Ushuaia - living at the end of the world

One of my pleasures when travelling is wandering around a place and looking at all the different houses - lived-in, well-loved, forgotten, sad and lonely....they all have a story to tell.

Ushuaia - the town at the end of the world has a snuggled-up, tucked in feel.
Not surprising as it has short summers and looong, bitter winters.

It makes these homes all the more mysterious.

And some beautiful roses from a garden there....

because you have to stop and smell them sometimes!

Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the goldfields towns.

Kalgoorlie has some wonderful old buildings built on the proceeds of the gold-mining industry.

 The theatre in the town hall is still in use and is well-maintained as you can see by the velvet-covered iron seats up in the balcony.

Boulder is a mere 4kms away but actually seems to be part of the same town - in fact it is called Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
It has some lovely old buildings too.

The town hall at Boulder is suitably grand.

 The stage has a beautifully painted curtain...the drapey curtain bit is actually painted as well!

Five of the best. The best places we stayed in South America

Choosing the best places we stayed is a bit like picking your favorite child.
Favorite places we stayed in our three month journey in South America - in no particular order.

1. Churrup guest house

We were told about this place on the train back from Machu Picchu.
By a lovely Canadian couple that we had also shared a guest house with in Arequipa.
It is also recommended in Lonely Planet.

It was a very comfortable, friendly place.
Breakfast was included - and it was the best breakfast of the trip!
Also breakfast was a very social time and we met some awesome people there that we went on day trip with and swapped travel stories.
The breakfast room is at the top of the building and so you have an amazing view of some  peaks of the Cordillera.

2. Ushuaia Ukurj apartment, Andres

I was so lucky to find this place!
I's been having trouble finding something that met our criteria...and then this popped up on Bookings.com.
We loved it!

photo from Bookings.com

It was within a handy walking distance of the town and harbour.
It was fairly new and nice and clean and neat.

photo from Bookings.com

Andres, our host was so welcoming and helpful.
He even gave us a lift up the hill to the start of the walk to the Martial glacier.
It would have been great to have spent more time with him.

3. El Chalten. Cabanas Paso de Viento

Another Bookings.com find, the cabins were compact, quiet and near the start of one of the walking tracks.

The cabin was cute and comfortable and the host was just delightful. Nothing was too much trouble.

4. Colca Trek Lodge, Canon de Colca

Perhaps the best place we stayed....for the shortest time!

We did an ovenight trip from Arequipa to Colca Canyon with Colca Trek Adventure Travel.
They have their own lodge in the small village of Pinochollo.
It is amazing.

Unfortunately we arrived late, went for a walk to look into the canyon and left early the next day for a bike ride.
It would have been great to chill out here for a couple of days.

The biggest, softest, warmest beds!

5. Tatiana's airbnb in Barranco, Lima

Places like this are the reason I love airbnb.

photo from airbnb website