Torres del Paine, Chile

 

 

 

The place is incredibly beautiful, but much too windy. I enjoyed our visit, possibly some of the best landscapes I’ve ever seen during my travels – snowcapped mountains, fields of wild flowers, crystal clear streams, pristine glaciers, sunken green valleys - but I don’t think I’ll ever come back. Our visit corresponded with the height of summer, but it was still cold and windy! The only reason I’d possibly come back to Patagonia (the most Southern Region of South America) is to board a ship in Ushuaia to Antarctica, but then again, do I really want to go to Antarctica? It’s cold and windy there too.

Late Spring Wild Flowers - Torres del Paine, Chile

 

New Years Eve - Coyhaique, Chile

 

John soaking his ankle in a freezing cold lake to reduce the swelling.

On New Year's eve, our group leaders found a restaurant that agreed to provide all food and drink we could consume for $US 40. We all agreed it sounded like a deal and arrived at the restaurant around 8:30 (the restaurant owners said it was fine) and ate and drank until 1 AM, needless to say we consumed a lot more than they expected. They tried to get us to pay more, but our group leader, who cut the deal before hand, refused to pay anymore. The owner wasn’t very happy and threaten to call the police, but a deal was a deal. We only paid the $US 40. My guess is that the owner will not be offering the same deal to gringos in the future. Most of the locals arrived at the restaurant at 11PM and stayed to 1AM. They didn't eat or drink nearly as much as we did.

After the first party, John (a fellow group member) and myself agreed the night was young and ventured out to a local club. The town in which we were stay was described in the Lonely Plant as “a ranch town that attracts rural workers to timber or salmon industries and anglers to nearby fly-fishing lodges”. Enough said. The action didn’t get going until 2:30 AM, we stayed and danced with and amongst the locals until 5:30 AM, when the club closed and they kicked everybody out. Being hungry once again, we searched for a place to eat. Two local kids lead us to the near by gas station. They claimed the gas station was the only place open that sold food, hot dog to be specific. They were wrong. Nothing was open. On the way, however, John decided to match a Kung-Foo kick demonstrated by on of the local kids and when he did, he sprained his ankle in a major way. The alcohol muted the pain for a short while, but eventually we hired a taxi to take us back ot the hotel. The following day, his ankle was massively swollen, and our traveling group was heading out of town at 11 AM. Needless to say, I sleep most of the day on the truck. This New Year’s Eve was a lot more action packed than last year’s in Newark, when I was in bed by 11 PM.

Another Drunken Evening - Parque Nacional Queulat, Chile

This is one of Tanya's pics (hence, the graininess). I like the picture (of me, at least), but I'm not sure of who the lady is sitting next to me, or how much she drank.

Villarrica Volcano Climb – Pucon, Chile

 

Volcano from Town

 

At Summit

Into the Volcano

 

Sliding Down

Technical climbing wasn’t required to climb the Volcano (2847 meters), even though the Volcano was covered in snow. It took about three hour to zig-zag to the top in a fairly slow and tedious manner. On top, we were about to peek into the volcano, trying to avoid the sulfur smoke spouting out of the top of it; gagging every time we did get a whiff. The descent, however, was fast and a lot of fun. We slid down snow shoots, wearing water proof pants with reinforced butts.

Christmas Day - Pucon, Chile

 
 
 

 

 

On Christmas morning we woke and headed for the local natural hot springs where we spent the afternoon soaking in the hot springs. Upon returning back to the campsite our two group leaders roasted two sheep for dinner and then group member wrote a Christmas day skit. We all had a part – mine was the part of the cowboy, as per the hat in the group picture. Following the skit, Santa had a secret of his own under his Santa outfit and passed out the Secret Santa present. My present was a coffee press. I no longer have to suffer drinking instant Nescafe.

Undurraga Winery – Santiago, Chile

 

When in Chile visit a winery. I couldn’t possible conceive going to Chile without visiting a winery, especially after all the Red Chilean Wine I’ve been drinking recently, but unfortunately the wine at the winery we visited wasn’t anything spectacular. It was a little disappointing.

Mountain Biking – San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

 

A small group of us spent a couple of hours mountain biking in San Pedro, a town located just north of the Adecama Dessert, the driest dessert in the world. The cycling was relatively easy, but nevertheless provided some much needed physical activity, since we’ve been spending a lot of time sitting on the truck. While cycling we opted for a quick swim in the river. It was a little cold, but refreshing.