Yaaaay! - Off on the Uyuni Tour

Photos probably do more justice than my limited vocabulary to describe the amazing beauty of nature, so I'll try to keep my entries short.

I made sure to have a loooooong, deep-cleansing shower this morning, having been forewarned that there would be no shower facilities for 2.5 days.

Had breakfast, packed, and was ready to get on the jeep.

Being Bolivia though, nothing tends to leave on time - storing our bags and getting the jeep ready seemed to take well over an hour. Patience.

We drove 1km, and stopped. The cook forgot to buy tomatoes, so she had to stock up at the market. Patience. But I learned my favorite word here, "Porfi!" I think they only use it in Bolivia; It's the short form of "por favor". Luv it!!!

15 minutes later, another stop. The jeep needed gas. Patience.

When we switched from paved road to dirt, I knew we were FINALLY on our way. I mean, there just didn't seem to be anyone or anything to stop for around here. Surprisingly, we did encounter a local bus going the opposite direction. Glad I wasn't in one of those…

Drove thru the Quebrada de Palala, also known as the "Valley of the Moon", because it looks like the surface of the moon. I wonder if that's true.

Some scenery that reminded of my Colca Canyon excursion around Arequipa, Peru. Rich green grass, water patches, and llamas.

We had lunch (create your own sandwich with a selection of cheese, tomato, cucumber, ham, and bread) in one of these fields, when it began pouring rain with thunder & lightening. Oh no!!! We all had to move back into the jeep to finish our food - a cozy and intimate mealtime : ) The storm passed by the time we finished eating.

Now, one problem with this landscape is that it's difficult for us humans to do our nature's call. Too vast and flat = no hiding place.

Stopped at a couple small villages along the way. No matter how small (I think less than 20 inhabitants in one!), there was always a church.

For the first night, we stayed in one of these villages. All 4 of us in the same room. Mattress and blanket provided, but we all used our sleeping bags because it was just too cold! (Yes, I rented one)

Let me introduce my tour group, as we surround the dinner table in our bedroom.

The young blond dude on the left is Matthew, a narcissistic Brit who cares greatly about his appearance and doesn't stop talking about girls. Nice, easy-going guy. Or at least I thought so for the 1st day.

The Chinese man in the middle is Michael. Of all the places in China, he happens to be from Harbin. Never met anyone from there before… Anyways, he must've had a successful business before he retired. He carries the biggest camera and the longest lens. Oh, and not just one! Meaning that he made us stop EVERYWHERE to take photos. It started to get annoying after a while. Not only that, he kept taking pictures of me and the others without even asking. I hope they're not publicly displayed somewhere…

The Dutch girl on the right is Nicole, who I met and hung out with in Tupiza as you know. We harbored a mutual dislike towards the Chinese.

As I went to the outdoor sink/toilet area to get ready for bed, I looked up - WOW! Thousands (millions?) of stars were out at night. Wish I could've taken a photo.

My Dear Esmeralda

I've arranged to go on the Uyuni tour starting tomorrow. $160ish for the 3 nights 4 day tour. Includes everything, but definitely pricey for Bolivian standards. The operators must make so much money doing this.

Surprisingly, there are only 3-4 agencies offering the tour from Tupiza. That's one of the reasons why I came here rather than head directly to Uyuni to do the tour from there - I hear that Uyuni is full of cheap (competitive market), yet terrible, operators. Plus, by starting from Tupiza, you go in the opposite direction from theother tours, translating to less traffic, less crowds, and peaceful sightseeing : ) AND you get to see more of nature's awesomeness!!! At least I hope so...

The tour goes through regions that are over 5,000m in altitude! And we'd apparently be spending one night at around 4,500m. Fearing altitude sickness (bad experience in Peru a few years back), I started taking my medications. They better work, or otherwise, I'd be in complete misery for the next few days. Fingers crossed.

So, I had the whole day free. I went to the small, gloomy local market to try to find a sleeping bag. Preferred to have my own than having to rent. Sleeping bags are a hot commodity in Tupiza for tourists. But not many stalls carried them. High demand, low supply = expensive. Since I didn't plan on carrying one around after my 3 nights on the tour, I decided to suck it up. The sleeping sheets, which I had been carrying from Japan, would have to do.

Oh, forgot to mention that while I was wandering through the streets, I did indeed run into that woman again. Gosh, I have to be better with names….that old woman from Valparaiso and Humahuaca. She wasn't planning on leaving for the Uyuni tour until a few more day and was then heading towards Colombia (lucky her!), I doubt that our paths will cross again. So we just said our "nice to have met you"s and went our own ways.

I had a sandwich and cola for lunch in town, and went back to the hostel. Looking for something to do, I signed up for a horseback riding trip to the surrounding canyons for the afternoon. Only 75BOB (~$10) for the 5 hours!!! That must be the cheapest horseback riding I've ever come across - made me glad that I didn't fork over at least 5x that amount in Mendoza. I admit though, that I was a little concerned about the quality of the horses that they provided…

Later in the afternoon, a TEENAGER comes to pick me and another guy up from the hostel for the tour.

I guess he's the tour guide. Hmm…. We are led to the horses (looks fine) and I climb onto my first ever horse, Esmeralda. I nicknamed her Esmie.

She was a very good horse. For the most part. I found out after trotting for about an hour that she didn't like to be overtaken. In other words, if the other horses got in front of her, she'd start galloping to take the lead. Freeeeaaaaaaked me out!!! Mind you, I've never been on a horse before and had no clue how to control her. She was galloping…horses gallop fast. Waru was scaaaaaaared. I seriously wanted to grab onto her by putting my arms around her neck!

Anyways, we trotted through this amazing landscape - red sand, cacti, blue sky. I imagine this is sort of what the Grand Canyon must look like. Or, I could be totally wrong.

And we ended up at the bottom of the canyons. I think. Well, that's what the sign said!!! There, we had some free time to explore on foot. Grateful to be off the horse and stretch out my tense muscles. The two of us did some rock climbing stints to see if we could get to the other side of the canyons. Didn't happen. Haha.Esmie was in a galloping mood for the return leg. I held on tight (VERY), but was actually OK for the most part. Must've gotten used to the horse riding thing a bit. Not that I plan to do much more of it in the near future. I find betting at the race track more entertaining.
Nonetheless, it was quite sad to have to part ways with Esmie. I've gotten attached to her, and came to think of her as a cute creature, over the past 5 hours. I loved that softness above her nose… I wish I had taken a picture with her! Darn it.

On the way back, we stopped by this small hut serving fresh juice - delicious fresh squeezed OJ for 2.50BOB. Quenched my thirst but not my stomach. As soon as I got back to the hostel, I went out to dinner with Nicole again for some salad, soup, and crepe. They have a lot of "European" food here, Bolivianized for sure.
I was in bed by 8pm. So tired. I guess the horseback riding was stressful.

I'm sooooo excited for tomorrow!!! The Uyuni tour is definitely up there in my "top 5 things to do in South America".

Border Crossing on Foot

I've never done this before. On foot, that is. Normally, it's been by bus, train, plane, or shuttle service. This time, my plan was to get to the border town, walk across immigration, and catch an onward bus. Piece of cake!!!

Or so I thought.

I wanted to get to the border as early as possible - who knows how efficient Argentinian and Bolivian immigration can be?! So I bought a ticket on the 2nd earliest morning bus (didn't wake up in time for the 1st!) from Humahuaca to La Quiaca, the border town on the Argentina side.
After waiting for about half an hour, the bus finally came and started loading the bags. For some reason though, the driver wouldn't let me on, saying that this wasn't my bus. Fine. I took his word and waited around a while for another bus. But then I got suspicious….this one HAAAAAAS to be my bus!!! There aren't that many buses operating that route!!! Worried, I ran into the ticket office and asked the sales lady if that was my bus…which she confirmed. What the f*ck?! Nice lady - she came out, took me to the bus, and got me on board. Apparently, the driver refused to let me on because I was missing some sort of signature on the paper ticket. Mean driver.
Good thing it took over 15 minutes to load the bags and get everyone on board. Otherwise, I would've had to wait another 4 hours or so for the next bus.

About 3 hours to La Quiaca. Really crappy, hot bus. With the bus trouble in the morning, I was quite worried about how this border crossing was going to pan out. Nail biting situation…

Things only got better though, thank god.

From La Quiaca, most travelers seemed to hire cars or carts (hand-drawn) to get to the border, but I decided to do it on my own. Although I didn't exactly know how long the walk to the border would be…Oh well. Waru trying to be adventurous.
On the way, I stopped by a little pastry shop to grab a bite to eat. The donut was too sweet and greasy, and the roll was too dry. But they did fill my tummy! Important.

In 20 minutes I was in line to get stamped out of Argentina. Lots of backpackers in the line, which was helpful when I had to run to the toilet; we watched each others' bags. Slow moving line…I think it took me over an hour to get through.
Once stamped, I walked across the road to the longer line on the Bolivian side. SIGH. But the Spanish couple in front of me told me that we could go to another line for non South Americans. I was out of there in 10 minutes!!! A pleasant surprise, considering I'd thought that Bolivian immigration would be an absolute nightmare.
Oh, and this was the first time I had to show my yellow fever vaccination card to gain entry. Glad I paid for that.

I'm in Boliviaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ : ) : ) : ) : ) : )

A lot of people come to Villazon (Bolivian border town) for a day trip to buy cheap souvenirs. Somewhat similar to what's on offer in the Cuzco markets of Peru.
I had no interest in the many stores that lined the street from outside immigration. Except for one - money exchange. I don't think they have many ATMs in Bolivia, especially in these rural areas. Since I wanted to immediately catch a bus to Tupiza, I needed some boliviano ASAP. Not the best exchange rate as expected, but I didn't have a choice.

With a supply of bolivianos, I walked up to the bus station (~20 minutes) and managed to get a bus leaving within the hour. Several backpackers on the bus.
Let me just say that after being on relatively modern buses in Chile and Argentina, the buses of Bolivia SUUUUUUCK!!! First of all, they have a reputation of being accident-prone (hence the Spaniards chose to take the safer train option). Secondly, they are SO uncomfortable! You feel every single bump on the road. And no toilets of course…which is probably a good thing.

Anyways, about 5 hours later, we safely arrived in Tupiza.
I befriended a couple of European girls and an American guy on the bus, and we decided to find a room together and maybe book a tour to Uyuni. We found a pretty nice place, but not dirt cheap. I was happy there, but the others wanted to find something a bit cheaper. Since I was dead tired from all the moving I did during the day, I stayed in the first hostel I found, while the others found something with a pool - no appeal to me whatsoever.
Good choice - I had the whole room to myself for the day! Not only that, I met a Dutch girl named Nicole (who was also on the bus from Villazon) and we became really good travel buddies. We went out to dinner at a touristy cafe (had "Pasta to the Olive" - really LUV that name!!!) and decided to go on the Uyuni tour together. How fun!

Colorful, Dry, and Cold

A bit late, but the sizable minivan did come to pick me up for the tour. Pheeeew - didn't get scammed.

First stop - Purmamarca. Famous for its "seven-colored hill", this was the one place I wanted to see in northwest Argentina. So exciting when we drove in to get the first glimpse! The colors were absolutely stunning.

Not sure if there are exactly SEVEN colors as the name suggests, but didn't bother me at all. Isn't nature impressive?!?!?!We had about 30 minutes free time in the little town - Not enough time to climb the hill, yet too long to wander around town. Because the town itself is rather disappointing…a complete tourist trap with the usual souvenir stalls, unless you're into those. Which, as you are probably well aware of by now, fails to attract me.

Second stop - Pucara. I seriously didn't even know that this place existed! Ruins of a pre-Incan city. There was some resemblance to Machu Picchu (just the way the stones were laid out, I suppose), but in a totally different environment.Even though I had to pay to enter (not a surprise), I wasn't disappointed at all : ) And because the ruins are on top of an incline, I had fantastic views of the surrounding area. Love the cacti!!!

Last stop (at least for me) - Humahuaca. Of course, we didn't stop at Uquia on our way here as the tour agency promised me. Whatever. Couldn't be bothered to argue.

Before heading my own way, I decided to join the group for a late lunch. Eating tends to follow "the more the merrier" clause. So, we all filed into a tourist restaurant, and being tourists, most of us had the llama milanese. Myself included. On an aside - I am SOOOO impressed with my openness to food these days!!! I would've never considered going off my chicken, pork, and beef last year! Anyways, how was the llama??? Well, it was too deeply battered and fried that I couldn't really taste the llama. More bread crumb and oil. Haha.

After lunch, the minivan driver was nice enough to take me to the hostel. It was farther from the town center than I thought. Oh well. Bye bye, tour group.

On my own, I once again headed back into town to check out what's on offer there. Plus, the hostel room was waaaaay too cold to relax. I thought I'd head into the stores to buy some pasta for dinner. BUT….siesta time!!! Almost everything was closed from like 2-5pm!
I wandered around the mostly-dead town, and ended up in the main plaza. Passed a cute, interesting church:And walked up to the Monumento de la Independencia. Tons of dirty backpackers selling woven accessories lined the steps. Weird.
Hey, isn't this an awesome cactus?! It looks like it's giving the monument the middle finger…With my sightseeing done, I went into one of the few open cafes and had some nice hot drinks to pass the time away (book in hand, of course!). Until the stores reopened for the evening.

I managed to buy some pasta and tomatoes, and went back to my hostel for the night. There's no way I could lounge around in my room - too cold!!! The altitude here is high (~3,000m), so the nights are pretty chilly. Back to my long sleeves again : ( Anyways, I was doing some reading in the heated common room, and guess who I saw?!?!?! The old woman from back in Valparaiso during Xmas! This is the second person from there I've seen! Coincidence. We're heading the same direction (up into Bolivia), so I'll probably run into her again…

Final comment - Although I'm still technically in Argentina, I feel like I'm in Bolivia already. Not that I know what Bolivia looks like yet… not until tomorrow!

Northwest Argentina

Another overnight bus (3rd in a week!) heading north, took me to the city of Salta. My agenda:

1. Arrange a tour to the Humahuaca region, and
2. Stock up on necessities before heading into Bolivia. Who knows what I can get my hands on there, considering it's one of the poorest countries in South America.

To be honest, I don't particularly like arranging tours…I always feel like I'm somehow getting ripped off! And I don't like to waste time shopping around either… So, I usually book one offered by the hostel. Unfortunately, the tour office at this hostel felt a bit overpriced. Into city center I went, asking tour prices at oneagency after another. OK, I admit. I only went to 4 and chose the cheapest at 100ARP. I managed to get a 20ARP discount for not doing the RT route at this place - I wanted to be dropped off at Humahuaca rather than come back to Salta. I was promised "a small group" and "promise to see Uquia on the way" (FYI - Uquia is a small town with a famous church; tours usually stop there on the way BACK to Salta for better afternoon lighting)…but who knows. I'm not expecting them to keep their word!

As for the shopping, easy. Stocked up on contact lens solution, memory card (overpriced!), tea bags, and face wash (my first Avon).
Mission accomplished - what else to do??? NOT MUCH. Might as well see whatever the city had to offer…
Rode up the cable car (teleferico) to the summit of Cerro San Bernardo for views of the city. Not particularly impressive.The colorful church (PINK!) in the center of town was quite pretty. Especially the interior.And went to a random mummy exhibition. I like mummies, but I can't believe they charged 30ARP for admission! If I had only known the price before stepping in...

Other than that…chilled out.
Oh, the ice cream here isn't even close to the yumminess of Mendoza. Miss it already : (

Bike & Wine

The two don't seem to go together, but they do here in Mendoza. That's where I ended up after another long, overnight bus ride.

As many of you know, I'm not big into wines. Well, any type of alcohol for that matter. But considering that this was THE thing to do, I had to give it a go.
I hopped on a local bus to Maipu, the wine region for 1.50APR. 45 minutes later, I was on the main street with several bicycle rental shops. They all looked the same, but I walked into the one recommended by the grandpa I met in Puerto Madryn. I admit that I was a bit worried that they wouldn't have small enough bikes to accommodate my short legs... Once the seats were adjusted on the smallest bike, though, I was all set to go!!!!!
With map in hand, I first headed to the wine museum. Very pretty. Although they offered free tasting, I opted out. Seriously...I wouldn't be able to handle the wine and the biking in 35C weather. Yes, wimp.
From there, I decided to head to the farthest area, about 10 miles on a paved, yet narrow, road. I thought 10 miles on a bike would be a cinch. I was WRONG – It's hard!!! I even contemplated turning back around at some point. But then again, I didn't have much planned for the rest of the day, so why not keep going, right?!
When I finally made it to the edge of the Maipu wine region (at least according to the biking map), I headed to the olive factory instead of the winery. Hehe. Unfortunately, one tour just left, so I had to wait another hour. Which was no problem for me – gave me some time to rest my getting-sore butt and legs. It felt great to be off that bike! Even better when I entered the factory for some reprieve from the sun, not to mention the delicious aroma of olives. Mmmmmmmmm.
On the road back, I made a short stop at one of the wineries for a tasting. About time!!! Just a sip, though. I had more biking ahead of me.
To the chocolate factory. I was sooooooo looking forward to this one (left the best for last!), but it turned out not to be all that. I had pictured various types of chocolate and nuts for tasting; even paid 10ARP for it! What I got was chocolate-based liquor. Darn it. OK, the taste wasn't too bad...just wish it was plain chocolate, meaning minus the alcohol.
By this time, my butt was killing me. VERY sore. I had a hard time walking straight for a few seconds after getting off the bike. Probably an indication to head home...
I went to return the bike, and the guy at the agency offered me a glass of wine. Since they had a nice terrace, a perfect place to relax and drink before getting on the bus, I accepted. And managed to finish two glasses (not kidding!) while chatting with other bikers who, like me, were done for the day.
Lesson of the day – I think wine is more enjoyable when I don't have to worry about biking afterwards.

Other than that, Mendoza is a pretty city to spend a couple of days. Here are some random tidbits:
- They have the most amazing park (looked expensive to build). I wanted to go the Cerro (hill) there, but never got a chance since the buses stop running in late afternoon. To give you an idea about the park's enormousness, this is the roundabout at the entrance: - Discovered "menu-of-the-day" lunches. Cheap, filling, and yummy! Tried my very first Argentinean steak, and was not disappointed.

- Great ice cream/gelato. Me thinks second to Italy.

Peninsula Valdes

THIRTY hours. That's how many hours I was held prisoner on the bus (busES to be precise) as I made my way up to Puerto Madryn. The route took me from El Chalten to El Calafate (3 hours), where I transferred to a bus for Rio Gallegos (5-6 hours). During my 2 hour wait there, I left my bags at the luggage storage for 4ARP and walked across the street to the wonderful Carrefour. Best way to kill time, checking out some local snacks and drinks to take with me for my next bus ride. Which would be about 17 hours. Yes, I paid extra for the cama seat. This bus was supposed to take me all the way to Puerto Madryn, but that didn't happen. I had to change to another bus at Trelew. Too many hours on the bus. TIRED.
Those 30 hours took me from the freezing cold glaciers to the balmy beaches. Time to get the tank tops out again! Yipeeeeeeeeee : )

But before that, I had to get to my hostel. Too cheap to pay for a cab, I walked the 20-25 min (was farther than I thought) in my long sleeved shirt and long pants. Oh, and don't forget that 15kg backpack, my constant companion.
My hostel was great! Clean & friendly, the two most important qualities I look for. And right near the beach, too (not that I ever go to the beach).
Here, I ran into one of the guys (well, more like grandpa) that I had the potluck Xmas dinner back in Valparaiso, Chile with. What a coincidence!!!

After a quick shower and a change into summer clothes, I walked into the nearest air-conditioned café I could find. I was absolutely starving and in need of some decent food! A ham sandwich, fresh squeezed OJ, and coffee did the trick.
Once re-energized, I just wandered along the beach and around the city – really, not too exciting. A nice little crafts market in the plaza was all I could find of interest.

So why did I come here??? Because Puerto Madryn is the main gateway to Peninsula Valdes. And what's in Peninsula Valdes??? Animals. Even though it was too late for the whale season (just ended in December), and too early for the orcas-feeding-on-seals season (April), I still had this strong urge to see the place. Lame, I know...
Since it's difficult to get there on your own without a rental car, I joined a local tour for the following day. The full day tour took me to the visitors' center (display on the different animals and plant life in the region) and several viewpoints along the coast for 150ARP. For an extra fee, I could've taken a boat ride to see the seals, but I didn't bother with that part.

Peninsula Valdes was certainly not the most beautiful or amazing place I've been to so far, but it was enjoyable enough.
The rugged coastline was so.....natural. (For the lack of better words. Sorry!)And I just NEVER get sick and tired of seeing animals! I loved this lonesome penguin. Felt for him/her. Kind of understood the creature, being on its own near the cliff and staring out to sea. Peaceful or suicidal?!?!?! My favorite were these elephant seals. Rather hard to see in the photo because I couldn't get too close to them (need to stay on paths in the park), but they were basically live blobs of fat rolling around. If I recall correctly, the ones here were all males chilling out until the mating season began.And then there was the armadillo. Cute. Never knew that they were hairy. With the tour to the Peninsula done, there was no reason for me to stay in Puerto Madryn. One option was to dive with the seals the next day. The photos and video clips I'd seen from Kevin, a guy I'd met back on New Years in Puerto Varas, Chile looked fun and fantastic! But then again, the water was supposedly very cold and wavy. Not only that, the tour cost around US$100!!! So...I passed on that idea.
Still, I didn't feel like moving on. Felt a bit worn out, and wasn't in the mood for another long, overnight bus.

Decision – bum around for a couple of days.
Aside from heading over to the oceanographic museum in the other side of the city, I didn't do anything noteworthy. Just had some tasty seafood (rare in Argentina where meat is the norm), read a lot, played solitaire, and chatted with the other hostel guests.
BTW, the oceanographic museum is worth going to for one thing – the giant squid.

This would be the last stop on my tour through Patagonia. After some one-person debates in my head, I decided to skip Bariloche. It's supposed to be this beautiful Swiss-like lakes/mountains region that most tourists go to, but honestly...it I wanted to see Swiss nature, I'd rather go to Switzerland. Plus, the pictures I've seen of the place soooo reminded me of Oregon. No thanks.

Although the St. Bernards (yup, the dog) and chocolates were very appealing...

Hiking. Finally.

About time that I did some real workout! At least for a day...
So, I headed to the small town of El Chalten located in the middle of nowhere. Literally. The place got its first and only ATM less than a month ago!

Back in Ushuaia, Kaori told me that it would be cheaper to buy a bus and accommodation package at one of the two bus companies in El Calafate if I was ever going to El Chalten. I did exactly as told, and was glad that I did – Everyone who got off the bus and headed to my hostel (conveniently located right next to the bus stop) was turned away because they didn't have any free beds. Not only that, I got the bed for half the listed price.

The bus ride was a short 3 hours. The day was pretty clear, so we were treated to a glimpse of the famous Mt. Fitz Roy on our way in! Before entering the park, the bus made a brief stop at the visitors' center where the rangers gave out hiking maps and advice.
Unlike the other national parks in Patagonia that I've gone to so far, El Chalten is free : ) I'm sure that will change in the near future, but for now, you can go into the park, and hike and camp for as many days as you want without paying a single peso! Not that I had any intention to hike for more than a day...

I arrived in town early in the afternoon, and I spent the rest of the day stocking up on food for my hike tomorrow and simply relaxing. I found this really cute café with delicious coffee and desserts, a perfect place to get cozy and read.
When I walked into my room that evening, the most horrible, disgusting smell shot through my nose. Unbelievably gross!!! The source – one of the guys in my room with foot odor problems!!! He had already washed his feet and apologized, so there really wasn't anything that could've been done to alleviate the situation.
At night, it turned out that he had SERIOUS snoring problems as well. SOOOOO loud, it was quite funny. My other dorm-mates (very friendly British and Hungarian couples) resorted to kicking his bed and throwing pillows at the poor guy to try to stop the snoring. No effect. We all just erupted in laughter!!! But he still didn't stop. In the end, the British girl managed to wake him up by yelling in his ear. We all took that brief moment of peace, while he was awake, to fall asleep.

Now the main topic – HIKING.
There are three main routes in the park that go to various viewpoints and lakes. I decided on the most popular one, a 25km trek (round trip) to Laguna de los Tres.
It wasn't the best weather, but I couldn't be picky – I had only this one day to hike. So, with cold weather gear, camera, water, and food (ham, cheese, cucumber, bread, and chocolates) in hand, I headed out to the trail early in the morning.
The path was pretty well marked and not too steep for the most part. I admit, though, that I got a bit concerned at times, being all alone in the forest with not one other human being in sight, thinking that maybe I took the wrong turn somewhere. However, if I slowed down and stood around in one area for a while, someone eventually came along. Relief.
Almost midway through the hike, I passed by the Mirador Fitz Roy (viewpoint). As you can tell, I didn't get a view : ( Slightly disappointed...
Continuing on, I hiked through some beautiful woods and rivers. Calm. Peace. Nature. Very pleasant.
Until I got to the last few kilometers of the trail. After the small camping area, I encountered a steep incline right in front of my face. Damn it. 1-2km of steep, straight climbing on rocky surfaces ahead of me. Damn it. It started to sleet, too. Damn it. I was moving along so smoothly up until this point. But this last part took me like 2 hours!!!
And guess who I ran into on my way up?!?!?! When I was tired and grouchy. Mr. FA from Ushuaia and the other guy he was supposed to pay for! Oh great. I chatted a bit with the latter, but I completely ignored Mr. FA. Remember, FA = F*cking A*shole.

Anyways, huffing and puffing, I slowly made it to the top. The most beautiful views awaited me!
The deep, turquoise waters set again the snow-flecked, granite rocks...Wow. (Mt. Fitz Roy is somewhere in the back) I made my sandwich up there and had the best picnic ever!!! Well, maybe not "best ever"...I mean, it probably could've been improved if I had company (preferably of the opposite sex) along with me. And if the weather had been better. I know, wishful thinking. I do that a lot.
From there, I walked along the trail for a little bit longer to reach the cliffs for a view of another lake. Awesome. I might actually like this one better than the first.
Before heading back down, I waited around to see if the weather would clear up. But nope. Not my lucky day today. Oh well.

I sprinted my whole way back (have no clue why), and made it back to town by 5pm. My body was sore, but I was energized at the same time. On some sort of adrenaline high, I guess. Not wanting to stay up in my room, especially with the smelly feet, I went back to the café for a cup of coffee and apple pie. Delightful!
At night, the British and Hungarian couples invited me to join them for some handmade pizza and warm chocolate cake. I'd already eaten, but had some more anyways. Hehe. Two desserts, after 25km of hiking, is OK, right?!?!?!

Final comment – For the first time in a while, I felt like I accomplished something today. Weird. I should do this hiking thing more often. Especially on those days that I feel like a loser...

THE Glaciers

The bus ride was loooooong. I left Ushuaia at 5am in the morning, went through 2 immigration points (the road goes briefly through Chile), transferred buses at Rio Gallegos, and arrived in El Calafate at a bit past midnight.
Luckily, one of the girls on the Torres del Paine tour with me last week was also on the bus. Since our hostels were in the same vicinity, we decided to tackle the dark roads together. Mind you, Patagonia is really safe so not too much of a concern.
All I wanted to do once I got my bed was crash. And that's exactly what I did; couldn't bother with planning for the next day's activities.

I came to El Calafate to see the famous glaciers at Perito Moreno. It's one of the few remaining glaciers on earth that's still growing! Weird concept, huh?! Glaciers growing...

From El Calafate, it's about an hour drive to the glaciers – you can either catch a tourist shuttle or rent a car. So, I booked a seat on the afternoon shuttle (already too late for the morning one by the time I woke up!) and went back to my bed to bum around.
Two French girls, my roommates who were already asleep by the time I arrived last night, asked me whether I was headed to the glaciers that day. They wanted to see if I'd be interested in sharing a car with them and another French guy they just met. Sure!!! But only if I could cancel the shuttle I had just booked...which was easily accomplished. Yay! Before leaving the hostel, we managed to pick up another American girl to add to the group. The more the merrier : )

Group composition:
Severine – French girl, who like me, quit her job and is traveling around the world for a year
Edwige – French girl accompanying Severine for a few weeks
Pascal – Chef/owner of French restaurant in London. Also the designated driver on this trip. On his 2 week vacation around southern Argentina. Got to try his food out when I go back there!
Karina – Very young (20-ish) American backpacker.
Waru – You either know me or you don't. And if you don't, I'll leave it up to your imagination.
(The 5 of us in our first group shot at the glacier viewpoint outside the park)
The glaciers were absolutely amazing! Once inside the park (60ARP), we walked along the raised platforms to catch sight of the glaciers at different angles. What we all wanted to see were huge chunks falling off of the main piece. We only got to see the little ones, though. But you know, the sound...even the small ones were loud and exciting! Speaking of sound, I noticed that you could constantly hear the glacier creaking – eerie yet awing.
Before leaving, we had a picnic lunch on the stairs along one of the platforms. Ham, cheese, bread, and apples – the scenery made everything more yummy than usual! And yes, we did block traffic a bit, but oh well! All fun!
I'd have to say that the Perito Moreno glaciers were one of the best natural sights in the world. Two thumbs up!!!
By the way, if any of you readers are interested, you can actually go hiking in the glaciers. I heard that the half-day ones are crap, but the full-day hikes are great. If I was willing to spend more time in El Calafate and had better planning abilities, I think I would've gone. But for now, I passed on the opportunity. Lets hope that one day, I have a chance to go back there (I wouldn't mind at all!) and do the glacier trekking thing.

On our way back to town, we decided to take a drive along the countryside and visit a hacienda. The landscape, colors, and surroundings were so different from the glaciers we'd just seen! And it was only less than an hour away.
We stopped for some tea/coffee there and played with the animals – sheep, guanacos, and horses. Isn't that the ugliest baby sheep you've ever seen?! Poor thing.

That night, I had to move hostels. I only booked for one night at the hostel I was in, but they were fully booked for the next few days. Darn it; I should've booked in advance for at least 2 nights! The guy at reception helped me out though. He made several calls to find an empty bed for me elsewhere. And Pascal was nice enough to drive me and my stuff to the new hostel before dinner.

It was cold with pouring rain the next morning. The group got together again to take a boat trip out for more glaciers. With the bad weather and the relatively high costs (close to $100 for the pretty luxurious boat and park entrance fee!) it wasn't the best idea, but it certainly beat sitting around in the town's cafes. At least I thought so. I mean, we got to see several glaciers really up close, and floating pieces of ice in various shapes and colors while hanging out on the boat. Plus, the boat went through some high rolling waves...ooooooooh, adventure! Obviously, the whole sightseeing experience would've been better with sunny weather, but I had a really good time anyways! And that's all that matters.

Crazy Japs

Due to the limited public transportation around Ushuaia, Kaori and I wanted to rent a car for a day to check out the windswept trees and Tierra del Fuego. Like Europe, 99% of cars here were manual, which meant we had to find a driver. Plus, a couple of other people to keep the costs down. No problem! It's really easy to form a group at a Japanese guesthouse.
With some negotiation on free mileage (250km vs. 200km), we got a car for 250ARP.

Let me introduce the driver as Mr. FA, for F*cking As*hole. In his late/mid 30s, I honestly think he was more of a lost cause in life than myself. Coming from me, that says something.

Anyways, the 5 of us hopped in the car and headed towards the trees. Very slow going with many photo stops – typical Japanese behavior. The scenery was nice and peaceful, no doubt, but it seemed very...northwestern US. Hehe.It took us about 2 hours to get to the trees. You might be wondering why all this excitement about trees. Well, they look pretty cool because they've been hammered by the wind and are quite deformed, leaning at awkward angles.
Pretending to be blown away by the wind like the trees is common Japanese tourist behavior as well. Cheesy, I know, but fun. Jump off or hold on to the tree to get the windswept look. Sounds easy, but difficult in action. Just can't get the angle right! Here's my horrible attempt...I wasn't able to manage jumping off sideways. Argh.
Mr. FA then got this brilliant idea to do a group blown-away shot. Fine.
He wanted to use my camera because it was the only one able to do multi-frame shots on self timer. Fine.
We were at it for TWO frickin' hours. NOT fine.
Seriously. It was constant jumping and rolling. One attempt after another to get the perfect shot. It ain't easy to coordinate the timing with 5 people. I got so bored after a while that I offered to do camera duty. And he proceeded to snidely comment that "people who can't have fun while doing this don't know what fun is." The heck?! Waru was mature though, no confrontation.
When the jumping was done, one of the guys made coffee for all of us with his camping gear. Awesome!!!

On our way back to Ushuaia, we stopped by the shore and picked up a bagful of mussels. We were all thinking steamed mussels for dinner. But Grandma Ueno told us that we shouldn't be eating mussels during the summer season (bacteria in the warmer ocean waters). To the garbage, the mussels went.
Instead, Kaori and I cooked up some pasta with fresh tomato sauce for the group. Mr. FA included.

Later in the evening, the group decided to head towards Tierra del Fuego National Park. We had the car until the following morning with enough free miles still, and entry to the park was free after 6pm. So, why not?! I was tired and wasn't really in the mood, but ended up tagging along for the sake of seeing the park.
Big mistake.
First, the guys wanted to get some food and drinks at the supermarket. They didn't come back for at least an hour. By the time we reached the park, it was around 9pm. Sigh.
Second, Mr. FA wanted to try his hands at high speed driving in the park. And sliding techniques. Sigh.
Third, Mr. FA (being the eldest) got to choose the food. We had talked about doing some sort of a BBQ at the park, but he bought a WHOLE CHICKEN. Apparently, it was a HUUUUGE novelty to him, and he HAAAAAD to buy it. He even bought these metal poles to use for the process. None of us knew how much they cost, but we had to chip in nonetheless. Sigh.
Fourth, cooking whole chicken can take a long time. At least 2 hours. It was past midnight when we finally got to devour the bird. Mmmm...delicious!!! But one yummy bird wasn't enough to keep me happy... By then, I was tired and cold. I wanted to go back to the hostel. Kaori too. We thought about hitching a ride from someone, but who would be driving in the park in the middle of the night?! Sigh.
Fifth, Mr. FA was the driver. DRUNK. He wasn't willing to leave until all the purchased alcohol was consumed. That was like 5 bottles of wine, a whiskey, and a can of beer each. Sigh.
So...it was decided that we would stay at the park until 5am when the sun rose. That had to be the deadline anyways, since one of the guys had a bus to catch at 7am. The guys were so loud throughout the night, I felt bad for the campers sleeping across the river from us. Sometimes, Japanese backpackers can be SOOOO rowdy as a group. Sort of like the Israelis...

Mr. FA was not even close to sober when we left the park, and yet he was the only one who could drive that car. Out of the blue, Mr. FA directed his attention to me and Kaori, and said "we're not going anywhere unless you two promise to stay awake." What the heck!!!
We were all tired and would rather sleep through the ride. Hey, who'd want to see themselves slamming into a tree or some oncoming headlight, right?! But true, we drank much less than the guys; we agreed to stay awake. But then, he kept insisting that we "PROMISE"!!!! "I need to hear you say that you PROMISE." Are we in kindergarten or what?!

Obviously, we made it safely back to town. Where Mr. FA proceeded to piss me off even more.
Mr. FA offered to give the other guy a ride to the bus station. But he demanded that we come along, too. WHY????? By then, I've had enough of this retard. I chose to completely ignore him and went to bed : ) He called me irresponsible. Great.

Sleep was only for a few hours, though, since we had to return the car on time. This time, Kaori and I went with Mr. FA to the gas station and rental agency. Since we rented the thing together, we should return it together.
Another blow up!!! When we went to Tierra del Fuego last night, another guy joined us at the last minute – the one who left on the bus this morning. He didn't have enough time to pay us for the rental & gas, but Mr. FA offered to pick up his tab since they would likely be meeting elsewhere on the road. Guess what happened?! Mr. FA refused to pay. I couldn't believe it...
Once the car was officially returned to the agency, we went our separate ways without saying a single word. I hope to never see that guy again!

Kaori and I spent the rest of day chilling in town. Had calafate flavored ice-cream (type of berry in this region) and café food. We deserved it after all that craziness in the last 24 hours!
Oh, I also had to make a trip to the pharmacy; my rashes were back : (

Waaaaaaaaaaay Down South!

I finally made it to Patagonia. Actually, I thought I was already in Patagonia when I got to Punta Arenas, but wikitravel told me that Patagonia refers only to the southern regions of Argentina. Now that I'm officially in Argentina, I can proudly (?!) say I'm here – Waru is in Patagonia.
And I'm starting at the southernmost point! In a city called Ushuaia. It seriously is the southernmost city in the world. Technically. The Chilean side has regions further south, but the towns are so small that they don't qualify as "cities".

Anyways, the bus ride here was a LONG one, on an old bus with little leg room. Yes, even I need leg room for those aching knees.
There was one channel crossing with a pleasant surprise – black and white dolphins swimming along!!! Named them the "panda dolphins".

I met Kaori, a fellow Japanese backpacker on the bus. She is travelling for TWO whole years and has spent ONE year already in South America. She even participated in the carnival at Salvador (Brasil) last year. How cool!!!!! Definitely more of a backpacker than myself; she certainly knows her ways to get around the world. Impressive.

Kaori told me about a really famous Japanese guest house in Ushuaia (of all places!!!). I had planned on staying at one of the usual gringo hostels, even had a booking for one of them due to the high season. But I changed my plans the last minute and joined Kaori at Ueno Sanso (上野山荘). Glad to say that I didn't get charged for the no-show at the hostel.
Apparently, Kaori came all this way down south to stay there and meet the owner, Grandma Ueno, and her dog. She's that famous! There was a documentary clip about her on a Japanese TV show featuring Japanese emigrants after the war; I watched it while I was there. Ever since her husband passed away a few years ago, she's been running the place with her dog. Grandma and dog are both such sweethearts!!!

Ushuaia is very touristy during the summer months of December to March because all boats going to the Antarctic stop here.
I had one mission – yup, to find an affordable cruise to the Antarctic. And they do exist, especially in these failing economic times.
Kaori told me she booked a cruise on one of those megaship cruise lines starting next week in Buenos Aires for $1,000! Two weeks, all-inclusive, for $1,000 wasn't bad at all, but I wasn't too interested in that one...being a megaship, they don't dock at all. A few of the guests at Ueno Sanso just returned from a 16 day cruise that started in late December for about $1,500. That's a really good last minute deal considering that they get to dock on Antarctic land! Another guy told me that he just booked a berth on that same cruise for $2,100 leaving tomorrow. Not as cheap, but I was totally willing to pay that amount.

So, that's what I tried to do...find a last minute deal to the Antarctic. But unfortunately, it seemed like I missed the narrow window of opportunity. There were berths available, but I wasn't willing to pay over $3,000. I think a lot of people avoided the holiday season thinking it would be expensive. I did, too! Many ships, therefore, were under booked for the holidays. Now that the holiday season was over, tourists were returning! DARN.
You know, I even went on board the ship that the Japanese guy booked to check it out. Nothing luxurious, but nice enough. Since he had a double room all to himself, he suggested that I join him and split the costs. No problem with me. But problem with ship...they had more than enough space on the boat itself, but not enough licenses to take people to the Antarctic. Something about restrictions on the number of people that can dock on Antarctic land. Whatever. I guess it just wasn't meant to be...
Well, at least I got a nice free lunch and snack out of the whole ordeal!!! I pretended to be one of the passengers and joined in on the buffet : )

Before I end, a bit of advice: If you ever come all the way down to Ushuaia during the high season, make sure you have a way out. Flights tend to be expensive (don't let the cheap Aerolineas Argentina flights fool you - those fares are only for Argentina citizens!!!) and buses can be fully booked several days ahead. Only 3 buses a day head out, all at 5am in the morning. I'm stuck here until the 13th.

I Chickened Out

Puerto Natales, about 3 hours by bus from Punta Arenas (so many Puertos and Puntas around here!) is a trekking mecca. Hardcore trekkers from all over the world converge in this small town to start off their trek around the famous Torres del Paine.

I arrived in Puerto Natales thinking about the trek. I knew for sure that I wasn't going to do the circuit, which is a 7-8 day hike around the whole park. But I did have in mind the "The W" (4-5 days) or something shorter.

Luckily, I was able to get a bed at a hostel in town popular among Lonely Planet readers (and once again, recommended by Gina). Although the rooms were a bit tight, it turned out to be one of the best hostels during my travels - friendly owners (Oregonian hikers!), yummy homemade bread and eggs (whatever style you want!) for breakfast, convenient travel office downstairs, and a free trekking seminar. Trekking 101 (as I called it) provided general info on what to wear, pack, and expect, as well as suggested itineraries.

The trek around Torres del Paine is pretty rough, averaging 15km per day, with some severe weather possibilities. Since I was on my own, I was leaning towards a shorter-than-"The W"-trek. Maybe a 3 day trek, contingent on my being able to get a bed at the refugios.
At the seminar though, I met a Japanese backpacker who invited me to go on "The W" with him. He even offered to carry the tent and cooking equipment for us!!! Yes, that would mean REALLY roughing it. The offer was tempting...I mean, when else would I be able to hike "The W"?!?!?! With a nice, young (mid-20s) Japanese boy might I add...
I contemplated for the rest of the day. Even went along with him to rent the gear and stock up on food.

But...I'm sure you can guess where this is going from the title of this entry...But...in the end, I chickened out.
Reasoning #1 –I've never trekked for more than a day before, and Torres del Paine is definitely not for beginners.
Reasoning #2 – I haven't slept in a tent/sleeping bag since I was in elementary school.
Reasoning #3 – Waru is small. I cannot possibly carry all that equipment (clothing, food, sleeping bag, etc. for 5-6 days) on her own.
Reasoning #4 – After I raised my concerns to the hostel owner (highly experienced trekker), he recommended the day tour of the park, not the hike.
I know I sound a little pathetic, but oh well. It was probably for the best.

Incidentally, I decided not to do the even shorter trek as well, since all the refugios were booked out. Which meant that I would have to carry the tent and sleeping bag throughout the trek. Not something I was in the mood to do.
Conclusion – Only day treks for Waru. And I am DETERMINED to do one somewhere in Patagonia!!!

So, while most of the people at the seminar headed out to trek the following morning, I boarded a minivan for a full day tour. I thought I was going to be the only non-retired person on the tour, but there were others. Good to know that I'm not the only lazy backpacker in Puerto Natales : )
Before heading to the mountains, we made a brief stop at Cueva de Milodon, where a huge sloth apparently made his home many, many years ago. I'd suggest saving the 3,000CHP admission fee for something else.
Especially since the admission for Torres del Paine National Park is a whopping 15,000CHP! OK, that's only around $30, but seems expensive for Chilean standards.

The day tour took me around some of the highlights/viewpoints in the park. I've seen a lot of national parks before, but I'd have to say that this one was extraordinary!!! Breathtaking scenery!!! I think pictures can say a lot more than words (especially given my lack of literary expressionism), so here they are!
A peek of the "towers" (torres) that gave the park its name on the right side:My only regret in chickening out was that if I had done the trek, I would've been able to get much closer to the towers and had a better view.
Just look at the granite colors!!! Its contrast with the greenery was beautiful.And the green water!!! I've never seen water this color. A short walk to the waterfalls:Pieces of ice floating at Glacier Grey: I was told that this is nothing in comparison to the glaciers I'd be seeing in Argentina. Looking forward to it!
End of tour.

I was supposed to head into Argentina the following day, but because the hostel was too comfortable, I ended up staying an extra night.
Not much to do in Puerto Natales itself, but I found this awesome organic café called El Living. Spent a lot of time there (think twice in 1 day!!!), eating (good food and the all important coffee), chatting, reading, and writing postcards.

Now, I have a looooong bus ride waiting for me tomorrow. How fun! Not really.

Penguins Galore!

A 4 hour bus ride (including a short ferry), a 1.5 hour wait at the bus terminal (where I indulged myself in cafeteria food), a 40 minute bus ride to the Puerto Montt airport, another 1 hour wait (very dull), and a 1 hour flight took me to my next destination – Punta Arenas.

Man, it's cold here!!! I immediately had to take out every piece of warm clothing I had with me, like my fleece, windbreaker/raincoat, cashmere sweater, and wool/fleece hat with ear flippers. They all came in very handy in the freezing, windy, and often sleeting or drizzling weather I'd be encountering over the next few weeks.
Sadly, I even had to have some of the stuff on when I went to sleep, since the spare room at the hostel had no heating. It was nice to have a single room, but I'd rather be warm! I moved into the nicely gas-heated dorm room as soon as it became available the next day.
On the plus side, taking all that cold weather gear out certainly made my backpack smaller and easier to carry!

Punta Arenas isn't a very attractive town. There are a few museums (which I chose to ignore), some monuments, and several cafes serving good hot chocolate.
The highlight of the town, I'd have to stay, was the cemetery. Strange, huh?! With its well maintained shrubbery and monuments/graves, it turned out to be quite a pleasant place to take a stroll. Albeit a quick one...Other than that, shopping is supposed to be good. There's a huge tax-free shopping center near the port, where I should've gone to get an extra memory stick. But I didn't know about the place until it was too late. Oh well.
I did, however, buy a pair of leggings at one of the many sporting goods stores in town. I know I'm going to need it the further south I go.

So, why did I come here?! To see the penguins, of course!
There are 2 penguin colonies you can visit from Punta Arenas – Seno Otway and Isla Magdalena. Sena Otway is closer and easier to get to (several regular buses), but the colony is small. Isla Magdalena, on the other hand, is one whole island inhabited only by penguins (and possibly seagulls and other non-human creatures). The only way to get there is by an infrequent (and therefore a bit expensive @ 20,000CHP) ferry service. Luckily, I was in town when the waters were calm enough to let the ferry through.

With Dramamine in my system, I headed to the port on a collectivo. It's one of those shared rides operating on particular routes in many Latin American cities. In Punta Arenas, they were often black cars charging 350CHP per ride.
Anyways, at the ferry terminal, I boarded an old, but tough looking boat for the 2 hour ride. Rough.Definitely worth it, though! As soon as we docked, penguins everywhere. Literally. We were allowed an hour on the island, walking along the one marked path towards a lighthouse. Since the path is shared with the penguins, you can get really close to them! How cuuuuuute! This one said, "Hello!"View from the lighthouse: Yes, the dots are ALL penguins. Yes, the place does smell, but you just get used to it after a while.
And I loved the fluffy babies. Well, not exactly babies anymore, but fluffy enough for my liking : ) I remember being disappointed with the penguin colony in South Africa, but not this time! I wouldn't mind see more of them, but I don't think I have that NEED anymore. OK, maybe I'm fooling myself...because it just dawned on me...I want to see the penguins in Antarctica and New Zealand. I mean, they are different kinds.................
(FYI – The ones in southern Chile are Magellanic penguins)