I made sure to look for the towers of Torres del Paine on our way out of Puerto Natales by bus en route to El Calafate. Having been on this same road less than 24 hours prior heading out of the park for showers, pizza and beer with the crew, Read more…
Winter camping conditions make me melt. Especially if I am underprepared with too few warm and dry, synthetic clothes. Withdrawal, some tears, some sarcasm — all of these and more can surface with winter camping conditions and me. I always bounce back but I travel down a long, dark internal Read more…
Our first night was the capstone to a wet, windy inaugural hiking day in Torres del Paine. I could tell I would be hiking in my rain jacket for the next few days and my hat would probably never leave my head until I was back in Puerto Natales. I Read more…
There’s a reason why I aim to run early, in life and in travel. The innkeeper of Tren Del Sur in Puerto Montt insisted an hour’s arrival pre-flight was enough time despite my request for an earlier cab for the “just in case” factor. Just in case there is traffic, Read more…
Two nights ago, I had the chance to do more of what I do at bus stations: people watch and make up stories on their comings and goings as a way to reflect and pass the time. I encountered a young man and woman whose language and accents sounded francophone Read more…
I climbed a volcano spotted with snow fields, sat on a plastic dish and sled all the way down to the bottom in one morning. I was back in town by lunchtime. It felt like a full day to be sure and it offered up a chance to revisit a Read more…
My worst night’s sleep was on an overnight train from Delhi to Varanasi three years ago. I rested my head in a coffin-shaped cot at the top of a three-person bunkbed in a semi-private room with eight people in total (three opposite our trio and another two perpendicular to us), Read more…
It was only day two and I lost my debit card. But it was a funny situation that involved a crazy British driver, a two-day pilgrimage that closed a major highway, and a wine tasting that needed our prompt arrival by 10:30 in the morning. So, no debit card and Read more…
My first day on any trip usually has a few tactical moments that come with the territory: getting geographically oriented without looking like the new girl on the block; familiarizing myself with the subway; gaining a sense of timing (e.g. does Chile follow Argentina’s rule book for the 10 P.M. Read more…