Santiago Airport, Chile with the Andes in the background

I am fascinated with planes – you? Whenever I fly, no matter how mundane the trip, I’m like a giddy kid at the check-in counter, I skip down the accordion boarding tunnel to my window seat (carefully chosen online the day before) and play with everything in the seat pocket as soon as I sit down. I smile with a rush as the aircraft reaches full throttle on the runway and a surge of delight as we climb, climb, climb. And when it’s an overseas trip, oh my lord, I’m bursting with joy at the very thought of it.

Now, this might seem like a shameless ploy to show off my holiday pics, but really, I just wish you could have seen it for yourself – a spectacular journey from an alpine morning in Santiago, Chile, up and over the Andes mountain range, across the salt plains of Argentina, towards the gushing tropical rivers and beaches of Brazil by the afternoon. Needless to say I was glued to my little plastic window the entire 5 hours. Mother earth at her gobsmackingly finest.

Edge of the Andes, Chile

The city of Santiago at the foot of the Andes Mountain range

The Andes - Chilean Argentinian border

Andes lakes

Snow drift

The Andes

Argentina! Edge of the Andes

Topographic. Argentina

Salt flat, Salinas Grandes, Córdoba Argentina

Riverways, Brazil

River eye, Brazil

River mouth, Costa Verde, Brazil

About Ingrid Schroder

A Sydney-side freelance graphic designer, photographer & yoga teacher - I find myself turning to nature for guaranteed revival from the crazy pace of city life - be it digging in my garden, capturing natural beauty through a lens, floating in the ocean, practicing yoga or out exploring this incredible planet we all call home. Follow me on twitter @Cohabitaire