Seven weeks in South America

The Cloud Forest Day Four

jenc — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:59:00 GMT

Day four in the wonderfully damp cloud forest saw us get up nice and early, even though we have been told there would be no bus back to town and we would have to walk. We organised breakfast and were happily sitting at the table next to our tent (the benefit of sleeping in an official campsite and not somewhere in the middle of a riverbed!) when 3 wild horses came barrelling through the clearing, straight past our tent and down into the riverbed. It was completely unexpected and quite wodnerful. It was surprising enough in fact that I abandoned my cup of coffee and followed them down into the riverbed to check that I hadn{t imagined them! We were just recovering from this when we were set upon by a group of local school children who all wanted to have their pictures taken with us, separately, and take videos of us. This wouldn't have been so bad except that we were covered in mud, hadn't showered in days and no doubt smelt like god only knows what! Still they can't have been that unhappy as they insisted on giving us kisses goodbye, which was somewhat interesting as they all formed a line and came by one by one in a seemingly endless procession- it felt a little like being a queen! Very strange!

Once that was over we quickly packed up and made good our escape before anything else strange could happen. We started walking towards town and were promptly offered a lift by a tractor towing a wagon, which went about 15km/hr and was full of unhappy looking sugar workers, but saved our legs several kilometres. Then it was back to the exciting town of Libertador and promptly out again towards Purmamarca.

The Cloud Forest Day Three

jenc — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:23:00 GMT

We woke the next morning to the sound of the cloud forest raining on our tent. Not raining as such, but more sort of steadily dripping large quanitites of water on us. This wasn´t great news for teh clothes we´re left out to, somewhat optimistically, dry on a tree outside, or the tent, which we had to pack soaking wet, or any of the clothes we were wearing teh day before, or our still significantly damp boots which we´d given up on drying after mine nearly caught fire the night before. Still, we packed up, dressed ourselves in our wet clothes, managed to produce a hot cup of coffee (with what seemed like the millionth match) and continued heading upstream.

It felt like we spent most of the morning crossing backwards and forwards across the river, which also felt like it was getting narrower and, in places, definitely deeper. At one point Rick got very Dutch and decided to build a dam out of rocks so that we could cross without getting wet, which was remarkably effective! We had agreed to go on until lunchtime before deciding whether to continue for the afternoon or head back to our original camp. We were still hoping that we might find the elusive trail number 5 at some point and rejoin the orgnaised paths. By lunchtime however there was no sign of trail 5 and any road noises we had heard earlier had long since disappeared. It was just us, the birds, and the constantly dripping cloud forest. We decided the best course of action would be for me to prepare lunch while Rick went off scouting to try to work out where we were. In the end we worked out we must have missed the track and were heading due north, into an entirely unmapped section of the park and nowhere near any sort of road or path. Based on the fact that we were cold, wet and only had enough food for two more days, we figured it was probably a good idea to turn around at this point. , and that if we were fairly prompt about it we might even make it back to the official campsite by nightfall.

We passed our previous campsite a short while later and as we had definitely heard cars the night before we started watching carefully for signs of a trail and sure enough, a short while later, we found one. We figured we might as well see some of the official part of the park and embarked on the incredibly steep track 5, a decision I regretted about halfway up as it really was very steep! We then ended up on the mountain bike track which was reasonably unexciting until it suddenly disappeared into an unexpected rocky drop. Fine if you´re on foot, somewhat alarming if you´re on a bike! Still it was quite a nice walk and it took us to another track which went past a lovely lake and trees full of monkeys (still not my favourite creatures after Vietnam...). We eventually made it back to the official campsite though where we, once again, bumped into the Italian boy- who hadn´t managed to spot a panther either but was fairly confident he had at least heard one as well- set up our tent and crawled into bed muddy and exhausted.

The Cloud Forest- Day Two

jenc — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:32:00 GMT

Now the first thing I want to make clear is that while the idea of wandering around in a cloud forest is terribly romantic, the reality is somewhat different, largely because a cloud forest is a forest in a cloud, and clouds, while very pretty to look at floating in a clear blue sky, are actually well, the best word is- damp- when you are in the middle of them. Damp, damp, damp, incredibly, invadingly, inescapably damp. Very pretty of course, and great for seeing all kinds of birds and wildlife that thrive in these conditions, but oh so, so damp. The ground is wet, in varying degrees, all of the trees and leaves are wet, the rocks are wet, obviously the river is wet and even the air is wet, oh and from time to time it becomes mist life- like somebody is spraying you all over with a very fine mist of water. Which is great for a bit, and would be a really lovely respite from a hot summers day, or perfect if you were a vegetable in a supermarket, but when you´re already wet, and tired, and cold, it just kind of sucks. But back to the days activities...

The day got off to a brilliant start when I woke up and felt a strange crawling sensation around my toes. I pulled my feet out of my sleeping bag only to discover I had spent the night curled up in bed with a friendly, furry caterpillar, which it turns out is certainly one way to get me moving in the morning! We then had our morning coffee and set off for teh riverbed. We followed the same trail we had the day before but this time with full packs, which made some of the climbing a little more interesting, but it was good fun. Until we reached a point where the river met teh cliff face and it was clear there was no going forwards. We attempted to cross in a few places but it was too deep and in the end we decided to attempt to follow a different riverbed in a different direction which should also take us to another one of the official trails eventually.

This river was much smaller, and while it was frequently necessary to cross backwards and forwards across it, this was almost always reasonably straightforward and we managed to stay relatively dry for most of the day. That said, towards the end of the day Rick did slip and end up with soaking wet shoes and socks, which was a bit of a blessing as it meant that when we reached an uncrossable section he just picked me up and slung me across his shoulder and carried me, pack and all, across the river. We also discovered ´quick mud´- a strange cross between mud and water which looked solid enough until you tried to stand on it and promptly disappeared, often almost to the top of your shoes! The really peculiar thing about it was that if you walked on it quickly enough it was almost solid, but prod it with your shoe a few times and it was practically water. Thanks largely to this we were covered in mud, almost to our knees, by the end of the day, and fairly wet all over, thanks to a combination of the general dampness and a few ill-timed river crossings. There was also a concerning moment when a bush we were walking past let out an audible growl. It was then that I got to wondering exactly what animal the Italian boy had been so excited about possibly seeing. We had a bit of a chat about it- I was wondering if there were mountain lions and Rick was telling me I was being silly. That night be consulted the wildlife book that the ranger had given us and discovered that the park is home to a population of panthers! He then told me that the Italian boy had mentioned tigers but he assumed he meant panthers and that he hadn´t told me as he didn´t wish to alarm me! Perfect- a jungle forest containing panthers and we were armed with a solitary swiss army knife! That night when we made camp we decided to build a very big fire! Which, incidentally, was not as easy as it might seem when everything is damp, and I mean everything. The wood, the leaves, the stikcs, the ground, even the bloody matches! In the end we chose the dryest bit of ground, built a substantial fire, doused it in petrol (from the cooker) and managed to ignite it with about the 20th match and an enormous woosh of blue petrol flame. We also discovered why you shouldn´t build fires on top of river rocks, but figured that the regular explosions, coupled with the vast quantities of smoke given off by the damp wood, would no doubt keep the pathers at bay. I also discovered that if I put my boots too close to the fire the tops of them start to melt... On the upside, at least with all the dampness I didn´t worry that the remaining embers might start a forest fire and I went to sleep safe in the knowledge that there would still be a large damp jungle surrounding us in the morning.

The Cloud Forest (Parque National Calilegua

jenc — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:14:00 GMT

We got up bright and early on our last morning in Salta, ate our standard hotel/hostel breakfast (bread, jam and coffee) andc set off towards the bus station. We had done all of our purchasing and packing the night before and were reasonably confident that we had enough food and fuel for 4 nights in the national park. We then claimed our usual ´panoramic seats´and set off in the direction of Libertador General San Martin. When we got there we were grateful we had done our shopping in Salta as it turned out to be, what can best be described as, a god forsaken hellhole. Libertador is a dirty, nasty, unfriendly little town based around the world´s biggest sugar refinery and I´ve never walked through a town where I felt more likely to have my throat slit before in my life. It didn´t help that we weren´t entirely sure where to go. The guidebook seemed to assume that we had both a map and a car, and the man a the bus station rattled on in rapid spanish that Rick couldn´t understand (and it goes without saying that I had no idea!) and ended up drawing us one of the most useless maps I´ve ever been given in my life. Still, amongst the unfriendly glares, revolting river and burning rubbish dump, we managed to find our way to the entry road. It was hot, our packs were heavy and it was a nasty walk, but as we got closer to the park, and further away from the awful town, it started to become a little nicer. It also helped when the park ranger stopped and gave us a lift to the campsite!

When we arrived at the campsite he gave us a map of the park, which was somewhat lacking in detail, but was the only map available, explained which trails were closed and wished us luck. We decided we were best off staying at the campsite the first night, as it was reasonably late and we weren´t confident that there were other places to camp along the way, so we set up the tend and set off to explore some of teh trails.

We started off following what we assumed was track 1, whcih was largely unexciting and dumped us back on the main road quite promptly so we decided to follw the road back tot eh bridge and clamber down into the riverbed (clearning ignoring all signs saying we weren´t allowed to), which was much more fun. We figured we must be on a river called the Rio San Lorenzo and that if we followed it around evenutally it would join another river and then meet up with trail 6' which sounded a lot more interesting than walking the designated trails. So we wandered back to camp to prepare dinner and swore that the next day we would go adventuring!

The highlight of the first day, apart from teh joy at getting out of Libertador and teh fun of clambering about the rocks, was also getting to see an actual toucan! This is a park that is known as a bird watchers paradise and we were certainly able to see a number of different species along the way. Not knowing anything about birds though, the toucan is the only one I can name! The park is also known for its diverse wildlife and that night Rick had a chat to an Italian boy about some animal he was particularly excited about the prospect of seeing. As they were speaking in a mix of Spanish and English I wasn´t really paying attention, but I did gather that there was some animal which was quite uncommon, but if you knew where it went to drink in the evenings you could see it. God only knows why I didn´t ask more questions at this point, but I didn´t, and I went to sleep that night happily looking forward to a day of exploring riverbeds in a cloudforest starting teh next morning.

Salta

jenc — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 05:10:00 GMT

The bus that took us to Salta had to be seen to be believed- it was incredible! Definitely worth the extra 16 euro! When we turned up we were floored- we had opted for the panoramic seats which meant we were on the top floor of the bus atthe front and had a clear view of the scenery. Not so great at night but we figured it would be pretty amazing the next day. We also had chairs that converted into lie down beds, our own tvs with a selection of movies and attendents to bring us meals and drinks throughout the trip. Talk about luxury! We spent the first 15 minutes or so taking pictures and playing with the seats before deciding to be a little more grown-up and settle down. The meals were approximately 90 percent sugar which was interesting (biscuits and lollies for breakfast anyone?) but the bus itself more than made up for them- and to be honest I wasn't expecting to be fed anyway. There was one interesting hour when we were forced to sit on the side of the highway and just watch the other traffic pass us by- I still have no idea why, but we entertained ourselves with thoughts of our driver running away across the hills being pursued by the local police. Apparently that wasn't the case though as after an hour or so we were permitted to move again.

Salta itself was lovely, and much more manageable than Buenos Aires. We explored the Alpine Mountain Museum, which centred around the discovery of 3 Incan children who were sacrificed at the top of Llullialaco Volcano and discovered a few years ago perfectly preserved. They only show one child at a time and when we were there it was 'the boy' ('El Nino') who was nearly 7 years old when he was sacrificed. The level of preservation was amazing- you could see teh skin on the back of his neck and the expression on his face. Afterwards we wandered through the room containing the 'Queen of the Mountain' who was, quite frankly, terrifying and then it was off for a wander through town.

The following day we explored one of the local park/forrest areas which was quite lovely. Nothing spectacular but we figured it was a decent walk, pleasant enough and good practice for upcoming adventure in the cloud forest, which is where we were setting off to the following day.

Buenos Airies

jenc — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:53:00 GMT

So, after a reasonable amount of stress and tension we arrived in Buenos Aires, on schedule, and both of us. This was a relief as British Airways had been unable to tell Rick whether or not the flight from London to Buenos Aires would fly and Lufthansa had told me that while we would definitely leave Frankfurt they were not entirely sure where we would end up and that there was a small chance we would have to divert to Brazil- a country I need a visa to enter. Had we left two days earlier Rick would have ended up in Buenos Aires after a 6 hour layover in Brazil while I would have been stuck in San Paulo, presumably unable to leave the airpot, for 2 days. Need I say we were both very happy to see each other at the airport and swore enerv to travel separately again!

After dealing with bags and immigration and so on we got a taxi into the city (having been strongly warned that the local bus was not safe) and set about looking for somewhere to stay. We settled on the Gran Hotel Espana, an awesome, if ancient, hotel that screamed of a colonial past. Our room was on the top floor next to the elevator, which made strange whirring noises like a spaceship attempting to take off- in some ways it was rather calming, which was a blessing as it continued all night! The elevator was one of those ancient contraptions that requires you to pull across two screen doors in order for it to operate, and it kept me wonderfully entertained. The second elevator was an even more ancient contraption and was actually manually operated which is incredibly awesome but it appeared to only be for staff use so I was unable to try it. This was no doubt a good thing.

After settling in we set off into the city to organise a bus to Salta, our next destination. We wandered around a few of the sites to get there an both agreed that the city was big, busy and dirty and we should head up north and get out into the outdoors as soon as possible, we figure we can fully explore Buenos Aires at the other end of the trip when we're in need of the type of luxury you can find in a big city.

When we got to the bus station we decided to indulge in a bit of luxury and travel 'suite class' to Salta. We figured it was only an extra 16 euro and given it was approximately an 18 hour bus trip it would be well worth it. The next morning we said a sad farewell to our wonderfully characterful room and set off towards the north.

Tomorrow we fly

jenc — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:39:00 GMT

I write this as I sit on a place flying from Barcelona back to Amsterdam, my current home. I'm due to land at approximately 9:15am but I think we're running a little late, which is somewhat concerning as I'm due at work at 10:45. Only somewhat concerning mind you. I'm less concerned about this than I possibly should be as my head is currently entirely preoccupied with thoughts of South America, which is where I am flying tomorrow evening. Somehow between now and then I have to fit in working a shift at both of my jobs, purchasing the last fewmissing items from my list (it turns out that it's not so simple to purchase thermals in Amstewrdam in the middle of summer!), return borrowed items to their owners, move house (I found out last week that I'm being evicted, which is a story for another time, was not my fault, and has the bonus of meaning I'm not paying rent while I'm away, but also unfortunately means I'm homeless when I return. This is something I have chosen to worry about then.) and a friend is currently begging me to proofread his thesis before I go, and like an idiot I've promised to try. So it's going to be busy. But that's good isn't it? It stops you worrying about all of those other minor side issues, like uncooperative volcanos in Chile, and the fact that I have a 1 hour layover in Frankfurt, an airport that appears to have been closed until today because they were relocating, or renovating, or something, the air traffic control tower. So clearly flying through there is guaranteed to go smoothly, with no delays, or detours... oh god! The bit that concerns me the most though is that Rick and I are flying with different airlines, via different cities. This was a decision that made perfect sense at the time- he booked his flight 2 weeks before I did and it would have cost an extra 200 euro for me to fly with him, which seemed a lot of money to pay just to sit next to someone. That said, it doesn't seem as much to guarantee we both end up in the same city. At the moment though it appears the fates are smiling on us as the Buenos Aires airport reopened on Friday and Lufthansa (at least their website) appears confident that Frankfurt airport is operational, so here's hoping...