Although native to Chile, Scorpions weren't exactly the kind of wildlife we were expecting to see high up in the Andes, let alone in our room. Cold and tired after a ropey nights sleep due to on/off altitude headaches, upon seeing our new roommate we were suddenly very much awake. In attempting to usher it out of the door fairly swiftly, it became apparent that it had it's front claw/pincer trapped under the skirting board. The insects own attempts to prize itsel...

Just 3 hours after leaving the sunny beaches of Arica we had climbed to an altitude of 3500m. The air temperature had dropped significantly, breathing was noticeably more intentional, the heating needed to go on in our room and there was a curious log fire in the cafe that evening....all of this within just 80 miles! We had previously spent 8 days in the moderate discomfort of altitude in Tibet but that was back in October and stood for nothing now. Back in thin...

A land where desert meets the ocean, the north of this most diverse and fascinating country is occupied by the Atacama desert and the northernmost city of Arica. On one side the Andes mountains, on the other the Pacific ocean...and about as different as you can get from the glaciers, lakes and forests in the southern half of Chile! A barren, coloured landscape of mighty sand dunes provides the backdrop to mile after mile of flat sandy coastline and a deep blue o...

With images of the Patagonian wilderness still vividly in our memory, a break from full on scenery wouldn't hurt would it...yeah right! A 2 hr plane journey north to the town of Bariloche in Argentina, led us nicely to yet more glorious views in the Lake District. The lake district covers a large area of land that straddles the border of Argentina and Chile. Separated by the smaller mountains of the lower Andes spine, the landscapes on both sides are surprisingl...

The longest (4300miles) country in the world, with an average width of 107 miles is inevitably going to have long stretches of nothingness and aside from the Lake District area, central Chile is exactly that. Dominated by it's long Pacific coastline, it isn't only the numerous active Volcanos that present a danger to the people of Chile. As we experienced personally following the Japan earthquake, any Tsunami alert is taken very seriously. Locals in the central...