Sarah & Ian's Big Southern Adventure

Sarah:

So sorry for taking so long to get this out, we've been incredibly lazy on the IT/communications front - apologies!! To ensure it isn't another 6 weeks or whatever it is till the next instalment I'll keep it brief!

If I recall correctly, Valdivia is described in the Lonely Planet guide as "probably the prettiest towns in Chile"...mmmmh, we think not! Not a great start to our visit to Chile. Other than a great fish market, the less said the better, we left very promptly. Luckily Pucon, our next stop, was much better. It is overlooked by a massive volcano, which erupts on a pretty regular basis. The last major eruption was in 1985 and killed over 30 people. Obviously the first thing we did was sign up to climb the thing- danger is our middle name. Not only is it a live volcano, it is also snow covered, clearly a perfect choice for my second trip onto snow.

Only a few companies have a license to guide people up the volcano, but there was still a long line of people making there way up the zig zag trail up to the crater. Our guide managed to get us to the front so it was a real treat to get the crater before all the crowds arrived. There was a much better view than we expected, seeing the bubbling lava was pretty cool, although the smell was a little overwhelming. The descent from the mountain was also entertaining, and it also helped to explain why we had reinforced sections in the rear of our waterproof trousers. Basically we sat on our bums and slid at high speed down some pre-cut channels in the snow using our ice axes as a brake. I had a bit of a flakey on the first section and refused to move, so I had sit piggyback with the guide - Ian is amazed at the lengths I will go to to attach myself to another man.

After this we kept things pretty tame, we did a great overnight walk in one of the national parks (which I can't spell) (Ian - Huerquehue)close to Pucon. The wildlife was really varied and things were so tame it was possible to get really close - perhaps too close in the case of the huge hairy spiders that we came across a couple of times. We later learned that the spiders in the area are among the most poisonous in South America - excellent!

After Pucon we headed down South to get into Patagonia proper. Imbetween were some pretty poor spots - if you are thinking about spending any time in Puerto Montt please think again. We struggled to find an analogy, it is kind of like the Barras market on a larger scale without the charm. The fact that we went to the cinema matinee show two days in a row (we didn't want to risk being outside outwith daylight hours) gives an indication of our despair.

Anyway moving on.... we headed to Puerto Natales to organise our trip into the Torres del Paine national park. This park was one of the main reasons why we decided to travel to South America, so our expectations were incredibly high. Thankfully we were not disappointed - superlatives were invented for this place! The mountains and glaciers were so breathtaking, I thought that Ian was going to cry on a couple of occasions. The weather makes things a bit interesting. Rather than 4 seasons in one day, it is 4 seasons in 10 minutes, and this was us visiting in late Spring/early Summer. To do a full circuit of the park takes between eight and ten days so as we only had 4 days, we did the route known as the 'W', which takes in the best of the scenery. The walking is excellent, with a good mixture of views, and well maintained paths for the majority of the trek. The only unfortunate thing about it was that both of us had stinking colds at some point during our 4 days there - not fun when you are camping in a howling gale. I can safely say that never before have I spent a birthday going to my sleeping bag at 8 o'clock (sober) in 2 layers of clothes, not having washed in warm water in 3 days, with a packet of noodles for my birthday meal. Despite feeling shocking we loved it - we will be back to do the full circuit as soon as possible.

That was the end of our Chilian travels (apart from a quick stopover in Santiago on our route to New Zealand), and we headed back to Argentina to finish our SA trip. First stop was El Calafate. It was great to be back in Argentina and EC didn't let us down. Along with the multitudes that descend here, we made the obligatory trip to the Perito Moreno glacier. Massive! The noise when a bit of ice breaks of is mental. We loved the guide's explanation that the viewing platforms were built around 20 years ago, before this, visitors could walk directly below the glacier - around 40 people were killed over 20 years...nice to know it took them 20 years to decide maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let people get so close.

We also took a trip down to El Chaltien to do a trek below Cerro Torres and Mount Fitzroy. The trek was great, but the weather was shocking it poured with rain the first day so our views were none existent. You really wouldn't have a clue that such massive mountains existed behind the thick cloud that came down. We camped at one of the basic national park sites - Ian decribes it as his coldest night ever camping. His lightweight sleeping bag did not seem such a good idea when in the morning we woke up to a snow covered campsite. Still it was beautiful to see, and we were lucky enough to see the Cara Cara birds and a fox tramp through the site picking up scraps.

After all the walking and activities we had done over the last few weeks we were delighted to reach Ushuaia (the most Southern town in the world) where we would spend 7 days in a log cabin. U isn't exactly pretty, but it has some great scenery surrounding it. We were very lazy and only made one trip in our week, to visit a penguin colony. They look so cute, however aparently they can give you a mean bite if you go too close. I just about had a canary when one jumped out of the bushes in front of me-not very cool. On the trip we met the only other Scot in the whole of our time in South America, obviously he was a nutter, apparently he was running away.. we made a quick exit.

Christmas was quite bizzare being away from home, but luckily for us a Dutch couple we met in Pucon were also in town. So we spent Christmas Eve at a party at their campsite and then they came to our cabin for Christmas day. So it was actually very enjoyable if not festive in the slightest. And that was South America!

This is a bit of a quick run through and I'm sure I've forgotten heaps - all the more to bore you with later!! If you have access to our Kodak site, Ian has put on some more photos (and if you want access send an e-mail to the hotmail address). Cheers for now xx

Ian - It would seem that shoddy journalism is worldwide. Thus far we have been really impressed by most things in Argentina but last Tuesday we were disappointed by the the innaccuracies contained in the front page story of La Cordillera, the local newspaper. We were described as Americans not Scottish! Still it was a bit unexpected to be in a newspaper at all, or maybe not after what happened the day before...

The past few weeks have been quite eventful. From Rosario we got the overnight bus to Mendoza, the heart of Argentinian wine country. We had originally planned to spend a week there however we ended up staying a bit longer. The first week was really dominated by the three M´s - Mountains, Malbec and Meat.
We managed to get a day´s trekking in which was top after indulging ourselves heavily during our time in BA and Rosario. It was only a short walk, five hours or so, but it felt great to get some fresh air. We also got our first glimpse of a condor, it was pretty far away but we are claiming it anyway. After that it was back on the wine and a trip to four of the local vineyards. We hired a guide who was a really nice young guy and spent very pleasant day sampling the best the region has to offer. The Malbec here is seriously good. Top tip: if you come across any wines (particularly the Torrontes, a white)from the Alta Vista winery get some. The next day we got on an excursion to see Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. It was a long day and we were cramped up in the back of a minibus but the summit was clear when we got to the viewpoint and she is a beautiful mountain. Unfortunately it wasnt exactly a total mountain experience as we had to share the viewpoint with about 30 other people.
Another thing to tick off the list was Parillada - very popular in Argentina it is basically barbequed offal and a selection of other meats. We werent convinced that it was the best quality that Mendoza had to offer but it wasnt too bad although the kidneys were a bit fatty. That said the intestines were pretty tasty and the black pudding was nice if a bit undercooked by our standards. Still, spicy sauce covers a multitude of sins.

Sarah - We decided after a few interesting moments in the first couple of weeks that our Spanish just wasn´t good enough. So we duly signed ourselves up for 20 hours with a tutor. 20 hours doesn´t seem like much but we were knackered, not much else was done this week. Yanina, our tutor, was brilliant, as I´m sure we were pretty high maintenance students. Ian used his naturual ability and creativity to great effect by managing to consistently but unintentionally find the most offensive phrases in castellano. A small piece of advice, don´t say ¨yo soy caliente¨ whilst in South America, you are likely either to get a slap or some serious attention from the opposite sex - then again maybe you would want to use that phrase. Despite my conscencious efforts, enough for Yanina to describe me as Lisa Simpson, I remain spanishly challenged. However, if you need any spanish verbs conjugated I´m your woman. After that we began our bus marathon. First we caught the 17 hour overnight bus to Salta, the next day we spent 10 hours in a minibus on an excursion, the day after we spent 14 hours in a minibus on another excursion. The following afternoon we caught the 17 bus back to Mendoza arriving in about 10 am the following day, that night we caught the 19 hour bus to Barlioche, gateway to Argentinian Patagonia.
Anyway a very quick run down on Salta - it is relatively close to the Bolvian border, so much more desert like. The rocky landscape is amazing, having been eroded into lots of weird and wonderful shapes. The colours set against the glorious blue sky are something to behold. We reached some pretty high heights up heere, the hightest bit of the road around 4200 metres. It really takes a lot of out of you at these heights. A short walk about to visit some ruins left us knackered. Given the high altitude, the authorities are slightly more relaxed about the local´s use of Coca. There are loads of signs openly advertising the sale of it throughout the area. Despite this, we politely declined when offered some by a shady looking chap in a cafe, as we decided our budget could stretch a little more than an Argentian prison.
After the mamouth bus journeys we couldn´t wait to reach Bariloche and do lots of walking etc. Bariloche gets a bit of abuse in the guidebooks for being super touristy. Okay there are a few chocolate shops and dodgey gnomes in town but you just cannot deny the beauty of its position on the lake surrounded on all sides by snow topped mountains. We were lucky enough to have a great view of all this from our hostel.
We took a boat trip to one of the national parks in the area, and walked around a couple of the islands - fantastic. We then decided it would be a great experience to spend a couple of nights in the mountains. Decent maps are hard to find and there is still quite a bit of snow on the hills, so we played it safe and hired a guide for a 3 day trek, and here our interesting experience started...
Day one was great, a nice short day trekking over pretty straightforward terrain and the scenery yet again was gorgeous. Our guide, Nahuel, was a great guy and helped point out all the local sights. We reached Refugio Frey around 2pm, leaving plenty of time to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the trully outstanding views of the wee frozen lochan and the Cerro Cathedral range around the refugio, watching the rock climbers and snow boarders having fun. The accomodation was quite basic, just a couple of rooms with sleeping platforms and mattresses for around 20 in each room. However, the food was great and it was clean - so perfect after a days walking.
I was a little nervous about day two, as it was to involve traversing the lake and crossing over a col (the low point or pass on a ridge for all you non-mountaineering types)through the snow. We had asked beforehand whether boots and crampons, or snow shoes, would be required but were assured by various people this was unnecessary. So off we set at 7.30am, Nahuel, said it would be a couple of hours or so in the snow then the rest of the day would be normal trekking. It was quite blusttery and at around 1700 metres there was definitely a strong chill in the air, I was very glad of my thermals! The first steps onto the snow it didn´t feel right. The sun hadn´t reached the slopes as yet so it was like walking on ice. Without crampons or an ice axe and carrying a reasonably heavy pack it was tough keeping balanced. We were on a track made the day before which made the going a little easier, but the strides were wide and often we were going up to our thighs in the snow, it was exhausting. Ian clearly wasn´t happy either as he was talking me through almost every step and even asked the guide whether he thought it was okay, whilst trying to remain chirpy so not to alarm me. Nahuel was really relaxed though and said of course it was okay. We made good, if tiring, progress up the slope to reach the col. About 250 metres up this slope, Nahuel dropped his glove off the trail but only about 10 metres below. I was right behind him so he told me to wait at some rocks while he retrieved it. I literally had turned my head a few seconds to climb onto the rocks when Ian shouted to me to check I was okay. Nahuel had lost control and fallen the 250 metres back down to the lake, hitting a couple of sets of rock on the way. As you can imagine we were horrified. Thankfully he started moving after a couple of minutes but he was clearly in bad shape. One couple was about 100 metres behind us on the slope, also without crampons (they had been assured by the locals that they wouldnt need them), and another couple down at the lake, made their way to help Nahuel. It took us about 45 mins to get back down as we were so careful not to make the same mistake. One of the couples went back to the refugio to get help - so we had to carry him back to the refugio on a strecher across the snow. I only managed about 5 mins and my biceps started screaming, defintely need to do some more weights, but Ian helped carry him the whole way which took about 45 mins. Unbelievably Nahuel was relatively okay. He was covered in cuts and burns from the snow, had a twisted ankle, and some badly bruised ribs and back, but it so easily could have been much worse.
Anyway the national park rescue team were called and we were told we would have to go with them. They don´t have a helicopter, so they had to carry him on a strecher back down the hill. Normally the descent route we took takes around 2.5 hours, it only took the team 4 hours to get down - amazing guys, hard as nails. To end off this excitment we got a lift on the rescue speedboat across the lake - it was somewhat surreal crossing the lake at high speed in the dark, speaking in halting spanish to the speedboat driver who was asking about the loch ness monster. And so it was that we made the front page of the newspapers the next day, just an average day in the hills really...

We are now in Chile, we´ll try to make the next installment a little sooner.

To be honest, our memories of writing the first entry are a bit hazy which I suppose was down to the jet lag rather than the cerveza - aye right. Anyway, we woke up the following morning in Buenos Aires and it sunk in that we really were here. We took a stroll round the neighbourhood of Palermo Soho and were exremely impressed; full of posh clothing shops (which were it not for the lack of space in her rucksack Sarah would have reduced our budget considerably)and stylish bars (where you get your money´s worth - one Mojito and you are a grinning idiot). Over the next couple of days we put in a lot of miles on foot around the city walking through visiting the parks, main shopping areas and historic monuments - Recoletta Cemetry, Plaza de Mayo, Puerto Madero.

We also had the opportunity to view politics South American style in action, with a demonstration through the main square (where Evita etc did her speeches) thankfully we managed not to get involved, but great people watching. Overall we were seriously impressed with Buenos Aires, it is very noisy in the city centre and the exhaust fumes catch the back of your throat a bit but the locals are very welcoming and have none of the attitude that you associate with a city of its size (Londoners please take note).
We were pretty sorry to be leaving come Saturday but we had booked our accomodation in Rosario. To get to there involved getting a bus and those of you who know us understand that we have quite strong feelings about buses i.e. we would rather walk. When we got to Buenos Aires bus station it looked a lot like any other bus station we have had the misfortune of being at - dusty and smelly - however once on board we were immediately converted to this form of transport (in Argentina at least); seats more comfortable than we have ever had at home and no sign of any ned / chav types whatsoever.
We felt a bit sorry for Rosario becasuse it always had a very tough job living up to Buenos Aires in our minds. The hostel we stayed at was basic but clean enough (Ian - I´m not sure Sarah would accept anything more basic). We headed into town in the evening for something to eat and a few drinks and struggled to find any decent looking restaurants. Instead we came across a festival celebrating the various immigrant nationalities in Argentina. So there it was the two of us eating Iranian veal kebabs in Argentina surrounded by schoolchildren dressed in Greek national costume and Libyan belly dancers - bizarre to say the least. We headed back to the hostel after sinking a bottle of wine in some sort of chain pub, having been unable to find any decent watering holes. To our delight the hostel had turned in to a very lively boozer, a total result. So we finished off the evening sharing a couple of Quilmes (Argentinian beer) with Hernan, one of the hostel owners who is a big fan of British music.
Sunday was a right off in terms of the weather as it tipped it down for most of the day. So as now experienced world travellers we decided to follow the locals by example by going to a large shopping mall come leisure complex, eating fast food and watching Miami Vice at the cinema. Ray Mears eat you heart out.
On Monday we got a proper look round Rosario, the highlight of which is the Memorial to the National Flag. This is a huge monument which looks like something Stalin would have had designed. The Argentinians are a very proud lot.

In the evening we left Rosario on the 12 hour overnight bus to Mendoza - we told you we had turned into bus fans!

After many months of planning we are finally here. Arrived in Buenos Aires at 1500 GMT this afternoon. The flights were pretty gruelling; door to door took us 30 hours, no signs of DVT yet but it could well be in the post. After an entertaining taxi ride during which the driver attempted to teach me a new type of handshake whilst still driving (I was in the back seat!)we checked in to our very chic hotel - we are being easy on ourselves for the first few days. Just grabbed a bite to eat and a few beers, a long sleep now beckons...
Ian.