On perhaps an impulsive whim, I just booked plane tickets to Santiago, Chile! Woohoo! I’ll be headed there from October 15 to December 1. A full six weeks!
I have two plans for the trip. I may do one, or the other, or both.
First idea: Head south from Santiago to the Lake District. This area is lush and green, with big lakes and beautiful cone-shaped volcanoes. I’ve travelled through here once before back in 2002; my friend Mikel and I stayed briefly in the adventure town of Pucón, where we snowboarded at the little ski resort on the slopes of Villarrica Volcano. Here’s some great photos of the Lake District by Gerhard Hüdepohl.
Second idea: Head north from Santiago to the Atacama desert. There are even more enormous volcanoes there, including Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano on Earth at 22,615 feet. The alien landscapes of the Atacama look like a photographer’s dream. Again, check out Gerhard Hüdepohl’s amazing Atacama photos to see what I mean.
UPDATE: Now I’m not going to Chile… I’ll be going to New Zealand instead! Read about my change of plans here.
What cameras will you take with you?
David - I haven’t decided yet what cameras to bring… I’m tempted to just bring a small dSLR setup so I can travel light and easy, and focus on climbing mountains. On the other hand I could be really sad not having the 4×5 for some “real” photos… but it’s so much more cumbersome to travel with. At least I have some time to decide!
How cool to just book a Chile trip on a whim! The Atacama images blew me away - thanks for showcasing another photographer most Americans will never know about. I think you should go to Atacama and also climb one of those amazing volcanoes. Oh - and carry everything - the big burrito, the little taco, and now the chimichunga - you never know what you might need. Ha!