This is for my mamma, my number 1 fan..
Happy Birthday! Check out my flickr site to see the video I made for you.
Con mil besos
Emilia
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
From Chile to Argentina to Chile again
Jon and I have finally made it to Puerto Natales. One month later.
This town is perfectly small and packed with trekkers of all sorts and the very pro mountaineers. We´re staying in a very friendly family run hostel/home with a mountain `dancer` and a climber who have been coming here for 10 years. Check her out at Project Bandaloop. After nearly 2 weeks of camping we´re enjoying the warm beds, private bathroom and Chile´s finest movie networks.
Yes...two weeks of camping! Where have we been? Mostly on buses...And in between? Well, since I last wrote we left Coyhaique for the tiny town of Puerto Ibañez. We went with the intention of catching our ferry to Argentina, but ended up staying the night to revel in the rodeo. What a site. cowboys, or Gauchos from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay all showcasing their talents on wild horses for a small sum of cash. What it really was, however, and what we´re discovering about Chile, is that everyone simply loves to party. The life of a gaucho is probably quite lonely in remote and vast Patagonian landscape. A landscape inspirational for songs of longing for a past since forgotten by most South Americans. The music was similar to Portuguese Fado. The men themselves are very handsome, and well dressed in their berets and short pants. They don´t quite fit the rugged picture of an American cowboy, but I bet these dudes could kick anyones´ arse. Our friend Hillary did mention that she walked in on a room full of tough looking gauchos drinking pisco at 9am only to witness their hearts melt as they swooned for a baby guanaco who stumbled into the room, searching for milk.
The night we saw them they were taking turns dancing with the local ladies, sharing wine and stories. We had such a great day, eating asado and hanging with the folk of this dusty, windy town hiding in the Andes. Unfortunately, the following day our ferry disappeared and we changed our opinion of the town, wanting desperately to get out and over to Argentina to continue our travels south. When I say the ferry disappeared, I mean it was meant to come, but the officials told us it wasn´t going to show for 3 days. What?!? Stranded in Ibañez with its one market and stray horses, we sadly sat by the ferry dock dreaming of a way out, when hours later a boat 'magically´ appeared!! Stupid us, we didn´t have tickets, but ended up catching a lift thanks to the captains pity. 2 hours later we were in Chile Chico, picking pears and nectarines from the campground trees. The following day we headed across the border (easy) to Los Antiguos ARGENTINA!!! Famous for cherries and cheezy pizzas.
Argentina........From what I´ve gathered so far, it´s more expensive than Chile!?! They´re catching up after years of economic turmoil, finally taking advantage of the massive tourism idustry thanks to their UNESCO World Heritage sites. Argentina, like Chile has a shady past and the locals would prefer not to discuss it. Jon and I are ok with just chilling by the fire, learning about the art of the asado in El Chalten where we began cooking at 8 and didn´t eat our steaks until midnight, drinking yerba mate and having a laugh with the very generous Argentinians.
El Chalten is a town at the north entrance to the Parque Nacional de los Glacier. It´s a really chilled out place complete with tired, sunburnt mountaineers and exhausted trekkers. We spent a good 3 nights making great friends and drinking local beer. I made the mistake of spending 4 pesos (about $3) on a box of wine which left me feeling awful the next day. The Chileans called it ´mas pinas´ or a punch in the face. The Buenos Aires boys shared their cordero (lamb) after cooking it slowly over the coals until the wee hours of the night, with the stars watching over us. Beautiful town, beautiful scenery! We had the mountains surrounding us completely, and were lucky weather wise. Usually it´s a challenge to see the peaks, but we witnessed their majesty every single day! We decided to camp in the valleys for 4 nights after trekking for several hours uphill each day! Tired legs!!!
One concern...people don´t get what it means to leave no trace when camping. Toilet paper littered the woods and people took numero doses anywhere they pleased without burying it! Disgusting! The El Chalten access to the park is free as is camping, and the rivers are some of the last where you can drink straight from them, but if people keep on like this we won´t be so fortunate. There are huge environmental concerns for Patagonia right now. We`ve been noticing Sin Represas posters and tshirts promoting awarness and protesting private companies who want to interfere with Patagonia. In a few years the mountain vistas might be molested by power lines sending energy to Santiago, and the pristine rivers being dammed. It´s a sad thought, but one that apparently most people don´t seem to care about! If you ever camp please don´t ever leave anything behind except for footprints!
The freedom of free park entry was left behind when we bused it to El Calafate and the south entrance to the park. Touristy town. Expensive. Full of loud backpackers and rich Westerners. We had to check out the glacier though, the crowning glory of El Calafate. It cost us about $50 US but it was worth it! The Perito Merino glacier is massive and inspires poetry! It´s also very active, sending chunks of ice into the lago Argentino as we covered our ears from the force of the drop. What a beautiful site!
Now we´re resting our heads in Natales, meeting up with two American cousins whom we´'ve befriended. One´s been travelling South America for one year and just returned from Asia where he travelled for 2. Tonight there´s a fiesta in town where we hope to have some laughs (there´s no holiday, just another day to party). Oh yeah, we´re in Chile again. We had little difficulty crossing the border, just a loooong wait and an embarassed customs official as had held my tampons inquisitively. In a few days we´ll head over to Torres del Paine to begin our 10 day trek along the circuit. Pray for good weather!
That´s about all for now...Please enjoy the photos and drop me an email!
Con mil besos!
Emily
This town is perfectly small and packed with trekkers of all sorts and the very pro mountaineers. We´re staying in a very friendly family run hostel/home with a mountain `dancer` and a climber who have been coming here for 10 years. Check her out at Project Bandaloop. After nearly 2 weeks of camping we´re enjoying the warm beds, private bathroom and Chile´s finest movie networks.
Yes...two weeks of camping! Where have we been? Mostly on buses...And in between? Well, since I last wrote we left Coyhaique for the tiny town of Puerto Ibañez. We went with the intention of catching our ferry to Argentina, but ended up staying the night to revel in the rodeo. What a site. cowboys, or Gauchos from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay all showcasing their talents on wild horses for a small sum of cash. What it really was, however, and what we´re discovering about Chile, is that everyone simply loves to party. The life of a gaucho is probably quite lonely in remote and vast Patagonian landscape. A landscape inspirational for songs of longing for a past since forgotten by most South Americans. The music was similar to Portuguese Fado. The men themselves are very handsome, and well dressed in their berets and short pants. They don´t quite fit the rugged picture of an American cowboy, but I bet these dudes could kick anyones´ arse. Our friend Hillary did mention that she walked in on a room full of tough looking gauchos drinking pisco at 9am only to witness their hearts melt as they swooned for a baby guanaco who stumbled into the room, searching for milk.
The night we saw them they were taking turns dancing with the local ladies, sharing wine and stories. We had such a great day, eating asado and hanging with the folk of this dusty, windy town hiding in the Andes. Unfortunately, the following day our ferry disappeared and we changed our opinion of the town, wanting desperately to get out and over to Argentina to continue our travels south. When I say the ferry disappeared, I mean it was meant to come, but the officials told us it wasn´t going to show for 3 days. What?!? Stranded in Ibañez with its one market and stray horses, we sadly sat by the ferry dock dreaming of a way out, when hours later a boat 'magically´ appeared!! Stupid us, we didn´t have tickets, but ended up catching a lift thanks to the captains pity. 2 hours later we were in Chile Chico, picking pears and nectarines from the campground trees. The following day we headed across the border (easy) to Los Antiguos ARGENTINA!!! Famous for cherries and cheezy pizzas.
Argentina........From what I´ve gathered so far, it´s more expensive than Chile!?! They´re catching up after years of economic turmoil, finally taking advantage of the massive tourism idustry thanks to their UNESCO World Heritage sites. Argentina, like Chile has a shady past and the locals would prefer not to discuss it. Jon and I are ok with just chilling by the fire, learning about the art of the asado in El Chalten where we began cooking at 8 and didn´t eat our steaks until midnight, drinking yerba mate and having a laugh with the very generous Argentinians.
El Chalten is a town at the north entrance to the Parque Nacional de los Glacier. It´s a really chilled out place complete with tired, sunburnt mountaineers and exhausted trekkers. We spent a good 3 nights making great friends and drinking local beer. I made the mistake of spending 4 pesos (about $3) on a box of wine which left me feeling awful the next day. The Chileans called it ´mas pinas´ or a punch in the face. The Buenos Aires boys shared their cordero (lamb) after cooking it slowly over the coals until the wee hours of the night, with the stars watching over us. Beautiful town, beautiful scenery! We had the mountains surrounding us completely, and were lucky weather wise. Usually it´s a challenge to see the peaks, but we witnessed their majesty every single day! We decided to camp in the valleys for 4 nights after trekking for several hours uphill each day! Tired legs!!!
One concern...people don´t get what it means to leave no trace when camping. Toilet paper littered the woods and people took numero doses anywhere they pleased without burying it! Disgusting! The El Chalten access to the park is free as is camping, and the rivers are some of the last where you can drink straight from them, but if people keep on like this we won´t be so fortunate. There are huge environmental concerns for Patagonia right now. We`ve been noticing Sin Represas posters and tshirts promoting awarness and protesting private companies who want to interfere with Patagonia. In a few years the mountain vistas might be molested by power lines sending energy to Santiago, and the pristine rivers being dammed. It´s a sad thought, but one that apparently most people don´t seem to care about! If you ever camp please don´t ever leave anything behind except for footprints!
The freedom of free park entry was left behind when we bused it to El Calafate and the south entrance to the park. Touristy town. Expensive. Full of loud backpackers and rich Westerners. We had to check out the glacier though, the crowning glory of El Calafate. It cost us about $50 US but it was worth it! The Perito Merino glacier is massive and inspires poetry! It´s also very active, sending chunks of ice into the lago Argentino as we covered our ears from the force of the drop. What a beautiful site!
Now we´re resting our heads in Natales, meeting up with two American cousins whom we´'ve befriended. One´s been travelling South America for one year and just returned from Asia where he travelled for 2. Tonight there´s a fiesta in town where we hope to have some laughs (there´s no holiday, just another day to party). Oh yeah, we´re in Chile again. We had little difficulty crossing the border, just a loooong wait and an embarassed customs official as had held my tampons inquisitively. In a few days we´ll head over to Torres del Paine to begin our 10 day trek along the circuit. Pray for good weather!
That´s about all for now...Please enjoy the photos and drop me an email!
Con mil besos!
Emily
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The beginning of the end of the world
Hola! Jon and I have just stuffed ourselves with some fine Chilean cusine. Jon ordered the ´´poor man´s feast´´. A feast fit for royalty complete with steak and greasy fries. I stuck with the really unique paila marina, a soup crammed with all bits of sea life and a few sausages to help fill you out.
We deserved these meals after a 30 hour ferry ride (meant to be 24) along the coast of Chile. We left Quellon, a rough little port town, complete with drunks and bored teens exchanging kisses and cigarettes in the only park Jon and I called home for an entire afternoon. We have had a busy couple of days. The ferry was meant to leave Quellon, on the isle of Chiloe at 4pm, but this being Chile we are of course on ´spanish time´´. 4 really meant 7 which actually saw us leaving the port at midnight! Thank goodness Jon and I splurged on 2000 pesos extra to pay for beds! We really lucked out and had the cabin to ourselves. The views from the ferry were totally romanitc and atmospheric. Misty hills thich with old growth forest, with the tiniest fishing villages popping out along the way. Beautiful views! After 30 hours, and 3 books (one on Nazis and the other about a prostitute), we were going loco and ready to reach land! One French man, riding his bike through South America threatened to get off at one of the villages only to realize that there is no possible way out! These woods are thick!
So yah, 4pm turned into 4am the following day...we arrived dazed and exhausted, and starving (we only brought so much food and had to snack on cookies for dinner). Luckily, the gringos all stuck together and hopped in a broken down taxi whose driver brought us safe and sound to Coyaqhue, the little town where we rest our weary heads now. Tomorrow we head to do some camping in the hills on an organic farm and then we´ll make our way to ARGENTINA to continue our long journey down Patagonia to the end of the world.
I have to mention camping on Chiloe...sorry these mails are so long! It takes forever to upload photos so I have lots of time to kill....
Jon and I hopped on a bus to the national park of Chiloe. We did a 7 hour (supposed to be 5) trek along the coast of the south pacific, saw as penguin in the wild, went up and down the hills, got lost on cattle trails, almost collapsed of thirst and heat exhaustion, meant wonderful locals, and finally arrive the to refugio (beautiful wood cabins in the middle of nowhere), which was closed!!! Luckily we have tents and set up camp on the beach...BEAUTIFUL!!! so remote save for the 2 Californian couples camped next door. We got water from the river, read, wrote, chilled with the pig, 3 cows and 2 horses who kept us company. Jon was awesome after the trek he pulled out 2 surprisingly still chilled beers from his pack!! What a celebration that was.
5 new things I´ve disvovered about Chile...
1. the teenagers are really respectful and helpeful. Especially Santiago from Santiago who set us up with a campsite when we were stuck.
2. When Conaf, the underfunded park administration of Chile promises a site is free they really mean bring money because the farmers who rule that bit of remote land will hunt you down and charge you mucho pesos!
3. The girls here love ´´americano boy´s´and feel encouraged to take photos of Jon.
4. toilet paper really shouldn´t be flushed down the toilet.
5. cold showers rule!!!
Ciao amigos! Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos!
We deserved these meals after a 30 hour ferry ride (meant to be 24) along the coast of Chile. We left Quellon, a rough little port town, complete with drunks and bored teens exchanging kisses and cigarettes in the only park Jon and I called home for an entire afternoon. We have had a busy couple of days. The ferry was meant to leave Quellon, on the isle of Chiloe at 4pm, but this being Chile we are of course on ´spanish time´´. 4 really meant 7 which actually saw us leaving the port at midnight! Thank goodness Jon and I splurged on 2000 pesos extra to pay for beds! We really lucked out and had the cabin to ourselves. The views from the ferry were totally romanitc and atmospheric. Misty hills thich with old growth forest, with the tiniest fishing villages popping out along the way. Beautiful views! After 30 hours, and 3 books (one on Nazis and the other about a prostitute), we were going loco and ready to reach land! One French man, riding his bike through South America threatened to get off at one of the villages only to realize that there is no possible way out! These woods are thick!
So yah, 4pm turned into 4am the following day...we arrived dazed and exhausted, and starving (we only brought so much food and had to snack on cookies for dinner). Luckily, the gringos all stuck together and hopped in a broken down taxi whose driver brought us safe and sound to Coyaqhue, the little town where we rest our weary heads now. Tomorrow we head to do some camping in the hills on an organic farm and then we´ll make our way to ARGENTINA to continue our long journey down Patagonia to the end of the world.
I have to mention camping on Chiloe...sorry these mails are so long! It takes forever to upload photos so I have lots of time to kill....
Jon and I hopped on a bus to the national park of Chiloe. We did a 7 hour (supposed to be 5) trek along the coast of the south pacific, saw as penguin in the wild, went up and down the hills, got lost on cattle trails, almost collapsed of thirst and heat exhaustion, meant wonderful locals, and finally arrive the to refugio (beautiful wood cabins in the middle of nowhere), which was closed!!! Luckily we have tents and set up camp on the beach...BEAUTIFUL!!! so remote save for the 2 Californian couples camped next door. We got water from the river, read, wrote, chilled with the pig, 3 cows and 2 horses who kept us company. Jon was awesome after the trek he pulled out 2 surprisingly still chilled beers from his pack!! What a celebration that was.
5 new things I´ve disvovered about Chile...
1. the teenagers are really respectful and helpeful. Especially Santiago from Santiago who set us up with a campsite when we were stuck.
2. When Conaf, the underfunded park administration of Chile promises a site is free they really mean bring money because the farmers who rule that bit of remote land will hunt you down and charge you mucho pesos!
3. The girls here love ´´americano boy´s´and feel encouraged to take photos of Jon.
4. toilet paper really shouldn´t be flushed down the toilet.
5. cold showers rule!!!
Ciao amigos! Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
TOP 10 Castro, Chiloe
1. Dude dressed as Elivis complete with extra shiny silver bling, selling tomatoes and cucumbers out of a wheelbarrow
2. The kids at our hostel/homestay addicted to the movie Blade and hide and seek
3. The German mom and son duo travelling through Chile who shared their wine, fruit and company. Poor mom..we convinced her son to travel more.
4. The yappy princess dog outside our room who cries for her madre all day and night!
5. Reggaeton. What seems to be the national anthem for Chilean youth. The basic beat gets in your head and sticks. We´ve been hearing it EVERYWHERE! ´duh de da duh de day duh de da duh...´´
6. UNESCO churches and warm alpaca sweaters
7. The gym on stilts, which is exactly what I wrote...kinda uneasy looking.
8. Trekking through the muddy leftovers of early morning tides, and cutting feet on shell fish while avoiding the stares of locals.
9. Empanadas and completos (hotdog loaded with guacamole y tomatoes y salsa picante)
10. The sunsets and seals swimmi ng in the distance!!!!!!!!!
Mañana we travel to the Parque Nacional de Chiloe. We had a stressed-out, sleep deprived morning of finding ferry tickets to the mainland to continue our trek down to Patagonia. We had wanted to visit Chaiten but the volcano completely wiped out the town and our port. Big Problem! After a few frantic hours we were directed to a tour booker with two sweet girls eager to help. They got us two affordable spots on a 24 hour ferry with beds and a view of the fjords. We´re happy and had a bottle of wine to celebrate. I must always remember that obstacles only make you want something more. It all works out in the end.
Muchos Gracias!
ps. please ignore all spelling errors! I´m rushing!!
pps. Restaurant in Castro is called Años Luz.
xox
2. The kids at our hostel/homestay addicted to the movie Blade and hide and seek
3. The German mom and son duo travelling through Chile who shared their wine, fruit and company. Poor mom..we convinced her son to travel more.
4. The yappy princess dog outside our room who cries for her madre all day and night!
5. Reggaeton. What seems to be the national anthem for Chilean youth. The basic beat gets in your head and sticks. We´ve been hearing it EVERYWHERE! ´duh de da duh de day duh de da duh...´´
6. UNESCO churches and warm alpaca sweaters
7. The gym on stilts, which is exactly what I wrote...kinda uneasy looking.
8. Trekking through the muddy leftovers of early morning tides, and cutting feet on shell fish while avoiding the stares of locals.
9. Empanadas and completos (hotdog loaded with guacamole y tomatoes y salsa picante)
10. The sunsets and seals swimmi ng in the distance!!!!!!!!!
Mañana we travel to the Parque Nacional de Chiloe. We had a stressed-out, sleep deprived morning of finding ferry tickets to the mainland to continue our trek down to Patagonia. We had wanted to visit Chaiten but the volcano completely wiped out the town and our port. Big Problem! After a few frantic hours we were directed to a tour booker with two sweet girls eager to help. They got us two affordable spots on a 24 hour ferry with beds and a view of the fjords. We´re happy and had a bottle of wine to celebrate. I must always remember that obstacles only make you want something more. It all works out in the end.
Muchos Gracias!
ps. please ignore all spelling errors! I´m rushing!!
pps. Restaurant in Castro is called Años Luz.
xox
Chiloe, Chile
Jon and I have reached the island of Chiloe just south of the lake district in Chile. As we make our way south to Torres del Paine we´re experiencing colder weather, cities replaced by smaller towns, and friendlier faces. Chiloe is a real chilled fishing island with a rich culture of it´s own and the beautiful fishing huts called Palafitos where fresh fish rules!
We are currently staying in Castro for 2 nights to refuel our legs and stock up on food for our trek through the Chiloe national park. We had an amazing dinner last night (deciding to splurge on a 10$ US meal). I had the freshest Chilean sea bass with native purple potatoes and fresh veggies. It was extraordinary! I made Jon walk all over town searching for this place I´d read about in Lonely Planet. Azul Luna. Great great food! Totally worth the wait, and walk.
We had just arrived in Castro after a looong bumpy bus ride from Puerto Montt where we scoured the town for Camping equipment. We need fuel and I had my swiss army knife lost, or stolen. In a lank of treks and camping it has been impossible to find gear. We keep being pointed to shops where they specialize in just about everything, but find only a couple of tents, stylized camping clothes, lawn mowers and bikinis all in the same aisle!! Puerto Montt did not prove totally a waste of time in the pouring rain with our heavy packs...we saw el presidente del Chile, or at least the body guards and Jon bumped into a man he shared some hours with in the Sri Lanka airport years ago. Pretty amazing!
Our heads were also still full of blissful memories of Puerto Varas, the very relaxed town on the sea. We loved this place famous for german style chalets and churches. In our cozy, pine walled hostel we met Mark. He´s an ex stock broker turned Colorado river guide. We spent a few days together eagerly planning the 9 to 10 day Q trek we want to do in Torres del Paine. This trek promises extreme wind and metre deep snow and mud, so I´m happy to be sticking with two boys, one of which is experienced in dangerous situtations. We´re also hoping to do some sea kayaking with him, and life jackets!
Anyway, he´s off to run one of the top 3 rivers in the world, the futulafue (sp!!?) So we´ll meet up in a month or so....
It´s time for Jon and I to search this town for camping gear and a couple of trekking poles for me so I don´t blow away. I´m also hoping to find an alpaca sweater. We´ve already purchased 2 caps hand made for 2000 pesoes, around 3 bucks us. We´re trying our hardest to blend in, but with our lack of spanish (I´still study every day!!) and white skin, it´s proving difficult. The people are lovely and friendly though. Chile is proving to be a comfortable, safe, beautiful country to travel in.
We´ve been staying with a local famiily in their house in Castro. Our room overlooks the sea and we´ve just been stuffed with a breakfast we didn´t know we were getting!
Adios amigos y hasta pronto!
Emilia
We are currently staying in Castro for 2 nights to refuel our legs and stock up on food for our trek through the Chiloe national park. We had an amazing dinner last night (deciding to splurge on a 10$ US meal). I had the freshest Chilean sea bass with native purple potatoes and fresh veggies. It was extraordinary! I made Jon walk all over town searching for this place I´d read about in Lonely Planet. Azul Luna. Great great food! Totally worth the wait, and walk.
We had just arrived in Castro after a looong bumpy bus ride from Puerto Montt where we scoured the town for Camping equipment. We need fuel and I had my swiss army knife lost, or stolen. In a lank of treks and camping it has been impossible to find gear. We keep being pointed to shops where they specialize in just about everything, but find only a couple of tents, stylized camping clothes, lawn mowers and bikinis all in the same aisle!! Puerto Montt did not prove totally a waste of time in the pouring rain with our heavy packs...we saw el presidente del Chile, or at least the body guards and Jon bumped into a man he shared some hours with in the Sri Lanka airport years ago. Pretty amazing!
Our heads were also still full of blissful memories of Puerto Varas, the very relaxed town on the sea. We loved this place famous for german style chalets and churches. In our cozy, pine walled hostel we met Mark. He´s an ex stock broker turned Colorado river guide. We spent a few days together eagerly planning the 9 to 10 day Q trek we want to do in Torres del Paine. This trek promises extreme wind and metre deep snow and mud, so I´m happy to be sticking with two boys, one of which is experienced in dangerous situtations. We´re also hoping to do some sea kayaking with him, and life jackets!
Anyway, he´s off to run one of the top 3 rivers in the world, the futulafue (sp!!?) So we´ll meet up in a month or so....
It´s time for Jon and I to search this town for camping gear and a couple of trekking poles for me so I don´t blow away. I´m also hoping to find an alpaca sweater. We´ve already purchased 2 caps hand made for 2000 pesoes, around 3 bucks us. We´re trying our hardest to blend in, but with our lack of spanish (I´still study every day!!) and white skin, it´s proving difficult. The people are lovely and friendly though. Chile is proving to be a comfortable, safe, beautiful country to travel in.
We´ve been staying with a local famiily in their house in Castro. Our room overlooks the sea and we´ve just been stuffed with a breakfast we didn´t know we were getting!
Adios amigos y hasta pronto!
Emilia
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