Blogs from Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 7

I wish that I could write more for you today, but unfortunately there's not a lot to tell you about. We woke up at 5:30 for a 7:00 meeting time. Once on the busses, we went to a hotel, where those of us who didn't need them dropped off our big bags to store while we're in Patagonia. We then went to the airport for an 11:00 flight out. Our professor is very determined to get there at least 2 hours ahead of time, if not earlier, so we just hung out and talked for a while at the airport. As Aerolíneas Argentinas is apparently prone to doing, we left about 40 minutes late for our 3 hour flight. About 2.5 hours in, the captain came on the speaker, saying that the airport at our destination, ... read more

Sarah: I looked out of the window on Friday morning and we had a clear day! And the wind had dropped! Seeing the sun rise over the mountains out of our hotel window was a fantastic and welcome sight. Having done a pretty long walk (10 miles) the previous day in less than perfect conditions, we had planned to take it a bit easier. However, the sunshine and the views of the mountains were irresistible and so we set off on an 11 mile walk that was to take us to the base of the glacial lakes up in the mountains, Lake Torre. The walk started with a punishing climb. However, after an hour or two, we were walking through the flat glacier valley floor with the snow-capped peaks ahead of us. It was really spectacular ... read more

Nick: There is a bit of a science to packing a rucksack that is to house all of your worldly goods for the next six months, and unless you fancy lugging around a pack the size and weight of a small car everywhere you go, it is necessary to make some firm decisions about what not to take with you. With this in mind, my hiking boots, nor my trusty blue wooly hat, almost did not make the cut. After all, the vast majority of our intended destinations would be hot and humid, not the sort of places a heavy pair of boots would constitute comfortable footwear. In the end, we both found our packs were far emptier and lighter than we had expected, and with several days tramping through the Amazon on the itinerary, in ... read more

Tango and Trekking in Argentina By William Graham Poet, novelist and travel writer William Graham is a resident of Stowe, Vermont. His most recent novella is “Greenfields.” He has also traveled extensively around the world and is author of “Seven Continents: A Travel Memoir.” As soon as we entered the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca, we could hear the syncopated rhythms of the tango float through the hot summer air of this dazzling South America city. Located along the banks of the Rio de la Plata, La Boca contains colorfully painted houses and many restaurants where statuesque men and women wearing tight fitting clothes engage in the sensuous swirl of the tango. The heat of the dancers competed against the heat of the city, where myself, my wife Jackie and our sixth-grade son Jackson went ... read more

Pulling into the small town of El Chaltén around 7pm we pulled into a parking lot used for those leaving their cars during multi-day treks to get our masterchef and trip planner on. After concocting a not-quite-gourmet meal of a flavoured rice packet with tinned tuna, we consulted our guidebooks about the various walks available in the northern side of the beautiful Los Glacieres National Park. We formulated a plan for spending a few days in the area taking in two long walks to view the main mountains: Torre & FitzRoy (esteemed peaks in the mountaineering world). Howling winds overnight and rainstorms in the morning had us reassessing our plans so we took a leisurely pace for breakfast, reorganising the van, refilling petrol and visiting the park ranger's office for advice. With the weather improving and ... read more