Chile & Argentinia


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Published: April 12th 2010
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Hi All!

I'm so sorry for my Dutch friends but I will write this blog only in English.

Culture shock? Maybe. Realizing I've been a lazy traveler? Definitely. Arriving in Chile made me very aware of my lack of Spanish knowledge and therefore it was back to travel square 1. Life on the road with nothing else than my Spanish dictionary, sigh language and a smile. Although it is amazing how far a smile can take you... :-)

First stop in South America was recently earthquake struck Santiago. After a 12 hour flight from Auckland, passing the date line it really messed up my biorhythm. I left Auckland on March 15 at 4pm to arrive in Santiago at 12pm that same day... That's what you call time traveling! It really does something to your body and I experienced one of my worst jet lags, taking at least 4 days of 12 hours sleep to recover. Flying 5 hours the next day back to Easter Island didn't really help, I have to admit. Easter Island has been a big dream of mine for a long time and it feels great to have a dream come true. It is the most outer part of the Polynesian Islands of the Pacific and was discovered on Easter Sunday by a Dutch sailor, hence the name. The island was populated by several tribes a long time ago and inner warfare, exhausting of natural resources and foreign diseases brought by the sailors, wiped out the entire civilization of the island. Now, what is left is a small, completely empty island (no trees) of 16x17km with a small touristic town, hundreds of wild horses running freely and the famous statues scattered all around the island. And that's it. There is nothing to do except for gazing at the statues, and don't get me wrong, it's beautiful and very mysterious! And it was definitely worth the big chunk out of my travel budget! But it is a bit on the tame side, so I was happy to leave after 4 days.

So back to Santiago where the scars of the earthquake were visible but not frightening; parts of the airport was shut down for repair, suitcases where lined up next to the plain so you could just pick and run and the hotel had some cracks in the ceiling and missing tiles here and there.
El ChaltenEl ChaltenEl Chalten

The view during my hike to Lago del Tres, Mount Fitz Roy
I did woke up at night to my bed rocking and immediately realized it was an aftershock. The next day the internet told me it was a 7.2 shock 200km south of Santiago. Nice, the forces of nature sure do like me... So heading for Argentina the next day, didn't want to risk anything. Mendoza (9hr bus ride) and then down to Bariloche (18hr in the bus from hell) in the Argentinian Lake District. Gorgeous! Cute little town that also could be named 'little Tirol' due to the wooded houses and smell of pine trees with stunning views of the lakes and beautiful hikes. I felt it was time to crank up my Spanish and enrolled in a few days of Spanish classes, including eating empanadas at lunch and Tango lessons at night for the full Argentinian experience, I loved it!

Next up was the trip down to Patagonia. It took me 36hr through pampas filled with Eagles, Ostriches and Alpacas to find my next bed in the hiking capital of the world; El Chalten. I wanted to see for myself what all the Mount Fitz Roy fuzz was about. And my lord how beautiful! It's an 9 hour
The hike to Lago del TresThe hike to Lago del TresThe hike to Lago del Tres

In the valley of Mount Fitz Roy
return trip hike, where the first 3hrs are pretty easy, but they 'forgot' to tell me that the last hour up was hell! It was so steep I was almost on hands and knees! With my last breath I reached the top of the ridge and I looked down on a impeccable blue lake (Lago del Tres), with a glacier almost hanging into it from another 1000m or so high mountain peaks. Yeah, it was definitely worth the sore knees for a couple of days!
The other highlight of Patagonia is the Perito Moreno Glacier. A huge glacier that is fed by the largest ice mass outside Antarctica and the North Pole. Therefore it's the only glacier that is growing in stead of reclining. Besides the size, it's the big chunks of ice as big as houses that fall into the lake everyday with a loud thunder and creating a small tidal wave to the shore, that makes it a real tourist attraction. I signed up for a full day Glacier experience and went hiking on the glacier, drank whiskey with glacier ice and watched the ice falling phenomenon, very impressive.

I couldn't deal with another exhausting bus ride so decided to fly to Buenos Aires. I had very high expectations of the city due to all the stories I heard from fellow travelers but wasn't really impressed I have to admit. It felt very dirty (dog poo and potholes everywhere so you really want to be careful where you place your feet) and I felt very conscious of looking very, very Dutch (because of the hissing and comments of men). But the city grew on me and I actually can say I had a great time. Mainly to the fact that I randomly bumped in to people I met along the way in Bariloche and El Chalten so the people you meet are definitely the juice of your travels. The city has a buzzin nightlife, Tango dancers everywhere on the streets, cute little cafés and restaurants (with the biggest steaks! Not that I enjoyed that, but had to mention it) and lots of art and interesting places to see. I also went to a Boca Juniors match and saw the most amazing improv drum percussion band play called 'La Bomba' which is, to me, THE thing to do when you go to Buenos Aires. So yeah, good times!
Perito MorenoPerito MorenoPerito Moreno

Full Frontal. The wall of ice is 60m high. See the tiny people in the front of the picture...


Take care!



Additional photos below
Photos: 25, Displayed: 25


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Ice CaveIce Cave
Ice Cave

Inside a huge ice cave on Perito Moreno Glacier
Cheers!Cheers!
Cheers!

Having a whiskey on the top of Perito Moreno with Glacier Ice.... YUM!
MendozaMendoza
Mendoza

Having vino and dinner with Kerry in Mendoza
Easther IslandEasther Island
Easther Island

Horses at sunset
In the busIn the bus
In the bus

Waking up in the bus to a beautiful sunrise
BarilocheBariloche
Bariloche

The lake district...
Lago del TresLago del Tres
Lago del Tres

Mount Fitz Roy is unfortunately in the clouds...
El Chalten at FallEl Chalten at Fall
El Chalten at Fall

Returning from Mount Fitz Roy. The fall started already in Patagonia
Let´s Tango!Let´s Tango!
Let´s Tango!

Ok, I admit, I paid him to pose with me... :-)
Boca AreaBoca Area
Boca Area

Gorgeous colourful houses
Boca JuniorsBoca Juniors
Boca Juniors

Unfortunately they lost the game, and thank god I just borrowed the shirt... :-)
Girls night out in BAGirls night out in BA
Girls night out in BA

Meeting the girls I met in Bariloche for drinks in BA. Abby, Laura and Sisse!
La BombaLa Bomba
La Bomba

Improv Drum Percussion, it was absolutely amazing! La Bomba is the Bomb!


13th April 2010

I enjoyed your post. Sounds like you are having a great time in South America. My blog is looking for travel photos, stories, accommodation reviews, and food reviews. If you have the time and have some to share, email us at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric
13th April 2010

Loving all of it
Hi Kim, what a fantastic trip and thank you for the beautiful pictures. I would love to visit Easter Island myself, will do too. What I would like to know is the following: did you already plan in the Netherlands which places you are going to see or are there some spontaneous visits as well? I am totally enjoying your journey, so keep up involving the 'homesitters' with your stories and fotos. Take care. Lots of love, Angelika
13th April 2010

great stories and pics again my friend :)
You go girl! Heerlijk om je avonturen te lezen en je foto's te bekijken. Ik benijd je :) Liefs uit Hobart xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
13th April 2010

wow..
Kim, your pictures are just amazing! and you look fabulous as always! hopefully one day our path will cross again...kusjes from Montreal (soon to be from the Barbados!!!) xxxx
13th April 2010

Fijn om weer wat van je te lezen. Je hebt het nog erg naar je zin. Geniet de laatste weken nog vol op. Heel veel liefs van mij. Ing
14th April 2010

ongelooflijk
En de wereld is nog niet klaar met Kim! Fantastische foto's... X
14th April 2010

Nice to read !
Thanks for taking the effort to write about your trip it's always so nice to read about your travels : -) KIsses and hugs Jasmina
14th April 2010

Vet vet vet!
Wat een foto's weer! Geweldig om te zien die schitterende natuur! Leuke dansfoto's ook, of je er nou voor betaald hebt of niet, je staat er weer leuk op! Goed bezig! Wel fijn dat je over iets meer dan een maand weer thuis bent! X, Gijs
14th April 2010

leuk
leukleukleukleuk niks an toe te voegen
15th April 2010

Hey, Goed te horen dat je het nog steeds naar je zin heb. En wow wat een foto´s. Heb je wel tijd om al deze ervaringen enzo te verwerken je maakt zo verschrikkelijk veel mee in korte tijd! Nou nog veel plezier. Kus Es
1st May 2010

geweldig weer
Hey Kim nog altijd super naar je zin zie ik, het ziet er weer helemaal geweldig uit hoor!!!! xxx-ies marjon

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