Hello Buenos Aires...and goodbye

Time to go home... I can't stand the thought of going back to routine life after such a luxurious time on the road. Don't get me wrong - I love my work and my home and friends and family - it's just been such a treat to have this winter to explore the world. Just wistful, I suppose, because tonight I get on a plane and all of it will be in the past. What a ride.

Buenos Aires is a city - what more can I say? It's filthy, smelly, noisy, crowded, and THRILLING. This city is hyper-aware of its passionate history, and flaunts Tango as much as the beloved Boca soccer team, Evita, and the national flag. This energy is expressed daily - Porteños (as locals are known) stay out all night on a regular basis, often with the entire family. Small children play in the streets at midnight, with nobody seeming to give a second thought to it.

This all takes place amongst the crumbling frontages of manor houses from the wealthy turn of the century, when Argentina was a major power in South America, and the wool trade was booming. BA is filled with an embarassment of amazing architecture. Often called the Paris of South America, on quieter corners, it is easy to see why. On the busy ones, you'd better just watch out for traffic. Sidewalks are not necessarily for pedestrians.

Not many quiet corners are found in the downtown area where Julie and I are staying. It's smack in the middle of downtown, near the touristy bits. We've immersed ourselves in Tango (hard to avoid, actually) and eaten the famous Parilla (grilled meats) almost every night. So much to tell, but I have to go! There's one more day to cram in more BA. Ciao & Besitos!

Putting away the trekking poles

Hi all, sorry to be out of touch.

First, may I say how TOTALLY AMAZING the scenery is down here. Think I´m spoiled in Banff? Well, yes, but the drama of the mountains here comes from the fact that they rise suddenly and majestically from the rolling pampas (think prairie with a whole lot more spiny shrubby things).

Lu and I splurged on an overnight horseback expedition which took us 35 km from El Calafate to the once-renowned ranch of Bon Accord. We had a real gaucho for a guide, who cooked meat & veg to perfection over an open fire (which could have set the whole grassland on fire at a second´s notice) and topped up our tin cups with generous portions of red wine and whisky. Our kind of trip, for sure. We were the only guests on this excursion, so it felt pretty damned decadent. The host family at the ranch took in we gringas with good humor, and the visiting nephew showed us around his domain with the gusto only a nine-year-old can muster in the company of those who only partly understand what he is saying.

The real highlight of this part of the trip was not the sheepskin saddle (fine & comfy) or the sparkling glacial lake we rode beside, but the private tour we got of a defunct Estancia house. Everything was left as if the owners had just walked out one day (apparently not far from the truth - the estancia system collapsed in the 80's due to poor government policies, and many were sold to foreign owners). We walked into a time past, when the ranch held the only radio in the province, and was the social centre for the newly forming town. Gauchos lived and worked lifetimes on the ranch, tending a multitude of sheep and protecting them from the fierce pumas that stalked the pampas. Now there is a dim echo of that time, and the big house remains shut and unused, its contents left to the whims of time. It would make an amazing interpretive centre, with a bit of time and money. Hmmm... Career opportunity? Hard to say. The owners of the farm now favour a quiet lifestyle, with the occasional horseback visitor. Besides, it was far more moving to see the estate in this "found" condition than it would have been in a catalogued collection of artifacts. Still, the visit raised more questions about that lifestyle and time (and the family, in particular - all buried in a small graveyard on the property) than were answers available with the gaping gulf of language.

Anyway.

I started this entry talking about trekking. The short version of the story is that we hiked Los Glacieres National Park and now we´re done. I fly to Buenos Aires tomorrow to take in some of the Tango Festival, and drink some more red wine. My holiday is nearly done. In a couple of weeks, it will be back to reality & also back to my nearest and dearest.

Cheers!

No time for "woosers"

Mom used to ask me all the time, when I was younger, to go for a walk. I detested going for a walk - not because my mother is bad company, but because I figured why should I walk when I have a perfectly good bike which will get me there faster?
Well, how times have changed.
I have just completed the longest walk of my life, thus far. Aproximately 130 km, with side trips: the full Torres del Paine circuit.
To give some perspective to this accomplishment, imagine hiking from Edmonton to Red Deer in 11 days (not so hard, you say). Now throw a bit of rugged terrain in the way ( a little harder). Just for fun, imagine some pretty large hills, say around 400 to 800 metres elevation gain or loss. Now make the trail nice and rocky, and add some boggy sections that have to be negotiated on rotting logs or muddy tufts of grass clinging to the slope. Throw in a few river crossings to add some spice, along with gusts of wind that can knock you sideways. Still not enough challenge? Oh, yeah, and you have to carry all the supplies you will need for the whole excursion (food, fuel, tent, clothing & sundries) which adds up to a load of about 60 lbs on your back.

This is what trekkers call ... "fun"

It was fun, believe it or not! There is something about that level of physical challenge, when, if you rise to meet it, makes you feel immensely powerful.
The first couple of days test your mettle by sheer length of the trail. We started with a 20km hike on relatively easy terrain, but with the packs at their heaviest, it was a really long march for that last kilometre into camp. Julie ( a lone traveller from Vancouver who became a member of our hiking party) was suffering horribly from blisters already. We patched her up with moleskin and duct tape & kept going.
Day two was only a couple of km shorter, but for bodies which had been sedentary on the Navimag ferry for half a week, it was pain pain pain.
Day 3 was a shorter jaunt to Glaciar Los Perros, but the terrain got more challenging. More ups and downs, more tree roots, more rocks to clamber over.
Day 4 dawned to whipping winds, and because of the comfort of the camp and our low energy, we decided on a rest day. Julie´s feet needed a break, and the weather didn´t look very good for crossing the pass - it was reputedly the most challenging part of the trail & not advised in bad weather. So we all slept until we couldn´t sleep any more, then installed ourselves in the cook shelter for the remainder of the day.
The rest was desperately needed, but a couple of things happened that confirmed that a break had been the right decision. First, we met a group of guides and porters who were serving a small party on an all-inclusive adventure tour. These folks wanted to walk the circuit, but in style and comfort. They carried only day packs, while the crew took their gear and plenty of food and treats from camp to camp. These were clearly fellas to befriend. We never mooched, but since we happened to be sitting around the cook shelter, the cook for the guided group offered us a few tidbits of salami and cheese (precious things on the trail - they don´t keep long!) Shortly after dinner was done with their guests, the pisco sour came out. They offered to share with us because they didn´t want to have to carry any extra supplies over the pass the next day. We couldn´t argue with that reasoning, and, never able to refuse pisco sour, soon we were swapping stories & trying on the gaucho (cowboy) gear of one of the porters. It was a scream. For the next four days, we kept pace with this party, and every night, we hung out with the guides. They always had a treat or two for us, and we became fast friends.
The other good reason for stopping was the weather. On the day of the dreaded crossing of the pass, the notoriously devilish Patagonian weather held in our favour, and we reached the crux of the trail (Paso John Garner - famous for gale force winds) under a crystal-clear sky. It was so calm on the pass that we stopped for a leisurely lunch overlooking Glaciar Grey. Mauricio (our guide buddy) said that he´d never seen the conditions so good in the six years he´d been guiding the trail.
The descent from the pass to the next camp was (as Lu puts it) " G.I. Jane." We dropped about 8oom elevation in 2.5km or so - stupidly steep. Most of the trail down involved hanging on to a tree trunk and jumping down to the next one. Crazy!
From Campamento Paso, it was a quick hop to the next camp at Lago Grey, where Lu and I splurged on a guided hike on the glacier. It was worth the price just for the zodiac ride across the iceberg-strewn lake. We were going about Mach 4 through choppy ice-water at the toe of a calving glacier. YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Up on the glacier, we tried a simple ice climb & took plenty of photos, even though it´s impossible to capture the place properly.
The next day, we got a taste of the famous Patagonian wind. I watched a tent (not ours!) fold completly to the ground under the force of it. By this camp, we had made it to the "front side" where folks could get a taste of the park by hiking the 4 or 5 day "W" trail, which we had now joined. The campsites became busier and noisier. We saw more people hiking in jeans (aaaack), or without packs at all, and we developed a fierce pride about what we had accomplished already on the circuit. Those hiking the "W" became "woosers" - not like the "C" for Circuit that we were doing. We were Complete. Capable. Courageous. Champions.
I have to give special credit to Julie, who kept on going, despite heels that looked like hamburger when we took off the bandages. She had a terrible cold and cough the entire trail, and became so ill that she had to leave a day ahead of Lu and I - before seeing the towers. She finished the circuit, though, and for that she is anything but a "wooser"!
There are so many moments I´ll remember from this extraordinary hike. We saw an enormous landscape on an intimate level. On the last morning in the park, Lu and I got up before dawn to clamber up a moraine for a sunrise view of the namesake of the park - the Torres del Paine. We were rewarded with a soul-searing vista as the rosy light of dawn played on the cold granite peaks. It was the perfect send-off.
I left the park with a bittersweet feeling. Our time on the trail was so intense, the weather so fantastic, that I don´t dare ever come back, for fear that it could never be so good again.

Time to leave Puerto Natales, and Chile, today. We are heading for El Calafate this afternoon, to see what Argentina has in store. It means that this epic adventure is almost at a close, which makes me very sad, but we´ll cram some more in to the next couple of weeks, I´m sure!

Lovin´ the boat!

Here I am, fresh from a four day sea voyage that was supposed to have taken three. Lu and I hopped the ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales on Monday afternoon, and the sailing was smooth and sunny for two days. Then, in the wee hours of Wednesday, one of the engines failed, the power went out, and we very nearly ran aground on several occasions in the two hours following as the crew tried to navigate a narrow channel with half-power. Sounds scary, but most of the passengers were too drunk to care. Not I, of course! (gasp of incredulity) We´d already turned in for the night, but got up to investigate when the engine stopped. We weren´t sure whether or not to have our warm clothes on, in case we had to abandon ship. As long as we weren´t sinking, though, the ship was really the best place to be, engines or no. The area through which we sailed is some of the least populated and rugged terrain on earth. Deep fjords with rocky shores and glaciers tumbling into the sea. Awesome is too mild a word.
As for the trouble with the ship, it all turned out all right. The malfunction stranded us overnight in a bay, until the marine authority could come to the ship and determine the remaining engine sound enough to make the rest of the trip. Some passengers chose to transfer to another boat in the morning to try to make connecting busses and flights, but most of the backpackers just shrugged and smiled. Mañana. We´ll get there when we get there. The crew kept feeding us three meals a day, and there was still beer in the pub, so all was dandy. As it was, we all got an extra night accomodation plus meals for no extra money, and that´s all happy in the world of the backpacker.
The ship exceeded our expectations on many levels.
What we had thought would be a chaotic, foul-smelling, cramped and dirty boat turned out to be damned fine luxury for the price paid! We booked dorm beds on the Magallenes ferry, dreading 22 unwashed people in a tiny, airless room below sea level, in cuddling distance to the engine. To our delight, the dorms were more like cabins - bright and relatively airy for ship´s quarters, with only four people actually sharing a space, and curtains for privacy around each generous single bunk bed. This company has clearly figured out their market. The whole trip was tailored for the trekker, with informative talks and films, plus parties and bingo in the evening.
Wonderful.
For the first time, we were truly forced to relax. Nothing to plan, no place to be, except at meals (rigidly scheduled and eagerly anticipated). We dozed, read books, attended the activities, had the leisure to chat & made many new friends from all over the world. Most of them will be on the Torres del Paine trails in the coming week.
Curious about the sights? Search Torres del Paine, and check it out. Breathtaking. Sharp towers of granite, carved by glaciers, and surrounded by the remnants of the same, with flowery meadows and glacial lakes dotting the valleys. This hike (epic at 10 days) is a world classic, and I can´t wait!
So, dear friends, I will be out of contact for a little while. It´s all for a good cause, though my poor feet are not likely to agree with that sentiment until it´s all over.
Here´s hoping for good weather!
Ciao
L