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edit: Lol, I quoted someone from very early in the thread, that's what I get for reading it from both ends at once. Also if anyone would mind critiquing a vague itinerary: Fly to BA (probably October) see Iguaza falls, head south through Argentina via El Chaltén and end up at Puerto Natales in Chile and take the Navimag up the coast. Santiago, (maybe Mendoza), Bolivia, Peru, with Christmas/New Years somewhere in there (that Uruguay thing mentioned earlier looked cool and probably worth a cheap return flight). A Brazilian acquaintance said I have to go to Salvador for Carnivale which is 4th to the 8th March next year. So whenever I finish Bolivia or whereever head into Brazil and end up there for Carnivale, then head over through to Columbia/Ecuador. I really have very little idea what is in Brazil worth seeing at this stage but I'm sure I could fill a month or two. That'll probably be the end of my six months but afterwards I'm heading north to Mexico and the US. I'm not really sure what in central America is worth seeing but I'm tempted to see Cuba and the flights from Panama seem reasonably priced. So yeah, very vague but that's how I seem to travel. I hadn't thought of studying Spanish over there until reading this thread tonight, I've got none currently and am enrolled in an intro course here but it's not going to be a lot. Are there any courses or schools people would recommend? I'd probably only be able to give it two weeks but I'd be prepared to do full immersion. What sort of prices would I be looking at to do that? Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Jul 18, 2010 |
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Jul 18, 2010 13:26
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MC Burpalot posted:Do you like throngs of people? Do you like loud live music? Are you male and love women or are you a woman and love men? If you answered yes to any or all of these then Carnaval in Salvador is for you. However this has made me realise that on an Australian passport I'll need a visa to visit Brazil. It requires itinerary details (entry and exit) I'm not going to have until I'm over there. Has anyone here tried applying for Brazilian tourist visas from neighbouring countries?
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Jul 30, 2010 07:52
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I'm looking for ideas for things to see and do in Argentina. I'm flying in to BA on Tuesday and I've booked six nights in a hostel there (overcoming jetlag and have the weekend in the city) and after that I'm thinking of visiting Uruguay for a day or two. Head up to Iguazu for a few days (plus a couple of days of buses). I've also been told Cordoba is worth a visit for a few days. I want to take the Navimag ferry from the southern tip of Chile (Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt) so I suspect I'll finish my Argentinian adventures at Tierra de Feugo. I'd like to some (amateur level) hiking in the Lake district and/or Patagonia but I don't know where I'd look at visiting as a base in either of those. I'm traveling by myself but if I end up meeting people I'd be happy to go camping with I'd love to go exploring the wilderness. Are there sites to see on the Atlantic coast? Mar del Plata? Is there anything worth the time to see in the north west and how difficult would it be to visit from Chile? Can I do Mendoza from Santiago? I'm looking at spending five or six weeks in Argentina although I have no hard limit. My biggest concern is booking the Navimag cruise so I have proof of onward journey for immigration when I fly in, but it'll set my time limit before I get a chance to see Argentina.
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Oct 6, 2010 05:43
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Hadlock posted:Weekend in BA - schedule your travel day for Sunday unless you have something very specific happening that day. The city (continent!) basically shuts down on sundays and any interesting shops you were planning on checking out will be closed. For those who are interested I flew into BA from Sydney with an Aussie passport and no return flight and they needed a quick call to seniors at the Aerolineas check in in Sydney but let me on the flight almost immediately and the Argentinian customs didn't even ask. Just thought I'd add my experience because there are a lot of conflicting reports online. You can also pay the EZE entry fee with a credit card. Anyone with ideas of interesting experiences in anywhere in South America have any recommendations? I'm booked to take the Navimag cruise in Chile in a few weeks and I've emailed the Senada Verde volunteering in Boliva someone mentioned earlier and will hopefully spend some time there. Looking for other significant or different things to do beyond the usual 'see machu pichu' sort of stuff.
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Oct 14, 2010 05:21
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I'm in Uruguay at the moment with a touch and I just installed it. Really not sure how useful it'll be because anything simple enough for it to do is probably going to be fairly obvious from the context anyway. It can't handle magazine covers. Aside from that having the touch is great. I can do online banking without using dodgy pcs, the exchange rate app keeps the latest known rate for several currencies at once, you can download podcasts for the long buses and having an Internet/email wifi device without lugging around a laptop is great.
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Dec 19, 2010 01:56
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XXdragonsparkzXX posted:Anybody have any advice on Bolivia travel? I have read the whole thread and have spotted a few tidbits, but I am mostly curious for some tips as a solo female traveler. Concerning buses mostly, I am flying into Santa Cruz and am taking a bus ~6 hours to a village near Trinidad for volunteer work, spending 3 months without electricity, then taking a return bus to Santa Cruz for a flight back to the states at 0600. Coming back from the parque your options are 8am, 2pm or midnight and the midnight one won't get you to Santa Cruz in time for your flight. The people there know the schedules and the easiest way to do things and you don't need to book accommodation in Santa Cruz so just leave the return bit until you're coming back. You'll need a mosquito head net which you can buy in Santa Cruz if you can find the shop with them (I don't know where it is) but you can't get them any closer to the parque. If you can get one at home do so otherwise it's definitely worth spending half a day wandering around Santa Cruz to find one especially if you've got three months. Everything else you should be able to get out there.
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Mar 14, 2011 17:55
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XXdragonsparkzXX posted:
The stuff about the all natural shampoo and soap and stuff isn't that important because you can't get it in Bolivia so don't go out of your way for it if you don't want to. You'll probably need your yellow fever vaccination but if you're only going to Ambue Ari malaria pills are probably overkill. None of the long termers take them and there hasn't ever been a case of it there. There have been a few cases of people getting robbed in the Santa Cruz bus station after visiting ATMs so you're better off getting a taxi from the airport into town (ask for the plaza central) and getting cash out there. It's only a 5B taxi from the bus terminal. You can only get cash in Guarayos as a credit card cash advance with an additional 5% fee otherwise you have to take a trip to Trinidad. The first week is the toughest and will seem like a huge struggle but push through. You'll have a fantastic time. I don't check here that often (I'm still traveling) but I'm happy to (try to) answer any more questions you have.
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Mar 16, 2011 20:33
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Did you volunteer at Ambue Ari?? I already have my head net, I heard it gets brutal seeing that no repellent is allowed. If you have any more pointers for me that would be amazing and very appreciated. I don't head out until June and have done as much research as I can, but there's still some gray areas.
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So I thought I'd do a quick writeup on an animal refuge in Bolivia where I've just spent six week volunteering. The place I was working is one of three parks owned by the Bolivian non-profit Inti Wara Yassi. They take animals from private ownership, circuses, the black market, random donations etc. A lot of the animals rescued have been abused and are in very fragile mental states and this organisation does a lot of good caring for these animals and helping them to try and have a happy life. The website gives a good overview: http://www.intiwarayassi.org/articles/volunteer_animal_refuge/home.html Ambue Ari I was at the Ambue Ari park, about six hours north of Santa Cruz. The park is focused on caring for jungle cats. They have over twenty jaguars, pumas, and ocelots. There are also some monkeys, birds and a few other assorted animals but primarily the work is with the cats. Volunteers have to stay a minimum of one month to work with the cats for the cats' wellbeing as well as the safety of the volunteers. The area itself is 800 hectares of jungle, owned by the organisation. The facilities are basic, no electricity, no hot water, simple food but there is a shop 15 minutes walk where you can charge cameras and ipods and a city 45 minutes away that has internet access. I haven't been to the other parks so I can't really tell you about them except that Machia is mostly focused on monkeys and is much more established (electricity, hot water, better food) and Jacj Cuisi is still being built and only has four cats. Day to day Wake up call is 6:30AM and you're expected to be working on your weekly assigned task by seven, usually feeding birds etc. Then a daily changing task usually something around the camp for example cleaning the showers, fixing breakfast etc. Breakfast is at 8:00 and your morning work with the animals starts at 9:00. Lunch at 12:30 and then a break until afternoon work at 2pm. Getting back to camp around 5:30ish for dinner at 6:30. Working with the cats I was there in the wet season when there are less volunteers. The number of people in camp fluctuated between 28 and 40 while I was there. In the dry season around July they can have more than 70. When they're low on volunteers most of the cats are on half days so most people would be working with one cat in the morning and another in the afternoon. When there're enough people you spend all day with one cat. I was spending my mornings with a jaguar named Rupi. Our routine was (two or three people) to go to his cage, say hello and then take him for a walk. We'd attach a rope with a carabina to his collar and then let him out for a walk along his trails. All the animals have set trails through the jungle so they can have their own territory (they don't overlap). Two of us walking one behind the other behind Rupi would follow him as he walked his trails. After a couple of hours or so (I never had a watch) he'd be ready to go back to his cage and we'd let him into his smaller management cage and then clean his water bowls and put out his food (3kg meat/day). We let him at his dinner (from outside the cage) and then we'd be done for the morning and return to camp for lunch. My afternoons were spent with three puma sisters. They're unusual because adult pumas don't live together but they couldn't be seperated without them getting depressed so they all live together. Again we (three of us) would walk them. We would again have a rope and a carabina this time tied around our body attached to the cats. They all walk the same trails and two of the prefer to walk reasonably close together while the other prefers to be alone. We'd change daily among the three of us which cat we walked. Afterwards when they were all home we'd tie them to their feeding platforms and throw their food to them. When they'd all finished we'd let them off and that'd be the end of the day. It is incredibly hard but rewarding work. You have to be constantly paying attention because you're working with a wild animal who in some cases will notice and take advantage if your attention wanes. It is exhausting work, you can be walking all day in gumboots and knee deep water/mud. Getting to be up close with these animals is incredible though. My animals were among the easier animals to handle, some of them are harder work and need lots of love and patience. Costs It costs US$220 for the first 15 days ($14.65/day) and $10 per day beyond that. This is the only income the park recieves to feed the animals, the volunteers, buy construction materials etc. You'll also likely spend a little more on extra food, beer, etc. but probably less than $10/week. Weekends Friday night everyone goes to the nearest town (2000 people, 50c taxi) to drink and be merry. Beers are less than a dollar. On weeknights you can walk 15 minutes to a small shop with beers and food but there is no drinking in the camp. Saturday is a half day, there are special tasks in the morning (camp maintenance stuff) and after lunch the animals are fed but not walked. The rest of the afternoon is free and you can go into town for internet/food/etc. Sunday is work as usual. Perils As I said it's exhausting work. I was needing ten hours sleep a night to function and everyone loses weight there. There are lots of mosquitos and in the wet season they're so bad we'd work in three long sleeved shirts (they get through two) and head nets. Some people were contracting foot fungus from having their feet constantly wet but there are medications available in the town for that. In the wet season it is so humid nothing ever dries and it's not uncommon to be putting on drenched clothes evey morning. Working with the animals in inherintely dangerous. This is Bolivia so don't expect that nothing can happen to you because the governent wouldn't allow these unsafe things. Nobody has ever died or lost a limb working there but you can be attacked by these animals. One girl working there while I was there was bitten by a puma and had big puncture wounds in her hand needing stitches (which the vet can provide). I recieved scratches (through my pants and through three shirts) from two of my animals but nothing lasting. XXdragonsparkzXX: Yeah the bus stuff is right, once you find the intraregional section (go down the stairs just inside the main entrance and left) it's one of the first desks. The only foreigners in that section are going to the park so they'll ask you if you want to go there. My bus took me straight to the front door but if the bus terminates in Asencion de Guarayus the taxis will know where you're going ("Parque?") and compete to take you (70B). You can get a minibus for 10B if you can find one, they just go when they have enough people in that direction, or a big bus heading to Trinidad will take you for 6B. If it's a Saturday afternoon look for other backpackers they'll almost certainly be from the park. If anyone has the time to volunteer definitely go. You will have the most amazing experience of your life and it is a wonderful (if a little weird) community of volunteers working there. It's very difficult to leave once you get into the swing of it. Otherwise please consider donating, they are desperate for funds and everything goes to the animals. Vego food is available and the vegos there say it's the best they've had traveling. I'm still traveling at the moment but I will try to answer any questions people have.
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Mar 19, 2011 19:04
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the_cow_fan posted:That sounds amazing, just the sort of volunteer work I was thinking of doing.
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Mar 25, 2011 20:42
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XXdragonsparkzXX posted:If you stay there long enough you can become a "supervisor" over other volunteers. What kind of work experience are you trying to get?
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Mar 30, 2011 23:32
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Does anyone know about the El Cocuy national park in Colombia? I'm on my way there at the moment (just got to Bucaramanga today) and am hoping to find a group to do the 7 day trek with when I get there. I realise that's unlikely and I'll probably just end up doing day hikes from on of the cabañas. I've found what seems to be the only useful online info for it here: https://www.pnncocuy.com Has anyone been there and got any other tips or things I should know before getting there?
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Jun 3, 2011 16:13
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Macunaima posted:Yaviza? I was in Puerto Obaldia last year. What a shithole that place is.
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Jun 29, 2011 03:12
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Macunaima posted:I was stuck there for three days too. They cancelled flights from Puerto Obaldia the day I arrived, and the last plane out was full. Did you stay at the Pension Cande, with the enormous rats and the old lady owner with the huge glasses? I finally found a boat out on the third day. It took ten hours to get to Miramar, where the road ends. The last two hours were in a blinding downpour.
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Jun 29, 2011 06:10
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There are a few places over there that call themselves the poor man's galapogos. One is the Paracas islands off Peru south of Lima about and hour west of Ica. I did an early bus from Ica to the coast and the boat tour and had time afterwards to get a bus to Lima and arrive at a reasonable hour of night. I don't remember the cost but it wouldn't have been more than $100 for the boat. You get to see penguins and sea lions (maybe seals too?) and lots of birds. It'd be nothing to the galapogos and I was more impressed by the Valdez Peninsula in Argentina (quite a bit more expensive but not galapogos prices). That said you do get to go pretty close while still being in the boat and they are cool animals. If you're in Peru why not but I wouldn't fly to SA for it.
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Sep 28, 2011 16:33
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TheDeesProject posted:I always reserved on hostelworld.com before I went down, sometimes the day of, but they charge a service fee. Hostels I stayed at always had extra room (as far as I could tell) so you might not have to reserve, but I like to play it safe. Hostelbookers.com is the competition to hostelworld and they don't charge a service fee but sometimes they don't have all the hostels and sometimes the prices are different. You can use hostelworld/bookers to check out ratings and reviews of hostels without booking there. Google for get contact details and you can ring or email to book if you want. The most important thing to check in reviews is how many other reviews the guest has left because peoples' first few times in hostels can be more about their expectations than the place. edit: and the date they stayed, ie. "Not enough showers due to renovation" from a year ago probably isn't relevant any more. FWIW I stayed at Terrazas Estoril in the centre of BA twice (this time last year) and loved it but some people prefer to stay in the Palermo area. Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 09:47 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 09:37
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Macunaima posted:Don't tell people about Cabo Polonio!! But if you are in the area over summer try to get there before New Years, it's meant to get crazy busy afterwards.
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Dec 30, 2011 05:12
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yoohoo posted:I'm planning on going to Patagonia the first of April for 3-4 weeks to do some backpacking with two others. I don't have the trip specifics yet but we plan on flying into Punta Arenas to do a 30 mile hike, hang out for a week or so around Punta Arenas, and then take a bus up and do the Torres del Paine circuit hike (52 miles, 10 days). Mostly I'm wondering what else is there to do in that area and, more importantly, how is the weather at that time? I've read it starts getting cold(er) at the end of April, but random snowfalls in early April are not rare. There are busses that run through from one (or both) of them into Argentina to the Perito Moreno Glacier which is really impressive. I think you can do it as a long day trip or there are hostels in El Calafate where you can stay.
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Feb 13, 2012 07:12
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Hot Jam posted:So I'll be on the Inca Trail in June, we are trying to decide if we will be doing Wayna Picchu while we are at Macchu. Some people in my group are a bit intimidated by the looks of it, but I feel like they wouldn't let 400 people a day up there if it was too dangerous. All of us are experienced hikers. Can anyone who has done this shed some light? Also any other general Peru/Lima/Cusco/Inca Trail advice would be much appreciated.
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Feb 24, 2012 03:56
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Cometa Rossa posted:Bump. Most of my posts in travel threads are purely hypothetical but I'll probably actually do this one Maybe plot out which things you really want to see or experience. Party-wise you'll be pretty set most place you go. Cool poo poo I guess work out if you want to do the skydiving/extreme/etc stuff, hiking/mountain climbing, sights (Machu Picchu, Iguazu...), food and wine...
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Mar 29, 2012 16:33
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windwaker posted:This is a pretty generic SA question but do you guys have any recommendations for Machu Picchu tour companies? I've heard good things about Peru Treks. It was this time last year. We were able to just turn up and book three days ahead of leaving so if you've got the time you can just hang around Cuzco and get the latest recommendations from other tourists. edit: I'm pretty sure you pay way more if you organise stuff ahead of time online but it's necessary if you want to do the official Inca Trail. All of those treks count the last day when you're at Machu Picchu, so a five day trek is really four days plus MP. Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 09:44 on May 12, 2012 |
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May 12, 2012 09:42
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I posted last year in this thread about an animal refuge I worked at in Bolivia. They're currently desperate for volunteers. From Twitter/FB this morning:https://twitter.com/intiwarayassi/statuses/219848767183134720 posted:CIWY are low on volunteers in all three parks and are DESPERATE for some man power, particularly in Ambue Ari and Parque Machia. If you are planning on volunteering at some point and are flexible on timings, please consider going NOW! My original writeup of the place: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2838711&pagenumber=23&perpage=40#post389434848 Minimum 1 month, $11/day food and board. Jungle cats. Best experience of my life.
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Jul 3, 2012 10:59
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Vanilla posted:Questions: I flew into BA, across to Santiago via Mendoza, down the coast to Ushuaia via Torres del Paine (highlight), short flight and busses back to BA via a lot of places, Iguazu and back to BA, Uruguay and back to BA, Salta, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colomibia, flew out of Panama City. I had more time than money so I didn't mind longer busses. The only really painful one was 30ish hours from El Calafate to El Chalten. Iguazu was fine for me because I got overnight ones and slept the whole way. If you can't fall alseep easily it'd be horrible though and I'd fly if I was time pressured or didn't mind the spend. I didn't have much of a plan beyond my first two weeks there and they changed as soon as I hit the ground. Book yourself into a nice hostel (sort in hostelworld/hostelbookers by rating and check the dates on any comments) for a week so when you arrive you have somewhere to adjust and if you bail early it's not that big of a deal. Venezuela was "unsafe" while I was there and I didn't go. I met people who did who said it was fine and other that said it was so much hassle it wasn't worth it. Generally SA was safe, don't be stupid and you'll be fine. Also be at peace with the idea that unless the only things that aren't trivial to replace are photos, credit cards and passports. Photo stuff: I don't know how long ago Hadlock was there but I saw plenty of DLSRs. I bought one to take myself as well as an older P&S for parties/clubs etc. I ended up choosing one a smaller one that took AAs so I was carrying a bunch of lithiums with me and picked up some cheap rechargeables in Chile. Weather proof would've been nice there's only a couple of spot it would've really mattered. They are pretty sturdy but they do a quite a weight to your pack. Going again I'd probably take the same one (or the latest edition if buying new) but make sure I had one of those professional hiking drypacks for it. The Dorkroom would be a better place to discuss brand/choices/tradeoffs. Related tech: I took a 500GB WD passport drive that started clicking within a month, and from then I was FedExing DVDs back to Aus (~$100 per send no matter how many). DVDs weren't easy to come by and internet cafes with burners weren't either. There was never an internet connection good enough to mass upload. I really didn't have a good solution to this. I had no laptop and aside from DVD burning I didn't need one. I had an iPod touch that let me browse, bank, skype and facebook whenever I had wifi. South America is better for free wifi than Australia. Pimping a charity: You've got plenty of time in SA and if you decide you want to do something amazing and life changing consider spending a month or more volunteering with animals in Bolivia. I did a small write up earlier in the thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2838711&pagenumber=23&perpage=40#post389434848 It was the greatest thing I've done, and I really want to go back.
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Aug 25, 2012 05:11
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Hadlock posted:I used a number dial lock to permanently affix my clothes/everything bag to the bus overhead luggage rack, and slept with my netbook/phone/passport bag in my arms on the bus, I can't imagine putting something like a triangular SLR bag out of reach like that. People are generally good, but you tempt a sex deprived man with a dark room and a triple breasted whore, things will happen.
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Aug 28, 2012 00:54
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Vanilla posted:I like this idea for simple securing your bag to your feet / arms rest / etc. If you do lose your bank card when you ring the bank ask for a temporary stop. It'll mean if it does turn up you can reactivate it without having to get a new one sent out. I managed to lose a bank card to an ATM that crashed and was able to get it back from their head office a few days later.
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Aug 29, 2012 00:51
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I went to a travel doctor here. I had already had my DTP recently enough to be covered (it's 5 or 10 years), had Hep B and TB earlier and was still good for them. I got Hep A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever (as mentioned above mandatory but never checked) and Rabies. Hep A is worth it because as I understand it you can get it from any dirty water, including from washed salads etc. No idea about typhoid. Yellow fever can kill and there are still outbreaks occasionally and in theory they'll check you on entry/exit to some countries. The rabies I ummed and ahhed about because it was 3 x $100 for the full set and it's not immunity but it does give you another few days to a week to get to a doctor before you go mad and die in agony. I did eventually get it because it's not just getting bitten by a rabid monkey in the jungle it could just be a scratch from a street dog in a town a few days from decent medical care and I value my life at slightly more the $300. Didn't bother with antimalarials because I figured they'd be cheaper there but I never actually made it to anywhere with malaria so I didn't find out. I did manage to get $200 back from my health insurance toward the injections so if you've insurance ring them and ask.
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Sep 12, 2012 16:24
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Doctor Malaver posted:I've been reading about Bolivia and everybody talks about locations that are in the west part - Uyuni, Potosi mines, Death Road, even Rurrenabaque. Is there any reason to travel east, to Santa Cruz? I can continue my trip to Brasil from either La Paz or Santa Cruz.
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Nov 16, 2012 01:30
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spoof posted:So 37 pages, and search doesn't turn up any mention of Patagonia. I'm flying to BA on Friday and then home from Santiago 3 weeks later. Planning on doing at least the 'W' at Torres del Paine, or the circuit if I have enough time. Trying to decide whether to fly into Ushuaia and go clockwise into Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales, TdP, El Calafate, El Chalten, ???, Santiago, or El Calafate and go anti-clockwise (with a detour to El Chalten), TdP, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas (and Ushuaia if there's time). Anybody been down there? Any advice? Its probably too late for you but anyone else headed that way should check out the navimag boat. I'm not much of a cruise person and it's not luxury but I enjoyed it. It's just a different way to do the Santiago leg.
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Nov 19, 2012 01:27
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spoof posted:There's an 11h bus from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales (nominally longer) that doesn't look unreasonable and is both far cheaper and far faster than flying. The flight was a last minute, pay cash at check in, with some tiny local airline. Only thing I booked was the navimag and I went for the hallway option. The boat wasn't full so we all got bumped to shared four bed rooms. You can do the Ushuaia bus but its daytime only if I remember correctly so you lose two days out of a three week trip and the view isn't very interesting. I had nine months though so I didn't mind taking my time. What you've got there looks pretty good. Edit: probably worth looking up reviews of places in PN because the good ones will help set you up with rental gear and bus tickets and park passes for TdP. I didn't have anything organised but I did it with some people I met on the boat who had a recommendation. I can't remember the name of the place we stayed but you should be able to find that sort of thing in the Lonely Planet forums. Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Nov 19, 2012 |
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Nov 19, 2012 05:45
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I'm heading to Peru in a couple of months and will be flying into Cusco (via Lima). I'm going with my sister and we'd like to do a Machu Picchu hike. I've been a couple of years ago and did a Salkantay trek that I really enjoyed but I came in on bus and had already spent heaps of time at altitude in Bolivia beforehand. I know it's too late to book the traditional one and we're not fussed about that but we fly into Cusco on the fifth of September and would have to get to MP on the tenth or eleventh at the very latest. We could probably do Salkantay but I'm worried about altitude sickness. Are there any other alternative routes that don't go too high but aren't gimmicky mountain biking/ziplining/rafting ones? Are we likely to be able to rock up the day before and get on one?
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Jul 11, 2013 13:10
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Hadlock posted:From what I understand, Boliva is pretty sparse, I would cut that down to 3, maybe 2 weeks The Uyuni salt flats tour. Potosi silver mine. Amazon tours out in the east. Lake Titicaca and the islands are worth a couple of days. You can climb 6000m mountains out of La Paz (even as an enthusiastic amateur). La Paz is an interesting place to hang out too, and has some fun activities (Death Road etc.) There are some ruins around the south east but I'm not sure how impressive they are. I hesitate to recommend Sucre because there's nothing stand out there to do but it is a nice city if you end up going that way. Travelling there is slow though because the roads and busses suck. If you can afford to fly, do it. If you want to see whales/sea lions/penguins/seals Puerto Madryn in Argentina isn't too far south.
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Dec 15, 2013 12:24
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Professor Lazy posted:There're over 2500 km from Bolivia to Puerto Madryn. That's more than the distance from the most northern point in the US to its most southern.
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Dec 17, 2013 12:24
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Hadlock posted:The hostel in the NW corner of Plaza San Fransisco was an A+ in my book. Looked like a converted 15th century monastary packed to the brim with people from all over, very clean by hostel standards, very close to the center of town and the hostel staff are really good at introducing you to the active cusco tourist night life
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Jan 9, 2014 13:39
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Salkantay is pretty nice, worth going if you want to do some trekking. Nice scenery, mountain passes and cloud forest. It's possible to book in person a couple of days out. You do spend the last night in Aguas Calientes and go through the main entrance the next morning, rather than the Sun Gate. With either trek you should all try to spend at least a couple of nights in Cusco beforehand to acclimatise a bit. edit: I think with Lares you aren't actually anywhere near Machu Picchu when you finish, they bus you to AC on the last day. I haven't spoken to anyone who's done it though. If you want to be sold: Salkantay is really nice, it does follow old Inca trails, just not the official one. It follows a river along a valley to see MP high up on the mountain on the last day which is pretty cool. It's a lot less busy, you aren't ever going to be pushing past other groups, you will probably share campsites though. There is a section where they may put you on the back of a truck though after coming down from the pass to skip a bunch of road walking. I've done it twice and really enjoyed it both times. Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 14:21
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 21:13 |
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Saladman posted:On the topic of spending all that money, does anyone have any particular suggestions for El Calafate or Ushuaia? We've got three full days in both places, two weeks from now, and so far we can really only figure out to do with one day in each (Petito Moreno glacier, and then the Tierra del Fuego park). Anyone have any great tips for that?
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Sep 16, 2015 15:55
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