There are places you wait to go on your travels and Mendoza was one of them. Red wine, more specifically the Malbec was the enticing factor. The surrounding area of Mendoza does offer more than wine, hiking (including Aconcagua the highest peak in South America - just below 7000m) , water rafting and horse riding. Our focus though was on the vino tints and to try lots of it. The original plan was to hire bikes to cycle to the numerous vineyards within the regio...

Valparaiso, a port town which initially boomed in the 19th century due to the American gold rush, is now a Unesco world heritage sight famed for embracing poets, artists and singers. After our short journey from Santiago we arrived for what was originally planned as a day trip but ended up being 3 days, travelling with Chris, Andrew and Becky, friends we had met in Santiago. Once settled in the hostel we set off to do the now obligatory free walking tour (tours...

We had been given mixed reviews about Santiago before we got to the capital of Chile. Lacking the European charm of Buenos Aires, the fun flair of Rio, it is not a top city you hear travellers rave about in South America. We walked away with it being one of our best weeks (which is quite tough!). With the backdrop of the Andean mountains, the city is visually impressive particularly when taking in the views from a height (includes the park Cerro Santa Lucia and t...

We arrived in Bariloche greeted by architecture more at home in a Swiss alpine resort than the middle of Argentina. We stayed in a hostel called Penthouse 1004, which as the name suggests is a penthouse in a flat block converted into a hostel. It had without doubt the best view from a hostel or even hotel we've ever seen. From the 10th floor (no sky scrapers here) you could see the lakes in all their glory. There was a large terrace where backpackers took in the ...

Puerto Varas was not part of the original plan,  it was marked as a layover to get to Bariloche. However, after a little more lonely planet reading we realised that it was a picturesque part of Chile, described as the 'lake district' with plenty of outdoor activities on offer. Many centre around the Volcano Osorno. Either hiking up the volcano , cycling down it or taking in the views kayaking on the lake, again cycling or going a bit wild and doing some canyonin...