Day 1: Chicago to Lima

by

Updated: June 14, 2025

1 Comment

Today is our travel day! We woke up at 5am to get ready and add any final touches to packing. Since we were leaving so early, we opted to take a Lyft (thanks Chase Sapphire benefits!) rather than the bus to the L. Also, there is construction on the Addison bridge where the blue line stop is, so we just bypassed the whole thing. Unfortunately, that means we had no train to point at to start the trip.

Maaaaybe it’s a Peru flag

We arrived at the airport right on time and proceeded to check our bags. It was fairly crowded for 6:15 am and the American Airline agents were doing their best to shuffle people from the bag check kiosks to the various counters and then to the correct security line. Now that we are pros at printing and attaching bag tags, we breezed through the process and proceeded to the TSA Pre-check line… which was quite long. When everyone has TSA Pre-check, no one does. Luckily, an agent directed us to the next line over, where there were only a few people.

Our gate was pretty close to security, so we found seats and made our breakfast and caffeine plan. We were right next to the food court which had huge lines and long waits for both McDonald’s and Starbucks, which also both conveniently have order-ahead options on the app. We’re not sure why airports make us crave Egg McMuffins, but here we are. Breakfast plan was activated and we were soon awake and full. We also happened to be seated across from Vogues Chocolate – shout out to Jenny’s early 20s.

The flight was a bit late to board because the plane was late coming from… the hangar. What, was there traffic? We weren’t worried because we booked this early flight to ensure enough layover time in Miami. We had the 30 minutes to spare, so all was good. Once we did board, our row was full, but the row right next to us had an open aisle seat. Our window seat companion decided to jump ship to the aisle, leaving us with a bit extra room. Thanks, sir! The flight went well and we were in Miami soon enough.

Fresh from the hangar

Open middle seat karma

Upon landing, we discovered that our next gate for the flight to Lima was across from the gate we landed in. So much for needed extra time in Miami to navigate the giant airport. On the bright side, we landed in the international terminal where there is a priority pass lounge. Since we had the time, we figured we’d press our luck and see if they’d be so kind as to let us in. We started making our way over, when people on those golf cart things asked if we were heading to the lounge and gave us a ride. It really wasn’t that far as to need the cart ride, but it was handy. And we got to act like we were on the amazing race when we passed the other cart of lounge goers.

Arriving at D42, next flight D43

This map does not clarify that MIA is Super Mario 3 Giant World-sized

To make things even better, the lounge actually let us in. Thanks, Turkish Airlines Lounge! We had time to eat some lunch (mmm, Turkish food), catch up on emails, and relax. Eventually it was time to get back to the gate to board. The cart drivers were nowhere to be seen so we hoofed it a whole 10 minutes back to the gate.

When the Priority Pass lounge still works (shockingly)

The flight was the usual – crochet, movies, snacks. The plane did seem to be full of large groups of families, EF education tours, and youth groups/mission trips. It was basically a party plane with people playing card games and chatting.

Must have run out of Incan deserts on the flight to Peru

The amount of groups was helpful when we landed and they all waited for each other to go through customs — making the line pretty non-existent. We flew through customs, and our bags arrived pretty quickly, allowing us to catch the shuttle to the hotel. Fun fact, Lima opened this new airport about a week ago, using the same runway as the old airport. It still has that new airport smell.

New Lims Airport customs a breeze

The airport is all new and shiny, but they didn’t create the infrastructure and roads to really support it, causing a 25 minutes shuttle ride to the hotel that is just across from the old airport. A new hotel will open right across from the new airport, but not until the end of the month. Alas, the shuttle it is!

Shuttle to the old Wyndham (new one doesn’t open til July)

Because the hotel is attached to the old airport (which is essentially closed except for office use), the shuttle had to go through some gates and checkpoints to enter. This is probably the most secure hotel we’ve stayed at because no one is allowed in the old airport building.

Station 11 vibes at old Jorge Chavez International terminal

We checked in, made a quick stop in the room and came back down to the bar for our welcome drinks of delicious pisco sours.

Our favorite “Welcome to Peru” bar

Pisco Sours successfully acquired

Tomorrow we leave super early to make our flight to Cusco and start the adventure with Explora.

Getting Ready for Peru Again

by

Updated: June 8, 2025

2 Comments

Jo and I previously visited Peru in 2022 and had a pretty memorable trip :). This past winter, when our favorite South American travel company Explora announced a new Expedition called “Sacred Mountains Expedition: The Unknown Inca Trail to Machu Picchu”, we signed up ASAP!

Expedition route

The nine-day exhibition itinerary will take us thru the Vilcabamba Mountain Range and Sacred Valley, ending with another visit to Machu Picchu (and Huayna Picchu this time!). The distance and elevation of the hikes look like a good challenge comparable with our Kilimanjaro trek last year. Maybe harder? Pole, Pole, Please!

By the numbers

After we survive the Explora Expedition, we’ll spend a few days in Cusco celebrating and worshiping the Sun God, because we (by accident) will end up being in the city for the huge Annual Incan Festival of Inti Raymi on June 24th.

Inti Raymi Festival

Advance research on our new god!

When those festivities in Cusco are done, we’ll head south to Arequipa and spend a few days around Colca Canyon, which is Peru’s third most popular tourist destination. Did not know that! I imagine it is Peru’s version of the Grand Canyon — deeper in some points — but is it as “grand”? We shall see!!!

Very deep, but is it grand???

And finally, just for the record, this ridiculousness had nothing to do with our plans.

Unless it’s the Chicago Bears… BOOM! Roasted.

Day 10: Santiago to Chicago

by

Updated: April 7, 2025

Leave a Comment

Today is the day for all you loyal blog readers who have ever asked us if we would like to take a “normal” vacation! You know, like “hang out at the pool” or “go to a sky deck bar for drinks”. Even though we’ll be flying home later today, that’s not until 9:45pm, so let’s see how well we can Santiago-it-up until then.

After sleeping in and enjoying breakfast, we attended to the pool on the rooftop deck. Matt swam while Jo lounged in the sun. The weather was nice and warm and much sunnier than yesterday. We lounged at the pool for as long as possible before checking out at 12:30pm. We gathered our belongings, prepared our day packs, and had the hotel hold the rest of our bags.

We can pool!

But we are still really pale

Refreshing dip

The next destination

There was really only one planned mission for the day… find a particular style of BAMERS shoes that we were introduced to by Matias Guide. Bamers are a Chilean brand of what could best be described as “hardcore crocs,” which are great for camping and hikes. A little internet research and we located a Bamers shoe store a 15-minute walk away in the Costanera Mall, which is at the base of Costanera Tower — the tallest building in Santiago and an iconic part of the skyline. Size-wise, it’s no Mall of America, but certainly qualifies a fun (and perfectly touristy) thing to do.

We quickly found the Bamers store, but quickly realized they do not have the style of shoe we were looking for. Apparently this shoe is a summer style and since it’s getting to be winter here, they are not stocking them in stores or online. Ah well, let’s keep shopping.

We stumbled upon a Hoka store. Perhaps we can get shoes for Jo instead??? Jo’s current pair — which she was wearing — were well worn out. Amid the customers collecting race packets for a Santiago 21k race, we grabbed a salesperson who spoke some English to help us, tried on the updated pair of the same style, and made the purchase. No longer needing the old pair, they were immediately delivered to the trash can in the food court. YOLO!!!

Like a video game upgrade

We continued to shop around, making short stops in the major department stores to see if they happened to sell Bamers (spoiler alert: they don’t), as well as a variety of other fun shops – selling books, yarn, drones, more expensive lapis azul penguins, etc.

Cool bookstore tree decor

Are you inspired?!?

We eventually made our way back through the mall and located the entrance of the “Santiago Experience” at Sky Costanera, which takes you to the top of the Costanera Tower. Shopping and an observation deck! How normal we are!

Not too busy for a Saturday afternoon

There were surprisingly few people out and about, and only a handful of people in line for the elevator, so we figured let’s do it. We bought our tickets, went through the gates, and caught the next elevator to the top. Starting on the basement and going up 300 meters to the 61st floor only takes 40 seconds. We then had as much time as we wanted to wander the first (indoor) observation deck, get a drink at the bar, and take the escalator one more level up to the open air sky deck. We did all three.

Top of Santiago

Open air sky deck

THIS… IS… SANTIAGO!!!

There was a lovely bar/cafe and we found a table by the window. We ordered some fancy drinks (both involving calafate juice, of course) and relaxed. We were able to spot our hotel, our San Cristobal Hill trail, and a variety of other important landmarks (like La Burgesia). When we finished the drinks, we wandered around and used the scopes. We then went upstairs for a slightly higher view of everything.

360 degree views of Santiago

One more penguin friend

We took the elevator back down, which deposits you on the fifth (top) floor of the mall — a real “exit-through-the-gift-shop” situation — but we eventually made our way out (and declined to purchase any new vehicles from the mall auto dealerships along the way, lol).

Last on our to-do list was a sandwich shop called Fuente Alemada — recommended by Explora. We walked to the shop and figured out what/how to order. We found the to-go counter, which was technically a separate storefront around the corner, placed the order, and 15 minutes later were carrying some surprisingly heavy sandwiches back to the hotel.

Sandwiches acquired!

Our timing worked out great — we returned to the Solace lobby, had the exact right time to share one of the sandwiches (technically more like a burger), got our held luggage from the desk, changed into our plane clothes, and called an Uber to the airport. The Uber was already on our street, so it arrived immediately. The driver was playing some good local music we Shazam’d for later.

At the airport, bag check went well and we moved to the next step in leaving Chile – waiting in line for immigration. In true Chilean fashion, there seemed to be two people working. Eventually, they opened up a couple more booths when the line started to snake out of the door (good plan, guys!). Most agents took about 30 seconds per person, but our line’s agent was the sloth from Zootopia. We hopped lines, and to this day, we are not sure if the people behind us ever left Chile.

Once fully through security, we stopped in the duty-free store for a bottle of Pisco. We were going to buy one that came in a black moai bottle, but because we had a connection, we weren’t allowed to take it. Something about an opaque bottle rather than clear… we think? Alas, nobody will mistake us for duty-free experts. We did end up buying the brand Matias recommended which was properly in a clear bottle.

Before taking off, we wanted to eat our other sandwich. Having learned from the first one, we procured a set of bamboo cutlery from an airport cafe, and purchased a Fanta from the Juan Valdez cafe in order to claim some table space. These aren’t your typical lunchbox sandwiches!

Just in time to finish transferring some pictures, it was time to board. At check-in, we were warned that no liquids or gels are allowed on the flight, including anything bought past security. We were prepared, but the lady in front of us was not, and she was not happy about it.

These TSA-sponsored International-to-USA gate security checks for liquids (and whatever else) is what Matt calls “Racoon Security.” Some poor agent — wearing those dumb rubber gloves — opens your bags, pulls a few random things out, rummages around for literally a few seconds, and then jams all your stuff back in your bag randomly, before handing it back to you. Scanners would at least make the process worthwhile. But of course not. Once past the completely ineffectual rummaging (ie, you missed about seven other compartments on my bag), we picked up our bottle of pisco from duty free and found our seats. The flight went well and we were able to sleep for a few hours.

Once we landed in Houston, we went though customs. The aisle of face scanners for Global Entry were out of order, but we still went pretty quickly through a line where there was one working scanner. We picked up our bags (which came out really quickly), stashed the pisco in one of them, and then rechecked our bags before heading back through security. The line was moving slowly, but we weren’t in any rush since we found out our particular flight to Chicago was delayed by an hour. We made the long trek (seriously, it was probably about 25 minutes) to our gate and found a spot to settle in and wait.

Metaphorical, alas

Two hours later, after some pseudo-napping on the floor, we were ready to board. There was weather in the midwest, so the flight was a little bumpy, but not the worst. After taking a few long flights in the past week, the two and a half hour flight went by quick.

Dodging weather to ORD

Our particular flight from Houston was delayed, but there were others that weren’t — and Matt’s checked bag didn’t feel like waiting. Upon arrival in Chicago, we found the area of baggage claim where early-arriving luggages lives. Matt’s bag was safely locked up, we spotted it, and we showed an agent our claim tag to have it released. Probably the most secure our checked bags have ever been. Also… remember to keep those baggage claim tags, people!

This checked bag doesn’t wait!

From there we hopped in cab (no ticket needed!) and were driven home by perhaps the most questionably aggressive cab driver we have ever had. This guy had a death wish. Driving like a lunatic, flipping people off (who were definitely NOT in the wrong), and a pile of empty McDonalds coffee cups in the console. We are lucky to still be alive. But, on the bright side, we DID make it home before the rain storms started.

Death Cab for Cutie

Hey Rich!!! We back!!!!

The entire trip was amazing and we can’t wait to get back to South America.

Day 9: Santiago

by

Updated: April 1, 2025

Leave a Comment

With a late night yesterday, we slept in today — but still managed to catch the end of the hotel breakfast buffet from about 10-10:30am. Plenty of (delicious) yogurt, granola, and pastries, but, alas, scrambled eggs were only for the early birds. Hard-boiled for us today. No worries, we had plenty of food and, more importantly, cappuccinos. Matt even figured out how to “hack” the espresso machine to make the perfect mocha latte.

Solid relaxing mode is the day’s plan, but more importantly, it’s blog-catchup time. We rode the elevator up to the rooftop bar/pool/deck area and posted a handful of blogs from the past few days without internet in Tierra del Fuego. Thank you devoted blog readers for your patience. The weather was perfect, the views were pleasant, and we were serenaded with the bar’s pop/dance music selections as a few other trendy people stopped by to eat lunch and have a couple drinks.

Time for some rooftop R&R&B!

Blog today, pool tomorrow

Construction to the east

Once we caught up on the blogs, we decided to go do our favorite Santiago activity – walk up San Cristobal Hill. It’s about three miles (and 300 vertical meters) from the hotel to the top where the giant statue of Mary stands. This is our third time doing this self-guided exploration, and we turned in out thrice-punched frequent visitor card for a magnet to commemorate (there is no card, fyi, but there is now a magnet). Next time, we’re gonna run a 5k up the hill.

We have an afternoon plan

Back at our favorite urban park

We will definitely see cyclists and mote con huesillo

Making good time

Approaching the top

As always, once we made it to the top, we visited Mary and followed with a break to enjoy a mote con huesillo – a cold, sweet drink/snack made of berry husks, cooked peaches, and peach juice. It’s a must-have at the top. The weather was relatively mild and cloudy today, so we didn’t even need to share our drink with the bees. We shared one drink between ourselves because we had big plans for dinner.

“Yo, Listen up, Mary’s talking”

Must get a Mote

We walked back down the hill using the same path we took up, except for a shortcut on a trail (rather than the road) to get to the bottom. Skies were pleasantly overcast (or perhaps overcast = smog), so it wasn’t blazing hot and we didn’t suffer any sun burns.

Nature! Even it probably just a pigeon feather

Shortcut! (Unless Jo is the mole)

Arts in the park

After crossing back thru the sculpture garden park and bridges, we walked a few additional blocks to La Burguesía, a burger place that Roberto recommended to us in 2019. We thoroughly enjoyed this place six years ago. Last year, we tried to go, but they were closed for Easter. This year, we are in luck! We arrived at about 6:15pm, easily beating the dinner rush, and were seated right away.

Hits the spot after that three-hour hike

With Jo’s limited Spanish and Google Translate, we ordered Calafate Ales on draft and a couple of the Special Burgers. Everything arrived quickly — the portions were generous and incredibly delicious. Matt had basically a brat burger – a regular burger patty with sauerkraut, onions, and German mustard. Meanwhile, Jo had a burger with poached pears, caramelized onions, blue cheese sauce, and bacon bits. Both were incredible. 10/10 would come back here again next time.

Both burgers A+

When we couldn’t eat any more, we walked back to the hotel, meandering into any shops that looked interesting. No luck, but we did a couple “Silo-like” malls that basically featured only stores pertaining to comic books, anime, weed, tattoos, and piercings. We passed on all options.

Back at the hotel, we spent the rest of the night catching up on emails and dozing off to sleep. Tomorrow we once again have most of the afternoon to walk around like regular ‘ol tourists before heading to the airport.

Day 8: Tierra del Fuego to Santiago

by

Updated: May 31, 2025

1 Comment

We woke up this morning nice and toasty because Matt and Matias (but mostly Matias after 2:30am) kept the stove burning throughout the night. Having packed our bags yesterday, we enjoyed a relaxing morning with coffee and were the first ones to breakfast. Another perfect Explora breakfast, just no tomatoes – because we probably ate them all at last night’s feast!

You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here

After breakfast — with our departure imminent — we gathered for a few photos with the entire group and the staff and said our goodbyes.

Full expedition crew

Behind-the-scenes photo shoot photo

We loaded in the van and Matias Guide drove us about two hours north to the airstrip for our flight to Punta Arenas. We took the same route we used to get here (there is really only one road) — passing through the Genkowski Canyon (named for Don Germán and his family), Guanaco Pass (our hike from Day 6) and our lunch lookout spot. Then we drove down into the Patience Valley again and back up the switchbacks on the other side. Finally, we passed Pietro Grande (our hike from Day 4) and into the ‘city’ of Pampa Guanaco.

Our Patience (Valley) has run out

Jo’s actually awake and enjoying the views

Fortunately, there were no guanacos on the runway today. We pulled in and waited for our plane to arrive. The bathrooms in the actual airstrip office were not up to Explora standards, but we convinced the very friendly police to let us use the one in their station. This was the same police station Matias took refuge in 20 years ago. The plane had not yet arrived (as expected) so we hung out in the van until it did. We donated our stash of trail mix to Matias Guide who said that’ll be his main source of food on his hikes. We then said goodbye as he’ll be driving back with all the staff on a different driving/ferry route — arriving in Punta Arenas later tonight.

Goodbye Matias (til next time)… Best guide ever!

The plane arrived right on time and we got ready to board. First we packed the bags in the hold, then the people in the cabin. We settled in the 20 passenger plane and we were off.

Operation: Don’t Get Airsick????

The retrospective rewind continued on the flight. From above, we first spotted Las Lengas estancia where we stayed the first night, then estancia Cameron where we saw the sheep herder (and the friendly dogs). We saw some rivers and could clearly see the impact of the beavers on those rivers in some areas. After we flew over Useless Bay (with the penguin colony in the distance), we spotted Portvenir — where the ferry originally docked on Tierra del Fuego island — and proceeded across the Magellan Strait.

Las Lengas and Lago Blanco (the big one)

Pampa waterworks of the Rio Grande

Evidence of beaver crimes

Estancia Cameron

Porvenir

Are you ‘Gellan over the Strait of Magellan?

Finally, we landed in Punta Arenas – back where we started. Now at a proper (albeit small) airport, the airport staff unloaded the bags and we picked them up at baggage claim a few steps away. Great news!!! No one’s luggage was lost!

What’s kerning anyways???

Would have been funnier if the belt was moving

We continued Benjamin-buttoning the trip by going back to La Yegua Loca — our original starting point for the Expedition. We had one last lunch together and even ate one of the same meals – delicious salmon on gnocchi. We all got to talk to Matias’ mom on FaceTime – and now we know why Matias is so great! Jen and Jon warned us about a variety of scams to avoid in the world. Ann planned to recover soon and feel better for her continued travels in Patagonia.

Unfortunately, at this point, we had to break our time loop. Rather than start on another Tierra del Fuego adventure, we had to go back to the airport where lounges are full and people use the bag drop line to repack and book new flights. Also, we can still confirm it’s a bad idea to book a LATAM flight in groups 4, 5, or 6 (we were in group 3).

Ok, campers, rise and shine. And don’t forget your calafate juice

We boarded the plane to our “exit row” seats which are technically exit row, but without the legroom. At least there isn’t someone with a broken arm in the exit row this time trying to convince the attendants they are “able to assist”. Also, with such a small airport (only three gates) it’s easy to take off on time. We were soon in the air and on the way to Santiago for our last day and a half.

Now a life sized plane

Tierra del Fuego stowaway

Once we collected our bags, we decided to get a taxi to the hotel and jumped in the line outside (like you do at O’Hare). When it was our turn to get a car, we learned that you had to pre-pay inside and hand your ticket to the driver. So, back inside we went and got that handy ticket. We made it to the Solace Hotel (same place we stayed in 2019) and checked in just after 11pm. Having only had a snack on the plane for dinner, we set out on a mission to find food – ideally pizza.

No ticket, no blue taxi!

Most of the places around the hotel were closed, but we stumbled upon La Cantina, a… pizza place! We confirmed that they were indeed still open and quickly got to work ordering a pizza and Austral beer. Not only was it delicious, it was exactly what we needed. When we were done we went back to the hotel to settle in and sleep.

Delicious midnight pizza incoming

We don’t have a solid plan for tomorrow, but it will involve walking around Santiago.

Day 7: Yendegaia

by

Updated: April 1, 2025

1 Comment

For our last full day of the Expedition, we enjoyed another late start. With the same schedule as yesterday (breakfast at 9am, departure at 10am), we had time to relax and have coffee in the morning before heading out.

This time, we drove west around Lake Fagnano and turned southeast into Yendegaia National Park. The Chilean army has been building a road in this area — which will eventually traverse the park and offer a connection to both Ushuaia — main town on the Argentinian side of Tierra del Fuego — as well as greater access to Chile’s territory even further south. BUT, they estimate it’ll take another 20 years to get it done.

They might have flying cars before this one is finished

Not that there are many people in this part of the world but for our last hike, Explora has special permission to hike in a non-developed area of Yendegaia Park. There were no trails and Matias guide led the way. An avid plant lover, he gave us a side quest to find a Drosera Uniflora – a tiny type of Venus flytrap in this area. We did our stretches and set out on the hunt.

No trails today

This entire area is in the peat bog ecosystem, and the ground was covered with Yareta and other soft, sponge-like plants and mosses. It made the ground quite soft and squishy to walk on, which was challenging at times. We hiked up from the road and found our way across the land towards a few lookout points.

Peat bogs

Along the way, we found another seismograph (there was one yesterday as well) and were careful not to make Santiago think there was an earthquake. From here, we could see our first lookout in the distance – a hill just past some boggy marsh area.

Yes, that is a giant cliff

Anybody want to trigger an earthquake?

More bogs

We navigated our way to the hill and climbed on up. When we got to the top, we took a break with soup (with croutons!) and brownies (or blondies!). We had a view of the area we already covered, as well as glaciers beyond (further west). The fall colors are in full bloom in this area and the different mosses make for vivid red, greens, and yellows.

That lagoon looks like a crab

Explora soup bros

From that hill, we went to another lookout that was on the edge of an area that looked like Pride Rock, but without so much of an overhang. We traversed through a forested area (remember, no trails) and avoided stepping in any bogs. However, the wettest areas are the likeliest places for drosera uniflora, so we always made sure to take a look (still no luck).

Who knew bogs were so colorful?

We took some group shots when we made it to the lookout. We could see the road we drove on, the river, and Lago Fagnano. Those with condor eyes could even spot our estancia. From there, we made our way back to the car. We failed at finding any carnivorous plants, but there is one more spot we can drive to, said Matias.

Group shot

More like YAAAAAAYndegia!!!

One fifth of an aspirin (approximately, maybe)

Shy mushroom

Like yesterday, we dove a few minutes to a lookout to have lunch rather than eating on the side of the road or in wet bogs. We also had more delicious desserts from a fancy pastry shop in Santiago.

Thanks, Chilean military

Kayak back to Lake Fagnano, anyone?

Loaded some pretty good weather so far

On our way back to the estancia, we made a quick stop in the one additional area where Matias Guide was told his plant might be found. We all took a look, and Matias found it pretty quickly. It was WAY smaller than we thought. There was no way we would have found it on the trail. But, having found it, we were all very excited for the successful side quest and how cool the plant actually looks. Plant nerds unite!

We found Matias’ carnivorous plant!

Shot on an iPhone… take that Samsung

For our last dinner, we had a barbecue. Earlier in the day, Don Germán took charge of grilling a lamb in the fire pit near the cabins. When we arrived back, we stopped to say hello and admire his cooking skills. We went inside to change and relax before the real party started.

Don Germán will smile for smoked lamb

And all the other fixins’ too!

At about 6:30pm the entire crew (guests and staff) gathered at the barbecue pit while Don Germán finished cooking the lamb. When it was ready we went inside to eat a veritable feast! In addition to all of the food, Emma made a custom version of calafate pisco sours using calafate berries picked right here on the estancia. Today is also Roberto’s birthday, so we celebrated him along with the end of our trip.

Delicious lamb ribs

Tomorrow we take a tiny plane back to Punta Arenas and the Explora Expedition will conclude. Alas, we will still have a couple of days of fun in Santiago before heading home. However, I wouldn’t count on the blog photos to be nearly as picturesque from here on out. Tierra del Fuego, you are awesome!

Today’s turndown note… Explorers: “The explorers of this land have been few. It still remains uncharted territory, waiting to be discovered. Keep in your memory a postcard of the moments, of nature, of the place where you find yourself, where the paths have yet to reach their end.”

Day 6: Guanaco Pass

by

Updated: March 28, 2025

1 Comment

The sun was fully up before we were this morning. With a late departure of 10:00 am, we got to sleep in and leisurely enjoy some coffee before breakfast.

Breakfast was served

The hike for today is to Guanaco Pass. To reach the start of the hike, we drove about 30 minutes back north towards Patience Valley. We parked, got ready, did our stretches and started the hike. There are no set trails here, so Matias & Matias gave us the chance to act as guides and figure out what route to take along the way. Sort of like a choose-your-own-adventure hiking book — Oh no! You selected the wrong switchback and have fallen off a steep ledge. The End.

Ready to find the right path

Jen took the first turn leading. The terrain was rocky (a combination of small, medium, and large rocks), with large patches of a soft plant called yareta. The plant grows very slowly (about 1 cm per year) and can be used as fuel because it burns slowly. In some areas of Chile, such as Atacama, they are protected, but here in Tierra del Fuego they are abundant and quite nice to walk on.

Scouting the trail

Yareta plants are common in this area

Closeup vegetation

Once Jen had enough of leading, it was Jo’s turn. With Matt as assistant guide, we made our way up the pass. There were lagoons (stand alone small bodies of water) and lakes (small bodies of water with a connection to the ocean) along the way. There were also lots of fun rocks to find.

In America, you have eagle eye. In Chile, you have condor eye

Jo marking our path to the top

Just a couple of Patagonian guides now

15 million year old Reece’s peanut butter rock

We made it to the top of the pass where there was a great view of the valleys on each side. After taking pictures, we had a snack of soup and delicious fudge brownies as we enjoyed the view.

Matts cubed

Latest entry in our summit flag series

The view is… alright

Group shot

As always, the way down was much faster. Matias Guide led the way and couldn’t resist dumping out his half-filled water bottle, just so he could collect a few sips of this delicious (presumably) water. We quickly made it back to the car and drove a few minutes down the road to a nice spot for lunch.

Heading back down

Nature’s water fountain

The views are still… alright

There were a herd of guanacos nearby that retreated into the forest upon our arrival. We ate our canisters and drank Patagonian beers (Calafate Ales). We spotted some condors flying above and learned that while they may fly solo, many condors live together in… condorminiums. You’re welcome for the second condor joke of the blog.

Lunch view

Guanaco parade

When we were full, we drove back to the estancia and arrived at about 3:30 pm. We had time to nap and relax before meeting up again with the group to visit the museum on the property and meet the owners. Don Germán explained the history of this estancia as well as the creation of the roads in the area, which — because they were build with his consultation — is the reason the canyon is named after him.

Quite the Rigamarole!

The keys are ornamental at the end of the world

After the museum visit, we went back to the main cabin for dinner and our briefing for tomorrow – a hike in Yendegaia National Park. Before falling asleep, we also realized there were no clouds (or moon) in the sky to detract from a bit of star-gazing.

Good to see you again, Southern Cross!

Today’s turndown note… The South of the Continent: “Where the continent ends and the remote becomes evident, we encounter the beauty of the untamed.”

Day 5: Fiordo Parry

by

Updated: March 28, 2025

1 Comment

Today we take to the fjords! The journey starts with a 6:30 am wake-up call and grabbing a quick breakfast snack before leaving at 7:00 am. The van ride took about 30 minutes driving west from Lake Fagnano, across the river, and terminating in estancia Caleta Maria — the literal end of the road.

Sunrise on Lake Fagnano (100km long)

Matias squared

End of the Road

Our new home for the day was a snappy red, 60-foot, sight-seeing boat named the Alakush. It was anchored a short walk down the beach along the side of the bay. We used a small raft/zodiac craft to board the Alakush in few trips.

There’s our boat!

Upon boarding, we found a cozy indoor cabin, a top deck, and narrow walkways along the side to navigate both levels. More importantly, we immediately enacted Operation: Don’t Get Seasick! We were told that the first portion of the day would be choppy (heading west out of the Azopardo Bay), then we would get to calmer waters (once we turned south into Fiordo Parry) — at which point a full breakfast would be served.

Fiordo Parry party planner

As promised, the first part was indeed choppy. There was too much wind and spray from hitting the waves to stand outside, so we were all in the cabin. Jo was not feeling great, and tried valiantly to meditate/sleep through the rough patch. Once we found the ‘calm’ waters, we ventured up to the top deck. There were lovely views and it felt much better to be outside.

Captains of the Boat

At the southern end of Fiordo Parry, the winds picked up again as we approached and entered Fiordo Cuevas. The plan was to anchor, take the raft to land, go on a short hike up to a glacier, and return to the boat. Unfortunately, the waters were way too choppy to stop and disembark safely. There skies were clear, but too much wind.

The captain said he has never seen conditions like this. So… go us!?! Jo’s strategy for this section of Operation: Don’t Get Seasick! was to sit on the top deck, wind and water spray be dammed. Major shoutout to the Fjallraven Explora puffy coat that kept her warm and dry the entire time.

Tierra del Fuego car wash

Later, our guides hypothesized that today’s winds were something like a one-percent anomaly due to a disruption in the typical west-to-east high to low pressure mechanism — ie. perhaps it was TOO sunny and that warmed up the western side too quickly, allowing a south-to-north wind pattern to emerge and rush down the glaciers. Anyways… it was hella windy out there in the wrong direction.

The fjords are quite salty today

Without having to worry about a landing party expedition, we had time for more sightseeing. The captain drove slowly so we could enjoy the views of the mountains and glaciers surrounding us. We also had time to venture all the way to the end of Fiordo Parry to see the Darwin Glacier and several others — one of which should henceforth be called the Happy Glacier.

You get a glacier! (Luis de Saboya)

And you get a glacier! (Nuevo Zealandia)

EVERY… BODY… GETS.. (Cuevas)

A GLACIER (Cuevas)

Check out how happy this glacier is!

Amid the rocking waves near the glaciers, the staff managed to fish a huge chunk of glacier ice out of the water that we were able to break apart and use for dinks. Jo’s strategy for this section of Operation: Don’t Get Seasick! was sitting along side the helm in the shelter of the captain’s cabin.

Bandera hanging on by a thread

Made it to Darwin Glacier

Once we turned around and headed back north, we found traveling with the wind (and the waves) was slightly more pleasant. We ducked into a protected cove where the boat crew tethered us to pre-established lines and we ate lunch free of the boat rocking and swerving all over the place. Having skipped the full breakfast (so it wasn’t immediately returned), we were hungry for some food.

Piscola with real glacier ice

After lunch, we sailed the rest of the way out of Fiordo Parry, turned east and headed back toward estancia Caleta Maria. It was definitely a calmer ride on the way back, but there was still some rocking. Jo’s final strategy for Operation: Don’t Get Seasick! was to sleep again for an hour before sitting on the top deck with Matt for the rest of the ride (it was dry this time). We enjoyed the views and the calmer weather.

Smoother sailing with the wind

Fin Fiordo

We disembarked back onto the raft, which delivered us to the beach. We walked back along the shoreline toward the van while collecting some beach rocks and shells. Because of the schedule changes on the board, we made it back to estancia Lago Fagnano a bit earlier than originally expected and had time to walk over and see the lakeshore. Some excellent rock-skipping opportunities, but otherwise it was getting cloudy and a hot shower sounded better than grey skies.

Hello, Captain… I want to go on land!

Jo relieved to be back on solid ground with cool rocks.

Everyone met up for drinks, appetizers, and dinner at 7:00 pm. Alexis served the best Chilean sea bass we’ve ever eaten. Roberto gave us our plan for tomorrow – a relaxing day with a 4km hike to a summit/lookout point. A couple more Pisco Sours and off to bed we go!

Today’s turndown note… Darwin Mountain Range: “And then emerged the Mountains, the end of the Andes Mountain Range, just before the land ends. They gifted us their splendor with their masses of ice; possibly ephemeral.”

Day 4: Pietro Grande

by

Updated: March 28, 2025

1 Comment

Waking up after our one-night stay at Hosteria Lengas, we packed our bags, enjoyed a scrambled egg breakfast, and headed out at 9:30 am. We drove back out via the very long ‘driveway’ carved into the hillside amongst the Lenga trees (aka. Deciduous Beech). We hooked back up with the main road, and continued towards our hiking destination for the day.

On the way, we drove through Pampa Guanaco – a town with a population of 100 people (and many more guanacos) where our team leader Matias once needed to make an emergency stop ~20 years ago and was offered refuge at the local police station. If we continued east, we’d soon hit the Chile-Argentina border, but we turned right and continued south.

Public enemy No. 1 in Tierra del Fuego

Our hike was in a transition zone between two ecosystems – Patagonian steppe and Andean forest. We entered Karukinka Park, a natural (but not National) park. After registering at the gate, we parked the van and started the hike to Cerro Pietro Grande. The first part was a nice walk through the steppe. We spotted a whole bunch of guanacos, a variety of mushrooms, and plenty of evidence of lumber harvesting from the mid-twentieth century.

Pietro Grande game plan

Remnants of early 20th century development

Along the edge of the Pampa is another Lengas forest. We entered and immediately felt warmer. We were protected from the wind and the cover of the trees helped trap some heat. This forest is also home to Canadian beavers, which were probably introduced in Argentina for purposes of the fur trade, but now are an ecological problem. Beavers are evolutionarily predisposed to hate the sound of running water. When they hear it, they immediately get to work to stop it. This causes changes in the landscape, flooding areas of the forest, and killing the trees (unlike in North America where the topsoil layer is deeper).

Entering beaver paradise

Beaver paradise

Along the hike in the forest, we stopped to marvel at all the different mushrooms we could find, even tasting one that wouldn’t kill us — according to Matias —the tasty digueñe mushroom.

Matias Guide foraging for lunch

Digueñe mushrooms

We saw some guanacos in the forest as well. Typically, guanacos only live in the steppe because they need visibility to protect themselves from pumas and other predators. Since there are no pumas on Tierra del Fuego, the guanacos roam farther and more freely than usual, including forest terrain. (P.S. We don’t have to worry about trying to see any pumas on this trip.)

The first half of the forest portion was a gradual ascent. When we arrived at a lookout point, we stopped for lunch. More Explora soup!

Obligatory camping chair photo

From there, the trail got more steep — alternating between steps and dirt ramps. At this point, Ann decided she should head down and went back with Matias. Jen, Jon, Matt, Jo, and Matias Guide kept on going towards the summit.

Gonna be windy from here on up

Eventually, we hiked high beyond the tree line, where the wind really kicked up. At the base of the final summit push, Jen and Jon decided to stop and wait (wisely retreating to the forest line for a little bit of protection) while Jo, Matt, and Matias went to the summit. It was a steep section of rocky switchbacks with strong winds, but we crushed it. At the summit, the winds were even stronger. We braced ourselves with our hiking poles to keep from being knocked over. We spent a few minutes at the top enjoying the view.

Hello, Mica!

Wind surfing

Looking down from the top

When we were ready, we headed down the same trail and met up with Jen and Jon to continue together. The sun was shining for most of the descent, and the weather was quite pleasant.

Back in the shelter of the trees

When we arrived at the van, we celebrated with a drink and food.

Post-hike celebratory cerveza

We drove about two hours further south to Estancia Fagnano where we will spend the rest of our time on Tierra del Fuego. The drive traversed Patience Valley which meant many switchbacks on the way down, many switchbacks on the way up, and many GREAT views.

Patience Valley

Worth the wait

See Norway… It’s not that hard!!!

The estancia has three cabins, and we were shown our cozy accommodations. Our cabin has a small kitchen, dining room and three bedrooms. The dining/living room area has a wood burning furnace that provides heat. We had some time to settle in, shower, and relax before having a delicious steak dinner.

Cozy cabin stove

Today’s turndown note… Pampa and Wind: “The tragedy and celebration simultaneously experienced in the Magellanic region is the wind. My memory of Magallanes is primarily auditory: that of an immense wind. The wind is like an old gentleman of the region who has followed its whims and has been sacred and master of the plains”. — Gabriela Mistral

Day 3: Punta Areas to Las Lengas

by

Updated: March 28, 2025

2 Comments

The alarms went off at 6:00 am this morning – for breakfast at 7:00 am and boarding our ferry to Tierra del Fuego at 8:30 am. We were waking/packing up when Matias informed us the ferry was delayed by 30 minutes. Bonus half-hour of sleep!!! Plus a few extra moments to enjoy the sunrise from our balcony.

Morninghawks

We headed downstairs and the music playing in the restaurant reminded us that Chile is the land of (typically) well-produced cover songs — typically pop songs with a genre twist. This morning we got some female acoustic Coldplay followed by big band Dua Lipa. It’s a bit like the Celebrity Jeopardy clues where Johnny reads the lyrics and you try to figure out the song. Anyways, we ate our breakfast, drank our cappuccinos, and loaded into the van for the ferry.

All aboard!

Matias Guide (who also does the driving for the guest van) dropped us off and waited in line as the rest of us walked onto the boat. While getting settled, expedition coordinator Roberto arrived. Roberto was one of our guides in Torres del Paine in 2019, and is now Explora’s Director of Explorations. We caught each other up on the last six years while we waited for the ferry to depart!

Hi, Mica!!

Once we were on our way, we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze on the deck. We even spotted some whales off in the distance. The entire team of staff and guests got together to introduce ourselves. In addition to the five guests and the two guides, we now have with us: Ema – hospitality and server, Alexandra – housekeeping, Alberto – driver, Alexis – chef, Sebastian – manager, and Roberto who is filling in for Sebastian when he leaves for the birth of his child tomorrow. I guess that’s a good enough reason to leave.

So long, mainland Chile!

The weather was beautiful, so we spent the rest of the two-hour ferry ride outside on the deck. We docked in Porvenir which has a population of about 6,900 people. Matias Guide took us on a driving tour of the town, which only took about 10 minutes. On the way out, we stopped at an overlook with a monument to the native Selk’nam people and the Hain ceremony where the boys became men.

Indigenous spirit power rankings as explained by Matias Guide

Our drive continued south along the coast, circling an area they call Useless Bay, named because it is too shallow for boats. However, it is also too shallow for large marine animals, making it perfect for penguins!!!

A colony of penguins lives in an area along the bay. Back in the day, before a conservation area was established to protect the penguins, the guides said some people would pull dumb pranks like grabbing a penguin and driving off with it until the penguin started causing understandable trouble, prompting said morons to leave the penguins on the side of the road. This was obviously bad, hence a reserve was established to protect them.

When in Pinguino Bay…

Found the colony! About 100 strong

Penguin scoping penguins

Close up

The reserve is home to King penguins (and apparently one crested penguin from New Zealand named Hugo that somehow made his way here). Adult King penguins have orange around their heads and on their chests, while juveniles (5-6 years and younger) are all black and white, and the babies are brown and fuzzy. We spent about thirty minutes observing the penguins from the lookout hut before having a traditional Explora lunch (soup!).

Penguin park lunch

Bye penguin friends!

Next stop was Estancia Cameron, a 100,000-hectare ranch with three sectors. We visited the first sector, known for its sheep bearding and shearing. They raise the sheep, shear them, and sell the raw wool. We learned a bit about the process and different types of wool that the sheep have. Most importantly, we met Pillio, the four-year-old border collie. Pillio means naughty boy in Spanish, but that’s preposterous, he was clearly a very good boy.

Thoughts on wool economics, hunting politics, and the best sheep-herding dogs

Good boy!!!

Finally, we drove to our lodging for the night, Estancia Las Lengas. The drive took about an hour and a half, most of it through the other two sectors of Estancia Cameron. We crossed into the Guanaco Pampa area, which is in the Selk’nam territory, in the district Timaukel (no longer in the Porvenir district). The population here is only 300. Everything is very spread out and we didn’t see many other people. Perfect!

We followed a windy dirt road for 11 kilometers off the main dirt road, through a lenga forest until we arrived at the lodge. We settled into our room, and Matt walked to the nearby Lake Blanco.

Our cabins for the night

What’s up, dock?

Tierra del Fuego vibes

Windswept coastline

The group met up at 7:30 pm for the briefing and appetizers (and wine, obviously) before heading to dinner. With the lodge in such a remote area, electricity is provided via a generator, and lights (and internet) are only promised until ~11:00 pm. Looks like the camping lantern we brought will come in handy!

Briefing for tomorrow’s plan

Tomorrow we leave Estancia Lengas and head to Estancia Fagnano with a 11km hike along the way.

Copyright © 2025 · All Rights Reserved · Hello from Peru Again!

Structure v4 by Organic Themes