Range Central Central America
This is my first introduction to the world of Nicaragua’s smoking volcanoes. First impressions are important and these are great. One of Nicaragua’s two ultra mountains is Volcán San Cristóbal, an active stratovolcano with a bush-covered base and a half kilometre high volcanic sand slope. Today we’ll have a great opportunity to get our legs…
RegionGreenland
As I head towards Nicaragua, the airlines’ marketing departments have made sure that the route that is “most convenient for me” has at least three connections. The first is in Brussels; the second is in Chicago. I have flown a very similar route across the Atlantic before, and I know that I will be able…
RegionPrague
After a hearty dinner and the greetings sent and received, it’s time for a walk. The city is packed with people, apparently still trying to recover from a couple of years of global restrictions. The large number of people does not prevent us from enjoying the city’s streets at dusk. I still find it beautiful…
RegionMasovian Voivodeship
Christmas is coming, and we’re in no hurry. We stop in Warsaw on our way from Vilnius. Correct decision because we discovered a great restaurant, Christmas-themed streets, a comfortable hotel, and had a good time. What else.. Walking late in the evening, we are surprised by how many people are on the streets. Maybe it’s…
RegionVilnius County
Winter, night, few people, a bit of a chill, fresh and clean snow on the streets. It’s the perfect time to wander around the lovely city of Vilnius and see what’s decorated for Christmas and how. After the scorching heat of Argentina, this was a welcome change.
Range Puna de Atacama
The main objective of this trip was to climb the six ultra peaks, and if there was time to spare, perhaps visit one of the other lower or easier peaks. Due to the subtleties of acclimatisation, weather conditions, and logistics, we chose Cumbres Calchaquies for our first climb. The plan and the order changed several…
RegionCatamarca
I am by no means attempting to give a comprehensive overview of Argentinian gastronomy. That would require its own book. Our destination was the mountain tops, not the culinary heights. So in this short article, I have only stuck to what we found along the way, what we managed to taste in a few short…
Range Pampas
We have breakfast, call a taxi to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), and indicate in the app that we want to go via Av. Francisco Beiró 4150, C1419. The taxi driver gives us the all-clear sign, and we go. The address was actually further away than I thought, but we have plenty of time; we…
RegionCiudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
The plane lands at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), a few kilometres from downtown. The size of the city and the illuminated streets will leave few indifferent. And the clarity of the picture and lights only confirms the origin of the city’s name. We land and very quickly collect our luggage. At the entrance, with my…
Range Puna de Atacama
This is the last major hill on this trip and likely the last for the year, though you never know, there might be one along the way. At the hotel, we agree to check out in the late afternoon and head towards the trailhead. We start climbing, and a local farmer shouts that we are…
Range Puna de Atacama
And again, it is forbidden… And again, an interesting top, next to the golf course. We leave the car and somehow magically get punched on the other side of the fence. A hundred metres across the meadow, and we are at the top. We get a good view of the surroundings, measure the height, and…
Range Puna de Atacama
There are no easily accessible ultra peaks around, so we opt for a nicely shaped ribu rising from the Dique la Angostura lake. Franco says that Nuñorco means breast, so we will climb the breast, which has a thousand metres of prominence. The weather is beautiful in the morning. We choose one of several trails…
Range Puna de Atacama
There was heavy rain in the morning, but we are not afraid of rain, unfortunately the weather forecast for the rest of the day is even worse. The day starts late, and we are in no hurry, so we drive towards Dique la Angustura lake. On the way, we have to wait for a few…
Range Puna de Atacama
After we drive ten or fifteen kilometres along a private road, we stop at a farm, Franco talks to the owner’s brother, and we pitch our tents in the yard. The most spectacular sight of the evening is the huge insects flying around and glowing bright green. The light is so strong that you can…
Range Puna de Atacama
For the second time, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. The first time we came to a gravel road, due to a very heavy downpour, we turned around. Maybe we would have reached the village of El Fuerte, but we probably would not have reached the trailhead. This time the weather was good. We believe…
Range Puna de Atacama
Very prominent peak, one of the world’s top 100 by prominence. No other reason was needed to climb it. We are little acclimated from the previous two mountains – Cumbres Calchaquies and Cerro Malcante; and only need a good weather window. And here we go: Sunday morning should be fine for summit. Franco arranged mules,…
RegionSalta
After Cerro Malcante, we head towards Cerros de Pereyra. However, not far from Cerros de Pereyra, we stop, turn around, and go back. In heavy rain, the chances of us coming up the river bed to the trail are slim. Our plans changed due to rain, and we rolled south towards Cerro Bolsón de los…
RegionSalta
It would be hard to miss the Wine Museum when walking around Cafayate. Modern, inexpensive, and interesting. We saw the exhibits and found out how the grapes that make such delicious wine are grown in Cafayate’s land and climate. We learned about the history and tasted red wine at the end of the exhibition. In…
RegionSalta
A cosy town at the foot of the mountains in Valles Calchaques. We even have to spend a couple of nights there. The first time was on the way from Cumbres Calchaquies to Cerro Malcante, and the second time was on our way from Cerro Malcante to Cerro Bolsón de los Cerillos.. So I feel…
RegionSalta
In the morning, we have a few hours, and we head to the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology. But it doesn’t open until 11 a.m.; it’s now 9 a.m., and we are not in the mood to wait. We go back, and on the way, we see an open door and, behind it, a magnificent…
RegionSalta
We descend from Cerro Malcante and follow the national park road. Cactus lovers will be ecstatic; there are thousands of them here, in every conceivable size and shape. The park gets its name from Echinopsis terscheckii, also known as the Argentine saguaro or cardon grande cactus. Lovely. It’s worth coming and exploring the park vistas….
Range Puna de Atacama
The forbidden fruit is sweeter, and Cerro Malcante also intrigues us more than the other mountains. We arrive early in the morning, park the car on the side of the road, and a few minutes later we are climbing up the steep slope. So far, no one has stopped us, but a few hundred metres…
Range Puna de Atacama
We stay in the tidy town of Cachi. It’s still late in the evening, and through the hotel window I can see a few small hills, also marked on the map as viewpoints. We go to visit them. Start by checking out the UFO landing strip. It’s a meticulous job; the white pebbles are arranged…
Range Puna de Atacama
The first Cerro Pan de Azúca climb was great, but it didn’t help us acclimatise and get used to the higher altitude. Next, we chose the Cumbres Calchaquies, as the first night would be at 3000m, the second night at 4100m, and the summit at 4740m. Optimistically, we decided that this would be the right…