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.

Punta de Lobos

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

Sorry not much time to write at the moment. Don´t want to let any more of these lonely waves go to waste.... This is what I woke up to on my first morning. Nobody is really in the water till 10-11am. You know I don´t mind the early. Four of us shared this session for about 3 hours.

Punta de Lobos - Chile

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

I caught the 11am bus in Santiago for Pichilemu so I could enjoy a lazy breakfast at the Happy House. The buses here are great! Modern lazyboy seats with plenty of leg room are a nice contrast to what we had become used to in South East Asia.The bus left the city and wound it´s way through rolling hillsides dried out by the summer heat. I imagine these are the perfect weather conditions for the countless vineyards we passed on our way to the coast to create those great Chilean wines. After only 3 hours we arrived to dusty Pichilemu. Siesta time and pretty quiet. I dragged my gear up the street to la esquina and soon was on a local collectivo for the last 6km´s to Punta de Lobos.

Dropped off in another dusty parking lot I looked around and had no idea where the rumoured campground was. Plenty of expensive looking cabañas dotted the hillside looking out over the point with a black sand beach heaving with a summer crowd. The surf was onshore and small so I wasn´t rushed.

After asking a few people about camping and receiving vague answers and even vaguer directions,( probably only vague due to my lacking any local language skills whatsoever) I eventually met Señor?¿?¿ El Caballero de Churro´s. He and his wife were selling churro´s filled with dulce de leche out of a van on the clifftop. Yes, I´ve had more than one so far. Mmmmm..... We talked for awhile. Actually, he rattled off directions and instructions to me in Spanish while I nodded my head pretending to understand all the while feeling like a complete idiot. I guess I understood enough because soon I met Italo and Anita. After explaining to them that I was an old friend of Señor Churro and was looking for a place to camp near the surf, they generously agreed to let me set up my tent behind their ramshackle shack in a grove of trees. Perfect! Shaded, protected from the wind, inconspicuous, and only 100 yards to the surf!

Breakfast at The Happy House Hostel - Santiago

I love Hostel´s! You meet so many people from all over the world in such homey environment. Sometimes people are a little shy but I always find that a smile and hello relaxes most. Of course this morning I woke up headed down to breakfast. It´s really good here. I said Buenos Dias to everyone, sat down and had some coffee. I thought I´d start a coversation so I asked the French girls next to me what they thought of Sarkozy and Carla Bruni. They looked at me like I was crazy! That´s when I found out the older folks across the table were Italians. Hah! We didn´t take that topic much further....

On the bus to Pichilemu this morning!

Argentine Beef

, originally uploaded by m_hagen.

I´m not going to turn this into Emeril´s food freak blog but I´ve got to talk about the food in Argentina and Uruguay. The steak here is truly amazing. You hear all about it but til you get here and slice into a nice thick prime cut with a butter knife you can only dream... The European culinary heritage is still well in place here in the southern countries and thankfully so. Hedda and I have had to force ourselves to only eat steak every other night so our arteries don´t explode. But don´t worry.... The other nights we feast on some of the best fresh pasta´s I´ve ever had. Tonight I had pumpkin filled ravioli´s with a sage butter cream sauce that was amazing. Buenos Aires is lovely. I´d come back just to feast.