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26th-6th December: Trying to be a cluey traveller, I spurn the local advice and take a short cut to a Argintinian town on the coast.. to find that there are indeed no connecting busses for another 15 hours.. I am beginning to get a little anxious about meeting up with Tanya and Brendon in Chile..so the bus driver gives me a lift to the hitch-hiking spot out of town where I meet Rafar, an Israeli skipper, who is also trying to hitch in the freezing wind. I try by myself for 2 hours and get two offers for a lift... one just down the road and another, which I turn down, turns out to be half way to where I want to go! Damn! After 6 cold hours we indulge in an all-you-can-eat and hitch back into town to wait for the bus. Local paper: Todays max 4, min 2 degrees C. 30 hours later I arrive in El Calafate to discover that all my mail except for a letter from Roy has been lost. Being used to the Argintinian way by now, I remain politely asking where my mail is for about an hour.. finally it turns up, 2000km north of where I am. I ask for it to be returned to sender.. *sigh*. I lose Rafar, but manage to see Laguna Nimez, a paradisical bird sanctuary with, wait for it, wild flamingos! as well as Magellan Geese, Two Banded Plovers, Antarctic Giant Petrels (looking suspiciously like Pondies Pacific Gulls) Kelp Gulls, Loecas and four other types I cant name. The microflora (lenga, neiga) is spectacular. You are 50 degrees south, the samphire-like scrub is pushed sideways by the relentless Patagonian wind like the trees on Yorke Peninsula. I buy some more wire supplies for jewellery from a vendor who makes the observation "anything with snow on it, tourists will buy". Its that easy. I take the Alternative Tour to the Perito Moreno Glaciar 60 km out of El Calafate. The Vinagricho plants colour the hills and Tibetan style plains red, while black condors with 2.5m wingspans and blue icebergs whet the appetite for the main course...and what a dish the glaciar is: a 5km long face of cold white, 70m high, with trapped oxygen induced blue fissures radiating magical light. The tail of the 35km long snake is lost in the perennial snow shrouding the peaks above. The creaks, cracks and groans of this leviathan which moves at 2 m a day announce that another piece of the 1.95 m of ice which will fall off this day is about to topple from the face, or emerge from the depths as the weight of the ice above the water is reduced. The dynamics make you think that the monster is alive. |
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17th December
Shortcut to the 2nd of February
Shortcut to Photos - page 5 -Argentina
Movie Clips of the West Coast
Back to Area page
Back to Home
I get the next bus to Chile which arrives 4 hours late.. I realise that I sent the email announcing my late ETA to Tanyas work address rather than her holiday one... and she and Bren have purchased mountain accom & food for me for the 5 days trekking.. I arrive too late for the last bus to the Torres Del Paine National Park, so I predictably panic a little before emptying my bag and walking down
to the road out of town. 15 minutes later and my magic thumb has landed me in the back of a ute heading the 100 km to the mountains (dont read this mum). The views for U-shaped valleys, red Vinagrido samphires, lakes and condors from the dusty back of the ute is spectacular. Even the check point Chilean police decide to check out the scenery instead of asking me to get out of the ute. Arriving at 8pm, realising that I have another 2.5 hours before dark, I hoist the bag and trek through the dusky light to the shelter. Upon my triumphant arrival Bren looks through me 3 times before realising that the lost Flavel has arrived. Its great to see some faces from home. The shelter turns out to be more like a hostel and a glorious cold beer or two follows. Turns out that Tanya managed to hock my accom etc just before leaving! Luckily I manage to get food and accom for less than half the original cost over the next 5 days... speaking spanish has its advantages, thats for certain. The Chilean people, amazing icy slopes, blue glaciers, white valleys, bitter wind, azure lakes and vaguely surprised Upland Geese make this land not one to forget quickly. The Torres themselves are divine, and god seems to change the rain and wind patterns to give us the best conditions wherever we go during the 5 days of trekking. The Valley of the French is breathtaking and we share the experiences with the same small groups of people for some magic days. Camping 1 km from the Grey Glacier, by the lake where icebergs float past the front of your tent... all they while having the option of sipping a cold beer. Its hard to leave but after an incredible seafood feast back in Puerto Natales I head back to Puerto Arenas to fly to Coyhaique.
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