Argentina’s granola town of El Chaltén is a backpackers’ paradise. Made almost entirely of gear shops, vegetarian restaurants, ...]]>

Argentina’s granola town of El Chaltén is a backpackers’ paradise. Made almost entirely of gear shops, vegetarian restaurants, and breweries, it exists for no other reason but to access and adore Mount Fitz Roy (mountain peaks so rugged Patagonia outdoor gear used them as the icon for their logo). Trails peel off from every corner of town, each giving you a unique glimpse of “The Fitz” with your choice of glaciers, rivers, or lakes to see along the way.

Unlike Perito Moreno, which is tucked away in the south end of the 4459-square-kilometer Los Glacieres Park, big, bold Fitz Roy lets its presence be known for miles of highway, making a detour to its hometown of El Chaltén irresistible.

The town is growing so fast it can barely keep up with itself (case in point, we slept in a pop-up hotel made of Matson containers) but with die-hard trekkers as the main investors, the town maintains its crunchy charm.

The Fitz is so in your face upon arrival that we couldn’t decide weather to hike into the evening to reach it (we seriously almost rented camping gear) or hike a nearby hill for a little perspective. We opted for the short climb to get the lay of the land and wait on our 28k-hike until daybreak.

The hike towards Fitz Roy is gorgeous from the get-go. This valley view presented itself within the first 20 minutes of walking.

The half way point brings you to the adorably named Lagos Madre y Hija (mother and daughter lakes). As if the pools and mountains weren’t pretty enough on their own, fall colors made the turquoise water pop against the scene.

Though as city dwellers this is a hard concept to swallow, the El Chaltén rivers are clean enough to fill your bottle right from the stream. Not only is drinking out of a glacial stream one of the most amazing feelings, it sure beats carrying around a day’s worth of water.

The last hour of the hike is so steep all you can think of is your need for an inhaler–then you cross that last ridge and the Fitz fixes all. The peaks are more majestic than you could ever imagine and to discover they have the most surreal twin lakes at their feet is enough to make a hiker cry.

The peaks here are so high up it is almost always lost in the clouds (El Chaltén actually means “smoking mountain” due to the clouds that constantly billow off the Fitz Roy) but with enough luck, awe, and patience, we got to see her in full view.

And the craziest part about hiking in this area is the Fitz is not the only attraction. Glaciers are nestling throughout the mountain range. Though we had ambititous intentions of making it another 12k to the massive Viedma glacier, darkness and weary legs sent us to this “little” guy instead.

After tacking on that last glacier to our trek, we skidded home under the cover of darkness, but with beauty like this, we’ll be back.

There are very few glaciers in the entire world that are still expanding (thank you industrial revolution), and Argentina’s ...]]>

There are very few glaciers in the entire world that are still expanding (thank you industrial revolution), and Argentina’s Perito Moreno is not backing down. About an hour drive from the town of El Calafate, Perito is also one of the most accessible and magnificent.  Our day to Los Glacieres National Park began with the standard views from the nearby walk-ways, and ended with anything but the standard experience.

Taking our initial tour we learned that at the mouth of Perito Moreno glacier  advances 2-3 meters every day. By the time the ice and a little sunshine reaches the face of glacier, the calving begins. The front layer of ice avalanches into the lake at frequent intervals throughout the day, resulting in icebergs and massive slushies in all directions, and lots of oooo’s and aaahhh’s.

After our literal “walk in the park” viewing session it was time to board our boat to get a closer look at this monster.  We could see the remnants of the natural ice bridge–it  collapses every 4-5 years and it went down just the week before we got there.

With jagged peaks as far as the eye can see and crevasses that could swallow a school bus, the thought of a six-hour hike across this glacier sounded like an insane idea but with the help of outfitter Heilo & Adventura we were going to do it anyway.

After a brief introduction to the do’s and don’ts of glacier trekking, we were given our crampons and began the 2km hike along side the ice field. Along the way we encountered ridiculous weather patterns, from sunshine to 60km mph winds and pelting sleet.

No, our guide did not have legs laden with fat rolls, that is the wind whipping up a storm like nobody’s business. Everyone walked head down, thinking to themselves, “They have gotta call off a hike in an ice storm, right?”

Here, a separate group traversing the glacier, with two guides for every 10 people. Though we were concerned there for a while, Hielo & Adventura did an excellent job keeping us all out of trouble.

With a constant pattern of melting and freezing, Perito Moreno is ever changing. This river was cutting through the glacier, dipping under the ice, only to reappear ten meters later above the surface at twice the size.

After a couple hours, the wind settled down enough for some smiling photos. You can see the harnesses everyone wore in case the glacier decided to bring us in for a closer look at a crevasse.

My boots and crampons straddle the deep blue ice channel. Depending on the weather in coming days the crack could expand with some sunshine or close with snow. (It snows about 300 out of 365 days a year at the back of Perito Moreno, keeping this puppy on the move).

Having successfully trekked 6km of the 30k that is the Perito Moreno glacier we were both exhausted and exuberant. It is hard to fully grasp the raw power that a glacier possesses without actually stepping foot on it, but hopefully the photos, and slideshow below get you excited to try one for yourself.

Have you been to Perito Moreno? Have you been to any other glacier in the world?

Torres del Paine National Park in Chile is an incredible region with raw beauty at every turn with ice ...]]>

Torres del Paine National Park in Chile is an incredible region with raw beauty at every turn with ice fields, glacial lakes, unique wildlife, and extreme mountains. We were lucky enough to spend four days here at EcoCamp (for a full review of EcoCamp, read Anne’s post here), and experience a sampling of all the park has to offer.

To get a grasp on Torres del Paine National Park, our guides gave us a driving overview, pointing out the various peaks, available hikes, lakes and animals. The terrain had us spellbound and to add to the magic, fall turned the grasses along the lakes a beautiful mix of autumn colors.

Guancos are one of the few mammals ready to handle the extreme climate of Patagonia and they thrive here in abundance. Perhaps it’s because they know they are a protected species and irresistibly adorable, but they weren’t at all bashful. This one even batted her eyelashes at me.

Run-off from the numerous glaciers that crown Torres del Paine cut through the landscape in snake-like fashion. The three sharp thin peaks jutting out in the distance are the “towers” that give the park their name and the place we would be hiking in days to come.

Day 2 had us on a wild and bumpy boat ride toward the park’s second biggest attraction: Glacier Grey. En route, the amazing Almirante Nieto peaks were calling us to climb them.

Lucky for us, our EcoCamp guide Paulo was good friends with the boat captain, so he got us VIP access to the control room. After chatting it up in en Español for a while, the captain insisted that Anne take the wheel. With the feel of the strong winds and a glimpse of the upcoming icebergs, Anne quickly handed back the reigns.

The face of Glacier Grey is split in the middle with a large black island (which about a century ago was fully engulfed by the glacier). This view is of the right side– the “daintier” section of the glacier.

The blue hues of the glacier were so intense they looked surreal.

For the sunset sail home, we enjoyed pisco sours and whiskey on the rocks (the “rocks” are icebergs, of course). In the distance you can see the island splitting the glacier in half.

On our return back to the mainland we marveled at these amazing cloud formations hovering around the mountains. Later we realized this was no freak instance…the skies of gusty Torres del Paine never cease to amaze.

We had a hard time agreeing if this was a space-ship, a hen on a bed of straw, or just another crazy wind-whipped creation from Torres del Paine.

Day 3: The time had come, the Torres would be ours! (Well, at least to the base of them. Climbing to their peaks requires about a week, not to mention the 10-15 years of winter climbing experience). A gorgeous, and incredibly windy, morrain (Patagonia vocab word meaning a U-shaped valley shaped by a glacier) led us toward the Torres.

We made it! This photo (as with all of those previous) does a fraction of the justice the Torres deserve. This sight was so magnificent. The vista literally takes your breath away as you stare at the raw cliffs, lakes, snow peaks, and massive boulders.

Back at Ecocamp, we watch the sun go down behind and with a little Chilean red wine toast an unforgettable adventure through Torres del Paine.

Have you been to wilds of Southern Chile, what was your favorite part? If not, would you love to visit?

For our 500-day honeymoon around the world we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Honeymoons.com. They ...]]> For our 500-day honeymoon around the world we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Honeymoons.com. They have been in the bridal business for over 60 years and are the #1 result on Google for the search term honeymoons, so they know a few things about post-wedding getaways. Before we connected with them (through LinkedIn) they had never heard of couple taking their honeymoon to the level of a 500-day global tour, so after a few calls and a great meeting with one of the owners, we decided to partner up.

A preview of this summer's Honeymoons.com redesign

Our partnership has us seeking out and enjoying the most romantic resorts and exciting excursions around the world and reporting back on our very own HoneyTrek section of the Honeymoons.com website. Any resorts we review, that meet a romantic mark of excellence, become the featured resort in their respective region for an entire year on Honeymoons.com, in addition to dozens of social media touch points and editorial reviews.

Our Honeymoons.com accommodations in Torres del Paine, Chile

So when you see the occasional to-die-for resort review peppered in between tales of sleeping in an Amazonian tree and or a refuge in the Bolivian Andes, you’ll know Honeymoons.com had a hand in it. Hey, every pair of newlyweds deserves a litte luxury, right?

For more info on our partnership, check out the press release on MarketWire.com. If you represent a luxury property and are interested in hearing more details about this marketing & editorial opportunity please email Press@HoneyTrek.com

When a place is called “Tierra del Fuego” (Land of Fire), and “The southernmost city in the world,” things ...]]>

When a place is called “Tierra del Fuego” (Land of Fire), and “The southernmost city in the world,” things are bound to get extreme. Upon hearing about Ushuaia, Argentina’s rugged landscape–chock-full of snow-capped mountains, glaciers, sea lions, penguins, and cormorant–we resolved to make Ushuaia our first Patagonia stop.

To get a grasp on this wild port town and its famous Beagle Channel, we started our stay with a five-hour boat tour with Rumba Sur. Pulling away from the dock, you see the houses spilling down the hill and appreciate the all the hard-core settlers who thought a town below a glacier would be a great place to live.

Within twenty minutes, we arrived at our first sea lion colony, a rock covered with lots of blubber. And as if they weren’t already cute enough, the middle sea lion (above) seemed to be waving us a hello.

Penguin lookalikes, these Cormorants were covering the majority of the rock islands. It was beautiful to watch them fish.

One of many lighthouses shepherding weary and weather-worn sailors into port.

Seeing that they are my favorite animal of all time, it was quite hard picking only two penguin photos, as the experience of pulling up their colony shores was magical. If you want to see our other favs, check out the full Ushuaia slide-show below or see them in action here.

On our journey we encountered two types of penguins, the Magellanic penguins and Gentoo penguins, both captured in this shot down the beach.

As we meandered home from our sea safari, the wind whipped up quite a fuss, but being the only person on the roof of the boat for nearly an hour was very peaceful.

Day 2: We dove into nearby Tierra Del Fuego National Park for a 24km-hike over peaks, through valleys, ancient forests, peat bogs, blue lagoons, and lush islands.

Along our hike we came across the southernmost post office in the world. This guy has been running this place since his 20s, swapping bundles of mail with passing boats.

After hiking to a marvelous peak over looking the park, we took the coastal path home, with moments sweeping up high through the trees then down low along the rocky beaches.

Day 3: We awoke before dawn broke to hike the Martial Glaciar before our 11:45 flight, which had us arriving at the trail head around 8am for two hours of pure unadulterated glacial beauty all to ourselves. We were so lucky to catch the fall foliage in full bloom.

A small glacial pool as we approached the glacier. The water was so pure and delicious it was begging me to dip in, but alas the flight to Calafate might not have been so pleasurable in icy underwear.

As you glance at this photo it looks like your standard patch of cliff snow. Until you look close, a bit off center, and see Anne with her hands stretched high.

They say you will always remember your first glacier (and if someone isn’t saying that, they should be, because it is true). Martial was far and away the smallest of the 7 glaciers we have hiked, however it was hands down the most technical ascent we undertook in all of Patagonia. With rock-slides at every step, and large caverns below ice sheets, and waterfall-wet paths, the coffee and oranges at the top tasted all the sweeter.

Spreading HoneyTrek love across the globe. Its all about the adventure, the amazing people, the treks, the conversations with fellow global vagabonds, and learning to love everywhere you experience, and everyone you meet.

You don’t hear to too much about Uruguay, until you hit Buenos Aires. The UNESCO-blessed city of Colonia del ...]]> You don’t hear to too much about Uruguay, until you hit Buenos Aires. The UNESCO-blessed city of Colonia del Sacramento is a mere hour boat ride from BA and its Portuguese-meets-Spanish heritage makes it an interesting and utterly charming place to get away….for say, an anniversary. Yes, believe it or not Mike and I celebrated our first year of marriage and Colonia was the perfect place to toast one heck of a life together.

For glimpse at our celebration weekend in Uruguay, see the slideshow below and to get a handle on one of most unique colonial towns in South America–mashed up with architectural styles from three distinct cultures and one wacky history–check out SeeingDesign.com

With European-style architecture, top-notch museums, tango salons, Malbec wines, and Argentine beef, Buenos Aires seemed like a good ...]]>

With European-style architecture, top-notch museums, tango salons, Malbec wines, and Argentine beef, Buenos Aires seemed like a good place to sit and stay for a while. So we moved into a proper home (with an adorable grandma-like caretaker), enrolled ourselves in Spanish classes for the week and took our time getting to know and love this world-class city.

Part of what makes BA such an interesting place is its feistiness. Coming off both a military dictatorship and an economic collapse in the past 30 years, Porteños aren’t going to put up with any more shenanigans. This photo is of the Casa Rosada which is their White House and the backdrop of near-daily protests.

To get a grasp on this “historia viva” we signed up for an amazing political history walking tour called Cultour. We learned a bit about the current president Cristina, the Dirty War, and the Perons with a visit to Evita’s memorial and her workers party building, CGT (Evita memorials are everywhere in Argentina, btw).

Touristy as it may be, tango lessons and a show are a must. We went to Club Catedral in this renovated warehouse outfitted with 1920s decor for a class and then to watch the good dancers show us up. We would highly recommend this place–with an unlikely vegetarian menu and steal of a wine list!

A cemetery struck me as a strange city highlight but Recoleta’s ornate graves had us roaming its creepy beautiful passageways all morning.

We took a long stroll from our flat in Microcentro to get to Malba (Museo America Latina Buenos Aires) through series of lively parks. On a grassy knoll filled with people drinking mate tea (we cannot begin to explain what a cultural phenomenon this is–no one leaves home without their thermos, gourd cup, tea leaves, and straw), playing music, even practicing acrobatics up a tree.

The street wrapping around the park attracts a slew of fantastic skateboarders. (After seeing Mike uncontrollably take photos of skaters over the past couple months, I think he may just come back to the States as a sports photographer).

Popping into El Ateneo, a gorgeous old theater turned into a grand bookstore, was an inspiring spot to do a bit more Argentina research and grab a café con leche.

The San Telmo neighborhood is a dream for antiquing. On Sunday’s they turn half the streets into a flea market and everyday you can pop into boutiques like this gem, Gabriel del Campo–the chicest store spotted in south America to date!!

Buenos Aires Favorites

La Cabrera: Top notch menu half off from 7-8:30 (don’t be late!)
El Desnivel: Our resident BA friend took us to this local parilla spot for amazing steaks.
Pizzeria Guerrin: Classic pizza joint on the cheap. Be sure to order the pizza bread so you can do as locals do and eat your slice like a sandwich.
Bar Plaza Dorengo: A place to get a raw taste of Buenos Aires café culture, if the infamous Cafe Tortoni’s tourists get you down.
Catedral: The trifecta of great ambiance, tango lessons, good eats, and entertainment.
Cadare Ice Cream: This town just knows how to make ice cream but here the dulce de leche with chocolate chips is beyond delish!

Before we started planning our around-the-world honeymoon, we had barely heard of Iguazu Falls. When we found out ...]]>

Before we started planning our around-the-world honeymoon, we had barely heard of Iguazu Falls. When we found out it was listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, we looked into it and with one glimpse at their lush location and countless falls, we had to go hear the roar and feel the mist ourselves.

Straddling the border of Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu Falls should definitely be seen from both sides, starting with Brazil. It looks at the Argentine-based falls from a distance and gives you a sense of just how massive and magnificent this endless series of waterfalls really is. (Though ironically, the photo directly above shows approx 40% of the waterfalls that make up Iguazu.) The Brazilian side is made of a series of walkways, zigzagging along the shores of the river and jutting out into the falls, it takes about 2-4 hours to complete, depending how snap-happy you get (happily, it took us four.).

Swapping the role of photographer with other traveling couples has been an amazing ice breaker so far on our trip. We met this great European couple, Sophie and Christian, on the Brazilian side and immediately hit it off. After a venerable photo shoot, they offered to take us across the border in their hired car (we later heard about a $140 visa when you enter Argentina, that we apparently slipped past in the back seat–score!).

Falls as far as the eye can see with enough beauty to create a lifetime of memories. Just amazing.

One of our favorite parts of Iguazu is the complexity. It isn’t just one large fall that impresses with its height (think Victoria Falls), or one massive wall of water (think Niagara Falls), but many levels and channels powerfully carving their way through lush rainforest.

As you walk along the endless trail system on the Argentine side of the falls (which is hands down the side to spend the most time at…we recommend two full days on this side so you can really soak it in), you notice remnants of old walkways and platforms that were ravaged by a huge flood in recent decades.

About 50% of the water volume at Iguazu plummets from this section they call the Devil’s Throat causing a roar that can not be imagined, and a wall of mist so dense and towering you can’t see the river for a ¼ mile down stream. (Check out this video for a taste of the thunder!)

Then just when you think this place couldn’t get any more amazing, the animals appear. Iguazu is practically a zoo, from these adorable coatis, to dozens of butterfly species, toucans, catfish, caimans, turtles, and
who knows what else.

The “88” butterflies followed us everywhere, sporting their beautiful zebra stripes and uncanny numbers.

The fine mist, which placards aptly called “Pulverized Water,” causes perpetual rainbows from nearly every vantage point in the park. While we didn’t have quite this reaction to the double rainbow, it was quite spiritual.

The late day sunset over the falls left some magical rays for the water to dance in. And with birds chirping and palm trees swaying…the falls put on quite an afternoon number.

To top off the day the four of us took this six-person rowboat directly into the falls! (okay, it wasn’t really a rowboat, it was a 30-person monster zodiac, but when the falls are this size, and the plumes of water exploding off the surface are over 100-feet tall, it might as well be a row boat.)

What is the most amazing waterfall you have visited? Even if it was a five-meter waterfall on a beautiful hike in Vermont

If you couldn’t already tell from our five weeks of travel through Brazil, we love this place. But ...]]>
If you couldn’t already tell from our five weeks of travel through Brazil, we love this place. But it is not just the pristine beaches, the exotic jungles, incredibly friendly people, and the potent caiparinhas that made us head-over-heels for the Brasileros. True love is in the quirks. Brasil’s got its own set of rules (or lack thereof) and a uniquely awesome definition of normal.

Not be confused with any other South American or Portuguese-speaking country, you know you are in Brazil when…

- Anything can be turned into a point of purchase: the hood of your car (above), shopping cart, duct-taped cooler, bicycle basket, etc.

- You order a piña colda and the pineapple and the coconut are both cut open fresh with a machete hanging from his belt.

- You know how fancy a town is by the price of their fresh coconuts.

- You order a hamburger because the one piece of lettuce is the closest thing you have seen to a salad in weeks.

- A man will chase you down for eight city blocks to apologize for giving you the wrong directions. (This happened to us in Rio.)

- The standard in bartending is to use a piece of wood and a screw as a bottle opener  (Don’t worry kids, we’re bringing this one back to the states).

- You can’t recognize 50% of the fruits in the produce section because they have never been seen outside of the Amazon.

- You order tapioca and the cook pours white powder on a hot skillet then serves you a chewy pancake-shaped meal with butter and cheese (or coconut, or chicken, or beef, and anything but the pudding snack you thought you were going to get).

- Every single bus has its own DJ (or competing DJs), which we came to realize was just people playing music through their cell phones. It was basically the 1980s boombox resurgence in a Motorola form.

- The graffiti is so good you want to submit it to MOMA.

- The buses whip around corners at speeds that will make you swing from ceiling straps like monkey bars.

- Grilled cheese is served everywhere, but with no bread, no butter, just a square stick of cheese grilled over a bucket of coals guys carry around.

- A fruit crate and plastic bag transformed into a mobile bar (actually it was more like a shot station). Guys roll past, do two shots for a buck and hop on the bus.

- Beer vendors are selling drinks directly outside of most clubs/bars and the bar or the police don’t even blink.

- Caipirinhas are literally cheaper than water.

- The recommended distance between beach towels is 3-5 inches.

- The recommended (more like required) width of your thong is 1 inch or less (Anne felt like a nun in her two-piece bikini).

- When you do an 8km ascent up a mountain and realize all the locals are wearing Havaianas.

- A game of futbol can be played with anything from a coconut to a crushed plastic bottle and the field can be cement, dirt, or a sand dune. And the players are always amazing!

- You ride the local bus and people bring their own seats, carry home a full wooden bedroom set, a sack of chicken feed, a Costco-style grocery run and eat half of it en route.

- Everyday is one big party!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you visited Brazil? Did we miss anything? Add it in the comments!!!!!

Walking into a 20-million person city is little intimidating but with our good friend and resident Paulista, ...]]>
Walking into a 20-million person city is little intimidating but with our good friend and resident Paulista, Marcelo, as our guide, we saw the sweeter side of South America’s biggest metropolis. With a wild abundance of restaurants (12,500), bars (15,000) museums (110), and the craziest soccer scene, we had our hands full with good times (see slideshow below) but the day that sums up Sao Paolo culture and beauty was our day in Ibirapuera Park (click here for full post on SeeingDesign.)