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Published: July 13th 2008
After the excitement of Torres Del Paine, our next adventure was to be a 4 day ferry ride along the coast Of Chile. The crossing is meant to be awesome as you navigate your way through glaciers and icebergs, unfortunately once again winter was proving to be a bit of a nightmare and so the trip was delayed several times. Operating on a deadline we had no choice but to cancel it and find an alternative way of getting north. The normal method would be by bus of course, but why go to all that time and trouble, when you can get a flight from Puerto Arena (3 hours south of where we were) to Puerto Montt for 35 pounds!
So we grabbed the early bus at 7am in the morning and made the 3 hour journey south, leaving ourselves plenty of time to get our 1pm flight, of course this turned out to be even more time when the flight was delayed until 3pm. Now let me tell you one of the things that really pisses me off about flying and im pretty sure we have all fell foul of this in the past. You wait until 3pm, then
they push it back a little bit more. So around 4pm you eventually get on your flight, buckle up, the crew close the doors and sit down. Then shortly after the pilot makes an announcement. My Spanish after all this time still isn't great, but fortunately the groaning from the other passengers and the fact that most of them were getting up, taking their hand luggage and getting off the plane, gave me a small hint that there might be a problem. It turns out that Volcanic activity in the Puerto Montt region is to blame...not the old Volcanic activity chestnut, turn it in pal, we've all heard that one before! (Seriously...if I had a pound for every time thats cropped up, well!)
So it was that we had to spend the night in Puerto Arenas and try the following the same day. You ever get that feeling of Deja Vu, as soon as we checked in we were told the flight was delayed until 3pm....mmm sounds familiar! (Thank god we didnt opt for the slow bus option!) Fortunately take 2 was a success and we were treated to some stunning views from the windows as we flew over
Torres Del Paine. We arrived fairly late into Puerto Montt, which is a small unspectacular fishing town. Then we set about doing what we do best...finding the nastiest hostel in town. This place was really grotty, when we knocked I dont think the fella could actually believe he had customers. As soon as we walked in the door you could smell the faint lingering odour of old dead people hanging in the air. But steeling ourselves for the night ahead we figured well its only one night, lets have a few shants and hopefully it wont look so bad with the old beer goggles on! At this point I know you're probably thinking why didnt we just find somewhere else, well...
A) The first hostel we wanted to stay in, clearly didnt want business as nobody answered the door
B) It was right next to the bus station (making it convenient for a quick escape the following morning!)
C) We are a couple of lazy bastards.
The oddest thing about it was the way everything in the bathroom and I mean everything, was covered in that cheap looking wood effect lino....im actually getting a cold chill just writing
about it. (of course it could also be the fact that this internet cafe, doesn't seem to have realised that heating has been invented!!)
So one more bus ride and we are in Bariloche, where in a couple of days time Chris's brother and sister are meeting us for a fortnight of skiing and snowboarding. You can imagine then the slightly alarming look on our faces, when as we are approaching the town all of the surrounding hills have very little snow on them. Having only been snowboarding once, im no expert, but I am pretty sure that the old white stuff is a pre-requisite for this kind of holiday! We check into a rather odd penthouse hostel. The hostel has been built in the top floor of a block of flats, with a huge balcony that offers spectacular views of Lake Nahuel Huapi, which is the huge lake that Bariloche has been built around. We do some digging around over the next 24 hours and discover that the ski lifts haven't actually opened yet, which could be a minor problem. So we pass some time taking pictures of the full on beard that Chris has grown and the
facial bumfluff that I have accumulated in the same time.
The following day we are sat about in the hostel when I hear a familiar voice. (I know what you are thinking, wake up Darren, that's Chris's voice you idiot...you know the guy you have been travelling with for the last several months!) Well we both look up at the same time to see Brad stood in the hallway. (you may recall Chris's mate from back home that travelled pretty much the first half of the trip with us) Unbelievable, we knew at some point he was coming to Bariloche, but the chances of us being in the same hostel were pretty slim! So we spent the rest of the day drinking and catching up on each others stories.
This is where it all goes a bit wrong. Let me start at the beginning though. Chris had arranged accommodation in the actual ski village some 15kms from Bariloche. Right at the foot of the hills perfect for walking out your door and straight onto the slopes. The only problem, is that this was considerably more expensive than staying in town. (the hotel was about 350 quid for a
week in comparison to a hostel which would have been about 50 quid tops) With no snow and no chance of a refund on the hotel, this was leaving a slightly sour taste in my mouth, particularly nearing the end of the trip, my money is becoming a bit more of an issue. Of course the night of the reunion with Brad, I drank nearly three bottles of white wine to myself and had a run in with the wooden toilet door at the hostel. Meaning as I stood there red faced, paying for the damages the following morning, the hotel was starting to look like a more appealing proposition. (I think its fair to say I may have wore out my welcome here) I know you are probably all thinking when are you going to grow up Darren, you are nearly 30! (well probably never gang, alarmingly I have noticed I have small ginger facial hairs...I think I could be related to Peter Pan!)
Feeling like absolute crap that day and vowing that no more alcohol would pass these lips during my time in South America (I guess there's always the intravenous method!) we checked into our posh
hotel, where I collapsed for the rest of the day.
With no snow the following day, Me, Chris, Rich & Kim (Chris's brother and sister) walk up the hills for a view down at what the pistes would look like etc. The only other people that are on the slopes are a couple of school groups, one of which looks absolutely ridiculous dressed in bright orange. The walk is quite steep in places and there is some snow, so keeping grip was a bit tricky but the views at the to pwere well worth it. Chris and I take it in turns to Scale a large rock formation near the summit, where as you stand on the top, there is a very real danger of being blown off its that windy! We also take some pictures of the lakes before deciding to head back down. Just as I remove my zoom lens from my camera, Rich screams at me to look up....typical, there is a bloody great Condor about 10 or 15 feet above my head! Bastard, was lying in wait just waiting for the moment to taunt me.
Well we spend the next few days, chilling in
the spa, cooking some decent food (that doesnt involve ham and cheese!) and planning some tours.
First up a spot of Kayaking. The last time I did this was in New Zealand. I was sharing a Kayak with some girl from Croydon and couldnt understand why we were always so far behind everybody else, that is until I realised she wasnt doing any rowing! Dig in love, you'll never shift you bingo wings with that attitude! It was actually a really good crack and the lake was stunning! The following day we had planned to hire a big 4x4 and drive the 7 Lakes Route (im sure you can guess the reason behind the name) Part of the road is pretty much a dirt track so I was really looking forward to tearing the route a new arsehole! You can imaging then my dissapointment, when we found out the insurance on this was about $9000 if you have an accident and that includes if somebody runs into you! So it was that in the space of 60 minutes, we went from a spaciously powerful, rugged 4x4 to a, erm, Corsa.....BBBRRRMMMMM.
With Brad behing the wheel we set off,
stopping every now and then to take piccies etc. We pulled up for lunch at the town of Vila La Angostura. Now some of you may remember the torrid time I had at the Gaucho farm in Uruguay, sat on the saddle of the petulant horse from hell. Well as I tucked into my horse steak at lunch, (no im not joking) i'd like to think I settled the score somewhat....cross me at you own peril horses! That'll learn them!! Yee Hah!! We also stopped for a large ice cream as you can see in the picture. Im glad to say after finishing it, that I didnt feel at all sick. Especially when we made it to the dirt track part of the road and were being thrown about all over the place!
We check into our hostel in San Martin De Los Andes (the halfway point of the drive) and grab some food and a few hands of cards. Then Chris devours a bittle of red wine and attempts to relight the gas heater in our dorm before he gets into bed. Great I can see the headline now, '2 former British Gas employees in hospital with Carbon
Rockaby Chris, on the tree top....
Quite why we were given Tommy from Rugrats duvets I dont know!Monoxide poisoning'
The next day we make our way back to Bariloche and its decision time for everyone. In the words of the Clash,,,should I stay of should I go? That was the decision on everybody's mind. If we all hang about and there's no snow then, what a waste of time and money, if you spend time travelling (particularly as Chris, his brother and sister only have one more week) and then its snows in Bariloche you have wasted even more time!! It was a case of biting the bullet. Chris and co decided to head North. There is a ski resort which is apparantly doing pretty well for snow up there. For me though I still have a month in this continent and I have some stuff planned back up north in Peru and Bolivia. That was it then, no more C-Mac and the Dal Man, a tearful farewell beckoned (Chris can be such a crybaby at times!) the old team was on the scrap heap. Destined for solo adventures (not that kind....you should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking of it!) the next few days will see me covering half the distance of Chile in
Insane in the BRAIN!!
Check out the first impression....B-Real from Cypress Hill buses. Including a pleasant 29 hour bus journey, hopefully not too bad as you can get cama class out here, which is practically a bed, much better than the naff scholl trip style coaches we have in the UK!!!
I'll let you know how I got on next time!
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