Black Beauty

Hello from me in what will be my last post from South America!

On Friday I fly across the Pacific to Auckland, missing out on experiencing Saturday 2nd February 2008 ever which is a little disconcerting! Although because of the time difference I hope to be able to watch the England vs. Wales Six Nations rugby match at 05:30 (local time) in Auckland International Airport on Sunday morning. My flight is due to arrive at 04:15 so keep your fingers crossed.

Since I last wrote I have journeyed back south through Chile, briefly stopping in Santiago, before ending up in the beach town of Pichilemu.

Arriving from La Serena in a large hectic bus station in Santiago (one of four) was a bit of a nightmare and as the bus was delayed prevented me in getting to the next bus station in time to make a connecting bus to Pichilemu. Therefore had to stay in Santiago for one night.
Bought a bus ticket for the following day and then had to try and find somewhere to stay. Unfortunately the guidebooks chapter on Santiago was obviously written about a different city as I tried in vain to find four hostels that didn´t exist in reality. In the end I found a hostel but it only had a private room, by this time I´d had enough and just wanted a bed!

Looking on the map the distance from Santiago to Pichilemu was significantly less than other recent journeys, but this being rural roads it still managed to take us five hours!
The journey was pretty uneventful apart from being the one individual removed from the bus at the police checkpoint for questioning. Thankfully this being Chile (as opposed other South American countries) all went smoothly and the police were just doing their job.

Upon arrival at Pichilemu I then had the joy of looking once again for accommodation in a bustling seaside town. I did well and managed to find a single room (more like a shed!) for about 4GBP per night after wandering the streets for two hours (with pack). I settled into my windowless shed and set out to get my bearings of the town.

Pichilemu is a busy and bustling seaside town that is very touristy but relaxed at the same time. The beach is a strange black colour of sand and the waters of the Pacific are very cold.
Despite the number of Chilean tourists and associated goods/attractions the place was really pleasant.

I quickly settled into a routine of visiting the beach, judging the conditions and making a decision if to to venture into the water and therefore hire a board, suit (4/3) and boots. By the third day I´d managed to negotiate a discount with the staff at one of the surf shops and some days we ended up surfing together.
If I decided against Surfing then lying on the beach reading and listening to music was a lowly second choice! Thankfully the waves were great every day and the water was quiet. The only off putting things was the Jellyfish!

The weekend saw a big influx in numbers from Santiago and the beaches were packed (not only with the alpacas either!). The tourist numbers had an impact as we run out of tap water at one point on Saturday. This is a common occurrence according to one local but made washing the sand out of everywhere slightly more difficult!

The end of the weekend (Sunday night) saw a procession of buses (under police motorcycle escort) leaving the town, while the hapless car drivers queuing for hours watched on in bemusement! (reminded me of Croyde in August!) Most entertaining to watch while enjoying a cold drink (of Canadian Dry Ginger ale no less) and eating dog food (smelling) paté on bread

Other strange things in Pichilemu was horse drawn carriage taxis everywhere (and the subsequent men who had to tidy up after them!) and the binmen with bells (traditional) of notification who you could hear before you could see.

All in all then I´ve had an extremely easy and enjoyable final week in South America, although my arms and upper body say differently!

To much has happened since I´ve left the UK to detail the highlights in this post but suffice to say that I´ve really enjoyed South America and leave wanting more, which I think is always a good sign of a great place.

So until next time this is me signing out!

Coasting Round Chile

Hello Again,
I write this as I´m about to leave La Serena to head south in Chile to search for some surf!

I have recently visited the city's of Valparaiso and La Serena and have little in the way of excitement to update you with I´m afraid. I have spent many hours on buses and in bus stations getting more and more fed up of the lack of new songs on my iPod!
On the plus side I feel very relaxed and well read currently.

Valparaiso was a real mixed city and didn´t live up to the high expectations that I´d been set.
The city was dirty and felt very industrial after the lake district. There was very clear evidence throughout of the strong maritime influence on the city (particularly from the Navy) which gave it a functional rather than beautiful feel.
What rescued the city for me was the "Cerros" or small mounts that were picture perfect inland. Making for very nice strolls round small boutiques and galleries in a maze of narrow cobbled streets on impossible gradients. The colours of the houses were stunning and I managed to find a few good places to eat.
The most noticeable thing about staying in Valparaiso was a different type of traveller was present at the hostel compared to the rest of South America. For the first time numbers of Australasians appeared in numbers as they were either just heading to or had just come in from Santiago.

Following from Valparaiso I made the decision to head further north to La Serena.
En route the scenery and vegetation changed dramatically into one that was almost dry desert landscape.

The primary function of La Serena is as a seaside resort and as such it appears to do a very sound job. There were a great number of South American tourists, mainly families from Chile and Argentina.
I met some friends who have spent some time here and made the most of the fact that there was few Gringos around. We went to the cinema and saw some poor action film (Agent 47 or something) and then suffered again the very bizarre feeling when leaving the cinema. I expected to be coming out of the enclosed screen into Maidenhead or Wycombe or somewhere and not a car park in Chile! The feeling is not nice and a bit of a shock and takes a few moments to get bearings again, but underneath there is a slight feeling of sadness. You may think I`m mad but try it and I`m sure you`ll feel the same.

The biggest positive about La Serena was the costs were cheap (although I was staying in a shed complete with window!) and the Chileans very friendly but the place did not light me up and as such I only decided to stay for a few nights. The surf was not up to much and the weather was average.
I did a couple of trips to different places including visiting the nearby resort of Coquimbo and the amazing fish market (with some very interested pelicans looking on!). Whilst there took the opportunity to climb the giant concrete Christian cross for a good view, but it didn´t leave me in awe (or spiritually moved!).
The best trip was to the observatory to view the brilliant night sky from the desert in the best start spotting area on the planet. The only problem was that it was a full moon, which was very impressive but dominated the sky. The guide actually pointed out that we`d missed the full moon by a few hours as it was only 99.6% full at midnight at getting smaller again.
The guide was knowledgeable and although it didn´t make me want to rush out and buy a telescope it certainly was insightful and thought provoking.
The most memorable thig was the telescope size race which is ongoing and is the equivalent of male penis envy. The US and Europe keep battling out for the grandeur of having the largest scope (with largest mirror) on the planet (despite then putting it in Chile!). The names of these things are ridiculous as well and you can tell that the people spend too long looking at the sky! Currently US is winning with the California Extremely Large Telescope (30m mirror) due for completion around 2014.
Europe is busy with the owl or Overwhelmingly Large telescope, but it will not be ready for about 50 years due to the size of the mirror (approx 50m)!


So that's once again it folks. Although I have now loaded on some more photos so please click on the links to view the albums. You will need to sign up to have a Snapfish account and then just follow the link and login to see the latest pictures.

Hope all is well back in the damp UK and its getting lighter again in the evenings (at least a little). Trying to now work out what I can fit in my last two weeks in South America and what I can get rid of from my bag!

Pretty Pucon

Hello Gang,
I am now writing this while I`m whiling away the time before leaving Pucon to head further north to Valparaiso overnight by bus.

Pucon is a lovely place in the middle of the Chilean lake district (located in central Chile).
The town is set on Lake Villarrica and is surrounded by Mountains and Volcanoes.
The Volcano Villarrica lies about 7km away and last erupted in 1985; the town of Pucon is on constant alert and has a traffic light warning system in place with lights located across the town.

I arrived to a shock with the heat very different to the cold and rain that I`d left behind in Puerto Montt 7hrs earlier. The first task was to find a hostel and I somehow managed to stumble into a house that offered rooms. The guy seems nice enough and so I decided to stay. The room however was like a cell with the bunk bed just fitting in (1ft space on two sides) and no windows, all for the sum of 6GBP per night (that's a lot!).

This was my first idea that Pucon may be expensive and it wasn´t to be my last. Pucon turned out to be touristy with a capital T. The tourist majority was not foreign though but families escaping from Santiago for a summer break.

Activities was why I came to Pucon and on my second day I did Canopy(zip lining) in the morning followed by rafting in the afternoon.
Canopy was good and very exhilarating but not for one whose scared of heights. I was part of a group that contained some Americans on summer holidays from teaching in Santiago. It was a good activity and reasonably cheap which made a nice change!
Rafting was great fun (despite being the only English speaker) and the guide ensured we all got wet. Nearly as soon as we got in he pushed us out and encouraged us to swim in the calm waters between rapids.
The river was grade 4 rapids yet we had to get out the raft at one stage to allow the guide to navigate the small section of grade 6 rapids. Our way of getting down was finding a large rock and jumping off down the 25 ft drop to the river below and swimming like mad to get to the raft.
The final part of rapids was grade 2 and we were given the option of swimming/floating down in the water (with the safety kayak nearby). This was the most fun of the whole day.

Next day I woke early (05:00) to climb the Villarrica Volcano. The day was going to be a tough climb up to the summit (approx 2900m) before a tour at the top and sliding down on ones bottom.
We were extremely luck that the day was fine and still meaning we had increased chance of making the summit. We were kitted out in Helmets, suits and with Ice Axes (and a very heavy bag) and given in depth guide as to what to do if you started to fall!
There was about 30 people climbing in our group with a guide for every 4 people. I managed to go with the quick group of 8 who raced up to the summit in 3hrs! I was hanging on sometimes to the tails of the Swiss and Austrian climbers who seemed quite serious.
Lunch was had sitting at the summit admiring the spectacular views. We then walker the perimeter of the crater careful not to get to close! You could not see any molten lava (I was quite glad) but it certainly was hot and the sulphur stung the eyes and throat.
The decent was tremendous fun as we were kitted out with what can only be described as nappy like pouches. We then climbed the first 200m down before sliding in channels on our bottoms . At the end you hit a pile of snow and had a short walk to the next channel.
Arriving back at the base camp I was rightly knackered but with a big smile on my face.

Next I´m looking forward to visiting Valparaiso (after the 13hrs overnight on a bus) and then will travel up, further north to La Serena to see if I can find some decent surf. Three weeks and counting now till NZ!

Charming Chile

My feet are still getting accustomed to firm ground after a few days on the water so please bear this in mind when reading this post as my brain maybe slightly befuddled.

Prior to catching a ferry I headed to Puerto Natales in Chile and enjoyed a wonderful few days exploring the National Park of Torres Del Paine.

The National Park was stunning with wildlife abundant, especially Lama, Eagles and grey foxes. Thankfully I didn´t run into one of the Pumas though I think the sheer volume of tourists (high season) resulted in humans being the dominant species. I was lucky to meet up with some like minded travellers, three girls (Swiss, German and Italian), and we ventured round encouraging one another when the going got tough (especially the biting wind!). The mountainous landscape and beautiful lakes (of many colours) reminded me of Switzerland .We also visited a waterfall and glacier that are contained within the park.

Following the visit to the park I returned to a very cosy hostel in Puerto Natales for a final night on dry land.
The ferry journey from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt was scheduled to take around 4 days and was about 1600km. All accommodation and food was included but the cost was quite high at US$370; this when comparing to travelling through other means.

The next day I checked in at the ferry terminal and tried to get a decent bunk by being pleasant to the camp member of staff.
It must have worked as I got a decent lower bunk in a group of four bunks near a window. My "room mates" were a Swiss couple and a Frenchman, all of whom were very pleasant.
The cabins were very comfortable with individual lockers, curtains, power sockets and a light in your bunk; all luxuries to the budget traveller.
The strangest thing in the cabin was being woken by the noise cows and livestock at about 5am. The cabins were above the vehicle deck and so subsequently could hear the contained goats, cows and sheep.
The most annoying thing was the Hi-de-Hi style announcements every 30 minutes of the day that made you jump out your skin (particularly the breakfast one!).

Entertainment facilities on board (the working ferry) were basic with three main areas for passengers to go; the bar, outside or a large canteen (that also became Cinema, Briefing room and Bingo hall).
Washing was interesting (and a workout) as to save water one had to pump a button repeatedly in the shower to continue the water flow. The temperature of the water varied dramatically and could not be adjusted.
The food was OK with little variation. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, cereal, yogurt and fruits.
Lunch and dinner composed of Soup followed by some bizarre attempt at cuisine. The highlight of which was Spaghetti Bolognaise during the period of rough seas and mass sickness!
There was a period of around 14hrs where the ferry left the safety of the channels and headed into open sea. At this point passengers were advised to take seasickness tablets and get fresh air as the 25 foot waves hit the ferry. Lying in the bunk that evening was amusing and I only fell out once!

Surprisingly we were allowed on the bridge at any point to observe the goings on or sit in the captains chair; initially this was very exciting (we were trapped on a boat!) but after a few days the novelty wore off and the music played on the bridge was getting worse (Meatloaf!)

The best thing on the ferry was simply relaxing for a few days and watching the world go by. This involved visiting another glacier, a tiny town (Puerto Eden) and seeing abundant wildlife.
The wildlife seen included swimming Penguins, Dolphins, Seals, Sea Lions, Condors, Albatross but no whales!

Finally on the Monday morning the town of Puerto Montt came into view and attracted the biggest gathering yet on deck. Following disembarkation headed straight for the Bus terminal and booked a bus to Pucon.

Now planning to spend a few days in Pucon (still off alcohol) and do some activities and so I update you all in a week or so.

Farewell Argentina!

Hello Folks,

How are the January blues getting on? Those resolutions holding strong or a distant memory?
I have left Argentina (with a heavy heart) and I am about to begin exploring Chile, from south to north.

I left the bottom of the world Sunday (6th Jan) and travelled to El Calafate (not Elephants farting as some wise person suggested it sounded!).
El Cafate was not a picture perfect town for the romantic and was basically a street with restaurants, tour operators and souvenir shops! Give me the Alps any day.
There was plenty of life at the hostel though, unfortunately most of it was of the bug variety as they had an issue with fleas in the beds. Luckily there was a significant spray to cull the epidemic the day I arrived. The result was that I was bite free, others were not so lucky!
However in El Calafate (and around) I enjoyed a wonderful Patagonian setting for cold adventures on mountains and glaciers. Temperature constantly very cold with biting winds and I´m now longing for the heat of the north!

The highlight was a trip to the Moreno glacier situated within The Glaciers National Parkwith wonderful views, friendly knowledgeable guides and a chance to trek in crampons on the glacier. The glacier was amazing, sounds of ice breaking free was like thunder and made for amazing views for those with patience and a sharp eye.
The glacier trekking was hard work and needed good concentration to avoid falling and injuring oneself. The briefing for techniques for ascending/descending was highly amusing as some things got lost in translation! One lady fell and cut her hand on the ice as it was very sharp, she´d taken off her gloves to take a photo despite being told not to.
As we rounded a corned near the end a "whiskey table"came into view and gave the opportunity for a "wee dram" of whiskey on ice (that was 5000 years old). Following my whiskey activities at New Year and my abstinence in January I declined a drink but simply posed for the photos!
The boat transfer home was good and allowed us to get close to the Icebergs and a different viewpoint of the glacier.

The low light of recent times has been the border crossing (by bus) from Argentina to Chile. To say that Chilean immigration and customs do a thorough job would be an understatement. The crossing wasn´t helped by the number (30-40) of us. The whole process took around 2hrs and I wasn´t impressed that my nicely packed rucksack was subjected to a full inspection and needed repacking!
A good point of the journey cross the Andes was the scenery and variety of wildlife happy to be seen next to the gravel tracks we journeyed along. Lama, Eagles, Ostrich were all visible; along with the less exciting Cows, Sheep and Horses.

Arrived in Purto Natales and am now visiting the large national park, Torres del Paine, before catching a ferry north through the fjords, hoping to see some more ´bergs and dolphins en route.

Will try to upload some more photos to snapfish shortly and send links out.
Less than a month now till I leave South America and I wish it was longer. NZ will be fun though and looking forward to it!

If anyone has any information/contacts/ideas about where to source a Campervan in Auckland from I´d be grateful!

Till the next time this is me saying it goodnight from him......

New Year in the Deep South

Happy 2008 Everybody!
I have finally recovered from my excesses of New Years Eve and am in a position to give you a bit of an update!

I travelled from Mendoza on the evening of the 26th back to Buenos Aires for one night. As ever in BA, the night was long and alcohol fuelled but it was really nice to meet up with lots of friends made there.
Next day I got a flight from BA down to Ushuaia and settled into the B&B I´d booked.

Ushuaia (http://www.e-ushuaia.com/ingles/index.htm) claims to be the most southerly city in the world and sits on the Beagle channel. The port is the main base for ocean cruises to the Antarctic and Falklands. The town itself is a little disjointed due to volumes of tourists and others passing through. As a result their is little character or atmosphere but it makes up for it with great expense. The biggest shock to the system however was the temperature. Even though its summer here the temperature is similar to that of the UK, a noticeable change from the heat of BA/Mendoza.

I have enjoyed many activities, including visiting the prison (wouldn´t want to stay there!) and a cruise up the Beagle Channel to see Penguins and Seals. The cruise was very good apart from the journey back in which conditions on the catamaran got a little rough. 70% of the people inside disappeared with sick bags and the smell wasn´t very pleasant. I managed to keep it together but still felt giddy hours after disembarkation.
This episode somewhat put me off the idea I had of trying to join a 10 day Antarctic cruise (well that and the $6000 price tag!).

New Years Eve was celebrated at a hostel with a large group of friends and a BBQ being cooked by the Kiwis in the rain. The meat once again was good and the beer flowed (perhaps a little too well). I then was volunteered to "do a funnel" which involves drinking liquid though a hose and large funnel (as the name would suggest). The main problem was that the beer had run out by this stage and so I was given Whiskey and Coke instead; this would have a great bearing on the whole evening!

I remember at 22:00 (local time) we opened the bubbly to celebrate the UK New Year; following this everything gets a little hazy and the rest is witness testimony!

I apparently saw in the New Year but en route to the nightclub downed tools and refused to go any further so I was kindly taken back to the hostel where I awoke the following morning with little recollection of any other events. Thankfully I was not ill but my self abuse led me to feel so awful that I did not get up till approx 18:30.
Big thank you to individuals involved for making my New Year so special and ensuring that I got home in one piece, you know who you are!

I am now greatly looking forward to my month free of hangovers and liver regeneration prior to leaving South America and heading to NZ. I moved hostels last night and met an English fireman who is going to be on the same flight. On arrival in Auckland we plan to watch the NZ vs England Twenty20 Cricket and celebrate my dry spell ending! (I don´t learn!).

Heading north (as the only way is up) to El Calafate on Sunday for some glacier spotting and trekking. So until the next time this is JP signing out and wishing you all well for 2008 from the bottom of the world (and my heart!)