Author Archives: awtytravels
High and dry – Atacama Travelogue, Part II.
Our hostal lies at a crossroad on the edge of town. Go right and it’s ruta 23, the lagunas, Socaire and, ultimately, Argentina. Go straight on ruta 27 and again it’s the Argentinian border, as well as the Bolivian one. … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged America Latina, Andes, Antofagasta, Atacama, Atacamenos, Calama, Cejar, Chaxa, Chile, Clint Eastwood, Copper, Cordillera de la Sal, David Gilmour, Desert, Desierto, Enel, Flamenco, Flamingo, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kunza, Lagoon, Laguna, Latin America, Licancabur, Lithium, Minerary, Mines, Moon Valley, Mountains, Nine Inch Nails, Nissan, Norte, Norte Grande, NP300, Pampa Union, Piedra de Coyote, Pueblo, Salar de Atacama, San Pedro, San pedro de Atacama, Sergio Leone, Sky, Sun, Valle de la Luna, Volcano, Vultures, Wind turbines
21 Comments
High and dry – Atacama Travelogue, Part I.
It’s said to be the driest desert in the world outside of Antarctica. So dry that certain riverbeds haven’t seen a drop of water in more than 120,000 years, some weather stations have never recorded any rainfall and, even where … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged America Latina, Andes, Antofagasta, Atacama, Atacamenos, Calama, Chile, Clint Eastwood, Copper, Cordillera de la Sal, David Gilmour, Desert, Desierto, Enel, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kunza, Latin America, Licancabur, Minerary, Mines, Moon Valley, Mountains, Nine Inch Nails, Nissan, Norte, Norte Grande, NP300, Pampa Union, Piedra de Coyote, Pink Floyd, Pueblo, Salar de Atacama, San Pedro, San pedro de Atacama, Sergio Leone, Sky, Sun, Valle de la Luna, Volcano, Vultures, Wind turbines
12 Comments
“Midnight in Sicily” by Peter Robb, Vintage.
Much in the same way that those who learn a language end up with a much deeper knowledge and command of its grammar than the natives, it’s also true that foreigners can, if they live someplace long enough, get to … Continue reading
Posted in Books review, Odd ones out
Tagged Andreotti, Borsellino, Christian Democrats, Cosa nostra, DC, Falcone, Giulio Andreotti, Mafia, Midnight in Sicily, Peter Robb, Robb, Sciascia, Sicily, Vintage, Vintage books, Vintage Press
2 Comments
Pacific skies.
I lied. I said that the last post was going to be the final one from Rapa Nui, but here’s another. The fact is that to go to Rapa Nui and not to be mesmerised by its skies is 100% … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged Ahu, Ahu Akivi, Ahu Tahai, Blue, Chile, Clouds, Crab, Dark, Devil Almight Blues, Easter Island, Gold, Isla de Pascua, Light, Ocean, Orongo, Pacific Ocean, Photography, Photos, Rain, Rapa Nui, Sky, Storm coming down, Sun, Sunrise, Sunset
12 Comments
El misterio vive: Rapa Nui journal, Part III (and final).
There’s only a beach on Easter Island: as it’s to be expected, it comes with a bit of tourist infrastructure. But stop that image that’s forming in your mind, the one with all-inclusive resorts and a W Hotel with unz-unz-unz … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged Ahu, Ahu Tahai, Anakena, Beach, Clouds, Easter Island, horses, Isla de Pascua, Milky Way, Moai, Navel of the world, Ocean, Pacific, Pale blue dot, Palm, Pescado, Poike, Rapa Nui, Ship, Stargazing, Stars, Sunrise, Sunset, Tahai, Te Pito Kura, Te Pito o Te Henua, Tongariki
19 Comments
El misterio vive: Rapa Nui journal, Part II.
The north coast is the remote corner of an island that’s already way out of the way. The further away from Hanga Roa the least passable the road gets, until it becomes little more than a rock-strewn goat path patrolled … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged Ahu, Ahu Akivi, Akivi, America, Chile, David Menezes Salvo, Easter Island, El Misterio Vive, He Moai, Journal, King Hotu Matu'a, Moai, Ocean, Pacific, Poem, Poike, Rano Kau, Rapa Nui, Te Peu, Tongariki
10 Comments
El misterio vive: Rapa Nui journal, Part I.
Some trips are born in the heat of the moment. Others come from way back, originating from yellowing books, B&W films or stories told by elder relatives a lifetime ago. This is one of them. But yet again, it shouldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged Animals, Bird Man, Chile, Easter Island, Hanga Roa, Horse, Manutara, Migratory bird, Moai, Motu Nui, Ocean, Orongo, Pacific, People watching, Photography, Rano Kau, Ranu Kau, Rapa Nui, Sky, Tangata Manu, Travel, Trekking
17 Comments
The ecocide that wasn’t.
Back in my university days there was a book that passed hands with the same speed as No-Global leaflets, only with more enthusiastic reviews. It was Collapse, by American geographer and historian Jared Diamond, author of that Guns, Germs and … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Chile
Tagged Aboriginal civilisation, Academia, Ahu, Article, Chile, Collapse, Deforestation, Don Felipe González, Don Francisco Antonio de Agüera y Infanzon, Easter Island, Ecocide, Ecology, Economics, European Contact, Exploration, Germs and Steel, Guns, Hawaii, Jacob Roggeveen, Jago Cooper, James Cook, Jared Diamond, Moai, Monolith, Ocean, Pacific, Rapa Nui, Rare earths, Statue, Wiley
19 Comments
Thinking of a place.
The sun is setting on a scene I’ve waited 26 years to see. There’s people around me; for some, this is one of many such sunsets; for others it’s as new as it is for me. But I doubt that … Continue reading
The quest for the best road.
There are countless articles singing the virtues of this or that stretch of road, claiming it to be “the best in the UK/Europe/world” (delete as applicable). So what’s the point in writing another one? What’s the use of increasing the … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Iceland
Tagged Ólafsvík, Borgarnes, Creedence, DJ Krush, El Búho, Eldborg, Europe, Fortress of Fire, Grundarfjörður, Iceland, Icelandic horse, Kirkjufell, Music, Road, Road Trip, Route 54, Route 56, Route 574, Saxhóll, Sea, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Stykkishólmur, Suzuki Vitara, Tourism, Travel, Video, Vitara, Volcano, Winter, Xica Xica, Ytri-Tunga
26 Comments
