Travel in Bolivia is full of unique challenges and one that was rumoured to be in play while we were here was roadblocks related to striking teachers, transportation workers, farmers, etc. Miners were the scariest group since they chewed copious amounts of coco leaves in order to remain stoned to cope with the poor working conditions in Bolivian mines (primarily tin). In addition to blockading roads with burning tires (you see melted asphalt strips on all the mai...

It was time to leave Chile (and the country wide obsession with ham and cheese?), and having found a company that promised us a reasonably functional vehicle with a reasonably sober driver (or maybe that was the other way around?), we made our way to the Bolivian border crossing. We've passed through a number of odd border posts in the past but this had to rank with one of the more desolate- a lonely shack in a mountain valley in the middle of nowhere sitting...

We pulled into the Chilean version of a wild west town, San Pedro de Atacama, without incident but given the late hour, the saloons would have to wait. We were staying in a hostel so it was almost inevitable that the drunken kiddies would keep us up even later- we were just starting to drift off when IT happened. The earth moved... and kept moving. A massive earthquake (magnitude 8.2) struck near Iquique some 500 kms from where we were but it sure seemed more lik...

The skies of central and northern Chile are known around the world for their sharpness and clarity, thanks to the fact that it only rains about 60 nights a year. And given DH's fascination with all things shiny and sparkly, we knew we had to make our way there.On the way, we stopped in at the coastal city of La Serena (with a claim to fame as a summer beach escape). We didn't have any specific plan and started questioning our decision while checking into ...

As I try to finish up my blog post from Valparaiso, I need to be somewhat sensitive to the tragic events currently being visited upon this coastal Chilean city. Fires are raging through this UNESCO World Heritage Site and are the worst since a fire in 1953 wiped out most of the city. Already, 16 people have died and more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed (so far 11,000 people have been evacuated). The fire began a few days ago in a forested area above ramshack...