From Salta, Argentina, Gracie and I hopped on a bus at 7:30am which took us through the vast sierra of Northern Argentina. At the border crossing to Chile some 8 hours later we experienced the first unwelcome signs of altitude sickness. After being on an air-conditioned bus, we had to wait in the sun to get our passports stamped, in a dusty bit of nowhere, standing just shy of 5000 meters. What a view! What a headache! Gracie felt faint and was very close to passing out when the border guards whisked her away to the oxygen pump. We were told that the best way to prevent altitude sickness is to drink lots of water, eat coca candies or the leaves, and consume plenty of sweets (another excuse to buy more Ducle de Leche). All welcome remedies.
Our drive continued through the Atacama desert, past villages of the ancient Aymara people stuggling to keep themselves and their culture alive. The Atacama is the dryest desert in the world with areas of unreported rainfall. Gracie looked out the window of our comfortable bus thinking we´d ended up on Mars. The landscape is devoid of any vegetation and provided a remarkablly visible sunset as we continued our voyage.
We eventually made it to the Chilean desert town of Calama, wreaking of wealth from the mining industry (Atacama once belonged to Peru but Chile discovered the resources and claimed it as their own). A few hours were spent at the mall in transit, (I felt like I was back in Toronto) as we avoided stares and waited for our unusually late bus. When the bus finally arrived it was overcrowded and I took this as a sign of things to come. No more luxurious travel with English language films and coffee. Time to lower my standards as I continue heading up north.
In the morning we stepped off the bus in Arica, an hours drive from the Peru border. We needed to rest and enjoyed our time at a Kiwi-owned hostel eating organic cereal and making new friends. Arica was hot and dry and as a result from my lack of sleep and Canadian-programmed climate preference, not very attractive. My favourite bit ended up being the fishermans´wharf. A hyper place of activity, stinking of wrotten fish and salt water. We happily sat and watched the Sea Lions scout about the place for leftovers. If only I were comfortable photographing portraits. You would have loved to see these men hard at work repairing boats named after loved ones, smoking ciggs and chatting about the days work.
One day I promise I will work up enough courage to confront someone and ask for their photo. There have been countless opportunities but I can´t bring myself to tamper the moment with a shutter click. I need to develop relationships first, so I am hoping these perfect photos ops will happen during my volunteer work in Ecuador. The women in Peru are especially stunning and a portrait of just one would bring all of my other travel photos to shame. There is a powerful history in the faces of these Andean women. Their wrinkles give away long days spent in the sun, toiling over their crops often more than the men. The standard dress is similar to that of a school girls, in that I mostly see them wearing knee-length pleated skirts, with wool stockings and braided hair. This juxtaposes with their strong, solid precense. If only I could sit down and chat with them!! My big curiosity is how they manage to fit bundles of clothing, food, babies in these beautifully woven fabrics the colour of Tucans, keeping them safely on their backs.
Peru. Agh, Peru. Gracie and I could not wait to get here! When we finally arrived after an easy border crossing we made it straight to Arequipa. This city (the 2nd largest in Peru after Lima), is a congested labryinth of cobblestone alleys, palm trees, street vendors, more taxis than I could ever count, nesstled in a valley at the foot of the menacing volcano, El Misti. The most remarkable buildings are the product of Jesuit architects and are made of sillar, a pearly white volcanic material. There is a convent in town taking over 3 blocks, where nuns lived seperated from outsiders for a century before it was discovered that they were up to no good, throwing parties and such. There are still nuns living inside, but most of it remains open for visitors.
In Arequipa I had my cheapest meal to date. 2.50 soles which works out to be around $1 Canadian, for a 2 course meal complete with chicken leg soup (I along with our British friend Pete were the lucky ones to actually have the feet in our soup, nails and all), and sweet tea for dessert.
After 3 nights in our comfy hostel we were ready to get to Cusco, especially after discovering a reasonably priced Spanish school which also partakes in community volunteer work. When we were booking our bus tickets for the overnight journey we discovered that the employees were on strike. Strikes, protests both loud and quiet have been common so far. In Arequipa we saw villagers demonstrating for free, accessible water, a most basic of human rights. Turns out the strike didn´t affect the cheaper, economico buses so the following morning we hopped on with locals and made the 8 hour (ended up being 11), journey to Cusco. Gracie and I were the only gringos on board and had all sorts of experiences, including being constantly stared at by the boy in front, to being thrown up on by a baby next to me (after her mom mixed breast milk with cola!) When we reached Cusco it was dark (sun sets at 6!) and we were exhausted! To make matters worse I ended up consuming something which has led to me being bed-ridden for 2 days (so far). Luckily I am well stocked with antibiotics and electrolytes (important for avoiding dehyrdation especially at extreme altitudes.) Cusco is around 3400 meters above sea level and we´ve been winded simply walking up the street a few meters. I´ve opted to stay at our hostel while Gracie explores the town and gets our course organized. Luckily our hostel is in the car-free, quiet streets of San Blas complete with stunning views of the hills and red tin-roofed valley of Cusco.
Tomorrow we begin our course and hopefully I will be well enough to check out the streets of my new home.
Hope you are all well and enjoying the beginnings of spring!
xo
Emily
Other bits you might find interesting...
In Arequipa we had wine at a Montral Jazz bar owned by Canadians. The wine was cheap and bad, as was the music. The band stuck to cheesy 80s pop songs, but when they sang Spanish songs they seemed to do alright!
I wanted to get a photo of the school kids in Chile and Argentina. The generic uniform is a long, white lab coat which makes the kids look like mini doctors and dentists.
In Peru mini-buses constantly zoom by, narrowly avoiding pedestrians, as a young boy hangs out the door shouting destinations. I have never actually seen one stop to pick up passengers but they are always full and fast.
We finally tried Inka Cola! Full of sugar and tastes like bubble-gum. We were disappointed to learn that it is now owned by Coca Cola. Boo.
Outside Arequipa are the deepest canyons in the world. I stuck to checking it out via post cards as it was a further 6 hours out of the way.
The buses in Peru are a real experience. At every stop vendors come on to sell fruit, strange looking meat, or to tell us a story on the history of Peru in exchange for some soles.
One of the greatest mysteries of South America so far is the recycling of old cds. Kids attatch them to the spokes of their bikes, and I have noticed them being used as window decorations!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
one more.
Number 11 (my favourite)
When it is time to purchase a slightly used vehicle just look to the streets and you´ll find all sorts of cars with pop bottles on top.
When it is time to purchase a slightly used vehicle just look to the streets and you´ll find all sorts of cars with pop bottles on top.
TOP 10 Argentina
1. The smell of asados every night. Argentines take their bbqs seriously here, taking hours to prepare and finally eating at midnight.
2. The hospitality of the travellers and locals on our travels is incredible. Everything is shared from Mate to wine, lamb to cell phones and money.
3. Traffic! There are no real rules of the road. Speed limits are not obeyed, people go through red lights, cars whiz across intersections narrowly missing pedestrians and other cars. Oh and most of the streets are without signs so when we did drive the other day we had no real knowledge of where we were going! Had to ask for lots of directions in Spanglish!
4. A group of street kids in Buenos Aires caught my attention. All girls, all in well worn lace dresses with no shoes, holding hands in a line while pushing through the tourists and pedestrians on Av. Florida. If I could photograph people this would have been an amazing shot!
5. Empanadas! 3 choices: pollo (chicken), carne (beef) or queso (cheese). All labour intensive, all for under 3 pesos ($1) each and equally delicious!!
6. The market of Salta. Today we explored the numerous stalls selling fresh produce, vividly coloured spices and herbs, bootlegged dvds and bags full of coca leaves. Cocaine is made from these leaves, but left as they are they provide the locals with mouths full of spit mashed energy. I will avoid trying this tradition...
7. Argentina´s landscape is gorgeous. Vast country with unimaginable beauty. This place needs weeks to explore and is best done with a 4 by 4 as the roads are mostly unpaved. Even the main highway Ruta 40 is bumpy, dirty fun for hours on end.
8. The cemetaries here are colourful dedications to the lives of loved ones and are visited daily by relatives carrying cloth flowers and religious tokens. It´s totally moving walking through the rows of graves getting a sense of how respected and unfeared death is. There was one grave inscribed with the dates of 3 family members who died on the same date a month apart from one another.
9. Dulce de Leche
10. Madres de Mayo. The mothers who lost their loved ones during The Dirty War have never given up their fight for the memory of their children. They protest daily for the government to recognise and admit to the injustices.
ps. Check out Jon´s photos. He´s finally posted them. Thanks Jon!!!!
2. The hospitality of the travellers and locals on our travels is incredible. Everything is shared from Mate to wine, lamb to cell phones and money.
3. Traffic! There are no real rules of the road. Speed limits are not obeyed, people go through red lights, cars whiz across intersections narrowly missing pedestrians and other cars. Oh and most of the streets are without signs so when we did drive the other day we had no real knowledge of where we were going! Had to ask for lots of directions in Spanglish!
4. A group of street kids in Buenos Aires caught my attention. All girls, all in well worn lace dresses with no shoes, holding hands in a line while pushing through the tourists and pedestrians on Av. Florida. If I could photograph people this would have been an amazing shot!
5. Empanadas! 3 choices: pollo (chicken), carne (beef) or queso (cheese). All labour intensive, all for under 3 pesos ($1) each and equally delicious!!
6. The market of Salta. Today we explored the numerous stalls selling fresh produce, vividly coloured spices and herbs, bootlegged dvds and bags full of coca leaves. Cocaine is made from these leaves, but left as they are they provide the locals with mouths full of spit mashed energy. I will avoid trying this tradition...
7. Argentina´s landscape is gorgeous. Vast country with unimaginable beauty. This place needs weeks to explore and is best done with a 4 by 4 as the roads are mostly unpaved. Even the main highway Ruta 40 is bumpy, dirty fun for hours on end.
8. The cemetaries here are colourful dedications to the lives of loved ones and are visited daily by relatives carrying cloth flowers and religious tokens. It´s totally moving walking through the rows of graves getting a sense of how respected and unfeared death is. There was one grave inscribed with the dates of 3 family members who died on the same date a month apart from one another.
9. Dulce de Leche
10. Madres de Mayo. The mothers who lost their loved ones during The Dirty War have never given up their fight for the memory of their children. They protest daily for the government to recognise and admit to the injustices.
ps. Check out Jon´s photos. He´s finally posted them. Thanks Jon!!!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunny Salta?
Today has brought consistent showers to the usually sunny Salta. I am currently in the north of Argentina, in a city of around 1 million, sunburnt and rested. I welcome the rain as a chance to upload my ridiculous amount of photos and to perfect my ping-pong skills.
Gracie (my new travel partner) and I were lucky to land our hostel stay along with 3 guys from Spain whom we met in Iguazu. This place is a gem! The owner, Sebastian, is extremely laid back and after 3 nights here we´ve joked that we have yet to check in. Formality does not exist here. During the day the travellers go off to explore this beautiful colonial city and at night we all gather by the backyard pool to prepare asado (yes, more meat) while drinking Argentina´s fine wine. Sebastian, a chef by trade, has been feeding us all with vegetable quiche, Argentine beef, homemade bread and lots and lots of good humour.
Before I continue with Salta, I´ll step back a bit. Gracie and I spent our last day in Buenos Aires walking through the crowded streets before making our way to the bus station. 20 hours later we arrived in Puerto Iguazu. What a difference awaited us! Seperated from Brasil by a seemingly peaceful rio, Iguazu satisfied my curiosity for a tropical village. It was hot and muggy and full of mosquitos (thank goodness I remembered to get my free yellow fever vaccine in Buenos Aires). The town brought a nice change from the overwhelming streets of BA. Gracie and I were also fortunate enough to meet 3 hilarious boys from Spain who have been keeping us company ever since. We were also chosen to be in a commercial for ice-cream (delicious and cheap in Iguazu) and are now celebrities in Brasil. We made it to the cataratas (falls) our second day in and spent the entire day photographing every inch of the new 7th wonder of the world. The park itself is expensive and overcrowded. Even with over 250 seperate waterfalls it was impossible to escape the people. Two extremely exciting things about our time there: We encountered much wildlife like a caiman (crocodile), monkeys, gigantic spiders, rainbow inspired butterflies and a giant toad! I was also harassed by a mamma coatis , wanting to steal my food for her babies. Scary. 2nd highlight of the day: Our mini trek through the jungle to find a secluded waterfall and swimming pool. Perfect.
After 3 nights in Iguazu we had had enough. We spent our last day wandering the streets, eating more icecream and drinking a nice cold beer by the rio, enjoying views of Brazil and Paraguay. We hopped on another bus with our Spanish boys. 24 hours!!! We teased them for upgrading to the seemingly luxurious cama class as they ended up getting the same cold tv dinner we did and their seats remained in the same upright positions as ours. Actually, to be honest the buses in Argentina and Chile have (mostly) been a real treat. They´re quite affordable and provide enough comfort to sleep and be entertained with bootlegged movies.
No problema.
And now we´re in Salta, finding it difficult to leave this relaxed place. The market here is fantastic! I have to get over my insecurities of photographing people because here the faces are more indigenous and less European as they are in BA. The streets are crowded with locals selling and buying fresh produce, mountains of meat and regional crafts. Few tourists are found as they are mostly chilling in our hostel or the Simpsons themed bar in town. Yesterday Gracie and I along with an Australian couple rented a car and drove through the south of Salta to the tiny village of Cachi. This place was peaceful and we loved walking down the cobblestone streets being surprised by the occasional donkey or llama. It took us 5 hours to get to this place and it was a surreal drive. I felt like I was on Mars, never before seeing such a landscape. In both Argentina and Chile the terrain changes drastically from one place to the next and it gets increasingly difficult to pick favourites. The province of Salta is dry red sandstone spotted with lush cacti and the odd llama. Absolutely gorgeous.
Enjoy the photos and I´ll keep you posted as I continue making my way to Peru.
Adios.
Emily
ps. Spanish is still pathetic. We have made some Italian friends at our hostel who are dedicated to teaching us Italian and Spanish and my head hurts with the effort.
Gracie (my new travel partner) and I were lucky to land our hostel stay along with 3 guys from Spain whom we met in Iguazu. This place is a gem! The owner, Sebastian, is extremely laid back and after 3 nights here we´ve joked that we have yet to check in. Formality does not exist here. During the day the travellers go off to explore this beautiful colonial city and at night we all gather by the backyard pool to prepare asado (yes, more meat) while drinking Argentina´s fine wine. Sebastian, a chef by trade, has been feeding us all with vegetable quiche, Argentine beef, homemade bread and lots and lots of good humour.
Before I continue with Salta, I´ll step back a bit. Gracie and I spent our last day in Buenos Aires walking through the crowded streets before making our way to the bus station. 20 hours later we arrived in Puerto Iguazu. What a difference awaited us! Seperated from Brasil by a seemingly peaceful rio, Iguazu satisfied my curiosity for a tropical village. It was hot and muggy and full of mosquitos (thank goodness I remembered to get my free yellow fever vaccine in Buenos Aires). The town brought a nice change from the overwhelming streets of BA. Gracie and I were also fortunate enough to meet 3 hilarious boys from Spain who have been keeping us company ever since. We were also chosen to be in a commercial for ice-cream (delicious and cheap in Iguazu) and are now celebrities in Brasil. We made it to the cataratas (falls) our second day in and spent the entire day photographing every inch of the new 7th wonder of the world. The park itself is expensive and overcrowded. Even with over 250 seperate waterfalls it was impossible to escape the people. Two extremely exciting things about our time there: We encountered much wildlife like a caiman (crocodile), monkeys, gigantic spiders, rainbow inspired butterflies and a giant toad! I was also harassed by a mamma coatis , wanting to steal my food for her babies. Scary. 2nd highlight of the day: Our mini trek through the jungle to find a secluded waterfall and swimming pool. Perfect.
After 3 nights in Iguazu we had had enough. We spent our last day wandering the streets, eating more icecream and drinking a nice cold beer by the rio, enjoying views of Brazil and Paraguay. We hopped on another bus with our Spanish boys. 24 hours!!! We teased them for upgrading to the seemingly luxurious cama class as they ended up getting the same cold tv dinner we did and their seats remained in the same upright positions as ours. Actually, to be honest the buses in Argentina and Chile have (mostly) been a real treat. They´re quite affordable and provide enough comfort to sleep and be entertained with bootlegged movies.
No problema.
And now we´re in Salta, finding it difficult to leave this relaxed place. The market here is fantastic! I have to get over my insecurities of photographing people because here the faces are more indigenous and less European as they are in BA. The streets are crowded with locals selling and buying fresh produce, mountains of meat and regional crafts. Few tourists are found as they are mostly chilling in our hostel or the Simpsons themed bar in town. Yesterday Gracie and I along with an Australian couple rented a car and drove through the south of Salta to the tiny village of Cachi. This place was peaceful and we loved walking down the cobblestone streets being surprised by the occasional donkey or llama. It took us 5 hours to get to this place and it was a surreal drive. I felt like I was on Mars, never before seeing such a landscape. In both Argentina and Chile the terrain changes drastically from one place to the next and it gets increasingly difficult to pick favourites. The province of Salta is dry red sandstone spotted with lush cacti and the odd llama. Absolutely gorgeous.
Enjoy the photos and I´ll keep you posted as I continue making my way to Peru.
Adios.
Emily
ps. Spanish is still pathetic. We have made some Italian friends at our hostel who are dedicated to teaching us Italian and Spanish and my head hurts with the effort.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Big bad Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires has grabbed hold of my heart.
I arrived March 1st after weeks of tranquil camping, not knowing what to expect as I hailed a cab and wizzed through the crowded streets of BA passing historical monuments and colourful buskers.
My hostel´s neighbourhood is San Telmo and I couldn´t have been happier with the location and the people. But more about them later. Sunday in San Telmo is market day and I caught the tail end of it, stepping out the hostel door to witness a pack of drummers and salsa dancers taking over the cobblestone streets. I knew immediately that I had fallen in love with this special place.
Jon made the right decision choosing to fly to BA rather than pass his remaining time in rainy Patagonia. We met later in the evening and experienced our first night out in this city that never sleeps.
The night life here is incredible. People wake up when they please, eat small breakfasts followed by long leisurly lunches and even longer naps. Dinner doesn´t take place until at least 9pm and usually lasts until midnight. We spent our early evenings on the terrace of our hostel getting to know our new friends, drinking beer and sharing travel stories. At 2 or 3am when most peolple I know are snug in their beds, the Argentines go out. And go out we did. Every night! Dancing in clubs, dancing on the street, eating, tango, beer, wine, drum parties, wandering the streets in good company, finally sleeping at 6am and up again the next day at 9 to do it all over again.
What amazing friends we have made here! Gracie, an Australian from Perth who is travelling solo with her guitar has adopted me and i will follow her to Iguazu (where we are now) into Peru to attend Spanish school. I have chosen not to go to Uruguay as it is too expensive and the school is half price elsewhere. Some other time.... Juanito has been living in BA for 3 years and took us under his wing showing us the best bits of this big, crazy city. There were many more friendly faces who made our time in BA all the more exciting and comfortable. People I hope to keep in touch with for a long time.
We also met up with Antonio, our Peruvian friend from Ushuai. He took a big group of us out for Peruvian food on one of our first nights and fed us the famous cevice. This stuff is good. Raw fish marinaded in lime juice and hot peppers. We ate like royalty and had the greatest night. We also dined in a traditional parilla with Matias, our BA friend and had our fair share of meat to last us a while.
Liz, you would have appreciated the street dancing with professionals doing contemporary, tango, salsa and african infusion choreography. Gorgeous and all for free on the streets of San Telmo. This city is also famous for markets which take over the streets and tempt me to spend all of my life savings. The days were equally enjoyable and brought us to the different barrios. We saw Evita´s humble mausoleum in the posh Recoleta cemetary, watched street tango and rookie football stars in working class La Boca and ate spicy sausage choripan in Puerto Madero.
One of my favourite places was the pedestrian street Florida. All of Argentina exists on this streets through the people. Imagine Yonge street in Toronto from the lakeshore up until Bloor packed with buskers, street vendors, shoeless child beggers, rich white linen wearing shoppers, tourists, musicians, tango dancers, artists of many a variety and me! Always loud, always packed with people and full of energy.
Whatever you hear about Buenos Aires, whatever you´ve read about the dangers and poverty this city has to be explored to be appreciated. I fell in love with this place and left with only good memories. There were some stories of hostel dwellers being mugged and sad confessions from locals about the high crime rate and growing gap between the rich and the poor. This city is a place of many things both good and bad, but ultimately it is a place that needs to be seen.
I arrived March 1st after weeks of tranquil camping, not knowing what to expect as I hailed a cab and wizzed through the crowded streets of BA passing historical monuments and colourful buskers.
My hostel´s neighbourhood is San Telmo and I couldn´t have been happier with the location and the people. But more about them later. Sunday in San Telmo is market day and I caught the tail end of it, stepping out the hostel door to witness a pack of drummers and salsa dancers taking over the cobblestone streets. I knew immediately that I had fallen in love with this special place.
Jon made the right decision choosing to fly to BA rather than pass his remaining time in rainy Patagonia. We met later in the evening and experienced our first night out in this city that never sleeps.
The night life here is incredible. People wake up when they please, eat small breakfasts followed by long leisurly lunches and even longer naps. Dinner doesn´t take place until at least 9pm and usually lasts until midnight. We spent our early evenings on the terrace of our hostel getting to know our new friends, drinking beer and sharing travel stories. At 2 or 3am when most peolple I know are snug in their beds, the Argentines go out. And go out we did. Every night! Dancing in clubs, dancing on the street, eating, tango, beer, wine, drum parties, wandering the streets in good company, finally sleeping at 6am and up again the next day at 9 to do it all over again.
What amazing friends we have made here! Gracie, an Australian from Perth who is travelling solo with her guitar has adopted me and i will follow her to Iguazu (where we are now) into Peru to attend Spanish school. I have chosen not to go to Uruguay as it is too expensive and the school is half price elsewhere. Some other time.... Juanito has been living in BA for 3 years and took us under his wing showing us the best bits of this big, crazy city. There were many more friendly faces who made our time in BA all the more exciting and comfortable. People I hope to keep in touch with for a long time.
We also met up with Antonio, our Peruvian friend from Ushuai. He took a big group of us out for Peruvian food on one of our first nights and fed us the famous cevice. This stuff is good. Raw fish marinaded in lime juice and hot peppers. We ate like royalty and had the greatest night. We also dined in a traditional parilla with Matias, our BA friend and had our fair share of meat to last us a while.
Liz, you would have appreciated the street dancing with professionals doing contemporary, tango, salsa and african infusion choreography. Gorgeous and all for free on the streets of San Telmo. This city is also famous for markets which take over the streets and tempt me to spend all of my life savings. The days were equally enjoyable and brought us to the different barrios. We saw Evita´s humble mausoleum in the posh Recoleta cemetary, watched street tango and rookie football stars in working class La Boca and ate spicy sausage choripan in Puerto Madero.
One of my favourite places was the pedestrian street Florida. All of Argentina exists on this streets through the people. Imagine Yonge street in Toronto from the lakeshore up until Bloor packed with buskers, street vendors, shoeless child beggers, rich white linen wearing shoppers, tourists, musicians, tango dancers, artists of many a variety and me! Always loud, always packed with people and full of energy.
Whatever you hear about Buenos Aires, whatever you´ve read about the dangers and poverty this city has to be explored to be appreciated. I fell in love with this place and left with only good memories. There were some stories of hostel dwellers being mugged and sad confessions from locals about the high crime rate and growing gap between the rich and the poor. This city is a place of many things both good and bad, but ultimately it is a place that needs to be seen.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
From Paine to BA
So it´s been nearly a month and a head once full from stories is now tired and forgetful.
Let´s sum things up.
Torres del Paine, Chile. We trekked from February 10 until the 18th and were meant to do the Q or at least the entire circuit. We ended up completing the less worthy W trek in 8 days (It´s meant to only take 4). We took our time, enjoying the various refugios offering expensive wine and bread with peanut butter and jelly. It rained for most of our trek and eventually the rain defeated us and our tent. Many of the treks were shut down and our stove decided to break on us. I often wondered why I was bothering with it all, but only had to look up to see the snow capped mountains. My constant reminder of how magnificent and diverse the south of Chile is. We tested our bodies with 20 km daily hikes, uphill, with 90 km wind (almost hurricane worthy), snow, hail, wet boots, sore backs and an endless supply of powdered soups. Disgusting. So yah, the several refugios along the way provided shelter from the storm where we met wonderful friends including two girls from Scotland who cried looking out the window wondering why they flew to the bottom of the world only to end up back home.
We also checked out the Banff Mountain film fest and watched base jumpers, solo climbers and alpinists risking their lives for the love of it all. We felt good being Canadian those 2 days and learned to stop whining about a little rain....
Our last few days actually were sunny and we did some pirate camping in the puma patrolled valleys before heading back to Puerto Natales for a few days of rest and an all you can eat steak dinner complete with free cake from a birthday girl and 2 bottles of wine!
In Natales we stayed at our favourite hostel. Our home away from home run by 3 generations of Chilean women. It was heartbreaking saying goodbye after spending a week with this family who opened their doors and hearts to us and made us feel more than welcome. When I find their website I´ll post it for you (in case you ever make the long journey to Patagonia).
Our lazy days continued into Punta Arenas, a 3 hour bus ride south of Natales. We took it easy here, doing laundry and watching penguins shed their coats on Isla Magdalena on the strait of Magallen. There were at least 200 000 of them and they were adorable! Serra, I tried to steal one for you but I would have been thrown in jail if caught!
Continuing our journey we ended up in Ushaia, yet another sleepy port town, but this time in Argentina. Ushaia claims to be the last city before Antartica, but it´s a big lie as there is another town south. The tourists still flock to this mini disney for expensive cruises to the south pole and tacky seafood restaurants. We did manage to find a decent place to eat with historical newspapers glued to the walls. Prisoners were sent to Ushaia, once a town of 500 and now booming! We saw a movie here, met a cool Peruvian and did a couple of hikes in the mountains. By the end I couldn´t wait to get out!
I took a flight March 1st to Buenos Aires, and now here, I must say that this city is awesome!!!
But I´ll save those stories for another day....
Hope this finds you happy and well! Lots of love,
Emily
ps. Jon decided to tag along to Buenos Aires and is leaving in a few days for Santiago and Canada.
Let´s sum things up.
Torres del Paine, Chile. We trekked from February 10 until the 18th and were meant to do the Q or at least the entire circuit. We ended up completing the less worthy W trek in 8 days (It´s meant to only take 4). We took our time, enjoying the various refugios offering expensive wine and bread with peanut butter and jelly. It rained for most of our trek and eventually the rain defeated us and our tent. Many of the treks were shut down and our stove decided to break on us. I often wondered why I was bothering with it all, but only had to look up to see the snow capped mountains. My constant reminder of how magnificent and diverse the south of Chile is. We tested our bodies with 20 km daily hikes, uphill, with 90 km wind (almost hurricane worthy), snow, hail, wet boots, sore backs and an endless supply of powdered soups. Disgusting. So yah, the several refugios along the way provided shelter from the storm where we met wonderful friends including two girls from Scotland who cried looking out the window wondering why they flew to the bottom of the world only to end up back home.
We also checked out the Banff Mountain film fest and watched base jumpers, solo climbers and alpinists risking their lives for the love of it all. We felt good being Canadian those 2 days and learned to stop whining about a little rain....
Our last few days actually were sunny and we did some pirate camping in the puma patrolled valleys before heading back to Puerto Natales for a few days of rest and an all you can eat steak dinner complete with free cake from a birthday girl and 2 bottles of wine!
In Natales we stayed at our favourite hostel. Our home away from home run by 3 generations of Chilean women. It was heartbreaking saying goodbye after spending a week with this family who opened their doors and hearts to us and made us feel more than welcome. When I find their website I´ll post it for you (in case you ever make the long journey to Patagonia).
Our lazy days continued into Punta Arenas, a 3 hour bus ride south of Natales. We took it easy here, doing laundry and watching penguins shed their coats on Isla Magdalena on the strait of Magallen. There were at least 200 000 of them and they were adorable! Serra, I tried to steal one for you but I would have been thrown in jail if caught!
Continuing our journey we ended up in Ushaia, yet another sleepy port town, but this time in Argentina. Ushaia claims to be the last city before Antartica, but it´s a big lie as there is another town south. The tourists still flock to this mini disney for expensive cruises to the south pole and tacky seafood restaurants. We did manage to find a decent place to eat with historical newspapers glued to the walls. Prisoners were sent to Ushaia, once a town of 500 and now booming! We saw a movie here, met a cool Peruvian and did a couple of hikes in the mountains. By the end I couldn´t wait to get out!
I took a flight March 1st to Buenos Aires, and now here, I must say that this city is awesome!!!
But I´ll save those stories for another day....
Hope this finds you happy and well! Lots of love,
Emily
ps. Jon decided to tag along to Buenos Aires and is leaving in a few days for Santiago and Canada.
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