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Vaya Adventures Travel Blog
Three questions arising from One Hundred Years of Solitude
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. The first line of One Hundred Years of Solitude encapsulates not only a book, but also a nation, a continent and a literary movement. Think about it. The [...]
Day Trips from Mendoza, Argentina
I lived in Mendoza for two years and I went on countless day and overnight trips. Here are three of my favourites. Aconcagua / Alta Montaña circuit Mendoza is located on a desert plain, 2300ft above sea level. Aconcagua, which at 22,841ft is the highest peak on the continent, is only two hours away by [...]
Where to Visit Pre-Inca Ruins in Peru
On my first visit to Peru my girlfriend made me promise that we wouldn’t do any high-altitude touring. We’d been living in La Paz, Bolivia for the six months prior to the trip, and she had been apuñada (suffering from altitude sickness) for much of that time. Obviously this meant that we missed out on Machu [...]
A Stay at an Amazon Jungle Lodge (La Selva)
Earlier this month I was able to embark on a adventurous trip into the Ecuadorian Amazon Rain Forest. The three best words I could use to describe the experience are unforgettable, unique, and pristine. To begin, I flew into Quito the night before my journey into the Amazon. I did this because the flight into [...]
Exploring Santiago, Chile
Chile is famous for its lakes, its mountains, its wines and its deserts, but its capital goes largely unnoticed. True, most people who visit Chile visit Santiago but it isn’t usually afforded many days on their itinerary. Santiago has the reputation of being polluted and a little dull. It cannot be denied that in the [...]
Understanding Maradona, Understanding Argentina
To understand the gargantuan shadow Maradona casts over his soccer-mad homeland, one has to conjure up the athleticism of Michael Jordan, the power of Babe Ruth – and the human fallibility of Mike Tyson. Lump them together in a single barrel-chested man with shaggy black hair and you have El Diego, idol to the millions [...]
The Acequias, Veredas and Plazas of Mendoza
Mendoza is prone to earthquakes, which means that it doesn’t have many historical buildings of interest. But that’s not say that it is not an urban space worth taking notice of. First-time visitors to Mendoza, Argentina‘s wine capital, especially those who arrive by plane, do not usually realise that the city is located in what [...]
What’s That Gourd? An Introduction to Yerba Mate
My first experiences in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay all involved mate… In Argentina the guy who sold me my bus ticket from Puerto Iguazú to Córdoba was drinking some strange green substance from a sawn off plastic flask, but my Spanish was at that stage not sufficient to ask anything of it. I had to [...]
Lake Titicaca: A Special Place
At 12,500ft above sea level and with an average depth of 350ft, Lake Titicaca is oft referred to as the highest lake in the world which is navigable by large craft. Commercial boats and Peruvian and Bolvian navy vessels do sail its waters regularly, so it lives up to this description. To those who have [...]
Awakened by Antarctica
The day started with a landing at Half Moon Bay, our first opportunity to step off the ship in 3 days. As we disembarked from the zodiacs we were greeted by a group of Gentoo penguins squawking and milling about. After snapping several dozen photos we strapped on our snowshoes and headed off across the [...]
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