viajes en el sur

Being back in Buenos aires is quite comforting after two weeks of nonstop travel. Dad, you asked me how many miles I logged…so in kilometers (which is what they work with in EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD) the trip was:
Buenos aires to bariloche (21 hour bus ride): 1,600
Bariloche to el bolson (2 hour bus ride: 121
El bolson to el calafate (36 hour bus ride…every couple of hours we would be offroading for 1-2 hours) 1720
El calafate to Puerto natales, chile (5 hour bus ride): 268
Puerto natales to torres del pine (2 hour bus ride): 92
4 days trekking in Puerto natales:49
Puerto natales to rio Gallegos (7 hour bus ride): 329
Rio gallos to Buenos aires (2 hour plane ride): 2,500
In total… feb 5th to feb 20th→ 6679 kilometers or 4150 miles. NUTS

On the 5th I took a overnight bus from Buenos aires to bariloche. When I got there it was 4 pm, raining, and I had no so much as a guidebook, nor a reservation. I had the address of hostel but because its high season, I didn’t expect to be able to snag a bed. So, with all the optimism one can muster in the rain, I decided to walk from the bus stop, ignorant as to its location in relation to the town… by the time I made it to the first kiosk, I had realized what a bad idea this had been and decided to check my email and possibly convince the woman who worked there to make a very phone calls for me, or atleast tell me where I was in relation to the hostels. By making a decent impression and having a working Spanish vocabulary, my wish was granted and there happened to be one bed left at an irish hostel named PUDU. When I got there it was about 8, happy hour at the hostel bar that only serves local brews. I got chatting with a blond English fellow, who, like me, was in the midst of planning his activites for the next day. All I had remembered from what I read in some guidebook a had glanced at is that there is this bike route that’s great for days trips. Our schmoozing attracted other travelers and by the end of the night, we had a group of seven. The next morning, after an awesome breakfast of irish biscuits and dulce de leche, me and the most blond people (4) I have ever been with at one time head out for the bike rental place.
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After having lived in Miami for 3 years, Ive pretty much lost all winter gear ive ever accumulated and was pretty ill equipped for this venture. Moreover, bariloche had just had a stint of 3 beatiuful weeks, but the weather report said the next WEEK in bariloche would be on and off rainstorms, and that’s exactly how it was while we were biking, all day. It was Sunday, and we heard there was an artisanal market in colonia suiza, so we made that our biking destination. It was a cute market, with lots of bariloche-esc/german/swiss inspired food (Belgian waffles and LOTS OF BEER) + your classic empanadas + this really authentic dish called curanto, which is where they take all these kinds of meats and vegetables and they cook them below heated earth.
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When we finally got back to the bike rental place, I was more than dehydrated. Its hard to recap this story because I was so on the verge of fainting..regardless of how it all went down, it result in the friendship of two Israeli girls. That night, I went back to my hostel and right to bed, fearful that I was coming down with something that would ruin my travels. I didn’t wake up feeling much better but I had a little chat with my immune system, as well as a much needed phone call with my mom, and all seemed a bit bright (even without the light of day). After buying some of bairloches famous chocolate, I happened to run into the Israeli girls who convinced me to stay another night. However, my hostel didn’t have room for me to stay another day so I moved into theirs. I have never been surrounded by so many Israelis…and it was a super interesting experience.
The hostel was an Israeli hostel. As in, the signs were in Spanish and Hebrew! I had heard that a lot of Israelis come here to travel after the army….but the mass was completely overwhelming. At first, I thought I would be ashamed of my lack of religious knowledge/ involvment in the jewish community..but this sentiment took on a very different meaning after spending somtime with them. When I mentioned to sam how i was surprised at how secular all of them seemed, he said that their existence is defined by judiasm, and that their religiosity is almost proven and maintained simply by being Israeli, and living the jewish experience in Israel. This idea made sense to me, but only after meeting them.
That night, the girls wanted to cook a traditional Israeli dish called shuk-shu-kah (don’t kill me on the spelling) which is basically making poached eggs but instead of cooking them in water, you use a semi-boiling tomato sauce that you make before..and you eat it with bread. Bread, eggs, and tomatoes—im on board!
The next day, I headed to el bolson, and was greeted with amazing people, and a really great market… it took me about 3 hours and several walks through the market to commit to anything but in the end, I came out with some nice things. A hand carved maté gord that’s simply beautiful and a pair of awesome earrings with quartz and amethyst. It was the first nice day in a while so even though it was a typical Tuesday..everyone was out with their familes, enjoying the entertainment of a local band, and a johny depp look-a-like clown.
The next day I boarded my very long bus to el calafate. Not much to say except that it was a very long ride………especially with my ipod that died an hour into the trip, and without a book. South America has awakened my inner poet so ive been dabbling in a little late night prose.
I had told sam and kyle that I was going to meet them at the bus station when my bus got in, but obviously we arrived late and so they were no where to be found when we finally deboared. The only thing I could think of doing was going to the closest internet café….and luck have it, they were sitting in the first one I saw. We checked into our hostel, and then grabbed a hearty vegetarian sandwhich and some local cerveza.
After debating our options for the glacier, we decided on the most expensive package…4 hours trekking. I think we would all agree that it was the right decision. We woke up early, had breakfast at the hostel, and boarded the bus when it showed up (only 30 minutes late..pretty good for latin American standards)
They drove us to the entrance to the park where we paid the park entry and then were able to walk around on this extensive network of bridges that were constructed to give you multiple angles of the glacier
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Then we took a boat over to another to another glacier, the one we would have a chance to walk around. When we got there, we trekked for 20 minutes up to a base camp where we were fitted from cramps (metal cages for your shoes that fasten to the ice while you’re walking), and then to another basecamp 10 minutes away to put on harnesses. We were actually strapped into anything while we were walking.. they were just precautionary in case anyone fell in (to what? I still don’t know) and they needed to be lifted back up. Then another 5 minutes down, at which point we strappd on our cramp ons, divided into smaller groups and headed out trekking. Basically, if I didn’t have a desire to be an astronaut before (which I didn’t…) I do now; walking on this glacier was like being on a foreign planet. The farther we walked, the more alien the terrain became. And whats more, it was super bizarre seeing moutains covered in greenery RIGHT NEXT TO this huge block of crystal blue ice. we also had the most incredible weather…. As can be seen from the clear blue sky in the pictures. Ill have it be known that I was wearing a total of $0 in snow gear, while the people all around me were decked out in the latest north face bullshit…oh consumerism. We lunched on the glacier with sandwhiches that we had made…and that was the only time I was legitimately cold…
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Afterwards, we endulged our post glacier high with a bottle of wine each…needless to say, we never left the hostel.
The next morning, we had a 4oclock bus to Puerto natales. We ended up arriving at 9pm, grabbed some dinner, and made it to our hostel by 11pm…the next morning, we took a 2pm bus to the foot of the trail in torres del pine, paid the entrance fee, and headed out trekking. We only intended to trek to the base camp, which we heard was 2-3 hours away, so we would get in by 6, set up camp, and have dinner at the refugio. I guess we were surprised by how immediately the incline started, but we kept a good pace and arrived in 1:45…basically, we were running according the map. It was a weird experience passing other hikers every 2 minutes; all treks ive done in the past have been pretty much devoid of passing other travelers, so in a way, it made the experience a bit more touristy…?
When we got to the base camp, most people had already pitched tents to we had to move quickly and claim a spot. At around 8, we had a huge hikers dinner, a box of wine (CLOS…always), and then went to bed- early morning wakeup to prepare for.
I woke up and was unable to feel my feet…besides that, my many layers and unfortunate choice of a sleeping bag had provided enough warm to last me through the night. I was actually suprisied at how few people were unzipping their tents at 5am…after all, seeing the torres at sunset is supposed to be the highlight of the trail.
We were a little behind schedule, so I took lead and set pace. We were basically sprinting through the trail, twilight style… (anyone?).
However, it simply wasn’t good enough. The light was starting to illuminate the trees, headlamps were no longer needed, and my spirit was crushed- we hadn’t even made it to the incline yet. At map told us that the sun was to ride at 6:40, and we had made it to the foot of the ascent at 6:20. Kyle took the backpack, and led the trail the rest of the way. The first part of the incline was incredibly steep, and laid with a sand that gave no traction at all…my motivation was gone. Finally, the 3 torres showed themselves in the light of day, and kyle suggested we head to a boulder to watch the rest of sunrise. But we were wrong……..although the suns light was visible, the sun itself was around 20 minutes away from rearing its head from the horizon…HURRRRAY.
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We had some coffee, some dried fruit, and then turned back at around 9am. Made it back to refugio italiano at 10am, took down our tents, packed up, had some avena and maté, and were back on the road at 11. We made it to the base of the trail head by 12, took a break and then trekked for another 6 hours. When we finally got to the refugio (which was supposed to be a stopping point before another 2 hours to the campsite) we said fuck it, and pitched tent there. We got in at about 6, napped, and then woke up for dinner at around 8. There also happened to be a spare mattress. Knowing the troubles that cate had had with pulgas (fleas), and the fact that finding and using a mattress in the middle of the woods, that 100’s of disgustingly dirty hikers have slept on, should have grossed me out. But who was I kidding- I was hiking in the same clothes for 4 days, with only 2 pair of underwear and a sleeping bag in a trash bag… thus I threw caution to the wind an indulged the comfort that 5 inches of foam gave me. My nap turned out to be better than my actually sleep that night, because as it turns out, I pitched tent on a hill and was fearful of flipping my tent during the tent; dinner was accompanied by another bottle of wine- so im not sure how/why my anxiety came into play? Oh life.
The next morning we awoke at the leisurely hour of 10 and only ended up leaving the campsite at quarter to 12. This was also distinct for me. On all of my previous treks, we were up at 6, on the trail like 7:30 and into the campsite by 4 to make sure that we had enough light to set up camp. Because the sunsets at 9:30 and its only entirely dark at 10:30, the whole schedule threw me. The trek to the campsite was 2:30 minutes, and we had intended to set up camp, drop off our bags, and then hike to get an alternative view of the torres at sunset, along a path called valle de frances. That never happened. The warmth of the sun by the river, the incredible, clear view of the snowy mountain backdrop was too paralyzing to leave. So we stayed at its foot, ate dried fruit, played cards..and indulged our tired bodies. Dinner of ramen noodles, chocolate, Clos, and an inappropriate dosage of Benadryl- yum.
The next morning, we hit the trail running; no breakfast, just pure adrenalin. It was a 3 hour hike to the base of the mountain where we would catch the 12pm ferry back to our starting point. We made good time and got to the refugio at 10:30, cooked the rest of our avena and 4 packages of oriental flavor ramen (breakfast of champions), and then packed up our gear. I managed to nap after all activities that followed- after breakfast, on the ferry, and on the bus back to Puerto Natales. Later that night we went out for chorriana and beer. The next morning was our 7 hour bus ride to Rio Gallegos, including a stop at immigration which, in addition to being A JOKE, took ¼ the time- oh, I love this country.
We didn’t have reservations for a hostel in rio Gallegos so we chose at random and had someone call from the bus terminal- smoking room at Hotel Paris for 3 please! (no mom, I didn’t turn into a smoker). Exploration, beers, dinner, sleep..TOMORROW PENGUINS.
It didn’t turn out to be that easy. The excursion that kyle had heard of happened to be discontinued….with every tourist agency in rio Gallegos. Finally, we tried one last place and they were able to arrange a separate remisse for us and a family of 4. The ride ended up being a 3 hour offroading adventure.
The penguins were kind of underwhelming, although their shear number was impressive. At this point in the year, they were going through their routine moulting period, which is just a period when any animal regularly sheds its outer layer. For most animals, this takes place all the time (like dogs and cats shedding fur) but with penguins, it happens all at once, for 3-4 weeks during feb or march, and kind of makes them look sickly. So that’s what I saw, a lot of sick looking penguins, and lots of feathers flying about. We walked a ½ mile circle, encountered about 5-6 different clusterings and then made our way to the beach where we got to see them swimming. We weren’t allowed on the beach, as to prevent the disruption of their natural habitat, but they were still amusing to watch from afar.
Afterwards, we were taken to a lighthouse and got coffee and postre, that kyle and I devoured with much regret…oh dulce de leche WHY.
Later that night, we went for dinner in one of rio gallegos’s 6 restaurants, and then stayed awake until our cab ride to the airport at 2am.
And that concludes my tale of life on the road. Funny enough, I remember it as basically one stream of consciousness because I was wearing the same outfit for days on end. That is no joke. THE SAME OUTFIT.