It´s been awhile since I´ve had internet and a lot has happened! I joined an overland tour group on Friday, 2/4 and we have traveled from Ushuaia, through into Chile and back into Argentina again, although with this entry I will focus on the rest of my time in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego and our drive to Torres del Paine in Chile.
On the morning of 2/5 we joined a local guide for a tour of the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. Instead of being named for natural volcanic forces as I thought, the area was named "The land of fire" by Magellan and his crew because, as they sailed by, they could see the smoke and flames from the fires of the local Yamana people. Unfortunately, the tale of the Yamana people was an all too familiar one of colonization, religious conversion and eventually their complete extinction at the hands of foreign diseases they had never been previously exposed too. The Yamana were very similar to the Salish people of the Washington coast in almost all aspects, but instead of relying on salmon, they had sea lions and the native lenga and coigüe trees took the place of cedar. They were mostly a sea-faring people living in a coastal landscape that looks so similar to the San Juans and coast of the Olympic peninsula that I almost thought I was back home again! The first place we stopped was a rocky beach overlooking the Strait of Magellan and the glaciated mountains of Isla Navarina in Chile. The bay was full of kelp and the trees had that stunted, twisted look so common to the Washington coast. And the water was so clear and blue! It was beautiful! After a brief walk along the shore and through the coastal forest, we drove to the fjord-like Lago Roca for a short walk through the hills and a lesson on the "beaver plague" in Tierra del Fuego. Apparently they were imported from Canada in the early 1900s in the hope of creating a new industry trading their fur, but they eat a different diet down here and their fur isn´t nearly as luxurious as up north. So their idea failed and now the beavers are wreaking havoc on the native ecosystems in the park. Of course they have no predators or competitors down here so their population has exploded. The Argentine government pays a hefty reward for their pelts now just to encourage people to kill them. That was pretty much it for Tierra del Fuego, so I am really glad I did the trek up there a few days before- I feel like I really saw the park doing that.
On the morning of 2/6 we left for a 2 day drive to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and Chile. We loaded up on our overland truck for the first time this morning. This truck is massive! First of all, there are 21 group members and 3 drivers/ trip leaders (Toine, TJ, Ivan) so this truck has to fit 24 people. It is basically half a semi with tires taller than I am, a 200 gallon gas tank, a huge drinking water tank, 3 propane tanks for our 2 huge camp stoves, 13 tents, room for all our luggage, kitchen stuff, dishes, food etc. This thing is made for remote trips on bad roads and that is what this trip is all about! The truck´s name is Gus. Soooo we loaded up on Gus and headed out of Ushuaia through peat bog valleys ringed with huge, heavily glaciated mountains, waterfalls and raging glacier-fed rivers. While driving through this area, we saw our first guanacos, relatives of llamas. They are so funny looking- really clumsy and furry and usually they are sitting on the side of the highway chewing their cud with their ears back flat against their heads and a really annoyed expression on their faces. We saw one jump over a fence and they are actually really graceful when they are running, but otherwise look so awkward. Once we were through the mountains, the terrain became flat flat flat with nothing but bunchgrass growing. And it was REALLY windy (we could lean into the wind at almost a 45 degree angle and not fall over!). We drove all day and were just planning on bush camping somewhere in Chile, but the wind was so bad that we decided to try to camp in some abandoned buidlings off the highway. They seemed to be a part of a sheep ranch, but definitely looked abandoned. TJ decided to hide Gus so people couldn´t see us from the highway and began backing into an area enclosed by the buildings. Right as we hit, knocked down, and then ran over a section of the fence, Mr. Rancher careened around the corner of the building in his truck! Oops! TJ, Ivan and Toine were able to sweet talk him into letting us stay though! It turned out that the building is used for shearing sheep 3 months out of the year and is not used the rest of the time. Inside, there were bags and bags full of wool, plus a bunch lying around on the floor. To enter the building, we had to haul the camping gear up the ramps that the sheep are forced up and just outside there was a partially decompsed sheephead that people kept tripping on! It was hilarious, but so much warmer than camping outside! We set up our tents and the camp kitchen, had lots of wine and a great dinner and slept really really well! It was a great end to a long day of driving.
On the morning of 2/7 we drove to the town of Puerto Natales, just outside Torres del Paine to stock up on food and backpacking supplies. On the way, we saw a flock of bright pink flamingos and, most importantly, some mountains that started as shadows on the horizon and grew to dominate the landscape surrounding Puerto Natales. After grocery shopping, we continued on to the park. For those of you who don´t know, I saw a picture of Los Cuernos del Paine (really distinctive peaks in the park- google it to know what I´m talking about) when I was 10 and have wanted to go ever since. Well, after awhile, I looked up from my book and saw them really small on the horizon! I almost started crying I was so excited! They got closer and closer until there they were huge in front of us! The drive into the park was so pretty- the mountains getting bigger and closer, bright turquoise blue glacial-fed lakes and clear stony rivers. Once we got to our campsite and set everything up, I went on a short hike to the Mirador Condor (Condor overlook) to get a better view of the Cuernos. OH MY GOD! IT WAS AMAZING! They were just right there and the light was perfect- dark rain clouds with bright patches of light on the mountains. The light changed constantly so that every time you looked up, the mountains seemed different again. It was so windy at the top of the mirador that we had to army crawl because the wind would literally knock us off our feet. I managed to sit up for one quick picture though! It was so amazing to finally be there in front of those mountains. I just couldn´t believe I was there sometimes. After the hike we had a great BBQ dinner with lots more wine and beer.
Well that wraps up Tierra del Fuego and introduces Torres del Paine! Next comes the story of my trek in the park!
