When we arrived in Buenos Aries at the start of our trip, we were very excited to see Monk Parakeets strolling around the lawns. Half an hour, and many photographs, later we had noticed that everyone else was ignoring them because they are so common! That was our introduction to a group of birds (parakeets, parrots and macaws) that we grew to be very fond of over the course of our journey. The sound of a flock of parakeets flying overhead became something of a home comfort to us. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Argentina
Birding from the Yellow Van I: An overview by two complete amateurs
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Rock climbing in Argentina: A land of plenty
Argentina is a huge country and a great destination for rock climbers. Whether you only go to one of the well-developed crags, each of which could easily occupy much more than a week of your time to explore fully, or just sample these crags in passing and discover a few hidden esoteric ones as part of a grand tour, Argentina has a wealth of options. Continue reading
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Some thoughts on the wines of Argentina and Chile
Comparing some Torrontes
A wonderful thing about spending much of 2015 travelling around both Argentina and Chile was that we had an opportunity to do quite a lot of wine tasting in two of the world’s great wine regions. This was a task we took seriously to heart and luckily there was some trekking in Patagonia to try and offset the expanding waistlines…
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A year in the van in review
A year ago today, the van was pushed out of it’s shipping container, given a push start by a fork-lift truck and then made it’s first journey on South American soil straight to the nearest VW garage! A year later, these 12 pictures are our highlights of our first year on the road in Latin America, along with some reflections…. Continue reading
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Last weeks in Argentina: the magnificent northwest
We continued our journey north through the dramatic wildernesses of Argentina’s northwest. The journey to the this corner of Argentina turned out to be an amazing road trip, with each day revealing new landscapes, sometimes several a day. This blog is presented as a photo story, to try to relay some of the drama of what we saw. Continue reading
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Cities, wines and climbs: Santiago to Mendoza
Central Chile and mid-Andean Argentina is where most of the vineyards of these two great wine producing countries are. The region also includes some great cities (Santiago, Valparaiso and Mendoza) that have the added charm of decent climbing nearby… Continue reading
The winding road to Santiago – part 1: Argentinian delights
Our route north to Santiago de Chile took us on a zig-zag, to and fro across the Andes, travelling, mostly, up the beautiful, lush and verdant, western Chilean side, whilst also crossing back to the east, to take in the highlights of the Argentinian side of the Andes on the way. To give some geographic continuity, this blog recounts these Argentinian treats, while the following, accompanying blog (part 2: Southern Chile) describes the two legs of the journey north through southern Chile. Continue reading
Southern Andes: Our first three encounters
We started our journey north, following the Andes, in Tierra del Fuego, where the very southern peaks are smaller but magical, covered in snow. From there, the roads north take you back into the desert of the Patagonian steppe, with the mountains usually not far from view to your left. Only forays into the national parks along the eastern edge of the range are possible by road – but those encounters with some dramatic massifs have been breathtaking…
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Argentina Head to Toe – Part 2: Patagonia dreaming
Ushuaia – at the bottom of Argentina
When you mention Patagonia, the first thought that goes through most people’s minds is the mountains of the Andes. If they do think about the east, it is just as a huge windy desert. If that is what comes to your mind, then you are only partially right…
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Argentina Head to Toe – Part 1: Iguazu Falls to Cordoba
An Amazon peers out to check us out from a hole in a tree above our campsite
We turned south at the Iguazu Falls for a drive that will take us the full length of Argentina, we hope. Iguazu Falls is at the northern tip of the Misiones province, a thin spit of Argentine land separating Paraguay from Uruguay and defined by the Rios Uruguay and Paraná.
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Yellow Van Days 