Day one of the trek started late. First we didn't have enough space in the van for our guide, then we waited for bikes, then we got pulled over, then our bus broke down (and we sat in the street and played cards as our driver hailed a truck to take our bikes, and we ended up back in our choking van to chug ever so slowly up up the canyon. Luckily, the bike ride down the otherside went off without incident (and was a blast), but then, back once again in our van, and immediately a flat tire. Just when we thought we were in the clear, we got a whole different type of obstacle: Protests. The local people were demonstrating because they are not getting enough money for their fuel and cocoa leaves, so they blocked the road in several places with huge rocks so we couldn't pass. Eventually we got past those, and finally arrived to lunch in Santa Maria at 4 pm.
A couple hours later we needed to continue to Santa Teresa, except there was only one road and that too, was blocked. Our guide told us we couldn't take the regular company bus, so we'd have to take the local bus (mini combi). Unfortunately, the locals were coming down the hill demonstrating (abour 40 of them) when we needed to catch the bus and they weren't having it. Our guide told us to stand behind the taxi there (all of this is on the side of a river with nothing else around) and he and two taxi drivers stood face-to-face with this mini-mob having some unpleasant words (to put it nicely) while we were sat frantically trying to hide our memory cards and passports (only really important things) in case they came to us, instead. Luckily, our guide paid them off, we jumped in the cab and he took off, only to find the road blocked again 100 yards ahead, and the mob was back and we were back to square one. Our guide told us we'd have to take the local bus afterwards, but as we were going to get on, they were kicking off another tourist because they didn't want him on there, so back in the taxi we jumped, and they threw him in the back of our cab while our guide paid them off again to let us past this road block. Finally we were out and our taxi took off at the speed of light and did not slow down for the entire rest of the hour plus ride on the tiny winding cliff road. Occasionally we would come up on a combi, not be able to see a foot in front of us because of the dust they created (one even had a guy riding on top), and he would honk and flash at them to pass, only it was not even one lane, and immpossible to pass. It was without a doubt the scariest 3 hours of my life. Wrong place and wrong time to be a tourist for sure.
Finally, we got settled in Santa Teresa, and all was well. We managed to dodge day 3 of the protest because we were hiking, so we spent a few hours in the jungle trekking, crossed a river on a tiny metal platform they pulled back and forth across it, and ended in Aguas Calientes. We stopped by the hot springs there, and had a great dinner and went to bed early before our 3:30 am wake-up!
3:30 am came soon, but we were excited and jumped out of bed to climb 1700 plus steps in the dark to gates of Machu Picchu to be within the first 400 there (to get tickets to climb Waynupicchu). 6 am we were in the door, got a 2 hour tour of Machu Picchu, climbed another 1400 plus steps up Waynupicchu for a downwards view of Machu Picchu- the pictures speak for themselves). It is quite possibly the most spectacular man-mad thing I've ever seen. No, it definitely is. It is indescribable. We just wandered and explored all the nooks and crannies all day, ended at the Inka Bridge (see photos), and went back down the way we came up. We hung out in Aguas Calientes for a few hours (sampling several happy hours- you can bargain them down to almost nothing) before catching our train to bus to bus back to Cusco. FANTASTIC.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Cusco, Peru and Rafting
This is going to be a long entry-- sorry.
CUSCO:
We arrived in Cusco a little down and out after a tough few days, but were THRILLED when our hostel took us in at 5 am let us go to our rooms to sleep (and it didn't hurt that it was the nicest hostel of all time). After a little cleaning up, we went out to explore AMAZING Cusco. It is maybe the most beautiful city I've ever seen. It is chalk full of gorgeous plazas, all the buildings are old and well kept, and I still don't think I've seen any trash anywhere here. We had a blast exploring and gawking at everything, had a $2.50 four course meal to die for, went out a bit at night for quiz night, and then tried to get some sleep to prepare for our trek to Machu Picchu (next blog entry).
When we returned from Machu Picchu, much as we wanted to sleep, we got up to try to go paragliding over the sacred valley the next morning, and it was beautiful, but unfortunately no wind, so after a few hours of waiting we came back to Cusco and played around town for the afternoon (last minute shopping). We went for dinner and a much anticipated big night outtttttttttttt!!!!
Unfortunately the girls left Sunday afternoon. I was on my own again, so I went to meet up with everyone at the "Highest Irish owned bar in the World" for a "Sunday Session". It was a great night, and the next two days were more of the same just living it up in Cusco (LOVE this town).
RAFTING:
Rafting was a blast. We left Cusco early Wednesday morning and drove for a few hours on (surprise surprise) a dusty, bumpy, very scary cliff road, with a considerable amount of traffic in the opposite direction (as far as cliff roads go) and somehow we always seemed to be the ones blindly reversing. We had a great lunch down next to the river and set out for the first few hours of rafting. It was mostly class 2, 3, and 4 this day, and we got to our beach campsite around 6 pm and had a fabulous hot lomo saltado (one of my favorite Peruvian dishes) dinner, a fire, and turned in early.
We woke up the next morning all with a significant amount of bug bites (which I still had weeks later, and even have a few scars from on my legs), but we had slept well and it was another beautiful day. We put our wetsuits and gear back on, and headed out again for a full day of class 4 and 5 rapids. Because it had rained a bit over night, there were two rapids which were considered class 6, and therefore illegal for commercial rafting, so we had to walk a short distance on the shore while our guides worked extremely hard to get our boats down safely. Judging by how much they were struggling and the complicated techniques they used (having to throw the tow line to each other and pull the boats around), I am very glad we didn’t have to do that! We stopped for a great lunch, had a quick fire, got attacked by more sand flies (or whatever it was that was eating us) and had a great afternoon of more big (and somewhat scary!) rapids. We got to our second night beach camp around late afternoon, so we had enough daylight to play some games, have another great dinner and bonfire and party!
The last day we woke up early because we had a lot of rafting to get in, and it had rained again so the water was very high! We had a few flips and some unexpected swimming in our group, but luckily I only fell out once (and was pushed out once!). We had some more class 4 and 5s, and had to rescue a couple kayakers who were having an even harder time than us. We ended our trip late afternoon again, had a fantastic dinner waiting for us, and then drove a couple of hours back to Cusco.
Sadly, it was my last night in Cusco (and South America for that matter ) so naturally we had to make the most of it and had quite a night out!!
CUSCO:
We arrived in Cusco a little down and out after a tough few days, but were THRILLED when our hostel took us in at 5 am let us go to our rooms to sleep (and it didn't hurt that it was the nicest hostel of all time). After a little cleaning up, we went out to explore AMAZING Cusco. It is maybe the most beautiful city I've ever seen. It is chalk full of gorgeous plazas, all the buildings are old and well kept, and I still don't think I've seen any trash anywhere here. We had a blast exploring and gawking at everything, had a $2.50 four course meal to die for, went out a bit at night for quiz night, and then tried to get some sleep to prepare for our trek to Machu Picchu (next blog entry).
When we returned from Machu Picchu, much as we wanted to sleep, we got up to try to go paragliding over the sacred valley the next morning, and it was beautiful, but unfortunately no wind, so after a few hours of waiting we came back to Cusco and played around town for the afternoon (last minute shopping). We went for dinner and a much anticipated big night outtttttttttttt!!!!
Unfortunately the girls left Sunday afternoon. I was on my own again, so I went to meet up with everyone at the "Highest Irish owned bar in the World" for a "Sunday Session". It was a great night, and the next two days were more of the same just living it up in Cusco (LOVE this town).
RAFTING:
Rafting was a blast. We left Cusco early Wednesday morning and drove for a few hours on (surprise surprise) a dusty, bumpy, very scary cliff road, with a considerable amount of traffic in the opposite direction (as far as cliff roads go) and somehow we always seemed to be the ones blindly reversing. We had a great lunch down next to the river and set out for the first few hours of rafting. It was mostly class 2, 3, and 4 this day, and we got to our beach campsite around 6 pm and had a fabulous hot lomo saltado (one of my favorite Peruvian dishes) dinner, a fire, and turned in early.
We woke up the next morning all with a significant amount of bug bites (which I still had weeks later, and even have a few scars from on my legs), but we had slept well and it was another beautiful day. We put our wetsuits and gear back on, and headed out again for a full day of class 4 and 5 rapids. Because it had rained a bit over night, there were two rapids which were considered class 6, and therefore illegal for commercial rafting, so we had to walk a short distance on the shore while our guides worked extremely hard to get our boats down safely. Judging by how much they were struggling and the complicated techniques they used (having to throw the tow line to each other and pull the boats around), I am very glad we didn’t have to do that! We stopped for a great lunch, had a quick fire, got attacked by more sand flies (or whatever it was that was eating us) and had a great afternoon of more big (and somewhat scary!) rapids. We got to our second night beach camp around late afternoon, so we had enough daylight to play some games, have another great dinner and bonfire and party!
The last day we woke up early because we had a lot of rafting to get in, and it had rained again so the water was very high! We had a few flips and some unexpected swimming in our group, but luckily I only fell out once (and was pushed out once!). We had some more class 4 and 5s, and had to rescue a couple kayakers who were having an even harder time than us. We ended our trip late afternoon again, had a fantastic dinner waiting for us, and then drove a couple of hours back to Cusco.
Sadly, it was my last night in Cusco (and South America for that matter ) so naturally we had to make the most of it and had quite a night out!!
Puno, Peru and Lake Titicaca
Admittedly, we weren't at our best when we arrived at 4:15 am, but we got a whole lot worse when it was 8 am and we were still sitting at the bus station waiting for someone to greet us with our names on a sheet of paper ... as promised. We had called Arequipa several times, and kept being told "5 minutos mas". Finally, we left for our tour of Titicaca.
Our first stop was Los Uros, the floating islands. They were actually really cool- they are not like the ones in Vietnam which I was expecting (those were really cool too, but totally different). These were built on mud and straw, taking two years to build each island (and having to be replaced every 9 months as they start to errode. We went ashore (so to speak), got to talk to the locals and see their houses, went for a wicker boat ride, and carried on in VERY rough seas to Isla Amantani where we met our host family and they showed us to the house. It was quite a walk everywhere (no cars or transportation anywhere on the island), and no heat, running water, or electricity at the house. Our room was very nice, though- it was like a little apartment above their house ... lit with a candle! We went on a long hike to the top of the island to watch the sunset and it was spectacular- it was nice to see water after being inland for all but a few days of my trip. We ended the evening with a little "fiesta" where we went with the locals to dance (traditionally-- don't be picturing a club)!
The next day we set off to Isla Taquile and hiked up to the top of that as well (you have to to get to "town"). It was an incredible view, so we broke off from our group and found an amazing little restaurant perched way up high with great views and even better fresh fish! The boat ride back to Puno was much calmer and very enjoyable. Puno itself, however, leaves something to be desired. It's a pretty dingy and dirty place, with not much to put it on the map except for Lake Titicaca and being the highest city in Peru. We did have some great pizza though before boarding yet another (last one!) overnight bus to Cusco (and not NEARLY as cushy as Arequipa to Puno, I might add).
Our first stop was Los Uros, the floating islands. They were actually really cool- they are not like the ones in Vietnam which I was expecting (those were really cool too, but totally different). These were built on mud and straw, taking two years to build each island (and having to be replaced every 9 months as they start to errode. We went ashore (so to speak), got to talk to the locals and see their houses, went for a wicker boat ride, and carried on in VERY rough seas to Isla Amantani where we met our host family and they showed us to the house. It was quite a walk everywhere (no cars or transportation anywhere on the island), and no heat, running water, or electricity at the house. Our room was very nice, though- it was like a little apartment above their house ... lit with a candle! We went on a long hike to the top of the island to watch the sunset and it was spectacular- it was nice to see water after being inland for all but a few days of my trip. We ended the evening with a little "fiesta" where we went with the locals to dance (traditionally-- don't be picturing a club)!
The next day we set off to Isla Taquile and hiked up to the top of that as well (you have to to get to "town"). It was an incredible view, so we broke off from our group and found an amazing little restaurant perched way up high with great views and even better fresh fish! The boat ride back to Puno was much calmer and very enjoyable. Puno itself, however, leaves something to be desired. It's a pretty dingy and dirty place, with not much to put it on the map except for Lake Titicaca and being the highest city in Peru. We did have some great pizza though before boarding yet another (last one!) overnight bus to Cusco (and not NEARLY as cushy as Arequipa to Puno, I might add).
Arequipa, Peru
Because I was crossing a border, I had to take a day bus and waste a whole day, but it was alright. We stopped in a tiny town on the border, the bus let us out, we walked across a bridge over Titicaca, and right on into Peru. We went into immigrations, but it would have certainly been easy enough to just stroll on in! A few hours later, my bus pulled over randomly in the middle of a bridge, everyone was frantically grabbing their stuff and pushing each other off the bus. Being the only tourist, I had no idea what was going on, so I grabbed my stuff and jumped off with them, stood outside freezing for 30 minutes, then followed them as they all calmly boarded back on the bus ... NO idea what all that was about.
Finally, a few hours late, I made it to Arequipa to meet Courtney and Eileen who had been waiting all day! We immediately went out for some celebratory food and drinks! The next day we had a ball just running around Arequipa exploring: we went to the Monestary (doesn't sound that exciting but it was lots of fun and gorgeous), all around downtown (including the ... noteworthy ... market (see pictures)), up to the viewpoint, and had an incredible meal sitting in the garden at a great little restaurant. For dinner, we went to a local penas show (live folk music) at a restaurant near our hostel, were the only people there for the whole three hours, and were outnumbered by the band. Luckily a friend of the band, our old pal Javier, befriended us and in our drunken spanish we managed to have a great time laughing and dancing. Unfortunately, because we were the only people there (and tourists) the restaurant decided to make up a 20% tax (food is not taxed in South America), and upon our refusal to pay we were chased down the street (and still refused to pay). That put a damper on an otherwise fantastic night.
We were regretting our 4 or 5 rounds of Pisco Sours at 3 am the next morning when we were getting up for our Colca Canyon trek. After a very touch-and-go bus ride, we stopped and got to see some amazing condors showing off flying above us, then started our trek all the way down ... and right back up ... and right back down, the deepest canyon in the world. We stayed at a fantastic "Oasis" right in the bottom next to the river, swam in the gorgeous pool, ate by candle light as there is no electricity in the canyon, and stayed in wonderful little huts. The next morning we took mules up to the top-- so much fun! We made a few more stops on the way home, and finally arrived in Arequipa just in time to shower, eat, and catch an overnight bus to Puno (after MUCH ado and a great deal of confusion, we ended up in first class- score!).
Finally, a few hours late, I made it to Arequipa to meet Courtney and Eileen who had been waiting all day! We immediately went out for some celebratory food and drinks! The next day we had a ball just running around Arequipa exploring: we went to the Monestary (doesn't sound that exciting but it was lots of fun and gorgeous), all around downtown (including the ... noteworthy ... market (see pictures)), up to the viewpoint, and had an incredible meal sitting in the garden at a great little restaurant. For dinner, we went to a local penas show (live folk music) at a restaurant near our hostel, were the only people there for the whole three hours, and were outnumbered by the band. Luckily a friend of the band, our old pal Javier, befriended us and in our drunken spanish we managed to have a great time laughing and dancing. Unfortunately, because we were the only people there (and tourists) the restaurant decided to make up a 20% tax (food is not taxed in South America), and upon our refusal to pay we were chased down the street (and still refused to pay). That put a damper on an otherwise fantastic night.
We were regretting our 4 or 5 rounds of Pisco Sours at 3 am the next morning when we were getting up for our Colca Canyon trek. After a very touch-and-go bus ride, we stopped and got to see some amazing condors showing off flying above us, then started our trek all the way down ... and right back up ... and right back down, the deepest canyon in the world. We stayed at a fantastic "Oasis" right in the bottom next to the river, swam in the gorgeous pool, ate by candle light as there is no electricity in the canyon, and stayed in wonderful little huts. The next morning we took mules up to the top-- so much fun! We made a few more stops on the way home, and finally arrived in Arequipa just in time to shower, eat, and catch an overnight bus to Puno (after MUCH ado and a great deal of confusion, we ended up in first class- score!).
Monday, May 17, 2010
La Paz, Bolivia
I arrived in La Paz very early (5 am or so), and nervously took an unmarked cab in the dark to my hostel. All was well and I was able to get organized and hang around for a bit until it was light. I had a quick breakfast and met an English girl, Gani, and we set out to explore La Paz. We checked out all the major sites, and ended up spending hours in the Witches market, complete with every tourist souvenir you can imagine, as well as llama fetuses hanging about (and lots of other creepy witchy things). It's amazing how busy La Paz is, even on a Sunday. The streets were small (and very slippery because the stones were so worn) and packed with a thousand times more cars than they can hold. There are more minibusses than anything else, all driving around (trying to hit pedestrians) with their doors open and people hanging out shouting their destinations as fast as they can say them. Gani and I grabbed some street meat and headed back to the hostel in time to go to the Cholitas Wrestling, a very disappointingly sober event (well, we went outside to little stands to buy beers, but couldn't have them inside because people get too rowdy and throw things), but a great experience none-the-less. It began with a two men fighting (all very staged, it's almost like an ice skating act), but then the women came in and it got even better! Unfortunately the bus left us there and we had quite an adventure getting home, but we went out afterwards and it was still a great night.
The next day I got up early to go bike down "Death Road", aptly named as it was the most dangerous road in the world until about 10 years ago when they built another road to replace it. Until then, it claimed over 300 lives per year, and now still there have been 28 deaths in the last 10 years, sadly, one of which was just two weeks before we went. The road is hardly one lane, just a dirt/mud road which is on a cliff the entire time. Some people still use it (stupidly) because it is an hour faster than the new road to La Paz. In the course of a couple hours we dropped 3700 meters-- went from very cold to relaxing by the pool afterwards. Luckily we had great bikes with excellent suspension, so all was well. When we got home we were happy to be in one piece and went out for a verrry long night of celebration, but it was quite a good time!
My last day in La Paz Gani and I just shopped till we dropped, almost literally, feasted in the local food market (gigantic lunch of something unidentifiable for about $.60 USD). I had to buy a new bag in order to fit all my new goods. I really regret not getting more things in Asia, so I'm taking no prisoners now. Finally I went to a mirador (viewpoint) of the city. It was beautiful. The entire city is built almost in the shape of a bowl, with only a few blocks of levelness at the very bottom. Nearly all of the houses are red-brick color so it makes for a gorgeous skyline. We took it easy this night as we had early busses in the morning, but La Paz was a blast!
The next day I got up early to go bike down "Death Road", aptly named as it was the most dangerous road in the world until about 10 years ago when they built another road to replace it. Until then, it claimed over 300 lives per year, and now still there have been 28 deaths in the last 10 years, sadly, one of which was just two weeks before we went. The road is hardly one lane, just a dirt/mud road which is on a cliff the entire time. Some people still use it (stupidly) because it is an hour faster than the new road to La Paz. In the course of a couple hours we dropped 3700 meters-- went from very cold to relaxing by the pool afterwards. Luckily we had great bikes with excellent suspension, so all was well. When we got home we were happy to be in one piece and went out for a verrry long night of celebration, but it was quite a good time!
My last day in La Paz Gani and I just shopped till we dropped, almost literally, feasted in the local food market (gigantic lunch of something unidentifiable for about $.60 USD). I had to buy a new bag in order to fit all my new goods. I really regret not getting more things in Asia, so I'm taking no prisoners now. Finally I went to a mirador (viewpoint) of the city. It was beautiful. The entire city is built almost in the shape of a bowl, with only a few blocks of levelness at the very bottom. Nearly all of the houses are red-brick color so it makes for a gorgeous skyline. We took it easy this night as we had early busses in the morning, but La Paz was a blast!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Potosi, Bolivia
We arrived to the highest city in the world around 1 am. We were 9 of us, so thankfully we had already organized our hostel. The bus ride was ... interesting. It wasn't too bad, but for the complete lack of even a foot of paved road the entire time, bar about the last 5 minutes as we got into town. I had my ipod on nearly full blast, and often couldn't hear it because the rattling was so loud ... a considerable draft, as well!
The next morning I set out early to go to Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) to explore the mines that are still in operation from 1671. There are 10,000 miners who work there today. They used to mine for silver (Potosi used to be the largest and richest city in South America), but now the silver is depleted, so there is only zinc left. We arrived to the mines clad in our jumpsuits head to foot, giant rubber boots, face masks and headlamps. We had stopped on the way to buy gifts for the miners: cocoa leaves (chewed for the altitude and suppresses hunger- so they say, didn't work for me!), juice, cigarettes (handmade, unfiltered), 96% alcohol (comes in a flimsy plastic bottle), and last but not least, TNT so we could see an explosion.
The mine has 300 entrances, and we set off into one walking. Within a minute we were already hunched over and spent the next few hours like this, as the tunnel gets very dark and very small very quickly. We were trudging through several inches of muddy water for much of the time, and I was very grateful that my boots didn't leak. Around us the walls varied from grey to brown to tan to red to orange, etc., and were plastered in asbestos ... mmmm. We hit our heads a lot. Inside was like a maze- there were tunnels in every direction, and as we got deeper in, the tunnels got increasinly smaller.
Every few minutes our guide would pull us off into an alcove when she heard a cart coming. A full cart weighs 2.5 tons and needs four men to move it, two pulling it with ropes, and two pushing. Several times they were coming so fast that we had to run to get to a space to get out of their way. In order for us to be able to take pictures, we gave them the "gifts" (bribes, more like). At one point we climbed up a ladder to another tunnel, then climbed straight down 200 meters. It was very hot and stuffy and somewhat hard to breathe, but our guide knew a miner there who stopped to talk to us for about 10 minutes. They work 14 plus hour days, 6 days a week in these backbreaking conditions. Many work in groups, but he was working alone, and then will hire help for a day to haul all of his finds out. We could not stay too long as it was difficult for us to breathe, so we crawled back up out the steep tunnel.
On the way out, we stopped at one of their break spots to see their mining God: "Dios", paid our respects to him by drinking some of the 96% alcohol, and learned a bit more about the mines. Outside we set off the TNT-- it was much bigger and louder than I had expected, but very cool.
In the afternoon I just explored and sampled quite a bit of the local cuisine off the streets and had a great day. I took an evening bus to La Paz.
The next morning I set out early to go to Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) to explore the mines that are still in operation from 1671. There are 10,000 miners who work there today. They used to mine for silver (Potosi used to be the largest and richest city in South America), but now the silver is depleted, so there is only zinc left. We arrived to the mines clad in our jumpsuits head to foot, giant rubber boots, face masks and headlamps. We had stopped on the way to buy gifts for the miners: cocoa leaves (chewed for the altitude and suppresses hunger- so they say, didn't work for me!), juice, cigarettes (handmade, unfiltered), 96% alcohol (comes in a flimsy plastic bottle), and last but not least, TNT so we could see an explosion.
The mine has 300 entrances, and we set off into one walking. Within a minute we were already hunched over and spent the next few hours like this, as the tunnel gets very dark and very small very quickly. We were trudging through several inches of muddy water for much of the time, and I was very grateful that my boots didn't leak. Around us the walls varied from grey to brown to tan to red to orange, etc., and were plastered in asbestos ... mmmm. We hit our heads a lot. Inside was like a maze- there were tunnels in every direction, and as we got deeper in, the tunnels got increasinly smaller.
Every few minutes our guide would pull us off into an alcove when she heard a cart coming. A full cart weighs 2.5 tons and needs four men to move it, two pulling it with ropes, and two pushing. Several times they were coming so fast that we had to run to get to a space to get out of their way. In order for us to be able to take pictures, we gave them the "gifts" (bribes, more like). At one point we climbed up a ladder to another tunnel, then climbed straight down 200 meters. It was very hot and stuffy and somewhat hard to breathe, but our guide knew a miner there who stopped to talk to us for about 10 minutes. They work 14 plus hour days, 6 days a week in these backbreaking conditions. Many work in groups, but he was working alone, and then will hire help for a day to haul all of his finds out. We could not stay too long as it was difficult for us to breathe, so we crawled back up out the steep tunnel.
On the way out, we stopped at one of their break spots to see their mining God: "Dios", paid our respects to him by drinking some of the 96% alcohol, and learned a bit more about the mines. Outside we set off the TNT-- it was much bigger and louder than I had expected, but very cool.
In the afternoon I just explored and sampled quite a bit of the local cuisine off the streets and had a great day. I took an evening bus to La Paz.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Unuyi (Bolivia) Salt Flat tour
The bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama, in the north of Chile, was a modest 26 hours from Valpariso. The highlight was definitely coming into the desert going West and seeing the most spectacular sunset. Since I had my memory card out and words can't describe sunsets, I´ll just leave it at that it was very nice-- a gigantic horizontal rainbow. I arrived in the tiny, dusty town of San Pedro at around 7 pm at a little hut, apparently the bus station. I found my way to town, got my hostel, and took all of 5 minutes to cover the town to explore. Because I irresponsibly squandered my time, I only had one night there which was a bummer because despite its size, there was a ton to do there.
The next morning I left for the 3-day Uyuni tour with 10 other people (turns out two of whom I knew from Pucon-- the gringo trail is VERY small, you are constantly running into people). We started off going through immigrations; no problem in Chile, the hut in the middle of the desert that is Bolivian immigrations could not issue me a visa, but luckily they just packaged up my passport and gave it to my driver for us to do in Uyuni. We broke up into two jeeps. Next we got whopped with a 150 Bolivianos park entrance fee, up from 30 Bolivianos three days before. We headed to Lagunas Blanco and Verde- Verde was not verde when we arrived, but after about 10 minutes of wind, we watched the whole thing turn green. We continued on in our jeep, rocking out to Bolivian music, passing all kinds of Vicunas (llama-like animals) and bouncing along the very rocky road in the middle of the desert. The mountains were in the distance- they were all multicolored (a lot of red) and topped with snow.
Next we stopped at the termas (hot springs), just one small natural pool with an incredible view. It was at 4500 meters, it was very cold outside, and very hot in the springs, a combination of which gave us all headaches within 15 minutes and we were done. We were out of breath just changing our clothes. The ground was very warm though, as you could feel the hot water below it seeping up.
After the termas we stopped at the geysers, which pretty much just looked like how I imagine the moon to look (except not white, I imagine the moon to be white). There were probably 50 or so crater things, with gurgling and spurting mud/lava type stuff, and an overwhelming rotten egg smell if you got in the way of the steam (it was sulfer). It was pretty scary walking around them because they feel like mines because you never know if they're going to decide to shoot up at that moment. You can hear the gurgling right below your feet, even if you're not next to a geyser-- very unsettling.
Our last stop for the day was sunset at Laguna Colorada, a deep red lagoon filled with flamingos. Finally we made it to our hostel for tea (very welcome because it was exceptionally cold). The hostel strongly resembled army barracks. It was in the middle of nowhere, and just two or three long, concrete, one-story, very basic buildings ... with no heat. We actually had a great dinner (hot dogs and mashed potatoes) and sitting very tightly next to each other with blankets over us, we managed to even play a few games of cards! We promptly put on every layer in our bags, got in our sleeping bags, and piled as many blankets on as we could, and still we were freezing. I literally wrapped ace-bandages around my calves for an extra layer. But we made it.
By sunrise the next morning we were already considerably warmer, and we stripping layers as soon as the sun started coming in the window. Good thing it was warm because one of our jeeps was out of oil, so we had a very long breakfast and had to wait a few hours for them to go get more oil (no idea from where!). Finally we were on our way and stopped at some giant rock formations- one looks just like a tree. Next we stopped at several lagoons, all beautiful, but much like each other. Lots of flamingos and Vicunas. You could see Ollague Volcano in Chile steaming-- still active. Finally we came over a crest and you could see the salt flats (just the small ones to start, Chiguana Salar) and we saw a train crossing it. We drove down, and just after we teetered over the railroad, the other jeep bit the dust. Luckily we were on the flats so it was perfectly smooth, but our drivers hooked up the jeeps with a seatbelt, and we towed the other jeep for about two hours to San Juan, about 45 minutes short of where we were supposed to stay. We arrived into a "town" with maybe 25 houses, maybe 5 of which had internet, who knows for running water. We parked the jeeps and our driver drove around trying to find a place for 13 people to sleep. Finally we came across what I can only imagine is an old hostel, a sight to be reckoned with. Bare bones to put it nicely, but it was warmer than the first night, so we were fine with that.
Sure enough, the next morning our company had brought us a new jeep by 5 am, but as the drivers were up drinking all night (awesome) we didn't leave till about 5:45 am. Shockingly, we made it to the flats in time for sunrise. The flats are spectacular-- endless white that if you didn't know better you would think it was a sea of snow. It was absolutely freezing and we were running (as much as we could at that altitude, not much) around to try to keep our toes from falling off. We were stopped for about an hour or so and took ungodly amounts of pictures playing with perspective as it's not often you get an endless flat plain to play around in. Finally when our hands were about to stop moving altogether, we got in the jeep and headed for Isla de los Pescaadores (Fisherman Island), a small mountain randomly in the middle of the flats where we had a great pancake breakfast. We took some time to explore and climb the cactus-clad isle and were rewarded with 360 degree stunning views of gorgeous white salt in every direction, as far as you could see. We spent a couple hours having more fun with perspective and made a great video that I can't wait to see! By this time the sun was full-on (another perfect, cloudless day), and we were in tshirts.
Next we raced (80 mph over just salt- smoother than a road) over to the old salt hotel (which is now a salt musuem because they were not able to manage their waste, so you can't stay there anymore). Aside from the thatch roof and the windows, the entire thing is made of salt, including all the furniture in it. After we headed toward the Colchani settlement (30 families) where they have the little salt mines (little piles of salt about 2 feet high that look like miniature volcanos) which they pile up and then use to export.
After this we continued to Uyuni and stopped at the Cemetario de los trenes (Train Cemetery) where several very old and very rusty trains have been put to rest. It was pretty cool to climb around in them and read the graffiti. On the way we saw the flats from a distance and there was a bit of water making a perfect reflection of the mountains. We had a spectacular sunrise, but I've seen some photos from the rainy season when the flats are covered with a very thin layer of water, and you can't even see where the flats stop and the horizon begins. Next time I'll go in summer!
In Uyuni we dropped our bags at the tour office, explored what little of the town there is, and a few minutes later we had covered it. I had to go to the tiny, one room immigration office as I was the only American and had to pay $135 USD to get in, but then we all headed to a great pizza place and enjoyed a few beers before catching an evening bus to Potosi, 7 hours away. Great tour!!
The next morning I left for the 3-day Uyuni tour with 10 other people (turns out two of whom I knew from Pucon-- the gringo trail is VERY small, you are constantly running into people). We started off going through immigrations; no problem in Chile, the hut in the middle of the desert that is Bolivian immigrations could not issue me a visa, but luckily they just packaged up my passport and gave it to my driver for us to do in Uyuni. We broke up into two jeeps. Next we got whopped with a 150 Bolivianos park entrance fee, up from 30 Bolivianos three days before. We headed to Lagunas Blanco and Verde- Verde was not verde when we arrived, but after about 10 minutes of wind, we watched the whole thing turn green. We continued on in our jeep, rocking out to Bolivian music, passing all kinds of Vicunas (llama-like animals) and bouncing along the very rocky road in the middle of the desert. The mountains were in the distance- they were all multicolored (a lot of red) and topped with snow.
Next we stopped at the termas (hot springs), just one small natural pool with an incredible view. It was at 4500 meters, it was very cold outside, and very hot in the springs, a combination of which gave us all headaches within 15 minutes and we were done. We were out of breath just changing our clothes. The ground was very warm though, as you could feel the hot water below it seeping up.
After the termas we stopped at the geysers, which pretty much just looked like how I imagine the moon to look (except not white, I imagine the moon to be white). There were probably 50 or so crater things, with gurgling and spurting mud/lava type stuff, and an overwhelming rotten egg smell if you got in the way of the steam (it was sulfer). It was pretty scary walking around them because they feel like mines because you never know if they're going to decide to shoot up at that moment. You can hear the gurgling right below your feet, even if you're not next to a geyser-- very unsettling.
Our last stop for the day was sunset at Laguna Colorada, a deep red lagoon filled with flamingos. Finally we made it to our hostel for tea (very welcome because it was exceptionally cold). The hostel strongly resembled army barracks. It was in the middle of nowhere, and just two or three long, concrete, one-story, very basic buildings ... with no heat. We actually had a great dinner (hot dogs and mashed potatoes) and sitting very tightly next to each other with blankets over us, we managed to even play a few games of cards! We promptly put on every layer in our bags, got in our sleeping bags, and piled as many blankets on as we could, and still we were freezing. I literally wrapped ace-bandages around my calves for an extra layer. But we made it.
By sunrise the next morning we were already considerably warmer, and we stripping layers as soon as the sun started coming in the window. Good thing it was warm because one of our jeeps was out of oil, so we had a very long breakfast and had to wait a few hours for them to go get more oil (no idea from where!). Finally we were on our way and stopped at some giant rock formations- one looks just like a tree. Next we stopped at several lagoons, all beautiful, but much like each other. Lots of flamingos and Vicunas. You could see Ollague Volcano in Chile steaming-- still active. Finally we came over a crest and you could see the salt flats (just the small ones to start, Chiguana Salar) and we saw a train crossing it. We drove down, and just after we teetered over the railroad, the other jeep bit the dust. Luckily we were on the flats so it was perfectly smooth, but our drivers hooked up the jeeps with a seatbelt, and we towed the other jeep for about two hours to San Juan, about 45 minutes short of where we were supposed to stay. We arrived into a "town" with maybe 25 houses, maybe 5 of which had internet, who knows for running water. We parked the jeeps and our driver drove around trying to find a place for 13 people to sleep. Finally we came across what I can only imagine is an old hostel, a sight to be reckoned with. Bare bones to put it nicely, but it was warmer than the first night, so we were fine with that.
Sure enough, the next morning our company had brought us a new jeep by 5 am, but as the drivers were up drinking all night (awesome) we didn't leave till about 5:45 am. Shockingly, we made it to the flats in time for sunrise. The flats are spectacular-- endless white that if you didn't know better you would think it was a sea of snow. It was absolutely freezing and we were running (as much as we could at that altitude, not much) around to try to keep our toes from falling off. We were stopped for about an hour or so and took ungodly amounts of pictures playing with perspective as it's not often you get an endless flat plain to play around in. Finally when our hands were about to stop moving altogether, we got in the jeep and headed for Isla de los Pescaadores (Fisherman Island), a small mountain randomly in the middle of the flats where we had a great pancake breakfast. We took some time to explore and climb the cactus-clad isle and were rewarded with 360 degree stunning views of gorgeous white salt in every direction, as far as you could see. We spent a couple hours having more fun with perspective and made a great video that I can't wait to see! By this time the sun was full-on (another perfect, cloudless day), and we were in tshirts.
Next we raced (80 mph over just salt- smoother than a road) over to the old salt hotel (which is now a salt musuem because they were not able to manage their waste, so you can't stay there anymore). Aside from the thatch roof and the windows, the entire thing is made of salt, including all the furniture in it. After we headed toward the Colchani settlement (30 families) where they have the little salt mines (little piles of salt about 2 feet high that look like miniature volcanos) which they pile up and then use to export.
After this we continued to Uyuni and stopped at the Cemetario de los trenes (Train Cemetery) where several very old and very rusty trains have been put to rest. It was pretty cool to climb around in them and read the graffiti. On the way we saw the flats from a distance and there was a bit of water making a perfect reflection of the mountains. We had a spectacular sunrise, but I've seen some photos from the rainy season when the flats are covered with a very thin layer of water, and you can't even see where the flats stop and the horizon begins. Next time I'll go in summer!
In Uyuni we dropped our bags at the tour office, explored what little of the town there is, and a few minutes later we had covered it. I had to go to the tiny, one room immigration office as I was the only American and had to pay $135 USD to get in, but then we all headed to a great pizza place and enjoyed a few beers before catching an evening bus to Potosi, 7 hours away. Great tour!!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Santiago and Valpariso, Chile
I arrived in Santiago on a Sunday morning, and there is not a whole lot going on in Santiago on a Sunday morning. I showed myself around a bit with a walking tour, but aside from some nice buildings and a little climb I did to get a view of the city, there really was nothing to do. I was planning on spending a couple days there, but by the afternoon I felt like I had pretty much covered it. Granted it was overcast, but it just seemed pretty dull to me, and the whole city is covered in smog most of the time. There are a few places where you can see damage to the cityfrom the earthquake, but other than that it looks just fine. I hopped a bus to Valpariso.
Valpariso is a whole different animal from Santiago. It was bright and sunny, and far and away the most colorful city I've ever seen. I got into the bus stop and got a local bus to my hostel- it was possibily the most frightening bus ride I've ever had. The whole city is built on a series of little mountains (looks like one giant mountainside, though), and because it's had so many earthquakes, the roads and houses have been repaired and rebuilt very haphazardly, all teetering on the edge of cliffs. The entire town looks like it would come crumbling down with one little shake. The bus whipped around very uneven and tiny, twisty roads, all the while on the edge of the mountain. Luckily it was just barely still daylight.
There was no one around at my hostel when I arrived, so I set out to explore a bit. Not one to miss the local cuisine, I made sure to march myself right down to the seaside for some straight-out-of-the-water seabass ... yum!
The next day I again gave myself a little walking tour, making sure to wander up and down as many streets as possible to see all the different graffiti-- the city is COVERED in it. I have never seen a city with so much character. La Boca in Buenos Aires is very colorful, but now it is only for tourists- Valpo is real and with very few tourists. The houses are every color under the sun, each one totally unique, and the graffiti is amazing. I went up to Cerro Panteon to see the old cemetery perched on the cliff, and I was surprised to see that most of the graves were written in English- strange. Then I went to Museo a Cielo Abierto (open sky museum) where certain murals are specifically noted. I took the ascendors (little gondola-sized rail/trolley lifts that zip you up the hills) whenever I could, and made sure to take Ascensor Concepcion, the oldest one (but not by much), built in 1883. Before I left I headed down to the port and jumped on a little ferry boat and took a cruise around the harbor to see the city from the ocean- beautiful. Turns out the Pacific Ocean from South America looks much like it does from North America.
On my way out of town I stopped in Vina del Mar (30 mins away) to check it out. It is beautiful in its own way, but a stark contrast to Valpo. It is an impeccibly clean and new-looking resort town. Everything is perfectly manicured and not a blade of grass out of place. After Vina I hunkered down for another 26 hour bus ride up to San Pedro.
Valpariso is a whole different animal from Santiago. It was bright and sunny, and far and away the most colorful city I've ever seen. I got into the bus stop and got a local bus to my hostel- it was possibily the most frightening bus ride I've ever had. The whole city is built on a series of little mountains (looks like one giant mountainside, though), and because it's had so many earthquakes, the roads and houses have been repaired and rebuilt very haphazardly, all teetering on the edge of cliffs. The entire town looks like it would come crumbling down with one little shake. The bus whipped around very uneven and tiny, twisty roads, all the while on the edge of the mountain. Luckily it was just barely still daylight.
There was no one around at my hostel when I arrived, so I set out to explore a bit. Not one to miss the local cuisine, I made sure to march myself right down to the seaside for some straight-out-of-the-water seabass ... yum!
The next day I again gave myself a little walking tour, making sure to wander up and down as many streets as possible to see all the different graffiti-- the city is COVERED in it. I have never seen a city with so much character. La Boca in Buenos Aires is very colorful, but now it is only for tourists- Valpo is real and with very few tourists. The houses are every color under the sun, each one totally unique, and the graffiti is amazing. I went up to Cerro Panteon to see the old cemetery perched on the cliff, and I was surprised to see that most of the graves were written in English- strange. Then I went to Museo a Cielo Abierto (open sky museum) where certain murals are specifically noted. I took the ascendors (little gondola-sized rail/trolley lifts that zip you up the hills) whenever I could, and made sure to take Ascensor Concepcion, the oldest one (but not by much), built in 1883. Before I left I headed down to the port and jumped on a little ferry boat and took a cruise around the harbor to see the city from the ocean- beautiful. Turns out the Pacific Ocean from South America looks much like it does from North America.
On my way out of town I stopped in Vina del Mar (30 mins away) to check it out. It is beautiful in its own way, but a stark contrast to Valpo. It is an impeccibly clean and new-looking resort town. Everything is perfectly manicured and not a blade of grass out of place. After Vina I hunkered down for another 26 hour bus ride up to San Pedro.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Pucon, Chile
I arrived in Pucon at night and met a few people on the bus who were going to my same hostel which was nice because I hate getting into new places at night by myself. Unfortunately, it was even colder there than Bariloche and our hostel hadn't turned on the heat yet, so we spent a few hours all huddled in front of the fire.
The next day I explored a bit in town which was very nice (a lot like Calafate, really), except there's a huge volcano towering over the town. It's kind of touristy, but it's impossible not to be with such a huge attraction. I went for a long run on the beach though which was black sand and totally deserted- beautiful. In the afternoon we went to the "canopy" (a section of the woods with 17 zip lines) and we spent a few hours there doing the course going back and forth over rivers, etc. Then that evening we stocked up on some wine and took a minibus to the hot springs (open 24 hours) and had the place to ourselves for most of the time. It was very different from the Mendoza hot springs- much more natural, the pools are real and the bottoms are sand and rocks, not tiles. They have put lights around and made paths between the pools, but other than that they were pretty untouched. The only downside of going at night (aside from being really cold, which was good, actually) is that all you can see in my photos really is steam. Oh well.
The next day was pretty overcast, and as we had had a late night we took it easy and pretty much just hung out by the fire all day. I went for another great run- it was a perfect place for it. We spent the entire afternoon and evening making the biggest asado I could possibly imagine ... we had a Danish guy who had sold his restaurant to go travelling- you can imagine the menu!
The climax of the trip was the last day. I got up early and went to climb the volcano. The beginning is supposed to be a chairlift to take you up the first hour's worth of hiking, but it is low season so it wasn't running, so we just had to hike up dirt in these boots they make you wear (not at all unlike ski boots), and they were very tough to walk in (we were also in full gear for the snow). We walked the whole first hour under the chairlift (not a single step of down or even level ground, and the lift is a giant tease) and then at the top of the lift we started going through the clouds. Around the top of the cloud line we stopped to put on our crampons and add our extra layers. A few minutes later we hit the crest about halfway up (total climb of about 4.5 hours) and suddenly just got slammed with a WALL of wind. I was literally walking doubled over and would not have stayed upright I don't think without my icepick. I felt like I was one Everest, although I'm quite certain those who have climed Everest would strongly disagree.
We reached a small break point hidden behind a big rock and our guide said we would have to go down because the wind was too strong, making it not only a danger of getting blown over, but also it would blow the snow off the top, leaving only ice. After our protests, he agreed to wait a bit, and 45 minutes later we were able to keep going. It took us an exceptionally long time to climb not that far. We were above the cloud line though, so the sun was bright as can be and absolutely spectacular against the snow. You could see other volcanos peaking up above the clouds-- stunning. As we were reaching the top, we had to put cloths over out noses and mouths because the sulfer burns your throat and lungs so badly it is almost impossible to breathe without it.
Finally we crested the top at 3000 meters and the snow stopped and it was just a giant crater-looking hole. You could hear the lava gurgling and it was very menacing. The ground was too unstable to get too close, but every once in awhile the lava would spurt up and splash the sides with bright red lava that just glowed-- wow. We could only stay a few minutes because of the sulfur, so we headed down.
After climbing back down the rocky steep part, we were able to take off our crampons and put on these little canvas mats over our butts for the best part ... sliding down!! You just sit on the snow, and start going. You actually go really fast and it´s kind of scary at times because you only have your ice pick to slow you down. You stop every so often so you don't go too fast, then just keep going down down through the clouds again until the snow stops. At one point there was a giant boulder in the middle of someone´s tracks and our guide had us go down a different route because he said that area wasn´t safe as that boulder had clearly just fallen--- ummmm.
All in all and pretty worthwhile trip to Pucon!
The next day I explored a bit in town which was very nice (a lot like Calafate, really), except there's a huge volcano towering over the town. It's kind of touristy, but it's impossible not to be with such a huge attraction. I went for a long run on the beach though which was black sand and totally deserted- beautiful. In the afternoon we went to the "canopy" (a section of the woods with 17 zip lines) and we spent a few hours there doing the course going back and forth over rivers, etc. Then that evening we stocked up on some wine and took a minibus to the hot springs (open 24 hours) and had the place to ourselves for most of the time. It was very different from the Mendoza hot springs- much more natural, the pools are real and the bottoms are sand and rocks, not tiles. They have put lights around and made paths between the pools, but other than that they were pretty untouched. The only downside of going at night (aside from being really cold, which was good, actually) is that all you can see in my photos really is steam. Oh well.
The next day was pretty overcast, and as we had had a late night we took it easy and pretty much just hung out by the fire all day. I went for another great run- it was a perfect place for it. We spent the entire afternoon and evening making the biggest asado I could possibly imagine ... we had a Danish guy who had sold his restaurant to go travelling- you can imagine the menu!
The climax of the trip was the last day. I got up early and went to climb the volcano. The beginning is supposed to be a chairlift to take you up the first hour's worth of hiking, but it is low season so it wasn't running, so we just had to hike up dirt in these boots they make you wear (not at all unlike ski boots), and they were very tough to walk in (we were also in full gear for the snow). We walked the whole first hour under the chairlift (not a single step of down or even level ground, and the lift is a giant tease) and then at the top of the lift we started going through the clouds. Around the top of the cloud line we stopped to put on our crampons and add our extra layers. A few minutes later we hit the crest about halfway up (total climb of about 4.5 hours) and suddenly just got slammed with a WALL of wind. I was literally walking doubled over and would not have stayed upright I don't think without my icepick. I felt like I was one Everest, although I'm quite certain those who have climed Everest would strongly disagree.
We reached a small break point hidden behind a big rock and our guide said we would have to go down because the wind was too strong, making it not only a danger of getting blown over, but also it would blow the snow off the top, leaving only ice. After our protests, he agreed to wait a bit, and 45 minutes later we were able to keep going. It took us an exceptionally long time to climb not that far. We were above the cloud line though, so the sun was bright as can be and absolutely spectacular against the snow. You could see other volcanos peaking up above the clouds-- stunning. As we were reaching the top, we had to put cloths over out noses and mouths because the sulfer burns your throat and lungs so badly it is almost impossible to breathe without it.
Finally we crested the top at 3000 meters and the snow stopped and it was just a giant crater-looking hole. You could hear the lava gurgling and it was very menacing. The ground was too unstable to get too close, but every once in awhile the lava would spurt up and splash the sides with bright red lava that just glowed-- wow. We could only stay a few minutes because of the sulfur, so we headed down.
After climbing back down the rocky steep part, we were able to take off our crampons and put on these little canvas mats over our butts for the best part ... sliding down!! You just sit on the snow, and start going. You actually go really fast and it´s kind of scary at times because you only have your ice pick to slow you down. You stop every so often so you don't go too fast, then just keep going down down through the clouds again until the snow stops. At one point there was a giant boulder in the middle of someone´s tracks and our guide had us go down a different route because he said that area wasn´t safe as that boulder had clearly just fallen--- ummmm.
All in all and pretty worthwhile trip to Pucon!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Yay Bariloche. I will admit that Bariloche on paper was one of the reasons I wanted to come to South America. Though I was dubious at first, it did live up to my expectations. It's a very nice little town set on the shore of one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen (actually second only to Fairview, of course). It boasts its chocolate, wine, and skiing ... very much so. This place has my number. It is like a little Swiss town with more flowers (especially roses) than I have ever seen in one town, and everything was very well kept. The first few days were a bit overcast, and being that it is such an amazing place because of the unbeatable scenery, a cloud cover can be a big downer. This is also part of the reason I ended up staying 7 days instead of 3 ... that and the people. Oops.
Immediately as soon as I walked into the hostel my roommates made (I put up a good fight I swear) me go ou, snow capped for ice cream ... how can you go wrong in this place?? For the next couple days we just kind of bummed around the town and hostel and ate and drank ... a bit (possibly more than a bit??). We watched sunsets from the beach almost every night and froze our butts off during the day and then came back to a warm hostel. It was great.
Once the weather cleared up, some people moved on, but a Welsh guy named Neill and I somehow got trapped and kept ending up getting sucked into more days. The first day we went biking around Circuito Chico and took a walk to Lago Escondido (hidden lake) and had a picnic lunch. The next day we tried to hike up to Refugio Frey, but we took the wrong gondola to start off with, so we were hopelessly lost after that, and basically just climbed to the highest peak we could find and hung out there and had lunch for a few hours in the sun (and snow-- plenty on the ground, and started coming down a bit too) and enjoyed the amazing view. Next day we went up to National Geographic-deemed "Top 10 Best Views in the World", Cerro Campanario-- steep climb but the view was indeed worth it a thousand times over. You can see Nahuel Huapi and many other lakes going as far as you can see, broken only by green, snow-capped mountains popping up all over the place. The lakes literally just glisten. Again, we hung out for a few hours and couldn't tear ourselves away (and had another picnic lunch!).
The next day I went paragliding off of Cerro Otto, and I would argue that that view was even better than Campanario. We started at the very top and then ran down a very steep slope and were suddenly gliding in the air. We had the most perfect day for it, and it was the smoothest most peaceful ride I could have asked for. I'm so glad I waited for Bariloche because I couldn´t imagine a more magestic place to have done it. We sailed out over the water for a bit and finally landed on the beach. Incredible. I would give my left arm for one of those perfect log cabins on the shore of that lake. They are impeccible.
When Neill and I had finally convinced ourselves that we were definitely going to leave the next day, somehow it was Friday night again and we couldn't say no, so we got caught up in more sunsets and red wine and gave in to "one more day"-- who can pack on Friday night-- it's really not fair to have only 9 am busses. That's Finally we resolved the next day to actually make it to the bus station and get out, unfortunately:(.
Off to Chile again (not without a sack full of chocolate for the road, though)!
Immediately as soon as I walked into the hostel my roommates made (I put up a good fight I swear) me go ou, snow capped for ice cream ... how can you go wrong in this place?? For the next couple days we just kind of bummed around the town and hostel and ate and drank ... a bit (possibly more than a bit??). We watched sunsets from the beach almost every night and froze our butts off during the day and then came back to a warm hostel. It was great.
Once the weather cleared up, some people moved on, but a Welsh guy named Neill and I somehow got trapped and kept ending up getting sucked into more days. The first day we went biking around Circuito Chico and took a walk to Lago Escondido (hidden lake) and had a picnic lunch. The next day we tried to hike up to Refugio Frey, but we took the wrong gondola to start off with, so we were hopelessly lost after that, and basically just climbed to the highest peak we could find and hung out there and had lunch for a few hours in the sun (and snow-- plenty on the ground, and started coming down a bit too) and enjoyed the amazing view. Next day we went up to National Geographic-deemed "Top 10 Best Views in the World", Cerro Campanario-- steep climb but the view was indeed worth it a thousand times over. You can see Nahuel Huapi and many other lakes going as far as you can see, broken only by green, snow-capped mountains popping up all over the place. The lakes literally just glisten. Again, we hung out for a few hours and couldn't tear ourselves away (and had another picnic lunch!).
The next day I went paragliding off of Cerro Otto, and I would argue that that view was even better than Campanario. We started at the very top and then ran down a very steep slope and were suddenly gliding in the air. We had the most perfect day for it, and it was the smoothest most peaceful ride I could have asked for. I'm so glad I waited for Bariloche because I couldn´t imagine a more magestic place to have done it. We sailed out over the water for a bit and finally landed on the beach. Incredible. I would give my left arm for one of those perfect log cabins on the shore of that lake. They are impeccible.
When Neill and I had finally convinced ourselves that we were definitely going to leave the next day, somehow it was Friday night again and we couldn't say no, so we got caught up in more sunsets and red wine and gave in to "one more day"-- who can pack on Friday night-- it's really not fair to have only 9 am busses. That's Finally we resolved the next day to actually make it to the bus station and get out, unfortunately:(.
Off to Chile again (not without a sack full of chocolate for the road, though)!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
El Bolson, Argentina
I was happy to arrive in El Bolson after a 28 hour bus ride. It's a small little town set in a little valley among towering jagged peaks. We got ourselves settled then went to the renound crafts fair in town (well, as renound as a crafts fair in a small argentinian town can be). We spent the day just hanging around and exploring, and then went to the local brewery in town (since apparently I am making it my mission to try at least one brewery in every town) and spent the evening there.
In the morning a couple of us went up Tollado Bosque which is a section in the woods (30 minute climb) where local artists have gone up and made intricate carvings into dead trees-- pretty cool, actually. We continued up to the refugio up there and it started snowing-- it was the first snow of the year for them!
To be honest, Bolson wasn't as ... impressive(?) as I had expected. It was built up as a hippie haven and just sounded amazing, but really it was pretty similar to all the other small Argentinian towns, just in a beautiful setting. Of course it didn't help that the weather was overcast and snowing. I caught a bus in the evening up two hours to Bariloche.
In the morning a couple of us went up Tollado Bosque which is a section in the woods (30 minute climb) where local artists have gone up and made intricate carvings into dead trees-- pretty cool, actually. We continued up to the refugio up there and it started snowing-- it was the first snow of the year for them!
To be honest, Bolson wasn't as ... impressive(?) as I had expected. It was built up as a hippie haven and just sounded amazing, but really it was pretty similar to all the other small Argentinian towns, just in a beautiful setting. Of course it didn't help that the weather was overcast and snowing. I caught a bus in the evening up two hours to Bariloche.
Friday, April 16, 2010
El Calafate, Argentina
In Calafate I went to Glacier National Park to see Perito Moreno. Out of 300 glaciers in the park, there are only two that are not receeding- Perito Moreno is advancing, and there is one other that is stable. This glacier was spectacular. It made Cerro Glacier in Chalten look tiny. First we took a boat ride almost to the base of the glacier, but because it is advancing so fast, you can´t get too close. Every few minutes you hear these massive cracking sounds that sound like thunder. Because sound travels slower than light, if you look after the sound, you typically only see the splash of where the ice fell into the water, but if you are looking when it happens to fall, you can see the ice break off. It´s a bit misleading, really, because some of the pieces look kind of small, but they make this huge menacing crash when the fall (either they are way bigger than they look, they are just that dense and heavy, or they are falling much farther than it looks). The glacer is about 60 or 70 meters tall from the water. We were insanely lucky because as we were staring at the glacier, a gigantic piece fell like a tree from the top and it looked like slow motion as it crashed into the lake. It creates a huge wave that really rocked the boat, and then for the next minute or so, huge chunks of ice keep popping up on the surface from where they fell under water. It was spectacular.
After the boat we went and walked all the way from the right side of the glacier to the left on a massive walkway that takes you up above the line of the glacier and you can see how it just extends for what looks like forever. You just stand there mesmerized for awhile because you can´t stop looking. That night, though, we came back to town and went for a fantastic meal at a little hippie place, Pura Vida, and had some Patagonian lamb stew to die for ... it was served in a pumpkin!
Other than that, I pretty much spent the time just wandering around, got a lot of errands done, and visited the nature reserve where the lake is full of flamingos ... the last thing you´d expect to see in the freezing cold next to glaciers, but there they were, pink as could be. All and all Calafate was pretty cool- like a little ski town but no skiing. Very outdoorsy and all well kept.
After the boat we went and walked all the way from the right side of the glacier to the left on a massive walkway that takes you up above the line of the glacier and you can see how it just extends for what looks like forever. You just stand there mesmerized for awhile because you can´t stop looking. That night, though, we came back to town and went for a fantastic meal at a little hippie place, Pura Vida, and had some Patagonian lamb stew to die for ... it was served in a pumpkin!
Other than that, I pretty much spent the time just wandering around, got a lot of errands done, and visited the nature reserve where the lake is full of flamingos ... the last thing you´d expect to see in the freezing cold next to glaciers, but there they were, pink as could be. All and all Calafate was pretty cool- like a little ski town but no skiing. Very outdoorsy and all well kept.
El Chalten, Argentina
I left Puerto Natales with one friend from Torres del Paine, Ruud, and we took a bus back up to Argentina, to El Chalten. It is a tiny town on the Chilean border and only 25 years old. They don´t have a bank or cell phone service, but they are the trekking capital of the country.
The first day I went for a glacier trek-- hiked right from town a few hours in to the Cerro Glacier. We stopped by Lago Torres to get our crampons and harnesses, used the zip line to get across the river, and hiked up a bit more to the base of the galcier. We put on our crampons and hiked around a bit, which was really cool. There were tons of reeeeally deep crevases all over the place, and sometimes you are walking on little slivers between them which is kind of scary because it takes a little bit to get comfortable with the crampons and then the wind comes along and it´s really strong and you feel as though you might actually blow away in a stiff breeze.
We stopped for a picnic lunch for a little and then went over to a part of the glacier where you can ice climb. It looked pretty hard, but I don´t think it´s that much harder than rock climbing (except for the ice axes in your hands), and I was shockingly somewhat decent at it! It was a blast and we had a few races up. The way back was much of the same, zip line over the river again and then hike back to town.
I met Ruud back at the hostel and we went with some others to another local brewery which was tiny and so cozy with fantastic food and beer!
The next morning I had to say bye to Ruud which was sad because we had been 9 days together which is like a lifetime in backpacker world, and I set off to go hike up to Fitz Roy. Most of the hike isn´t too bad, especially after Torres del Paine, but the last hour is just straight climbing climbing and relentless directly up and it was pretty painful. I managed to make it to the top and Laguna de los Tres was spectacular, but unfortunately Fitz Roy was mostly covered in clouds. I could see the outline of it and it was just massive because you are almost at its base, and it just looms above you, but you can´t really see it at all in my pictures. On my way down it started to clear up a bit, but I could not have been paid to go back up the steep at that point.
It was a nice day outside by myself and I hopped on a bus that night back to El Calafate.
The first day I went for a glacier trek-- hiked right from town a few hours in to the Cerro Glacier. We stopped by Lago Torres to get our crampons and harnesses, used the zip line to get across the river, and hiked up a bit more to the base of the galcier. We put on our crampons and hiked around a bit, which was really cool. There were tons of reeeeally deep crevases all over the place, and sometimes you are walking on little slivers between them which is kind of scary because it takes a little bit to get comfortable with the crampons and then the wind comes along and it´s really strong and you feel as though you might actually blow away in a stiff breeze.
We stopped for a picnic lunch for a little and then went over to a part of the glacier where you can ice climb. It looked pretty hard, but I don´t think it´s that much harder than rock climbing (except for the ice axes in your hands), and I was shockingly somewhat decent at it! It was a blast and we had a few races up. The way back was much of the same, zip line over the river again and then hike back to town.
I met Ruud back at the hostel and we went with some others to another local brewery which was tiny and so cozy with fantastic food and beer!
The next morning I had to say bye to Ruud which was sad because we had been 9 days together which is like a lifetime in backpacker world, and I set off to go hike up to Fitz Roy. Most of the hike isn´t too bad, especially after Torres del Paine, but the last hour is just straight climbing climbing and relentless directly up and it was pretty painful. I managed to make it to the top and Laguna de los Tres was spectacular, but unfortunately Fitz Roy was mostly covered in clouds. I could see the outline of it and it was just massive because you are almost at its base, and it just looms above you, but you can´t really see it at all in my pictures. On my way down it started to clear up a bit, but I could not have been paid to go back up the steep at that point.
It was a nice day outside by myself and I hopped on a bus that night back to El Calafate.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine, Chile
I arrived in Puerto Natales by bus from El Calafate in Argentina. Crossing the border was tedious, but pretty painless. It is becoming clear that I need more pages in my passport. I calculated that if I do my trip as (somewhat) planned, I won´t be able to get back into the states, so hopefully I can pick up some more pages in Santiago. I met a couple people on the bus, then a few more people around town, and we all set out for the 5 day "W" hike in Torres del Paine a few hours away.
Overall, it was a flawless hike- definitely the highlight of my trip so far. We had amazing weather- gorgeous days warm enough so that you could walk in a t-shirt and even sweat a bit, and the nights pretty cold, but with lots of layers it was no problem. TDP is notorious for inclimate weather and wind, and we didn´t have a drop of rain or wind- we got SO lucky. The scenery was out of this world, everything from mountains to lakes to fields to glaciers to massive granite towers. It is low season so there were very few other hikers which was really nice. There were eight of us and everything went perfectly-- I couldn´t have asked for a better group with which to hike and camp.
The first day we hiked 6 hours up to Guardas and camped next to Grey Glacier. The next day was about 8 hours hiking to Italiano next to a huge river and another glacier and we could hear avalanches all night long. The third day we climbed up Valle Frances and saw some even more spectacular foliage than normal, and ended maybe 7 hours later at Cuernos next to the lake. The fourth day was all up hill 7 or so hours to end at Torres but we got there early and got to sit out in the sun for awhile and just enjoy the view. The last morning we got up at 5 am and hiked straight up in the dark to watch the sunrise against Los Torres. We were the first ones up and about halfway up the trail turns to just rocks, and it was a giant game of connect the dots stopping at each trail marker to try and find the next as it zig-zagged all over the place. We found a giant rock at the perfect incline, crawled in our sleeping bags, made tea, and enjoyed a spectacular sunrise turning los torres every shade of red and orange right in front of us.
When we came back to Puerto Natales we were thrilled for some showers and hot food, and more than indulged ourselves in one last celebratory night out. Fantastic trip!
Overall, it was a flawless hike- definitely the highlight of my trip so far. We had amazing weather- gorgeous days warm enough so that you could walk in a t-shirt and even sweat a bit, and the nights pretty cold, but with lots of layers it was no problem. TDP is notorious for inclimate weather and wind, and we didn´t have a drop of rain or wind- we got SO lucky. The scenery was out of this world, everything from mountains to lakes to fields to glaciers to massive granite towers. It is low season so there were very few other hikers which was really nice. There were eight of us and everything went perfectly-- I couldn´t have asked for a better group with which to hike and camp.
The first day we hiked 6 hours up to Guardas and camped next to Grey Glacier. The next day was about 8 hours hiking to Italiano next to a huge river and another glacier and we could hear avalanches all night long. The third day we climbed up Valle Frances and saw some even more spectacular foliage than normal, and ended maybe 7 hours later at Cuernos next to the lake. The fourth day was all up hill 7 or so hours to end at Torres but we got there early and got to sit out in the sun for awhile and just enjoy the view. The last morning we got up at 5 am and hiked straight up in the dark to watch the sunrise against Los Torres. We were the first ones up and about halfway up the trail turns to just rocks, and it was a giant game of connect the dots stopping at each trail marker to try and find the next as it zig-zagged all over the place. We found a giant rock at the perfect incline, crawled in our sleeping bags, made tea, and enjoyed a spectacular sunrise turning los torres every shade of red and orange right in front of us.
When we came back to Puerto Natales we were thrilled for some showers and hot food, and more than indulged ourselves in one last celebratory night out. Fantastic trip!
Iguazu and Buenos Aires (AGAIN)
After Uruguay we went to Iguazu (just a quick flight from BA). Our hostel had overbooked, and it being Easter weekend, there was literally not a bed to be found in the whole town (without going to Brazil, which we couldn´t do for obvious reasons). Soooo, in spite of our reservation, we had to go to the bus station to sleep. Halfway through the night we ended up going back to the original hostel and slept under the tables in their foyer because, afterall, it was their fault we were homeless in the first place. Not a great night, but luckily the falls the next day were enough to make us forget all about it.
We took a jeep tour through the jungle first, followed by the boat ride under the falls where you get SOAKED. The water is just SO powerful. It was incredible, then we walked and did the lower circuit below the falls, the upper circuit above (a catwalk that is built along the ridge on top of the waterfalls). It is amazing how calm the water seems to be on one side, and then on the other (two feet away) it is thundering down this monsterous drop. There are just falls everywhere. Lastly, we took the little train up to the upper most catwalk. You walk about 20 minutes out over water to finally get to Devil´s throat, which might be the most magnificent piece of nature I´ve ever seen. You stand on a platform at the end of the catwalk, and look at this massive semi-circle of tumbling water. You can see the steam in the air from the airplane it creates such a cloud (it looks like an explosion). I can´t even describe it.
Then we hopped a flight back to BA, finished up the stuff we hadn´t done the first time (the rest of San Telmo, La Boca, etc.), and of course, DesNivel ... this steak may have moved to the top of my list for best ever steaks. It was perfect in every way. Buenos Aires was much more successful and appealing this time!
We took a jeep tour through the jungle first, followed by the boat ride under the falls where you get SOAKED. The water is just SO powerful. It was incredible, then we walked and did the lower circuit below the falls, the upper circuit above (a catwalk that is built along the ridge on top of the waterfalls). It is amazing how calm the water seems to be on one side, and then on the other (two feet away) it is thundering down this monsterous drop. There are just falls everywhere. Lastly, we took the little train up to the upper most catwalk. You walk about 20 minutes out over water to finally get to Devil´s throat, which might be the most magnificent piece of nature I´ve ever seen. You stand on a platform at the end of the catwalk, and look at this massive semi-circle of tumbling water. You can see the steam in the air from the airplane it creates such a cloud (it looks like an explosion). I can´t even describe it.
Then we hopped a flight back to BA, finished up the stuff we hadn´t done the first time (the rest of San Telmo, La Boca, etc.), and of course, DesNivel ... this steak may have moved to the top of my list for best ever steaks. It was perfect in every way. Buenos Aires was much more successful and appealing this time!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Uruguay
Love Uruguay! We took the ferry over from Buenos Aires to Colonia de Sacremento on Sunday morning and went through immigration before we left so that when we stepped off the boat in Uruguay we were clear. Colonia is the exact opposite of BA. Granted it was Sunday, but it was dead quiet and just gorgeous. Our B&B was on a street by the ocean (river, technically, but it looks like an ocean) and very nice. The town is very small and very old, so all the streets are cobblestone and everyone drives slowly -- in fact the whole pace of life is slow. Like Mendoza, the streets are all lined with a canopy of trees, but here there were plenty on the ground already so it really felt like fall. The main drag is set on a downward slope so you can see the ocean from any point on it, and if you look down to your right or left on any street you can see the ocean, as well. Many of the streets are too old to drive on, so there are tons of outdoor cafes and restaurants. Our dinner place was on an old plaza and there was a huge drum parade (not organized like you are imagining-- it´s a bunch of people dancing in front just free dancing, followed by a very rag-tag group of about 20 drummers who had gathered) that came by and stopped in the plaza and had a drum circle (and lit a fire) before moving on with a crowd behind them that follows to keep listening.
The next morning we went out for a horse ride in the country (through all types of field growing several different types of crops-- just gorgeous) and that was great. I have never had that much space just to run on a horse, and the guide and I had races-- it really was incredible. I´ve ridden in a lot of different places, but I have never felt such a flat out sprint before! Whoohoo!!!
Then we moved on to Punta del Diablo (I wanted to go just for its name), and we swung through Montevideo on the way (and I have nothing to report from there, it was pretty ugly and dirty, with not much to see or do).
Punta del Diablo on the other hand was fabulous! It´s a tiny little fishing town, all dirt roads right on the ocean. We just relaxed there, sat on the beach (watched a fantastic sunrise) and had a few meals with some incredible views.
Back in Colonia on our way back to Buenos Aires, I went for another horse ride with just myself and the lady leading it and we went through the beautiful fields and then down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was great because you can only reach the beach by horse or foot, so it was deserted and we could just race up and down the beach forever. We had a little fire and then rode back under the full moon. The ride back was possibly the best part. My horse´s name was Luna (appropriately so) and she was super comfortable, so we just trotted all the way back (about an hour or so) and I felt like I was in a rocking chair. The moon rising was so yellow it was almost orange, the temperature was perfect, and then all around us in the fields were just thousands of lightening bugs and the occasional bat and lots of owls. What an incredible evening!
The next morning we went out for a horse ride in the country (through all types of field growing several different types of crops-- just gorgeous) and that was great. I have never had that much space just to run on a horse, and the guide and I had races-- it really was incredible. I´ve ridden in a lot of different places, but I have never felt such a flat out sprint before! Whoohoo!!!
Then we moved on to Punta del Diablo (I wanted to go just for its name), and we swung through Montevideo on the way (and I have nothing to report from there, it was pretty ugly and dirty, with not much to see or do).
Punta del Diablo on the other hand was fabulous! It´s a tiny little fishing town, all dirt roads right on the ocean. We just relaxed there, sat on the beach (watched a fantastic sunrise) and had a few meals with some incredible views.
Back in Colonia on our way back to Buenos Aires, I went for another horse ride with just myself and the lady leading it and we went through the beautiful fields and then down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was great because you can only reach the beach by horse or foot, so it was deserted and we could just race up and down the beach forever. We had a little fire and then rode back under the full moon. The ride back was possibly the best part. My horse´s name was Luna (appropriately so) and she was super comfortable, so we just trotted all the way back (about an hour or so) and I felt like I was in a rocking chair. The moon rising was so yellow it was almost orange, the temperature was perfect, and then all around us in the fields were just thousands of lightening bugs and the occasional bat and lots of owls. What an incredible evening!
Buenos Aires (round 2)
Okay, so I arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning (at the Marriott--whoohoo! my own room with my own huge wonderful bed and own shower!) only to find out that my mother´s plane was delayed by a day and she wouldn´t be coming till Weds. I basically spent the day running errands (laundry, laying out, reading) and running around to different embassies (only to find out that I can´t go to Brazil because I don´t have enough blank pages in my passport)- awesome. It was nice to run in a gym though!
Wednesday my mother arrived and we went to Recoletta Cemetary (saw Eva Peron´s grave) and met up with Ernesto and his family (an exchange student my grandparents had in the 70s in NJ) who took us around town and to a fabulous seafood restaurant. The next couple days we spent seeing all the sites: Plaza de Mayo, Japonese Gardens, Av. 9 de Julio, Evita museum, Teatro Colon, Puerto Madero, as well as a trip up to Tigre and San Isidro to see the Rio de la Plata delta which is the widest in the world (you can´t even see Uruguay on the other side). We also went to a tango show one night which had spectacular food and a wonderful show (G&G would have loved it!). We tried to go to a futbol game, but there was only one (Boca Juniors) and they weren´t selling tickets to tourists because they were expecting it to be too dangerous). Saturday afternoon Ernesto had us out to his house for a huge Asado with his family and endless steak and wine!
Overall, Buenos Aires was nice, but I will say it wasn´t all it was cracked up to be. It had some good sites, but pretty much is just a city. It was very busy and crowded. I´m glad I went certainly, though, and under different circumstances (we had A LOT go wrong), I can see how it can be a very different city in someone else´s eyes. But it was fun to wake up and decide we had had enough and then just hop a boat over to Uruguay!
Wednesday my mother arrived and we went to Recoletta Cemetary (saw Eva Peron´s grave) and met up with Ernesto and his family (an exchange student my grandparents had in the 70s in NJ) who took us around town and to a fabulous seafood restaurant. The next couple days we spent seeing all the sites: Plaza de Mayo, Japonese Gardens, Av. 9 de Julio, Evita museum, Teatro Colon, Puerto Madero, as well as a trip up to Tigre and San Isidro to see the Rio de la Plata delta which is the widest in the world (you can´t even see Uruguay on the other side). We also went to a tango show one night which had spectacular food and a wonderful show (G&G would have loved it!). We tried to go to a futbol game, but there was only one (Boca Juniors) and they weren´t selling tickets to tourists because they were expecting it to be too dangerous). Saturday afternoon Ernesto had us out to his house for a huge Asado with his family and endless steak and wine!
Overall, Buenos Aires was nice, but I will say it wasn´t all it was cracked up to be. It had some good sites, but pretty much is just a city. It was very busy and crowded. I´m glad I went certainly, though, and under different circumstances (we had A LOT go wrong), I can see how it can be a very different city in someone else´s eyes. But it was fun to wake up and decide we had had enough and then just hop a boat over to Uruguay!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Mendoza and Cordoba
PHOTOS- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046119&id=43700183&l=d942b4bcc0
Well, Mendoza has my number, for sure. I am OBSESSED. I got in after a 19 hour bus ride from Salta and it was beautiful. The streets are very wide, and the sidewalks almost as wide, all of which are lined with a small trench between the sidewalk and the street with water in it (and it is a miracle more people don´t fall in). Every street is covered by a canopy of huge streets to keep them shady and cool, and it is extremely clean. The main plaza is very large, and the city easily walkable, with a huge park on the western side that is nearly as big as the entire rest of the city. Excuse my language, but it is a runner and biker's wet dream. Sorry, I´ll stop, but it´s a wonderful city!
We went out a little too much perhaps for St. Patty´s day, but the next day we rallied on and went out to Maipu (20 mins away) and rented bikes for the day and went around visiting the different wineries. The region produces 80% of the country´s wine! We stopped at a beer garden which was VERY rustic, and the one guy who ran it made all the beer himself, followed by a couple wineries, then a liquor and chocolate factory, which may or may not have involved shots of absenthe :/! When we got back we went for a massive steak dinner, that without a doubt was the largest (18 ounces) and best steak I´ve ever had in my life.
The following day we got up a bit early and went on a trip starting with about an hour of trekking up a mountain, then repelling down the face of it. We did a few drops, the biggest of which was 45 meters (148 feet) which was a little scary, but camp prepared me well! Afterwards was the best part-- the HOT SPRINGS! It was a little chilly and had rained a bit in the morning, so it was the perfect ending to the day. There were probably about 12 pools of every shape and size, including still water, bubbles, fountains and even a lazy river. The entire thing was perched into the side of the mountain with a real river beneath it so the views were outstanding! The pools varied from scalding (at the top) to almost chilly by the bottom, and you could flit between them as you chose. We rounded out the day with a big shop at a local market and made an omlet for five to be reckoned with!
The last day we just took it easy cruising around town and relaxing by the pool and reading in the hammock before catching my night bus to Cordoba.
I arrived in Cordoba early on Sunday, and true to form, the place was a ghost town (EVERYTHING is shut on Sundays here) so I just walked the city for awhile. It's hard to get a feel for the city when it's deserted, but it is clearly bigger than Salta or Mendoza, and feels it- a little more cramped and maybe not quite as clean, but still some beautiful churches and other sites. Basically I just read in the park for a long time then we just hung out at the hostel once it started raining.
Today we did quite a bit more exploring. It's a pretty predictable city. Lots of students bustling around. We saw all the museums, churches, etc., and then just walked around. Tonight I catch a bus to Buenos Aires and meet my mom there tomorrow!
Well, Mendoza has my number, for sure. I am OBSESSED. I got in after a 19 hour bus ride from Salta and it was beautiful. The streets are very wide, and the sidewalks almost as wide, all of which are lined with a small trench between the sidewalk and the street with water in it (and it is a miracle more people don´t fall in). Every street is covered by a canopy of huge streets to keep them shady and cool, and it is extremely clean. The main plaza is very large, and the city easily walkable, with a huge park on the western side that is nearly as big as the entire rest of the city. Excuse my language, but it is a runner and biker's wet dream. Sorry, I´ll stop, but it´s a wonderful city!
We went out a little too much perhaps for St. Patty´s day, but the next day we rallied on and went out to Maipu (20 mins away) and rented bikes for the day and went around visiting the different wineries. The region produces 80% of the country´s wine! We stopped at a beer garden which was VERY rustic, and the one guy who ran it made all the beer himself, followed by a couple wineries, then a liquor and chocolate factory, which may or may not have involved shots of absenthe :/! When we got back we went for a massive steak dinner, that without a doubt was the largest (18 ounces) and best steak I´ve ever had in my life.
The following day we got up a bit early and went on a trip starting with about an hour of trekking up a mountain, then repelling down the face of it. We did a few drops, the biggest of which was 45 meters (148 feet) which was a little scary, but camp prepared me well! Afterwards was the best part-- the HOT SPRINGS! It was a little chilly and had rained a bit in the morning, so it was the perfect ending to the day. There were probably about 12 pools of every shape and size, including still water, bubbles, fountains and even a lazy river. The entire thing was perched into the side of the mountain with a real river beneath it so the views were outstanding! The pools varied from scalding (at the top) to almost chilly by the bottom, and you could flit between them as you chose. We rounded out the day with a big shop at a local market and made an omlet for five to be reckoned with!
The last day we just took it easy cruising around town and relaxing by the pool and reading in the hammock before catching my night bus to Cordoba.
I arrived in Cordoba early on Sunday, and true to form, the place was a ghost town (EVERYTHING is shut on Sundays here) so I just walked the city for awhile. It's hard to get a feel for the city when it's deserted, but it is clearly bigger than Salta or Mendoza, and feels it- a little more cramped and maybe not quite as clean, but still some beautiful churches and other sites. Basically I just read in the park for a long time then we just hung out at the hostel once it started raining.
Today we did quite a bit more exploring. It's a pretty predictable city. Lots of students bustling around. We saw all the museums, churches, etc., and then just walked around. Tonight I catch a bus to Buenos Aires and meet my mom there tomorrow!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Salta, Cafayate, y Cachi
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045951&id=43700183&l=2e582bf2e9
Well, I head out of Salta tomorrow after about 8 days. It's been great- beautiful little city. I've been staying with Audra, Alvaro, and little Greggy who have gone WAY out of their way to be unbelievably hospitable. I have been gorging myself with fantastic Argentinian food, and have had several good nights with Alvaro's huge family. Their house is gorgeous and has views to die for-- very relaxing! In the mean time, I got to know Salta pretty well, and took two trips to Cafayate and Cachi.
Cafayate is a little town South West of Salta (known for its wine), about a 3 hour drive. To get there you go through Las Chonchas Gorge, which looks a bit like a combination between Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Obviously it's size doesn't match the grand canyon, however, the layers and subsequent multiple colors in the gorge are remarkable. We stopped to play with some llamas, then visited a couple wineries before having lunch in town. A cool thing about this town (that Audra and Alvaro told me) is that the bank looks very out-of-place because it was actually designed for the alpine town of Calafate in Patagonia, but they got the plans mixed up, and the towns' respective banks are switched with each other. On the way back we stopped in a natural amphitheater and listened to a guitarist, followed by a climb up the next little mini-canyon off the big one.
Cachi was even more impressive. You start out driving through the rainforest around Salta, and within ten minutes you seeing cacti all around you. As you climb, you drive through the clouds to a peak height of 3350 meters. You are quite literally standing in the clouds as they roll by, with green hills all around. Cachi was a great little town, very quiet, with a killer (no pun intended) cemetery on the top of a hill-- gorgeous views and extremely unique graves.
Tomorrow I'm on a 19 hour bus ride to Mendoza for some more wine!
Well, I head out of Salta tomorrow after about 8 days. It's been great- beautiful little city. I've been staying with Audra, Alvaro, and little Greggy who have gone WAY out of their way to be unbelievably hospitable. I have been gorging myself with fantastic Argentinian food, and have had several good nights with Alvaro's huge family. Their house is gorgeous and has views to die for-- very relaxing! In the mean time, I got to know Salta pretty well, and took two trips to Cafayate and Cachi.
Cafayate is a little town South West of Salta (known for its wine), about a 3 hour drive. To get there you go through Las Chonchas Gorge, which looks a bit like a combination between Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Obviously it's size doesn't match the grand canyon, however, the layers and subsequent multiple colors in the gorge are remarkable. We stopped to play with some llamas, then visited a couple wineries before having lunch in town. A cool thing about this town (that Audra and Alvaro told me) is that the bank looks very out-of-place because it was actually designed for the alpine town of Calafate in Patagonia, but they got the plans mixed up, and the towns' respective banks are switched with each other. On the way back we stopped in a natural amphitheater and listened to a guitarist, followed by a climb up the next little mini-canyon off the big one.
Cachi was even more impressive. You start out driving through the rainforest around Salta, and within ten minutes you seeing cacti all around you. As you climb, you drive through the clouds to a peak height of 3350 meters. You are quite literally standing in the clouds as they roll by, with green hills all around. Cachi was a great little town, very quiet, with a killer (no pun intended) cemetery on the top of a hill-- gorgeous views and extremely unique graves.
Tomorrow I'm on a 19 hour bus ride to Mendoza for some more wine!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Salta day 1
Today (this afternoon, specifically), when I woke up, I went back to where we were, Balcarce, which was PACKED with people last night (all the clubs are bunched together there) and found the street lined with a craft fair … I can assure you it looked very different the night before. I realized it wasn’t a sleepy town afterall, it was just siesta time when I arrived yesterday so everything was closed … as it was on Sunday. The biggest thing that stuck me walking around Salta is that there are no stop signs (that I could see), and very few lights. In fact, people hardly slow down at cross streets, so it seems to me like it’s just a great deal of good luck that these cars aren’t crashing into each other.
Then Audra and Alvaro came to pick me up, (yay!) with little Greggy, and we came back to their BEAUTIFUL house outside the city. We went for a walk, then showered and went to church. My favorite part is that you have to drive through two rivers to get there … thank god for 4-wheel drive. Then at church, it was so fascinating because the inside was packed, so they have the sermon on a loud-speaker, and loads of people were standing on the porch listening, as well as many people quite literally standing in the street and across it to listen. What a day!
Friday, March 5, 2010
En route
Okay, currently I am in Buenos Aires. After I got all my shots, packed for the trip, and packed up all my things and put them in storage, Travis took me to the airport Thursday morning. That was a very tough good-bye. I flew to LA, then to Lima, Peru, then on to Buenos Aires. The flight from LA to Lima was 8 hours on LAN airline, and it was very nice. I had a 7 hour layover in Lima which was big, clean, and very busy, even in the middle of the night. I didn´t sleep much in the airport, but I slept the entire flight from Lima to BA- I don´t even know how long it was. We circled above BA for awhile before we landed- I was surprised at how much green there was. There were endless green fields broken up into farm-like plots. Once we landed, customs and immigration was pretty straight forward. Got hammered with a $131 USD entrance fee which I wasn´t expecting, but ¨"it´s good for ten years". Then I got a shuttle to Hostel Arrabal and from the highway, the city looks much like any other, just all the signs are in Spanish, and there are no Hummers, Excursions, Expiditions, etc., on the road.
The hostel is in San Telmo, and it is nice, clean, and wonderful to have a bed. Walking around BA it is very green- lots of big trees giving plenty of shade. I was pooped so I didn´t explore a ton, but I will be back in a few weeks. It is still pretty warm here, well into the 70s, but there is a nice breeze. My atm card worked, THANK GOD. I have met plenty of people already in transit, as well as many in the hostel, so it´s nice to get ideas from different people. I even met someone from Rio- score! I fly tomorrow to Salta to see Audra- yay! I´ll report more then.
The hostel is in San Telmo, and it is nice, clean, and wonderful to have a bed. Walking around BA it is very green- lots of big trees giving plenty of shade. I was pooped so I didn´t explore a ton, but I will be back in a few weeks. It is still pretty warm here, well into the 70s, but there is a nice breeze. My atm card worked, THANK GOD. I have met plenty of people already in transit, as well as many in the hostel, so it´s nice to get ideas from different people. I even met someone from Rio- score! I fly tomorrow to Salta to see Audra- yay! I´ll report more then.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sayulita, Mexico (Part 2)
Last night in Sayulita. It was a beautiful day full of surfing, eating (one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Don Pedros), the cock fight, and of course, the carnival in town on the baseball field here for Sayulita Day! Overall, great trip- highly recommend Monchis and Burrito Revolution (but watch out for salsa blanco -- es "el diablo", and if you're on the beach, Medusa is great- rent chairs for the day/or week, stay in bungalows or tents, and the bar and restaurant are on the beach with great service on the beach. Watch out for all the dogs though- they'll "chew and screw" as my father so delicately put it. In sum, when you're here, you'll "eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired, and just drink all day ..." (~Sarah). Probably the highlight of the whole trip was our favorite game at the carnival: beer bottles set up in three or four rows in front of a tarp, then you stand behind a table and throw rocks at the beer bottles until they break. And the best part, when you smash one ... you win a beer! Who could ask for a better game??
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Sayulita, Mexico
In Mexico for a week with my family. Trying to learn Spanish and how to surf, failing pretty successfully at both, but eating, drinking, and sleeping lots. First several days of hot sun, last two days of rain. Our rented house is way up the hill like a tree-house with floor-to-ceiling windows though, so it's pretty cool to watch the storms come in over the ocean. There's a wedding on the beach we'll probably spy on, going to the cock-fights tonight, and the carnival down on the baseball field starts tomorrow. Should be good fun.
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