Chile-Peru

March – April 2016

We boarded the Sea Adventurer in Puerto Montt, Chile for a two-week expedition cruise along the west coast of South America to Lima, Peru.  This was our fourth voyage on the Adventurer so we knew the way to the restaurant and the lounge!  We shared the trip with 44 passengers and an expedition staff of 12 including marine biologist, historian, archeologist, geologist, ornithologist and the ship’s doctor.

We observed wildlife on islands as we explored by Zodiac, visited towns, stayed overnight in the charming village of San Pedro de Atacama, saw ghost towns from mining 100 years ago, and experienced the rugged Atacama Desert.  We traveled by bus to 15,000 ft. to the Lauca National Park, Chile where high mountain lakes are surrounded by towering volcanos.  In Peru in a 12-passenger plane, we flew over the Nazca Lines, enormous geoglyphs in animal motifs made by a pre-Incan culture between 500 BC and 500 AD.  

It’s a beautiful part of the world with extremes of scenery from the sea to forests to deserts to the high Andes – and all constantly under the threat of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.