Heading north from the El’s (movement update)

The internet in El Chalten, where I am now, is really slow so can’t do a proper update (not that I have had time to write much). Just to keep you in the loop….
I arrived in El Chalten with Gary, Sallie, Orlagh and Alex from El Calafate. Unfortunately this is the end of the road for “Team Fantastico”, as Gary, Sallie and Orlagh are heading to El Bolson (close to Bariloche). Alex and I are heading for the Carratera Austral in Chile. It has been a great 2 weeks for us all. All good things come to and end :(

The Carratera Austral is supposed to be on of the most beautiful places along the route north, but not much traffic. So we will be engaging many locals (great!). I am hoping that we will not struggle with transport too much and get to Isla Chiloe in about 2weeks. Santiago will then be my next stop.

I’m guessing that internet connectivity will not be great as we travel along the Austral, so don’t be surprised to see little activity on the blog during this time.

Catch you on the flip side…

Fin del Mundo - Ushuaia

Ushuaia is the most southern city in the world…but this does not take into account the settlements on Antarctica :) So they say that Ushuaia is at the end of the world (“Fin del Mundo”).

As with Punta Arenas I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there when I left S.A, but while “in the area” how can I skip it? Its quite easy to get to from Punta Arenas. Just a 12 hour bus ride across a border, a ferry and some of the worst gravel roads I’ve seen in South America.

 
The Ferry across the straight of Magellan

 

Me in short in the cold (compare with the ferry worker in thick cold weather gear)

BMW F800 at the border, just to make me jealous :|

 

 

I seem to like resting when I get to a place. Not sure if this is because the bus rides are so long, or whether its because I don’t sleep the night before departure :) Anyway, my first day in Ushuaia was a “me-day”. It was great. Sleep late. Catch up on happings back home. Read. Find out what there is to do in Ushuaia. Only once I walked outside the afternoon did I notice the snow on the mountains. I felt like I was in Switzerland.
For the first time since starting my solo trip, I had the urge to cook. Probably influenced by the incredibly high prices at the end of the world. Even the hostel was more expensive than in Buenos Aires. I would say that the people at the hostel were VERY helpful & friendly. Basically gave me the low-down on what to do & see in Ushuaia in about 30min. And even free stuff!
While cooking that night, two English girls rocked up (Laura & Anna). They had just come off a plane and had no food. So I shared what I had. Company would be nice. We got along quite well so joined forces for our time in Ushuaia.

 

The following day started out with the best weather Ushuaia has seen for a while. No wind, a couple of clouds dotted along the sky and a comfortable cold temperature. So the plan was to hike to one of the glaciers (the other one is closed) in the morning and then do a tour of the Beagle channel (the body of water in front of Ushuaia is the Beagle channel). The only snag with the hike was that I had snowed the previous day & night. Ag well, off we went.
The ground had frozen at a couple of places, so the hike was tricky. I had resoled my shoes (tekkies, trainers, sneakers depending on your nationality) and the soles had no tread. So the ice & snow was tricky.
On the way up we asked for directions, but still took the wrong path. The one pointed out was covered in snow and looked like a pregnant avalanche…ready to pop at any time. Time eventually caught up with us as we wanted to do the channel tour in the afternoon, so we headed back without actually reaching the glacier or summit. Eish. At least the hike was nice…and the contrast in colours were amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We opted to go on smaller boats for the channel tour. Partly because it was suggested by the hostel staff. Small = intimate & cool. I like!
The tour took us to a sea lion- and cormorant colony, the lighthouse and ended with us being able to walk on Bridges island. There we had a look at how the locals had lived in years gone by. No tacky show with people pretending to do something, rather a site where the people actually lived and a small excavation. More of a static display.
What was very noticeable was the clarity of the water. This would be a diver’s paradise, except for the cold :)  
Our little group (me, Anna, Laura) – A yacht passing by – Kelp (shows you the visibility)

Sea lions (we got really close) – Lighthouse - Cormorants

View of the mountains surrounding Ushuaia to the north – Random yacht – Drinking & driving (the only time I wouldn’t get locked up)

 

One of the free hikes to do was a hike to Laguna Esmeralda. A lake in between mountains. Honestly I think we hit the best weather. We took a taxi to the start and would then have to hitchhike back. I was quite excited about this as it has been 10 years since I last hitchhiked. As we left town it started sleeting (snow & rain). When stopping I was thinking we were mad to do this, taking into account that Martin (a guy I’d met on the bus from Punta Arenas) didn’t have proper cold weather clothing. So I swapped my jacket for his fleece. Turned out fine.

 

You start the trail at a sled dog training ground. I’ve never seen such dogs before. Most were sleeping at the time, but still cool.
The trail went through two marshes, a forest and up a hill to get to the lagoon. Everyone except for Anna was worried as she was the only one with waterproof hiking boots. I’d heard about the “plastic bag” trick in B.A. (foot, sock, plastic bag, sock, shoe). This helped keep the water out and the heat in. Martin had a goal: Finish his 7 month travel with the same pair of shoes. By now they had a gaping hole on the inside of his foot.

The first section of the hike was low enough as not to have collected much snow, making the contrast of colour truly impressive. Red & yellow autumn leaves with some green against a backdrop of snow capped mountains. As the weather would have it, it started to snow during the hike. I’ve never before hiked while it was snowing. So much fun! I was like a little child :)
The lagoon was beautiful. What made it even better…there was a spot to make a fire next to it. The bushman in me came out and promptly started lighting the fire, aided by used tissues. So we dubbed ourselves “Burning Snot” :)
The hike was supposed to take 3hours, both ways. But we strayed off the path a bit, took many photos and of course the fire. So we took a bit longer. By the time we got to the sled dog station, it was supper time. All the dogs were out and drooling. I’m sure if I got too close, a piece of me would become supper.

Laguna Esmeralda – The team of “Burning Snot” – Laura & Anna with our impromptu snowman :)

At the mouth of Laguna Esmeralda

 

Amazing colours and contrast

 

 

 

The dogs getting ready to feed

 

Distances to well known cities

 

 

 

This is the story behind Mate. Its a drink that is drunk throughout South America by almost everyone. This was very interesting.

 
We didn’t sleep before getting the bus. Just one big party!

Arriving in Patagonia & Punta Arenas

I had heard about “Zona Franca” (Free Zone) which is a tax free shopping area on the outskirts of Punta Arenas. I had heard this is the place to go shopping. Since I was heading in that general direction anyway, I would go replenish some of my stolen goods there. There is no direct bus from B.A. to Punta Arenas. I first had to take a 36hour bus ride from B.A. to Rio Gallegos. A four hour lay over then a bus to Punta Arenas. I travelled for a total of 46hours. I had heard from some people that Punta Arenas was no a very nice place. What did I have to lose? I needed to buy some stuff and if was able to see another place…great.

The landscape on the ride down reminded me a lot of the Karoo in S.A. I have never been a great fan of the Karoo, but this had a very soothing effect. A welcome change from feeling a bit out of water in other places.

Weird how expectations can make or break a place for you. As I was expecting the worst I wasn’t phased by the appearance of road works and shabby looking farms on the outskirts of town. Maybe I was just happy not to see tall buildings along the skyline. Where the bus dropped us off was also not awe inspiring, outside a wooden building with a gravel parking lot. Keeping an open mind, I walked from there to the centre of town.

Daytime in Punta Arenas – A nice (but a bit expensive) restaurant

As you get closer the buildings suddenly change from basic looking wooden structures to sandstone. And unlike Europe, almost all of the old buildings are clean, so that they look much younger than they really are. Right in the centre is a square which is in pristine condition. I was staying in a hostel 3 blocks from the centre, which was definitely not in the historic centre. It was a dive, but I wasn’t planning on staying indoors the whole time. A bed would do me and at the price I couldn’t complain.

Church on the main square – The square – Road running past the square

The next day’s mission was to go shopping (never thought I’d say that while travelling). I met another South African…from Cape Town. What are the odds? :) We went to Zona Franca, a tax free area in Punta Arenas, to do shopping. Some things were well prices, but most were similar prices to the town. I guess competition is tough.

While walking around I went into one of the 4 large shops in Zona Franca and was attended to by an extremely helpful (and very nice) girl. It turned out that she was new, so we had a bit of a chat after I was done looking around. We had such a good chat that I invited her to dinner :) which she graciously accepted. I know you are thinking: “what is it with Ruan and girls”. Actually I really just enjoyed her company.

I had a bit of a late start to my shopping, so couldn’t get everything I needed. Another day of shopping…damn. At least I had some more time to rest and see a Museum. Not my usual, but it was interesting. So the things I bought: A new camera (Canon A495), Sunglasses (Optic Nerve, in town ‘cause I couldn’t find any in Z.F.), daypack with rain cover and a basic Swiss army knife. I was contemplating a cell phone, but that is just another thing that can get stolen…and I don’t really need it.

After almost 3 days in Punta Arenas I’d seen everything I wanted to see. Dinner with Tamara (the girls from Z.F.) was all that I had on the cards. As I was catching a bus early the next morning, I stayed up through the night. I was really hesitant about this considering what happened last time. At least this time I knew the risks and would be attentive ALL the time! But first…party time. Tamara’s sister was also out with a friend so we met them at a great little place called Gasline. And as luck would have it, it was karaoke night. Seize the moment…so I sang. The first time I’ve done this sober. At least the people didn’t run out holding their ears :) We all ended up in a little sandwich shop at 5am. A great night!

As I left Punta Arenas I felt a little sad. This place had grown on me a bit. I guess it is always best not to have expectations, then you can’t be disappointed.

Rosario

Map here.   I was quite happy to get out of B.A. Yes partly due to the robbery, but mostly because I had enough of the big city. The irony of it is, that Rosario is one of the three largest cities in Argentina. Truth be told, it doesn’t feel that way. Most of the places of interest are close to each other and the centre is well maintained. Its streets reminded me of New York, but smaller and with more trees. But my main goal of my visit had changed to resting out and regrouping. I spent much time reading, watching movies and sleeping…a lot. I didn’t realise how tired I was. Being sick in a big city and not sleeping much had taken its toll.
I was surprised at the amount of mosquitoes. This is probably due to the Parana river that runs past Rosario, which also gives the city a very relaxed feel. Every Sunday there are many stalls along the river’s promenade. My timing was great as the day after I arrived was Sunday. So spent the afternoon walking along the river and checking out the stalls. The most impressive was an artist that painted a scene of a panda at the foot of a snow capped mountain…by using only aerosol paint and a couple of basic tools like a dishwashing sponge, a knife and some basic stencils.
Rosario is where the Argentinean flag was hoisted for the first time. There is a beautiful monument overlooking most of the stalls and unlike our monuments, locals congregate here to enjoy some Mate (a South American traditional tea) and good company. The place has a warm feeling due to all the people. I was honestly not really up to going to all the museums, but spent a day cycling around the city. It was refreshingly different way of seeing the city.
Having rested out I was able to think clearly about where I would like to go next. I would head south to Patagonia. As luck would have it, travelling from Rosario was quite expensive, so I had to head back to B.A. Eish. At least I was able to catch a bus the same day of arriving in B.A, so I wouldn’t have to go looking for accommodation again.

In case you are wondering....I'm not dead

I have been receiving some emails to check whether I'm still alive and kicking. Don't worry, I'm great!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting recently. I really haven't felt like it after the "incident" in B.A.

I'm planning on doing the "missing updates" this weekend, but just to fill you in....I'm currently in Puerto Natales, Chile and just come back from an epic 5-day hike through the national park of Torres del Paine. My feet are killing me, but it great to be back in civilisation :)

Until later then...

Quick movement update. I´m finally heading south

I´ve had enough of cities, so I´m heading south. I will be taking a bus to Rio Gallegos then off to Punta Arenas to replenish my stolen goods.

I´ve just come back from 3 days rest in Rosario, where I have rethought my travel ittenerary. I´ll do a proper update once I have time & internet access (my bus leaves in 30min and the trip takes 36hours). I just didn´t have the energy or motivation to do it earlier.

Buenos Aires…and the lesson I had to learn

Some of you are wondering why I travelled to Buenos Aires so quickly, there are three reasons. Old family friends from San Francisco, Eugene and Julie, were there for a bit of a vacation and I wanted to see them. Its getting winter and I still want to get to Patagonia. I am concerned that my money won’t stretch far enough if I spend too much time in the more expensive countries (Brazil, Argentina & Chile).

This time I wasn’t very tired on arrival as I caught a “Cama” (comfort) bus. We were greeted by a friendly guy, Andreo, that offered a good deal on accommodation and would pay the taxi. I wasn’t going to run around looking for accommodation in a big city, so we took it. Once settled in, Chris and I went walking around with Or (an Israeli that sat next to me on the bus) to find him accommodation (there was a communication error and there were only 2 beds available). In doing so, we walked through a protest being held in the centre of the city.

Argentina’s political history is quite intense over the last century. In the 70’s there was a military coup that overthrew the government. Once in power, some of the youth didn’t agree with the way they were doing things and protested (if you haven’t noticed, this is a national past time for Argentineans). Being a military government, they don’t talk they act. Theses youth would just disappear. Only many years later it was found that they were dropped into the ocean. So, back to the present, this protest was to bring the people in charge of these killings to justice. Right, now you are up to speed. This seemed quite interesting (and fairly peaceful) so Chris and I went exploring the protest.

Athena was staying in another hostel, so we went looking for her. It turned out that this was party night at the hostel. Long story short, the party was huge! So big we only got back to the hostel at 8am…just in time for breakfast :) Three hours of sleep before the cleaning staff came to clean our room. So we got up.

Later that day I got together with Eugene & Julie. It was great seeing them again. I’d stayed with them in Dusseldorf, Germany about 10 years ago. Despite the time, it was like we’d seen each other yesterday. Definitely one of my Buenos Aires highlights for me! The night kind of ran away from us, so I just crashed at their place. Unfortunately this meant that I wasn’t able to say good bye to Chris, as he left the next day. Felt a bit bad about that. The up side is that I was able to spend most of the day with Eugene & Julie. We went walking around Palermo (the area where they were staying). I’d never seen a city with that amount of trees! They are everywhere. Apparently, this is known as the city of trees.

By now my body was not happy with me. My throat was getting scratchy and other symptoms (not to be mentioned) were starting to drag me down. I wasn’t going to let this stop me from having a good time, so I had dinner with Eugene & Julie again. This time close to my hostel. The next day I wanted to go to the San Telmo market, very close to my hostel (also in San Telmo, the old part of B.A.), and watch a Tango performance. This time my body won. I think everything just caught up with me, as a had flu symptoms and was stuck in bed for 2 days. Day three I was feeling better, but after a short trip to the Bolivian embassy I was paste and had to go lie down again. Day 4, I was able to go out a bit more, but was still weak. Only on the 5th day of my illness, was I able to spend a whole day outside. This stuffed up my B.A. experience a bit.

I’d lost a bit track of time and it had felt like I’d been stuck in the hostel for a couple of weeks. I hate to be sick while travelling! I was able to see Eugene & Julie before they left. I’ll see them next in San Francisco. As mentioned earlier, I was concerned that I my funds wouldn’t stretch as far as I had hoped, so I was getting restless. I wanted to head out…soon.

Due to my “don’t have a plan” – plan, I hadn’t booked the hostel in advance. So my last night in B.A. I didn’t have a bed to sleep in. Well, the plan was to catch a bus to Rosario at about midnight. I would thus have to stay awake until then. The “farewell party” theme had been thrown around a bit, so what was supposed to stop at midnight turned into “through the night” party.

I left the hostel around 6am for the bus station. The Subte (underground train) only opened at 8am, so I had to take a bus. It just seemed that everyone was doing the same. So instead of just going back to the hostel and waiting for the rush to pass, I found another bus (mistake #2. Mistake #1 was not sleeping) and headed for the bus station.

I was quite tired, so caught a quick catnap on the city bus. I awoke with a fright as we arrived at the bus station. So I wasn’t my sharpest and crossed the street. I then packed my MP3 player into my daypack (which goes on my chest) in full view of everyone (mistake #3). As I was walking, a woman pointed out that there was something on my backpack. Like an idiot I took off by daypack & backpack. In the process of “helping” me, she suddenly disappeared…and so did my daypack. But she didn’t have it. Before I knew it she, and her accomplice, were gone. O FOK! I was awake now, but too late. Found a policeman and explained my situation to him. Surprisingly, he acted like I was asking him for direction. No urgency in his actions. I’m not sure if my travel insurance covers theft (I still need to look), but I went to make a statement just in case. There the same nonchalant attitude continued. Finally a officer that looked like he had spent time in the military took my statement. At least he was efficient.

Off I went, an hour later, to the bus station minus a Cell phone, MP3 player, Camera, Leatherman and Sunglasses. Most importantly my note book was in my backpack with the contact details of the people I’d met. Fortunately I had my Passport, wallet & Credit card on me. I’m not too impressed with myself as I’ve heard this method of stealing from people many times before. Interesting what fatigue can do.

I’m now sitting in Rosario, minus most of my electronic stuff and a lot to think about. The situation keeps replaying in my head and I wonder how this could happen to me…I’m usually so observant of what is going on around me. Well while walking a mall tonight, I’m even more so.

Now my biggest hurdle to get over: its just earthly possessions, make peace with it...but most importantly (and most difficult) get some rest. I’m sure I’ll feel better once I get a proper night’s sleep.

So in case you wonder why I have no photos with this post…now you know.