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Published: September 27th 2007
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Lake District
This is Bariloche, in the northern part of Patagonia. It rained/snowed the entire time we were there. This was one of the few clear moments while we were there. Now that we are finishing up our seventh month on the road, quite a few people have been asking us whether we are still having fun. The answer is an unqualified YES. In fact, we have reached a whole new level of fun. We are now having so much fun, it hurts.
For example, we were in Bariloche, which is kind of like Argentina's version of Aspen or Vale, when it began to snow. Being an L.A. girl, I was mesmerized by the swirls of snowflakes and raced outside with the other city folk to marvel at the flurries. I've skied before, but most of the time, the ski resorts in So. Cal. manufacture snow. It doesn't really fall out of the sky.
So I'm staring up at the sky like Chicken Little when a little pellet hits me in the face. And then another and another. Pretty soon, I'm running for cover from the snow. Innocently, I ask Peter, "Is snow supposed to hurt?" He replies, "Only if it's hail."
Smartass.
And what more fun of the hurting kind could I have than climbing another series of damn mountains?! You would think I learned my lesson
in Peru, but unfortunately, there are no buses, trains or taxis that go up the mountains in Patagonia. The price of admission to see the wonders of Patagonia is really steep...and windy and dangerous and exhausting.
Three nasty blisters, a sprained toe, non-functioning legs and arms and several mountain trails later, I'm glad I paid. There is no higher compliment or more persuasive recommendation I can make than to say that it was all worth it.
Without a doubt, number one on the list of must-sees in Patagonia (and one of the highlights for our entire trip) for both of us is the hike to the base of the Torres in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The crown jewels of the park are the Torres, three immense jagged granite towers. You can see the Torres from practically anywhere in the park but you don't fully understand how incredible they are until you do the hike to the base. It was the most difficult trail I have ever done (without 4-legged or 4-wheeled help), Peter slept well after too. Almost 11 hours round trip. The first 2 hours are almost straight up 600 meters and then you
Base of the Torres
None of these pictures does the Torres any justice but you get an idea. go down 200 meters to a refugio. That wouldn't have been too bad except for all the mud, which meant we slipped down 2 steps for every step we climbed. The next hour and a half is through a wooded area, relatively flat. Once you get your breath and heartrate back to a reasonable, non-critical care level, you get to the side of the mountain that is all loose gravel. The trail here is about a foot at its widest, and to your right is a drop of a few hundred meters down to a river. Because there is so much loose gravel and rock, it is all just a rock slide waiting to happen. In fact, you can see where the most recent slides were and imagine riding all that rock down to the bottom.
And no, that's not the worst part. On our way up, we met two guys on their way down. The Brit said, "It's beautiful up there and the trail's not too bad. It's a bit muddy in the middle and then at the last bit, you have to climb over a few boulders." F*cking British understatement of the year. By the way, those
two woke up at 3 am to climb to the top for sunrise. Which means they did this climb in the dark. Which means they are nutters and cannot be trusted.
Of course, we get to a mountain of rocks and boulders. And I mean a mountain. According to the trail notes, you climb about 600 meters the first 2 hours and another few hundred (400?) meters the last hour. My initial reaction was, "Are they f*cking insane?! This is bullshit! Is it so hard to put some anchors into these rocks and attach some ropes so we don't all die?!" During the next hour, I would be making up all sorts of curses and rants. For those of you who know me, I'm not a crier. (Peter thinks I don't have any tear ducts.) But I nearly broke down at one point when I was clinging to the side of a giant boulder and seriously thought I was going to fall off of it because I couldn't find a toe hold. I have never been so scared in my life. Except when one of the engines on our plane exploded taking off from Hong Kong. But that's another
story. I was still angry and upset and ranting to Peter when we get to the top.
And then I just stopped. Stopped talking, stopped being angry, stopped being exhausted. I guess the only way I can describe it is by saying that if I were a god, I would live here. And that's all I'm going to say about it. The photos don't do it justice.
Second on our list is kayaking in Lago Grey, also in Torres del Paine. Lago Grey is fed by an immense glacier, Glacier Grey (can't these people be more creative?), which frequently calves (I learned this word on the Discovery Channel) icebergs the size of 2 or 3 story buildings. For a mere $152 USD, Peter and I were able to kayak around this natural sculpture garden one beautiful morning. We were outfitted in super thick neoprene wetsuits and booties. The kayak paddles even had mitts attached to them so we could keep our hands warm while paddling. It was amazing. The icebergs were shaped by the calving, wind and water into all sorts of fantastic structures. One looked like the Sydney Opera House. Another looked like Moby Dick. And all
life sized. It was like wandering around an amazing sculpture garden. We even got to kayak into an ice cave and watch the light filter through the ice. And hearing the waves slap against the side of the icebergs was astonishing.
And where's the pain in this excursion, you ask? No, our kayak didn't flip. Despite Peter's best attempts to jostle the kayak, it's pretty stable. I just wish I could have turned around and thumped him on the head with my paddle. For Peter, our accountant and budget guru, though, the price was rather painful. I practically had to strongarm him into agreeing to go. And of course, I could barely lift my arms for the next two days.
Third on the list is a hike to the Fitzroy Massif in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares in Argentina. Although it's not as magical as the base of the Torres, it is a much, much, much easier hike and definitely wins out on a payoff for effort ratio. The painful side to Fitzroy is that you have to stay in El Chalten, an expensive, cold, dusty, flea-bag of a town (population 200).
Los Glaciares also has the Perito
Merino Glaciar, the only advancing glaciar in South America. We spent a whole day there watching it calve icebergs. The sound, which, like thunder, comes a half second after the actual breaking of the ice, is a cross between canon fire and a jet plane taking off. There are many more worthwhile and amazing sights in Patagonia which we're leaving out. But that just means that you'll have to go there to see it all for yourself.
Well, Patagonia is the last leg of our journey and it is certainly a wonderful way to end our trip. We were extremely lucky that the weather cooperated. It's been sunny and relatively warm the entire time we've been here. All of the locals are amazed at how nice it has been.
We'll be in L.A. on September 25, where we crash back to reality, find jobs and a place to live. Now
that's painful.
To help ease the transition, we've compiled a short list of things about the U.S. that we are grateful for:
1. Toilet paper
2. Toilet seat covers
3. Toilet seats
4. Toilets!
5. Friends and Family
Not necessarily in that order, of course,
but you should never underestimate the allure of a clean toilet to someone who has been peeing in holes in the ground.
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we have to go back!
I can't wait for the slideshow! The pics are incredible! David K Tam - we need to go back and not just to BA!!