Santiago to El Chalten

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Week 8

Santiago is the political, economic and financial capital of Chile set in a wide plain ringed by the Andes and is now the 6th largest city in S. America where nearly 40%!o(MISSING)f Chileans live. Our base for the next couple of days was La Casa Roja, an international backpackers hostal set in a large rambling mansion around several courtyards and boasting a car, swimming pool, Sky TV etc. That night we feasted on a BBQ prepared by the hostal as we bade farewell to several of our travellers (including my friend Catherine) as their journey on the truck ended in Santiago. I think most of the group went to bed around 4.00am (fairly early by Chilean standards!). The next day I set off to explore more of the city and, recognising that all the museums are closed on Mondays, tried to find a cooperative association selling handicrafts from all over Chile. It had unfortunately moved and we found ourselves in the surburb of Bellavista, one of Santiago´s most liveliest neighbourhoods with busy street markets. Santiago´s parque metropolitano was close by with a funicular to the top of CerroSan Cristolabal so we headed up there to have a relaxing lunch with views over the city. We walked back down along a dusty track and at one point I was áttacked´by a dog - thankfully not rabid! Then back to the hostal for another late dinner at a nearby restaurant called the ´Fat Cow´where I made the mistake of not having steak - my capaccio salmon and plate of ´fresh´vegs had a lot to be desired.

Next morning, having bade a final goodbye to Catherine who we hope to see again in Ushuaia, several of us decided to visit the Museo Chilero de Arte Precolumbino. This well arranged museum chronicles 4500 years of pre Columbian civilisation with separate rooms for MesoAmerica and the central, northern and southern Andes. The museum outlined the beginnings of pottery and textile production in the Americas up to the arrival of the European conquistadors and the collection includes ceramic and metal objects, finely woven textiles and a variety of other pieces made from wood and other materials. The excellent concise English summaries on each exhibit proved interesting reading - seeing figurines with swollen cheeks symbolising the coca chewing, the polychrome pots with patterns supposedly inspired by people on hallucegenic substances, the mummies carefully preserved using various ancient techniques that predated the Egyptians. A temporary exhibition in the same building focused on the sexual habits of the Mayan peoples centred around their beliefs in the world of the living, the dead and their ancestors. They believed that when a leader died, it was necessary to help their transition through death to a final rebirth of their spirit through various funereal offerings and rituals involving procreation. Should these rituals not be properly observed, they feared that the spirit would become an evil spirit and result in natural disasters and lack of favour. The artefacts in this exhibition were particularly explicit in their depiction and representation of various rituals and actually inspired me to research more about the Mayan, Aztec and Inca cultures at some point in the future. We enjoyed lunch in one of Santiago´s many outdoor cafes and then back to the hostal to catch up on blogs and eat sushi later that evening before packing for a 7.30am start with three new truck companions travelling with us from Santiago through to Rio.

A long 11 hour journey with views of snow capped volcanoes and we arrived in Pucon, a hot spot for vacationing Chileans and gringos. Pucon is 25km from Villarrica and is a compact town surrounded by lakes and volcanoes, reminiscent of a lakeland village with adventure tour companies, sports outfitters and cafes. The main purpose for our visit is to hike up Volcan Villaricco which erupted in 1971 and opened up a 4km fracture emitting 30 million cubic metres of lava and displacing several rivers. One flow was apparently 14km long, 200m wide and 5 m high. The hike to the sulphur smoking summit is physically exhausting but not technically demanding. We were up early hoping to make the climb to the summit but were prevented by adverse weather conditions on our first day. Given the inclement weather I took the opportunity to catch up on blog and hoping the rain would clear. A few of us hired bikes for the afternoon and decided to follow what was purported to be an established bike trail but was actually a bumpy dirt road - and I had the bike without suspension. Nevertheless the scenery was stunning - Bavarian-like with coniferous woods, rolling hills and chalets nestled in the valleys. We found a mobile phone which we later handed into the local police, and continued on our way to try and find some waterfalls. We did manage to find one in a beautiful setting but, not being sure how to cross, we all found alternative routes and my tent mate, Laura, managed to fall into the cold water. Unfortunately she was soaked but managed to see the funny side and found some fairly dry clothes to change into. At that point, it started to rain more persistently and we decided to head towards an asphalt road and back to Pucon as fast as possible. It was another 19km back to town so when Laura managed to flag down a Toyota pick-up truck, we discarded our pride and thankfully squeezed into the back with our bikes to hitch a lift. We were absolutely drenched as we joined the others in a local restaurant and after dripping for some minutes, the landlord produced a gas-powered heater so we could dry off. They were serving beer in 5 litre ´towers´ so it was another lively night.

The next day we woke to clear skies and sunshine for another attempt on Volcano Villarrica. We were picked up by the tour operator (Sol y Nieve) to collect equipment (backpack, helmet, outer gear, boots, crampons, ice axe etc.) and hear safely advice before being driven to the base of the volcano by minibus. We were told it would be 5 hours to reach the summit and we set off to the top of a ski lift which is privately owned and was not running that day. There were many groups on the volcano and as we climbed, the wind picked up considerably. We made our final preparations, learning how to use the ice axe for balance and to break any fall on the ice. However the rain the previous day followed by sunshine had created a layer of ice that was being loosened by the crampons and became flying shards of ice. Also, we could see that the volcano was spewing noxious gases which the wind was blowing in our direction and after a further 250m, our guides made the decision to turn back given the risks. It was very disappointing having got so far but we had to descend from that point. Once we could dispense with our crampons, we had fun sliding down snowy slopes on our waterproofs. It was another first for me in terms of scaling a volcano with crampons. A lazy afternoon by the lake was followed by a meal of pasta and meat balls but my night was disturbed by some foraging animal that had somehow managed to empty the rubbish bins and strew their contents around our tent.

Our journey the following day took us across the Argentine border - the easiest crossing yet with spectacular views of volcanoes rising from the plains that were also dotted with monkey puzzle trees. Our destination was Bariloche with its population of 80k in the Lake District of Argentina. Bariloche is the main base for independent trekkers and an important transportation hub for those heading into southern Patagonia or east to Chile. It is also arguably the chocolate capital of Argentina with huge amounts of window space dedicated to seducing chocolate lovers. The town was officially founded in 1902 but attracted more visitors with the construction of the train line in 1934. Bariloche is also known for its alpine architecture using local hardwoods and unique stone construction although the flip side of its excessive popularity is some uncontrolled growth. The town is set on Lake Nahuel Huapi and stretches along its southern shore. Our base was ´Green Hostal´some 5 km out of town. The first night we enjoyed a wine and cheese evening making the most of the local wines. The following day I was booked to do some grade 3/4 white water rafting on the Rio Manse with an established operator Extreme Sur. We were picked up early from the hostal for a 1.5 hour drive through the National Park (Nahuel Huapi) which was amazing and ablaze with some yellow forsythia (?) and pick/purple lupins. We arrived at a picturesque lodge where we had breakfast and were given our wet suits, boots, helmet and life jacket. A further 10 mins drive and we were on the river and 2 hours and 20 km later, we had successfully negotiated the turbulent water having paddled through some deep gorges. We had avoided the icy water until our experienced guide tipped over the boat which then landed on my head - no lasting damage I hope thanks to the helmet. Our rafting ended at the Chile/Argentina border where we saw various gauchos on horseback. Then back to the lodge for a sumptious meal of roast pork/beef and vegetables all washed down with some Malbec/Merlot vino. A very enjoyable day as we returned to Bariloche where I changed money, checked email and visited an info kiosk for some ideas for hiking the following day.

The hostal where we were staying suggested visiting a local waterfall so armed with lunch, I set off for a quiet days walking. As I disembarked the local bus, I heard an Argentinian asking for directions for the waterfall and as I was going there anyway, we became companions for the rest of the day. Mattias had only limited English and as most of my Spanish had somehow dissipated, we did our best to communicate through sign language. Having seen the waterfall and a local viewpoint, we went to ´playa bonita´(beautiful beach) to enjoy the sunshine. Mattias lives in Buenos Aires and if we manage to meet up, he has promised to teach me the tango.

After three nights in Bariloche, a place I´d like to return to, we had two long day drives to reach El Chalten.

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