San Pedro de Atacama

High and dry

 Posted on July 21, 2019  |  5 minutes  |  950 words  |  Ryan Glovinsky

The Atacama desert is one of the driest places on Earth, second only to Antarctica. It also exists at an extremely high elevation (which is part of the reason for the minimal moisture). San Pedro de Atacama was suggested as one of the top places to visit in Chile. As with much of our trip, we didn’t have much of a plan once we arrived. We found a quaint Airbnb the week before we were set to arrive. [Read More]
Take Us Back (DWNTGB)  Travel  South America  Chile 

Santiago

"Sanhattan"

 Posted on July 19, 2019  |  3 minutes  |  531 words  |  Mollie Glovinsky

We were very happy to be on our way to Santiago the day after the unsettling news on our last day in Valparaiso. Our friends were incredibly generous and lent us their apartment in the ritzy Las Condes neighborhood while they were out of town. After spending a week in slightly uncomfortable accommodations in Easter island, and then feeling unsafe in Valparaiso, we were incredibly happy to be in a place that was clean, comfortable, secure, etc. [Read More]
Once Was Enough (DWNTGB)  Travel  South America  Chile 

Valparaíso

The Colorful, Poetic Port City

 Posted on July 17, 2019  |  4 minutes  |  680 words  |  Mollie Glovinsky

Valparaiso is a port city about one and a half hour’s drive from Santiago. It is a city known for it’s colorful houses, cool graffiti artwork, and hills that will leave your legs feeling sore. UNESCO even labeled it a World Heritage site. The city feels like the Latin version of San Francisco. Dotted along the hills, to help transport people up and down, are ascensores, or lifts. It cost us 300 Chilean pesos each (~50 cents) for this opportunity. [Read More]
Once Was Enough (DWNTGB)  Chile  Travel  South America 

Easter Island

The Most Remote Inhabited Island in the World

 Posted on July 16, 2019  |  6 minutes  |  1143 words  |  Ryan and Mollie

Rapa Nui, the indigenous name of Easter Island, is a very peculiar place. Looking at a map, it is a tiny speck literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean in every direction. The only way to get there is by flying five hours either from Santiago or Tahiti. The island is famous for it’s mysterious giant stone statues, called moai. Archaeologists have documented up to 887 moai in existence here, all carved from porous volcanic rock and transported all across the the island- no easy feat! [Read More]
Once Was Enough (DWNTGB)  Chile  Travel  South America 

La Ruta de los Siete Lagos

The Route of the Seven Lakes

 Posted on July 12, 2019  |  3 minutes  |  518 words  |  Mollie Glovinsky

After a couple days in Bariloche, we hit the road towards San Martin de los Andes, along The Route of the Seven Lakes. This is a famous scenic drive past snow covered mountains and deep blue lakes that technically only takes about three hours one way. Most people turn it into a several day trip, staying overnight along the way, something we opted to do on the drive back down. The weather remained cloudy but it was still a beautiful drive. [Read More]
Depends Who You Ask (DWNTGB)  Travel  Argentina  South America 

San Carlos de Bariloche

 Posted on July 11, 2019  |  4 minutes  |  793 words  |  Mollie Glovinsky

While we were in El Calafate, with less than ideal internet speeds, we received news that our flight was cancelled from Buenos Aires to Bariloche… the flight we were supposed to take in three days. Bariloche- the place we were supposed to be meeting our friend David who was coming all the way from San Diego for a two week trip. Cue panic and several WTFs. After many phone calls and being on hold, Ryan was able to sort through what happened: The labor unions called for a nationwide strike for the same day our flights happened to be, so the airline had to cancel all flights for that day. [Read More]
Once Was Enough (DWNTGB)  Travel  Argentina  South America