colonia Dignidad, it was started by a group of German immigrants in the early 1960s. It has a dark history and is the subject of the recently released film Colonia.

On our way north along Ruta 5, we happened to cross paths with Peter and Lesley from the UK who we first met a few weeks ago in the lakes district. We told them of our plans and they decided to join us.

The colony is only now transitioning from being a closed, secretive community led by the autocratic Paul Schäfer, to a venue for weddings and events. When we arrived we were greeted by people wearing traditional European clothing. This wasn’t something put on for tourists, this was how they dressed. Everyone spoke to each other in German, and it felt much more authentic than the other European influenced regions we’ve visited.

The five of us toured the beautiful property with a guide from the community.

Our next stop on our way North was at the Siete Tazas (seven cups) waterfalls.

After driving around the city of Santiago, we camped at a truck stop. We sat on top of a pile of rocks as the sun set trying to break pieces glass by throwing rocks at them. Not your typical family together time — we pull out all the stops when it comes to Quinn’s education!

The switchbacks on the way up to the pass separating Chile from Argentina are numbered – over twenty of them!

Near the top of the pass is the ski resort of Portillo, popular with ski teams from all over the world as an off-season training ground.

We also got to see the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia – Aconcagua

This entry is filed under Argentina, Chile. | 1 Comment

The Lakes of Northern Patagonia

By Witt on November 5, 2015

Thanks to Debbie for the idea for the Google Maps screenshot to provide a reference of where we’ve been! I should have been doing this for the whole trip. Oh well, better late than never. This map leaves off at Puerto Pirihueico, because Google apparently hasn’t heard about the ferry we took across the lake to Puerto Fuy. So we made it a bit farther than is shown on the map, but this gives a good idea of where we’ve been.

If the Carretera Austral reminded us of the Pacific Northwest, as we’ve gone north we feel like we are at home in Colorado. Gorgeous mountain lakes are framed by the now capped peaks of spring, and remote back roads offer stunning lakeside campsites.

One of the many crystal clear rivers we crossed. This one was on the northern end of the Carretera Austral near Puerto Montt.

Puerto Varas was the first city we’d seen in some time. It’s set, of course, on a beautiful lake with a view of the nearby Osorno Volcano.

Lesley and Peter are from England, and we ran into them for the second time in the village of Petrohué. We chatted over drinks in an upscale tourist lodge before returning to our vans to spend the night. Yes, overlanders are cheap.

The view of Volcán Osorno from our campsite in Petrohué. The piles of sand in the foreground are actually volcanic ash.

A different volcano erupted in April, covering the area with over two feet of ash. This is one building that hasn’t yet been dug out.

Playing on the beach during a lunch stop at, you guessed it, another lake.

We crossed into Argentina to explore Bariloche. We didn’t like the city much, but we found a great campground on the lake that let us use their kayaks.

An ibis at the campground in Bariloche.

The view of Bariloche from the top of a nearby hill.

It’s getting warmer as we go North!

Relaxing after a tough day traveling.

Not a bad spot to enjoy a cup of joe…

The drive north through Argentina’s lake district was amazing, with beautiful scenery around every turn.

Another lakeside campsite

If I had to pick one place to live that we’ve visited, this would probably be it. San Martín de los Andes, Argentina. It’s got lots of hiking, mountain biking, and even a small ski area right out the door. Yes, I know, it looks like it could be in Colorado. Funny how that seems to happen!

From San Martín, we found a combination of dirt roads and a ferry across a lake that we could take to re-enter Chile. Here we’re waiting at the ferry terminal in Pirihueico.

Crossing the lake took about an hour and a half.

On the other side we were greeted by yet more amazing scenery.

If you haven’t been following along on the Sparks Tracker, take a look at it. The points on the map are almost all places we camped or stayed for the night. If you zoom in on Southern Chile and Argentina, you’ll see that our points are very close together. The conversation goes something like, “Oh, look, we could camp on that lake! Yeah, but it’s only noon. That’s okay, we’ll just hang out here for the day.”

We’ve decided that part of the reason we’re enjoying this part of the journey so much is more than just the natural beauty. We know that our trip is coming to a close (only two weeks before we ship the van back! Yikes!) and we’re trying to savor every minute that we can. It’s going to be cold in Colorado when we get back there in January!

This entry is filed under Argentina, Chile. | 13 Comments

Along the Carretera Austral

By Witt on October 20, 2015

Just about every traveler who drives the PanAm route from north to south has the ultimate goal of reaching Ushuaia, Argentina. It is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world, and therefore it often serves as a symbolic southern endpoint for a Pan American trip.

When we started out on our trip that was also our goal, but somewhere along the way we changed our minds. We had the pleasure eight years ago of flying in and spending a whole month exploring the areas of southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. It was wonderful and magical. We trekked extensively in Parque Torres del Paine, saw beautiful glaciers in Chile and Argentina close up and we had a terrific time.

At some point on our current trip we just decided that instead of driving all the way down to Ushuaia that we would rather see places that we haven’t seen before. We would focus on Northern Patagonia and points north. So when we reached Northern Patagonia in Argentina we took a right turn and headed towards Carretera Austral in Chile.

The Carretera Austral is a 1200-mile, mostly dirt road that runs through the countryside of Patagonia. It’s been on our must-see list for some time, and as our time in South America winds down we are working our way north along this beautiful road.

We’re currently staying at an organic farm and campground about midway along this route, and thus far the trip as more than lived up to it’s billing.

From the Atlantic coast of Argentina we turned West, and after a day’s drive through the dry brush lands we arrived at the border with Chile.

After crossing the border we arrived in the town of Chile Chico, set on Lago General Carrera with the snow-capped Andes in the background.

We found the local laundry lady, and while we were parked in front of her house, a Spanish man came out to say hello. We chatted for a bit, and found out that he and his girlfriend were couch surfing at a nearby house. Soon we had been invited to tea, and that led to a dinner invitation.

Enjoying a fun evening with new friends.

We met some other van travelers at a viewpoint overlooking the lake.

From Chile Chico, a dirt road led us 90km along the lake to the junction with the Carretera Austral.

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

The lake is the second largest in South America, and we spent several hours following it’s coastline.

We had to keep a lookout for lambs crossing the road.

Fortunately there weren’t many cars on the road, but there was plenty of wildlife.

Our friends in Chile Chico recommended that we visit the confluence of the Baker and the Neff rivers.

The confluence marks the southernmost point that we’ll reach on our trip. Even though we didn’t drive all the way to Ushuaia, we felt like it was a milestone on our journey.