South America adventure Oct/Nov 2018 part 6 - end

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Patagonia

Torres del Paine

It is about a 3 hour drive from Mount Fitz Roy near El Chalten to the Perito Moreno Glacier, outside of El Calafate.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world.  It directly feeds Lago Argentino.  A thirty minute drive from El Calafate, then walking the scaffolding to the glacier is worth the trip.  Getting up close you sense the size of the glacier, but I don't fully realize it until I spot a tour boat cruising alongside.  If I didn’t look close I would not have seen it.

South America adventure Oct/Nov 2018 part 4

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Mendoza, Argentina

Aconcagua

During our initial trip planning we researched to see how long it takes to get to Mendoza from Santiago.  By plane it is in the neighborhood of 12 hours; flying to Buenos Aires on the Atlantic coast then back to Mendoza, connections are poor at best which is the reason for the 12 hours.  Google maps says it can be driven in 5.

Road trip.

South American adventure Oct/Nov 2018 part 3

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Santiago, Chile

Cerro Santa Lucia statue

We fly from Cuzco to Lima then on to Santiago Chile, this is a travel day; ending at 430 AM the next day in Santiago.  Santiago is another 3.5 hours south of Lima by plane.  The size of this continent is becoming very apparent to me with our flying times adding up as we continue south.

This portion of our adventure is where we will get to know the customs officials between Chile and Argentina.  We will be renting cars on and off during the remainder of the trip negotiating the borders several times.

Our South American adventure Oct/Nov 2018 - part 1

Basilica Cathedral

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We are riding to the house, the terminal ride of our five week adventure to South America.  Nicida and I look at each other smiling, for two reasons; it was a very successful trip, all our hours of researching, planning and more research paid off.  We are also smiling because we are glad to be home.  We have been on the road for over a month.  We enjoyed our time in South America; we saw and did all that we had planned to see and do.  Somewhere during our trip, I don’t know when, it became an adventure.  We didn’t plan for the excessive Lima traffic resulting in multiple buses and a taxi to get to our destination; the multiple; not one, not two, but three flat tires driving across Patagonia; protests in Santiago; the vastness of Patagonia – a two lane ribbon of road which we drove over 2,000 miles seeing other vehicles only occasionally, and many other stories.  We remember, are able to talk about, smile and laugh about all these experiences – making it an adventure.