An avid traveler from a young age, Amanda has tripped into most of the continents and writes travel features for newspapers, magazines and books. She is the Fodor’s writer for Chile & Argentina’s wine regions, Patagonia and the Atacama. Check out Around the World 80 Harvests (where she is embarking on a global adventure!) and The Squeeze Magazine for frequent travel guides and articles written by Amanda. Here is a selection of travel pieces written for different publications:
Road tripping through Patagonian wine country
Patagonia’s flagrant beauty and untamed wilderness put it at the top of the bucket list for any wanderlust traveller, and the region’s wines are hidden gems of South America.
Patagonia is a diverse land shared between Chile and Argentina on the southern tip of the continent. At the far south, ice fields, glaciers and rugged mountains offer the final stepping stone to Antarctica. Beyond the fjords and floating islands you reach the northern gateway to Patagonia: the lake region.
It is here where the southernmost wine regions in Chile and Argentina lie, and the road trip between them is unforgettable. If you have time, start in Concepción visiting the artisanal wineries and century-old vines of Itata and Bio Bio. Their wines are some of the most distinct on the continent.
Then spend a couple days exploring between Pucón and Puerto Varas. Snowcapped volcanos are reflected by glassy lakes, and the lush forests, waterfalls and rivers span 320km, offering breathtaking treks, skiing (June-Sep), water sports (Oct-April), hot springs and some of the world’sbest fly fishing.
Wind down in the evening by the lakeside and tuck into freshly caught salmon paired with the local volcanic wines and stay in a traditional cabin with an outdoor tina (wooden hot tub); or splash out on a giant luxury treehouse in the Huilo Huilo Nature Reserve…
Published Decanter, February 2017
San Pedro de Atacama
There is nowhere else in the world like San Pedro de Atacama. It may be the driest desert on the planet, but the Atacama is also home to large white salt flats, steam spitting geyser fields, colorful Altiplano mountains and cactus valleys, extreme volcanoes, and clear, star-filled night skies…
The plunging peso is like a Latin Lothario
Argentina’s economy is not easy to write about. I’ve had to rewrite this article 15 times. Not just because of my shoddy writing, but because of the shoddy state of the economy. When I started putting pen to paper at the end of December, the exchange rate was 6.5 pesos to the dollar, yet last week it hit 8.5 pesos. Every time I reopen my laptop the rate has changed. On the verge of yet another economic crash you might suppose? Obviously, it’s Argentina…
Brazil’s Unexpected Wine Region: A traveller’s guide to Vale dos Vinhedos
Brazil’s main wine region, Vale dos Vinhedos, may well be what you least expect from the country known for its tropical beaches, flamboyant carnival and vast Amazon jungle. The landscape of Serra Gaucha, one of the southernmost states in Brazil, consists of hillsides and forest. It is humid, like all of Brazil, but the cloudy and rainy days make you feel closer to somewhere in northern Europe than the postcard image of Brazil. With 2000mm of rain a year and undulating hillsides, it paints an altogether different landscape to that of Rio de Janeiro.
24 hours in the life of a grapepicker
Carlos wiped the dripping sweat from his brow. His stout index finger brushed his right eye, and the vinegar he had doused on it stung the crease of his eyelid. He winced and rubbed his grimy shirt against his damp forehead, cursing the wasp that stung him an hour before. It was 10.30am on a mid March morning in Mendoza, and already 38 degrees centigrade. They still had at least three hours of picking to do. At the very thought of it, Carlos’s neck exuded more drops of salty sweat down his spine…
36 hours in Buenos Aires: A Literary Tour
Buenos Aires is the city that inspired Argentina’s great writers and, like Paris, was the hub of many a literary movement. In fact, almost the entire surreal, literary world of Jorge Luis Borges is based in Buenos Aires. Enjoy the chaos of the city tucked deep inside a cafe and amongst shelves of books, visit the haunts of authors past and keep up appearances with the artsy crowd of the present…
