Still rocking it in Buenos Aires, and we are settling into a routine now. In the mornings, we grab the traditional porteño breakfast of coffee or tea with three littel croissants - do not ask me why this is tradition, but this is breakfast everywhere in this city. Then we do part one of our day - for instance, yesterday, brian and I were mighty tourists. We went to Plaza de Mayo, Plaza San Martin, Teatro Colon, and the Obelisco, all the major "monuments" in a city not really known for its brick-and-mortar tourist attractions. We did a bit of shopping, and then had our requisite afternoon ice cream.
Interesting tidbit is that Argentinians, especially porteños (people who live in BsAs) have a ginormous weet tooth. The McDonald's and Burger Kings here all have a separate counter, that is always mobbed, that sells just their array of desserts. Brian and I, however, are sticking with the Freddo ice cream. I am not a huge ice gream fan, but my god - this stuff makes a convert out of me.
Anyhow, then it's siesta time. We come back to the (air conditioned) hostel, read, do some internet or crossword puzzles, maybe nap a little.
In the evening, we find dinner. We are trying very, very hard to be like natives, but with only dubious success - Argentines eat dinner at about 10, and we are too gringo to last that long. Last night was our latest venture, but even so it was about 9:30. However, we added a bit of spice by hitting up a tango show. It was this old school cabaraet, totally touristy, and totally awesome. The dancers were incredible, the food was really good, and the singers were charming.
We finally found our gay bar last night, too, and i love that they had fresh peach frozen daqueris, which was a relief in the 1000 degree weather. There were not, however, hardly any other people there. Apparently, for a town with multiple "Gay Buenos Aires" maps, the capital of the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriange, has a really pitiful gay scene. Tragic.
It was out most touristy day, to be sure, but it also felt in the groove of the whole Buenos Aires Scene.
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
February 05, 2008
February 03, 2008
New Aires
I don't know how I didn't notice before, but instantly, upon walking around with Brian on Friday, all I could think was how much Buenos Aires is exactly like New York. I know I've mentioned how places remind me of others throughout Argentina and Chile, but BsAs is...almost exactly New York. It's uncanny. Everywhere we go, Brian and I know the area because they ahve a neighborhood like it in Manhattan.
So far, we've done a bunch of the sights. On Saturday, we went to Recoleta, which is posh and leafy and lovely, and went to the cemetery there. It was really elaborate, these tombs, but also vaguely run down because a lot of these people were buries hundreds of years ago - no more family to maintain the mausoleums. It will also never be creepy to see these locked tomb doors with stairways going dow, cause we KNOW what they are going down to. We did see Evita's grave, though, which was surprisingly anticlimactic. Then we went to the fine arts museum, and saw all kinds of paintings from all kinds of time and just generally enjoyed the air conditioning (it was hot hot hot and HUMID as all get out).
Then last night we went to Palermo Viejo, the SoHo of BsAs. I was craving something non-Argentinian to eat, so we got sushi. Was it the best sushi I've ever had? Far cry from that. But it was fresh and tasty, and not fried beef or ham, so I was in heaven. It tasted fantastic, and we polished off a bottle of wine, so it was an excellent night.
Palermo Viejo is pretty much the best neighborhood I've seen here, though today we went to San Telmo, which comes close. It's the West Village, and on Sundays they have this massive market/antiques fair that brings hoardes of people and street performers, so we wandered the cobbled streets and enjoyed. So it is a good place too - lucky, since our hostel is in San Telmo - but I think we'l be back to Palermo before the trip is out.
Other highlights include the complete absence of gay bars in this town. Brian dutifully wrote down dozens on his map, and we have so far tried to go to 8 of them. But apparently, the names and addresses came from Ye Olde Map of Closed Bars, because every single one is not there, or doesn't look like it was ever there. We found one, but it was a scary stairway that Brian said led to hamster cage shavings (I said it looked like the place I would surely die), and then one other we got to, but we arrived before they opened. At midnight. We will keep trying, though, dammit. I will not ruin Brian's streak of international gay bar tours.
All was not lost, though. Last night on the way back, we wandered into San Telmo's Carnivale celebration, which evidently involves a lot of spray foam. It was pretty cool to see the celebration, but I will tell you: never take a hit of spray foam to the open eye. It's not good eye health practice.
But I would like to make a mention of the one, awesome, spectacular thing about this city, and that is the ice cream. A serious sweet tooth and all the best of an Italian tradition makes ice cream a way of life here, and thank god for it. It was gorgeous weather today - still sunny and hot, but breezy and not humid - so the ice cream tastes to die for. The banana split-flavored ice cream was the best we've had yet.
Also: gotta love siesta. I think I will take advantage of it now...
So far, we've done a bunch of the sights. On Saturday, we went to Recoleta, which is posh and leafy and lovely, and went to the cemetery there. It was really elaborate, these tombs, but also vaguely run down because a lot of these people were buries hundreds of years ago - no more family to maintain the mausoleums. It will also never be creepy to see these locked tomb doors with stairways going dow, cause we KNOW what they are going down to. We did see Evita's grave, though, which was surprisingly anticlimactic. Then we went to the fine arts museum, and saw all kinds of paintings from all kinds of time and just generally enjoyed the air conditioning (it was hot hot hot and HUMID as all get out).
Then last night we went to Palermo Viejo, the SoHo of BsAs. I was craving something non-Argentinian to eat, so we got sushi. Was it the best sushi I've ever had? Far cry from that. But it was fresh and tasty, and not fried beef or ham, so I was in heaven. It tasted fantastic, and we polished off a bottle of wine, so it was an excellent night.
Palermo Viejo is pretty much the best neighborhood I've seen here, though today we went to San Telmo, which comes close. It's the West Village, and on Sundays they have this massive market/antiques fair that brings hoardes of people and street performers, so we wandered the cobbled streets and enjoyed. So it is a good place too - lucky, since our hostel is in San Telmo - but I think we'l be back to Palermo before the trip is out.
Other highlights include the complete absence of gay bars in this town. Brian dutifully wrote down dozens on his map, and we have so far tried to go to 8 of them. But apparently, the names and addresses came from Ye Olde Map of Closed Bars, because every single one is not there, or doesn't look like it was ever there. We found one, but it was a scary stairway that Brian said led to hamster cage shavings (I said it looked like the place I would surely die), and then one other we got to, but we arrived before they opened. At midnight. We will keep trying, though, dammit. I will not ruin Brian's streak of international gay bar tours.
All was not lost, though. Last night on the way back, we wandered into San Telmo's Carnivale celebration, which evidently involves a lot of spray foam. It was pretty cool to see the celebration, but I will tell you: never take a hit of spray foam to the open eye. It's not good eye health practice.
But I would like to make a mention of the one, awesome, spectacular thing about this city, and that is the ice cream. A serious sweet tooth and all the best of an Italian tradition makes ice cream a way of life here, and thank god for it. It was gorgeous weather today - still sunny and hot, but breezy and not humid - so the ice cream tastes to die for. The banana split-flavored ice cream was the best we've had yet.
Also: gotta love siesta. I think I will take advantage of it now...
January 30, 2008
Just a day on the glacier
If it's not the first rule of backpacking, it should be: while the whole thing is being done on a budget, know when to spend your money.
Today Brian and I went to the attraction that makes El Calafate any sort of a destination, the Perito Moreno glacier. It's not the biggest glacier around, but it does have a couple of defining characteristics: It is accumulating at rougly the same rate as it's melting, it moves fast, and it's terminal face is right at land. So hop on a bus from town and in an hour, you are standing in front of a glacier, watching pieces fall off into the water in one astounding show of nature.
But we wanted to do it better. We did board a bus in town (with a posse of Japanese tourists, naturally), and went to the Glacier National Park. We did spend a couple of hours on the series of balconies they have there, watching the glacier drop pieces of itself into the lake. This particular glacier apparently has a history of advancing to the point of hitting the land on the other side, at which point the lake on one side builds up water, until eventually the water pressure is too much and the glacier ruptures in a mass of crashing ice. The glacier has currently dammed the lake up pretty well, and they are expecting a rupture again at the end of the summer. It's really impressive.
Anyhow, so when ice falls off the glacier, and it does every few minutes, honestly, it looks like tiny pieces tumbling off, but it makes a mighty crashing sound, and thunderous noise when it falls into the water. It may not have looked like a huge deal, because the pieces that fall are small in relation to the overall glacier. When you walk up, you expect the pieces to be like...this entire side or something, but they are ones that seem small from the balcony. But I am sure our scale was messed up and the pieces falling off were big enough to crush a Wicked Witch or something. But the sound it made, man. I would never get tired of it.
After that, our tour included an awesome boat ride, in the dammed side of the lake, right up to the face. It was insane, to just motor right on past these icebergs kicking it in the water. The ride itself was lovely, and gave a much better impression of scale. Note: we are very, very wee when it comes to a glacier, even a small one like Moreno.
We landed on a beach, and were able to leave off most of our stuff before they fitted us with crampons (which, because we are secretly 12, Brian and I of course joked about in a manner unbefitting our stature but very amusing nonetheless). And then...we get to climb on the glacier. We climbed on a freaking glacier! It was unlike anything else, but also a weird combination of things. The ice is super, super hard, but also easy to break into with the crampons (hee). It´s also really sparkly, and the chunks look like uncut diamonds. We were on the malting side of the glacier (as opposed to the accumulation side) so there were also streams and puddles and pools all over the place, yet the ice around them is essentially hard and unmoving enough to walk on.
I should mention at this point that my freakish luck with Patagonian weather is holding, and it is downright hot as we are loading out for the glacier walk. I am in a longsleeved shirt and jeans, and Brian is in the same, and we are roasting. On the glacier itself, iut is not as warm, but not cold either. We are only in gloves because it is required, and it gets a little warm wandering about. Fortunately, we can just hack off a piece of ice to eat when we get thirsty - it tastes wonderful, by the way.
At the end of the trek, there is a little table, where they have glasses, and they hack off some ice and pour you a scotch. It was kind of gnarly scotch, but a wonderful sentiment, and we drank like good kids.
The sun was bright enough on the glacier that we both have interesting sunburns where the wind and sunblock conspired against us, but all in all, it might be my favorite day here.
Today Brian and I went to the attraction that makes El Calafate any sort of a destination, the Perito Moreno glacier. It's not the biggest glacier around, but it does have a couple of defining characteristics: It is accumulating at rougly the same rate as it's melting, it moves fast, and it's terminal face is right at land. So hop on a bus from town and in an hour, you are standing in front of a glacier, watching pieces fall off into the water in one astounding show of nature.
But we wanted to do it better. We did board a bus in town (with a posse of Japanese tourists, naturally), and went to the Glacier National Park. We did spend a couple of hours on the series of balconies they have there, watching the glacier drop pieces of itself into the lake. This particular glacier apparently has a history of advancing to the point of hitting the land on the other side, at which point the lake on one side builds up water, until eventually the water pressure is too much and the glacier ruptures in a mass of crashing ice. The glacier has currently dammed the lake up pretty well, and they are expecting a rupture again at the end of the summer. It's really impressive.
Anyhow, so when ice falls off the glacier, and it does every few minutes, honestly, it looks like tiny pieces tumbling off, but it makes a mighty crashing sound, and thunderous noise when it falls into the water. It may not have looked like a huge deal, because the pieces that fall are small in relation to the overall glacier. When you walk up, you expect the pieces to be like...this entire side or something, but they are ones that seem small from the balcony. But I am sure our scale was messed up and the pieces falling off were big enough to crush a Wicked Witch or something. But the sound it made, man. I would never get tired of it.
After that, our tour included an awesome boat ride, in the dammed side of the lake, right up to the face. It was insane, to just motor right on past these icebergs kicking it in the water. The ride itself was lovely, and gave a much better impression of scale. Note: we are very, very wee when it comes to a glacier, even a small one like Moreno.
We landed on a beach, and were able to leave off most of our stuff before they fitted us with crampons (which, because we are secretly 12, Brian and I of course joked about in a manner unbefitting our stature but very amusing nonetheless). And then...we get to climb on the glacier. We climbed on a freaking glacier! It was unlike anything else, but also a weird combination of things. The ice is super, super hard, but also easy to break into with the crampons (hee). It´s also really sparkly, and the chunks look like uncut diamonds. We were on the malting side of the glacier (as opposed to the accumulation side) so there were also streams and puddles and pools all over the place, yet the ice around them is essentially hard and unmoving enough to walk on.
I should mention at this point that my freakish luck with Patagonian weather is holding, and it is downright hot as we are loading out for the glacier walk. I am in a longsleeved shirt and jeans, and Brian is in the same, and we are roasting. On the glacier itself, iut is not as warm, but not cold either. We are only in gloves because it is required, and it gets a little warm wandering about. Fortunately, we can just hack off a piece of ice to eat when we get thirsty - it tastes wonderful, by the way.
At the end of the trek, there is a little table, where they have glasses, and they hack off some ice and pour you a scotch. It was kind of gnarly scotch, but a wonderful sentiment, and we drank like good kids.
The sun was bright enough on the glacier that we both have interesting sunburns where the wind and sunblock conspired against us, but all in all, it might be my favorite day here.
January 27, 2008
torres del paine wrap up
So sorry for the radio silence - I have been in rustic wilderness for a few days, but to make up for it, fair warning: this post is LONG.
I came here for Torres del Paine national park, one of the iconic parts of Patagonia. It´s this ginormous park that is one of the hiking hotspots of the world. There are two major treks - the W, which is supposed to be 4-5 days and hits the three major sights of the park, and the circuit, which is like a week and hits the W spots and then goes back around, basically. I was doing neither. Even though the park has full services (as much as they are in southern Chile), I have never really been camping or trekking, so I didn't think by myself, on this, was the way to start.
Goooooood call.
Day One (Thursday)
Puerto Natales doesn't have much, but it is the closest town to the park, so they have got their system down pat. From any hostel in town, you can buy a roundtrip bus fare on a bus that leaves twice daily to the park. There are certain companies that have certain deals with certain hostels, but they all cost the same and leave the same and do the same, so you just go wherever you are staying. So at 7:30 in the morning, me and about 6 others from my hostel answered the beep from the bus outside, hauled ourselves into the bus, and went on a tour of the city and various other hostels. We were pretty much full when we started out the 3 hour drive to the park. Most of the road isn't paved, so it was very...invigorating that early in the morning, but for the last hour or so we could see the topography of the park, so that was cool.
Once we get to the main gate, everyone piles out and pays the entrance fee. Some people - those who are just daytripping to see the Torres themselves (huge granite spires that gave the park its name) or who are starting the W from that end, get on a mini shuttle to wherever they go. The rest of us stay on the bus, which takes us right to the catamaran stop. They have it timed perfectly so we get there about an hour before the boat departure - enough time for a quick hike up to the head of a waterfall. It´s not a big falls, but you get so close to it that it was worth the 20 minute walk each way.
The catamaran as easy and quick, not to mention pretty.
And that deposits us right at the Refugio Pehoe - the hostel/lodge where I will be staying. Handy, no? So I am one of the lucky ones who gets to drop off the bulk of my stuff - food, clothes, everything but what I will need for the hike - before heading out.
I hiked that day with Matt and Sarah, an awesome Canadian/American couple doing something completely different (you can check them out, hi Matt & Sarah!). We were on essentially the first leg of the W, where they were going out and camping, and I was planning to go out and come back in. I wanted to do the whole leg, but it wasn't to be - I ended up coming back about 3/4 of the way into the leg, knowing that as much as I hiked, I still had that much to do back. But funny thing about hiking - it´s way shorter to come back. Who knew? I had a couple of factors against me, mostly the weather - despite the infamous blustery, changeable, awful Patagonian weather, we had blue sky, no wind, and upper 80s the whole time - unheard of around here. But in all, I had about a 7 to 7 1/ hour hike that day - not too shabby. And the point of it all was to see the Grey Glacier.
It was my first time seeing a glacier, but not to be my last, and it was...awesome, in the truest sense of the word. I was truly blown away, I just loved it so much. The huge chunks of ice that had broken off and were floating about in the lake were great, too - they looked utterly fake, these giant white and teal blue papier-mache creations, like something made for a school dance on global warming. But real!
That also summed up my entire day. After getting back, showering, and eating, I essentially fell into bed and did not stir.
Day Two (Friday)
I woke up and put on the same gnarly, awful clothes from yesterday (well, different shirt - I am only human) and loaded up adn head out again. Looking back, it´s so cute and optimistic how I dutifully packed a windbreaker and warm shirt for the "fierce" "unpredictable" Patagonia weather - but it was more hot and clear for me. Today, the hike was a little flatter, and went around lakes, over streams, and to Valle de France, which basically has a glacier mountain on one side, and the back side of the Torres on the other. Once I got there, I just sat and watched.
There would be these sounds like rolling thunder, and if you looked you could see ice falling off the mountain tops. It was stunning; I am sad I wasn´t quick enough to get a picture. I know it´s probably not good from an environmental standpoint, but it was gorgeous nonetheless.
Day Three (Saturday)
I woke up and went for a quick hike - straight uphill, though - on a path on neither the W or the circuit. It was only about an hour each way, but I wanted to do something that last day. When I got back, I had a quick (and COLD) shower and got everything packed up. I spent the morning lolling about the lodge - really, there are worse places to loll - before reversing the whole process and winding up back in Puerto Natales 6 hours later or so.
So another day, another 8 hour hike. I learned some important stuff with my hikes of the last couple of, in addition to the whole idea that I always come home much faster than I go. For instance, my ankles get NASTY and dirty, and hiking is just a fancy way of saying "walking." I don't know if I am a hiker, or if I was simply lulled into thinking so by REI and the lonely planet guides for Patagonia, but I also know that this was the major hiking part of my trip. It was kind of cool, though, to be all wildernessy. I filled my water bottle up in mountain streams that were pouring direct from glaciers! How cool is that?
So now I am back in Puerto Natales, where nothing is open on Sunday. I sent my laundry out for an ungodly sum, but it´s worth it for how dirty it is. I also have a ridiculous number of tiny bug bites, from sitting outside the night before I left and day one of hiking, but I used my mighty bug repellent to prevent further nuisance. Also, I think I am to be commended that I have no suburn from all of that. Impressive!
I am having some issues getting the computer to respond well with my camera and flash drive, so I can't upload pictures onto this entry. It has taken me a truly preposterous amount of time, but I have successfully updated my online album, though, so everything is there if you need it. I add pictures, hopefully tomorrow - when I am back in Argentina, and, I am ecstatic to report, I will have company. I am being met by a lovely, lovely friend for the next two weeks, and I have to tell you - I can´t wait. I like being alone, and I like traveling, but traveling alone? Is really hard. No joke.
I came here for Torres del Paine national park, one of the iconic parts of Patagonia. It´s this ginormous park that is one of the hiking hotspots of the world. There are two major treks - the W, which is supposed to be 4-5 days and hits the three major sights of the park, and the circuit, which is like a week and hits the W spots and then goes back around, basically. I was doing neither. Even though the park has full services (as much as they are in southern Chile), I have never really been camping or trekking, so I didn't think by myself, on this, was the way to start.
Goooooood call.
Day One (Thursday)
Puerto Natales doesn't have much, but it is the closest town to the park, so they have got their system down pat. From any hostel in town, you can buy a roundtrip bus fare on a bus that leaves twice daily to the park. There are certain companies that have certain deals with certain hostels, but they all cost the same and leave the same and do the same, so you just go wherever you are staying. So at 7:30 in the morning, me and about 6 others from my hostel answered the beep from the bus outside, hauled ourselves into the bus, and went on a tour of the city and various other hostels. We were pretty much full when we started out the 3 hour drive to the park. Most of the road isn't paved, so it was very...invigorating that early in the morning, but for the last hour or so we could see the topography of the park, so that was cool.
Once we get to the main gate, everyone piles out and pays the entrance fee. Some people - those who are just daytripping to see the Torres themselves (huge granite spires that gave the park its name) or who are starting the W from that end, get on a mini shuttle to wherever they go. The rest of us stay on the bus, which takes us right to the catamaran stop. They have it timed perfectly so we get there about an hour before the boat departure - enough time for a quick hike up to the head of a waterfall. It´s not a big falls, but you get so close to it that it was worth the 20 minute walk each way.
The catamaran as easy and quick, not to mention pretty.
And that deposits us right at the Refugio Pehoe - the hostel/lodge where I will be staying. Handy, no? So I am one of the lucky ones who gets to drop off the bulk of my stuff - food, clothes, everything but what I will need for the hike - before heading out.I hiked that day with Matt and Sarah, an awesome Canadian/American couple doing something completely different (you can check them out, hi Matt & Sarah!). We were on essentially the first leg of the W, where they were going out and camping, and I was planning to go out and come back in. I wanted to do the whole leg, but it wasn't to be - I ended up coming back about 3/4 of the way into the leg, knowing that as much as I hiked, I still had that much to do back. But funny thing about hiking - it´s way shorter to come back. Who knew? I had a couple of factors against me, mostly the weather - despite the infamous blustery, changeable, awful Patagonian weather, we had blue sky, no wind, and upper 80s the whole time - unheard of around here. But in all, I had about a 7 to 7 1/ hour hike that day - not too shabby. And the point of it all was to see the Grey Glacier.
It was my first time seeing a glacier, but not to be my last, and it was...awesome, in the truest sense of the word. I was truly blown away, I just loved it so much. The huge chunks of ice that had broken off and were floating about in the lake were great, too - they looked utterly fake, these giant white and teal blue papier-mache creations, like something made for a school dance on global warming. But real!
That also summed up my entire day. After getting back, showering, and eating, I essentially fell into bed and did not stir.
Day Two (Friday)
I woke up and put on the same gnarly, awful clothes from yesterday (well, different shirt - I am only human) and loaded up adn head out again. Looking back, it´s so cute and optimistic how I dutifully packed a windbreaker and warm shirt for the "fierce" "unpredictable" Patagonia weather - but it was more hot and clear for me. Today, the hike was a little flatter, and went around lakes, over streams, and to Valle de France, which basically has a glacier mountain on one side, and the back side of the Torres on the other. Once I got there, I just sat and watched.
There would be these sounds like rolling thunder, and if you looked you could see ice falling off the mountain tops. It was stunning; I am sad I wasn´t quick enough to get a picture. I know it´s probably not good from an environmental standpoint, but it was gorgeous nonetheless.
Day Three (Saturday)
I woke up and went for a quick hike - straight uphill, though - on a path on neither the W or the circuit. It was only about an hour each way, but I wanted to do something that last day. When I got back, I had a quick (and COLD) shower and got everything packed up. I spent the morning lolling about the lodge - really, there are worse places to loll - before reversing the whole process and winding up back in Puerto Natales 6 hours later or so.
So another day, another 8 hour hike. I learned some important stuff with my hikes of the last couple of, in addition to the whole idea that I always come home much faster than I go. For instance, my ankles get NASTY and dirty, and hiking is just a fancy way of saying "walking." I don't know if I am a hiker, or if I was simply lulled into thinking so by REI and the lonely planet guides for Patagonia, but I also know that this was the major hiking part of my trip. It was kind of cool, though, to be all wildernessy. I filled my water bottle up in mountain streams that were pouring direct from glaciers! How cool is that?
So now I am back in Puerto Natales, where nothing is open on Sunday. I sent my laundry out for an ungodly sum, but it´s worth it for how dirty it is. I also have a ridiculous number of tiny bug bites, from sitting outside the night before I left and day one of hiking, but I used my mighty bug repellent to prevent further nuisance. Also, I think I am to be commended that I have no suburn from all of that. Impressive!
I am having some issues getting the computer to respond well with my camera and flash drive, so I can't upload pictures onto this entry. It has taken me a truly preposterous amount of time, but I have successfully updated my online album, though, so everything is there if you need it. I add pictures, hopefully tomorrow - when I am back in Argentina, and, I am ecstatic to report, I will have company. I am being met by a lovely, lovely friend for the next two weeks, and I have to tell you - I can´t wait. I like being alone, and I like traveling, but traveling alone? Is really hard. No joke.
January 19, 2008
trekkin'
i have spent my time in ushuaia hiking, and it has been lovely.
yesterday, i invited myself along with two girlsfrom the hostel - they were planning to do the same hike i wanted to do, plus i enjoy companionship where i can get it. they are from san francisco, of all places - residents at UCSF - and clearly serious hiker/outdoorsy types. and man, am i glad i tagged along.
they show up decked out in REI, i am carrying an overstuffed messenger bag. they´ve also been in town for 4 days, so they showed me where the market is, and then we headed out. this was listed as the 'glacier martial´hike, and i must admit, i was excited to see a glacier in real life. we didn´t really know where we were going - all of us were inspired by the description in lonely planet, and the directions there were vague at best. but we were supposed to find a chairlift, and we did - nonoperational, but no matter. we were going to climb anyway. so we CLIMBED THE SKI RUN. it was killer steep (probably at least 30% grade? and LONG. but the views at the top are killer. then we kept going and...nothing. i mean, it was a cool, boggy, meadow at the top but...nothing glaciery. damn you, global warming! clearly, this was glacier-made, but no ice except on distant mountain tops. we werent sure it was the right hike, but when i got back and checked, yup. we were in the right place. don´t know where the glacier was. they were acting like it was a casual walk, but the ascending/descending killed me. i thought it was worth it, too - i´ll upload the picture form the summit, and you will see too.
today i went to tierra del fuego national park. dude - i went to TIERRA DEL FUEGO. i am like, living in 3rd grade social studies, y'all. so cool. anyhow, took a bus there this morning, and did the 'moderate' hike, and i found my level. it wasn´t egregiously hard, but there was enough climbing and trudging and scrambling about that i was beat at the end. it was great for a non-hiker, too. the path was really well-marked, and i would wander along and feel like the only person in the world, and whoop! there´s a tour group. it was nice in making me feel that if, hypothetically, this klutzy city girl were to fall off the trail, someone would find her. hypothetically.
in the end it was about 6 miles, and i am BEAT. totally gorgeous, though - it wound along a lake, overlooking mountains, through some forests. completely wonderful, and totally picture-perfect glacier topography, which i always love.
it was unusually warm, though - generally this area gets to about 50 in the summer, but it was at least 60 all day, and still is at about 9pm. so i came away with a niiiiiice sunburn on my nose and back of my neck. hot!
tomorrow, i leave the country for about a week - i am going to punta arenas, chile, on a smashing 12 hour bus ride. should be...awesome. but hopefully pretty, and i have benadryl on hand for when it is not.
yesterday, i invited myself along with two girlsfrom the hostel - they were planning to do the same hike i wanted to do, plus i enjoy companionship where i can get it. they are from san francisco, of all places - residents at UCSF - and clearly serious hiker/outdoorsy types. and man, am i glad i tagged along.
they show up decked out in REI, i am carrying an overstuffed messenger bag. they´ve also been in town for 4 days, so they showed me where the market is, and then we headed out. this was listed as the 'glacier martial´hike, and i must admit, i was excited to see a glacier in real life. we didn´t really know where we were going - all of us were inspired by the description in lonely planet, and the directions there were vague at best. but we were supposed to find a chairlift, and we did - nonoperational, but no matter. we were going to climb anyway. so we CLIMBED THE SKI RUN. it was killer steep (probably at least 30% grade? and LONG. but the views at the top are killer. then we kept going and...nothing. i mean, it was a cool, boggy, meadow at the top but...nothing glaciery. damn you, global warming! clearly, this was glacier-made, but no ice except on distant mountain tops. we werent sure it was the right hike, but when i got back and checked, yup. we were in the right place. don´t know where the glacier was. they were acting like it was a casual walk, but the ascending/descending killed me. i thought it was worth it, too - i´ll upload the picture form the summit, and you will see too.
today i went to tierra del fuego national park. dude - i went to TIERRA DEL FUEGO. i am like, living in 3rd grade social studies, y'all. so cool. anyhow, took a bus there this morning, and did the 'moderate' hike, and i found my level. it wasn´t egregiously hard, but there was enough climbing and trudging and scrambling about that i was beat at the end. it was great for a non-hiker, too. the path was really well-marked, and i would wander along and feel like the only person in the world, and whoop! there´s a tour group. it was nice in making me feel that if, hypothetically, this klutzy city girl were to fall off the trail, someone would find her. hypothetically.
in the end it was about 6 miles, and i am BEAT. totally gorgeous, though - it wound along a lake, overlooking mountains, through some forests. completely wonderful, and totally picture-perfect glacier topography, which i always love.
it was unusually warm, though - generally this area gets to about 50 in the summer, but it was at least 60 all day, and still is at about 9pm. so i came away with a niiiiiice sunburn on my nose and back of my neck. hot!
tomorrow, i leave the country for about a week - i am going to punta arenas, chile, on a smashing 12 hour bus ride. should be...awesome. but hopefully pretty, and i have benadryl on hand for when it is not.
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