I’ve been traveling to South America for a while now and I have to say, I still can’t get enough of it. My last trip was to Chile a couple of years ago. Ykes, this is a late entry.  I wasn’t going to add it since I started this site after but, I just had to.  Chile was one of my best experiences in traveling and I have to share it with you guys.  First  reason, both my parents joined me for the first ten days of the trip.  To add to the fun, my uncle and aunt came with us too.  I booked us on several tours with a local guide who didn’t speak too much English.  I fortunately speak enough Spanish so, we all had fun.  We got to see and experience the Chilean City life as well as the wine country.  We visited the interesting and historic town of Valparaiso and neighboring towns.  My favorite parts of Valpo, as the locals call it, are the cool street art, small restaurants and just the fact that the town is built on steep hills.  They also have the steepest funiculars around which will save you the steep hike up the hill. We also visited the Atacama desert and saw the Tatio Geysers, the moon-like landscapes and the salt flats frequently visited by Pink Flamingos. Our guide Christian also showed us his secret spots.  If you’re nice, I might post pictures.

Second reason, I enjoyed this time was I met some pretty cool people.  First cool person was of course, Christian our guide all over the Atacama Desert.  Another person was a Guillermo who is originally from Spain. He and I hung out for a few days in Pichilemu, a surf town.  We’d run into each other in this little town and end up hanging out drinking coffee and beer at different bars and coffee shops in town.  He started calling me Hermano, brother after day one.  He even invited me to his family ranch is Spain!  The third cool person I met is Eric.  Eric is truly a free spirit.  We shared a taxi on the way to the famous surf spot, Punta de Lobos.  Now, he’s surfed South Africa, New Zealand, South and Central America and he’s from the Bay Area, San Francisco so, he’s no stranger to freezing water.

Third reason, my Chile trip was one of the best adventures I’ve ever been on is Patagonia.  This isn’t my first time to Patagonia.  I’ve been to Ushuaia several years ago but, everything just came together to make this an experience of a lifetime!  It started with meeting my new buddy Juan Pablo.  Juan Pablo is the ultimate Gaucho.  He knew all the nooks and crannies of the Steppes, the rivers, the mountains.  He also knows and is liked by everyone we ran into.  He knew the guides, he knew the hacienda owners and the Gauchos that we met along the way.  My favorite part of this guy’s skills is the way he can handle horses  He was like the Horse Whisperer.

JP introduced me to some of the more experienced and skilled Gauchos in Patagonia.  Some of these guys didn’t say much but, rode over steep, slippery, narrow and treacherous terrain I’ve even rode a horse over and even hiked over!!! These Gauchos were amazing!