Jacada Traveller Photo Journal: Epic Latin America

Earlier this year, Jacada travellers Roy and Sarah took an intrepid, epic journey through the best of Latin America: Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. From trekking through Patagonia’s jagged mountains, to observing the wonderful wildlife in the Galapagós, whitewater rafting though the rapids in Medoza and proposing(!), they had the trip of a lifetime. These are just a few of their favourite memories  they kindly shared with us:

Galapagos

Was up at 5am, and heard all the seabirds in a frenzy, circling and diving into the water. It was an amazing moment we shall never forget. Tortuga island in the background too.

Another beautiful sunset moment over Isabella island in the Galapagos.

Peru

Fortunate enough to see a Capybara washing itself on the banks of the Amazon river. Our guides said that they are usually very shy so it would be rare to witness such a cute animal.

A view from our campsite on Day 1 of the Inca Trail. Amazing rugged views on the first day. After this moment in the hills, we knew that our experience on the Inca trail would be an amazing one!

Visited Winay Wayna on the Inca Trail only to find absolutely no-one there. It was completely empty and we couldn’t figure out why there was noone there at such an underestimated Incan site. We took the moment to savour and soak up the amazing landscape and rainbows in the distance.

Hiking up Huayna Pichu was a slug, but the views were totally worth it. We went around a path to find our little space to enjoy the views without anyone around.

I specifically said ‘pretend to step on my fingers’, but Sarah obviously had different ideas… so I was clearly in pain throughout the process!

 

Whilst exploring the Sacred Valley, we had to stop the car to let a local shepherd tend to his flock. All the animals were so obedient. The small man was literally rearing cows, sheep, donkeys and dogs all on his own. Perhaps we take this for granted as we would never witness or experience this in Hong Kong.

A truck had been stuck on the road to the Maras Salt fields and because we could access the salt farm, we decided to climb the hill behind to an abandoned village to take a photo. The wind was at full force so it was absolutely freezing then.

Traveling from the Colca Canyon to our next destination, we couldn’t help but notice a group of sheep dogs in the distance that were rearing sheep on their own! When we stopped the car to have a closer look, ”Chief” came over to see if we had any food. He looked very tough and was definitely the boss of the group!

One of our nervous moments! Nearly got arrested for jay-walking in Arequipa! Once she knew I was a tourist, she just warned me but because she looked quite impressive as a police officer I had to take a pic with her.

Bolivia”Spot” kept us company all the way around our exploration of the island of Taquile.

Tranquil moment. A local collecting reeves as he passed by on our boat.

So much fun getting creative in Uyuni! A clear reflection of our marriage…

In Uyuni, everyone focuses on the salt plains and the sunsets. But we decided to go look in the opposite direction and I guess we were lucky enough to witness this small storm raining in the distance.

Freezing!! Amazing landscape on the border of Chile and Bolivia. It was understandable why Laguna Verde was deserted that day!

Chile

Decided to explore the lesser-known Rio Grande trek instead of doing all the popular excursions in the Atacama. 16kms of underestimated and truly magnificent scenery!

Completely defying laws! Was truly able to float in Cejar Lagoon. That salt content must have been so high to allow me to float! A truly buoyant moment for me!

We specifically avoided the tourist timings and went to Tongariku in the afternoon when everyone was having dinner. As expected, there was no-one there and we could explore all on our own! A powerful moment for us!

Our first morning in our favourite hotel of all time – Awasi! Roaming horses everywhere immersed in the landscape. Breathtaking moment with Torres in full view!

Conquering the Cerro Torres….trail! Unbelievably lucky with the weather.

An unbelievable moment for us! The French Valley was singing to us for about 30mins… there was howling, singing, crackling of the ice, small landslides, quite a bit of movement in the valley. It was incredible how alive the valley was. It felt like it was putting on a show just for us.

We had just finished our amazing W-trek in Patagonia. Sore and tired, we witnessed this amazing natural formation called a supercell and it was hovering above Torres Del Paine for only a brief moment. But it was amazing to be able to capture this on a boat on Lake Pehoe. The supercell made Torres look tiny!

Site of the proposal. It was nearly 8pm in Patagonia and we were just soaking up all the views when she said ”YES”…. with this landscape, it would have been hard not to.

Argentina

An unbelievable part of the land. Our guide took us to the unknown and private land called Sierra Baguales. Here there was a unique ”Valley of the Shark Teeth” where an ancient forest had dried up only to leave shark teeth scattered everywhere. This is because the enamel of the shark teeth is the only thing that could survive 20,000 years that had past.

 

Was truly happy to survive trekking on the Perito Moreno glacier that day! It was freezing throughout the trek and I guess this was a ‘release’ moment waiting for our boat.

Sarah thoroughly enjoying her first time white-water-rafting in Mendoza – a perfect ending to our experiences in this incredible part of the world.

 

If Roy and Sarah’s photo journal has inspired you to explore the incredible landscapes of the Galapagos, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, talk to one of our knowledgeable Latin America travel designers who can help you plan your perfect trip. Get in touch or call  +44 (0)2035 536914.