We left El Calafate and headed via bus to a one night visit in Puerto Natales, Chile. The ride was six hours and pretty uneventful. Leaving El Calafate the land becomes a dry empty space on either side of the road. There is nothing to see for miles except fences and the occasional grouping of cows of sheep. This similar view extends for miles and hours. Therefore, we kicked back listened to music and nuzzled into a good book.
The best way to cross the boarder is via bus, because apparently in the airport you get charged $50-100 US for an entry charge. Via bus all that took place was a question if we are brining in food (fruit specifically) and a stamp in the passport. It was pretty quick and smooth. They did not even check our luggage on the bus. An hour after the boarder we rolled into our hotel for the night.
Immediately we were surprised at the cost differential between Argentina and Chile. The other surprise which we did not come to realize until our second day traveling in Chile, was that Chilean Peso price noted in our guide book had greatly changed since the books publication two years ago. We were working off of a 700 : 1 exchange, when in actuality it was 500 : 1. With our sudden realization, we ended up feeling like Argentina was that much more of a deal. As far as cost was concerned, traveling in Chile was similar to traveling in the US. A decent hotel for the night would cost $60-100 a night easily. I guess the US is still a little more expensive, but relative to Argentina we were a little caught off guard. Right now, in South America, Chile is considered to have the strongest economy.
Chile surprised us though. We had read in our guide book about the excellent seafood, but bland preparations. We had also read that Chile, was not as prepared for Tourism like Argentina. The thing that was most striking from leaving Argentina and traveling in Chile, was the contrast in lifestyle. While the Chilean's have the strongest economy, they live a simple frugal lifestyle. We suspect this is due to the fact that over the years their economy has been steadily improving and their wealth is not associated with great fluctuations like Argentina. The Argentines on the other hand live life on the high horse. They eat out at extravagant restaurants, go out to dance clubs and bars, have stylish clothes, have interesting architecture and infrastructure, and do lots of traveling. The Argentines are a people of the street. They leave their houses and engage with the world around them, while the Chileans tend to be people who stay inside. The family is of utmost importance and the lifestyle lends itself to staying inside and saving up money. I can only speak of the life outside of Santiago, since we never made it there.
At one point the Argentines were considered to be one of the Economic powers of the world. There was a time when Argentina's economy was on par with the US (in the 1920's Argentina was the world's seventh strongest economic power). It is amazing to think of such a major shift in a short period of time. These scars of being great and the decline are still present on the Argentine psyche. Regardless, the people really live to the fullest and believe the beauty of life and community.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
10,000 year ice
Check out this incredible glacial blue ice. This if from thousands of years of snow, ice, and pressure. It lost most of the oxygen and formed a denser type of ice that reflects blue with sun refraction. Pretty incredible stuff. This was a iceberg floating near the San Rafeal Glacier in Chile. An amazing site. We were floating in a Zodiac boat zipping by here. 
Torres del Paine
I mean look at this place! It is incredible. This was our first day visiting the park. While at Torres Del Paine, we stayed at one of the nicest hotels during our trip. Hotel Explora is located within the park boundaries and tries to maintain a low profile/impact on the park. The stay was a gift from our parents. After spending all day hiking 
in the park, you come back to an amazing dinner and a very cozy room. This was the view we had from our bedroom. Even when you sat on the toilet you could see this view. One of the better jops I have ever used... 
in the park, you come back to an amazing dinner and a very cozy room. This was the view we had from our bedroom. Even when you sat on the toilet you could see this view. One of the better jops I have ever used...
Sunday, December 25, 2005
H2O
Water has been a major theme throughout all our travels. We have seen lots of lakes, frozen glaciers and even drank from many rivers and waterfalls in Torres del Paine. Last night as we toasted Christmas eve and the beauty of the lake district with the hotel owner, we got into a long discussion about the next limited resource of the world - WATER.
The hotel owner, Anibal, in Bariloche was a bit tipsy when we asked for a cup of wine. Laura actually just wanted one cup. Anibal looked around the bar and could only offer us liquor. When he realized we were interested in wine, in a loud voice, he said VINO and then went ahhhh! He left the bar and headed to the private area of the hotel where he and his family live. He came back with two glasses and a bottle of white wine that he claimed was very good. We only wanted one cup, but he insisted on pouring us two and leaving the bottle. This was not a matter of poor Spanish, but rather his already inebriated state. After pouring the two glasses, we invited him to join us. Little did we know that he would then offer his monologue on the politics of water.
This was not the first time during our Patagonian travels that water was the focus of conversation. In fact, during our tour of the Perrito Moreno glacier in El Calafate, our guide talked about how scientists were measuring the glacier to note if it was receding at a rate faster than it should, due to global warming. Ultimately, we learned that in fact the world is in a glacial period where all glaciers should be receding. Therefore, it is not a concern that they are shrinking. The concern stems from the rate at which it is happening. Still scientists argue over the topic and there is no clear conclusion. Regardless, our guide emphasized, that whether the rate of recession was too high or normal it is important in the world to conserve water. The world is something like 85% water. Of this 85% there is something like 2-3% of fresh water. Much of this fresh water is contained in the various glaciers of the world. The other are in lakes and streams, of which many have been polluted and contaminated. Therefore, simple acts in everyday life, like deciding not to wash your car every week/day or to water the lawn, etc...in the long run can make a difference. His was a message of conservation and the importance of water.
Anibal on the other hand spoke of the politics of water. His discussion focused on the power of the US. His point was that currently we are in a phase of fighting over oil = Iraq. This is no revelation. But, the next wars and power will be fought over fresh water. Argentina is filled with clean fresh water resources, from large deep lakes, to giant systems of glaciers. He also mentioned that the US was talking with Argentina about buying water. He joked about the power of the US. That if the US wanted water all they really needed to do was demand it, and any country would agree. If a country did not agree then he surmised a war would happen and the US would bully its way to the water. Therefore, to avoid the big bully anyone would agree. Not a very favorable view of the US, but most likely a realistic one.
Then he told us something that seemed implausible (mind you the whole time he was drunk and getting drunker). He said that Japan a couple of years ago had bought a chunk of a glacier from Argentina. They brought a huge cargo ship, filled it with the 10,000 year old glacial ice and then shipped it across the ocean. If this is true, this is ridiculous. Who has the right to sell a chunk of a 10,000 year old glacier? I understand that there are millions of people in Japan and that it is a small country with limited resources, but come on...shipping a chuck of a glacier across a salty ocean...WOW. So I researched it and found absolutely nothing on googol and major new sites. So, who knows...this might just be one drunk man's conspiracy theories. Regardless, with the world's need for fresh water, something like this may not be far off.
In my search an interesting site came up: http://www.worldwaterwars.com/
Water is vital and so many of us do not drink enough. It helps us think cleared and our body/organs function properly. Therefore, drink lots, but waste not.
The wine he shared with us was pretty good and regardless of the truth of Anibals words, the conversation was thought provoking.
The hotel owner, Anibal, in Bariloche was a bit tipsy when we asked for a cup of wine. Laura actually just wanted one cup. Anibal looked around the bar and could only offer us liquor. When he realized we were interested in wine, in a loud voice, he said VINO and then went ahhhh! He left the bar and headed to the private area of the hotel where he and his family live. He came back with two glasses and a bottle of white wine that he claimed was very good. We only wanted one cup, but he insisted on pouring us two and leaving the bottle. This was not a matter of poor Spanish, but rather his already inebriated state. After pouring the two glasses, we invited him to join us. Little did we know that he would then offer his monologue on the politics of water.
This was not the first time during our Patagonian travels that water was the focus of conversation. In fact, during our tour of the Perrito Moreno glacier in El Calafate, our guide talked about how scientists were measuring the glacier to note if it was receding at a rate faster than it should, due to global warming. Ultimately, we learned that in fact the world is in a glacial period where all glaciers should be receding. Therefore, it is not a concern that they are shrinking. The concern stems from the rate at which it is happening. Still scientists argue over the topic and there is no clear conclusion. Regardless, our guide emphasized, that whether the rate of recession was too high or normal it is important in the world to conserve water. The world is something like 85% water. Of this 85% there is something like 2-3% of fresh water. Much of this fresh water is contained in the various glaciers of the world. The other are in lakes and streams, of which many have been polluted and contaminated. Therefore, simple acts in everyday life, like deciding not to wash your car every week/day or to water the lawn, etc...in the long run can make a difference. His was a message of conservation and the importance of water.
Anibal on the other hand spoke of the politics of water. His discussion focused on the power of the US. His point was that currently we are in a phase of fighting over oil = Iraq. This is no revelation. But, the next wars and power will be fought over fresh water. Argentina is filled with clean fresh water resources, from large deep lakes, to giant systems of glaciers. He also mentioned that the US was talking with Argentina about buying water. He joked about the power of the US. That if the US wanted water all they really needed to do was demand it, and any country would agree. If a country did not agree then he surmised a war would happen and the US would bully its way to the water. Therefore, to avoid the big bully anyone would agree. Not a very favorable view of the US, but most likely a realistic one.
Then he told us something that seemed implausible (mind you the whole time he was drunk and getting drunker). He said that Japan a couple of years ago had bought a chunk of a glacier from Argentina. They brought a huge cargo ship, filled it with the 10,000 year old glacial ice and then shipped it across the ocean. If this is true, this is ridiculous. Who has the right to sell a chunk of a 10,000 year old glacier? I understand that there are millions of people in Japan and that it is a small country with limited resources, but come on...shipping a chuck of a glacier across a salty ocean...WOW. So I researched it and found absolutely nothing on googol and major new sites. So, who knows...this might just be one drunk man's conspiracy theories. Regardless, with the world's need for fresh water, something like this may not be far off.
In my search an interesting site came up: http://www.worldwaterwars.com/
Water is vital and so many of us do not drink enough. It helps us think cleared and our body/organs function properly. Therefore, drink lots, but waste not.
The wine he shared with us was pretty good and regardless of the truth of Anibals words, the conversation was thought provoking.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
El Calafate _ Patagonia
This is the name of a the second destination we visited. It also refers to a berry, similar to a blueberry, that makes yummy jam. The reason we headed to El Calafate was to visit Argentina's second most famous site - the Perrito Moreno Glacier. This glacier is part of the Southern Glacial system that are high up in the Andes. It is one of the most impressive, because to arrive there all you need to do is drive and walk a very short distance. There are not many glaciers in the world that you can access so easily. Most require a flight, a boat ride, or a long hike. Therefore, lots of tourist hit up this spot.
Unfortunately the town of El Calafate only exists because of the glacier. Therefore, the downtown strip is one tshirt/tour shop/Internet place after another. Also the prices are much higher than in Buenos Aires. Regardless the journey is worth it. We flew from Buenos Aires after four days to arrive to El Calafate. It was a long flight, because the Argentina is the fifth largest country in the world and El Calafate is a very southern Patagonian city. Where as Buenos Aires is pretty far north.
This also means we were near Antartica where the Ozone layer has vanished. Therefore, lots of sunscreen was required. Since a glacier reflect tons of sunlight, even while wearing 45 SPF I got a slight burn. I guess I needed to re-apply. Luckily Laura who tends to burn did re-apply.
The glacier is spectacular. I shoots down a mountain side and ends in a large lake. The lake has turned turquoise due to the glacier. They call is glacial milk. What happens is when the glacier mass moves over the earth, it slowly churns up minerals from the rock which deposit into the lakes. When the sun reflects off of the glacial milk, gorgeous colors of light blue to dark green are reflected. We took lots of picks and will share them on Flickr upon our return.
We stayed in a chill spot called Blanco Patagonia. It was slightly removed from the touristy downtown and we had our own cabin for less than $50 a night. El Calafate was chill and gorgeous, but it was not until we reached Chile three days later that we were in for the real treat, National Park Torres del Paine. This place is fantastic and is up there with some of the best national parks I have ever visited. In an upcoming blog I will share more about our visit there. Hope all is well and people are getting excited about the holiday break coming up.
Unfortunately the town of El Calafate only exists because of the glacier. Therefore, the downtown strip is one tshirt/tour shop/Internet place after another. Also the prices are much higher than in Buenos Aires. Regardless the journey is worth it. We flew from Buenos Aires after four days to arrive to El Calafate. It was a long flight, because the Argentina is the fifth largest country in the world and El Calafate is a very southern Patagonian city. Where as Buenos Aires is pretty far north.
This also means we were near Antartica where the Ozone layer has vanished. Therefore, lots of sunscreen was required. Since a glacier reflect tons of sunlight, even while wearing 45 SPF I got a slight burn. I guess I needed to re-apply. Luckily Laura who tends to burn did re-apply.
The glacier is spectacular. I shoots down a mountain side and ends in a large lake. The lake has turned turquoise due to the glacier. They call is glacial milk. What happens is when the glacier mass moves over the earth, it slowly churns up minerals from the rock which deposit into the lakes. When the sun reflects off of the glacial milk, gorgeous colors of light blue to dark green are reflected. We took lots of picks and will share them on Flickr upon our return.
We stayed in a chill spot called Blanco Patagonia. It was slightly removed from the touristy downtown and we had our own cabin for less than $50 a night. El Calafate was chill and gorgeous, but it was not until we reached Chile three days later that we were in for the real treat, National Park Torres del Paine. This place is fantastic and is up there with some of the best national parks I have ever visited. In an upcoming blog I will share more about our visit there. Hope all is well and people are getting excited about the holiday break coming up.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Soccer - Futbol - River vs. Racing
The stands shook as we took in our first Argentine Soccer game. I had researched the games and was really hoping to see the national championship game between Independent and the Boca Juniors. Unfortunately the game was postponed to the following week when we would be in El Calafate. So we settled for a minor game where one of the better national team (River La plata) played Racing. Both teams were from the Buenos Aires area.
Even though this game was not for the national championship, it was amazing to see how the fanatic fans turned out and got majorly pumped for the game and during the match. We got to see some excellent and aggressive soccer. Since the teams are from Buenos Aires they have quite a rivalry still. The game ended in a tie and we saw two nicely scored goals.
Upon leaving the stadium to avoid any fights or violence, the away team was let out first. Since we sat in the home section, we had to wait behind a locked fence as the River team fans headed to their cars and home. It was a cool experience....
Even though this game was not for the national championship, it was amazing to see how the fanatic fans turned out and got majorly pumped for the game and during the match. We got to see some excellent and aggressive soccer. Since the teams are from Buenos Aires they have quite a rivalry still. The game ended in a tie and we saw two nicely scored goals.
Upon leaving the stadium to avoid any fights or violence, the away team was let out first. Since we sat in the home section, we had to wait behind a locked fence as the River team fans headed to their cars and home. It was a cool experience....
Dinner for two in BA
Buenos Aires
Awesome city! WE arrived to this great place as the launching off point to our backpacking wanderlust type of a honeymoon. Not your tipical all inclusive sit on a beach type of a trip. Funny thing during some of the more challenging points of this journey we have gotten a glimpse of understanding as to why honeymooners like to have it all prearranged and simply veg out on a beach. Regardless, neither Laura nor, I would have planned things otherwise. Ultimately our travels have been pretty smooth and very interesting.
It took us a couple of days to reset our clocks to the 5 hour time change. We were also working off the stressful last week of work. What do you know, Laura got sick shortly after getting to Buenos Aires. I got her cold by the time we were in Chile. Nothing too serious, just sniffles and a cough.
The dollar goes very far in Argentina and the lifestyle is excellent. In Buenos Aires we wandered cool and interesting neighborhoods, went to a soccer game where the stands shook with the fans enthusiasm, checked out a Latin American art museum and visited the Great synagogue of Buenos Aires. It was the first synagogue in South America. Buenos Aires and Argentina have quite a large Jewish population. Oddly enough it is also one of the countries where many of the Nazis took refuge after the war.
Most importantly, Laura and I ate sensational meals. Some of the best food and atmospheres we had ever experienced. We went to a new restaurant each day for dinner. A bottle of wine and a full meal costs about $30-$45 at the nicer restaurants. We varied our spending, but definitely checked out some good spots. The Argentines have an eating out culture. Going to dinner is an experience. Dinner usually starts anywhere from 9pm-11pm and can last until 2am. There were no shortage of restaurants and late night eateries. People sit at their tables and chat over a bottle of wine and appetizer for hours. We tried to fit in, but are so accustomed to our fast US life, where as you are still finishing your last bites, you are asking for the check. Argentines, on the other had may sit at their table and chat after the meal. We also tended to be the first people in the restaurants choosing to eat around 8 or 9pm. It felt odd, that no one was eating at the tables next to us, but by the time we finished and paid, all the tables were usually full.
Then we would walk home through the calm safe neighborhood we were staying in to our cozy hotel.
Awesome city! WE arrived to this great place as the launching off point to our backpacking wanderlust type of a honeymoon. Not your tipical all inclusive sit on a beach type of a trip. Funny thing during some of the more challenging points of this journey we have gotten a glimpse of understanding as to why honeymooners like to have it all prearranged and simply veg out on a beach. Regardless, neither Laura nor, I would have planned things otherwise. Ultimately our travels have been pretty smooth and very interesting.
It took us a couple of days to reset our clocks to the 5 hour time change. We were also working off the stressful last week of work. What do you know, Laura got sick shortly after getting to Buenos Aires. I got her cold by the time we were in Chile. Nothing too serious, just sniffles and a cough.
The dollar goes very far in Argentina and the lifestyle is excellent. In Buenos Aires we wandered cool and interesting neighborhoods, went to a soccer game where the stands shook with the fans enthusiasm, checked out a Latin American art museum and visited the Great synagogue of Buenos Aires. It was the first synagogue in South America. Buenos Aires and Argentina have quite a large Jewish population. Oddly enough it is also one of the countries where many of the Nazis took refuge after the war.
Most importantly, Laura and I ate sensational meals. Some of the best food and atmospheres we had ever experienced. We went to a new restaurant each day for dinner. A bottle of wine and a full meal costs about $30-$45 at the nicer restaurants. We varied our spending, but definitely checked out some good spots. The Argentines have an eating out culture. Going to dinner is an experience. Dinner usually starts anywhere from 9pm-11pm and can last until 2am. There were no shortage of restaurants and late night eateries. People sit at their tables and chat over a bottle of wine and appetizer for hours. We tried to fit in, but are so accustomed to our fast US life, where as you are still finishing your last bites, you are asking for the check. Argentines, on the other had may sit at their table and chat after the meal. We also tended to be the first people in the restaurants choosing to eat around 8 or 9pm. It felt odd, that no one was eating at the tables next to us, but by the time we finished and paid, all the tables were usually full.
Then we would walk home through the calm safe neighborhood we were staying in to our cozy hotel.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
La familia Chilena
We left Puerto Aysen and headed back to Coyahaique. Still not knowing much about the city, we headed back to the bible store/cyber place. As soon as I walked in with my large backpack on, the man at the register asked if we wanted a place to stay for the night. It must have been around 3pm so we still had a good portion of the day ahead of us. We went for the offer site unseen. We also neglected to ask about the price. Oppps, a big travelers no no. Luckily this was not an issue. We ended up getting quoted the cheapest of all the rates we had seen in all our travels. As one might suspect, cheap accommodations translates to poor facilities. This did turn out to be true. It was Sunday and we had not eaten in some time so we decided to leave the bible bookstore and head for food. We wandered the streets for over an hour and checked out 6 different restaurants. All closed. Sunday in Chile also means many places are closed, even in a fairly tourist location. Finally we found one restaurant open and ate an over priced meal. Laura, who many of you know, can devour books. She has already read 3 and a half books and two New Yorkers. Therefore, we were also in search of her next literary kill. Luckily we found an open liberia (bookstore). Funny thing is the bookstores in Chile and Argentina do not always have books. Many of them turn out to be places to buy work/school supplies, like pens and notebooks. This one did have books, but a small collection. All of them were in Spanish. While we can both read Spanish, while on vacation, something in English was definitely preferred. Then ended up having one book in English, "A Brief History of Chile". We passed and continued the hunt. In the store we encountered two of the sweetest elderly people. They were the owners and were sad to see us leave empty handed so they filled us with information about restaurants in Coyahaique. I now know what restaurants are good, where they are located and which ones to avoid. Apparently then Samoan restaurant is dangerous and should be avoided. Truthfully, I am not sure I can recall all the directions. They were given to us all at once in Spanish and without a map. When checked back into the Bible bookstore and headed to our home for the night. It was now 9pm or so. The house was about a half a mile out of town in a heighboorhood that looked nice. We walked into the house and the family we were staying with was entertaining guests from the country side. Not wanting to interrupt their dinner, we headed up very steep and narrow wooden stairs to our soon to be home for the night. The stairs had no railing and one false move or shift in backpack weight and we would be gonners. Also some of the small steps that just would barely fit my size 12 feet were duct taped together. Thankfully neither of us fell. What we thought was going to be a brief interruption did not end there. The father of the family handed us two glasses of Fanta orange drink. We sat and talked with the 6 people around the table. The typical questions came up, like where have you been, where are you from, do you like our country...After we pleased them with all our glowing answers there was a brief lull in the conversation. Four of the guests decided it was time to leave and head back to the countryside. The next day he was at work when we woke up. He had been a heavy machine worker in construction, but lost his job. Now he drives a taxi and aspires to run tours. As we were having breakfast, his taxi pulled up to the door and he made a special trip to see us off before we caught our transfer.... |
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Lupin in Puerto Aisen
The road from Coihaique to Puerto Aisen is a magical event. Coihaique the capital of the region is situated in a pleasant valley near Rio Coihaique. The drive is a continual downward approach to reach Puerto Aisen. You start off by crossing over a small bridge that goes of the Rio Coihaique and then continue onward through a valley. As you go down in elevation the valley widens and a river is revealed. This is the Rio Aisen that we will follow all the way to the town and port. Along the sides of the roads blooms of yellow, white and purple flowers are fill our surroundings like a carpet. Then the bus slows down and we go over an unpaved part of the road. It lasts for a minute and we reach a tunnel. On the other side the valley opens up even further. We see hills on either side with little waterfalls and the river down below in the valley. Our jaws drop as we taken in the purple Lupin flowers that take over the banks of the river where one would expect to see grass.
It was such a fantastic trip and a beautiful sunny day. Once we got to town we learned of a free classical music concert (the local university symphony was touring local towns) that was being held in the church next to the town´s plaza. We walked 10 blocks until we found the spot and happily set our bags down in the church as we relaxed to an hour of a variety of classical music. They even played Vivaldi's four seasons. It was a niceaccompanimentt to thegorgeouss bus ride.
It was such a fantastic trip and a beautiful sunny day. Once we got to town we learned of a free classical music concert (the local university symphony was touring local towns) that was being held in the church next to the town´s plaza. We walked 10 blocks until we found the spot and happily set our bags down in the church as we relaxed to an hour of a variety of classical music. They even played Vivaldi's four seasons. It was a niceaccompanimentt to thegorgeouss bus ride.
Friday, December 16, 2005
The final count down...
Yes, we have arrived....The American music that is played in minivans and different locations is at times quite amusing. We just finished listening to the final count down, a very cheesy song from the 80´s. Laura asked a policeman if there was asynagoguee in Coihaique. He looked at her in a strange way and then laughed saying no. We left him and ended up here in a Cyber cafe that happens to be situated in a Christian biblical store. Thankfully they are playing the final count down and have FAST computers. An Israelis and Kiwi are typing next to us and sharing advice.....CIAO
Careterra Austral, Chile
Today, we arrived to the second most southernly region of Chile - Aisen where one can find the Careterra Austral. The city that we flew into is called Balmaceda, but it is a 30 minute drive from the main city. We got stuffed into a minivan with 11 other people and flew off to the city. Bags on top, straps a flapping we traversed over magnificent terrain. There was nothing but farms and open road. The trip to the town Coihaique took us through snow capped mountains, green fields and hills and roadsides filled with purple, yellow, and pink flowers. It was truly awe inspiring. The transfer dropped us off at the Sernatur office (the regional tourist headquarters). As we waited to get information I ran to their bathroom. Unfortunately, I had not asked if it would be alright and the young girl behind the counter reprimanded me and told me to head to the public bathroom in the plaza de armas (central park). I was thankful with the outcome though. The bathrooms were nice and I ended up walking the park to get a sense of the town. Laura got information from the girl there. She turned out to be really nice. I got in her good graces when I presented Laura with a fallen rose I found outside the tourist office. More to come soon. I will also attempt to catch up on other things that have happened during our travels.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
