A family adventure with a twist…

Leaving the Andes Mountains and western Argentina left us with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we were excited to start a new part of our adventure, see new landscapes and sights and meet new people and cultures. On the other, we were going to miss the beauty of the mountains and lakes that had…

Christmas Eve brought great excitement and planning in our home, with presents being wrapped, carrots and milk left out and windows left ajar for any special visitor… We awoke to great excitement with carrots and milk being replaced by board games and remote-control cars. We continued a long-standing family tradition of running the GOAL mile…

When we decided to embark on our family adventure to South America, one thing we did not have clear (well there were quite a few if being honest!), was how we would enjoy a Christmas away from home. We are used to spending this time of the year in different places, given we have family…

The backwater town of Bajo Caracoles in rural Argentina would not be everybody’s holiday cup of tea. To begin with, it is quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The last census at the turn of the century noted the towns population at 31, and having spent a couple of nights there, I think this…

El Chalten was often mentioned in travel books and blogs as one of the recommended places to visit while traveling up the Ruta 40 in western Argentina. Located just north of Lake Viedma (a lake measuring a mere 1.5 times the size of county Dublin), it required a 200km detour to get there. Given our…

Francisco Pascagoula Moreno, or Perito Moreno as he is better known, was an Argentine scientist, naturalist, conservationist, politician, explorer and geographer. Dying in 1919 at the age of 67, he is a bit of a legend in Argentina. Not only are numerous streets and plazas throughout the country named after him, a large town and…

Back on the road, we approached the port at Bahia Azul. At this stage the wind was absolutely howling, and we were suspecting the worst for the ferry. The traffic jam that ground our progress to a halt well before the port confirmed that we would be delayed. What was more concerning however was the…

Tierra del Fuego, translated as “Land of Fire”, is an archipelago located at the very bottom of South America. It covers an area almost 74,000km squared, or slightly bigger than Czech Republic. It is split between Argentina (1/3) and Chile (2/3), based on a 1881 boundary agreement between the two (not-so-friendly) neighbours. 135,000 people call…

Ushuaia in Argentina is officially the southernmost city in the world. At a latitude of 54 degrees south, it lies a mere 1,000km from Antarctica (Buenos Aires is a whopping 3,000km further away). To get there driving, you have to cross the whole of Patagonia followed by the often treacherous Strait of Magellan crossing by…

For the birthday celebrations, Laura snuck off to the camper van, blew up balloons and hung a few of “Happy Birthday’ buntings in the limited space that we had. We also laid out the couple of tiny presents and cake we had been able to source (and hide) along the way since we arrived in…