Chile’s Torres Del Paine National Park

Valparaiso, Chile

I’m writing this sitting in the driveway of one of the most magnificent hostels and neighbourhoods I’ve had the privilege to visit. Seagulls fly overhead, and in front of me, to the end of the driveway, lies a view of the Pacific Ocean. The sun reflects against the peeling white paint of the hostel and neighbouring garage. It radiates heat but not enough for me to feel uncomfortable. Read more

Chile’s Santiago a Mil Festival

If you’re going to Santiago, Chile, in January, and you’re a theatre, dance and performing arts lover, you should check out Santiago a Mil, one of the most important festivals in Latin America. It gathers artists from all over the world. 2010 is an especially emotive year because it’s the Bicentenary of the nation. Local companies are going to present the most emblematic national plays from the last two hundred years of Chilean theatre and emergent artists are invited, too, giving a renewed substance to the scene. Santiago is a lovely place in summer: now culture, wine and parties are awaiting you. [photo by Jessica Parra Nowajewski]

Tatio Geysers

Traveling through the north of Chile, I found a cool place to stay for a couple of months: San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro is located in the middle of the Atacama Desert, the most arid desert in the world. With no more than three thousand local population, which increases to six thousand with foreign workers and tourists, this old Atacamenian village mixes five star hotels with small backpackers, trekking excursions, volcano climbing and trucks, with which to cross the amazing alti-planic landscape, looking for archaeological pre-Inca locations and geological formations that give us astonishing colors and unique formations. Read more

Mr & Mrs Smith launch Down Under

I was lucky enough to attend the recent launch of the new Australia and New Zealand Guidebook by Mr & Mrs Smith. And let me tell you, if luxe travel is your thing, this is the book. Travel guide publishers have copped a bit of flack recently — especially after Thomas Kohnstamm wrote his hedonistic, “tell all” book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?, in which he alleged that most of the content he wrote for Lonely Planet’s Brazilian guidebook was either fudged, or written in a drug-induced stupor. However, with Mr & Mrs Smith, Kohnstamm’s version of travel writing couldn’t be further from the truth. Read more

50 ways I blew $50K

Spending a huge amount of money is easy when you’re without a mortgage, kids or a full time job. To ease my financial guilt, I recently put together this list of fifty fun, bizarre and slightly mad ways in which I managed to blow $50K over the years — buying myself nothing but amazing memories and the odd persistent stomach bug.

Sun, tapas, and more tapas in the Basque Country

For a seriously good summer holiday destination, it’s pretty hard to beat San Sebastian on Spain’s Atlantic coast. Set on a gorgeous piece of coastline in the heart of the Basque region, this buzzing seaside town certainly packs a punch. It’s got three divine beaches, hundreds of tapas bars (apparently more per square kilometre than any other city in the world), a vast selection of historical buildings and churches (if the urge to sightsee takes over), clubs, boutiques and countless festivals all year round. Plus, if you’re really into your tucker, the area surrounding San Sebastian is arguably the best in Spain for gastronomy – boasting several of the world’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants. Read more