Argentina, again!

So I couldn´t stay away. I thought I had left Argentina for good a few weeks ago but now I am back! In Chile I decided to come back and head north through Argentina rather than through Chile. I guess there´s something about this place....
So, I´m in Tucuman, Argentina´s Philadelphia, the birthplace of its declaration of independence and constitution. The fight for Argentina´s freedom began after Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808. 8 years later, Argentina was free. Its independence is celebrated on July 9th and most cities, like Tucuman, have a major avenue named after this date. Argentina was actually supposed to be the United States of South America - that is actually what is written on its declaration of independence.
From here I go north to Salta and the cities in the Andean region above. Plans are still in flux, we´ll see what the future brings.
Oh yeah, by the way, I took a 30-hour bus ride to get here. Not as bad as it sounds.... and lots of thinking time.

Road Trip!

So my new found British friends (Lucy and Dominick) and I set off for a road trip on the 20th after we disembarked from the Navimag. After a bit of usual delay, car keys in hand, we sped up highway 5 - a true highway- from Puerto Montt to Pucon. There we planned to climb a volcano. Seeing a country by car is a whole different experience. You stop where you want to stop, go where you want to go. The views from the highway were spectacular, especially a purple and pink sunset bathing the perfect, snow-capped cone of a volcano.
In Pucon, we got our fill of hot springs (went twice, once at midnight!), waterfalls and a volcano. See my pics and you´ll know. The Volcan Villarrica is a perfect cone capped with snow. We were geared up with water¨proof¨clothing, crampons and even a gas mask! We climbed about 3000 feet over the course of the morning to arive at the top for wonderful views and a noseful of sulfurous fumes! Going down may have been the best part as we did it on our butts!

And then there were two. Lucy and I parted way with Dominick and headed off in search of more hot springs. Our plan was to see the lakes region and we did so driving on dirt roads through gorgeous green farms and uninhabited lakes. The rains came which made us look at the map again. "Look! There are some hot springs!" Several lakes, bumpy roads and 5 hours later, we arrived at our destination, Aguas Calientes, Chile. Ready for a warm soak under the stars, we ran into the office to find the springs closed! So much for spontanaety.
But all was well, we found a perfectly cute little cabin on the shore of one of the largest area lakes and cooked ourselves a great dinner. Sometimes the best times happen when you least expect them.

Navimag!

From Puerto Natales, I boarded a ship called the Navimag with my new found friends. The Navimag is a 3-day ferry ride through the fjords of southern Chile to Puerto Montt. It was borne after years of travellers finagaling rides on cargo ships and military vessels to see the narrow channels and en-route glaciars. Before boarding I heard a wide range of rumors - it could be an amazing nautical journey rivaling similar routes in Alaska and New Zealand, or maybe a bumpy, stomach-turning passage of sea-sickness, or maybe a 3-day drunken fest. Who new what to expect.
It turned out to be a bit of all three! The first day rained continuously. The entire boat (around 150) was confined to the dining hall where food, drink and chatter competed for attention. We laughed away the day playing cards, dice and dominoes. At midnight, we ceremoniously downed our sea-sickness pills after the public announcement to do so. Thankfully, we all slept through the worst of the journey to wake up to a glorious second day. Sunny and warm, everyone enjoyed the gorgeous views of the endless uninhabited fjords from the top deck. The last night brought bingo night where the winners had to dance with a staff member in order to get their prize! We cheered as out table-mates, a couple of cute older women from Brazil rose to accept their ¨winnings.¨ Then tables and chairs were cleared for a Chilean-style dance party into the wee hours of the morning.
Was on the boat March 17-20

Torres del Paine

Paine means blue in the Tehuelche language, an indigenous southern Chilean population. They were referring to the intense blue color of the glaciars that dot this jaw-dropping national park in Chilean Patagonia. After leaving Argentina, I made my way south to Puerto Natales, Chile. This small town serves as a gateway to and rest spot after a tour of Torres del Paine. Most who visit the park backpack their way through the 10 day ¨grand circuit¨or 5 day ¨W.¨ I did part of the W route with new found friend Lucy, an English woman living in NY.
The centerpiece of the park are the Torres (towers) - 3000 meter granite towers rising to the sky. The lucky ones get a spectacular sunrise view of the towers bathed in orange sunlight. The park is an interesting place for many reasons, but definitely for its microclimates. The joke in town when you ask about the weather is, ¨well, you´ll have some sun, clouds, wind and rain... and then for the afternoon....!¨ Conditions can change very 10 minutes.
Lucy and I made the climb up to the towers through forest, streams and over boulders as big as a car to be greeted by a thick bank of clouds and a snowstorm! Keeping hope alive, we hunkered down by a big rock to wait for a parting of the clouds - it had happened for those at the top just 20 minutes before us. But alas, no such luck.
Even though we never saw the torres in real life, we were rewarded with two gorgeous days of sun for our trek by gorgeous turqoise lakes, up into Valle del Fraces, by spectacular glaciars and even an avalanche, and through windswept, golden meadows.
Our trek took us to the refugios - hostels in the midst of mountains and lakes where you could get a warm bed, a hot shower and even wine with dinner! There we met and re-met fellow trekkers at each days end. We were even entertained with the enthusiastic songs of a travelling musician replete with leather pants and trenchcoat. We didn´t know how he made it from refugio to refugio but we did come to know his entire repertoire of songs well. He sang the same 3 each night.
Back in Puerto Natales, groups of trekkers reunited for stories of weather and fording rivers where the bridge had been washed away on the grand circuit. Memories shared, emails exchanged all after a hot shower (or maybe two) and a big plate of meat! There I met a French woman who had cycled the entire length of Chile (4,300 km) over 3 months. 9-10 hours of cycling, 7 days a week through deserts, mountains and cities alike. Talk about stories!

The end of the world and a glaciar

This last week found me in the southernmost city on the American continents, Ushuaia. In reality, there is Chilean land south of Ushuaia and even a small Argentinian community on Antarctica itself, but Argentina´s rules on what makes a city a city (at least 10,000 inhabitants), leaves Ushuaia with this proud claim. Ushuaia is actually an island, there is no overland route to the rest of Argentina. This is a common jumping off point point for passenger ships to Antarctica but also has a beautiful national park and a penguin refuge. Yes, I did march with the penguins, or at least next to them. They aren´t the same type we saw in the movie but they´re pretty cute anyway. Foot traffic on the island is limited to about 15 people per day and scientists here are doing research on the impact of tourism on penguin behavior and breeding. It was clear that they could care less that we were there staring at them and snapping photos, so we´ll see what they find. While in Ushuaia, I met Luis, Veronica and Lucas. Luis was the knowledgable penguin tour guide who lives in northern Argentina but first came down here years ago to try to make it to Antartica. He now comes each summer to teach tourists about penguins and live near the sea. Lucas and Veronica were students in Buenos Aires who had returned home for summer break, as most Argentinian young people do.
After several days in Ushuaia, I flew up to Calafate, just days before the airlines went on strike! Calafate is a small but growing tourist town that is the base for visits to the Petito Moreno Glaciar. As the Argentines in Ushuaia warned me, it´s a bit of Disneyland at the end of Argentina with little more than hotels, restaurants and outdoors shops on its single main street. Don´t stay long they said.
The glaciar was incredible. See my pics and you´ll know. This incredible piece of ice moves 2 meters a day, but is receding like most of the worlds glaciars. Its blue color comes from compression of ice. The more, compressed, the more blue. Cloudy days, like the one I had, also bring out the blue color. One of the most fantastic things about the glaciar is how alive it is. If one listens carefully, there is a constant orchestra of ice moaning, squeaking and cracking with the occasional deafening crash of pieces (human size and larger) into the water off the front face.
My final stop in my tour of Argentina´s southern tip was El Chalten. A tiny village 4 hours north of Calafate by dirt road that quadruples in population TO 2000 in the touristy summer months (that are now beginning to end). It is a hiker´s and climbers dream. In the near distance are several peaks, the largest of which is the famous Fitz Roy mountain. The area is also known for its gorgeous turquoise mountainous lakes. There, I made a 15 mile (roundtrip) journey to walk on the glaciar which was incredibly interesting. A glaciar is not just a block of ice. It is an intricate network of hills, valleys, rivers, caves and ponds. To get there, we even crossed a river on a zip line! The next day, I trekked to see Fitz Roy and Lago de los Tres with Chieh, spunky Japanese hairstylist from New York.
I´ve now returned to Calafate feeling the 27 miles I logged over the past two days and a little stomach bug I caught on the way back. I stayed longer than expected in disneyland but I head to Chile tomorrow.
Good bye Argentina.

Unbelievable

Guess where I was last night?

Franz Ferdinand
U2
100,000 cheering fans

Poor Niagara

That´s what Eleanor Roosevelt said on seeing Iguazu falls in northern Argentina. It is, in fact, magnificent. Depending on where you look, it may be the most voluminous falls in the world. Niagara, Iguazu and Murchison in Uganda all rank in the world`s most voluminous falls. It's a bit taller and much wider than Niagara though it's not even a tenth of the height of Yosemite Falls or Angel Falls, the worlds tallest. Like Niagara, it straddles two countries, Argentina and Brazil. Visiting from the two sides was entirely different. In Argintina you meander through the jungle and see bits of the falls up close, close enough to get wet! At the final viewpoint you are in the Garganta del Diablo (Throat of the Devil) where you feel the power of up to 12,000 cubic meters per second of water. In Brazil you are overwhelmed by awesome panoramic views of this most impressive site.