South America 2006

Ahh.  A destination Dad first heard about 2 years ago, then read more about in the Travel section of the Edmonton Journal, then thought about when we were on this side of the equator last year, and now we’ve been there.  It was an excellent four days, and well worth the wait.

Where to begin?  Even as I was trying to catch up in my travel journal, I was discovering that I was missing so much, as pretty much every aspect of every day spent here is worth mentioning, in one way or another.  I guess I’ll try to separate it by categories:

The Hostel we stayed at was fantastic.  It was a bit of an uphill walk to get to it, though it proved to be worth it.  Basically a cottage in the backyard, with a beautiful flower garden (where we sat in the morning for coffee and in the evening for a glass of wine) and just three double rooms, which were inhabited by others just half of the time we were there (and always by nice and interesting people).  The lady who runs the place is a spry 84-year old Slovenian named Milena, whose son lives in Toronto and was visiting for the week.  Milena was very helpful in answering all our questions from what to do to where to eat.

The Food  was amazing.  Our first night in Argentina we went to a very well-recomended Steak house, Alberto’s, where we had our first real steak dinner.  It was very good, comparable to Alberta Beef, I would go so far as to say, and we even managed to order it rare.  The next night we tried fondue, which was really only middle of the road, as the sauces were nothing like we’ve been led to expect from other culinary experiences thus far.  Then we had planned to visit a restaurant recommended in one of our travel books, but instead ended up saying “we’ll have what they’re having” at a bar/restaurant where we’d stopped along the way.  Neither Dad nor I were particularly hungry, after a long day in the sun, and we ended up with a supremely tasty platter consisting of several pickled tidbits, and a large assortment of smoked meats, sausages, and cheeses, including all the favorites of the region: jabali (wild boar), ciervo (deer), and trucha (trout).  Wow.  And just what we wanted, in terms of type and amount.

The Sights  were indescribable.  And even the pictures we took won’t do them justice.  How to begin?… I guess just to tell you all to come down and see for yourselves   Yeah.  Bariloche is on the shore of a large lake dotted with islands in the midst of several smaller lakes surrounded by mountains big and small, below and above tree-line, some still snow-capped even in the heat of summer.  Argentina’s (and possibly South America’s) largest and most popular ski resort is here, on the Mountain Catedral.  In the summer, instead of shutting right down they keep a couple of lifts open which take you to very close to the summit, and from the drop-off point it is just a 40min walk to the peak, where you get the most awe-inspiring view we’ve had yet (and that’s saying alot) into the next vally and across the spine of the Andes, taking in Volcan Tronador (which is dead) and in the far distance, another volcano that is active, which we passed by when we were still in Chile.  I’m sure our pictures won’t do it justice.  On another day we ascended a smaller chair lift to the top of Cerro Campanerio, which was less than half as high as Catedral, but afforded great views of the valley we were in such as the various legs and arms of the surrounding lakes, the islands, and little towns in the area.

The People  were so friendly.  From our lovely old Slovenian lady running the hostel, to the waiters and waitresses who were eager to try their english out on us, to Alfredo, a nice man who picked Dad and I up on a deserted road we were hiking on in the heat of the day that turned out to be alot longer than we’d been led to believe and brought us the rest of the way to the cool, inviting lake at the end of it, but not before inviting us into his cabaña, introducing us to his family, and sharing a cool glass of pear juice with us.

All of this and more has contributed to a great trip so far, and we hope it continues thus.

Miranda

We are moving around in Argentina after some quality time in Bariloce.  Christopher, it´s not so much european in flavour as just a bit more uptown in atitude, not problematical though.  Argentina, so far, is cleaner, more our style of buildings and cleaner.  But then, I found southern Chile to be quite a step in that direction from all of Peru and Bolivia.  Of note is that Argentina is supposed to be probably the wealthiest country down here but in Bariloche the cars in use are a lot older and more of junk heaps than anywhere in southern Chile, I think their mechanic died over a year ago and no one has accepted the position yet.  Muflers, tuneups, seat belts and signal lights are definetely an option not many people invest in.  Gas in Chile was about $1.30 yet here is close to $0.75.

Word is you are having a great warm winter, congratulations all, moi

She came up with the study idea, it brought tears to my eyes, moi

This portion of south america, Patagonia, is really something else.  Gorgeous lakes with mountain backdrops.  The forests vary but lots of huge trees.  At the pass between Chile and Argentina we were almost at tree line.  Both leaving Chile and entering Argentina, about an hour apart by bus, we had to wait around for about an hour to get checked through but no difficulties at all.  Meeting neat people, in fact today in Bariloce Miranda was recognized on the street by a couple we met in Pucon, Nicholas and Carolinas, so a short visit happened with them and friends.

Steak last night at Albertos was very good, Mirandas was even rare enough.  Tasty meat.  We plan on trying jabali, wild boar, while here and maybe wild deer or fondue.  Chocolate shops everywhere, supermarkets in some cases.  If anyone would like a real nice place to come camp, hike, stay in cabanas, see mountains and lakes, this is definetely one of the prettiest places I´ve seen.

Miranda forced me this morning to walk all the way to a bakery to get her fresh bread for breakfast and then slept in until it was cold, I enjoyed it fresh though.

I do like the people, the scenery and will always recommend people add this to their travel lists, moi

Hej all.  Well, Dad and I are now in Puerto Montt, after spending three great days on the Island of Chiloé.  This island is one of the most scenic places we’ve been yet.  On one of our day trips on the island, we went to visit the National Park of Chiloé, and on the road there we hit the most southerly point we will make on this trip, roughly 42.5 degrees.  There was a great soft white sand beach there, looking out on the vastness of the Pacific ocean.  Other than that, there was some nice trails through interesting forrest, with many trees that I don’t think I’ve seen before.  I’ve really come to realize that, while the deserts we saw in the north of this contient last year were awesome, the true beauty of this country in my eyes is the lush greeness of this central portion.  You just feel like you’re breathing fresh clean air, with all the plant life photosynthesizing constantly around you.  Add to that a crisp breeze off the ocean, and it’s heaven.  It’s so easy to see it all here in Chile.  As a Canadian, I like to say we come from a country of extremes: hot, cold, glacial, rich farmland, rolling prairies, towering mountains, coastal rainforests,….etc, etc, but given all that, I’ve seen the same such extremes here in this small narrow land.  From the driest place on earth in the north with the Atacama desert, to the fjords and mountainous glacial wastelands of the south (which we can see the start of from here in Puerto Montt, but unfortunately won’t be travelling through on this trip).  The lush green farmland of central Chile is a narrow strip between the spine of the Andes and a breezy coast with a healthy fish and seafood trade.  It’s neat to see and sometimes hard to wrap one’s head around.  Just the order that we’ve been doing things in, we’ve been bouncing back and forth between inland destinations and beaches and ports, all in less than the distance of the drive from Edmonton to GP.  I’ll always recommend Canada to travellers as a place of great natural beauty, but from what I’ve seen so far of Chile it could be equivalent, in it’s own way.  The big difference here would be that there is really nowhere that you can say that you are very far from anyone else, as Chile has half our population in less than a tenth of our landmass.

This is mostly all coming clear in my mind now because tomorrow Dad and I make the big crossover to Argentina, as we hop on a bus to Bariloche, which means that we are saying goodbye to this amazing country for now, only to return in a couple of weeks to make the journey home from Santiago.  Another small adventure in a trip full of small adventures.

I guess that’s all for now.

Ciao!

OK, Kenny, from last year in Peru, take 1 cuy (guinea pig), kill first (Canadian pet stores may not particularilly like this idea), skin, gut, split in half and grill with the necessary spicing, mostly salt and pepper (it tastes like chicken). Presentation is important, claws splayed, eyes forward. Agregado (extras), papas (potatoe how you want), aroz (rice), maize (corn).
Actually, they dont spice their food, they serve it with really nice sauces, that is where the extra flavour is. Tonight I had a nice bowl of crab ?soup? that totally tasted of crab, it cost about $7 but in Canada would have cost $30+. Miranda had the smoked salmon that was gorgeous.
Other than that, for those of you who dont know, I am now the owner of a first edition of the lord of the rings, yeah me and thank you Char and C.

We are presently as far south as we will be +/- a bit.  We were talking about the range of our travels.  For my enfants, west, north, east are roughly the same, who crossed what street.  But south, 2 of you have to work at it.

Supper, Kenny, salmon covered in avocado, wrapped in a pastry shell.  Bake.  Serve with a sauce of sauted carrots, zucccini, beets, peppers and capers. in butter, olive oil and ?maybe soya.  This is tasty.  Most of the food down here is basically fired in oil/butter and served.  Very little spicing.  Tomatoes are peeled.  Vegetables are fresh but not well presented.  It is not a culinary delight to talk about.

Something else I’d like to say, flowers.  They have lots and lots of different flowering plants down here.  Alot of blue ?dahlias? and other colors that nobody seems to pay any attention to.

This is interesting, I wish I could really tell you what its about, love you all, moi

So we have been in Valdivia now for a day and a half, and today we were told that it is supposed to be the 3rd rainiest place on earth, after the Amazon and somewhere in Scotland.  But that hasn’t been the case while we’ve been here, it has been sunshine all the time (i guess that’s their winter, kinda like you poor folks in Vancouver these days).  Valdivia was a very important port in colonial times, as it is at the mouth of one of the only navigable rivers on this coast of South America, and it was the last place to stock up on fresh water before leaving S.America to return to Europe.  So at the mouth of the river the Spanish built 17 forts to protect this valuable resource, effectively barricading the entrance to the rivers.  When Chile gained independence in 1820, this was the last stronghold of the Spaniards, and you would think it would take quite a fleet to defeat the 17 fortifications, but no, the Chileans enlisted the help of an English Captain (Sir Thomas Cochrane), and he beat the Spaniards with 350 men and three ships by landing just out of site and attacking by land in the fog, a move totally unexpected by the entrenched Spaniards.  All in all, a neat bit of history.  So we got to visit a couple of the remaining forts today, as only 4/17 are still standing today, after the strongest earthquake known(9.5 richter scale) hit in 1960 and leveled the rest, along with most of the towns on the coast.

So there’s the history lesson.  Since colonial times, steady German immigration to the region has left a heavy stamp on local archetecture and culture, which we’ve experienced in the locally brewed Kunstmann Bier and various German-style shops and restaurants, notably the Cafè Haussmann, where tonight we sampled their version of steak tartare *Simon!*, called Crudos, and had some apple kuchen for dessert.  A neat blend of cultural experiences to have in one day.

Well, Pucon was interesting.  First day, white water rafting in 3-4+ level rapids and getting very wet.  Its neat going over the 5m falls and since I was at the front, looking down at not much but white.

Second day, 1000m+ vertical to the top of an active volcano.  Does it ever stink up there!!!  Actually seen it spit up some magma/lava and should have such as a picture.  That was an extremely tough hike, 1800-2800 in elevation on snow most of the way excèpt the top about 30m but coming down sliding on your back, a body luge type thing for most of the way was neat.  Got soaked bit in the end it was very worth it.  We were well above the surrounding Andes and had a great view from the top.

Third day, Miranda decides I need some exercise so up another 500m+ to Lago Chico, a picturesque lake.  Took some pictures of monkey puzzle trees and stuff.

Pucon itself is very expensive compared to all else down here, almost Canada prices.  But the word is that Argentina is substantially cheaper even than the normal parts of Chile.

We are back almost at the coast, Valdivia.  The drive today was through lush greenery with rolling hills all the way.  There`s quite a large fish market here, the second we`ve seen and daily shopping for a seafood based diet, salmon, oysters, mussels, eels, barracudas etc. would be easy and cheap, fresh vegetables in the same market.

Simon, hows the pathfinder?

Soon off to Bariloce, moi

Okay, now that I know it’s possible, here are a few more pictures. This series is from right at the beginning of our trip, where the guide was teaching us how to respond to comands, one of which is to ‘jump to the left’, which is to be used when the raft is alongside a big wave, and all of us have to be in the left side of the raft to keep it from flipping. But for the practice you can see we arein calm water, and our guide (que chico malo) told us to make sure we had our bodies so far to the left that they were outside of the boat. Well, the pictures tell the story of how well that worked:

(Dad is in the in the front of the raft on the left -the second red helmet from the front- and I am the one jumping to the left just behind him -the 3rd red helmet)