Tag: Patagonia

Unexpected events in Ushuaia…

by Gary Patrick Brown, posted in Argentina, South America, Ushuaia & Patagonia

Our journey into the Argentinean part of Patagonia didn’t have the most auspicious of starts. While on our way to see the Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) our truck got bogged in loose rocks while driving off-road. We had sandboards to wedge under the wheels but rocks needed to be moved from around each wheel first, a back-breaking and boring task. While most of the men and one woman helped shovel, the designated cook group for that day, which included me, set about preparing a hearty soup for lunch. The only problem was the biting Patagonian wind which blew out the gas flame time and time again. After three hours, the truck was finally moving again and we served something resembling a stew. Thankfully, nobody cared, we were all just happy not to be sleeping on the truck in the middle of nowhere that night! The majority of our trip through Patagonia saw us camping at night, either in the bush or at basic campsites. For me, it was one of the highlights of the trip. I’ve been lucky enough to share a tent with two awesome Aussie guys, and since they departed, I’ve been kept entertained by Sandrine, our resident Frenchie who has lived in the UK for the past twenty years. Not that you’d know it from her thick francophone accent.

We proceeded along legendary Ruta 40 and crossed the Magellan straits over to the island of Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), a territory that is divided between Chile and Argentina. In my humble opinion it is terribly misnomered as it was rainy and grey, but despite this, I was very excited to arrive in the port town of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.

City may be stretching it a little given that there only seems to be one main street in the town, however it did include a bowling alley so I was very happy and not just because it gives me an excuse to use this gif.

Before we could go bowling, or do anything else for that matter, I had to urgently visit the laundromat as I was perilously close to running out of clean pants (read ‘underwear’ if you’re in the US) and, I’m ashamed to say, not for the first time on this trip. Unfortunately the owner of the joint didn’t share my sense of urgency, turning up 40 minutes after the place opened according to the signage in the window, but all’s well that ends well. Except it didn’t end well. Later that night, a few of us went out for some drinks, while others went out for, let’s just say, more than some. One, a 75 year old American who has been on the tour from the beginning of my journey in Quito, couldn’t make it into bed at 0230 without some assistance from one of the other boys in the dorm room. Having fallen back asleep, we were all woken up a couple of hours later by the ear-splitting shrieks from a group of Israeli girls staying in a room on the same floor. For some reason, the American had entered their room, from where we could hear him repeatedly say “you’re all going to die tonight” which was followed a few minutes later by “I’m going to kill someone tonight”. Needless to say, the girls were extremely frightened and the situation was exacerbated by the small fact that he was naked from the waist down! A couple of people tried to get him away from the girls’ room, while we tried to locate his underwear. Understandably, the girls called the police and the American was no longer allowed in the hostel. He did, however, much to my surprise, rejoin our tour a couple of days later.

When you’re woken at 0430, there’s not much else to do but watch the sunrise over the harbour.

After that drama, a group of us decided to spend the day serenely sailing on the Beagle Channel where the only thing we would face were cute king penguins and sea lions. It was so relaxing being out on the water, and the weather played ball for us too, the warming sunshine and stunning scenery making me once again think about how lucky I am to be on this trip.

Leaving Ushuaia we crossed back into Chile to visit Torres Del Paine (separate blog post here), before spending the next few days working our way up through Argentinean Patagonia, via El Calafate, where we saw the incredible Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the very few in the world which is still advancing. It’s a breathtaking sight and we were lucky enough to witness a massive carving while we were there, the aftermath of which you can see by clicking here. I also got to feed a baby goat for some reason.

The consecutive 12-hour drive days through this region of Argentina were tough; camping in the wild, cooking on gas stoves with the unrelenting wind, and a temperature which increased from 3° to 34° in a matter of days as we drove north, leaving behind the mountains for a flat pampas-covered landscape.

I was delighted to stop in Gaiman (stop sniggering at the back!), a Welsh-speaking enclave where we scoffed a delicious cream tea, and nearby Puerto Madryn, a small seaside resort which offered snorkelling with sea lions. I tried snorkelling once before in Croatia and lasted all of three minutes, panicking as I felt like I was being smothered, but I really wanted to conquer this mountain and with the help of some friends who came with me, I ended up having one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I’d love to come back in March when you can see orcas beaching themselves nearby while hunting. I’ve seen it on television and it’s incredible.

As we approach Buenos Aires, I’m looking forward to having a week by myself. I have met many lovely people on this trip over the last four months, some of whom have become good friends. But the combination of long drive days in confined spaces with certain ‘personalities’ and lots of group activities mean I’m craving some alone time, something I won’t get when I get beck to Amsterdam in a few days time.

Blown away in Patagonia…

by Gary Patrick Brown, posted in Chile, Patagonia, South America

We re-entered Chile for the last time, where the process would’ve gone much quicker had there not been the cutest little kitty in the arrival hall who was just begging to be tickled.

After a quick stop in Puerto Natales to pick up supplies and our guides, Maria-José and Alejandro, we drove into the Torres del Paine National Park for what would become one of the highlights of my entire trip: the 4-day ‘W-Walk’, a nomenclature which doesn’t require further explanation I assume. The first night’s campsite, on the shore of Lake Pehoe, took my breath away. It was flanked by the snow-capped Los Cuernos mountains, while the resident armadillo, Marcel, who chilled out with us, added a certain gezelligheid (apologies to non-Dutch speakers) to the whole scene.

The following morning, those of us who were doing the W Walk set out early doors in order to catch the catamaran which would take us to the start of the hike, and our next campsite, in the shadow of the Paine Grande peak. On certain sections of the hike we were able to drop some of our bag contents to lighten the load, however, having learned my lesson on my Machu Picchu trek that you really need very little, I packed a very small daypack containing sleeping bag and mat, a couple of changes of clothes and a small toiletries bag. I probably carried 5kg in total, as opposed to some of my fellow trekkers who huffed and puffed with 12kg. The first day’s hike was 22km in length; 11km along Lake Grey to the Grey Glacier and back again, taking around eight hours in total. Over the next couple of days, we continued with linear hikes, sometimes having to double back on ourselves but not really minding given the spectacular scenery afforded to us in the French and Ascensio Valleys.

The third day was particularly hot at 22°C, and it was somewhat comforting to see even our guides struggling in the unusually warm summer weather. Atter lunch we rested by a lagoon and took an illegal dip in the glacial waters.

Seeing the relief and joy on our faces, one of the guides jumped in with us, telling us it was the first time he’d ever done something like this. The cool waters were exhilarating and it was a much appreciated break from the walking.

On the final day, the hike went to the three peaks which give the park its name, however due to adverse weather, they were obscured and I therefore decided to stay at the campsite and indulge in some of the best coffee I’d had on this trip and catch up with my blog.

I have been completely blown away by the beauty in Chilean Patagonia (hence the rather brief blog post as I believe the pictures speak for themselves) and I can’t wait to explore more of the region on the Argentinean side.

And when I say blown away, I mean it both metaphorically and literally. The wind here is like no other I’ve ever experienced, at one point actually knocking me off my feet. Lord knows how perishing it is in winter, but I’d love to return and find out one day.

Seeing stars in San Pedro de Atacama….

by Gary Patrick Brown, posted in Atacama Desert, Chile, South America

My time in Bolivia was all too short and I would have loved to have stayed longer. The last day’s drive out of the country did its best to persuade me to stay, but onwards to Chile I go.

The immigration exit post in Bolivia was a tiny brick building, and bizarrely we weren’t even required to show our faces. Our guide entered with all our passports and returned five minutes later with our exit stamps. We crossed  into Chile at San Pedro de Atacama, where the process was rather more onerous, although relatively painless, despite having to haul out all of the bags and undergo a truck inspection.

It was only a short drive to the town and our cute hostel, although the bedroom was so small, my hair barely fit in there. Thankfully, a few days later a lovely Scot called Kirsty came to my rescue and snipped my barnet back to a more respectable length. The streets of San Pedro are very cute; red clay roads, low-lying buildings and a beautiful main plaza, all surrounded by the nearby mountains. As usual, I could’ve stayed longer, exploring all of the little side streets, each populated with interesting restaurants and shops. The only negative aspect of the town was the extraordinary amount of tourists, something that I’d not really experienced thus far on the trip. They seemed to outnumber the locals by about fifty to one. Thankfully, this is offset by the fact that the streets are lined with dogs, all of whom are very well fed, impeccably behaved and wanting tickles, so obviously I was in seventh heaven.

Speaking of seventh heaven, the following day we went on a midnight stargazing tour where we learned that the phrase came from a time when astronomers thought there were only seven planets in our solar system, of which Earth was the sixth to be classified as a planet. The Canadian astronomer was very engaging and despite the very late hour, many of us could’ve stayed longer, and not just for more of the delicious hot chocolate.

Earlier that day we also drove out to Moon Valley, an incredible section of the Atacama Desert that was reminiscent of a set on Star Wars, or so I was reliably informed.  I’m not a sci-fi fan, and indeed on my first date with my partner, he spent 15 minutes trying to explain the merits and differences of Star Wars and Star Trek. He eventually picked up on my bored/vacant expression and thankfully the subject has  never reared its head again. Let’s just say I’m very happy the new Star Wars (or is it Star Trek?) film is released while we are  12,000km apart! Anyway, I digress. After a short hike up to a ridge, we were greeted with a landscape like none other I’d seen on this trip. And yes, I do realise I sound like a broken record but there are only so many superlatives available in my vocabulary. My introduction to Chile has been pretty special, but I have to wait a while to see if the rest of the country is equally impressive as we drive to Argentina tomorrow, the fifth country on my trip, before we spend the next few weeks criss-crossing the two countries.