Beep... Beep... Beep!! What is that noise? Oh, s***, it is the alarm... 6:30am and we need to get up! We have to pack quickly and ask for a taxi at reception, but they get no answer... We need to leave now, so we walk through the centre of La Paz to get to a small cafe where we meet our guide (Phil). We have time for a quick breakfast (coffee and ham and cheese filled croissants), before we are crossing the busy streets of La Paz to get in to the bus that is full...

Bolivia is a different world. We notice it directly as we cross the border. It is chaotic, dusty and there´s much more streetlife. The women are dressed like dolls, wearing kneelong skirts, colourful knitted tops and an apron. Their hair goes down to their bottoms, is done in two plats behind the ears and on top of that they wear a bowler´s hat. The whole thing makes a colourful picture. Everyone tries to sell their products on the side of the streets, if its p...

After a brief stop over in Cordoba, we made our way to Salta, where we spend our last few days in Argentina. The journey was a 13 hour night bus, but when we awoke in the morning we could already see we were heading towards another world as the dry mountains of Mendoza had been replaced with lush green hills and valleys. Salta itself was a nice place, but everyone had recommended that we escape to the surrounding villages of Cachi and Cafajate to see some trully...

After our volcano adventure, we still found some great things to do in Pucon, including a walk through the national park where we climbed around 700 metres to some stunning lakes, and an afternoon in natural hot springs where we soaked our aching bodies after the intense workout from the last few days. We took the night bus to Valparaiso, which is on the coast, about 2 hours west from Santiago. It is a port town built in to the hill side, with steep roads, lots ...

The alarm goes off at 3.40 am. We need to get up, only after less than 3 hours sleep. Friday nights can be loud in hostels, and due to logistic problems in the hostel, we were asked to share a single bed, so the sleep wasn't great. But we don't feel tired anymore, mostly curious and a little nervous of what is coming. There's 20 of us. We take a seat on some benches outside the shop, and all get a backpack with waterproof clothes, a helmet, gloves and crampons, ...