15 dias de férias na América Latina: a viagem de Manu pelo Chile e Bolívia

15 days vacation in Latin America: Manu’s trip through Chile and Bolivia

South America

Manu, our client of the personalized itineraries, is super adventurous and decided to spend 15 days of vacation in Latin America, an adventure that included Chile and Bolivia, with all its natural charms and some perrengues also… Come to know how this incredible trip was!

15 days vacation in Latin America: The roadmap

I had 15 days of vacation to take away and, passionate about traveling, I started researching a possible itinerary more in account, in which I did not spend as much as a trip to Europe or Morocco, for example. Initially, I thought of the Northeast of Brazil but I was frightened by how expensive this trip is! One of my best friends had just returned from the Atacama Desert and commented that it was an exotic place… And I love different places! “Ill with you to the “a ” &

I traveled, once again, alone and planned the itinerary as follows: four days in Santiago, three days in Pucón, six days in the Atacama Desert (all this still in Chile) and then three days in the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert in the world, which is in Bolivia.

Flights

The outbound flight to Santiago was by LATAM and lasted four hours – I was surprised by a great meal that was served and arrived in Chile on Sunday morning, without any miscalling. The return to São Paulo had to be anticipated in one day because I ended up hurting my foot in one of the walks but, in the end, everything worked to return.

From Atacama to Santiago, I took a transfer to Calama and then to Santiago, I used the low-cost airline Sky Airline – I found the plane half a little dirt and the snack very simple… For a low cost, it is worth it. I bought the ticket through their own website and spent $100 + fees.

15 dias de férias na América Latina

Laguna Verde, Bolivia

Santiago

In Santiago, I stayed at Rado Boutique Hostel, my first stop when arriving from the airport to leave bags and check-in. The hostel is great and is in the Providencia neighborhood, which is very university. When I arrived, there was a party on the street and I couldn’t sleep. The rooms are all shared and, during my stay there, I met many cool people. The hostel has a barbecue and a terrace perfect for fraternization!

In Santiago, I arranged to visit two wineries and loved! The first is called Emiliana, which has totally organic production, without the use of pesticides of any kind and has a whole differentiated technique of harvesting. I also did a tasting there and it was a simply fantastic tour, recommend! The other winery I met is called Casas Del Bosque, ideal for those who enjoy eating well – in addition to having beautiful landscapes. I programmed my trip there combining a lunch at the amazing restaurant of the place!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

After these tours, I went to Valparaíso and Vina del Mar, two places that are within walking distance of the Chilean capital. Valparaíso I LOVED it, and Vina I confess that I did not like it very much, I found it kind of like Guarujá (SP), hehe. But Valparaíso is a city in which I would live easy – I loved its vertical structure, with those hills all, the street art, the graffiti!

On my third day in Chile, I went to Cajón del Maipo, famous for its natural beauty. This tour I did with the company Going to Chile, which is Brazilian but has Chilean guides who help you in everything there – I indicate their work too much, I was delighted! Cajón del Maipo is about 100 km away from Santiago, at the foot of the Andes Mountains. People travel there in search of the thermal pools, the Embalse el Yeso water reserve, which supplies Santiago, and the natural beauties – I met a beautiful waterfall there! The place is not yet very explored by Brazilian tourists, it is worth a visit!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

On the fourth day of Chile, I was strolling around Santiago, enjoying the city and getting to know its streets better. I went to the Costaneira shopping mall, where I did some shopping, there are several good stores there that we did not find in Brazil! I also enjoyed this day to get to know La Chascona, the house of Pablo Neruda de Santiago – I loved the tour!

Pucón

Discarded, my favorite place of the whole trip! It looks like a scenographic city of such beautiful, like Campos do Jordão or Gramado! The architecture, the houses, the cafes… a grace! It is also a great travel destination for those who like beautiful landscapes and extreme sports and ecological tourism – tourists can climb the volcano that has there, rafting, ride horses, bathe in the hot springs… I took a walk in the Huilo Huilo National Park, which has several waterfalls and waterfalls, beautiful! The group was small and it was all wonderful. I went with the Newen Tour and it was great!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

I also did the tour Tour through the Zone, which shows the surroundings of Pucón. It lasts all day and is sold under that name by various tourism agencies. On this tour, you will visit Lake Caburga, with its beautiful crystal clear waters that were dammed by a volcanic eruption (see photo above), you will also get to know the other volcano of Pucón, the set of waterfalls Ojos de Caburga and the incredible Termas Los Pozones, known for its natural pools of rustic stones and basic facilities, with dressing rooms and bathrooms. There, it has pools of different sizes and temperatures, ranging between 30oC and 42oC, a great option to relax.

In Pucón, I stayed at the Chilli Kiwi lakefront Backpackers and had a great experience! It is very different from the others I met in Chile, has a more American style and even had a tree house facing the lake, a good outdoor area, comfortable bed and a super cool guys! For those who want, the hostel still offers activities such as climbing volcano, riding on horseback… Good cool! In Pucón, I also went to Thermal Spa, a tour that I indicate a lot! There are 14 hot thermal water pools – I loved, loved! The forest is very closed, very close… It was too much, one of my favorite tours!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

From Pucón to Santiago, I went by intercity bus bed! The trip was super quiet, lasted ten hours and the bus was very comfortable, rested a lot!

The Atacama, the

From Pucón pro Atacama, I went by plane, on a flight to Calama, when I took an hour transfer to the desert – there is the possibility of going by bus from Santiago to the Atacama, but it is very long, not worth it! My hostel in the Atacama was the Hostal Lackuntur – very simple, the common areas were with floor floor shake, but I was extremely well received, their cuisine was very good. Although everything was simple, it was a very clean hostel and the service was great, I really liked there. My second place of accommodation on this trip to Atacama was Hostal Campo Base, also great! I had breakfast with Nutella (forgoable, hehe) and the structure just been renovated, I thought it was very cool!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

My tours in the Atacama I did with the agency FlaviaBia Expediciones, from a Brazilian who has lived there for many years. The service is totally different, they are looking for you in the hostel, leave it back there and all the tours have meals (ceviche, wine, brigadeiro…) – I closed all the walks with them in Atacama! The price is a little higher but the service is from another world! I did with them the tour for Solar de Tara, an incredible and wonderful place where I saw the flamingos and, there, facing the landscape, set up a table with a barbaric lunch… I did eight tours with her agency – the ones I liked the most was Solar de Tara and Piedras Rojas, a blue lagoon with red stones…

15 dias de férias na América Latina

I also did two well-known tours: the Valle de La Luna and the Vale de la Muerte – the latter caught my attention more, it is a very cool place, the valley is very intense! A very close and cheap tour! The first one didn’t like it that much, but it was ok! I also went to see Geyser El Tatio, a surreal place of such beautiful! The temperature was 15 degrees below zero, we took the sun rising, it was unforgettable! We left the hostel 4:30 in the morning to see that show!

Another tour I took was to know the Thermal Baths of Puritama, composed of eight amazing thermal natural pools! It is very worth doing this tour, it is good to relax, calmer… It is beautiful!

15 dias de férias na América Latina

In Atacama, I indicate three restaurants: Adobe, La Picada del Indio and Barros Cafe. An interesting detail: you can not dance in Atacama in public places, so the people make private parties and half clandestine parties. The city itself thought it was really cool, it has a main street that calls Caracoles, with beaten floor and several shops… It seems more from another world, you know? The people are very simple and their reality is very different from ours, it was worth every second!

Bolivia

I closed my trip there with a Chilean agency that makes this journey of jeep – I really wanted to know the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert in the world. The tour I did, leaving the Atacama, takes three or four days, depending on your final destination – as I wanted to return to the Atacama, mine lasted four days. I hired the Cordilleiratraveller agency and the scheme was as follows: four people inside the jeep and the driver was a very quiet Bolivian. Then, you already notice the difference, he was not a guide, so we did not have many explanations… For those who can do this tour with a guide, I indicate!

The tour is a little perrengue, really adventurous thing! You stay in hostels – it is not hostel, it is a very simple place, where everyone sleeps half a little together. In two days, there was no shower, we did not take a shower… On the last day, I just paid the shower, so you have to be willing to face an adventure.

15 dias de férias na América Latina

The natural beauties of Bolivia are incredible: there are many lakes – we passed by Laguna Verde, Laguna Colorada, all beautiful – and it was at this first stop that, when I descended from the jeep, I turned my foot and could no longer step on the ground. I ruptured three ligaments and could not walk. I was very lucky because the boys in my group were really nice and carried me during all walks – but it was a suffocating, there was nowhere to get ice to put on the foot, it was sore… People need to keep in mind that it is a perrengue ride.

The desert of Uyuni is beautiful, surreal, amazing… It was really cool, we saw the sunrise – the tour is perrengue, but it was worth it. The food there is super bad, too, all industrialized, canned… Just the opposite of what I had lived in Chile! There is no way to have perks there… you have to go to Bolivia detagated! But my group and I were very close friends!

On the way back from the desert, they made some stops in other lagoons but, as I was in a lot of pain, I could not take advantage! But if it wasn’t for that, I would have enjoyed more! A tip for those who want to buy souvenirs is to do this still in Bolivia, they are very similar to Chileans and very

The immigration procedures

Immigration from Brazil to Chile was quiet, but I cannot say the same about the border from Chile to Bolivia. It is as if it were a land without law, I found the place very tense and reflects well the current situation of that country. They tried to charge me to enter the country, which is considered illegal – that’s what I was crossing the border with a group! In addition, no one tells you that, compared to the friendly and solicitous Chilean, Bolivians are much quieter, collaborating in the climate of distrust and tension in the air…

15 dias de férias na América Latina

The weather during the trip

As I traveled in November, I took a few colder days. In Santiago, the weather was very pleasant. In the Atacama, I got cold, exactly as I predicted – if you’re going to travel there, buy a thermal legging, a good boot and thermal blouses to wear under the clothes. In Bolivia, I got so much cold, especially at night. The tip is: take sleeping bag, always! Like any desert, the temperature drops a lot at night!

Assessment of the trip

It was a big surprise – I expected very beautiful places in both Chile and Bolivia but the landscapes were breathtaking. Almost surreal of such beautiful! The trip was unforgettable, I made many friends and met wonderful people, I was delighted with the way I was treated in general.

Manú Furlan Pizzinatto
Travel date: November 2016

15 dias de férias na América Latina

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