Wanderlust

Photos: The lakes

dapike615 — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 22:59:00 GMT

Lakes region of Chile and Argentina

The lakes

dapike615 — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 22:04:00 GMT

The 17th of February, we (my aunt, uncle and I) flew north to the port city of Puerto Montt. Puerto Montt is an unremarkable port city with little in the way of tourist attractions, with the exception of a fantastic fish market. We stayed in nearby Puerto Varas, which is wonderfully situated on the lake. The region a a very germanic feel, from the architecture to the food (kuchen and apfelstrudle).

We decided to make a small day trip to the island of Chiloe. The island has a different culture and feel from the mainland. The island is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The island is most known for two things; Scandinavian style wooden churches and curanto. There are a number of said churches around the island (15?) built entirely out of wood as early settlers did not have access to other materials. The churches are UNESCO world heritage sites, for good reason.

Ah curanto, how I love thee; let me count the ways. Chorizo, ribs, mussels, clams, barnacles, potatoes, potato cakes (both white and blue variety), and other starchy vegetables like carrots. Traditionally everything is placed in a hole in the ground and cooked for roughly an hour. The system acts like a giant pressure cooker. While the curanto I had was not cooked in the traditional manner, I can still attest to its deliciousness.

With our day trip to Chiloe over, we would be crossing the border to Bariloche, Argentina. We crossed the border in arguably the most convoluted (and most scenic) way possible. We used no less than four bus journies and three boat journies to make the crossing. The journey was spectacular, and it is surprising that there isn't more development in the region. The steep mountains abruptly end in lakes of magnificent shades of blue, forming stunning fjords. The region is one of only three in the world to be home to temperate rainforests as well, along with New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest.

Once in Bariloche, the germanic presence was once again evident. It is said that many nazis fled to the region, and I definitely believe it. The region is home to some of the best, if not the best skiing in south america. Bariloche's status as a culinary destination should not be underestimated either. The region is home to excellent chocolate (seemingly every other store sells chocolate), swiss restraunts, and beef. I had the best steak I've had in my life in Bariloche. The ribeye was so tender you probably could have cut it with a spoon.

We also visited Bosque Arrayanes, which is home to a type of myrtle tree found only there and on an island in Japan. The trees are orange and the grove is very cool. The forest supposedly served as walt Disney's inspiration for bambi.

I'll get something posted about my time in Buenos Aires and Uruguay soon; stay tuned!

Photos: End of the World

dapike615 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:59:00 GMT

Torres del Paine, Ushuaia, and Punta Arenas

End of the Planet

dapike615 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:59:00 GMT

Nothing can prepare you for Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. The Torres massif and surrounding area is stunning, but not in a traditional Swiss Alpine sense. The range is much more chaotic and wild in nature, and the weather, particularly the wind, is much wilder. This was a world class trek, and one that every backpacker should complete in their lifetime. It was a journey that I will never forget.

I completed the gran circuito in six days and five nights. The grand circuit is the best option in my opinion; it combines the world class w section plus a section of trail around the relatively quieter north side of the park. You meet great people on the trail; I hiked the first day and a half with some south Africans I met in my hostel in punta arenas (completely unexpected meeting), as well as an Austrian couple I met on the trail. The circuit is a wonderful collection of different environments and windblown landscapes. There is a precipitation gradientfrom west to east across the park which is very evident.

That being said, all is not rainbows and unicorns in paradise. Never before have I seen a more ragtag group of backpackers in my life. At times I felt as though I had somehow been teleported to the eastern European gypsy trekking convention. The park is expensive as well; this was certainly the most expensive trekking trip I've ever done (not saying the price isn't justified, just an observation). The park is CROWDED; this is like the Disneyland of trekking. If quiet trails are your thing, this isn't the place for you. Part of the park is privately owned; what's up with that? It seems like Chile could scrape up some pesos to buy the private land in the park, but I digress.

After Chile I took off for Ushuaia, Argentina, which is aptly named the end of the world. The journey was roughly 12 hours from Puerto Natales, including a 30 minute boat crossing across the straits of Magellan. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, and one of the major ports of call for cruises to Antarctica. The city is just 1000km from Antarctica. The city is very expensive and very touristy, but yet has an undeniable energy which I absolutely loved. I hiked up to a glacier just north of the city, whichoffers wonderful views over the beagle channel and ushuaia. On a side note, anti British sentiments are fairly strong in Ushuaia due to the Falkland war. The whole situation makes me extremely uncomfortable and I wouldn't even dream of discussing it with argentinians.

After ushuaia I returned to punta arenas, where I met up with my aunt and uncle. We went to isla magdalena, a penguin colony with as many as 200,000 penguins (Magallenic penguins). It was incredible to see so many penguins in one place.

Tune in next time when I write about my time in the lakes region, Buenos Aires, and how I accidentally ended up in Austria. In Argentina. Also, did I mention the nazi war criminals?