Foto: The granite towers of Torres del Paine reflected in the lake (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Chile - Shortly after, we stand at the starting point of the hike to the mountain lake at the base of Torres del Paine (the towers of Paine). Just as we start, it begins to drizzle lightly. With my rain pants and jacket on, I climb steadily for the first hour. Then it levels off. My rain jacket is now just as wet inside as outside. At the end, a steep climb awaits over the rocks to the mountain lake. As we get higher, the rain turns into a very light snow. This gives a nice white effect but also makes the rocks slippery. After an hour of scrambling, we reach the top at the mountain lake. Unfortunately, the granite towers of Torres del Paine are shrouded in clouds. While we eat our sandwiches here, we see part of the towers as a silhouette through the clouds. A beautiful sight, and with good visibility, it must be stunning.
Climbing the Villarica volcano
Chile - For the first hour, we walk over gravel and rocks. Then we reach the first patches of snow. Soon we climb through the snow. As the sun rises higher, it also gets warmer. We zigzag slowly up the volcano. By following the tracks of those ahead, a kind of ...
Easter Island
Chile - Jacob Roggeveen gave Easter Island its name on Easter Sunday when he visited the island in the Pacific Ocean in 1722. Easter Island, or Isla de Pascua as it is called in Spanish, is also known as Rapa Nui. The island has fewer than 4,000 inhabitants and ...
San Pedro de Atacama
Chile - At the bus station, the luggage is loaded into a minibus. We then walk about ten minutes to the hotel in the center. San Pedro de Atacama is already a very nice and busy village early in the morning. It seems like time has stood still here. The hotel ...
The Atacama Desert
Chile - At the viewpoint, we have a view of the village of Putre. We also see the cultivated agricultural terraces with the imposing Parinacota volcano in the background, with its summit over six kilometers high. We have now ascended to 3,500 meters, and this ...