a bit of espionage... (oooooooh)

so, after 9/11, apparently the US got really strict about immigration and tourism, instituting lots of new rules for incoming aliens such as finger printing, photos, strip searches, visa reqs, etc.. (not so bad). this pissed off a few countries who didn’t like to see their citizens get hassled. the 2 that affected us were chile which now has a $100 tax on yanks who fly in or out of the country, and brazil which requires US citizens to have a visa, passport photos and pay $100. the story is this.

iguacu falls straddles the border between Argentina and brazil. most of the cool stuff, the up close and wet stuff, is Argentinean. but, if you want a long view of the falls, you go to brazil. which is no problem for most, but difficult for Americans. who wants to wait for a visa and pay $100 just to spend a few hours looking at waterfalls? we knew this would be a problem in advance, so when we arrived in puerto iguacu, at the bus station, we asked about it. is it possible for me to go into brazil without paying and without problems for few hours? a guy at the bus station: “no problem! just get on a public bus. say you’re just going for 1 day. ok!" well, fantastic! we ask at a travel agency. "dear god, NO!" he tells us. "americans can't go. no travel agency will take you. it’s too big of a risk" ok. we ask at tourist information. "No. a bus absolutely will NOT take you. impossible. the only was is a private taxi so that the Brazilian immigration officers can be assured that you will not stay on in brazil. if you get caught in brazil with no visa you will be jailed and fined $1000US." man on the street: "Americans are beaten with whiffleball bats and forced to count coconuts in Brazilian torture centers" you get the picture. so, in the spirit of adventure, with only the slightest hope i could get a "persona non grata" stamp from brazil in my passport, i decided to throw all caution to the wind, and amy and i got on a public bus.



the bus drove to Argentina immigration. got an exit stamp. and onward toward brazil we go! up to immigrations aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... zoom...right by immigration into brazil. what a rush! a rebel. an insurgent. an illegal alien. i was living on the edge. the CIA needs more operatives like me. i'm tellin ya'. they never knew if i was coming or goin! (thank god).
so what happened? we entered brazil. changed buses, went to the falls, saw the same thing we saw in Argentina but from farther off, got back on the bus, and then waited for the bus back to Argentina. the other bus dropped us off in the wrong spot, so after 2 buses passed us, we walked 10min to the next bus stop, got on the bus, and prayed for no stopping at Brazilian immigration. my heart was beating like an african drum circle as we approached, my breathing slowed to the pace of a 85 year old sunday driver as we slowed down and pulled up to the immigration center, my palms sweat like, well, like iguacu falls as the uncertainty roiled deep within. and then the driver waived to his friend and took off back into Argentina. a quick stamp in and i was back in the clear!
why all the melodrama? you try being an international man of mystery. it’s not as easy as i make it look!

A Long Way Down

Fall, fall, fall

A little dazed and misty eyed from yet /another/ long bus ride we were lucky to find a lovely little hotel with fantastic breakfast including fresh juice and pancakes! The next day we set off bright and early (not bad considering the alram clock had long since been smashed and discarded) and took the bus to the falls on the Argentinian side. The falls are spread over quite a distance and there are various differnent levels you can walk on, cat walks, bridges etc. but really whichever way you look at it the waterfalls are HUGE! Particularly the Devil's throat (1st pic) which you can barely see for water splattering all over you and mist coming off it but you can certainly hear it. After exploring the top and middle sections we set off to find the Hilton (the only hotel actually inside the park-apparently built for the world cup, the same year the falls dried up! take that maradona.) -the lunch buffet being recomended as a barginous banquet in the Lonely Planet-however we were unimpressed to find that the price had since doubled! We met up with my parents after lunch, who were sensible and even though they were sleeping in the hotel ventured out to eat and actually found a much better all you can eat buffet for about the tenth of the price. Grrrr. Where was I? Oh yes, so in the afternoon we hopped into one of the little dingys and had a thrilling 10 minute jaunt into the falls. Lots of fun and the most powerful shower of the trip. A quick (dry) boat ride over to the island San Martin to see the falls from yet another angle and we called it a day. Over to Ari...

menDozing and Drinking

Arriving in Mendoza we were just blasted by the heat. After beautiful chilly weather for soooooo long, being back to the hot just drains all will to live. But, we pushed on. A day of wandering was followed by a day of excitement. I went off with a redheaded Argentinean named Kevin, a guy named apu from huuraz peru, and Helena who is belgish, into the desert valleys west of the city. After a 45min hike up the ridge, we ducked into a dry riverbed and began repelling down it. 4 in all. 3 relatively small (10 meters) and one 50 meter wall on which I managed to get some wicked blisters. Once down, we decided, what the hell, lets climb back up, so for the next 3 hours we took turns climbing the big wall. Wicked fun. Hard work and a bit scary to look down from 45m.
Amy, on the other hand, spent the day with her folks who are circulating in Argentina for a couple of weeks. I understand they had a nice day checking out the finer points of Mendoza and were kind enough to invite me to dinner. It would have been rude not to accept. No? (thanks again!) delicious.
Day 3. wine tours! Did you think we could come to the wine capital of Argentina and miss it? Instead of taking the package tour, oh no, went on an adventure. Bus to the valley, rented bikes, and then pedal power between vineyards. The run down:
-wine museum with old cooper tools and a really good info filled tour. Best fact. the juice from red and white grapes is the same color. The difference is the reds are fermented with their skins. So, hypothetically, there could be a merlot that looks like a white wine.
-lunch at a gourmet deli which sold baby eggplant in oil and minced squash in lite hickory vinegar sprinkled with oregano and other stuff. Vegetables. Not my style, but the lunch was great. Big sandwich. Sweet potato chips. And free samples.
-small vineyard. 8 hectares started by a French guy 3 years ago. Decided he had enough of normal business and bought the farm. Literally. Crap wine. But good on him for having a go.
-the chocolate factory. The chocolates were good. The liquers were better. They distill their own alcohol and make their own chocolate and grow most of their own fruits. We tried mint chocolate. Grapefruit, dulce de leche with chocolate and banana, and a wicked tabaco flaor. We then bought a mandarin liquer. They have about 30 types.
Then back to Mendoza and on a bus to Cordoba. Upon discovering there is nothing to do in Cordoba except drink champagne on the roof, we are on a night bus for igazu falls.
Slowly marching onward.

Barillo che?

morning after our cake and tea debauchery, amy and i set of for a hike into lake jakob. A nice hike up a valley. We were warned about a few river crossings and snow, but with casual disregard, more cheese and bread for lunch, and a delicious cream and potato soup for dinner, we set off. Amy wishing she still had her rented boots. For as we progressed up the valley, river crossings became more like walking up rivers and through mud filled bogs and big puddles. We got about halfway before the hard part started. A steep ascent into the out of the main valley and into a little offshoot still covered in snow. I went on ahead and coming to a small branching, I took the bigger path and figured amy would as well. Pushing on, i came to the first patches of snow and sat and waited for amy for amy. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. 25min. no amy. Did she fall? Did she take the wrong fork? Down I run, back the fork. No amy. She must have gone the other way. (somehow I missed a huge sign that said refugio pointing towards the other path even when I passed it the second time. I choose the bigger broader path which apparently is only for horses)so, by now im mostly jogging to catch up. I come to a raging river on the cusp of a waterfall that has a loose wire stretched across it apparently for the crossing. Awesome. A bit of climbing up rocks and boulders with views of other waterfalls 10 yards off. But no time for that. Still running. Onwar! d into the snow covered hills for what seems like eternity until I come over a hill and see a peaceful little cabin on an ice covered lake surrounded by huge snow capped mountains. Beautiful. I jog up to the door and the lovely attendant said “you must be ari” indeed I am. Amy arrived about 3 minutes before me and was very confused and concerned when she found out I hadn’t arrived already because as far as she knew, I was always in front of her. So, I managed to make up about 3 minutes of hiking by jogging. Exhausting!
The lake was beautiful. And hot! I was lying on the rocks by the water with my shirt off in my shorts sunning for an hour. The water was so cold it was painful to touch, but the rocks were gorgeous. A nice ni! ght spent in a relatively full cabin and then the next day the same path back to the beginning. But much faster going down and more time for pictures and views.The next afternoon, we were on a bus north for Mendoza.

cordoba, cordoba

i guess i should start off saying that there wasn’t anything really in cordoba that i just had to see, but it was a nice excuse to catch up with tine, who i met on easter island (and came with us on the navimag journey in patagonia). i had been extremely indecisive about going to visit tine, since she was about to return to germany after months of studying abroad in cordoba. but she was persuasive, so i arrive in cordoba tuesday, the day before she was to leave. my night bus arrived around 8.30, and after meet tine at the terminal, we headed into town to get some breakfast. we spent the morning wandering around town-- her saying goodbye to familiar sights, and me being the casual tourist. it really only took the morning to see all the sights (the requisite plazas and colonial buildings and churches), so soon we had seen it all and so we stopped at a café where tine was to meet a friend.

the café was right near the university, and (not to sounds too much like a 2^nd year esl textbook) i was able to observe an interesting argentinean custom (damn, it seems will be forever scarred by teaching english in japan. “super salad?” “barrier-free society?” "SL train?" mike and aya haunt me still. my english will never be the same. sorry, flashback.) where was i? oh yeah— i was sitting at the café, minding my own business when someone walks by, completely white with flour. then i see another person, who apparently had been attacked by both flour and eggs. then another person approached, this one still un-battered, but walking towards friends who were suspiciously carrying bags of not-so innocent groceries. sure enough, flour was soon in the air and water splashed, and someone got out a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut off the poor guys clothes and hair, leaving him in his boxers with a hair that was a cross between a mullet and a crew-cut. tine and her friend seemed unsurprised by all this, and explained that its been going on all week. apparently, when a university student hands in their final thesis, friends and family members attack them with baking goods and bad haircuts. the to-be graduates know this, so many guys grow their hair out in advance and wear their least favorite clothes. girls still have to worry about flour and eggs and such, but usually they get off mullet-free.

we headed back to tine's house so she could get some packing in and i could have a much needed shower. after a late lunch with the housemates, we caught a ride back into town and met up with some of her friends at a hostel. for reasons i cannot quite pin down, i found it an odd experience to be visiting a hostel, particularly one i never had or would be staying at. soon it was time for dinner, and we headed over to a very new york-ish restaurant with the best steak i have eaten in argentina to date. the whole day went quickly and i think it was a neat look into what studying abroad in argentina might have been like (you know, if i actually spoke spanish). it was also a bit bittersweet, knowing that my time in south america was also coming to a close. so at 10.45 is was time to say my goodbyes and catch the night bus back to buenos aires for the last two days...

death and tango

after some errands the next morning, it was time to get down to some serious buenos aires sight seeing. i meet up with katja from my hostel, and we headed over to boca to do the requisite sightseeing. we saw the brightly colored buildings, watched some streetside tango, ate some ice cream, and watched some more tango. after somehow figuring out the buses, it was off to cementario de la recoleta, the cemetery where eva peron was finally laid to rest (i say “finally” because her body was transferred from one continent to another before finally coming to la recoleta). they say “it is cheaper to live extravagantly all your life than to be buried in rocaleta” which seems to be sadly true. the cemetery is the resting place of all of buenos aires’ rich and famous, and thus is filled with elaborate, huge tombs. no modest headstones here-- the cemetery is overflowing with mausoleums, making the place like a marble labyrinth that despite its morbid beauty is certainly someplace i wouldn’t want to remain after dark. it took us a while to track down ms evita, and after a little more wandering, we left the cemetery to explore the richy-rich neighborhood of recoleta. here are all the tree-lined streets, the posh apartments with doormen, the overpriced snooty stores. a beautiful neighborhood, but i will admit i felt a bit out of place, wearing the slowly decomposing backpacker clothes that i had been for the past 4 months. we walked east, past some parks and plazas, and had hoped to go up the torre de los ingleses (a big ben look-a-like), but found it closed. but by that time we had to take a bus back to the hostel, cause i had to shower and change before catching my second to last night bus... out to cordoba (about 700 km northwest of buenos aires)...

are you ready for some football?

buenos aires. a bit of a shock coming from the snowy mountain air to the heat of the capital city in the summer. i wasn’t sure what i expected buenos aires to be like… as usually, whatever vague images i was able to conjure up were influenced by snippets of hollywood movies. eva peron, tango, uhm… well, let’s just say my buenos aires information was sorely lacking.

i found a cute hostel in san telmo, an old bohemian part of town and a center for tango, and spent the rest of the day doing a wee bit of exploring. the next day there was a big football game on, boca vs. indepencia, so of course i really had to go to that. not only is argentina football crazy (and buenos aires is the place to see a game), but football, or, uh, soccer, is the one sport i actually know a little bit about. and by a little i mean that my six years of playing the sport gave me an understanding of the rules— but ask me anything about famous players or teams. i can name one professional player (…prepare to wince…) beckham, and that’s only because of that movie a few years ago that bore his name. oh, and i know the last world cup was in germany (but again, that’s only because i met a girl from germany who was working on something-something that was somehow related to the world cup). so, yeah, where was i before i went off on this? ah yes, so there was a big football game on that sunday. i spend the morning wandering around the antiques market at plaza dorrego with two girls i met in the hostel, katja and vicki. then it was off to the game with some other from the hostel.

going to see a game in boca is a big thing to do, but everyone makes a big thing about the safety of it all—i’m not sure if this is because of various incidences of tourists being robbed and harassed, or if it is all an elaborate ploy to pressure tourists to handing over their money and go with a group tour. in any case, i heard enough stories to make me leave my camera behind (it was painful, and i can’t help thinking, perhaps unnecessary). we were herded with thousands of other fans though various checkpoints and after some more milling around, it was time for the game. now the game was great, but i think the fans who really caught my attention. about as enthusiastic as fans at a japanese baseball game, but well, a completely different type of enthusiasm. my spanish, well, it sucks, but from what they others told me there was a whole lot of insults being flung from the boca fans to the indepencia one and vice versa. the boca people alluded that the indepencia fans were from bolivia, the indepencia ones retaliated with chants about the boca fans mothers. more racial taunts and derogatory innuendoes. if i understood it all, i’m sure i would have been scandalized. anyway, boca won and the locals were happy. we finished the day off with an argentinean steak—and by steak i mean steak, cause unless you order some side dishes, that is all you get on your plate. but at a couple dollars, it is definitely money well spent.

Cake or Death. Che?

Our border crossing into Argentina was fortunately uneventful-no x-rays, foot swabs or expired visas. Chilean Patagonia has the towers and the mountains, Argentina got the glaciers. So off to El Chalten and the busiest hostel in the world ready for our glacier tour. A 12 hour walk including a zip line to cross a river and 3 hours walking on the glacier (avoiding the holes) with crampons-long day but absolutely worth it. We even got to try ice climbing with picks and all. Ari scaled to the top with his acute feline agility, I wavered around the middle and then my shoe fell off.

And so we started the long journey on the so-called "Ruta 40" one road, one bus, really how hard could that be? Well I could go into detail but then you would all be as bored as we were on the day we got stuck in Perito Moreno, a town somewhere in the middle (of nowhere) with nothing to offer except mediocre dial up internet with the promise of "yeah there might be a bus in the next few days. Maybe." A little initiative and exploring and we found an alternative-a night bus that would arrive in Bariloche at 7.30am and actually rocked in at about 11. But at any rate we were back in the land of civilisation with paved roads, functioning buses and broad band. The chocolate capital of Argentina and a plaza with 4 cute St. bernards and their puppies as permanent residents. A few hours of wandering the streets and sampling the local delicacies and it was time to skip town. We rented ourselves a nice little car (a great improvement on the last one) and hopped back on the road to El Bolsón. 130km of the most beautiful scenery-mountains, lakes offset by gorgeous yellow/purple and pink flowers. We are no botanists but they were very pretty. We stayed in a gorgeous cabin just outside the centre where horses grazed in the fields and hippy travellers hung out their dreads to dry in the sun. We easily filled the day with the hippy market-a great artesan market selling all sorts of random hand made stuff, the carved forest (10km drive down the worst road in the world-under duress Ari remembered how to drive a manual) random pieces of modern art carved out of trees, and a great brewery where we sampled various fruit beers of the region with an eclectic bunch from the hostel.

And today, the piece de resistance. After a hard morning of erm well sitting in the car visiting various view points and waterfalls, we decided we deserved a treat and drove up to Llao Llao, Argentina´s most famous hotel which we had heard did an excellent afternoon tea (darling). The hotel has an amazing location, like a castle in the clouds with its own private lake. On arrival, however, we were informed that we would be permitted only with a reservation. So we drove 100 metres down the road to the nearest payphone and we were back. And ready to eat. And it was worth every cent of the $10. Unlimited hot drinks, juice, sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, of course) and the cakes, scones, pies... well it was good, and the service was excellent. We vaguely toyed with the idea of spending the night there but then realised we didnt have our tooth brushes. next time.

the ups, downs, and arounds of los glaciares (2of2)

(...the continued ramblings on parque nacional los glaciares...)

day the second. i spent the day with eunice (portiguese) and raphael (german), two lovely people i met the day before. we heading off in a different direction from glaciar del torre. our destination was the pure-turquase caldera lake set atop some mountain. the walk was beautiful through varying scenery, and luckily raphael loved his camera as much as i do mine, so i was in good company. it took about four hours (and whole lot of very steep climbing) to reach laguna de los tres, but it was definitly worth it. the view was breathtaking, and all the more so since it was completely unexpected. i can’t really describe it, so, uhm, just take a look at the photos.

the third day. i said my goodbyes to eunice who was heading back to al califate, and headed off on a trek to see some waterfalls and rivers. it was my last day of trekking, and thus, the last day i would be spending with my sneakers. ah, i wish i could say i it was a bittersweet parting, but the damn things were in such a state of blister-inducing-jutting-plastic that the end couldn't come soon enough. luckily, it was a much shorter day since i had my own bus to catch that evening—all the bandages in the world wouldn’t have made those shoes any more bearable. note to anyone going to south america: bring hiking boots. they are big, bulky, heavy and not the nicest looking things in the world, but they are worth it. anyway, i had a lovely day or wandering aimlessly, and then it was back to el califate for one more night at the amazing hostel, america del sur. the next morning it was off to the capital.

Pics from the Paine

the ups, downs, and arounds of los glaciares (1of2)

from el califate it was up to el chalten, the sleepy one-dirt-road town whose seemingly sole purpose is to accommodate the hoards or hikers and climbers who come to experience the beauty of argentina’s parque nacional los glaciares. although the park is just across the border from chile's torres del paine, the landscape and trekking is quite a bit different.

the first day was a glacier trek on glaciar del torre. the trek started with lots of beautiful scenery through beech groves, then onto laguna torre where we could see the impressive peak, cerro torre--- more walking, then it was time for the zip line, which wasn't as easy as it looks. you get halfway across before realizing you actually have to put some work in to put yourself up to the other side. after the zip there were some up and downs and arounds before coming to the glacier. here we strapped on our ice picky shoe things and it was finally time to walk along the glacier. the glacier itself was beautiful with small coves and blue-ish puddles, and we had some softly falling snow to make the picture complete. after walking around aimlessly for a bit it was time to do some vertical ice pick climbing. unlike the zip line, this wasn't quite as hard as it looked, and once i got a rhythm down (and realized i wasn't going to poke my eye out with either of the ice picks), i made it to the top with no further ado. some more glacier walking, then time for the three hours trek home.

go north

the time came to say goodbye to ushuia. but i consoled myself with thinking that since ushuaia is the gateway to antartica, who knows when i may see the city again.

so, after months of traveling south, it was time for a novel change in motion: head north. as tempting as another full day traveling on a bus was, i decided to take advantage of argentina's cheap flights and flew up to el calafate. el calafate doesn't have much to recommend itself persay, but is the home of glaciar perito monero, argentina's most famous glacier. it's become quite the tourist draw, but still is just something you have to see. It’s one of the world’s last advancing glaciers. And its huge. 60 meters high with huge chunks of ice breaking off at random and booming and echoing as they fall into the lake below. After taking lots of photos from the many vantage points, I decided i had better take a look at the thing from a boat. you know, just to make sure it really was impressive. There I made friends with lots of elementary school children. I was warry at first at sharing a boat with the school trip, but once they offered me candy, I realized they were okay after all. after the boat ride it was time to look at the glacier again from land. and yep: still big, still impressive.

Big towers, ickle tent: 8 days of Paine

A shared Blog.
by: Amy and Ari

so, similar to erica, but with a bit more time on our hands, we began in a hurried fashion the first night in puerto natales to rent a tent and stove and boots for amy which she is forever grateful for. by 7pm we had finished most of our shopping but felt we still lacked a few necessities. (vegetables, olives, wine, etc) so, instead of the 8am bus erica bravely boarded, we took the more leisurely 2.30 bus all the way to the very end of the route. there are 3 stops in the park. we got off at the furthest and the last and I think we were the only ones to get off there. yes, it gave us 7 additional hours of hiking to get to the best part of the park, but the views from afar were awesome.
highlights of the 8 days include:
-every nite in a freezing cold, small semi-leaking, non-functional zippered, ugly 1.75 person tent -the time when some idiot at our first camp, 3 hours from anything, decided to puncture his used gas cartridge with a can opener in front of his burning stove igniting a fireball which toasted his eyebrows. he then proceeded to drop the canister, ignite the woodchips at his feet and for good measure kick the can into the bushes. so, to save the day ari ran to get the canister, stomp out the bush while holding the damn thing well above my head as gas continued to pour out, stomp out the woodchips and then place the cartridge on a rock far away from flames. what did he say? quote: "that was stupid" fucking hell! you bet it was!
-nite next to the glacier. we kicked a few beached icebergs
-making tea with the residue hot water after cooking pasta. not to be recommended although it tasted better at the end of the week than the beginning.
-every official we met telling us the full circuit route is closed and almost every trekker we met telling us "nah, its open. a bit muddy/snowy/windy, but open
-a night in a deserted camp well up in the French valley hemmed in by yuge towers, monstrous snow capped mountains, and slow moving glaciers. avalanches reverberated through the hills. 3 seconds of contact with the river water causes hypothermia. a bit of snow fell on us as the sun shined well above us on the rock faces. just incredible. INcredible!and even better because there was virtually no one else there. its off the tourist route.
-lots of long days. strolling into camp at 7. which is cool because last light is at 11pm!
-2nd to last nite, amy challenged me to make a fire in the bbq. i dont want to brag, im a modest fellow after all, but the fire i made was brilliant. a bit smoky at the start but the trees they provided were just not high quality. she burned hot and bright for hours on hours till we had to put it out for fear of burning down southern chile. good times.
-and finally on our last day, tired and weary despite the considerably lighter backpacks (which by the way at the beginning weighed more than our bags for this entire trip), about to ascend the final couple of hours back to the bus stop (and avoid paying the extortionate prices for the shuttle laid on by the park) , after 5 minutes a German couple drove past and /insisted/on driving us there. Would have been rude to refuse and needless to say our poor feet were pretty happy :) and they were so jolly!

greetings from the edge

ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. fin del mundo. as far south as you can go without hopping on a boat. yes, i will admit, ushuaia's geographical location is the main reason for me coming... but i am glad i did. not only is it a beautiful city, but the word itself is almost as much fun to say as "shiyakusho."

i only planned to stay for about two days, but ushuaia tends to be a city where you check in but never leave. err, that is to say, you better book your ticket out as soon as you get here (or before) or else you will be enjoying the hospitality of the city for longer than expected.

can't say i have done a whole lot being here, but the luxury of time has been nice. i caught a cold which has made me stuffy and dizzy and lazy, so i took the chance to relax quite a bit. luckily i found a great hostel which was a bit like "cheers"... a place were everyone knows your name, but instead of beers and bar stools, there is italian dinners and free internet. the owner is an italian (the italian who we persuaded to cook us some real pasta) who loves to talk and has plastered the walls with photos and postcards and maps. and when i wasn't bumming around the hostel, i went to a cute cafe with homemade hot chocolate.

and yes, i did manage to actually do some stuff too. ran into margret and john (the couple from australia who we first met in ecuador, and then ran into again and again and again along the gringo trail) and we went walking in the tierra del fuego national park. there were some lovely lil trails with great views of the beagle channel. margret rightly commented that the view looked a bit like a bad painting. you know, one of those poorly executed painting of a pretty landscape that hangs in cheap hotels or old people's homes. but i digress.

and i also went on a nifty lil boat tour of the beagle channel (or was it a canal, i can never remember) to see lots of wildlife. i explored the town and enjoyed the snow. i contemplated being at the end of the world and tempted myself with the thought of going to antarctica. i think i did some other stuff but i can't quite remember either. and for that, i blame my stuffy head.

a paine in the w. no, wait, a w in the paine.

after pretty much three days and nights doing a whole lot of nothing on the boat down to patagonia, it was time for some activity, and luckily that was just what we had planned. the main reason we (and about 90% of the boat) were taking this ferry down to patagonia was to get to torres del paine, a chilean national park which is said to be one of the best in south america. it was time to lug our big backpacks around. it was time to hike. it was time for the great outdoors.


now, a random explanatory side note before i continue: amy and ari are staying in south america almost two weeks longer than i am and having the luxury of time, decided on an eight day trek in torres del paine, while i opted for the shorter five days (a popular route known as "the w"). so after about three months of traveling together, it was time to part ways one last time. okay, actually, i may meet up with amy (and ari?) in buenos aires, but this sounds much more dramatic, no?

so friday morning, bright and early, i headed off by bus to the park. i met a few people on the ferry down who i would be hiking with, and the previous day had been spend doing all the last minute errands--- tent renting, food shopping, cash getting, backpack repacking. it was all very exhausting, but after most of the errands were done, we managed to squeeze in a thanksgiving dinner at the local vegetarian cafe (ahh, pumpkin and beans with couscous, just like the pilgrims had).

now don't worry, i won't give a day by day detailed recap of the hike, but i will gush over the beauty of the park. it was truly breathtaking, and each day, each hour offered a variety of landscapes and terrains. bright turquoise lakes, snowy mountains, stone pillars, glaciers, forests, rivers, waterfalls, open fields... the list goes on. even in our one day of rain, i couldn't help dragging out the camera and shooting a picture (or two or ten). all this scenery really helped distract me from the overstuffed bag that was thoroughly + completely strapped to my back. i think by the second day it had molded itself to my body, and by the third it had molecularly modified itself to become a part of me. i am almost temped to make some horrible pun about us bonding, but i will resist. this was the first time i had done such a long trek while carrying all the supplies, and i was happy to discover it wasn't as tough as i thought it would be.

so the heavy bag, no problem. the shoes? a whole other story. i stubbornly resisted renting hiking boots (yep, you can rent 'em. i rented rain paints.) and decided that my five year old falling apart sneakers were good enough. just so long as i walk carefully and wear thick socks. well, i did walk carefully (kinda) and i did wear thick socks (albeit cheap ones from ecuador), but that didn't really stop my shoes from betraying me. at the end of day one the plastic in the back started jutting out and poking my heals, and my sore feet eventually developed many a blister. oh, and on that rainy day i slipped and bruised my lip. but for all this i much prefer to blame the shoes and not my own foolishness. by the end of day five my feet were such a mess that i have since sworn off non-flip-flop footwear for a week.

so i guess all this doesn't really say anything about what we did each day. guess its a bit hard to detail without making this already boring post even worse. we got up, made breakfast, packed up, walked, ate, walked, took pictures, walked, arrived. hung out in the refugio, talked, played cards, wasted time, made dinner. and then, before the sun even set, time to fill up the hot water bottle and crawl into the sleeping bag. next day, repeat. well, i guess the schedule was repetitive, but the scenery wasn't. too bad i can't portray that with words, but i guess that's why i took hundreds of pictures.

and maybe, just maybe, one day i will sort through them and post some.

Sittin on the dock of the NaviMag

continuing on, after hydrospeeding and not much else in pucon, we decided to forsake all further attempts to climb the friggin volcano in pucon that can only be climbed in good weather lest we encounter gale force winds and snow and sleet and other minor pertubances (wusses), we decided to head out and down to Puerto Mont, the enterance to chilean patagonia.
we booked tickets on the navimag ferry which is a 4 day joy ride through small channels, between high mountains, past huge glaciers, occasional forrays into open high swelling sea water and much much more.
but before i get to that, let me tell you what we did in puerto mont. nothing. it was still raining. so, we did what all good new jersey people do, and we went to the mall. 2 of them actually. food courts with kfc, McDs, pizza hut, tacobell, and a few local brands. saw a movie. 40 year old virgin. good stuff. basically wandered aimlessly. after a day and a half of that, i was ready for the excitement of being on a boat for 4 days!
so, the magellanes navimag ferry which goes from puerto mont to puerto natales. its a cross between passenger ferry and vehicle/cargo. so they loaded up all the trucks and cargop ont the lower levels and to entertain the people whilst we waited they had the 400 people wait in a single line to register and sign in (5min per person/group). then, we finally get on the boat and as we are waiting for send off, the proverbial breaking of the chapagne, the sun comes out for the first time in over a week. hallelujah! a few curious sea lions come swimming by, and things are looking up. we got the cheapest accomodations available on the boat. about $320 with student rates. (wink wink) the accomodations were really nice. we were in a room with 21 people, but the rooms were divied into areas of 4 bunks, almost a minhallway with two bunkbeds and lockers. the beds were the most comfortable we used in weeks and we had little curtains for privacy. clean, comfy, bed lights, a bit small, but all in all very nice. the bathrooms were the same. all plastic with really really nice hot showers (a luxury). as we were walking onto the ship we noted that many other passengers had thought like us, and stocked up on food and drinks. we had a few liters or wine and more than a few snacks. the wine we needed. the food we didnt. breakfast lunch and dinner was buffet style and it was pretty good. and there was lots of it. every meal there was salad, a main course (i.e. lasagna, chicken, salmon, etc) a dessert and fruit. every breakfast they gave us chocolate cake. why? i dunno. but i didnt ask. what did we do for 4 days? walked around outside on the deck for maybe 20 or 30 minutes a day, but mostly played cards. we learned a new card game which entertained us for hours. read some. ate a lot. slept more. the easy life. every once in a while you glance outside and see snow capped mountains or dense forrest on steep hills leading down into grey mirror waters. (we saw most of this through the rain) on the 2nd day they head out to the open water for 12 hours. the head of passenger relations warned us that on the 2nd day there would be lots of dancing. she was right. we started for 6 hours rolling front to back and then for 6 side to side. amy and i took anti-sick tablets and i think they def made me feel stranger than the sea-sickness. almost drunk. and really sleepy. which was good. i think i slept almost all of that day and then managed 10 hours of sleep that nite. that requires skillz. (and tablets). the rest of the ride was sweet as..
we stopped on the 3rd day at a big glacier and they dropped a small life raft to go collect ice for the pisco sours at the bar. (happy hour was almost all day) and that was cool, for about 10 minutes. but how long can you stand on a cold boat deck in the rain and watch an unmoving hunk of ice? i had images of titanic and a bit of iceberg dodging but the bergs werent in the mood i guess.
lets see. what else. "dance parties" at niht. ealry morning wake up calls to say "we are now passing such and such" or "this is the narrowest channel we will pass through with 29% deciduous flora and 3 rabbits". there was the brief episode of me being caught using a private bathroom, but the lady was kind enought to let me finish before yelling at me. "no hablo español", a bit of gestures, and fast walking resolved that though.
and then, 7am, day 4, we arrive in puerto natales. everybody is up and packing and ready with their luggages, standing at the exit to ramp to go. nobody wants to be at the end of the line to get off. rush rush rush. so, they stand in line for about 40 minutes until the captain decides, ok, i think they are pissed off enough, lets let them go. at about that point, we finished packing and got outside, someone opened up a second gate and essentially cut the line. whoo-hoo. 1 point us.
and into town. we have developed a new method of choosing hostels. when the touts show up, whichever has the nicest flier...
more on puerto natales and parque torres del paine to come from erica and amy and i.
stay tuned.

the river wild

okay, i never saw the movie "the river wild," but from what i know, it's about a family rafting somewhere in north america, stuff happens, and then some guy tryings to kill them. well, we aren't a family vacationing. we weren't rafting in north america, hell, we weren't even rafting. oh, and no one was trying to kill us. but that's just details, right?

after what seemed like weeks of rain (though in actually was only one day), we decided that the only thing to do in the face of more rain to go off and indulge in activities which already involved water. after considering all the water related activities that the lake district had to offer, we decided on hydro-something or other. now, what hydro something of other involves is putting on two wetsuits (ugh, i loath wet suits), grabbing onto a plastic board, and going head-first through rapids in freezing river water. sound like fun? you bet it was!

hydro-thingie is not horribly technically challenging, the main point is to avoid the big rocks while still managing to fly over the big rapids. when you hit the waves right, you go flying through the air. when you don't, the board goes flying into your face. hmm, i guess it did involve a bit of finesse, but after some incomprehensible spanglish directions, i think we got it down... or at the least our guide thought we did because off we went. me, with my bruised hands from putting on the damn wet suit. amy, with her flippers one size too big. and ari, with the underwater goggles that he wore to protect his contacts (but really only served to make him dizzy). yes, we were ready to go.

the ice-cold water was strangely refreshing, and when we weren't navigating the rapids, we floated down the river looking at the passing scenery. was lovely, a bit like wakayama and shikoku rolled into one. after letting the class 3 rapids toss us around for a bit, it was all over-- time to strip off the horrid wet suits (have i mentioned how i detest them?) and drink some hot cocoa.

our protest of the rain continued with our evening activities. we rented a car, and along with a couple from hong kong, set out for the hot springs in an attempt to recapture the glory of our japan days. after an uncertain and bumpy ride down some middle-of-nowhere road, we arrived. the hot springs were just what we needed. outdoors and nearly deserted, the the pools were set in near darkness down by a river. we soaked till about 10.30 before we made our way back to the hostel (we had a curfew, after all).

the next day-- more rain, more car rental fun (of which i am sure amy enjoyed the most, being our residential manual car chauffeur-- sorry amy!). the five of us set off to experience the lake district (or at least attempt to so we felt like we had seen something). we saw waterfalls and lakes, and even attempted a national park before the rain depressed us. in the end, we decided another visit to a hot spring was in order, so off we went. the second place we went to was more built up than the one from the previous night, but we enjoyed the high-tech hot spring gadgets.

and that is pretty much our time in the lake district. the next day after some wandering about, we took a bus down to puerto montt... but more of that from ari...

I like puppies.

Vino and Puppies

After a few days on the coast in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, during which time our main cultural excursion was to Pablo Neruda´s house, we decided it was time to explore the wine regions. Our first port of call was the Vineyards of the well known Concha y Toro where after a tour of the founder´s house we tasted the Casillero del Diablo and some other red which was okay but not amazing. We were happy that we at least got to keep the wine glasses, although mine has already broken. Quel Surprise! Wine tour number 2, waving goodbye to Santiago we went South to the fairly uneventful town of Curico where on arrival we were lucky enough to make the final tour of Miguel Torres, a Spanish based company who have spread their vines. It was essentially a private tour which was great as we had free question time and a self tailored tasting, ie we point and our guide pours. Good setup no? And the realisation hit that Ari was more of a gastronomist than I had given him credit for, for example his poignant observation that the Santa Digna shiraz "smelled like wet dog". Good times and good wines, the best of the bunch(in our humble but thoroughly tested opinion) being the Don Miguel (Gewurztraimer/Reisling) and batting for the reds, the Cordillera (cariñena / syrah / merlot). Our third, final and by far the best tour was at the San Pedro winery. The tour began with a minibus tour of the vineyards, thats how big they were! We got to see every process of the wine making and the guide was great. And I learned that you never put wine in the freezer. Even in emergencies. Between the tours we made sure to practice ensuring that our refined palettes remained sharp...

Aside from that we spent a great day in Santiago, climbed up El Cerro de Santa Monica-a hill right in the middle of the city from which you have a great view of the city and the backdrop of the second highest mountains in the world. We also took a day trip up to the Siete Tazas (The seven cups), a series of waterfalls. We were mildly inconvenienced by the fact that we missed the one bus of the day that goes there and had to hitch/walk the 44km but I think we both agree that it was worth it. Not so much for the waterfalls, they were nice and all, but for our precious find of a beautiful 2 month old golden lab who we named Owen. She ambled past in the arms of a family as we were eating our very sophisticated lunch washed down with Don Miguel. We played with her for a bit during which time the family disappeared. We had 2 choices: to keep her (my preferred course of action) or take her back to the warden at the park entrance (sadly what we did). On arrival we found her real owner, Jaime who had his brother searching all over for her-apparently everyone he asked told him that a young couple had taken her. How rude! Anyway, Jaime had recently purchased a plot of land on top of the hill that overlooked the waterfall and is in the process of constructing a house for himself and several cabins which will be open to tourists on completion. He drove us up to his abode, currently a solar powered trailer van but it was all pretty cool and he showed us the land intended for the cabins which has a great view of the valley. He even drove us the 7km back to the bus stop where we relaxed and took a nap by the river until the one returning bus of the day arrived. All in all a good day.

talking heads

i have wanted to go to easter island even before i knew where it was. and so when we started planning this south america trip way back when, i told myself, despite the cost, despite the distance, i would get there. and it's a good thing i kept telling myself that, because when the time came to book the tickets, i learned that the already-expensive economy tickets were sold out, so i would have to fly business class or not fly at all. i still desperately wanted to go, but at that price? luckily the parents were very convincing and after signing a very painful credit card receipt, i got my tickets. i was going.

wednesday morning i parted ways from amy and ari, who were off to investigate the wine vineyards (and puppies) south of the capital. after spending the day wandering the streets of santiago, i headed to the airport and i was finally on my way. the flight over was marvelous. i mean, business class, how could it not be? i am sure i got more than a few disdainful looks with my backpacker clothes and rugged luggage, but oh well. i soon settled into my cushy leather seat, had my wine and cheese, and put my feet up as i watched mile after mile of ocean pass below me.

about four and a half hours i arrived on one of the most isolated islands on the planet. a wonder of modern navigation systems that a plane can fly over thousands of kilometers of ocean to land on a island that is no more that 20k in width. a spot in the middle of nowhere. arriving i had no real plans, but luckily i found a nice hostel while at the airport and met sandra, a friendly + talkative german backpacker who would be my roommate for the next few days.

my luck with nonplanning continued, and i ended up meeting another backpacker (a californian, kevin) who just arrived on the same flight as me, and the next day sandra, kevin and i rented a car to explore the island. what i didn't know at the time was that the three main people i spent most of my time with are nearly as obsessive with their photo-taking as i am. at last i wasn't the one holding everyone up as i snapped photo after photo. comments like "make sure the horizon is level" or "i'm going to take a bunch of shots so you can just choose the ones you like" were like music to my ears.

so day one. we set off to see the main sights of the island... rano kau, orongo village, rano raraku, ahu tongariki, anakena beach, tahai. got all that? rano kau is an old volcano at the edge of the island, just outside of town ("town" being the only town on the island, hanga roa, where nearly all of the island's 2000 inhabitants live). the views from rano kau were amazing... the turquoise waters stretch out in all directions, and you can begin to get a sense of how very far you are from, well, everything. in the middle of the the volcano is the picturesque caldera lake with the ocean in the background. on the side of the mountain, overlooking the water is the old ceremonial village of orongo which was highly significant in ways i cannot currently recall.

amazing coastal views are all well and good, but by this point we were all thinking, "we are on easter island and we still haven't seen any giant stone heads." so to remedy this dire misdemeanor we immediately set off in search of the moai. after our first sighting of a lone moai, we found the motherload at rano raraku. rano raraku (say that ten times fast) is another old volcano where the moai were, erm, born. from the hillside rocks, hundreds of moai were carved and mysteriously somehow moved to different locations all over the island. scores still remain on this site, scattered on the slopes (both inside and outside the volcano), all in different stages of carving. this was probably my favorite site on the island. after lots of wandering and lots of photo taking we were off to ahu tongariki, another photogenic site of fifteen moai lined up in front of the sea. more wandering, more pictures. we finally felt we got out fill of stone heads for the day and decided it was time for the beach. bright blue waters, white sands, palm trees and even a few moai thrown in for good measure. we relaxed and swam and then realized it was time to rush back for the sunset. we picked up another german girl from kevin's hostel, tine, and the four of us headed to taihai to watch the sun set behind a few moai (yes, in case you haven't realized by now, the island is littered with them). the sun finally set at nine and we wandered back, truly ready for dinner.

the next day i thought i would take it easy after thursday's busy schedule. or so i thought. i headed out with my book and journal, and after some wandering, some reading, and about thirty minutes of staring at the ocean, i ran into tine and kevin and we decided to go for a walk. an 18k walk. a beautiful but very tiring 18k walk. we started out along the coast, picnicked and took photos, and eventually headed inland for some more moai. thought we might be able to hitch a ride with a car, but none came, then talked about kidnapping a horse but thought better of it. after nearly wearing a hole in my already thinning flip-flops, we arrived back in down, dirty and tired but happy. after a shower, some dinner, and a bit or relaxation, we were off into town where by chance some annual cultural festival was going on. singing, dancing, and some other random stuff i didn't understand. oo, i even went on stage in a random "let's get a few gringos to try and speak rapa nui and see who sucks the least" sort of contest thingamabob. i think i was the second least, uh, suckiest. go me.

day the third. after the driving and the walking, the only logical next step would be to rent some bikes. so that's what tine and i did. after some subtle negotiations, we were off like the wind. well, maybe not so much. our rusty bikes would only move so fast, so eventually we abridged our lofty plans of touring the island and once more made a bee line for the beach. we eventually made our way back (with a lil help from a pickup truck) and treated ourselves to overpriced greasy food.

okay, overly detailed synopsis almost done. i decided the best way to spend my last full day on easter island was to rent a car and return to my favorite spots. well, i forgot my license on the mainland and can't drive a manual, so luckily for me, tine felt the same and agreed to chauffeur me around. we returned to rano raraku. where we discovered not only is the outside pretty neat, but the inside is great as well. there are paths to hike up the old volcano and into the crater, where there are yet more moai waiting to be photographed. the wandering and heat eventually wore us out, and the only logical thing to do would be, yes, go to the beach. so being logical people, that's what we did. for our last sunset, we decided to pick up kevin and go to the cliff at the end of the island. the park ranger let us go through for free (and even opened our wine with a knife, a pen, and a bit of banging). the whole ocean stretched before us and the sunset was spectacular.

i thought the sunset was a pretty nice end to my stay on easter island, but no. the airlines had their own plans. the next day, when i was checking in to my flight to santiago, i was told that business class was oversold, and if i would be so kind as to fly economy, they would give me $200 voucher and a free round trip business class plane ticket. now i thought about this for a moment or two, and being the sacrificing person i am, i accepted. apparently fate is telling me its not quite time to finish traveling yet, because sometime in the next year i will have to use the ticket to return to this lovely continent.

south america anyone??

salt and pepper

the last bit of amy and my time in boliva was spent on a three day tour of the remote and deserted area in the south west corner of the country. breathtaking scenery, heaps of salt, and a lot of time in a bumpy, cramped jeep. a perfect end to our time in bolivia.

the main focus of the tour was the salar de uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. wish i could remember more details of the trip, but at least i have some nifty facts to regal you all with. and that is much better than be droning on about the german guy who constantly wanted the car windows closed despite the desert heat or about about the nz couple who taught me how to chew coca leaves (which, by the way, tasted like dirt). right? now where was i?

ah yes, salt trivia. the salt flats were formed from a huge prehistoric salt lake that eventually evaporated leaving what is now the uyuni salt flats-- 12,000 sq. km of salt, salt, and more salt. it contains about 10 billion tons of salt and the people there produce about 20,000 tons of salt for use each year. the salt is about a meter deep in most places, but at some points is as deep at four meters. in short, there is a lot of salt. so we spent the first day visit the salt flats, driving around and taking pictures and trying to avoid being blinded by the shockingly white salt that surrounded us. oo, we even got to visit a hotel made entirely out of salt and an "island" in the middle of all that salt, filled with hundreds of cactus plants and some rodents that somehow got stranded out there. we arrived early that evening at our, erm, accommodations for the evening, a place rumored to have showers and electricity but in truth had neither. so we amused ourselves with travel stories and star gazing and went to bed at the late hour of 8 in the evening.
day two we left the salt behind us and headed into the desert to see more of what the bolivian countryside had to offer. volcanoes and bright red and blue lakes and scores and scores of flamingos. wasn't quite sure how the flamingos would on at more than 4800 meters above sea level, but they seemed to be doing just fine. but certainly one of the highlights of the second day was that after spending the previous day squeezed into the back of the jeep, we were able to enjoy the relative luxury of the front row where our bruised knees were no longer abused. the accommodations of that night pretty much mimicked the ones of the night before, except this time we had electricity but no flushing toilets. oh well, you can't have it all.

we started the last day bright and early at 5am. i guess its not too bad since there is nothing to do out there in the middle of nowhere except to sleep early. our first stop was to the otherworldly geysers where we could walk around and enjoy all that bubbling mud and sulfuric steam. then it was on to the hot springs. amy and i couldn't face the idea of stripping down to our swimsuits in the freezing weather, but we did soak our feet before breakfast time. after some more suffering in the jeep, we arrived at our last stop, the beautiful 5000m high laguna verde. after wandering around and snapping our last few pictures of bolivia, they dropped us off at the boarder and we were off... to chile.

Never smile at a Cayman

In need of some much deserved R&R, we hopped on a plane and within an hour arrived at a normal altitude where being eaten by a cayman or a pirhana seemed preferable to the biking the day before. (maybe that opinion should have an "I" rather than a "we" before it!)
After 3 hours in a stuffy jeep on a bumpy road (the road of life I might add) we boarded our boat. Canoe. A wooden vehicle that would transport us 3 hours upstream to the cabin that would become our home for the coming days. The breeze was welcomed by us all and it was by no means a boring ride. We saw plenty of cayman (Amazonian crocodiles), aligators, turtles, huge birds, capibarra (they look like huge guinea pigs!) and a couple of pink dophins. After watching the sun set over the pampa fields we went on a night cruise in search of crocodile eyes which was pretty good although they only glow red when you shine a torch in their face which I can´t imagine pleases them greatly but they were very obliging. As we slept in our well mosquito netted beds, there was a huuuuge storm. One of those apocolyptic kinds that you are never sure will end. When we woke up the surrounding ground had turned to swamp so our morning activities were put on hold and we had to amuse ourselves with a solitary crocodile who chose to navigate our part of the river and some newly learnt Dutch card games.

It finally stopped raining long enough for us to go out on our little pampas tour-3 hours squelching though the erm pampas. Big huge plants sometimes up to your shoulders and mud and water reaching the top of the boots. The aim of the tour was supposedly to find an anaconda but sadly it was not to be. In the afternoon we got back in the boat and went off to see the pink dophins. We actually saw quite a few although you have to watch carefully as they dont jump as frequently as the usual dophins. There was an option to swim with them but in a river inhabited my crocodiles and in which we were to be going pirhana fishing the next day, needless to say everyone declined. As we were having tea and cake later on the guide explained that it is actually safe to swim because the pink dolphins travel in groups so they are more than capable of warding off intruders. Something like how Flipper always wins against the shark. Too little, too late.

On the final day we got up at 5am to go and listen to the sounds of the animals waking up. Or namely the howler monkeys who drowned out all other forms of life that may have been trying to make themselves heard. A quick breakfast and back in the water for pirhana fishing.
Fun but frustrating as the stupid fish consistently bite off the chicken and escape. I blame the fish. And back on the boat for 3 hours and then the jeep...all the way to the airport making it just in time for our flight back to La Paz. Or not. Apparently because the previous few flights had been cancelled there was a backlog of passengers and so to cut a long story short we would not be able to fly until the next morning. We got angry, we argued, they told us there was nothing they could do and I wondered if we were back in Japan for a second. We spent a night in Rurre which wasn´t so bad and then back to the heights of La Paz for a shower....