Page 4 of GringoAnciano Travel Blog Posts



The nearby salt flat (see first photo) may not be the biggest surface area of salt in the world but as the deposit is 1-1.5km thick it probably contains the most salt in the world. The Atacama desert is the driest desert in the world with some villages only getting rain about every 70 years. Consequently the surface of the salt flat is very rough (see second photo) as the salt flat never has any surface water covering it to smooth out the surface. There is also a nearby volcano (see third photo) that has a history of errupting every year, and occasionally twice a year. It has now not errupted for five years - perhaps I left there just in time! There are also high altitude geysers near San Pedro (see fourth photo). The excursions ... read more
salt flat surface
dormant volcano
geyser

South America » Chile » Coquimbo Region » La Serena June 6th 2011

At La Serena I visited the 'tourist observatory' up in the mountains near the town. Here we passed over our cameras and they photographed the moon (see first photograph) and saturn (see second photograph) for us through two of their telescopes (see third and forth photographs). This was definitely a highlight of the trip. La Serena also has an interesting archaelogy museum where the star exhibit is a statue (or moai) from Easter Island (see last photograph). The splendid housing of the statue was paid for from an insurance claim when the statue was temporarily decapitated whilst on loan to Barcelona. For any of my readers that may be tempted to submit a similar claim please bear in mind that human head re-grafting is still at an experimental stage. En La Serena, visité el "observatorio turístico" ... read more
Saturn
'moon' telescope
'saturn' telescope

South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago May 18th 2011

Once again misunderstanding seems to dog my steps. My mentioning to our guide on a vineyard tour that I had once eaten a grape seems to have been mistranslated as 'I am the European champion vineyard horticulturalist on a tour of South American growing areas'. Chile, determined to steal a march on its neighbours immediately initiated television coverage of me judging the Santiago and Region 'Vine of Vines' (see first photograph). They even insisted that I be taken to a local music store where a celebratory charango was specially made for me (see second photograph). Fortunately a half-hour lesson with the ukulele five years ago came back to me and I was able to master the charango within two weeks. In fact I found it so easy that I augmented the charango by the attachment of ... read more
celebratory charango being made
Eric giving charango concert

South America » Chile » Biobío » Chillan April 24th 2011

In Chillán I was quite lucky to get a room as some were even reduced to living on the porches over doorways (see first picture). I tried to speak to these less fortunate tourists but they seemed strangely taciturn. However, they seemed to be making the best of their lot by growing some flowers to cheer themselves up. The housing situation was not just confined to my species and even the dogs were reduced to sleeping in the streets (see second picture). Chillán is well known as: the site of a devestating earthquake in 1939; the birthplace of Bernard O'Higgings (1778-1842), the founder of the republic of Chile; and the birthplace of the world-famous pianist Claudio Arrau Leon (1903‑1991). Whilst being shown round the Claudio Arrau Leon museum my telling the guide that I had once ... read more
canine housing shortage
concert appearance

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt April 18th 2011

The Chilean government was at one time worried about the lack of public displays of affection and the falling birth rate. Puerto Montt was chosen as somewhere to pilot a government initiative and a large statue of a couple embracing was erected (see first photograph). I was fortunate enough to be in Puerto Montt on Public Embracing Day when the 'couple most likely to stay together' posed at the foot of the statue, and the female half of last year's couple posed on the statue's seat displaying the resultant baby. The spirit of this initiative has now spread throughout South America and it is no longer unusual to see couples holding hands in the street, and even kissing! Puerto Montt is a delightful town in a bay almost surrounded by mountains where even the young are ... read more
harbour
small girl in boat

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island April 10th 2011

The boat (see first photograph) from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt was a substitute boat as its predecessor had hit a rock a couple of months ago and was currently in the Patagonia Home for Poorly Boats. The rock is fine, sitting up in bed, and taking nutrients. The captain explained to me that his job description was just (1) don't hit the rocks, and (2) be constantly available to be photographed with female passengers (see second photograph). At one time the arduous task of keeping the females entertained so overwhelmed the poor captain that he asked me to drive the boat for several hours (see third photograph). This was solely because I had the most naval beard amongst the passengers, with the exception of one woman that he was too embarased to ask. El barco ... read more
the captain working
me driving

South America » Chile » Magallanes » Puerto Natales April 5th 2011

On the bus from Ushuaia to Puerto Natales the bus company arranged a puncture in the middle of nowhere as a photo-opportunity for the gringos on the bus. And the middle on nowhere in Patagonia really is the middle of nowhere! (see first photograph). Puerto Natales really didn't give itself a chance as in April it was very cold and windy, and rained a lot. The town was filled with frustrated trekkers trying to look like they were on their way to some daring do, rather following a compass bearing to a WiFi-equipped cafe. One cafe even advertised itself as "it's warm in here". Statues are normally expressions of veneration, whereas in Puerto Natales they are also used to hold up lampposts (see second photograph). However, Puerto Natales is by the sea in a really nice ... read more
collapse or bust
bay and mountains

South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia March 31st 2011

Ushuaia is a nice little town nestled on the edge of the Beagle Channel, surrounded by spectacularly beautiful mountains. While there I visited the prison museum where I was able to speak to several model prisoners (see first picture). The Beagle Channel is so named, according to local Yamana indian mythology, because after the extinction of the dinosaurs a pack of hunting dogs appeared from Britain and started to dig for the bones of dinosaurs, which were so much larger than the meagre rations they had had to contend with in their homeland. Details of how they arived at Tierra del Fuego from Britain seem to have been lost in the mists of time. Anyway, they dug a trench from one side of Tierra del Fuego to the other, but unfortunately one night the sea ... read more
inter-species coexistence
not me

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Calafate March 23rd 2011

I came to El Calafate primarily to see the Perito Moreno glacier. The first view of the 'frozen river' that is the glacier is very impressive although photographs do not really give an idea of the size of the glacier. The immobility implied by the term 'frozen river' is not really accurate either as the glacier is moving forward two metres a day. There are also explosions periodically as chunks fall off the face of the glacier and crash down onto the surface of the lake. The terminus (face) of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 miles) wide, with an average height of 74 metres (240 feet) above the surface of the water of Lake Argentino. A very impressive place for the glacier alone. Another day I walked around a park in El Calafate ... read more
face of the glacier
'moving statue' bird

South America » Argentina » Río Negro March 17th 2011

From Buenos Aires I took a 22-hour bus trip south to Bariloche in the Argentinian lake district. Bariloche is on the edge of a large lake with spectacular mountains in the background, and is one of five large lakes in the area. I hired a car with a friend and we drove around some of the lakes. Everywhere we stopped she said that here would be a place beautiful enough to stop several days with a tent and some food (for an example see the first photograph). We swam in some of the lakes and the water was fairly cold. Another thing I tried was Curanto (which means 'hot stones' in the Araucano language). First they heat up stones with wood, then remove the wood, then put a layer of leaves over the stones, then put ... read more
Cooking with hot stones
My new family - Mi familia neuva




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