Craggy mountains and lots of weather...

Coming up through the pampas region of Argentina there have been several times I've been reminded of west Texas and that has continued a bit here in El Chalten... Apart from the rocky spires splitting the sky interspersed with glaciers...

On my first hike I was lucky with the weather and has clear sunny skies for most of the time. Which was really handy because as my then hostal roommate said 'sometimes you just have to do something different'... I went hiking in a skirt!

Laundry day, don't you know... And it was great, liberating even! And I felt a bit "on the other side of the fence"... In hiking at Torres del Paine and here I've seen so many makes and models of people and preparedness of gear... Which is really neat that these spectacular areas are so accessible to whoever wants to experience them bit it does make you wonder and hope that some folks don't get into difficulty... And I'm sure based on some of the looks I got that people were honking the same of me! But I had enough gear with me just in case but the weather was great so all was good.

The forests along the trail felt solid and old 

which was a nice feeling of longevity after seeing the effects of the huge fire at Paine... A reminder that such solid things are existing depending on us humans not to make a misstep... this forest area (back to my original thought) was in many places like the open oak woodlands of the high Chisos, with the same granular granite-y soil, but here the trees are beechs instead of oaks. 

It makes me wonder that similar to convergent evolution in animals (where for example you get ostrich in Africa and rhea in South America not because they're genetically related but because there are similar habitat niches in those different places into which local life forms evolve and they end up with similar physical properties)... Perhaps it's the same for habitats, where with similar soils, climate, etc you get similar landscapes... With differences obviously since there are no glaciers in big bend but in the foothills there are a few similar vistas. 

In any case it was a lovely day.

 

Then the following day I wanted to see the front side of the range and get closer to Fitz Roy the highest peak... But the weather was showing itself... Amazing wind was howling down the canyon...

 I'd booked a transfer to make a one way hike back to town ( el pilar to Chalten )

so I went with the plan and though saw basically nothing of the high mountain scenery it was an amazing day of Patagonian mountain extremes, getting tossed about by gusts and seeing how the trees get their rugged windswept appearance... One way a sunny valley, the other misty denseness...

Stay tuned for more on that and a happy ending of clear skies and outrageous peaks... Love!

PS some other fun photos from the area...

The Tango...

Just discovered another 'missing' post... This from last October... Enjoy the blast from the past!

After an afternoon wandering in the sun and watching several milongas near a park it just kept going! Hung out at Plaza Dorrego and watched another milonga start with some more talented folks yet still 'unproffestional' just local or students... Pretty awesome. The guys dancing with each other were the best!  It's normal for men to dance with each other (though of course ore often with women), and every one changes partners often. A fantastic evening and I left for home at 10pm just as things were getting started...

8th Wonder of the World...

Another bus trip, another post! Asi es en mi vida... that's how it is in my life. Now, on my way to El Chalten, to hike around the Fitz Roy range... After having enjoyed another of Patagonia's riches... Torres del Paine National Park which apparently was just selected by some group somewhere as the 8th wonder of the world.  And it certainly deserves all the attention it gets... A really amazing mountain massif, craggy glacier-carved peaks, startling geology, and dynamic weather all together in one great package! Made even cooler by the hut to hut hiking system which makes a huge part of the park accessible to just about anyone who can walk. You can book a bed (with or without bedding) or a tent or a private cabin (and book time in the outdoor hot tub!) even at some of the accommodation areas, plus full board should you wish it. You can also rent just a tent for the night, and a sleeping bag and mat too if you don't have your own! Or you can backpack the whole thing, bring all your own stuff, and save hundreds of dollars. The whole concept is awesome. It's perhaps an anomaly how it runs because there are, as I understand it, two swaths of private land that were not part of the national park, so those areas are where the overnight services are. it there are several other regular (nice) hotel options for those with private vehicles but two different companies for the backpacking circuit and you book your trip and accommodation separately, then get a bus ticket to the park separately, and then there is a system of shuttle transfers between main hubs in the park... Upon arrival or when attempting to plan a trip it's a bit daunting and confusing but it all is set up to get people to the right places at the right times... It really is awesome for the public transport traveler as well as the average traveler that may not be carrying all the backcountry great but who wants to experience an amazing natural place. Way to go Chile!!!!! We should learn something from that at home...

Anyway, I had a great four days hiking the 'W' route which is a shorter option than the entire circumnavigation of the massif, with all sorts of weather from sun to wind to snow and rain (all in the same day/few hours even!). No hail actually, and no tank top temperatures but I'll get that back in Texas :). The forecast looked grim as I was heading out but true to form TDP has it's own microclimate and so it's possible to have spots of good within the overall "bad" and so I got lucky! Hiked up to see the actual towers (Torres means towers in English) in the snow and dense cloud but after an impromptu blizzard blew in for a out 10 minutes the clouds started to swirl and break and there were the towers!  Made even more spectacular by the mystery of the mist, the early morning sun, and the gift of being there at the moment to see it.  Tears were shed.

Then back down the hill through beautiful southern beech forest alongside raging river , for the rest of the long day hiking from Refugio El Chileno (super cool staff and buena onda - good vibes) to Los Cuernos across the base of the peaks in sort of open pampas grassland with rocky outcrops and great views of the many glacial lakes in the foothills. After a cozy time hunkered in the corner of the dining area writing in my journal, dinner was great (simple meat and potatoes but filling!) and the tent and sleeping bag cozy, listening to the wind and showers outside instead of the mass of humanity inside the Refugio... There certainly was a trade off there... Comfy warm bed but with numerous people making their own noise of life... Or your own space and the wonderful peaceful alive sounds of nature but decidedly less comfy on a pad only 2mm thick...

Then up and out heading to the French Valley side hike (the middle 'leg' of the W) which ended up being closed due to too much snow on the trail. I hung out for a while chatting with two guardaparques (park rangers) sharing what it's like to work in a national park in our countries but more how nice it is to live the simple life in the backcountry. Then on again in beautiful sunny weather through the area which suffered a fire two years ago, accidental start by a visitor heating food. Really sad as that ecosystem is not adapted to fire, no lightning strikes etc, so the trees burned were hundreds of years old likely and slow to return if at all due to slow growth in low temps... And slow decomposition too so the landscape vistas will not change much without generations of time. But there are lush grasses covering the burn areas and some basal regrowth of some trees and shrubs which is good to see... But again, at the end of the day, it's a catastrophic change.

Last night at the hosteria/Refugio Paine Grande where they had a two for one special on Pisco Sours at the bar (yes, surreal, especially because the bartender was from Boulder Colorado!) 

so I enjoyed my two watching the clouds swirl past the mountains and writing in my journal.

Next morning took off in the rain (discovered my boots are NOT waterproof anymore, but rejoiced in my tendency to travel with an umbrella because it is eversomuch more enjoyable hiking in the rain with some dry open space around the head!) to Lago Grey to see a glacier exiting the southern ice field, which as it happens is the largest ice mass outside of Antarctica and Greenland. My luck (or perhaps the local weather pattern) held and the clouds began to lift just as I arrived to the viewpoint overlooking the glacier from afar.  It was neat to see a glacier in a different context than Antarctica...  Much more craggy and broken due to melt, and with more dirt and rock (and vegetation, trees!) than ice in the area. And icebergs (well, bergy bits to be more accurate) in a lake not in the ocean. Caught a sightseeing boat to cruise the glacier then hooked up with the shuttle system to exit the park and arrive back to Puerto Natales in the evening. A quick trip but a fantastic one. Goodbye Chile and the Magellanes state (for now) 

and hello Argentina!  A small border crossing and we're on our way...

More photos sometime when I can get them off my camera... Didn't keep the iGadget accessible during the hike... Still not living in the iWorld...

Love to all...

:) jos

PS Chile doesn't have the monopoly on cool cafés... Here I am in El Calafate waiting for my bus to El Chalten passing my time at the librobar Borges y Alvarez... My kind of place!

On the road again, southern style.

Its amazing how some places in the world can remind you of others... Crossing the pampa of southern Chile north of Punta Arenas I swear I could be somewhere outside of Valentine on the way to Van Horn... Except for that lake in the distance, the sheep in the pastures instead of cattle, and the bandurrias (Ibis) flying overhead... oh, and the rheas.

Had a fantastic last few days at the bottom of the continent, spent some time in the very quiet and cozy town of Puerto Williams

where I met several interesting people including a fellow Texan who had come all the way down to the bottom of the world to find some worthy cause to donate all his money to when he dies, plus a cadre of scientists at a field station associated with the Univ of North Texas of all places, one of whom (an Argentine) a was excited to show me photos of his visit to Big Bend last year! The focus of the station is ecological research but in conjunction with a philosophical inquiry into human relationship with the land and challenging our fundamental historic approaches to research... Exciting territory and I'm impressed and surprised that such a non- traditional approach is coming from a Texan institution... Whoop whoop!

 Had a fantastic dinner at the Puerto Williams yacht club which is an old military-turned-transport ship-turned-dock/restaurant/bar with an amazingly beautiful wood interior and flags and mementos of all sorts covering the walls, commemorating the many journeys begun or finished there... Trans-globe, rounding the Horn, Antarctica and back... a setting bristling with latent energy and amazing tales at every turn, but yet where anyone would feel welcomed by the soft glow of the fire off the well worn wood paneling and floors... Wish I'd had my camera for the inside!

Next day hiked around in the UNESCO Biosphere reserve (who knew? and trivia#2, it's the first protected area to become so based on the merits of its moss and lichen flora!),

found a stray dog who was super cute and sweet and more than happy to follow me on my hike and come back to town (looked like it had just recently gotten separated from its owners, though there is a big problem with stray/abandoned-turned-wild dogs in the region) and then once back in the village he cruised up one street as I cruised along towards my hostal.

Had just enough time to say Ciao! to my lovely hostess before heading off to catch the ferry to Punta Arenas...

where I met even more interesting folks including a man who is developing software that calculates the rates of glacier movement via photography, a tourism student who worked on a project to determine the social impact of placing damn on the remote Baker River (we had a great conversation about how natural resource dependent Chile is and what will happen when/if the cooper plays out in the north or if a problem develops with supplying water from the wet south to the dry north for said mining... Already pipelines are being considered... Same problems the world over...), and a lovely gentleman from Rio Grande (a city just "around the corner" from Ushuaia) who was as keen to stand in the blustery wind appreciating the scenery and chatting about life and travel as I was.

I had my faithful Nissan thermomug with me for tea and upon asking if there was any hot water to be had I was invited below decks to the kitchen where the chef put on the kettle and invited me back any time, which I proceeded to take advantage of and ended up making friends with half the crew it seemed. The ferry trip itself was great--

 fantastic to be on the water again and using my Antarctic-gained wildlife skills to identify what we were seeing (black-browed albatross, cormorants, Magellanic penguins, giant petrels, and sea lions) for myself and some interested passengers. The sea lions in particular were really neat, porpoising as they swam the channel just as penguins do which was thoroughly unexpected... In fact at first glance I thought "dolphin" except then I realized there was no dorsal fin... Hard to beat dead calm water turned silvery rose by the sunrise with sea lions jumping and surfing the waves of the ferry's wake...

Then off the ferry at midnight and since I had failed to realize the arrival hour  accepted a very kind offer to share a hostal room with a fellow passenger and then proceeded to spend two lovely days inPunta Arenas, 

taking advantage of a couple of very fine cafés, especially the hidden gem of the Shackleton Bar in the Braun mansion... Soft dark leather, rustic mosaic marble tables, the right shades of brown, mustard, rose, and sunlight through the floor to ceiling windows... And only three bucks for real Twinings tea and wifi!  Life's small pleasures.

And now to Puerto Natales, to a B&B hostel (Google 4Elements) run by a friend of a friend, where the main goal is 'deep recycling', where nothing goes to a landfill and everything is reused or compacted and recycled. Pretty stoked to check it out and start planning the next phase of the trip, hiking in Torres del Paine.

Well! This is what happens when I have a gadget on a three hour bus ride! Until the next time... xoxo :) jos

One from the archives?

Aye, dios mio!  Boy has this been a busy couple of months or what?!?!  We're just running all the time, but I've seen some spectacular things.  Between sea days (two on either end of the trip) and landing days (at least two landings per day weather permitting, sometimes three!)... it's all I can do to get enough sleep and keep my brains inside my head :)

Internet is pretty rough on the ship so I haven't been able to do much online, but here are some teasers of what we've been seeing so far.  My first trip down I was lucky enough to have my folks and brother on board which was fantastic!  We headed to the Falklands and South Georgia, before spending a few days around the peninsula area.  So much was seen those three weeks! 

Then I said farewell to them, and headed back (we turnaround in port on the same day, outgoing passengers off at 8am, then we run around the ship preparing for the next group, maybe get a few hours off the ship for a lunch, or shopping, or free internet) then we greet the incoming passengers around 3:30 with fresh smiles and smart uniforms!  No rest for the weary... even less for the ship's crew that take care of all of us!

Have had several 10 day trips to the peninsula and just finished a 15 day "Holidays in the Antarctic" which was fantabulous!  Everything to be seen we saw... breaching whales, calving glaciers, five penguin species, elephant seals, Arctowski research station for Christmas Eve, BBQs on open decks, kayaking 6 times (!!!), celebrating two holidays, absolutely spectacular weather with blue skies and calm seas... it was just about unreal.  And there were even a bunch of Texans on board!  How can it get better than that?  ;)

OK, so here are a few pics to keep you intrigued until next time.  Much love to all and know that I'm thinking about you wherever you (and I) are in the world.  Cheers, and Happy New Year!!!!

Falkland Islands... and plants!  Farewell to them (mostly) for months!

Albatross colony on Westpoint Island, Falklands

King Penguins on South Georgia... no emperors on these trips but the Kings are a great "substitute", just as curious and dang tall!

Fur seals and Kings on South Georgia.  Spectacular.

The family!  What a deal to get to share Antarctica with them.  Thanks for being such troopers and making the trip!!!

Zodiac cruising checking out an active glacier just off of Point/Cape Wild, Elephant Island.  And me in my official guide gear.

No time to fix this orientation, but a zodiac cruise off Point Wild in the brash ice... what a cool sound it makes shussing along the zodiac sides... sort of like the grit in the Rio Grande against a canoe... sort of!  :)

The gentlemen (some of them) of Arctowski, the Polish research station on King George Island.  The most welcoming, friendly, and handsome group of folks we've encountered on our travels.  Thanks guys for hosting us on Christmas Eve Day!

Hero shots, me being happy on ice...

Me being happy with more ice, and penguins!

And penguins (Gentoo),

Penguins,

And more penguins. 

It's a good time down here!!! 

Ushuaia for Internet!

Well a quick port call before taking on a new group of passengers... Time enough to birthday shop for a crew party, enjoy lunch (an amazing piece of meat and hardcore garlic chimichurri) with the expedition crew of a 'neighbor' ship in port the Fram, and back to the dock for the free fast wifi. Two trips down and some amazing scenery has passed behind us so far. Close encounters with king penguins and elephant seal pups as well as territorial fur seal males in South Georgia, and the stunning scenery of the Antarctic peninsula... That's why I'm here. There is a peace and tranquility that comes with smooth, white- draped landscapes knowing there are no towns, no mcdonalds just land earth true wild and untrammeled nature. Somewhat of an idealized picture of course because of course there are human influences and impacts present on different scales but still in the grand scheme we're not the major players we humans. Posting via my iToy which doesn't have the good pics on it so stay tuned for next time and more representative pictures. Till then enjoy scenes of Ushuaia our home away from home away from home. The port is about all I've got. Will work on my journalism skills, still working out how to be most technologically efficient in port.