We were so overwhelmed by the raw and vulnerable stories of warrior women craving deep and true connection with themselves, Mother Earth, and other like minded humans. We invited 10 of these women to travel with us in April. Later, we’d feel so drawn to this group of applicants that we’d invite 10 more incredible souls for LimitLes Chile, the March edition. It was our first venture into back-to-back trips, and we planned for 3 weeks of Chilean travel. Double the hiking mileage, double the fun, we thought! We had no idea at the time just how much red tape, roadblocks, and logistical frustration we would run into. Even being the most vaccinated country in the world, Chile requires extensive entry documentation.

But hey, once you’re in…the fun finally begins! With Chile being a neighboring country of mine for two years while living in Argentina, I’ve always felt incredibly drawn to it. This South American country did house my favorite piece of earth, after all. Torres del Paine National Park is raw, wild beauty at its finest and my first love. It wasn’t until I visited many moons ago that I discovered hiking. Trekking, if you will. From barely broken-in boots to crying tears of pain or joy – I couldn’t tell at the time – I was hooked. And knew I had to arrive back down south with friends in tow. This is a little bit of what we got up to during our time together!

Base of the Towers Hike

This is arguably the most famous hike in the park with 7-8 hours of trekking over 22 kms/14 miles through mountains, forests and boulders. This was my 3rd and 4th time to hike it with LimitLes Chile March and April groups, but beware of the real Patagonia that can get all 4 seasons in a matter of hours. The first time I attempted it, I was turned away halfway up due to extreme weather conditions. The vast wilderness that can draw you in with its fairytale-like setting can just as quickly spit you out with its extreme elements. Motivation and stamina is required! I was so incredibly proud of both groups for making it to the top and all the way back down again. I think my knees were sore for the next week, but it was well worth the pain!

Stargazing in the Atacama Desert

Can you believe the stars here in the Atacama? A rare set of factors in this arid lunar landscape – very little rainfall, crystal-clear skies, high altitudes and low-to-zero light pollution – have created an unparalleled stargazing haven and a major hub for astronomical research. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA (‘soul’ in Spanish), is the largest land-based observatory ever built. More powerful than the Hubble telescope, it looks out to some of the most distant galaxies and observes the very first stages of formation of planets and stars. A new astronomical observatory is currently being built here as we speak called ELT, or Extremely Large Telescope 🙂 When completed, it is planned to be the world’s largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope.

Cejar Lagoon

Who needs the Dead Sea when you can float HERE? In the midst of volcanoes and good girlfriends?! This lagoon is so dense with salt, you float! I almost didn’t even notice the very cold water I submerged myself in…almost. The water can have salt concentrations up to 30 percent, which makes floating not only easy, but also pretty much impossible to avoid. For this reason, the lake is often compared to the Dead Sea and is sometimes called the “floating lake.” 

When these women arrived to the desert, we felt the power of their presence and stories come to life. As the seasons started to change, we embraced the elements from the driest place on earth to the unpredictable and humbling Patagonian winds. We opened our hearts and shed layers when the sun shined and held onto each other when the wind overwhelmed us. We went deep quick, we learned a lot, laughed a lot, and cried a lot. We worked hard to meet these 20 women, and we’ll never forget all of the big and little moments we created together. Until next time ♥️

Thank you to our small but mighty team Emily Kronyak and Alex Kavanagh, our outstanding travel partners and Quasar Expeditions, our top-notch guides, drivers, and kind strangers, and of course, Mother Nature for always leaving us speechless and especially our 20 badass new friends. Thank you thank you thank you.