Tuesday, January 14, 2014

1/14/14 Puerto Natales for the Third Time

1/14/14 Puerto Natales

The night before our kayak trip we got an email. The trip was cancelled. Too many horseflies. Big bummer.

We had already spent 2 days in Puerto Varas and neither of us wanted to spend any more time there. Luckily we were able to change our flight with Sky Airlines so we flew down to Punta Arenas on the 12th. That made a full circle for our trip. But now what?

Punta Arenas is the biggest city we've stayed in and seems a bit dirty. We both loved Puerto Natales so yesterday we took a 3 1/2 hour bus back to where we can see mountains. Walking around town yesterday afternoon and evening was awesome. Back in the land of amazing clouds that change every minute.

Went back to Afrigonia for my birthday dinner. Lamb. Can't eat it too often down here.

It's 1:30pm now. I've spent the morning just walking all over town. Mostly down by the waterfront. It's a perfect last day. Even got blessed with another rainbow. I love seeing the pictures of Torres del Paine all over town. Such great memories but it seems like so long ago.

Just gorged on more lamb. I saw it cooking thru the window of the restaurant earlier today and just knew I had to come back tonight. The whole animal was split in half and spit roasted. The best lamb yet. But there's a good chance I won't eat it again until the next time I'm down here. There's just something special about patagonian lamb.

Tomorrow at 7 we take a 3 hour bus ride back to the Punta Arenas airport. Then hang out for 4 hours. And then start the 26 hour marathon to fly home. Brutal. But being down here has been worth every bit of discomfort it takes to get here and back.

The trip has been amazingly fantastic especially the hiking part. However, I am looking forward to being home. Mom, I'll see you soon.











Friday, January 10, 2014

1/9/2014 Goodbye Pucon, Hello Puerto Varas

1/9/2014 Goodbye Pucon, Hello Puerto Varas I'm on the bus again.... It's raining so it's a perfect travel day. Enough of the touristy Pucon. Walked around town a bit yesterday but shopping didn't appeal to me anymore than it ever does. Both of us were pretty tired so we didn't do much. The big challenge is figuring out what to do next. We have to fly back down south to Punta Arenas on the 14th only to fly back to Santiago and home the next day. We tried to change our flights and just skip the first leg but couldn't. Gotta love the airline policies. Puerta Varas sounds like another adventure centered touristy town. But it's a different one so that's great. There aren't anymore close hikes that are calling out to us. We are both ready for something else. But what? White water rafting and canyoning are possibilities. Laura would do either or both. Neither appeals to me. Laura kept searching and came up with a 2 day sea kayak trip. It sounds good. That will be the 12th and 13th.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

More photos Vallarica Traverse

























1/3/2014 to 1/7/14 Villarica Traverse

1/3/2014 to 1/7/14 Volcano Villarica & The Villarica Traverse

Signed on with Summit Chile to climb Villarica. It's the most climbed mountain in Chile. 2846 meters. Ice axe and crampons required. We got the last 2 spots of 12. Summit Chile is a very efficient and well run company. They supply boots, crampons, ice axe, waterproof pants and jacket, gaiters, gloves, fleece hat, and helmet. So pretty much everything any tourist would need.

At 7 we piled into the van for the hour ride to the ski slope. There were 6 people from Poland. A couple from Chicago. A guy from Brazil. One from Chile. And us. We rode the lift up to the snow. Then put on crampons and were off.

The 4 guides were great. They set a super slow pace and were very encouraging. There were lots of other groups up there. By the time we got to the top half of our group had turned back as had many of the other groups. It was more icy than usual and didn't soften up. Villarica is still active and vents some noxious gases at the top. Not pleasant if the wind is blowing your way. At the top we could see several other volcanoes including Lanin and Quetrupillan which we will see closer on the Villarica Traverse.

Usually the descent takes about half an hour because you can slide on your butt all the way down. But today because of the ice we had to walk all the way down. Near the bottom we had a Mapuche ceremony. Mapuche are the indigenous people of the area. Claudio, owner of Summit Chile, has a special interest in their culture and told us some about it. He pulled out a bottle of red wine, poured some on the snow and passed it to the next person. We each took a moment with a special thought, poured some on the snow, took a sip and passed it on. Very nice ending to the climb.

It was about 3:30 when we got back to the van. Our backpacks were in the van so we made a quick change of equipment. My feet were so happy to be back in trail runners.

The ski resort was mostly closed for the season. But there was a guy, Pedro, who lives up there. He sold us a couple of beers to help with the transition of climber to hiker. We walked about 30 minutes and found a sheltered campsite in the trees.

Day 1 of the traverse: completely different terrain than anything we have been hiking thru. Villarica dominated the view with it's constant puff of steam. The vegetation was sparse but beautiful. Yellow, pink, orange and white flowers interspersed between the brown, black and red lava rock. Stunning. We hiked in and out of forests. A new tree, araucaria, is very unique looking. The largest ones have thick trunks with the branches starting very high up. It's a conifer but very different than anything I've ever seen. It's also called the monkey puzzle tree. There are also lots of Lenga trees which we have been seeing all over Chile and Argentina. Later in the day we got views of Lanin and Quetrupillan, 2 other volcanoes. We combined the first 2 days of the hike as described in the Lonely Planet Patagonia Trekking Guide. That plus yesterday's hike up Villarica made both of us very happy to finally lay down at the end of the day.

Day 2: Late start at 8:20 because I slept in. Hard hike. Lots of up. Hot. I ran very low on water. But gorgeous views of 5 close volcanoes and more in the distance. We saw no one all day until after we set up our tents. 3 local mountain bikers rode up and stopped for water at the creek right next to us. It was fun talking to them even though their knowledge of English was only a little bit better than my Spanish. Nice guys. Later 3 hikers, also local, came by and are camped just around the bend. Their destination tomorrow is the same as ours. Early to bed tonight. The horse flies (tabanos) made us run for our tents early.

Day 3: we combined 2 days into one again. Beautiful moonscape like surroundings. Also went by a couple of lakes. We met a young couple from France going the other way. We asked about the camping by Lago Avutardes. They said it was beautiful, like Switzerland. After the last pass the landscape changed to meadows, waterfalls and trees, and views of more mountains. Unfortunately, signs of cows appeared. Then the cows themselves and all their mess. Am I back on the CDT? We had to sweep away the cowpies before setting up our tents. Yuck! Switzerland? I don't think so.

Day 4: Hiked down thru the trees and cowpies. Got to the dirt road. To the right led to Argentina. We went left to stay in Chile. 2 20 something year old sisters from Sonoma caught up to us. We walked to the pavement at Puesco then a couple hours more before finally getting a hitch to Curarrehue. We ate a delicious Mapuche stew for lunch then caught the bus back to Pucon.

In summary the hike up Villarica was great. The traverse had many splendid views and was way different than the other hikes we've done down here. It had a bit too much lava. The cows at the end made this hike our least favorite of the trip. But, remember we have been to some amazing places. Still loving it down here. Might do something besides hiking for the last week down here.






































Thursday, January 2, 2014

1/2/2014 Pucon, Chile

Dos mujeres exploradoras valiente! Our name is expanding. The ranger at the Villarica park office added the mujeres valiente part.

We are now in Pucon, Chile. This is a big adventure center. Lots of outfitters ready to sell every kind of adrenaline producing experience. We are back in the land of tourists.

Spent the day wandering around town. Bought food for our hike. Signed up for the hike up Volcano Villarica for tomorrow. We will have a guide, crampons, ice axe, and lots of fun. We were told to go have a pasta dinner to get ready for a hard climb. We are going to gorge on lamb instead! It's delicious down here. The grocery store options for backpacking food leave lots to be desired. Oh well, it's definitely not about the food. This hike will be about 6 days and won't have refugios to supplement our meals or alcohol consumption.

Well, the lamb was awesome. Now wine and chocolate. Then bed. Probably no internet for 6-7 days.

Ciao!

12/31/13 Castro, Chilies Island

Rainy day for the bus ride from Quellon to Castro. Magically mostly dry once we got here. Spent the last day of the year wandering around playing normal tourist rather than avid trekker. Couldn't stay awake until the new year.

Decided to go back to the Andes. Nothing else down here can compare.

Staying at the Palafito Hostel. Palafito means built on stilts. Our hostel is right at the mouth of the Gamboa River. Great place to watch the tide come in and out.

Felix Ano!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Chiloe Island

Spent 16 hours on three buses yesterday. Bariloche to Osorno to Puerto Montt to Quellon. Almost 2 hours in border crossings... The argentinean and Chilean border stations are about 30 minutes apart. Very inefficient. Said yes I had food on the form we had to fill out. All the luggage was taken out of the bus. First on the argentinean side then again on the Chile side. Waited in line for my passport to get stamped....on both sides of the border. Dogs ran around sniffing all the luggage. Never did get asked about my food. Big waste of time. And now it's cold and rainy. Doesn't look that great for hiking here. Last night we spent in a big fancy hotel. Luke warm shower. I guess you don't get what you pay for! Probably switching plans again. Gotta stay flexible. Will bus up to the town of Castro today. Will stay at a hostel. Much more our style. Seems like we are the only foreign tourists here. Pretty cool. I'm sure this place would look different with some sun! Bus is in 2 hours. Would usually be out walking but don't want to get all wet.