0255 Best of the Best Part 3 - Cartagena to Santiago

South America - Cartagena to Santiago.

10^th October – 19^th December 2014.  71 days, 5 countries, and 11,006 kilometres.

We flew to Cartagena Columbia on a Friday, the ship carrying our car arrived that evening, and not only did the port not work at weekends, but Monday was a National Day holiday, so it was Tuesday 14^th before we could even start our paperwork trail to release our car. Due to inefficiencies by our agent, idiocy in the port, and delays in customs, it was 3 frustrating days before we finally drove our cars out of the docks on the evening of Thursday 16^th.  We even had a Spanish speaking Peruvian with us, so it was not a lack of Spanish language that delayed us ! The up side was that Cartagena is a GREAT city, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, in a great little hotel, good restaurants, and so much history to explore – And Francis Drake the infamous English pirate (?) plundered here too ! 

Afternoon rains mean the streets flood in Cartagena, but we finally left town on the morning of the 17^th and headed north up the coast, past a mud “volcano” you can swim in (no thanks !), up to Tayrona Nat Park near Santa Marta. Very hot and steamy and tropical, and then it was off down Hwy 45 towards Bogota, passing cheap bootleg fuel stations in cardboard shacks, and a LOT of trucks on the road, within a couple of kms of the Venezuelan border, to a little town called Aguachica. Here we found a great little hotel where they allowed us to sleep in their secure back yard.  Next morning Janet found a humming bird lying on the ground, knocked senseless when it flew into its reflection in a window, and she picked it up.  Slowly it recovered, coming to life in her hands – What a magical moment – To hold a wild hummingbird in your hands, and then watch it fly away ! 

Next day it was up into the mountains over 3000 metres, had lunch at a roadside Parilla (meat bbq), and then found the incredible Chicamocha Nat Park and Gorge – Supposedly second largest gorge in the world.  Spend afternoon there and then drop into San Gil to camp beside a swimming pool. 

Next day was all mountains and peajes (tolls) – Incredible drive down to Villa de Layva, where we found the most beautiful little colonial town, with one of the largest central plazas anywhere in the Americas,  where we stayed to explore for a couple of days. Most enjoyable.  From there it was rain all the way to a Nat Park near Zipaquira where we camped beside a lake at 3000 metres, 5 deg C, and miles from anywhere – Gorgeous !  Then into the incredible Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira, a bus tour of the town, and a delicious take away bbq for dinner ! Big traffic jams getting through Bogota, and then later on a big accident blocked the road and we had to camp at a convenient gas station when it got dark.

Next day was rain all day, driving through incredible mountain passes with trucks overtaking everywhere, and people jumping on the trailers for a ride down the mountains !  Eventually through extensive cane fields and into Popayan where we stayed in a lovely hotel in the middle of town – But unfortunately Janet lost her wallet and we had to cancel her credit cards etc.  From there on through incredible mountain passes to a small gas station at about 2200 metres, and afer a very pleasant night there dropped down to the Ecuadorian border at Ipiales.  From there it was on through the mountains to Ibarra and a lovely camp site beside a lake (and a race track !) where we stayed for 3 days before heading on to Quito via Otovalo and Cayembe.

We have decided to go out to the Galapagos, so we make a last minute booking at a good price with an agent, and spend a couple of days exploring Quito (great city) and visiting the Equator monument, before heading south to Guayaquil to catch a flight out to the islands.  After a night in a hotel and leaving the car in their secure car park, we flew out to Baltra, drove to Puerto Ayora, eventually caught a small ferry for a VERY rough 2 hour ride to San Cristobal where, after a night in a delightful local hotel we met up with our catamaran SeaMan and start an amazing 5 day cruise round the Islands with all their amazing wildlife.  Snorkelling wth the sea lions was probably the highlight of a fantastic 5 days, but everything else was fascinating.  Walks across islands with birds, iguanas giant tortoises and sea lions everywhere, seeing albatross’ do their beak dancing, and of course the blue footed boobies – one of my favourites !

After 5 fascinating days, we got back on the road, and went back past Zhud where we had first seen the barbecued pigs.  We bought some to munch on as we headed to through Tambo and then up little country roads to Ingapirca, at over 3000 metres, and said to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Ecuador.   We went on an interesting tour of the ruins, and later Janet made friends with a chap from Cuenca who had a sheep, and who invited us to visit him if we passed through there, and then, as the tourists thinned out, we set up camp in the car park, and soon had the place to ourselves for the night – Very special to camp up there in such a historical location.

From Ingapirca it was off towards Cuenca – But Janet realised she had lost her phone.  Eventually I managed to find a photo of it at the bbq pig place, sitting on the counter – She had left it there !  So back to Zhud where the ladies on the road side stand smiled when they saw us, and passed us the phone !  So we bought a bit more pig to eat during the day !!   Coffee break and a ‘splore around Saraguro where it was market day, so lots to look at.  The men wear black hats, black shirts, and black ¾ length trousers, and the women wear black pleated skirts  and only here they wear white broad brimmed hats, different to anywhere else.  The  Saraguro people are similar to the Canares people from Ingapirca in that they go back for centuries, and also had battles and eventual treaties with the Inca people.  Fascinating part of the world.

By late afternoon we reached Loja, and Podocarpus NP where we knew we could camp. We checked in at the gate house at the entrance, once again getting in free as we were “oldies”, and then drove up this amazing dirt track that was collapsing in places and right on the edge of massive drops down the mountain, ending up at 2850 metres in a car park, where we were welcomed by a ranger – Who showed us the facilities and then left us for the night !  A wet and cold night, but the next morning it stopped raining enough for us to pack up dry, and head back down the mountain and off to the Peruvian border at Macara.  We found a nice little hotel for the night, went out to a local restaurant for a chicken bbq dinner (interesting !), and enjoyed the comfort of a proper bed and shower ! Next morning, after topping off the fuel tanks with 20 cents a litre Ecuadorian fuel, we headed to the border.

Had a hilarious time crossing the border (which cost us nothing for the first time in a few months !), and headed of into Peru.  Very deserty and dry, and lots of rubbish unfortunately, through the crazy traffic of Tambogrande to get some local currency, then we headed off across the Atacama desert towards Chiclayo.  We stayed at an amazing hostel in Chiclayo that was not only tucked away in the back of the village, but also free, and we were allowed to shower in one of their rooms which made for a very pleasant night.  Next morning we headed south, through the very dirty town of Chiclayo (garbage strike in progress ?) and towards Trujillo.  There seem to be no road rules in N Peru, especially in towns, so driving was interesting to say the least as we headed south, first through areas of intense irrigation and cultivation, and then through increasingly desert conditions to a camp site in a sports complex north of Chimbote.

Did a shop in a big supermarket in Chimbote, ending up with coffee, empanadas and churros to take with us for lunch on the road ! Today was mostly desert again – Our 3^rd day in Peru and it had mostly been desert all the way – which surprised us.  A few detours down to little fishing villages along the coast, and then some impressive pre- Inca ruins (Chimu people, about 1200 ?) right beside the road at Paramonga, where the gate man Carlos told us lots of stories, and we had some fun in his tuk tuk.    Lots of sugar cane fields all around made possible by intense irrigation.  100 kms later we arrived at the Lomas de Lachay NP and climbed up into the thick mist on the mountain that apparently is an almost permanent feature of this park.

In the morning we came down out of a mist that we so thick you could hardly see where you were going, and then it was on down through the desert – Lots of long low sheds – Presumably chicken farms ? Then it was increasing urbanization as we approached and then went right through the middle of Lima – We had no plans to stop, and after a couple of hours of heavy traffic, followed by a roadside hot dog, we headed on to Pachacamac and the enormous Inca Temple of the Sun which must have been amazing in its heyday in about 1400.  After spending some time there, it was on south, where a little place called Chincha Alta had a big traffic jam that delayed us for a couple of hours, and means we got through Pisco and down to our planned camp site at Paracas Nat Park after dark, making it hard to find our way around.   We ended up sleeping on a deserted beach, that in the morning came alive with fishermen !   On south through more desert interspersed with irrigated vinyards, through Ica, a local wine centre, and looking for Huacachina, that supposedly used to be a resort for people from Lima.  After a few false turns which took us out to remote villages in the desert that were definitely NOT resorts, we eventually found the right road and there was Huacachina nestling around a slightly green lagoon in the middle of this oasis of palm trees.  Once obviously quite something, it has now developed into more of a hippy area, with lots of backpackers taking rides on beach buggies in the extensive sand dunes that surround the oasis, but we had a very pleasant lunch in a little restaurant, and soaked up some of the atmosphere, before heading on south, passing the hundreds of little one room square “houses” made out of matting. Never quite figured them out !

We went through a sudden mountain pass around Pulpa and Lipata, and shortly afterwards arrived at the tower lookout over the Nazca Lines, set beside the road.  We climbed the tower to get a view of the amazing shapes and lines that have been drawn in the desert, and they were fascinating – Just not fascinating enough to us to make us want to spend money going up in a plane to see them, dramatic through that might have been.  So we then went on into Nazca to a campsite where there were quite a lot of Aussie and tourists camping – One of those cross country bus camping tours !  Next day we planned to stay in the camp ground and do laundry, wifi, and generally have a day catching up on a few chores  But after found out there was an electricity problem in town, and there would be no power all day, so we abandoned our planned  day off and headed inland towards the mountains, and eventually Cuzco.

From almost sea level, we then climbed and climbed and climbed, with the temperatures dropping – until we stopped for lunch over looking a valley at about 4200 metres.  We saw our first vicuna, and lots of herds of alpaca, and crossed these quite wild plains for several hours, all at about 4500 m.  Eventually we realised we weren’t going to make it to our planned destination, so we pulled over by this great lake in the middle of nowhere – At 4500 m.  Freezing night, and we got no sleep at all as we could hardly breathe ! We both felt really rough the next morning, as did Troopie, who was blowing lots of white smoke out as we drove off across the snow covered plains where it had snowed overnight.  Eventually we all started to feel a lot better, especially when we dropped down to about 2000 m in Abancay where we had fun trying to get through a town which didn’t boast one sign post !  Eventually followed a bus which was signed as heading for Cusco, but realised we still weren’t going to get o Cusco tonight,  and ended up searching for a camp site in Curahuasi.  After maybe 2 hours we found it, and it turned out to be the home of a couple (she from Belgium, he from  Peru) who have an amazing project where they run a school / play group for about 35 local kids, providing care and nourishment and education for them, helped by young volunteers, mostly from Europe.  Truly a great and worthwhile project, and we loved seeing it.  And in such a stunning part of the world too.

Next morning it was off to Cuzco, working our way through some major roadworks where the road is only open briefly once every 3 hours, but with foreknowledge we go straight through.  After the roadworks at about 2000 m we suddenly climbed back up to 3750 metres, and then these flat plains, but all around 4000 m.  We arrived in the little puebla of Izcuchaca where it was market day, and people dressed in the colourful local outfits were everywhere.  We were really getting a true feel for the Peruvian Andes by now as we approached Cuzco, which is not the easiest town to get into, especially with massive roadworks in the hillsides !  Eventually, after going up many streets that were about 45 degrees and only 1-2 inches wider than Troopie, we eventually found our campsite – A peaceful little haven up on the hills overlooking Cuzco, where we found our French friends Greg & Estelle, a German lady(Marion) who  I last met in 2013 in a camp site in Sydney, and a number of others of various nationalities who were all camped there.   We had 2 very enjoyable days chatting with everyone in the campsite in the evening, and exploring the great little city that is Cuzco – and booking our trip to Machu Picchu.

Next morning we left to drive to Olantaytambo, visiting the salt pans at Maras on the way.  We had a 4 pm deadline for our train to Machu Picchu in Olantaytambo, but fter getting lost leving Cusco, we were running a bit tight, especially when we then couldn’t find our hotel where we were planning to leave the car !  Luckily all sorted eventually, although we had to buy some sandwiches on the station as we had missed lunch !  Had a lovely train ride up the Sacred Valley to Aguas Claientes, and then had to walk to the top of the hill to our hotel – Good job we were altitude acclimatised by now, and we are only at about 2800 metres.  Delightful dinner in a little restaurant halfway down the hill, and then to bed, ready for an early morning start.

We caught the 6.10 bus up the hill, and met our guide Jonathon and other people on the tour for the day, and set off.  As you come out first to the well known scene of Machu Picchu, it is a very special moment for everyone.  It was cloudy when we came out, but the sun gradually cleared for us, bathing us in sunlight – It was as good as being there at dawn.  Ended up spending  wonderful day exploring this very special place before catching a bus back down the mountain as it started to rain, then catching our train along the Sacred Valley beside the river Urubamba back to Olantaytanbo.   Back in our hotel, we set up our campsite in their garden, went and had a great meal in a little restaurant in town, and turned in at the end of an amazing day.

Due to the slowly disintegrating suspension bushes on Troopie, we decided to head back to Cuzco to try to get them fixed, instead of going directly to Titicaca and Bolivia.  On the way we were able to find the incredible Incan agricultural amphitheatres at Maray that we couldn’t find a couple of days ago, and from there we went on to Chincheros where we knew they had local markets on today, so we ended up exploring not only the great local markets, but also some more local Inca ruins, on top of which the Spanish plonked their church ! There is just so much to see and enjoy in all these little pueblas along the road.  Then it was back to the camp site in Cuzco to catch up with everyone.

Next day we were at the Toyota dealer early, and they said they could fix my suspension problem and do a service, so Janet and I went into Cuzco for the day, had a coffee, and then went on a walking tour around the town.  This was followed by a big local lunch, and then a beer at the Irish pub, and then back to get Troopie who was all fixed and clean and ready to keep going.  

From Cuzco we headed towards Puno and Lake Titicaca, travelling ll day at about 4000 m.  Great drive all day, eventually ending up in an amazing canyon, Tinajani.  The local farmer greeted us (and got a few soles !), and we had a cold night in this incredible canyon.   Minus 2 deg C when we woke up, but we were snug in our down sleeping bags, and drove out through the sights of this canyon back to the road to Puno, passing through yet another totally unsignposted town – Juliaca.  When we got to Puno, we checked out a campsite a bit out of town, but after booking a tour to Lake Titicaca for the next morning, decided to splash out and stay in a delightful little hotel right in the middle of town. 

Next morning it was off to Lake Titicaca.  We had a pans pipes duet to entertain us on the boat, and then it was out to the lake for a day on the reed islands to see a lifestyle hat has existed for 100’s of years.  Had a really fascinating day out there, with Janet befriending many of the local ladies as well as having a go at rowing the reed boat across the waterway !  Once back on shore, the taxi back to our hotel was stopped due to lots of marching bands in the streets – It was a big fiesta ! We opted to walk back to the hotel, but actually spent the next 2 hours thoroughly enjoying a brilliant fiesta, with all the people happy to share their day with us.  Eventually we managed to get back to the car and leave Puno, and headed to Arequipa and Colca Canyon.  We decided not to go to Bolivia because we were running out of time for our deadline in Santiago for our flights back to Aus for Christmas, and were (and still are) quite happy with that decision.  We headed to Sillustani Monumento – where locals had built massive stone tombs in pre-Inca times, some even BC – ad after wandering around the  delightful grounds for a few hours, we camped in the car park for free – Once again all on our own !  It was very special to be allowed to camp inside some of these historical areas, and wake up right in the middle of them. 

We then headed towards Arequipa, and had the most scenic drive all day surrounded by snowcapped mountains and volcanos, a herds of vicuna on the road, and just stunning scenery all day.  So stunning in fact that we missed our turning to Colca Canyon, and had to do a U turn and go back some 50 kms ! This road was even more stunning, up at 4800 metres, and just unbelievable scenery.  Finally into the little town of Chivay where we spent the night camped at their hot springs.  Next morning, after exploring Chivay, we set off to Colca Canyon, the dirt road winding up and down, through rough-hewn tunnels, and past amazing terraced fields on all the hillsides.  Passing though little villages along the way, we eventually arrived at the parking lot for the Mirador Cruz del Condor – And once again we were the only ones there.  We set up camp in the parking lot, wandered around, and just as we were settling down, all these vehicles roar in – 3 of our German / Swiss friends from Cuzco !! After a night’s sleep we were all up before dawn to see these Condors – Who decided to take the day off !  So we saw a couple in the distance, is all.  Ah well…….

Rest of the photos for this so far are here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0256BestOfTheBest302?authkey=Gv1sRgCOrvvqey2bDZ7gE

From there it was another stunning drive through the mountains and altiplano down to Arequipa, where we found a great hotel which had a camping area in the gardens.  Perfect.  We spent the next day exploring Arequipa – A delightful colonial town with great Catedral and monastery.  Then it was on down the road, more desert, more mountain passes, a massive military base out in the desert, ad eventually to Tacna.  We couldn’t find a camp site there, but Janet guided us to an archaeological site about 20 kms out of town, where once again we were greeted with open arms, and allowed to stay in the car park of the facility over night, again all to ourselves !  In the morning we explored the  petroglifos or drawings on the surrounding rocks – Apparently from about 500 AD.  Quite amazing, just out in the desert.

After our walk, it was off across the desert to the Chilean border, where once again we had the easiest and most pleasant crossing, with police officers leaving their desks to guide us to the next official.  Couldn’t have been nicer.    From there it was on down the coast to Arica, where we eventually found a great camping spot down in the beach.  We went up to a big monument on the top of a hill overlooking the town, and had a bit of a shop, before heading to the beach and setting up camp.  Then next day was Atacama desert all day to Iquique, with the odd canyon and windy bit of road just to keep you on your toes. Scenic drop down the sides of and dunes into Iquique, and a good camp site, once again right on the beach.

Incredible drive down the coast towards Antofogasta -  On our left, all the way south, are the high rock dunes that form the barrier between the ocean and the Atacama.  And on the right is the beach – But it is not just beach – It is a wild, unpopulated, sea bird ridden, pelican covered, salt mine included, Guano covered 200 km stretch of ocean front that if it were anywhere else in the world would have high rise hotels and tourists everywhere.  But here in Chile, it is still a wonderful, unspoilt stretch where camping is allowed just about everywhere, and where friendly people in little wooden empanada and marisco huts sell the most delicious food, and where the smell of sea bird poop and rotting seaweed are more prevalent !  I found it delightful – And could happily come back and spend a week or so just wandering aimlessly down the coast, camping where ever you felt like it, right beside the ocean.  Personally, I found it a little bit of heaven – While she thought it was pretty to see,  Janet felt it was too remote, too wild, and couldn’t imagine spending even one night here ! 

Eventually we turned east, back though the Atacama to the Chuquicamata copper mine – One of the largest open cut mining operations any where in the world.  Then we dropped down to our destination for the night in Calama, a mining centre for the whole region.   Next morning we did a big shop before heading off towards San Pedro de Atacama – Unfortunately we got there on the weekend of a local marathon run or something, and the little town was packed, with blow up tents in the normally quiet main square, and load music and crowds everywhere.  Anyway, had a nice lunch, had a ‘splore, and then set up in a camp site down one of the side streets. 

The next day we have driven on the moon, and got back in time to have a delicious Chilean Carmenere red wine and a steak cooked to perfection for supper.   We have seen flamingos at almost 5000 metres, and have seen so many yamas and vicunas that we don’t really notice them any more. We have walked on salt flats that stretch to the horizon, driven up and down gorges with more switch back roads than I ever knew existed before, and have seen sights that I never realised could be so spectacular, over the brow of every hill or mountain we held our breath knowing we were going to see something spectacular.  We have met lovely people, and the border crossing into Argentina was probably the best yet, despite a few laughs.   And at one point on the road, I was in tears because the whole thing was just so overpowering.  Yes, today was a 6 WOW day – I think the first one for a long time.  And at the end of it we dropped down an amazing pass into the most delightful little rural village, Pumamarca, and after asking around we found a great little campsite right in the middle of town.  It would take something very special to top today.

From there it was on down to Salta, desperately trying to find some Argentinian money !  As we were to learn, there are only certain ways to get it !  After Salta we entered  a small pass and came out into the most amazing gorge / valley you can imagine  - The Quebrada de Cafayete, a 45 km long valley  is a maze of stunning sandstone formations with names like “Garganta del Diablo” (Devil’s throat), “El Sapo” (The Toad), and “Los Castillos”,  (The Castles).  We eventually arrived in the delightful little town of Cafayate where we found an Aussie couple in the camp site (Caitlin and Jamie) and Walter the American from Brazil – Had a very pleasant evening with them all round the table.  Next day we walked into town with Walter and had a great ‘splore, a fascinating shop, and then a superb (and long) lunch in a little restaurant in the main square, before retiring to the local coffee and ice cream shop for desert !  What a great little town.

Headed south past increasing numbers of wineries, we seemed to have a few dirt road deviations through little villages, but very pleasant driving, until at about 5.30, just as we felt like stopping, in Salicas we saw a “camping” sign, and found an amazing little place on a local property, where it was very rustic, but perfect for camping.  Next day it was down Ruta 40 through Pituil to Chilecito, where we found hot roasting chickens and a panaderia , and then it was on through Nonogasta  and almost at our destination of Villa Union when the road was closed for roadworks !  We had heard the roads west of Villa Union were really good, so we went south to Patquia, then west and then finally north through Talampaya NP.  We camped there, and enjoyed a beer in the adobe offices, and next morning headed north until we finally reached Villa Union, and got back onto Ruta 40 on the other side of the road block we had encountered yesterday.  At Guandacol we turned south again, and then climbed up through an amazingly narrow gorge – Too narrow for 2 cars to pass, for sure.  And in the open areas, the winds were amazingly strong.  To have our lunch we had to find a sheltered spot well out of the wind.  Eventually we were driving through this amazing gorge near Calingasta, and I wanted to stop but not too close to the river as it was looking like rain.  Eventually we found a building beside the road which look to be closed, but when we pulled in, there was a man there !  So we asked if we could sleep there, and he said “Si” – So we pulled up in the shelter of the building and it was great ! 

The next morning the canyon continued for a while, then we saw a sign to “El Alcazar Canyon”, so we turned up a very narrow dirt road which then opened out into this mini Grand Canyon.  Quite spectacular – And unexpected !   It was then on, through Barreal, and then across a long stretch of rough dirt road into Uspallarta – Which is where they filmed part of the Brad Pitt film “7 years in Tibet” – So you can imagine the scenery.  We ended up in a Parillada restaurant (meat bbq) and had a good lunch plus they changed some $ into pesos for us – Always a problem here in Argentina ! 

The next day we went into Mendoza, passing through the little town of Potrerillos , with a big lake, and supposedly a ski area in the mountains.  After lunch by the lake, we went on to Mendoza, with the 6570 m Mt Tupungato showing its peak briefly through the clouds, and the outskirts of Mendoza is just mile after mile for vineyards – 70% of Argentinian wine is apparently grown in the Mendoza region.  Mendoza was flattened by a massive earthquake in 1860 and was rebuilt with very wide treelined streets, which are really attractive.  However, security here is ba, and we were warned a couple of times by people at traffic lights to be careful – First time that had happened in the entire trip !  Found a nice camp site up on the hill, where despite an really heavy storm overnight, we survived without getting wet. 

The next day, since the drive back to Uspallarta was only about 100 kms, we decided to try and find the ski area in Portrerillos – And after a bit of searching we eventually found the road which, after abut 10 kms of black top, became quite a rough dirt road.  As we followed this road up the mountain, the temps dropped to 4 deg C, the mist came down, and we were passing ski lodges and other accommodation – Currently empty in “summer”.     In the end it got so bad that we decided not to continue the last 10 kms or so to the top – But it would be great to see this mountain on a sunny day.  Quite spectacular.   From the town  we followed the Rio Mendoza through its stunning valley, with the abandoned railway line alongside, back into Uspallarta again, where we camped in the same site as before.

Next morning we set off to Santiago, and this was the first 7 wow day of the trip – The mountain pass across the Andes was just spectacular.  It started off pretty well, with the old railway line still wandering through the valley beside us, and after that it just got better. We passed through a big ski area with lots of big hotels boarded up for the summer, and then we suddenly came out in a kind of market place with stalls and horses standing around.  This was Puente Del Inca – Bridge of the Inca, and was once a British-developed hot sulphur springs resort with a railway terminal on the line bringing tourists up from both Mendoza and Santiago. After a big ice-dam flood in 1934 which damaged everything, a big landslide in 1965 destroyed the hotel and church – And the Brits left nd everything fell into ruin.  But what remains is just spectacular, and we spent a while exploring before carrying on up this mountain pass, seeing the 6960m Mt Aconcagua on our right – The highest mountain outside of Asia.   Then on up and up, until finally we entered a 2 km tunnel through the top of the mountain which enabled this road to now be open year round – The old road over the summit had to be closed in winter. As we started to come down the other side, we came to Chilean customs, and apart from a few bits of fruit, we got through unscathed !  And just down the road, I finally found the lake I have been looking for – Lake of the Incas and the nearby Hotel Portillo.  This ice blue lake surrounded by incredible mountains, and with very few tourists around, knocks Lake Louise into a cocked hat.  THIS is an amazing lake.   This is what I thought Lake Louise would look like.  And if you don’t believe me, go and check it out for yourselves !

From the summit, it was down all the way, with a 28 corner switchback road first, and then a seemingly endless pass all the way down into Santiago.  The plan was to camp just outside the city,  and then move into an airport hotel for our last night before we flew back to Australia for Christmas.  This we did, and on the 19^th December we left Troopie in the long term car park at Santiago airport, and flew back to Perth to spend Christmas with our children and their families. 

 And the rest of the photos for this section are here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0257BestOfTheBestPart4?authkey=Gv1sRgCL2Cor_yiJrpHA