Chile

Five dream countries for your travel wish list

/ mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

Travelling abroad has been seriously impacted by the pandemic. Under current coronavirus restrictions here in the UK, overseas holidays are effectively banned.

But a long-term plan to ease lockdown holds a glimmer of hope that the travel ban could be lifted by mid-May at the earliest. 

The announcement of a ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown saw a huge spike in holiday bookings despite no firm decision being taken on international travel.

I’ll be pleased to enjoy a day trip to the seaside but still dream of exotic, thrilling destinations. Hopefully these five adventurous country ideas will fuel your wanderlust and at some point become reality.

ALBANIA

This Balkan nation is very close to tourism hotspots Greece and Italy, but remains more or less unknown. Albania has all the landscape you could possibly want to explore, from the rugged mountains of Valbona to a relatively unspoilt Adriatic coastline. Its towns and cities are a wealth of architecture and history to keep you enthralled. 

Unique selling point: Albania was an isolationist communist country from 1945-91. This fascinating legacy is still very much there to be explored. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE ON ALBANIA

Sunset at Skanderbeg Square, Tirana, Albania

Sunset on Tirana’s Skanderbeg Square

ETHIOPIA

A fascinating African country that prides itself for never having become a European colony. Ethiopia has wonderfully rugged and carefully cultivated landscapes alike, and ancient monuments built on its Coptic heritage. There is wildlife to spot and bustling towns to explore and experience.

Unique selling point: Ethiopia’s people. Proud, resourceful and curious. It’s impossible to visit without meeting several along the way. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE ON ETHIOPIA

Two Ethiopian men take in the view over countryside near Lalibela

Ethiopian men take in the view near Lalibela

CHILE

This is your long haul option to a South America which is less samba and tropical rain forest, but a vast country studded with staggering scenery and a people who made their mark on some extreme terrain. Chile is a place to indulge in some pretty full-on landscape photography while air travel is like hopping on a local bus.

Unique selling point: Chile’s geography gives it everything, from searing red desert, magnificent mountains and tundra, and even a Pacific Ocean idyll. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE ON CHILE

The Torres del Paine mountains of southern Chile

The Torres del Paine mountains of southern Chile

OMAN

This corner of the Arabian Peninsula is arid and mountainous in equal measure. Oman is a more traditional society than its neighbours, studded with forts, sandstone-coloured towns and the low-level whitewash of the capital Muscat. With a long, beautiful coastline, you can also relax at a number of stylish resorts.

Unique selling point: It’s not Dubai and is pleasingly restrained. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MIDDLE EAST TRAVEL IDEAS

Minaret and fort wall in Oman

Oman is rich in traditional Islamic architecture

ARMENIA

This small nation in the heart of the Caucasus Mountains has had a very long and at times troubled history which you will begin to understand when you’re there. The landscape is stunning and peppered with ancient churches and monasteries which are haunting and mystical. Armenia’s capital Yerevan doesn’t feel like any other European city.

Unique selling point: The old is very much alive and kicking here and the hospitality will delight. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE ON ARMENIA

Light coming through a church dome in Armenia

Armenia is a country of ancient spirituality

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A year of travel

/ mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

It was a big decision taking a year out to spend travelling. Those 12 months passed very quickly and I’ve had time to take stock of places visited, people met and what’s next.

I came back with a lot of photographs and set myself the task of choosing one image to sum up every trip and country. They’re images I’m proud to have captured, but also are the most evocative of each place. It’s sometimes a strong personal memory, other times a striking impression.

The journey hasn’t finished for me. Travelling has sparked a desire to see more of the world and change my life.

Please share your memories of travel, particularly the ones that have stayed with you forever.

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Chile’s deep south

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Chile may be a slender nation, but it’s full of wild, varied and majestic landscapes. It takes a few hours to fly from the arid lands of the Atacama Desert in the north to Patagonia, towards the tip of South America.

You instantly feel the chill, rasping winds and even summer snow as you climb higher on epic treks. Torres del Paine is a territory full of rugged mountains, glacial lakes and craggy moraines.

The nearby town of Puerto Natales has a frontier feel to it, with its own otherworldly views and sunsets that last an age.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with landscape photo opportunities here in a country of boundless contrasts – but this is one beguiling place.

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Chile’s Atacama

/ mikeosbornphoto / 8 Comments

Distant Chile is the longest nation on Earth, snaking its way down the side of South America. Its geography is monumentally diverse, starting in the north with the Atacama Desert.

This is the most otherworldly and magical place on Earth that I’ve visited. Between the barren, mesmerising landscape there are vast salt pans inhabited by flamingos, geysers which only bubble into life before sunrise, and Martian sunsets cloaking lunar terrain. A photographic spectacle.

Visitors are looked after well in this at times inhospitable place – you can even have drinks to witness the sunset and a hot breakfast rustled out of nowhere to see off the freezing dawn.

It may be a long journey to Chile, but the rewards are there.

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Rapa Nui

/ mikeosbornphoto / 16 Comments

This tiny speck of land in the eastern Pacific is better known as Easter Island. A territory of Chile, it’s renowned for its collection of stone statues (moai) which even have their own emoji.

Their presence dominates any visit to the island and they’re an integral part of all photography. But there’s more to Easter Island, including an astonishing freshwater caldera, a tropical beach and its only town Hanga Rua, filled with an abundance of wonderful restaurants.

As for the stone statues, there are various theories about them. Our guide told us they represented ancestors, while the civilisation fell apart partly because so much effort was put into creating them.

The island is a five-hour flight from Chile’s capital Santiago and undoubtedly worth a visit – you’ll find nothing like it anywhere else.

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