South America Bye Bye

We traveled to Puerto Varas and then to Pucon, the city at the foot of Villaricas, an active volcano. We wanted to climb it because supposedly you can see the lava inside from the crater rim! Unfortunately, we arrived in Pucon in pouring rain and were told that it probably won't be possible. Nevertheless, we waited for three days in bad weather and I decided to go on a whitewater tour with hydrospeeds. When you're already wet from the water, it doesn't matter if it's raining. So we went into the waves of the local river, lying on a styrofoam bodyboard in whitewater up to level 3. It sounds very spectacular, but it's not that crazy, but still fun. Otherwise, we mainly sat in front of the open fireplace to wait out the rain :)

After Pucon, we returned to Santiago. Here we met Lena and Sonja from Freiburg again and went out partying. The rest of the time in Santiago, we spent finishing the planning for Cuba, sending a package back to Germany (the backpacks are light now!), and relaxing by the pool. A highlight was visiting a proper barber who freed us from our Patagonian lumberjack beards and wild manes on our heads, as well as visiting the Human Rights Museum, which dealt with the military dictatorship that ruled from 1973-1989 and its crimes against the civilian population.

Valentina, whom we know from the jungle of Iquitos and who lives in Santiago, showed us some good restaurants and we had a few beers.

But our time in Santiago is coming to an end and soon we'll be heading to Cuba.

Eight months in South America have passed. We have experienced many adventures and now our calves look like kebab skewers from all the hiking. On this diverse continent, there is so much to experience and even in our 8 months, we have only traveled the west coast with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Even on this route, we haven't experienced everything yet and we are sure that we will come back someday, because there are still many adventures waiting.

We are often asked about our favorites, but that is of course difficult. So here is a little summary again:

We hiked between the highest mountains in Peru, < br /> discovered various Inca ruins, < br /> hiked through fog forests to the third-highest waterfall in the world, < br /> sailed the Amazon in hammocks on a Peruvian cargo ship, < br /> fought our way through the dense Amazon jungle, < br /> fished and grilled piranhas, < br /> discovered the craziest markets, < br /> swam at Colombian dream beaches, < br /> were driven on motocross bikes through the hinterland of Colombia, < br /> got to know Medellin and its inhabitants, < br /> went paragliding over Medellin < br /> jumped into the water from a 20-meter-high bridge surrounded by Guatape's unique nature, < br /> explored the Galapagos Islands and their unique nature and biodiversity, < br /> dived with sharks, < br /> climbed Quito's house mountain (4700m), < br /> waved to the Ecuadorian president, < br /> camped under the active, perfectly shaped Cotopaxi volcano (>6000m), < br /> fought through wild waters in Banos, < br /> surfed on Peru's northern beaches, < br /> took a look at the mysterious Nazca Lines, < br /> discovered the white city of Arequipa with its mystical monastery, < br /> went on our expedition through the jungle to discover Machu Picchu, < br /> stood on the 5200m high summit of Rainbow Mountain, < br /> ate Peruvian specialties (cuy), < br /> spent time in various hot springs surrounded by gigantic mountain panoramas, < br /> enjoyed the peace on Isla del Sol in the middle of Lake Titicaca, < br /> raced with mountain bikes on the Death Road, < br /> went on anaconda hunts in the swamps of the Bolivian Amazon jungle, < br /> let ourselves be carried away by the crazy city of La Paz, < br /> climbed Sucres waterfalls, < br /> crossed the breathtaking salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, < br /> roamed Iquique's ghost towns, < br /> observed Chile's world-famous night sky, < br /> celebrated extensively in Santiago, < br /> mastered the most adventurous and beautiful trek Dientes de Navarino, just before Cape Horn, < br /> circumnavigate Torres del Paine on the O circuit, < br /> relaxed on a cargo ship during the journey through Patagonia's fjords, < br /> enjoyed the tranquility of Chiloe, < br /> met incredible many new friends and interesting people, < br /> saw breathtaking landscapes, < br /> walked on wild paths, < br /> cleared paths with the machete, < br /> and had a great time here on this diverse continent, where we found the adventure we were looking for. < br /> < br />

If we had to choose favorites, they would be as follows:

Country: Peru
City: Medellin
Hiking: Dientes de Navarino
Landscape: Salar de Uyuni/ Huaraz
People: Colombia/ Peru
Adventure: Cargo ship journey on the Amazon in Peru / Dientes de Navarino

But before we leave South America, this adventurous and beautiful continent, here is a small summary in numbers:

5 countries

8 months

Many new friends

Countless experiences

613 hours in transport (25 days 13 hours)

Of which:

292 hours on buses (12 days 4 hours)
54 hours in jeeps (2 days 6 hours)
219.5 hours on ships (9 days 3.5 hours)
9.4 hours on trains
38 hours on planes (1 day 14 hours)

Our means of transport ranged from crowded minibusses to luxurious long-distance buses with full beds, from adventurous taxi rides in falling-apart vans with 7 occupants to motocross motorcycles and indestructible off-road jeeps, from nutshell boats on the open sea to rusty cargo ships without any navigation instruments to seaworthy cargo ships over 100 meters long, from propeller engines without cockpit doors to long-haul airplanes.

Now we are looking forward to the next 30 days in Cuba, about which we will inform you as soon as we are back in Germany. Because for these 30 days, we probably won't have internet.

Best regards

Max and Marius aka. Peanut M&M