Charlotte's South America Top Five

Trip Start Dec 02, 2007
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Trip End Sep 01, 2008


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Flag of Chile  ,
Monday, February 4, 2008

So after two months of trekking through beautiful countryside, strolling through vibrant cities and meeting (and partying with) fantastic people from all around the globe, tomorrow we fly to New Zealand. Over the past weeks we have constantly quizzed each other on what our personal highlights have been so far and they have changed every time; well time's up, so here are my South America highlights in only chronological order- sorting them further would be impossible!

1. Beach life in Punta del Diablo, Uruguay Neither Piet or I are strictly 'beach people', but both love being beside the sea, regardless of the weather. Our week staying in our little cabin in Punta del Diablo, watching the world go by, cooking fish bought straight from the fishermen and watching the waves on both sunny days and in high winds was just heaven.

2. Beautiful, bustling BA, Argentina A city I have always wanted to visit, largely thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 'Evita' admittedly, I had feared that Buenos Aires wouldn't live up to my expectations; but beautiful architecture, a deep sense of history and tango on the streets meant they were actually exceeded. The delicious steak and red wine also helped.

3. Trekking in El Calafate, Argentina An excursion to the Perito Moreno glacier was my first experience of this type of natural wonder and I wasn't disappointed. Viewing the glacier from afar was awesome in itself, but walking on the ice is something I will never forget.

4. Easter Island, Chile How could this once in a lifetime experience not make the top five? My favourite moments were sitting in front of the fifteen Moai taking in their majesty and then watching the reactions of the tourists arriving at this spectacular sight, and running ahead of our group in the quarry to 'discover' the giant Moai ahead of the crowd. 

5. 48 hours in Mendoza (a very late entry), Argentina This one is a bit of a cheat as it perhaps should be two entries, but the Hostel Lao asado with amazing food, wine and company one night, followed by the Boca versus River match the next day was the ultimate way to round off our stay in South America.

An incredible two months and so much more to come. We have merely dented South America so will no doubt return one day to see new things, and definitely to revisit Argentina, a country I have grown to love. I wonder how it will compare to New Zealand? So many people we have met here have told us how wonderful New Zealand is- I can't wait to land in Auckland!


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A quick diversion to end. Those of you who have ever been on holiday or long trips with me will know I am difficult to distract once I start a novel. Consequently over the last 2 months I have devoured twenty books. My top tips for fellow bookworms are:
'Hospital' -Toby Litt (odd, very odd, but great characterisation and clever storytelling)
'Veronika Decides to Die' - Paulo Coelho (had to read something by this acclaimed Brazilian author whilst in SA)
'The Secret River' - Kate Grenville (especially to those of you from Sydney or who know & love Australia)
'Love Falls'- Esther Freud (by the author of 'Hideous Kinky', a good holiday read for the girls)
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