Tag Archives: lake

Quebec

August 4, 2019 – August 10, 2019

We crossed from Labrador City into the province of Quebec and the road once again turned to gravel. We were in a somewhat remote region of the province and the road twisted around lakes, crossed rivers and circled around large mining sites. We were headed towards the Manicouagan Reservoir, a huge reservoir with a massive island in the middle. The almost perfectly round lake was created about 214 million years ago by the impact of a meteorite that was 5 kilometres in diameter….wow.

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Iberá Provincial Reserve

March 9, 2019 – March 11, 2019

Iberá Provincial Reserve is a little visited, remote area located in the Argentinian province of Corrientes. The reserve is a mixture of swamps, bogs, lakes and lagoons, and, of course, the associated wildlife, and is about 13,000 square kilometres in size. We headed to the small town of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, where we camped for the night before hiring a small panga to take us out into the waters of the reserve for a safari, Argentina style.

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Tierra del Fuego and King Penguins

February 14, 2019 – February 16, 2019

We drove along the Strait of Magellan to where we would load Seymour onto yet another ferry, to make our way to Tierra del Fuego. Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego…..names that I had read about in history class so many years ago, but that my teenage self never, ever would have imagined having the opportunity to visit. It was a bit surreal.

The Strait of Magellan
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Another Trip to the Mechanic, Christmas in Osorno

December 19, 2018 – December 28, 2018

We had an appointment for the truck in the town of Osorno for the 21st of December, so we camped for a few nights close by, then headed into town to the mechanic shop. After a few hours we were told that we had contaminated fuel, and that the system would need to be completely cleaned. The problem was that it was the Friday before Christmas, so they would not be able to work on the truck until the following Wednesday. We got the truck started, resupplied, and headed to a beautiful wild camp on Lago Ranco to await our appointment.

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Las Lajas, Lago Alumine, Wild camp, Piedra Mala in N.P. Lanin

December 2, 2018 – December 8, 2018

Driving so many kilometres, often on rough roads, means that there is almost always something that needs to be adjusted, repaired or replaced. Probably about 50% of the time when we arrive at a camping spot, one of the first things Derek does after we are set up is get his tools out and work on something. The fridge is finicky and doesn’t always work, screws rattle their way out of the camper and need to be tightened or replaced, one time the electrical connection for the solar panels on the roof was loose or filters need to be replaced on the truck. Sometimes it is more complicated, like when we noticed that the camper batteries were completely discharged and not being charged as we drove anymore. The computer chip governing the relay had quit and so Derek wired a manual bypass… we now have a manual switch in the cab that we need to remember to turn on for charging camper batteries when we start to drive, and off before we shut down the engine so that the fridge doesn’t end up draining the engine batteries. He is one handy guy!

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La Serena, Horcon, a Copec gas station and Embalse del Yeso

November 13, 2018 – November 19, 2018

We returned to La Serena to take Seymour into the Dodge dealership for diagnosis. We arrived early, left the truck at the garage and walked, with Piper, to a nearby outdoor mall to kill some time. We moved from shady bench to shady bench as the sun made its way across the morning sky.  We snuck into the Sodimac (South America’s version of Home Depot) to use the washrooms. We watched the security guard watch us. We went for a coffee. We searched for an outdoor plug to recharge our phone and tablet. It was a little like being homeless for 6 or 7 hours, except, of course, we knew we would have a nice warm bed at the end of the day.

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Parque Nacional Sajama

October 6, 2018 – October 8, 2018

Parque Nacional Sajama is a small park on the western border of Bolivia.  Volcan Sajama, at 6,542 metres (21, 463 feet) is the highest mountain in Bolivia, and is the centre piece of the park.  The small town of Sajama within the park has a few small hostels, but you are allowed to wild camp almost anywhere in the area….we loved it!

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Copacabana and Lago Titicaca

September 20, 2018 – September 24, 2018

We drove through some beautiful, rugged, rural landscapes towards the border with Bolivia and Lago Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.  Lago Titicaca was extremely sacred to the Inca, and today remains sacred waters for many of the indigenous people of South America, as well, it would seem, for foreigners seeking alternatives to Western spirituality.

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Cotopaxi

July 19, 2018 – July 21, 2018

Leaving Mindo we took a slightly longer route to avoid driving through Quito again.  We were not sure what we would be getting into, as we were going to be off main highways. As it turned out, the roads were paved, nice and wide and had a decent shoulder. This made for an easy, enjoyable driving day.  On average, the main roads in Ecuador have probably been the best we have experienced in all of Latin America.

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Lago Guatape

June 18, 2018 – June 20, 2018

Lago Guatape is a reservoir to the west of Medellin and is a weekend getaway for Colombians. The little town of Guatape is charming, almost every building sporting zocalos (painted decorative panels). In addition, there is the Piedre del Penol, a huge monolith that you can climb to see the views of the surrounding islands and water.

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