A recent day trip to the Grutas Tolantongo was a wonderful, relaxing way to end my friend's holiday to Mexico. Soak in warm pools, rivers and a sauna-like tunnel!
La Paz
La Paz, Mexico in the Baja California is a great beach holiday for fantastic food, swimming with wild life and relaxation.
Mexico City 10 day itinerary
A 10-day Mexico City itinerary for markets, crafts, museums and, of course, Mexican wrestling.
Day of the Dead
Dia de los Muertos is a special time throughout Mexico and one not to be missed!
Bazaar San Angel
Enjoy a Saturday strolling through San Angel's outdoor bazaar selling Mexican crafts and artwork.
Oaxaca
The city of Oaxaca is a perfect weekend or week long excursion for delicious food, beautiful architecture, market towns and artesania.
Lagunilla, Antiques Market CDMX
Launilla Antiques Market is a great way to spend a Sunday, hunting for the perfect vintage item for your home.
Jacaranda walking tour CDMX
March and April make for a perfect time to walk the neighbourhoods of Mexico City and see the jacaranda trees in bloom. This is Polanco!
Cerro Castillo 4 day hike
Cerro Castillo in Aysen is a wonderful four-day hike. Be prepared to be self-sufficient as you hike up and down mountain passes, through woods and along ridges. With beautiful views along the way.
Puebla, México
A perfect getaway from Mexico City, Puebla has everything for the family -- food, pottery, historic streets and a huge pyramid in nearby Cholula.
Puyuhuapi fjords, PN Queulat and Cerro Castillo
A weeklong adventure in Aysen exploring Villa Cerro Castillo, the fjords of Puyuhuapi and PN Quelat and the hanging glacier.
Cuasimodo
Cuasimodo is the celebration of communion given to the infirm and sick, and is still celebrated on horseback in Santiago.
W hike in Torres del Paine
Detailed information on how to organise and plan your own W hike in Torres del Paine -- from basic to high comfort to luxury -- including maps, packing lists and more
Parque Nacional Conguillío
Parque Nacional Conguillío is a beautiful southern park showcasing the araucaria (monkey puzzle trees), crystal lakes and snow-capped volcanoes. The variety of trails makes it accessible for all ability of hiker.
Barrio Italia
Enjoy all Santiago has to offer with this family walking tour (mostly an eating tour!) of Barrio Italia.
Cerro Provincia
Cerro Provincia (2,750 m) is a full day hike that is a must for any hiking bucket-list in Santiago.
Conguillío and Chillan
Camp, hike and enjoy the amazing araucaria trees in Parque Nacional Conguillío with children!
Pomaire
Pomaire makes a great day trip to stock up on local black pottery and enjoy local restaurants.
Chilean Beaches
One of the advantages of being a long, skinny country stretching down between the Pacific and the ribs of the Andes, is that Chile has a Pacific coastline of 4,270 km // 2,653 mi. That's as long as driving from Vancouver to Ottawa! With a width of only 90 km in some places (and a …
Shop Local
We have been in stages of quarantine and lockdown since mid-March. It’s only now, in the first week of October, that things seem more semi-normal with our neighbourhood allowing us out on the weekends with shops and outdoor cafe’s opening up. But when we couldn’t leave our house at all, and in the midst of …
Moving to Chile with a child with special needs
Moving to Santiago, Chile as an English speaking family with a child with learning difficulties was not for the faint of heart! It took a lot of effort and persistence, but once here, it has been a wonderful experience for us. We moved to Santiago, Chile in 2017 with our three children. Our middle son …
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10 tips to get kids hiking
My husband and I have spent most of our holidays hiking and camping. When our children came along it was an important family activity. Our middle child was born with Down's Syndrome and our youngest was born with hydrocephalus and a weaker left side. We really thought our hiking days as a family would be …
Entertaining children in lockdown
It's September and we are currently experiencing a lifting of the lockdown in Santiago. Where we live, we can leave our houses Monday to Friday, but we can't leave on the weekend and we can't leave the city at all. We have completed 23 weeks of online home learning (as our school year runs March …
Yerba Loca
It's September and almost Fiestas Patrias here in Chile. We may be missing out on the fondas, and big BBQs with friends, but we have some fabulous hikes in nature located within the city of Santiago! (Information accurate for first week of September 2020.) You follow this amazing blue river most of the way. From …
Day hikes in Santiago
One of the best activities to do in Santiago (when there isn’t a quarantine) is to get out and go for a hike on the hills. There are better experts than I, but I try to get out once a week and here are some of my favourites. (For how to get your children to …
Marble Caves
In Chile’s Patagonia the Marble Caves (Capillas de Marmol) offer a once in a lifetime experience. Hugging the coastline of General Carrera Lake, the waves have been shaping these caverns, tunnels and pillars for over 6,000 years creating dimples, nooks and crannies in the rock. The caves are intense stained-glass colours of turquoise, aquamarine, seafoam …
Parque Patagonia
Parque Patagonia is one of our favourite national parks with its sweeping views, wonderful hikes and pretty luxurious camping facilities. Originally a Douglas Tompkins park, it’s easy to see why Tompkins made his second home here. In 2020 the park was in the process of being transferred from the Tompkins Trust to Conaf (Chile’s park …
Jeinimeni
One of the jewels in the Chilean national parks is Parque Patagonia and the Jeinimeni section of the park. Jeinimeni, until recently its own national park, was joined with Parque Patagonia in 2019 to create one huge park. (Edit: We did not travel during Covid or quarantine, we took this trip January 2020.) We were …
El Chalten, Argentina Ruta 40
This is the third part in our Patagonia trip with children and grandchildren. The Argentinian chronicles! Read about how we got our car and camping gear to Patagonia from Santiago and hiking trails in Torres del Paine with three generations. After our five days in Torres del Paine and a night in Puerto Natales, we …
Torres del Paine
Hiking Torres del Paine with three generations In 2005 when my husband and I lived in Ecuador, we went to Patagonia and hiked the W, Mt. Fitzroy near El Chalten and saw the Perito Moreno glacier. Laughingly, we ate the calafate berry because they say if you eat it you will revisit Patagonia. Not likely, …
Ship your car to Patagonia for holidays
We live in Santiago and we really wanted to spend a good amount of time camping and exploring Patagonia with our three children. We looked at many different options for the best way to do it, and as crazy as it sounds we figured out the fastest, cheapest and most convenient option was to ship …
Parque Nacional La Campana and Biosfera Lodge
In less than two hours from Santiago, you can be sleeping in a glamping pod on the very edge of a national biosphere park, surrounded by wildlife, a hip little village and fun activities for the children. I had never heard of Parque Nacional La Campana, but it is so close to Santiago -- yet …
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Carretera Austral
We hit the open road of the Aysén Region of Chile to hike Cerro Castillo, take a boat ride through the Marble Caves, day hike in Parque Patagonia, and marvel and wander through Caleta Tortel as we headed south on the Carretera Austral. The Carretera Austral (Ruta 7) is 1,240 kilometres stretching along the southern …
Santa Cruz
A weekend in Chile's wine country of Santa Cruz is a great getaway -- even with children! An update of the area to reflect 2020 safety measures.
Cerro Castillo
Hiking Cerro Castillo in the Aysen Region is a wonderful alternative to the more famous camping and hiking routes in Chile. It offers spectacular views, interesting trails, varied scenery and it is a quiet trail with not many people. It sounded like the perfect way to celebrate our 20th anniversary! (If you want to check …
Chilean Lake District
On a sunny day the Chilean Lake District is absolutely stunning. You drive around massive blue lakes reflecting quintessential conical snow-capped volcanoes along roads ringed with wood shingled and tin roof German farmhouses, popping into cafes serving slabs of “kuchen" or cake. On a typical day in September, though, you have to be prepared for …
Northern Patagonia Camping trip
Parque Pumalin and Argentinian Camping Loop We really wanted to experience Patagonia with our children while we are in Chile and we wanted to see it from the vast expanse of inter-connected national parks Chile has created. We are really spoiled in Chile as there are 36 national parks! When our children were 9, 7 …
San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is the best of both worlds — other worldly deserts and canyons, expansive night skies, hot springs and high altitude lakes and the quaint outpost-type town of San Pedro. We went with our three children, a friend and her daughter and we had a wonderful time over the September 18 week …
Pichilemu
Traveling to Pichilemu and Punta de Lobos, the famous surf spot in Chile, with kids!
Valle de Elqui
Valle de Elqui is a perfect very long weekend getaway from the hustle of Santiago and soak up the sun, stars and pisco sours — get on Highway 5 and head north along the coast to La Serena and then head due East through valleys and mountains and soon you will find small towns and …
Easter Island
The opportunity to visit Easter Island is truly one of those moments when you pinch yourself. We have all seen photos of the big Moai heads (even if it’s just in a novelty Kleenex box!) all poking and jutting up out of the ground at odd angles. Easter Island is part of Chile but to …
Come From Away
On the East Coast of Canada a "Come From Away"is a uniquely eastern expression for someone who has recently moved to the east coast, but it essentially means you are a visitor. It doesn't matter if you have been there for a month or years -- sometimes you are always a Come From Away. We …
Come From Away 