New Boots Needed

These Boots WERE made for walking... but now i'll definitely needs some new ones. The past few week have involved more than their fair share of hiking around Patagonia, both on the Argentinian side (Torres Del Paine National Park) and the Chilean side (Los Glaciares National Park/Mt Fitzroy). The end result is that i'm quite tired, but not as knackered as my boots. At least the holes are on top and not underneath.

Mount Fitzroy

Although this post covers both time spent in Argentina AND Chile I opted to post it under the 'Chile' category. No offense to my Argentinian friends, but it had to go somewhere! I seem to be spending a lot of time nipping backwards and forwards between the two countries - rapidly filling up the passport with Arg/Chile stamps. My last sojourn to Argentina took me to the Los Glaciers National Park and the tiny 'town' of El Chalten. Just as with my own tough choice of which country to assign this post to, this whole region of Patagonia has been a hotly disputed territory. In an attempt to 'simplify' matters and bring the issue to a close, Argentina quickly cobbled together a town in the area. So, they were then able to apply the logical argument that 'it must be ours because we have a town there'... and so El Chalten was born!

Fitzroy From The Lake

The town itself is nothing of note, but then NOBODY comes here to see the town. El Chalten was built within what is now Parque Nacional Los Glaciers and is overlooked by Mount Fitzroy. Stunning scenery and some of Argentinas finest trekking.

The town of El Chalten closes up towards the end of April or early May and even during my visit (early April) there were signs that the shutdown was beginning. The potential down side with a visit 'out of season' is simply one of poor weather. Patagonia does 'bad weather' very well - especially the famous Patagonia winds! However, I was very lucky and can only report clear blue skies and a gentle breeze - perfect. The big plus side of being here at the tail end of the season is that there are fewer people out on the trails and the Autumn colours (Fall colors :- who said I couldn't learn another language!) are truly breath taking.

Autumn Colours

Although there are plenty of camping options in the park, I chose to make day hikes from El Chalten to Mount Fitzroy and also to Cerro Torre (not having a tent had a LOT to do with that.) The combination of perfect weather, empty trails
and mind blowing scenery have clearly left a lasting impression on me.

But enough already. If you take a look the photos in this post you'll get the idea and it will save me a lot of typing and brain ache :-)

From Argentina it was once again back to Chile and more trekking. Puerto Natales is the typical base from which to sort out plans and provisions to take on Torres Del Paine National Park.

It was also an opportunity to put my I.T. skills to good use. The hostel in Puerto Natales (Erratic Rock) was having a few computer problems (Internet access, WIFI issues) so volunteering my services to sort things out resulted in a healthy discount on all my trekking gear rentals (tent, stove etc.) and a free nights accommodation. Those 5 years at University finally paid off.

The Cuernos

The most common trek in the park has very creatively been named 'The W' on account of its shape. It's a 5 day trek taking in glacial valleys, the intriguing rock formations of The Cuernos (Imposing Granite bodies capped with black sedimentary crowns) and the 'Grand Finale' (very weather dependent!) of the Torres Del Paine.

Thanks to the guys from Erratic Rock, I was now fully equipped and ready to tackle 5 days camping in the cold damp wilderness. My pack was pretty much full of instant soups, instant noodles and instant porridge. My theory being that the quicker I could cook dinner, the quicker I could get back in my sleeping back which was pretty much the only chance of being vaguely warm. I also threw in a few large bars of chocolate to make sure the diet was balanced (easy to eat in bed too).

The Torres (Towers)

My initial plan had been to move things along at a reasonable pace so as to allow 2 days at the Torres. I'd met so many people who had spent 5 days trekking only to see NOTHING of the Torres (towers) at the end. However after 1 VERY cold, damp night camping in the snow and 3 hours sitting at the Torres (seeing about 80% of the Torres cloud free), I decided that I'd seen enough and for my last night moved on to the relative comfort of the Torres Refugio (hostal) campground and a decent hot meal that was neither 'instant' nor noodles.

Posted by Russ Jones at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sailing through the southern fiords of Chile, what could be better? Well, as it turns out, that could be quite a long list.

I do feel that the experience is nicely captured by my friend and fellow 'Navimag-er' Becky Barrett in her Blog entry which you can read HERE.

Thanks Becky!

Posted by Russ Jones at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Anyone who knows my history of travelling and natural disasters might indeed question the rational of going to stay in a small town at the base of a very active Volcano, let alone the desire to climb to the top for a peek inside. welcome to Pucón!

Its certainly an awesome sight hanging over the town. A sharp snow capped contrast against the clear blue sky. Not that that was how I first saw the Villarrica Volcano. When I first arrived in town there was a thick layer of cloud blotting out almost all the landscape. Of course i'd seen pictures and knew that there was a volcano around here (somewhere). It wasn't until my second day in town that I was able to look up and declare "bloody hell! look at that damn big volcano"

The peak of the Volcano sits at 2847m (asl) and last errupted ... last year! The climb although not a technical one is a reasonably strenuous ascent that needs crampons and an ice-axe. Preparation is the key.

And, with this in mind I went out to party! It was one of those unplanned get togethers, friends met up with friends and before you know it we're in a bar. Unfortunately, the early start the next morning meant that I wasn't able to get any provisions for the climb, and so the day begins ... No water, no food, no sunscreen and a HANGOVER. I decided that it was best not to mention any of this to the guides as it would only compound the hangover issue with early morning nagging. Past experience has proven that a bit of hard work would sweat all that nasty alcohol away and i'd bounce right back anyway.

Well there was plenty of hard work on the first section as its a steep shale slope - the kind that lets you get in a couple of forward steps before it pushes you back down one.

But it wasn't too long before we left the shale behind, strapped on the crampons and, ice axe in hand, took to the icy slopes.

The group was a bit large for my liking, consisting of 12 climbers - on the up side though, it was a group of 11 girls and myself. The pace being set by the lead guide was an unnaturally slow one and made for rather tedious stop/start progress. Still, progress was made and as we gained altitude the views opened out below us.

Glad to report that the hangover had gone by mid morning. But by the time we reached the lunch stop I was ready to start eating the snow. Fortunately I managed to find a couple of stray (and rather broken) cookies in the bottom of my pack (not exactly a hearty meal, but sometimes you've just got to go with what you've got.) With 'lunch' finished we pressed on for the summit. I have to admit we were extremely lucky with the weather conditions. The volcano is climbed almost every day and we were going to be the first group to reach the summit in the last week. Previous groups had been beaten back by the weather. We had bright sunshine, clear blue skies and a light breeze. Perfect.

As we reached the top, the sulphurous smell was overpowering, burning the back of my throat - I really wish I had some water now. Still all was not lost as we moved away from the acrid smoke the guide produced a bottle of red wine. Hair of the dog? No, a toast to our success and a toast to the 'spirit' of the volcano. Take a swig, splash some on the snow (for the spirit) and pass it on. I might have hung on to it a bit longer than was polite, but I WAS very thirsty.

The descent was SO much easier. The guide, produced what could best be described as an adult size nappy and after a quick run through of how to wear it we were instructed to sit down and slide our way down pre-made snow runs. A bit like tobogganing, only without the toboggan! Still, you can get some real speed on the way down. There's nothing quite like hurtling down a mountain side out of control, with a large ice axe in your hand, to focus the mind!

Posted by Russ Jones at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Well for the last few months i've been zig-zagging in and out of Chile and now i'm finally leaving it behind for the last time. While I was there I managed to squeeze in a side trip to Easter Island.

What can I say?? Its been great... Thanks Chile...
And, here are the finished photo galleries.....

COMPLETE CHILE PHOTO GALLERY (29 Photos)

COMPLETE EASTER ISLAND PHOTO GALLERY (28 Photos)

Apologies to my Facebook friends who will already have seen these, but THIS is their real home.

Posted by Russ Jones at 2:38 PM | Permalink

This little entry is by way of a THANK YOU to a friend that I met in San Martin de Los Andes. I only know him as Paz and as I say we met in the Chocolate Kingdom of the Chilean Lake District.

The World Flag T-Shirt

Paz has been involved in a project to develop what has become known as 'The World Flag'. A piece of work which has been on display at UN conferences. Although the UN only recognises 192 countries, the emblem features 216 flags of countries from around the world - nobody has been left out.

When I met Paz he quite liked the 1smallworld idea and thought it tied in quite nicely with the worldflag theme, so he made me a very kind gift of the T-shirt you can see in the picture. At the time it was the 'Prototype' of an item yet to go ito production. One of a kind and i've worn it with pride ever since (almost time it went in the laundry, but you know us traveller types - should get another couple of weeks out of it yet :-))

So, THANKS PAZ. Its drawn positive comments and admiration on several occasions. And, i've just checked the worldflag website (www.theworldflag.org ) and it looks like its now gone into production if anyone wants one (there goes my unique status!)

Posted by Russ Jones at 10:50 PM | Permalink

Moai/Easter Island

Well it’s been quite a while since i've added any textual updates to the site - long enough to prompt a few suggestions as to my whereabouts. These have ranged from lost down a tin mine to being stuck in a seedy cantina! Having looked up what a 'Cantina' is, it turns out that both suggestions were pretty much correct. Although a suggestion that my long absence from providing updates was possibly a sign of an impending ransom note were a little off the mark (i.e. "The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated" - Thanks Mark). The simple truth is that it is just so much more fun being out there doing things than being in here writing about them.

San Pedro De Atacama

So, to provide a little bit of a 'catch up'. Having left Cordoba, I was making my way via the Argentinean wine capital of Mendoza to Santiago. There was always a 'risk' of getting stuck in Mendoza... Charming town, good weather and GREAT wine. All good reasons to get 'stuck' for a while. What I didn't expect was to get stuck in Mendoza due to snow and an impassable.... pass (is that an oxymoron?!) To make matters worse I had only a few days to get to Santiago (Chile) because I’d managed to get a cheap flight out to Easter Island. The bus journey between Mendoza and Santiago should have taken around 5 or 6 hours only (so close and yet so far!) I waited a few days in Mendoza, but with no sign of the pass opening I had no choice but to fly a couple of hours back to Buenos Aires and then double back for a flight to Santiago, a uncomfortable night on the airport floor and onwards the next morning to Easter Island.

Moon Valley/Atacama

I'm not going to say very much about Easter Island (Rapa Nui). I've already posted up a Rapa Nui photo gallery so i'll let the pictures speak for themselves (PHOTOS FROM EASTER ISLAND). Suffice to say that being one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world (almost 4000km from the Chilean coast and almost 2000km from its nearest neighbour) its a remote and desolate place. Rugged terrain, actually not unlike that of the Peak District (close to my home town of Glossop) - only with more 'Stoneheads' (although that statement is possibly debatable! :-)

Humahuaca In Argentina

Unfortunately, whilst I was there I became a little unwell - spending the last 2 days in bed with headaches and bad stomach. It was more than 2 weeks before I regained any kind of appetite. Just as well I'd previously taken FULL advantage of the 'All You Can Eat' BBQ's and Buffets to put on a few extra kilos whilst in Argentina!

After a week on Easter Island I returned to the South American continent and continued northbound through Chile up through the Atacama Desert before making a right turn through the Andes and back into Argentina (AGAIN!) Having spent 4 months nipping backwards and forwards between Chile and Argentina I had in my mind the desire to get to a NEW country and I was heading for Bolivia ...

Posted by Russ Jones at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)