South America on Chantal-Denise Ortega Tan

Got Invited to Tom Misch's Show in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Iguazu Falls and Toucans

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Huaca Pucclana and More of Lima, Peru

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I have been meaning to update this blog for the longest time.

(In part due to seeing Alex update his - just go to his photo blog to see where we have been more recently!)

This set of photos show the day back in November 2022 when we went to Huaca Pucllana, one of the oldest ruins of Peru! It’s older than Machu Picchu, and was constructed in 200AD. It’s conveniently located in Lima, and seeing how the city developed around it was cool.

It was also used as a site for the ritual of human sacrifice, and seeing the figures was kind of :|.

An interesting thing was how after the tour, you are greeted with a group of Peru’s well known animals! Llamas, alpacas, and the cuys! There were some coca plants, too.

We also walked around Lima and admired the local art around the city.

Chantal

Extreme Desert Experience in Huacachina, Peru

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

After exploring the seaside Paracas, we headed off to the desert oasis of Huacachina in Ica, Peru!

It’s my first desert experience. It was nothing short of amazing to see the tallest sand dunes in South America towering over the little oasis town of Huacachina.

Part of the tour was riding on an extreme dune buggy with a group of people, and zipping through the tall sand dunes!

I just wanted to share that our driver was also texting while driving… I am so glad we are still alive.6

Such an amazing experience though, really love that Peru has different kinds of terrains we were able to explore.

At the end of the day, we were treated with our first desert sunset.

Exploring Cartagena, Colombia

Sat, 13 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since we were in Cartagena, Colombia and I haven’t posted photos yet!

It’s our first time being on the Caribbean, and exploring this UNESCO World Heritage site was just an experience I feel thankful for that Alex and I share!

Cartagena was founded in 1533 by the Spanish, so that's 12 years AFTER they were in the Philippines! Look at this awesome view of sea and city.

Life in Lima, Peru and Seeing the Paracas Candelabra

Sun, 23 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a while since my last update! 110 days to be exact.

We were in an amazing apartment overlooking the city and mountain view of San Jose, Costa Rica. Since then, Alex and I have been to Los Angeles, Cancun, and now we are currently in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

It’s been great seeing my dad after 4 years! And of course I spent time with my 91 year old grandma who’s still winning over everyone in tongits. Being in LA really is a treat for me, I get to see amazing things, eat great food, and get to know my relatives a bit more! I haven’t posted about anything LA, so I’ll make it a point to gather my favorite photos soon.

I had my birthday recently, and it was amazing. Alex surprised me with a dinner at Elizabeth Taylor’s former residence here in PV.

April 9, 2023 - My birthday in The Iguana, PV

Life has been amazing and I hope you are good, too.

I don’t update my Instagram as much as before, but here’s a link just in case you were wondering where we really are!

And now to the real post!

Horseback Riding Through the Mendoza Malbec Vineyards

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On our only Sunday together here in Mendoza with Jack, he picked the greatest activity of all time: touring Malbec vineyards on horseback!

We thought there will be eight people on the tour group, but we were pleasantly surprised when the owner himself of Trout and Wine picked us up from our Airbnb. Instant private tour!

First stop was at Rancho Viejo, where we would be riding these horses through Malbec vineyards!

Mendoza Chocolate Festival and the Potrerillos Dam

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

For our first weekend here in Mendoza, Argentina, we wanted to drive around to see more of the countryside. Alex’s friend Jack is here for two weeks so we wanted to make the most out of it!

Mendoza is surrounded by mountain ranges on one side

Ended 2021 in Machu Picchu

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I have been meaning to blog about our experience of Machu Picchu from last year, but the internet was so slow in Ushuaia that I really just lost all motivation.

Currently, we are in Mendoza, Argentina which is located west of Buenos Aires. We are staying here for three weeks, to experience the Argentine wine country (hey it’s the source of Malbec wines!) and maybe go up snowy mountains again.

The good news is, our internet connection is ten times faster than Ushuaia! I can finally import, export, upload, and write about our Machu Picchu experience. I hope I remember as much details as I can though…

We were spending the last few weeks of 2021 in Peru, staying in its capital Lima. Since covid was still raging, we were very careful not to go out as much, and to have our masks on if we do need to go out to minimize the chances of getting covid.

We didn’t have plans yet for New Year’s, so I suggested to Alex that we should go check out Machu Picchu! And what did he do? He researched and booked everything so we can have a memorable end of year memory! :)

Note: These photos were from my iPhone 11, so not as high quality as the most recent posts. Just wanted to let you know…

How beautiful! This is the view from our Airbnb when we arrived. Elevation was pretty high so it was cold.

Patagonian Roadtrip

Sun, 17 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

For our last few days in Ushuaia, we decided to rent a car to see more places. From our experience, walking to a taxi stand takes about twenty minutes – and this is in freezing temp and through some slippery, icy roads.

We planned to go to the Tierra del Fuego National Park, but we were advised not to proceed at the park’s entrance. We needed four winter tires, not just the two we had in front. They were looking out for us, as some parts of the paths became icy from the snow a few days before.

And so to make the most of our time with the car, and to photograph more sceneries, we decided to go on a Patagonian road trip!

Being surrounded by these mountains really gives a feeling of wonder and appreciation for the Earth we live in

Train at the End of the World

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Most of what we see here in Ushuaia markets itself as the ‘_____ at the end of the world’, and most of the time, they are right!

Ushuaia - where almost everything is the end of the world

Life in Buenos Aires

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

These are photos from our second round of stay in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. We previously had stayed in another part, in Palermo, but came back after our short trip to Iguazu Falls.

We stayed in an Airbnb located in Avenida del Libertador, a main avenue of the city. It’s a 2 minute walk from the grocery store, 20 minute walk to Chinatown, and had the best views of sunrises!

I loved our more than a month stay here, as it gave us enough time to relax and be stable for a while.

We had a view of the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, home of the 1978 World Cup games

Canal Beagle Tour in Ushuaia

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We’re staying in Ushuaia for 3 weeks, so we weren’t in any rush to do activities right away.

The first week, we were just enjoying staying in our Airbnb – enjoying the -2 degrees Celsius weather being under blankets and watching Twin Peaks and Atlanta.

Two days ago, we finally decided to do a major tourist activity – the Canal Beagle tour! We booked through Destino Patagonia, and the tour lasts about 3 hours. The boats leave at twice daily, at 10am and at 3pm. We of course took the afternoon one, for more warmth and the sunset!

View of Ushuaia from our boat, the Francesco III

Starting a new blog while in Ushuaia, the end of the world.

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

It’s 9:04am here in Ushuaia, Patagonia in Argentina, the literal end of the world, and it still looks like 5am outside.

The sun has been rising at roughly 10am every day since we got here almost a week ago, and it’s been giving me slight headaches since I am an early riser. I wake up at 5am, 6am, 7am then I finally decide to get up at 8am. And it’s always still dark outside.

We are staying in a studio-type Airbnb here, and as I am writing this, I can hear Alex sleeping soundly. He wakes up a wee bit later than I do… This is a time for me to reflect on how…

Life has been slow, cold, yet wonderful lately.

Maybe it’s the 5mbps internet we have in this resort town, or the temperature in the negative degrees, or just by being next to snowy mountains when we look outside the window. Being here gives me a sense of reflection, of longing to share stories in longer form. The slow internet connection forces one to be in this mood…