Andean soul quest

In 2024, Francois Raubenheimer went on an open-ended mission to South America, in search of something more than the clichéd postcard scenes. In the first instalment of his series, he writes about his travels along the mighty Andes mountain range.

- Francois Raubenheimer

When I travel, I try to keep it as authentic as possible.

I try to stay in social places instead of private hotel rooms, and I take taxis, buses, trains and boats. I want to hear people's languages, smell their food and listen to their music. It's a slower way of travelling, for sure, but if you have the time, it can be very satisfying.

Travelling like this allows you to roam, with no set plans and only a rough idea of a route. You have to be prepared to go where the journey takes you. As a solo traveller, I'm always ready for it...

The ancient tree ferns of Samaipata

I flew from Cape Town to São Paulo in Brazil, and then took a series of long-distance buses to the Corumbá border post, about 1400 km away. Here, I entered Bolivia and after yet another long bus ride from Puerto Quijarro, I reached the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. From there, the charming mountain town of Samaipata (1 800 m above sea level) was a relatively short 100 km taxi ride away.

Samaipata is full of character and has many great places to stay and eat within walking distance of each other. Strolling through town, I saw lots of monkey's tail cacti, planted in pots on first-floor balconies, some hanging down to street level.

Amboró National Park is north of Samaipata, home to giant tree ferns. There are two species (Alsophila incana and Dicksonia sellowiana), with leaves up to 3 m long. They only grow 5-10 mm per year. Many are 10-15 metres tall, which means they're more than a thousand years old!