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November 22 El Calafate to BarilocheHi,
So, after leaving Torres del Paine, we had a long drive to and over the Argentine border and on to El Calafate. This was to be our base for the next couple of days to explore the Perito Moreno and Upsalla glacier.
Next morning we were up early for a drive to the end of the peninsular to see the Perito Moreno glacier. As this glacier approaches the peninsular you can get extremely close and watch huge chunks of ice break off the end of the glacier with a huge crash - very spectactular. We could have spent all day there really (and even saw a condor - most unexpected after our disappointment in Colca Canyon!), but snow started to fall heavier and heavier, so we beat a retreat to the coach and waited to be taken to the small harbour for our trip across the lake. Here we heard an explanation of how the glacier was formed and works (won´t bore you with the details right now...). We then (through the ever increasing snow) headed to the edge of the glacier to put on out crampons and to climb onto the glacier itself. The snow was really coming down by now and we weren´t enjoying it as much as before. Luckily, before we had gone to far the snow stopped and by the end of the walk the sun had come out. We had a good old walk around the glacier and even some whiskey and ice from the glacier half way up. We then returned by boat and bus to El Calafate.
The next day we were back on the road towards the glaciers, this time to Upsalla. We boarded another boat for a trip on Lago Argentina and sailed (well, motored) up through the iceburgs to the head of the glacier. This time we didn´t get as close and didn´t see any chunks of ice falling off, but it was still impressive. Next we motored to Estancia Christina (an old ranch) and jumped in some 4x4s to drive up to a viewing point over the Upsalla glacier. This view was amazing as you got a true idea of the scale of the glacier, stretching back into the mountains. The wind was so fierce up there though, that we soon headed back down (after some soup) to the Estancia and a large bbq (indoors). A lot of meat later (and a quick tour of the rest of the house - showing how the owners used to live) we got back on the boat and headed back to El Calafate.
Next up was a flight to Ushuia. We had been told that the tour guide would confirm our flight and let us know if the times had changed. So we were a little surprised to turn up to find our flight was some three hours late! So, rather than relax around town, we had to spend four hours sat in the airport waiting. When it was finally our turn to board we went through security. Soon after I noticed a wet patch on the back of my fleece. Turning round I realised that a bottle of pisco sour I had carried around since just after Lima in Peru had been cracked coming through security and was rapidly leaking into my bag - which contained my ipod, round the world flight tickets and travellers checks!! Luckily we still had half an hour before boarding, so I nipped off to the toilets and began the salvage job. After pouring nearly a litre of pisco sour down the sink (good to know my rucksack is pretty waterproof!), I started cleaning up the tickets and everything else. After a while it became clear that things weren´t too bad and only one edge of the tickets were soaked! A bit of flapping and dabbing with toilet paper later, they were ready to continue...
Anyway, after all that, we arrived in Ushuia, the most southerly city in the world. It was surprisinly warm (around 12-14 degree) while we were there and didn´t feel too much like the end of the world, but we did enjoy the feel of the city and had a couple of really nice meals there. We also met up with Rebecca and Stephen from the Oasis truck and Cath from Quito, which was great. It was really nice to see what everyone else had been up to and to feel jealous of Cath, who was leaving for a tour of Antartica the next day! Whilst in Ushuia, we had a tour of the local National Park, which included a rather touristy train ride, a view of the last road in South America (from which it is possible to drive to Alaska) and some really nice scenary. The tour guide was also really friendly and let us try some of her maté (an Argentinian drink). The next day we did a boat trip along the Beagle Channel (connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans), seeing Port Williams (the most southerly town in the world), lots of wildlife and, most, especially, lots of penguins. I´ve not been able to look too closely at the photos of the penguins so haven´t been able to whitle them down too much yet, so you´ll have to bear with us having quite so many... The accomodation in Ushuia was also great - a lovely log cabin up on the hill, run by a friendly ex-antartic sailor with their own kitchen and fireplace. One night Xana cooked for the rest of us and we started a fire, so had a really nice night.
Next up was Bariloche. This involved flying back to El Calafate for a flight which we though would involved two hour stop-over, but ended up being about thirty seconds! Bariloche itself is in the Argentine lake district and has a very Alpine feeling. Lots of the buildings looked like they have been lifter straight from Austria or Switzerland and there is a thriving chocolate industry (altough the chocolate isn´t so great). It, along with most of the rest of Patagonia, feels a lot less like South America compare to the rest of our trip, so it´s good to see this different side of the place.
In Bariloche we´ve done a few walks and been on a guided tour to see some good view points. It´s a really pretty location. Unfortunately, Xana has come down with a cold, so has had to spend today in bed. Hopefully, she´ll be back to normal tomorrow.
Okay, so tomorrow we fly to Buenas Aires for the last leg of my parents trip. They´re there for three days and then fly home and we hope to enrol in a local Spanish-teaching school.
Hasta Luego
November 14 New startSo, we´ve said goodbye to the Oasis truck, so it´s time to welcome my parents out from the UK to join us for a couple of weeks. We moved into the hotel in Santiago that they will be staying at, in anticipation of them arriving at about 3 in the afternoon. However, when we went and checked in we had a message saying they had been delayed and wouldn´t be arriving until later. Unfortunately for them, they didn´t arrive at the airport until 9.30 in the evening, some thirty hours after leaving the UK. Theír flight had some ill on and they had to be diverted to Madrid. They then flow to Sao Paulo and Buenas Aires, before finally making it to Santiago. And we had to be up the next morning before 7 to catch another flight! Luckily they weren´t too frazzeled, so were able to get up in time and we all got the flight to Punta Arenas together. Once we arrived at Santiago airport we were given the choice of getting on an earlier flight, so, having seen what happened the day before, jumped on board. It stopped off at another Chilean city on the way south, so we had to change seats. This put my dad next Carol Thatcher, who was off to the Falkland Islands to film a documentary about birds!
Anyway, we were picked up at the airport and driven for six hours to Torres del Paine National Park. This in at the tail of the Andes and also contains a huge granite mountain range, which has within it the Torres themselves (towers of granite). We were staying in a small hotel with a number of cabins. We booked a couple of walking tours for the next two days and then got an early night to be ready the next day to see the Torres.
Xana and I headed off the next morning with Claudio, our nice guide, so climb the valley to the base of the Torres. This took about 3 and a half hours, but was well worth it. The view when you scramble up the last rocks and see the towers, well, towering over the small lake and glacier, is absolutely amazing. This view is in most of the guide books and is an absolute stunner - one of the most spectuacular places I think I have ever been to. We were very lucky as well with our timing. After a brief lunch we began to head back down and within ten minutes the towers were covered in clouds - if we´d have been an hour later we would have got there and not seen anything! The walk back wasn´t so good as it rained most of the way, but it wasn´t too heavy.
The next day we (plus my parents) took another full day walk. This time to the French Valley. It is in the same mountain complex and thi stime involves a short catarmeran trip to the start. The first couple of hours are not too exciting, but the final hour is up the valley itself and has great views both up the valley to a glacier and back down the valley to a startling blue lake. It was hard work by the time we got back to the boat, but, again, well worth it. The only problem came when we got back to the hotel and went to settle our bill. The walks had bee priced in Chilean pesos, but we had thought it said it was in US dollars...this meant it was about 40% more expensive than we had thought - about fifty quid per person per walk - pretty expensive when you are used to fifty quid paying for food and drink for a week! Anyway, it´s a bit of a captive market up there and the walks were still worth it.
Today we left the National Park and crossed back into Argentina. This time to El Calafate. This is our base for the next three nights as we explore some local glaciers. Will let you know how I get on next time...
Goodbye to the truckHi all,
Sorry, it´s been a while since I´ve updated the blog (not that anyone actually reads the damn thing, judging by the number of comments...mutter...grumble...). Been busy travelling around South America, you know how it is...
Anyway, after another two days travelling after leaving Salta rafting (involving an unscheduled stop over in a unknown town, due to truck mechanical difficulties), we arrived Cafayate. This is a wine growing region, so we promptly hired some push bikes and headed out into the nearby countryside to sample some of the local fare. We had a really nice lunch at on place, but it was a few kilometers up a hill, so we must have looked pretty hot and sweaty by the time we arrived, not the posh restaurant´s normal clientele! After a few more drinks (including a trip to an organic winery), we decided it was enough of a good thing and took the bikes back to the shop. That evening, we were staying at a campsite again, so it was truck cooked food - this time shepherds pie!
After leaving Cafayate, we had another night camping, this time at the Valley of the Moon. This is a valley (duh!) with some unusual rock formations. It was also Xana and I´s last night of camping on the truck - hooray! This time I was in the cook group and we did a beef stir-fry. Seemed to go down well...well no one was ill anyway.
Next up was our last stop on the truck in Argentina, Mendoza (wine capital of Argentina). We had two nights there and on the full day, we had a tour around a few wineries, although the highlight was the fantastic lunch we received. It was a tapas style meal with loads of great meats, cheeses, vegies, bread all laid out on the table as we arrived. That, plus a bottomles wine bottle, helped end the day off nicely.
The next day was to be our last day on the truck. We headed into the Andes and to the border with Chile. This border was high up in the mountains, very remote and barren. We got through without any difficulties (although we did have to empty the tuck of our baggage while the truck was, very briefly, searched) and headed back down to Santiago. That night, as a leaving do for the eight of us getting of the truck here, we had a bbq at the hostel. Great meat (as tends to be the case in Argie) and lots of booze made for a good evening, with some of the group not getting to bed until gone four and being described by some other people staying in the hostel as ´wild´!
We spent another night in the hostel as the truck wasn´t leaving until the next morning. We had a wander around Santiago. It´s certainly the most European of cities we´ve been to so far. The people and the architecture look very Europen, with even hints of London in places. The traffic is a bit less manic and the cars don´t beep their horns so much! We had one final meal out with the guys from the truck and then got up at 7.30 the next morning to wave them off. It´ll be weird travelling again without a big yellow truck following our every move, but we´ve had a great time over the last 6 weeks or so and met some really nice people, who we´ll hopefully keep in touch with and, in some cases, meet up with again on our travels.
November 03 Rafting and CanopyingOkay, after the travails of getting to Salta Rafting, we had a late bbq meal and a halloween party. We were supposed to get a customue ready for this, but most of us didn´t have much time and we simply added some face paint when we got there. There was a small disco and bar, so we all had a few drinks and some had a bit of a boogie.
The next day we got ready for some white water rafting. There was six of us to a raft, plus the guide. It was only a grade three, so not too rough, but was still good fun. The guide dunked us in the water for a practise, although I think he actually enjoys getting the gringos soaked. We then went through a few rapids, managing to stay afloat. The scenary was fantastic. A real beautiful valley - just unfortunate that we couldn´t take our cameras. There were three boats and the guides brought one of their dogs along for the trip. He was a lovely black labrador, who was the most relaxed person on the trip! Anything that happened, he simply took it with a shrug and a really peaceful expression. He even got off at one point and went for a walk along the beach! Anyway, we all made it back to camp safely for some lunch ready for some afternoon activities.
This was ´canopying´, otherwise known as zip lines. This was about nine zip lines strung up along the valley that we were staying in, backwards and forwards across the valley. The lines varied in length and height, but the second was the longest and heighest - not the best start (some 500+ metres long and several hundred metres above the valley floor)! However, we all made it across that one safely and found time to enjoy our way over the rest of the lines. You are all secured to the line and it´s pretty safe, but still exhillarating. One of the last lines, Xana and I were (seperately) attached to one of the guides and then flew across the line in a ´Superman´position. It did bad things to your stomach, but the views were fantastic. The final line took us back into the camp and the rest of the truck would wait there to throw water bombs at the incoming people! Xana and I both got hit.
That night we ate a ´hungi´ (I think that´s spelt right). It´s a Maori way of cooking food by burying it in the ground with some hot rocks for seven or eight hours. The meat that we cooked was fantastic. It really dropped right off the bone.
The next day, we headed south to Cafayate. This is a small town in a winegrowing region. Yesterday we just chilled out at our campsite (it has a pool), but today we hired bikes and toured around a few of the vineyards. We had a great lunch (after a bit of a climb) at a beautiful old vineyard building (with a few nice glasses of wine) and then potted around the rest of the afternoon, in and out of the vineyards.
Tonight we have another meal at the campsite and tomorrow we start heading south towards Mendoza. It´s a long way south and there aren´t too many big places to stop off at, so we are spending the next two nights free camping, before finally arriving in Mendoza and another wine region!
November 02 The end of Bolivia and the start of ArgentinaOkay, so we've now seen the end of Bolivia, and the first few days of Argentina. After arriving in Uyuni, we headed out on the famous salt flats. These were caused by an inland sea evaporating thousands of years ago. The salt stretches for hundreds of miles around. We hired some jeeps and headed out onto the flats, stopping firstly at a train graveyard (the trains were abandoned in the 1950s when the mining in the area stopped). We then drove onto the flats proper. The light is amazing there - so white and clear. Perspective is difficult, so we tried to take some pictures to take advantage of that. Some of them came out okay, but it's difficult to see what you are doing on a small digital camera screen in full daylight. Anyway, the pictures are on the site, so you can take a look. We drove to a couple of 'islands' within the flats. Firstly one formed b y a volanoe and, secondly, one with hundreds of cactii. After that we drove to a hotel made entirely of salt and it was here that we tried to do some funny things with perspective and a few props. While we were here our driver (a Kiwi called Andy) proposed to his girlfried (our English tour guide Mel) and she said yes. So it was a great way to end the day - what a place to propose! The flats are well worth visiting, it's such a strange and surreal place. Xana also spent some time talking to a couple who work collecting the salt for local use. It's such hard work and poorly paid - they have to collect 8 tonnes for about 2 pounds! The next day we headed south towards the border. We free camped in a beautiful canyon and played football against a few local kids. Anywhere in the world you can make friends with a football! Next day we reached the Argentine border. Leaving Bolivia was a shame, as we had only spent about a week there and felt that we had only scratched the surface of this beautiful country. However, we were really looking forward to Argie. Definitely somewhere different to Bolivia. This was visible even at the border. The locals seemed better dressed, taller and more European looking than the Bolivians (Bolivia is a poor country with around 70% of it's population claiming indigenous heritage). The buildings and cars were in better condition as well. After a surprisingly quick border crossing (the last time Andy and Mel had crossed there it took 7 hours!), we drove down to Salta. We were down to 1000m above sea level, so we all felt much better - apart from me, who had decided that this would be a good time to come down with a dodgy stomach! So, whilst everyone else was out having their first taste of Argentinian wine and meat, I was in the tent shivering and trying to eat a few biscuits. And poor Xana had to keep me company! The next day I felt a bit better and, as our truck needed some maintenance, we headed into Salta for a nosey. It seems like a really nice place. It definitely has a much more European feel. The shops look more like you would get back in Europe and there are lots of cafes and nice restaurants. We headed back to the campsite to meet the truck, only to find out that they were still working on it and we wouldn't be leaving until 5pm. To kill some time, we played cricket in the vast, empty, open-air swimming pool we had camped next too. We finally got going and made our way towards Salta Rafting where were to go white water rafting and canopying. However, the delays hadn't stopped yet as we found our road partially blocked half an hour from the campsite by a landslide! The truck couldn't get through so a bus from the campsite came to meet us and we had to unload all our stuff from the truck onto the bus and be shipped to the campsite. This was a long old day and we weren't eating until 11pm. The food was great though - a proper Argentian BBQ, with loads of great meat. Anyway, I'm bored of writing the blog for today, so will check in again when I next get the chance and will update you on how the rafting and canopying went. And where we are now. Take care.
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