Strand

Some fun surf at my favorite California beachbreak.  Perfect overhead A-frame peaks all morning long.  

Moss Landing

The surf was firing upon arrival at Moss.  After watching an unruly swell pound my usual spots in Big Sur, it was a relief to find such perfect offshore peaks in Monterey Bay.  Rich was up to his usual antics pulling into some big barrels testing the glass work of his guys from down south.  We were pretty stoked to scratch outside, catch a few waves with only a handful of others out and make it back in without any broken boards or bodies.  

 originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Malibu Fire season

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Brush fires burning on the Sepulveda pass. The 405 has been closed in both directions!!! LA traffic nightmare scenario, but long period New Zealand swells love Malibu. We were approaching from the 10 anyways so we made the early morning run and found empty kiddy bowls. A long wait between sets but when they came through we had a chest-high speed wall to race.

Trestles - California

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Back home after 2 years and 3 months of non-stop travel.  First stop, after giving Mom a hug, was Lowers.   Luckily we returned to Autumn south swells and Santa Ana winds.  I have to admit that after so many out of the way waves it was really nice to paddle out to the lineup, say good morning to the same guys I've seen here for over 20 years and enjoy the familiarity of it all.  The waves are always best right at the crack of dawn 20 minutes before the sun, the same guys are always riding back up the trail giving me a report of the early , early pre-dawn, 3am - 6am surf, and old guys named Bob usually get the best waves of the day.  Oh yeah, and twin fins go unreal here!  

Good to be home...

San Sebastian Tapas

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This time of year most surfers thinking of the north coast of Spain conjure images of perfect rivermouth lefts running past the harbour at Mundaka. They can have it. I would rather line up for the Tapas in San Sebastian than fight the other 100 surfers in the water fighting for their "Dream" wave at the famous left. This is probably the best bargain still going for those not earning Euro's at the moment.

Southwest France

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Heading home to California soon. Feel quite fortunate to have had such amazing surf around the world on this trip. This day I surfed 3 sessions each better than the last. This was around lunchtime.

Autumn arrival

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Headed out early this morning with JM looking for "the" spot. Always a bit of a challenge in France. Shifting sandbars, massive tidal swings and the mobile Swiss Surf Championships keep one on the move looking for the best combination of elements. Found a great spot this day.

Les Chasseurs de Lapin

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Early morning surf checks can be dangerous in the south of France. Caffeinated baguette delivery boys, overloaded swell detonating onto shallow sandbars and of course les chasseurs. Hunting season, curiously enough, opens in September in France. Right at the same moment surfers arrive looking for their fix of beachbreak perfection. Wear orange if possible and move quickly through the forest.

Boscombe reef - UK

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The artificial reef here is coming along nicely... There will be some very stoked locals if they can actually make this project work. The massive mountain of sand piled on the beach looks promising. Good luck!

K59

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Here's my Dad pulling into a perfect wave at K59. I don't know if a son could be prouder...

La Libertad - El Salvador

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

There are very good waves here, but be careful walking along the path to the cemetary... The locals regulate the lineup quite well. Any Brazilians that paddle to the peak are immediately told to go surf the inside. Whoa! One local named Juan told me they´ve seen buses with 20 Brazilians show up and paddle out together. Crazy nuts.... I picked up some scraps on the inside and went home really happy.

Nicaraguan friend´s

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This morning I found the second scorpion in as many weeks here in Nicaragua. The first one we found our first night down at Playa Gigante. Heading in to take a shower and rinse the road grime off myself I nearly stepped on our first friend. I asked Hedda if she wanted a look at the little guy. She did and then I quickly smacked him out with a sandal. This second one must have stowed away in my boardbag or backpack to Granada. I pulled on my shorts this morning and felt something scratching my back. I instinctually swiped him off and then Hedda yelled out ¨scorpion¨. He must have been slowed down from the rooms A/C which saved my ass from getting stung!

Colorado's - Nicaragua

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Lazy lavender clouds drifting across the evening sky. Looking as though they were painted across the horizon.The daily offshore winds settling down with the sunset. Walking out to Colorado´s through the forest trying not to step on the flourescent orange colored crab legs that scurry across the undergrowth at my every step. Pigs scavenger for scaps trying not to trip on the triangular stick harnesses they are hooked up with for misbehaving. The beachbreak here is a classic set up. Offshore all day everyday due to the location of a massive lake just inland, South facing so it picks up any swell going in the Pacific, and it even has a little creek that nicely replenishes the sandbanks, keeping the assorted peaks in good form.

Playa Bluff - Bocas Del Toro - Panama

picnikfile_t1h9a3, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We´ve started to move faster than we normally do since we only have 1 month to get to El Salvador and fly to Europe. Leaving Santa Catalina we arrived in Santiago and spent a couple of hours waiting for the Tica bus which would take us directly to San Jose, Costa Rica. Unfortunately, when it pulled up, we found out it was fully booked. Change of plans.... We decided on the spur of the moment to head to Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast of Panama. I´d been wanting to check it out and since the swell was looking meager to the west, we hopped on the next bus to David.

What a beautiful place Bocas is. Tropical islets and virgin jungle ringed with small communities beginning to make a living from tourists. While walking into town looking for a hotel, we ran into some friends we´d met in Santa Catalina. The next morning we hired a boat to take Nathan and I surfing while Trish and Hedda snorkelled. Small waves, but uncrowded and beautiful crystal clear Caribbean waters made up for the lack of swell. A couple days later Hedda and I caught a boat with Roberto to Playa Bluff. We spent a lazy day sharing a mile long stretch of golden sand with just the crabs. Punchy chest high barrels kept me in the water for a few hours. Hedda was working on her bodysurfing in some pretty hollow waves. The waves break in knee deep water here so be careful...

Santa Catalina - Panama

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Scored some good surf here. We stayed 8 nights right in front of the reef at Punta Brava. Overhead waves everyday. Tides can be issue here since the range is something like 15-20 feet. If you surf through till low you're guaranteed a long, slow walk back over the reef. Depending where you come in it can be as long as 300 yards and the reef aint soft! The wave were good but I wish I could've seen it double overhead. It must be incredible at that size. There are other waves nearby but I never felt the need to take a long walk since it was pretty damn good straight out front everyday. A bit crowded on the weekend but most people were watching. There is also a nice beachbreak around the corner where Hedda has been catching a few waves herself!

Coiba Island - Panama

, originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

We hired a boat for the day and motored out to Isla Coiba, about 1 1/2 hours from Santa Catalina. It's a totally different world out there compared to the mainland. Santa Catalina has some river runoff into the sea so the water has a green hue to it. Out at Coiba it is absolutely crystal clear. We free dove some reefs and had about 50-60 feet of visibility. White tip sharks, Barracuda's, Turtles, various coral formations and loads of fish. Granita del Oro is a tiny islet, one of many that surround Coiba. We had it completely to ourselves and didn't see another boat all day. Until recently, Coiba housed over 1,000 prisoners in various camps scattered around the island. This helped to preserve the island and reefs since no one really wanted to get too close to the prison. Today it is a protected national park and UNESCO world heritage site.

Cartagena - Colombia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We sadly left Lobitos and hopped on a bus north to Quito where we explored the Colonial sections of the city, checked in with the Equator and finally met up with Christine and Mike. It was great to see those two again. Although Hedda has bumped into them in Barcelona and Brazil, I haven't seen them since we crashed their honeymoon in Thailand almost 1 1/2 years ago. After the best sushi I've had in ages we flew, finally no bus ride, to Cartagena.

I've always wanted to see this legendary city of pirate lore and wasn't dissapointed at all. The walls that surround the Ciudad Viejo have withstood assaults for nearly 500 years. The city is filled with gorgeous original colonial buildings, some lovingly restored while others have slowly deteriorated while awaiting some love. There is a massive effort going on to restore many of the buildings and I have no doubt that in years to come the place will stun many more visitors as it did myself. Great food here. Pizza and beer in the park, mango's from the street vendors, drinks at the Whiskeria, ceviche, our favorite breakfast place, Mila and more.

Lobitos - Northern Peru

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Our first morning dawned crisp and clean, groomed by the predominate offshore winds found here. Unreal to wake up and see Ranch surface conditions with half a dozen sand points within walking distance of Darwin´s place. Darrin and I jogged down the beach to La Piscina where we surfed picture perfect head-high lefts with a most polite crowd of 5 others. Everyone taking turns. After one wave Darrin paddled back out laughing, telling me how he´s never surfed a spot where complete strangers called him into waves straight away. Of course not every story has a perfect ending. You should be warned that this place does need a solid swell to get around the corner and when the swell does come up, the local boogie crew can be pretty aggressive. That said it´s still a sweet spot worth coming back to.

Upon arrival, the fishing village of Lobitos looks like a ghost town. The U.S. built a military installation here 50-60 years ago to guard the oil one of our giant Texas corps was here to raid. Some thing´s just never change... Eventually the Peruvian Government decided to reclaim the oil reserves off their coast and booted the U.S. out. Since then the town has fallen into a decrepit mess. The place has a ghost town charm to it with the rusted hulking pier, the abandoned houses and church. Some of the homes look earily like our bungalow back in California. The demolition goes on daily bit by bit, piece by piece. Retired fishermen gather scraps of iron to ride into Talara with for pennies. We found it an interesting place, so we stayed a couple of weeks....

Talara - Lobitos Transport

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Darrin has been travelling with Hedda and I the past couple of weeks. I was really stoked to share some of the joys of South American bus travel with him. Our first bus from Lima north to Huanchaco was 12 hours overnight. Darrin was lucky enough to sit across the aisle from a huge guy who snored all night long. This guy rumbled like a horse. Eventually Darrin, one of the most laid back guys I know slammed the guy in the shoulder. He shuddered for a moment and we thought it might have done the trick, but then a moment later the guy was back at it just as loud as before. Not much sleep that night on the bus.

The Econoline in the photo was our link to Talara from l'il ol´ Lobitos. The driver was sometime's able to fit 19 people inside along with 2-3 niño's, a bag of freshly caught fish and some scrap metal. Little cramped, but it was usually smiles all the way around. The drop offs in town were always interesting. Everyone wants to get there 2 soles,(.80 cents) worth so they ask to be dropped off directly in front of their homes. This happens all over the world but here in Lobitos we stopped to let one woman off. The driver turned off the engine since he had to unload some things off the roof. He then started up again and hadn't even gone a car length when another lady yelled from the back to stop. She was in the house next door! This stuff always cracks me up....

Pacasmayo - Peru

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We had some pretty good waves in Pacasmayo. Unfortunately it didn´t get big, and I think for this wave to really show it's true potential you need some size. That said Darrin and I had a few small fun days off the top of the point before the Devil winds really started to howl. The wind was incessant but a slightly better direction in the early morning. Our last day it picked up and was a slightly lumpy but still good 2 feet overhead. The current was ripping around the point on the lower tide, but the waves were really good and reeled off for hundreds of yards. Otto, the owner of Duke's Surf Hotel showed some true Aloha.

Caballito de Totora - Huanchaco

, originally uploaded by ladyhedda.

One afternoon in Huanchaco, Darrin and I took out a couple of the reed rafts called Caballito de Totora by the locals. The fishermen here have been using these same rafts built in the same traditional way for over 1,000 years. The Moche people left pottery remains with drawings depicting the same style raft being ridden back to shore on waves. The nearby Temple of Chan Chan has incredible decorative carvings of waves covering walls. The ocean had a massive impact on these people´s lives. We thought we'd try to tap into that millenium old tradition. We made it out the back without to much trouble, but actually catching and riding waves back in without either burying the nose or swinging to one side or the other and getting slammed was not easy. As usual the locals made it all look too easy. It was amazing to see a 1,000 year old tradtional method of fishing unchanged and thriving today.

Machu Pichu - Peru

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Hedda has written about our trek along the Salkantay route so I´ll direct you there to hear her account about the dumping snow storm we enjoyed while crossing the pass, the 2 hour soccer match I stumbled through with our guide and cooks at 12,000 feet, Hedda´s attempt to dance with a horse train, and the 70 km´s we´ve added to our total treks these past two yerars. We eventually made it to Machu Pichu. The ruins aren´t bad, it´s the Andes that are stunning.

Isla del Sol - Lake Titicaca, Bolivia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Isla del Sol is believed by many to be the birthplace of the Inka's. Wouldn't you want to believe your people originated from here? The island is beautiful and the grilled trout excellent, but as I looked down towards these many bays, I couldn´t help but imagine a clean stacked groundswell pulsing into the bay and lighting up the points. It´s been too long away from the ocean and I´m drying out!!!!

Leaf Cutting Ants - Chalalan, Amazon basin, Bolivia

In the Madidi National Park we saw these tiny bits of leaves walking across the path. We looked a little closer and saw that these tiny ants were carrying these bits of leaf for miles. Well, maybe not miles but for a long way.

Mercado de Hechicería - La Paz, Bolivia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We´ve been cruising through Bolivia the past month enjoying the sights, sounds and scents the place has to offer. On this day we wandered over to the Witche's Market to see what was on special for the day. Apparently it was Llama fetus's. All different sizes and colors. Dried out and ready to place on your mantle to bring good luck to your home. They also had beautiful tapir, puma and, ocelot skins that I don't believe would be legal to sell anywhere else in the world. Endangered species maybe???? The shops were interesting and the ladies selling their wares were really sweet. We ended up with some tiny Puma carving´s to protect our home.

Waves

Here are a few of the waves I´ve been lucky enough to surf the past couple of years.

Between Waves

Here are a few of the moments between waves from the past two years of travel. It's not always a vacation. Not that I'm complaining....

Tarabuco - Bolivia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This lovely small town in the hills near Sucre has a great Sunday market with people from all over the surrounding area coming by bus, car, truck and donkey. Seriously, they had a donkey parking area just on the outskirts of town. The locals are amazing to watch as they buy and sell what they need. Everyone wore a hat. Some wore leather versions in the style of the conquistadors who came though 500 years ago. Others wore knitted beanies, precariously perched upon their heads. But the hat of choice was a fedora-like version made of felt that was bent, twisted and worked into whatever stylish shape the owner was in the mood for that day. We had some fried chicken in the central market, walked all the lanes and appreciated the authentic traditions still being lived today. Not much Castellano spoken here. Nearly everyone spoke in Quechua.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Driving across the Salar de Uyuni is mesmerizing. The landscape goes on and on in a never ending blue and white horizon. The scale is difficult to describe. Islands of coral and cactus rise up out of the expansive white horizon far in the distance. I lent Jorge my shades so he wouldn´t suffer from the snow blindness and fall asleep at the wheel.

Altiplano lake, Bolivia

This was the final lake we visited on day 2 during the trip to the Salar de Uyuni. The lakes are filled with different micro organism´s that the Flamingo´s live on. The micro organism´s also give the various lakes their unique colors as well. Hedda has some great photos of the lakes here.

North by Bus - Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This may be a little mundane, but I thought I´d write this to remind myself later about how this sometime´s works. I haven´t had any hassles the past few months loading my boardbag into the storage areas of any south bound buses. As soon as I started heading north, the gringo taxes began... Leaving Valparaiso I was asked for 2,000 pesos. Then 3,000 pesos. I got off the bus and went into the office and was told by the manager, the bus driver, the luggage assistant, the ticket taker, even the guy selling hot dogs on the street that I had to pay extra for the boards. I kinda have a problem with this since everyone else is bringing wide screen TV´s, Ice chests with frozen shrimp, dried seaweed snacks and all kinds of other crap without being charged anything anything extra. So with the silence of the other passengers giving me strength, I maintained my position of not paying extra. I held out till the bus was pulling out of the terminal. We were already ten minutes late because of my stink. Well they asked once again if I was going to pay. I said, "no." They actually reversed the bus at which point I caved in and paid them 2,000. $4 bucks isn´t really worth missing the bus for....

Next up was La Serena. They wanted 2,000 straight up. I held firm with my desire not to pay. I was told we were going to the Policia and laughed at em. "OK, lets go". I´ll pay them before I pay you! Well I was a little nervous when we pulled up to the Policia checkpoint. Will they drop me and my boards here in the middle of nowhere? Is all this really worth $4??? In the end the bus inspector got off. The driver took the wheel and the ticket guy came over and quietly asked how much I´d be willing to pay. I gave him a buck and the rest of the 12 hour trip he was my best friend. He even played "Resident Evil" for me in English. Ummm, thanks. I guess. The photo is of a police checkpoint in the Atacama.

Mamalluca Observatory - Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The place where it never rains. You don´t have to be a genius to understand why most major countries interested in Astronomy have observatories built here in the southern reaches of the Atacama desert. Mamalluca was purposefully built for tourists so, unlike the professional observatories where you can look but not touch, here you can use small telescopes with a guide to see all kinds of cool places far, far away.... I was able to see Saturn and its rings, Mars, Alpha Centuri nebuli and a few others whose names I´ve already forgotten. Something like CRG-1224. I can also pick out at least half a dozen constellations in the southern hemisphere so whenever you´re down here with me next I´ll show em to you. Saw heaps of shooting stars as well.

What I found most interesting was finding out what the Mapuche and Inka´s thought when they looked up at the stars. European´s always focused on the bright stars to create their constellations and create their myths and legends. The South American indigenous people instead found images in the dark areas between the light. These dark area´s are called carbon nebula. They block out much of the light in some corners of the night sky. When our guide pointed these images out they seemed so obvious. A large Inkan snake winding through the sky. A huge llama just below the Southern Cross. The last image we saw was a Nandu, a large flightless bird from South American. Aboriginal´s in Australia called the same shape an Emu, a relative of the Nandu. I love that thousands of years ago, people half way across the world shared the same celestial aesthetic.

Valparaiso ascensor´s

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

We had a bit of fun and saved our legs from destruction by using the ascensors whenever we could. There are about fifteen scattered throughout the hills to help you gain some elevation around the really steep spots. Most were built about 100 years ago and I believe they´re still the original parts. The wood box car creaks and shakes violently as it´s quickly yanked upwards a few hundred feet.

Valparaiso - Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Valparaiso is a city suffused with history and art. It breathes an inspiring cityscape of paint, sculpture and music at every turn. Our hotel is next door to an Academie de Musica so we breakfast with the sounds of classical music and opera filtering in through the windows. Tiny, windy streets twist, climb and sharply drop. They criss-cross and weave their way over the countless ridges and canyons the city has grown into over the many years. I feel at home with the many precariously placed homes that teeter on the edges of the hillsides. So much like the Canyon in Sierra Madre.

Grafitti is everywhere. Mosaics of tile and mirror glass cover street embankments. Peering into alleys you may see paintings of fang toothed kittens attacking bunny eared girls, or a couple of people kicking back on a non-existent back porch. Rich and I wandered the city for hours soaking it all in, tripping out on how extensive and fine the qualityof art was wherever you looked. This is no town for a tagger.

Pablo Neruda´s House - Valparaiso

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Pablo Neruda´s home is a condensed version of the city itself. His eclectic tastes are laid out as if he just wandered down the street to pick up some knick-nack in one of the cool antique stores downtown. The four storied house is simply one modest room stacked upon another. The top room was his study and has stunning views of the city and harbor. The stuffed Penguin in the bar was my favorite. Don´t think you can pick those up too easily these days...

Valparaiso ghosts

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Rich and I were sitting in a little cafe sipping on a beer and resting our legs after trucking up and down hills all day when Rich notices this guy pulling out cans of spray paint from his satchel. We´re thinking he might start tagging at rush hour. Since there´s so much graf everywhere, maybe no one cares what or when you spray down here... So we watch for awhile and this guy is jumping on and off buses, sticking his head into taxi´s and bumping into people on the street. Seems he´s a spray paint dealer. Instead of chicklets and bad watches though, he´s making sure the youth of Valparaiso can get their tools for the weekend assault on the cities walls. We watched as he made a couple of sales, pulled more stock out of his bag, and then drifted off into the night.

Parrilla down south

The fellow surfers we ran into down south were a good crew. Some good international surf cross-pollination going on in the photo above. On this night Larry somehow convinced everyone to jump into the back of a pickup truck and head 20 minutes up the road to the local discotecque. We arrived to find a raging party for a 90 year old lady. She´d blown her candles and headed home a couple of hours before, but her younger friends in their 80´s were keeping the karaoke singer in business. We had a few piscola´s, danced to Chile´s top 10 dance songs of all time and ruined ourselves for the next morning´s surf.

Down south in Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The pace of life is moves a little slower down here. The chilly mornings and the vino tinto being consumed most nights might be part of the reason. When we arrived Rich and I ran into Ian who said it´d be a miracle if he got into the surf before 10am. Rarely have I ever been so lazy but here, there´s just no need to rush. The left points are protected from the south wind that blows, and there´s no one here. This is a fishing village at heart. Eating a dinner of Paila Marina with the locals watching the futbol. No menu here. If you want to eat you´re served a beautiful seafood stew out of a huge steaming pot. A few pieces of buttered bread and beer. What else do you need???

One afternoon Rich and I walked out to surf the point in town. The fishermen were keeping busy folding nets and checking out their boats. As the sun began to drop to the horizon we were having a blast catching wave after wave, running back up the beach and jumping back in at the top of the point. After one wave dropped me off halfway down the point, I noticed the fishermen towing one of their boats out to the shorebreak with a team of oxen. It was crazy as they managed to coax the oxen into the shorebreak and through breaking waves to launch their boat. They launched about 20 boats with the oxen as Rich and I stopped surfing and watched. There is no harbor here. No breakwall. They go right through the surf. These guys are truly hardcore watermen!

Central Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSShhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........................

Central Chile - Sunset set

30 seconds of perfection. This wave was incredible! Only and handful of guys out this evening. Rich and I were so tired from our 3rd surf of the day we came in, lit a fire, cooked up some lentils and rice and crashed out. Ready to go again the next day.

Central Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Rich knocked on the door at the Happy House in Santiago fresh off the plane from California. It was great to see him. It´s been nearly a year since he came out to Bali and Sumbawa. He was loaded down with a boardbag, books for me, (Haruki Murakami, my favorite author, so finally I wouldn´t be scrounging around the hostels hoping for something decent to read), and fresh baked cookies from Mom. We had a couple of coffees and breakfast while catching up.

By midday we were on the bus south to Pichilemu. There we had a decent surf at Punta de Lobos. It was good to get in the water after a month of trekking in Patagonia. We spent the next day organizing transport north and shopping for supplies for the next week of camping. The following afternoon we were on the bus to Litueche. Once there we bargained for a taxi ride to the Rancho. The driver dropped us at the clifftop overlooking the point. We´d been told it was only 30 minute hike down to the point. I later discovered there are a few different roads out there and this taxi driver decided to drop us at the point most convenient for him, not us. The view from the cliff revealed perfect lines of swell wrapping around the wind protected point. Wave after wave following in each others path. The taxi driver collected his cash and was quickly off. We were looking down an extremely steep and rutted out one-way track that would eventually lead us to the point. We grabbed our packs and then took turns letting the boardbag drag us down the hill. After 30 minutes we were down on the flat near the village. At this point Rich and I heaved the boardbag up and over our heads and finished the last hour hiking across a sandy track behind the surfline. We arrived just before sunset and quickly made a fire, cooked up some pasta and then crashed out in the tent to the sound of a rising swell.

The next week the surf didn´t let up. The point offered up variations of perfect surf everyday. Surfable through the tides, but low being by far the hollowest and most lined up. Camped directly in front of the surf. It was basically surf, eat breakfast, sleep, surf, lunch, read and then surf again before dark. I watched Rich catch a wave late one afternoon that looked more like backlit, green Padang Padang in Bali than any other wave I´ve ever seen. Not a huge wave, but he pulled in on the take-off and was perfectly slotted for about 4-5 seconds through two separate sections, just barely getting pipped at the end. Every night we lit fires with wood gathered from up the hill and warmed up under a starry night sky. There are some photos of the surf here.

Perito Moreno Glacier - Patagonia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Last stop in Patagonia....

This has been an amazing month down on this end of the world. There is still debate in South America whether this is bottom or the top of the world. I kind of enjoy the idea. How does anyone really know... The glacier was impressive. 5 KM´s across and an average of 60 meters high. That´s wider than Sierra Madre is and almost twice the size of our dam in the canyon. The weather was perfect. We took a boat trip in the morning and saw the first of many large pieces of ice break off and come dramatically crashing down into the water.

The Italian style on the boat was pretty crazy as well. Fur head wraps, knee-high leather boots, and wild animal print matching tops and bottoms. Trippy to see all that after we d been so dirty hiking most of the past month.

In the afternoon we made it over to the lookout directly in front of the glacier and with the day getting warmer more and more massive chunks of ice crashed into to lake. Its pretty difficult to get a sense of the scale, but when some of the ice splashed down it sent spays of water almost 80 feet into the air. That must be a big piece of ice to do that....

All the wild horses - Patagonia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

I shot this photo just as we pulled back into El Chalten after 4 days hiking around the Fitzroy Mountains. I was fascinated to see the modern day Gauchos running their horses and cattle around the Estancia's. Although the Gaucho culture that Darwin and other early traveller´s experienced while visiting the Pampas has hasn't existed for many years, the modern day Cowboy seems to have a strong sense of history and pride in his occupation. The nomadic lifestyle the Gauchos lived was effectively destroyed the moment the land was divided and fenced in.

We finished setting up our tent in the free camping on the edge of town and watched the gauchos herd about 30 beautiful horses down the dusty road as the sun went down. They still had about 18km's to the Estancia.

Cerro Fitzroy - Patagonia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Sunrise from the mirador this morning was stunning. I can't believe how lucky we've been to catch this kind of weather in one of the most notoriously bad weather zones in the world. The hikes around Fitzroy are a breeze as well. The trails aren't too steep, except for the mirador which of course is done in the dark. An hour uphill in the dark along with a little boulder hopping gets you to the top of the lookout where you look down on Laguna de Los Tres, the lake this glacier drains into and straight up at Cerro Fitzroy. I love it here.

Torres del Paine - Patagonia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Hedda has written a great day by day account of our trek around Torres del Paine so you should check it out here.

http://ladyhedda.blogspot.com/

Here are a few of my own thoughts about my favorite day...

We crossed over Paso John Garner early in the morning in sleet, rain and cold, heavy winds. Our hope of lunch at the top of the pass wasn´t realized since we just wanted to get the hell outa there to some lower, warmer elevation. The trees below were a relief from the incessant rain we´d experienced all morning. What made this day so amazing was that we had all afternoon to walk right next to Glacier Grey. Of course soon, in great Patagonian style the weather cleared. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and the deep blue colors in the crevices came out. I had to pause every few minutes to check out the new angle we´d come across which gave a totally new perspective on the ice. It seemed endless as it crept up towards the peaks where it begins its long drift towards the lake. It was a very long tiring day and I´d do it again tomorrow if I had the chance.

Puerto Eden - Patagonia

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

This is the only town we passed in 4 days where people live down here. The rest of the trip was about as wild as it gets. Rugged glaciers, huge snow covered mountains rising up out of the fiords, Volcanos and dense forest fed from the rain that is constantly delivered from the Pacific. When the sun occasionally peaks out the colors are amazing. The deep blue glaciers, dark, crystal clear waters and dark green forests contrast the snowy peaks. The ferry is the only connection the people who live in Puerto Eden have unless they own their own boat. I can´t imagine the intense feeling of isolation they must experience...

Navimag

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

The trip has been great. We´ve had some heavy rain at times but the open sea crossing wasn´t nearly as bad as it could have been. I kept thinking of the storms that send south swells to California often end up heading right into Patagonia before blasting themselves out over the Andes. We only had about 6-8 feet of open ocean swell. There were a few moments when Hedda and I both thought we might get tossed out of our bunks, but we made it through allright. The scenery has been spectacular though monotonous at times. Eventually we wound our way through to some of the narrowest passages you can imagine. The ship was zig zagging through these channels practically fishtailing while everyone on deck closely watched the rocks and kelp pass by just yards away from the edge of the ship.

Navimag Puerto Montt

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Well I´m leaving the surf for the next month. Hedda and I are heading south to Patagonia on the Navimag. We´ll meet up in Puerto Montt from where the ship will take us through the fiords eventually dropping us off in Puerto Natales. Should be interesting.

Yo no comprende nada

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

My feeble language skills are progressing slowly but surely. Yesterday I was able to return AA batteries and exchange them for AAA´s. Even without a receipt! I never figured out how to express what a dumbass I was buying the wrong batteries, but eventually I did get my point across, and they kindly let me exchange for what I needed. I also discovered the difference between cocinar and comida. Till now I´d been going into restaurants asking if I could go into the kitchen and help cook up some orders rather than sit down, order and eat. No wonder everyone looks at me like the loco gringo I am.

BBQ under the stars

Last night Italo invited me for a BBQ. Talk about Spanish language immersion. He and Anita don´t speak a word of English so it was a great chance to learn a few more words. It´s always amazed me how people cross the language divide so easily when they want to. I brought some queso and vino tinto and they BBQ´d some really nice locally farmed porc. We sat under the stars, the fire keeping us warm against the chilly southerly wind while Italo and Anita pointed out the southern constellations. Las Tres Maria´s, Cruces de Sol and many more from the brilliant starry night.