Humans have many qualities that differentiate them from other animals, but I think that a key one is the urge to acheive something entirely for its own sake. Not because we get more food, or earn more money, but simply so we can proudly say, "I did that!"
I can think of no other earthly reason to explain why, yesterday morning at 7am, Harsh and I set off to climb the volcano that dominates the landscape around the small Chilean town of Pucòn.
A towering snow-capped cone of more than 9,000 feet, Villaricca is not only the highest point in this part of Chile, it is also one of the most active volcanoes in the country (with its last major erruption in the 80s) and smoke can regularly be seen pouring from the top.
Spurred on by the claim in our guide book that the climb to the peak is "regularly completed by those with no previous climbing experience", we signed up with Klaus, a hoary old German tour guide who kitted us out in a variety of unstylish snow gear, including helmets, ice-axes and crampons (some truly hilarious pictures to follow) and began our ascent.
It was my very first time in crampons, and the experience of jamming each step into the snow to stop yourself sliding down a mountain when hammering winds are trying their hardest to knock you over was a tough and extremely slow one. The wind was too strong for the cable car which usually takes climbers part of the way but we battled on determinedly for almost four hours, long after most of the other groups had given up and gone back.
Eventually, however, we had to concede that the winds were too strong and going any further might result in serious misadventure so we reluctantly turned around a began the tricky slide back down. Disappointed as I was not to reach the peak, given that the reason was an unavoidable case of nature taking its course and not simply because I was too weak, I still feel justified in proudly claiming, "I climbed Volcano Villaricca!"
If only I hadn´t fallen down the stairs on the way to the thermal springs later in the evening I might be feeling better about it today...
jueves, 26 de abril de 2007
domingo, 22 de abril de 2007
Cabin Fever
Tired of travelling around South America by bus? Looking for an alternative transportation experience? Try the three-day Navimag CRUISE. Lasting five days and six nights, this exciting journey takes you through some of the remotest spots on earth, where you´ll be surrounded by the stunning scenery of the Chilean fjords. You´ll have to take our word for it though, as chances are there´ll be so much cloud and rain you won´t be able to see a thing (this IS Chile, you know).
You´ll be sharing this barely converted rusty cargo ship with a variety of fascinating companions, including ten trailers full of sheep, cows and horses, bound for the slaughterhouse. You get a great view of them from the dining room windows (NOTE: Dining room is also bar, lecture area, social area and reception). However cramped your cabin may be, at least you´ll be better off than they are!
Among the exciting activities on board, we can offer you the opportunity to sleep, eat, drink powdered coffee or out-of-date beer, listen to lectures about the indigenous people of the area (who we won´t be stopping to meet) or eat a bit more. Some cruises come complete with 185mph wind storms on the pacific which are guaranteed to cause seasickness in the majority of passengers as well as your guide, who will be out of action all day. Ask at booking office for details.
Very few passengers will be fortunate enough to be sharing their cabin with everyone´s favourite Welsh couple Michelle and Andrew, although the gorgeous Frenchman Karim will not be available on all journeys.
For more information about the cruise of a lifetime (trust us, you won´t want to do it again), or for lyrics to the ship´s catchy theme tune, the Stuck On A Boat For Five Days Blues, visit our sister site.
You´ll be sharing this barely converted rusty cargo ship with a variety of fascinating companions, including ten trailers full of sheep, cows and horses, bound for the slaughterhouse. You get a great view of them from the dining room windows (NOTE: Dining room is also bar, lecture area, social area and reception). However cramped your cabin may be, at least you´ll be better off than they are!
Among the exciting activities on board, we can offer you the opportunity to sleep, eat, drink powdered coffee or out-of-date beer, listen to lectures about the indigenous people of the area (who we won´t be stopping to meet) or eat a bit more. Some cruises come complete with 185mph wind storms on the pacific which are guaranteed to cause seasickness in the majority of passengers as well as your guide, who will be out of action all day. Ask at booking office for details.
Very few passengers will be fortunate enough to be sharing their cabin with everyone´s favourite Welsh couple Michelle and Andrew, although the gorgeous Frenchman Karim will not be available on all journeys.
For more information about the cruise of a lifetime (trust us, you won´t want to do it again), or for lyrics to the ship´s catchy theme tune, the Stuck On A Boat For Five Days Blues, visit our sister site.
miércoles, 11 de abril de 2007
Impresiones de la Argentina
Adios Argentina. Today, with my arrival in Chile, I´d just like to note down a few little details that I´ll remember about this fabulous country:
- Little shrines to Difunta Correa by the roadside, usually with red flags and often surrounded by empty plastic bottles.
- Unpredictable road surfaces: gravel; potholes; ramps; long, straight, brown, featureless highway suddenly changing dramatically to mountains or green forests and lakes.
- Very young kids out to dinner with their familes late at night.
- Mate! People carrying their Mate mugs and flasks of hot water with them wherever they go.
- Medialunes (croissants) and dulce de leche for breakfast. Roquefort and palmito pizzas.
- Dogs everywhere. Mostly friendly but all insane, chasing cars and behaving suicidally.
- Bosa Nova versions of classics: U2, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Guns & Roses and, er, Soundgarden.
- The definite feeling of a work in progress.
- Argentina flags and Coca-cola signs everywhere.
- Over-18 films on buses full of kids.
- Wasps in the lake district.
- Really good wine, available cheap.
- People saying "David Beckham!" or "Wayne Rooney!" when they find out you are English.
- Huge, panoramic, camera-busting landscapes.
- Entire cows or sheep hanging over open fires in the cheapest to the most expensive restaurants.
- Turquoise lakes, black sand, dusty highways, snow-capped peaks, red hils, featureless plains, miles of vineyards.
- Chocolate, ponchos, Quilmes beer, roses and penguins.
- All the streets in every town having the same names: Roca, San Martin, Colòn, Sarmiento, etc...
- Battered old cars with no registration numbers, cracked windscreens, missing headlights and major rust. Often crammed with families of 8.
- Craft markets - Crafts Artesenals.
- Not eating dinner until 11pm and still being expected to get up for breakfast at 7. When do these people sleep?
- No-holds-barred public snogging.
- Kids playing football in the street - what else is there to do in a town like Rio Gallegos?
- Thousands of stars.
- Cuba Libres (with Havana rum, not Bacardi).
- Little shrines to Difunta Correa by the roadside, usually with red flags and often surrounded by empty plastic bottles.
- Unpredictable road surfaces: gravel; potholes; ramps; long, straight, brown, featureless highway suddenly changing dramatically to mountains or green forests and lakes.
- Very young kids out to dinner with their familes late at night.
- Mate! People carrying their Mate mugs and flasks of hot water with them wherever they go.
- Medialunes (croissants) and dulce de leche for breakfast. Roquefort and palmito pizzas.
- Dogs everywhere. Mostly friendly but all insane, chasing cars and behaving suicidally.
- Bosa Nova versions of classics: U2, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Guns & Roses and, er, Soundgarden.
- The definite feeling of a work in progress.
- Argentina flags and Coca-cola signs everywhere.
- Over-18 films on buses full of kids.
- Wasps in the lake district.
- Really good wine, available cheap.
- People saying "David Beckham!" or "Wayne Rooney!" when they find out you are English.
- Huge, panoramic, camera-busting landscapes.
- Entire cows or sheep hanging over open fires in the cheapest to the most expensive restaurants.
- Turquoise lakes, black sand, dusty highways, snow-capped peaks, red hils, featureless plains, miles of vineyards.
- Chocolate, ponchos, Quilmes beer, roses and penguins.
- All the streets in every town having the same names: Roca, San Martin, Colòn, Sarmiento, etc...
- Battered old cars with no registration numbers, cracked windscreens, missing headlights and major rust. Often crammed with families of 8.
- Craft markets - Crafts Artesenals.
- Not eating dinner until 11pm and still being expected to get up for breakfast at 7. When do these people sleep?
- No-holds-barred public snogging.
- Kids playing football in the street - what else is there to do in a town like Rio Gallegos?
- Thousands of stars.
- Cuba Libres (with Havana rum, not Bacardi).
lunes, 9 de abril de 2007
The Ice Age Is Coming
Today, I went back in time and experienced ice age earth. It is possible, of course, that in the ice age there were no cosy log-cabin cafeterias, heated mini-buses or padded Gore-Tex (TM), but these minor details are insignificant when you are confronted with the breathtaking sight of the mighty Perito Moreno glacier.
Argentina´s most famous glacier, covering a surface area roughly the size of Buenos Aires, is not its biggest (nearby Upsala is more than three times the size). What makes it unique is that its two sides push forward across Lago Argentina for 30 kilometres to meet the land at Penninsula Malleganes. This means that it is possible for a woolly-hatted tourist such as myself to take a gentle stroll along the opposite shore and marvel at the wonder of one of nature´s best performances taking place live, mere metres away.
The hostel in the nearby town of El Calafate where I am staying, organises an ´alternative` tour, which takes in a beautiful drive across the Patagonian steppe (populated by hares, guanacos, ostrich-like rheas, eagles, condors, pink flamingos, unseen pumas and thousands upon thousands of sheep) and the wooded Andean foothills, a boat trip along the northern edge of the glacier (about as close as you can get without running the risk of several tonnes of ice collapsing on your head) and a short trek along the lake´s shore. It finally ends up at the viewing balconies where you can join all the other tourists, cameras poised, waiting for the creaking and groaning frozen mass to deposit another giant chunk of ice in the milky turquoise channel. It´s a regular event, fortunately, so no one goes away disappointed. It was a pretty special day, and almost worth leaving my new partners in crime, Richard and Jon, who are now in Ushaia (the end of the world).
Happy Easter to all. I celebrated by buying myself some home-made Patagonian chocolate and eating it all in about 30 seconds flat. I finally leave Argentina on Wednesday to explore the western side of the Andes, the Pacific ocean and the wonders of Chile.
Argentina´s most famous glacier, covering a surface area roughly the size of Buenos Aires, is not its biggest (nearby Upsala is more than three times the size). What makes it unique is that its two sides push forward across Lago Argentina for 30 kilometres to meet the land at Penninsula Malleganes. This means that it is possible for a woolly-hatted tourist such as myself to take a gentle stroll along the opposite shore and marvel at the wonder of one of nature´s best performances taking place live, mere metres away.
The hostel in the nearby town of El Calafate where I am staying, organises an ´alternative` tour, which takes in a beautiful drive across the Patagonian steppe (populated by hares, guanacos, ostrich-like rheas, eagles, condors, pink flamingos, unseen pumas and thousands upon thousands of sheep) and the wooded Andean foothills, a boat trip along the northern edge of the glacier (about as close as you can get without running the risk of several tonnes of ice collapsing on your head) and a short trek along the lake´s shore. It finally ends up at the viewing balconies where you can join all the other tourists, cameras poised, waiting for the creaking and groaning frozen mass to deposit another giant chunk of ice in the milky turquoise channel. It´s a regular event, fortunately, so no one goes away disappointed. It was a pretty special day, and almost worth leaving my new partners in crime, Richard and Jon, who are now in Ushaia (the end of the world).
Happy Easter to all. I celebrated by buying myself some home-made Patagonian chocolate and eating it all in about 30 seconds flat. I finally leave Argentina on Wednesday to explore the western side of the Andes, the Pacific ocean and the wonders of Chile.
sábado, 7 de abril de 2007
BARRETT IS NEW BOND BABE!
Guest columnist Jon Rhodes reports on the situation in Argentina
FORMER music PR guru Rebecca Barrett has just wrapped up a two-week starring role as the new Bond babe. The 29-year-old joined Jonty Rhodes and Richard Donnelly on location in Argentina - the latest leg of the You Only Live Twice Tour 2-007. It is the first time the Sussex-born diva has worked abroad. Critics are already hailing the performance.
"It was just a great opportunity for me," said Barrett, yesterday. "I´ve had a lot of fun and the boys have been great - I'm looking forward to seeing the the final picture."
Barrett shot to prominence after spending six years working for a London-based music firm. She quit earlier this year to pursue other interests. Donnelly and Rhodes, both 32, who visited South East Asia six years ago as part of the From Laos With Love Tour, have been filming across the globe for the last six months. Locations have included the Philippines, Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Filming in South America is expected to last seven months with both men excited to be working for the first time on the continent.
"Rebecca is everything the You Only Live Twice Tour needed," said former local hack Rhodes. "She´s smart, savvy and sexy and can drink us both under the table. Watch out Ursula Andres."
The You Only Live Twice Tour is expected to return to England next year.
The more open-minded among you may enjoy Snr Rhodes`s travelling companion Richard Donnelly`s contribution: here
FORMER music PR guru Rebecca Barrett has just wrapped up a two-week starring role as the new Bond babe. The 29-year-old joined Jonty Rhodes and Richard Donnelly on location in Argentina - the latest leg of the You Only Live Twice Tour 2-007. It is the first time the Sussex-born diva has worked abroad. Critics are already hailing the performance.
"It was just a great opportunity for me," said Barrett, yesterday. "I´ve had a lot of fun and the boys have been great - I'm looking forward to seeing the the final picture."
Barrett shot to prominence after spending six years working for a London-based music firm. She quit earlier this year to pursue other interests. Donnelly and Rhodes, both 32, who visited South East Asia six years ago as part of the From Laos With Love Tour, have been filming across the globe for the last six months. Locations have included the Philippines, Dubai, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Filming in South America is expected to last seven months with both men excited to be working for the first time on the continent.
"Rebecca is everything the You Only Live Twice Tour needed," said former local hack Rhodes. "She´s smart, savvy and sexy and can drink us both under the table. Watch out Ursula Andres."
The You Only Live Twice Tour is expected to return to England next year.
The more open-minded among you may enjoy Snr Rhodes`s travelling companion Richard Donnelly`s contribution: here
jueves, 5 de abril de 2007
The Real Argentina
I´m very excited that my friend Harsh is coming out to join me in Santiago in a couple of weeks, and in the few days before meeting up with him I am booked on a cruise of the Chilean fjords leaving from Puerto Natales. This means that I need to be in El Calafate (home of the famous glaciers and just over the border from Puerto Natales) no earlier than Saturday. As a result I have been able to travel in leisure down Patagonia´s east coast, visiting towns that don´t normally make it onto the average tourist´s itinerary and some of which haven´t even made it to Lonely Planet!
Since Puerto Madryn, Richard, Jon and I have visited Comodoro Rivadavia (pictured, with sunset), Puerto Deseado and Caleta Olivia (very briefly). We are now in Rio Gallegos, which officially qualifies as The Deep South. To get to these places we have taken overnight buses along endless bleak, featureless highway, punctuated every few hundred miles by a petrol station and rusty corrugated steel or concrete cafeteria, always with the obligatory Argentinian flag and a Coca-Cola sign.
While it´s been fairly obvious why these places aren´t major tourist attractions, it´s been great to see a little of the way Argentina goes about its business when it´s not trying to impress bus-loads of backpackers. One of the main things that has struck me is just how little an impression humans have made on the land here. In England and Europe I am used to being able to feel how the countryside has been shaped and tamed for generations, but here many of the towns are only a little over a hundred years old and there is almost a feeling that people are just camping here. No surprise given the vast distances that people have to conquer to set up home in these places.
Easter this Sunday and I will be saying goodbye to the boys (who have promised to be guest columnists on the blog) and arriving in El Calafate in time to catch a glacier or two before my cruise.
Since Puerto Madryn, Richard, Jon and I have visited Comodoro Rivadavia (pictured, with sunset), Puerto Deseado and Caleta Olivia (very briefly). We are now in Rio Gallegos, which officially qualifies as The Deep South. To get to these places we have taken overnight buses along endless bleak, featureless highway, punctuated every few hundred miles by a petrol station and rusty corrugated steel or concrete cafeteria, always with the obligatory Argentinian flag and a Coca-Cola sign.
While it´s been fairly obvious why these places aren´t major tourist attractions, it´s been great to see a little of the way Argentina goes about its business when it´s not trying to impress bus-loads of backpackers. One of the main things that has struck me is just how little an impression humans have made on the land here. In England and Europe I am used to being able to feel how the countryside has been shaped and tamed for generations, but here many of the towns are only a little over a hundred years old and there is almost a feeling that people are just camping here. No surprise given the vast distances that people have to conquer to set up home in these places.
Easter this Sunday and I will be saying goodbye to the boys (who have promised to be guest columnists on the blog) and arriving in El Calafate in time to catch a glacier or two before my cruise.
domingo, 1 de abril de 2007
Feature Creatures
Finally I have seen some Argentine wildlife, and I don´t mean the Irish bars in Bariloche!
Having hooked up with Jon and Richard for a few laid-back days in hippy town El Bolsón along with their friend Jo, the three of us hopped on a night bus to the other side of Patagonia for a bit of sun, sea and the Atlantic wildlife reserve of Penninsula Valdes near Puerto Madryn.
The flat and (to my untrained eye) barren stretch of land is home to wild horses, sheeps, cows, llama-like guanacos and hares inland, but it´s the creatures who hug the coastline who draw the crowds. There are sea-lions and very cute penguins, but the main attraction is the Orca whales who, if you are really lucky, will swim up to the seal colonies during March and April in search of a mid-morning snack.
We hired a car which Richard drove at breakneck speed along the bumpy gravel roads to the Penninsula after a guy in our hostel helpfully told us over breakfast that we should have left two hours earlier, and we arrived at the viewing point to find fifty or so other tourists standing motionless staring at a patch of water just offshore from the hundreds of basking seals. After a few moments of nail-biting tension we saw the sight that inspired Spielberg: the black fin slicing through the water, mere feet from the beach.
It was soon joined by at least three others, and they obligingly swam up and down along the coast right in front of the gaping tourists for around 90 minutes. They apparently weren´t hungry so we weren´t treated the very rare sight of them sliding up the sand to grab an unsuspecting seal pup which, to be honest, might have offended my delicate vegetarian sensibilities. It was still an awe-inspiring experience and I´m glad the seals got to live another day. (This is the closest picture I could find to what I actually saw - mine will be up any day now!)
Having hooked up with Jon and Richard for a few laid-back days in hippy town El Bolsón along with their friend Jo, the three of us hopped on a night bus to the other side of Patagonia for a bit of sun, sea and the Atlantic wildlife reserve of Penninsula Valdes near Puerto Madryn.
The flat and (to my untrained eye) barren stretch of land is home to wild horses, sheeps, cows, llama-like guanacos and hares inland, but it´s the creatures who hug the coastline who draw the crowds. There are sea-lions and very cute penguins, but the main attraction is the Orca whales who, if you are really lucky, will swim up to the seal colonies during March and April in search of a mid-morning snack.
We hired a car which Richard drove at breakneck speed along the bumpy gravel roads to the Penninsula after a guy in our hostel helpfully told us over breakfast that we should have left two hours earlier, and we arrived at the viewing point to find fifty or so other tourists standing motionless staring at a patch of water just offshore from the hundreds of basking seals. After a few moments of nail-biting tension we saw the sight that inspired Spielberg: the black fin slicing through the water, mere feet from the beach.
It was soon joined by at least three others, and they obligingly swam up and down along the coast right in front of the gaping tourists for around 90 minutes. They apparently weren´t hungry so we weren´t treated the very rare sight of them sliding up the sand to grab an unsuspecting seal pup which, to be honest, might have offended my delicate vegetarian sensibilities. It was still an awe-inspiring experience and I´m glad the seals got to live another day. (This is the closest picture I could find to what I actually saw - mine will be up any day now!)
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