Chile/ Argentina So Far
Posted Jan. 19, 2006
Hi everyone.
Sorry we have not been updating the blog. The first part of our trip has been mainly spent out in the wilderness of Patagonia (the southern region of Chile & Argentina) and as such internet has not been very accessible. We are planning to post pictures and experiences when we get back to Santiago (approximately 10 days). Below is a quick run down of where we have been and what we´ve been up to.
Arrived in Santiago on January 6, 2005. Met up with our friends Casey & Tanis who came from a month of travels in Guatemala. Also met up with our friends Shari & Eamon who came from Ireland. Spent 2 days hanging around Santiago getting situated for our travels down South. Shari & Eamon are on a different travel schedule than us so we left them in Santiago and Wade, myself, Casey & Tanis continued down to Patagonia.
We flew into Punta Arenas (the southern most city in Chile) on January 8, 2005 and rented a car to drive Northward. Saw the Strait of Magellan...looks like any other Strait! Drove to a penguin colony. They were pretty cute to watch. Got some great pictures and videos that we´ll share soon. Learned that penguins are cute...but stinky. Continued on with our car to Puerto Natales. This is the jumping point to get into the national park Torres del Paine. Spent a night in Puerto Natales and the next day...then boarded a bus and got the park entrance (about a 4 hour bus ride and then a half hour ferry ride).
Once in Torres del Paine we began our hiking circuit. Ended up doing 5 days of hiking with 30 pound packs on our back. Well...Wade´s was more like 45 pounds! We nearly died...but are the stronger for it. Breathtaking scenery...brutal climate. Literally we learned that 4 seasons happen in a day in Patagonia. Our minus 7 degrees sleeping bags left us a little chilly at times. We ended up hiking approximately 75 kms in 5 days. Needless to say we were pretty tired. The coolest experience on the hike was when we got to hike a glacier. We had crampons, axes and harnesses. Somehow we all came back in one piece even after scaling a 50 foot ice wall!
Once finished our trek we took a bus to El Calafayte in Argentina (approximately 4 hours). From here we did a day trek to Perito Moreno Glacier(one of the only advancing glaciers in the world). It is continually calving into the glacier lake and thus we saw pieces fall into the lake. The crash they made when hitting the water was unbelievable...the cracks were almost deafening! El Calafayte was a really nice town...somewhat like an Alpine village.
We then rented a car and headed up to El Chalten. A 215 km drive that takes approximately 4 hours due to bad roads. We gave that Volkswagen a run for its money...they sure are sturdy cars. At one point thought we might have broken the wheel axel. Had to stop the car and drive slow...everything was okay and made it back in one piece! El Chalten was a dust bowl. We were covered in dirt and grime and so was our car...it was literally coming out of the vents. Ended up doing a 15 km hike yesterday in El Chalten in the National Los Glaciers park in Argentina. Hiked to see Mt. Fitz Roy, but we got rained out and clouds blocked our view. Turned out to be a pretty miserable hike as we were cold, wet and windblown. Drove back to El Calafayte last night.
Today took a bus back into Chile to Puerto Natales (approx. 5 hours). Met up with Shari & Eamon for a few well deserved bevies. Now Casey, Tanis, Wade & I are boarding the Navimag ferry for 4 days sailing Northward to Puerto Montt in Chile. Hoping to see some great scenery through the Fjords. Learned today that the ferry we are on is not strictly a passenger ferry and we will be traveling with livestock! What luxury!!!!
After we disembark in Puerto Montt we are on a 3 day kayaking trip in the Fjords. We have bepromisedsed that we will be kayaking with sea lions & dolphins. Wade fears that we could get capsized by a killer whale!!!
Once complete...we are taking another ferry (this time a luxury one) to Bariloche in Argentina ( a famous ski resort...although we will be there in summer). Then back to Santiago to rent a car and head to the vineyards.
Sorry this has been brief...the rest of our trip should be more in civilization...so blog posts will be more frequent.
Happy trails!
Hi everyone.
Sorry we have not been updating the blog. The first part of our trip has been mainly spent out in the wilderness of Patagonia (the southern region of Chile & Argentina) and as such internet has not been very accessible. We are planning to post pictures and experiences when we get back to Santiago (approximately 10 days). Below is a quick run down of where we have been and what we´ve been up to.
Arrived in Santiago on January 6, 2005. Met up with our friends Casey & Tanis who came from a month of travels in Guatemala. Also met up with our friends Shari & Eamon who came from Ireland. Spent 2 days hanging around Santiago getting situated for our travels down South. Shari & Eamon are on a different travel schedule than us so we left them in Santiago and Wade, myself, Casey & Tanis continued down to Patagonia.
We flew into Punta Arenas (the southern most city in Chile) on January 8, 2005 and rented a car to drive Northward. Saw the Strait of Magellan...looks like any other Strait! Drove to a penguin colony. They were pretty cute to watch. Got some great pictures and videos that we´ll share soon. Learned that penguins are cute...but stinky. Continued on with our car to Puerto Natales. This is the jumping point to get into the national park Torres del Paine. Spent a night in Puerto Natales and the next day...then boarded a bus and got the park entrance (about a 4 hour bus ride and then a half hour ferry ride).
Once in Torres del Paine we began our hiking circuit. Ended up doing 5 days of hiking with 30 pound packs on our back. Well...Wade´s was more like 45 pounds! We nearly died...but are the stronger for it. Breathtaking scenery...brutal climate. Literally we learned that 4 seasons happen in a day in Patagonia. Our minus 7 degrees sleeping bags left us a little chilly at times. We ended up hiking approximately 75 kms in 5 days. Needless to say we were pretty tired. The coolest experience on the hike was when we got to hike a glacier. We had crampons, axes and harnesses. Somehow we all came back in one piece even after scaling a 50 foot ice wall!
Once finished our trek we took a bus to El Calafayte in Argentina (approximately 4 hours). From here we did a day trek to Perito Moreno Glacier(one of the only advancing glaciers in the world). It is continually calving into the glacier lake and thus we saw pieces fall into the lake. The crash they made when hitting the water was unbelievable...the cracks were almost deafening! El Calafayte was a really nice town...somewhat like an Alpine village.
We then rented a car and headed up to El Chalten. A 215 km drive that takes approximately 4 hours due to bad roads. We gave that Volkswagen a run for its money...they sure are sturdy cars. At one point thought we might have broken the wheel axel. Had to stop the car and drive slow...everything was okay and made it back in one piece! El Chalten was a dust bowl. We were covered in dirt and grime and so was our car...it was literally coming out of the vents. Ended up doing a 15 km hike yesterday in El Chalten in the National Los Glaciers park in Argentina. Hiked to see Mt. Fitz Roy, but we got rained out and clouds blocked our view. Turned out to be a pretty miserable hike as we were cold, wet and windblown. Drove back to El Calafayte last night.
Today took a bus back into Chile to Puerto Natales (approx. 5 hours). Met up with Shari & Eamon for a few well deserved bevies. Now Casey, Tanis, Wade & I are boarding the Navimag ferry for 4 days sailing Northward to Puerto Montt in Chile. Hoping to see some great scenery through the Fjords. Learned today that the ferry we are on is not strictly a passenger ferry and we will be traveling with livestock! What luxury!!!!
After we disembark in Puerto Montt we are on a 3 day kayaking trip in the Fjords. We have bepromisedsed that we will be kayaking with sea lions & dolphins. Wade fears that we could get capsized by a killer whale!!!
Once complete...we are taking another ferry (this time a luxury one) to Bariloche in Argentina ( a famous ski resort...although we will be there in summer). Then back to Santiago to rent a car and head to the vineyards.
Sorry this has been brief...the rest of our trip should be more in civilization...so blog posts will be more frequent.
Happy trails!
posted by The Adventures of Rena & Wade | 2:58 PM
1 Comments:
Keep quiet Dolphin Boy. Let's not forget who won the race in Cayman!
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