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Published: April 8th 2008
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Yummy
Famous Berry waffles in El Bolson Dear Loved ones,
We are finding it hard to believe that we are already in the month of April. This disbelief is further enhanced by the fact that we are experiencing fall all around us. However, our bodies and minds clearly believe that it is spring. Down here in the southern hemisphere the leaves are beginning to fall, the fruits and nuts are being harvested, the temperatures are dropping and there is a general feeling in the people and the environment of the start of the hibernation season.
As we write this update, we find ourselves in the exact town as when we last wrote on the blog. We have just completed a loop through Patagonia and the Santa Cruz province. The city in which we are currently staying, El Bolson, is up against the Andes mountains on the western side of Argentina. We left El Bolson about three weeks ago and we traveled across Argentina to the Atlantic seaboard. From there we journeyed south to the border of Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz. The country of Argentina gets very thin down there at about 58 degrees latitude and we had no troubles crossing back to the
Lago Puelo
One of the many Glacial Lakes around El Bolson western side of the country and entering Chile.
In Chile we stayed in the small port town of Puerto Natales and used it as a base camp for exploring one of the most amazing National Parks in South America. The park is called Torres del Paine, named because of the amazing spires that are the product of a granite intrusion that was then eroded by glaciers. The contrast of the black basaltic rock and the beige granite allow for beautiful views everywhere. There are also countless aqua-marine colored glacial lakes, as well as some glaciers. The geologic event that created the Torres del Paine was seperate from the Andes and thus it seems to rise up out of nowhere. The Andes however are always themselves towering in the background. The Torres del Paine National park attracts 200,000 trekkers a year because of the vast network of trails that the Chilean forestry department has created. We spent six days hiking and we saw about half of the park. It was unanimously decided that those six days were some of the most memorable and exhausting of the entire trip. I hope the pictures will show some of the magic of the
Torres Del Paine
Entering the Park place and if you are ever in Southern Chile this is a must see.
From Puerto Natales, we continued up the western border of Argentina which is easily marked by the breath-taking Andes mountains. We stopped in a town called El Calafate and watched house-size chunks of ice fall of the Perito Moreno glacier. Perito Moreno is one of only a few advancing glaciers in South America. They say that at the origin of Perito Moreno, the glacier is advancing at an average of 3 meters per day. This is easily viewable in the lake at the base of the glacier which is full of huge icebergs as well as the multi-ton chunks that fall into the lake every half hour. The splash and the thunderous noise that the ice causes when it hits the water made us realize how very small we are. The ice field of Perito Moreno was otherwordly and we all agreed that it looked like a huge lemon merainge pie. We also have yet to find a color that is quite comparable to glaciar blue.
From El Calafate we headed to another small mountain town called El Chalten. Here we did a little
Torres del Paine
Cloudy blue glacial waters more trekking but the weather turned for the worst and we got rained and blown further north to another little town called Esquel. After three days relaxing there and taking tea in the Welsh teahouses that are popular in this area we came to rest in El Bolson. One great big loop. It certainly feels good to be back in El Bolson. This town and region is the biggest hop and artisian beer producing area of Argentina. We have been diligently sampling all the brews that are avaliable and we have found a few that are comparable to good ole´ Northwestern beers. We all feel that we have been a little spoiled in the area of cerveza.
From here our plan is to travel further north to the lake region and then once again east to an area where we can see some penguins. As of now we are planning to settle down for a few weeks in the university town of Cordoba (Ernesto Che Guevara´s home town). We want to complete some spanish studies and then we are giving ourselves a week to say goodbye to our hometown of Buenos Aires. So thats our travel course as of
Torres del Paine
More mountain shots. now, but I find it hard to count the times that our plans have changed.
We love you all and we miss everyone so much. Thanks for all the cool comments on our message wall. We hope that this post finds everyone well and happy. Have a wonderful day and until next time...... Ciao y Suerte
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Alline
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Fantastic!
How beautiful and exciting a loop ... thanks, I've really enjoyed reading about your wonderful adventures. Great pictures too! It all has made me want to go and visit ... (and learn Spanish!) Tyson, wondering if you feel totally comfortable speaking Spanish now?