Call us at 
Nick Dall
Nick Dall left his native South Africa after completing his studies, and found himself teaching English in Mendoza, Argentina. What was originally a one-year plan ended up being a lot longer. This allowed him to overland from Peru to Patagonia and see everything else in between. On the way he learned Spanish, spent six months in La Paz, Bolivia, caught lots of trout and developed a bond with Latin America which just won't give.
Most Recent Posts:
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 [...]
Visiting Lima: A Country In Itself
We had originally intended to bypass Lima entirely. Snippets from fellow travellers and crime warnings in guidebooks had brought us to the conclusion that a visit to Peru‘s capital city would break the carefree mood of our beach holiday. Ironically, a robbery in Ica forced us to spend a few days in Lima while we renewed [...]
People actually live in Patagonia: the films of Carlos Sorín
Patagonia, especially the wide coastal plateau on the Argentine side, is not all staggering rock faces, glistening glaciers and abundant forests. On the contrary, there are enormous swatches of it which wouldn’t even come close to making it into a tourist brochure. These parts of Patagonia have always been desolate but in the 21st century, [...]
Uncovering Peru with Mario Vargas Llosa
Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa enjoys a fame which in Western countries would be limited to sports stars and pop singers. Not since Byron and Hemingway has the English-speaking world had a literary hero in this mould, but South America does not seem to have got that memo. During a visit to Peru I was lucky [...]
Visiting The Life-Changing Perito Moreno Glacier
El Calafate, like a teenager who has just experienced a growth spurt, is awkward in its newfound popularity. Dusty, wind-chilled streets play host to the lavanderias and locutorios; pizzerias and albergos which have sprung up to cater for the throngs of tourists who come here in search of ‘the politically incorrect glacier’, the one which [...]
Discovering Chile with the Poetry of Pablo Neruda
Neruda is a very accessible poet. Not only is his verse – centring as it does around nature and human emotions – quite easy to understand, even in Spanish, but there is also a delightful, if somewhat fantastical, movie about him (Il Postino). His politics, too, were worn on his sleeve: a passionate communist and [...]
Peru Highlights
Machu Picchu & Galapagos Islands Tour
Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Patagonia and Lake DistrictVaya Adventures brochure
We create exceptional travel experiences for independent travelers, with top quality regional hotels, outstanding private guides, and unique excursions.