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Published: August 6th 2007
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After coming back from Torres Del Paine I had a notion to return there as a volunteer. I had spoken to a few of the rangers and refugio staff while I was there and got some contacts to get in touch with so I thought I would hang around Puerto Natales for a while and see if I could get myself work in the park for a month. Luckily when I got back from the park there was a notice up in my hostel asking for help for a few weeks so I volunteered along with a Welsh girl called Lauren. Nothing ever came of the job in the park though, admitedly after not trying very hard to get hold of anyone at the park a couple of times I gave up. I had a great time waiting around for them to reply though, Our work at the hostel just consisted of clearing up after breakfast, the best breakfast in South America by the way (so I didnt have to get up till 10am each day) then doing what ever shopping was needed and cooking lunch and dinner for the 5 or 6 staff each day. I tell you, I was
in my element, I love cooking and especially cooking for other people so it was great. I got on really well with Lauren too who was good fun and very mature for her years, we stayed for free in “the cave” where, between us we covered the floor with all our crap and lived in happy chaos. I probably irritated the hell out of her by taking over in my usual fashion and organising everything before she managed to get a say, but she coped well. Anyway we all became one happy family for a while with JP (a great, crazy, lovely guy from Oregon), Bill, Carla, Rustyn and any other waifs and strays who turned up allong the way. I stayed there longer than I had intended too because on the weekend after Easter the hostel, along with a travellers newspaper, jointly organise a festival for all the people who work in the town and all the locals as a kind of end of season piss-up. So there was a triathlon, a great party in El Living, a restaurant that was closing for winter - the owner was English and started off with rum punch and reggae then moved
all the tables away and kicked out some drum and bass tunes to which we were all merrily flinging ourselves around to in a drunken fashion. One of my best nights out in a while.
Then there was a football match the next day, a beach cleanup and the last night party with a great Chillian Reggae band - 7 full on rastas with lots of spliffs going around and praising Jah! Bizzare. Even the Mayor of the town was up and dancing. Unfortunately I sent all the photos of this home before I had time to upload them so, probably for the best though!
I am really missing the company now I have left though and been finding it hard to adjust to being alone again.
I went from Puerto Natales and the hostel to El Calafate in the Argentinian part of Patagoinia. My first border crossing went very smoothly (infact they were completely disinterested).
From there I hired a car with a few other people and drove to see the Perito Moreno Glacier which was fun but a bit touristy. I then branched off on my own again to El Chalten which is a little one horse town
(but rapidly expanding if the building sites are anything to go by), nestled in a valley surrounded, again, by more impressive grantie peaks.
Spent a lovely sunny day with fantastic views walking with Brent, a guy I knew from Puerto Natales who I bumped into here, and then went off camping for 2 nights on my own. It rained the first day and snowed the first night although I was quite comfy as I had rented a second sleeping bag and made myself a Nalgene hotwater bottle - genius idea. There was a climbers refugio there too which meant I could cook inside out of the rain but despite hanging my food up from the roof, I woke to find a little rattito had got into my food. It must have climbed tightrope style humming the Mission Impossible theme tune to itself and procedded to nibble my porridge oats, washing up liquid(?), and flip flops but turned its nose up at my blue cheese so there goes that myth!
I also climbed up to a high lake the next morning in the snow (coming upto my knees) debating the sensibility of doing this on my own at various points.
The
lake would have been just below mount Fitz Roy if the clouds had lifted so´s I could see it! It wasn´t till I got all the way back down that it cleared up a lot and I finaly got to see the Fitz Roy Peak I had been right underneath the whole time.
I then walked from there to another peak, a beautiful walk past Lago madre e hija and a slightly more pleasant evening camping under the Cerro Torre.
Anyway, I started feeling a bit lonley and fed up of being on my own (there is not a lot to do in a tent on your own when its cold) so I decided to move on even though there was lots more I could have done in El Chalten.
I am now in a place callad Puerto Madryn in the middle of the Eastern coast of Argentina. It was actually settled by Welsh people so there are towns all around here with Welsh names and tea shoppes like Trelew, and supposedly people still speak Welsh. Anyway it has been lovely to get back up to some sunshine since I have been trekking in the cold and snow for nearly
2 months now.
So have been feeling peaceful and serene, strolling along the beach here watching the sun go down. Went to try and see some not so serene Orcas snatching sealion pups off the beach but they didnt show, despite us spending 12 whole hours staring out to sea and 5 of them being sighted further down the coast heading our way.
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Lucy
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Dime Bar
Hey Lise Lovin those armadillos! Hope all still going well. Fab blog - better than telly. Lucyxxxx