Looking For An Active Adventure? Head To South America

Having just seen photos of myself on last year’s beach vacation that’s it. No more lazy days of summer for me, it’s activity holidays all the way.  Gone are the days of a holiday meaning emerging from my hotel at midday to eat a very large lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping off the after effects of too much sangria.

I just have one slight phobia.  My fear of spiders.  Did you know the biggest spiders are tarantulas that grow to 300 mm in size.  300 mm!!  These spiders aren’t the little things that run across your kitchen floor or build pretty webs in your gardens.  These guys eat snakes and lizards and frogs and stuff.  So we can go anywhere as long as there are no spiders. Or at least no oversized members of the species.

There are some great options for keeping ‘active’ and seeing the world.  My friend suggested Venezuela. A six day trek climbing sandstone table mountains (known as tepuys) in a land that Arthur Conan Doyle referred to as the ‘Lost World’.  They also inspired his book of the same name.  See, it’s educational as well!  While you’re there, why not visit the aptly named Devil’s Mountain – Auyan Tepuy- and see the Angel Falls by helicopter – the largest waterfalls in the world.

That all sounded absolutely fine to me, especially as we get to visit an Indian village along the way too.

If you like South America you can also take a trek across the Atacama desert in Chile or visit the Torres del Paine National Park with its daunting glacial landscape.  Chile has it all, from volcanic regions to forests, salt lakes and canyons lined with cowboy style cactii.  Just watch the spikes!  There are also the geysers of El Tatio or the Valle de la Muerte, also known as the Valley of Death. Don’t forget to look up the fortress Pucara de Quitor, built soon after 1,000 AD too.

If you can, don’t miss out on an opportunity to visit Easter Island.  Home of the iconic and legendary ‘moai’ statues, this is one of the most remote settlements on the planet.  If you’re looking to ‘get away from it all’, you can’t get much more away from it than Easter Island – it’s around 2,200 miles away from the Chilean coast.  This trip is not for the unfit though so a pair of hiking boots and a good bit of practice beforehand won’t go amiss.  Walking on the treadmill in the gym doesn’t quite hack it.

So far, so good, so … spider free? Are you kidding?

South America is home to the largest ever spider in the world, the Goliath Bird Eater.   A tarantula called the Goliath Bird Eater?!! Apparently it earned its name when a Victorian explorer saw one eating a hummingbird.  What’s worse, these guys hiss extremely loudly at you by rubbing the bristles on their legs together.  A hissing, bird-eating spider called Goliath with 12 inch legs?  Well, David I am not.  What’s worse they live in burrows in the ground and pounce on their prey!  South America?

‘Can we look elsewhere?’ I begged pathetically, with visions of a mutant spider chasing me across the Chilean landscape flashing through my mind.  OK, I know it’s the north of South America they tend to inhabit, but have you never heard of migration?

 Maybe I was too hopeful with this fitness bit.  We’re looking at the safety of safari holidays now as an alternative.  No Goliath spiders in Africa, I’m assured.  Just a few big cats.

Author : Kate

Village in the Atacama Desert, Chile
Photo By hanneorla