Tuesday, 10 April 2007
San Juan
Arrived in San Juan on late Monday afternoon. Before taking a bus further north to San Augustin De Valle Fertil, I wandered around the city, and visited the museum that displays the fossils of dinosaurs found at the national park I will hopefully visit on Wednesday.
Los Andes
On Easter Sunday I took the bus from Uspallata up into the high Andes peaks, towards the border with Chile. It was another of those chrystal clear days, with warm sunshine and a cool breeze.
I wanted to get up close to Aconcagua, and I did.
I was really lucky as half an hour after reaching the national park, her summit was occluded by cloud. The Andes, being a mixture of folded rock plus volcanoes, are wonderfully coloured. There are greens, reds, yellows and a palette of all colours in between. They are quite stunning.
I walked around underneath Aconcagua for a couple of hours passing various lakes and look outs. I then walked five miles down to Puente Del Inca, which is one of Argentina's most striking natural wonders. This is a stone bridge over the river covered in sulphuric minerals, deposited by the hot springs there. The ruins of an old spa sit just below the rock bridge. Here I had my late lunch before getting the bus back down to my hostal just outside Uspallata.
It being Easter weekend the hostel and campsite was full of Argentinian families enjoying the mountain locations. They all had their Asado's (BBQ's), and the kids and dogs were running around having great fun. I got talking to two women, Andrea & Mariela, from Mendoza, who wanted to talk to me to improve their English (it is quite rare here to find English speakers, meaning I MUST get to grips with my Castellaño!). We chatted about everything, but by 2am we turned to what it was like living under a dictatorship. They both remembered these bad times, and told me how on the day that the British troops entered Stanley in the Falkland Islands, Galtieri was on the TV saying the Argentines had won a great victory, but having heard the truth on Chilean radio, knew this just to be another lie. They told me of the fear they felt to say something against the regime, and how the police and military would enter peoples homes to question and search. This period of dictatorship is still a bruise on argentinian society. The torture that went on, the babies taken from mothers as punishment for wrongdoing, are all still major issues, and still not fully resolved.
It does appear that most Argentines regard the Falklands invasion as a huge mistake, although they do regard Britains sovereignty as occupation. The invasion though lead to the collaspe of the military dictatorship and the reemergence of democracy.
The Argentian people are just so friendly. I am enjoying this country!
I also met a Belgian family who were 9 months into their round the world trip. Their kids were great. Aged 8 and 11, they amazed me with their English, and told me of all the animals they had seen in Africa, Asia, Antarica and here in South America. Have a look at their website at www.familyaroundtheworld.be.
The mum was of Polish extraction and explained to me as the 8 year old squirted me with water that it was an old Polish tradition on Easter Monday to creep up to people and splash water all over them. I got her back.
The hostal was great fun. Lots of late nights and laughs. Even met a British woman who was living in Santiago and studied at the LSE.
On the Monday I left Uspallata, taking the bus first to Mendoza, then on north to San Juan, for a overnighter before heading further north towards two more national parks I want to explore.
The food here is meat meat meat. I pity any vegetarians! The beef is absolutely lovely, certainly the best I have ever experience. The wine too is tip top quality and so cheap. Even in a restaurant a bottle is less than 2 UKP!
I wanted to get up close to Aconcagua, and I did.
I was really lucky as half an hour after reaching the national park, her summit was occluded by cloud. The Andes, being a mixture of folded rock plus volcanoes, are wonderfully coloured. There are greens, reds, yellows and a palette of all colours in between. They are quite stunning.
I walked around underneath Aconcagua for a couple of hours passing various lakes and look outs. I then walked five miles down to Puente Del Inca, which is one of Argentina's most striking natural wonders. This is a stone bridge over the river covered in sulphuric minerals, deposited by the hot springs there. The ruins of an old spa sit just below the rock bridge. Here I had my late lunch before getting the bus back down to my hostal just outside Uspallata.
It being Easter weekend the hostel and campsite was full of Argentinian families enjoying the mountain locations. They all had their Asado's (BBQ's), and the kids and dogs were running around having great fun. I got talking to two women, Andrea & Mariela, from Mendoza, who wanted to talk to me to improve their English (it is quite rare here to find English speakers, meaning I MUST get to grips with my Castellaño!). We chatted about everything, but by 2am we turned to what it was like living under a dictatorship. They both remembered these bad times, and told me how on the day that the British troops entered Stanley in the Falkland Islands, Galtieri was on the TV saying the Argentines had won a great victory, but having heard the truth on Chilean radio, knew this just to be another lie. They told me of the fear they felt to say something against the regime, and how the police and military would enter peoples homes to question and search. This period of dictatorship is still a bruise on argentinian society. The torture that went on, the babies taken from mothers as punishment for wrongdoing, are all still major issues, and still not fully resolved.
It does appear that most Argentines regard the Falklands invasion as a huge mistake, although they do regard Britains sovereignty as occupation. The invasion though lead to the collaspe of the military dictatorship and the reemergence of democracy.
The Argentian people are just so friendly. I am enjoying this country!
I also met a Belgian family who were 9 months into their round the world trip. Their kids were great. Aged 8 and 11, they amazed me with their English, and told me of all the animals they had seen in Africa, Asia, Antarica and here in South America. Have a look at their website at www.familyaroundtheworld.be.
The mum was of Polish extraction and explained to me as the 8 year old squirted me with water that it was an old Polish tradition on Easter Monday to creep up to people and splash water all over them. I got her back.
The hostal was great fun. Lots of late nights and laughs. Even met a British woman who was living in Santiago and studied at the LSE.
On the Monday I left Uspallata, taking the bus first to Mendoza, then on north to San Juan, for a overnighter before heading further north towards two more national parks I want to explore.
The food here is meat meat meat. I pity any vegetarians! The beef is absolutely lovely, certainly the best I have ever experience. The wine too is tip top quality and so cheap. Even in a restaurant a bottle is less than 2 UKP!
Saturday, 7 April 2007
Aconcagua
I had passed Aconcagua on my journey from Chile to Argentina. It is the highest mountain in all of the Americas and the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas. It is a mountain punctured by a volcano (though now extinct). It is 6900 metres high. It attracts a lot of us travellers as the ascent is relatively easy (no climbing involves just trekking). But right now as it's Autumn here the snow line is creeping downwards and ascents are no longer possible. Not that I was planning to climb it. As I know from Tibet, trekking about 4200 metres is tough due to lack of Oxygen.
So here I am on Good Friday, looking at the majestic east side of this huge mountain.
I am staying at a hostal here near Uspallata, for the whole Easter weekend. Just like Wales it is very busy here as Thursday and Friday were holidays here. I plan on trekking, possibly getting off the beaten track in a 4x4, and just enjoying the fresh air and mountains.
My first little trip here was excellent. The hostel organises horse riding trips and when the moon is bright, they head out on horses to ride in the moonlight. So this is what I did. It was strange at first to be riding up a mountain in the dark, but lovely, as overhead was a mass of stars, the milky way stretching across the sky, and my first ever sighting of the Southern Cross groups of stars. As we rode higher, the nearly full moon rose above the mountains and I was bathed in that wonderful ghostly light. Everything was visible yet full of shadows. Our group headed to the lookout. There the luminescence of the snow on top off Aconcagua was stunning. A beautiful trip.
Today (Saturday) I am doing my blog, looking for tours, and about to head for a huge Argentinian lunch. Not sure how long I will say here, but it is so beautiful so it could be a while.
Happy Easter to you all.
Stowaway 2
Yeah Made it to Argentina. But not many doggy friends wandering about. I´m keeping a low profile here (not difficult when you're only 8cm tall) in case I'm taken by the police and shot.
Here's me up a volcano. Good job it wasn't alight, would have singed my paws and stuffing!
Adios amigos Woof!!
Here's me up a volcano. Good job it wasn't alight, would have singed my paws and stuffing!
Adios amigos Woof!!
830 Cones
On Tuesday I head south from Mendoza to the small down of Mallague. Following the Andes to the west, the road past the famous vineyards that surround Mendoza, up into scrubland that reminded me of the American west. Straight roads, empty of traffic, heading endlessly to the horizon. The feeling of being in cowboy land was strong, as Mallague turned out to be a one street town.
The main reason for coming here was to visit the Payunia national park. Here there is the greatest concentration of volcanic cones of anywhere on the planet. 830 all in all. The park is dominated by the white cone at the centre of the park, and surrounded by endless small cinder cones. It was quite spectacular.
The jiurney down to the park was supberb aslo. Climbing through the Andean pre cordillera, with glimses of the snow capped peaks here and there was quite stunning. The road was mainly dirt track, so although Payunia is only 100km south of Mallague, the journey took 3 bone shaking hours. With gorgeous scenery and vistas at every turn the bones were not complaining.
Geologists are still arguing about the age of this area. It sits separate to the Andes, and certainly appears quite recent (some say 4000 years old, others say much older) as the lava flows are quite visible, and black cinders and ashes cover most of the surface.
I love volcanoes so this day was a treat. Lunch was provided and even included a few cupfuls of Mendozan wine.
Monday, 2 April 2007
Belgrano Incident
Arrived in Mendoza Argentina yesterday afternoon after crossing the Andes in beautiful blue, chrystal clear skies. What a wonderful location for a border crossing, 3200 metres up, adjacent to Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya range. Beautiful up there, will be heading back there soon for trekking and exploring.
Last night was wandering down Avenida Belgrano, not sure if I was heading towards the exclusion zone or away from it, all I know is I was sunk later. I was torpedoed by a wonderful bottle of locally produced wine and the biggest, juiciest steak you can imagine. I was finished off by a few pisco colas, having got chatting to a Dutch chap. The bars are pretty busy here at 3am.
Today I´m going to rent a bike a visit some of the major wineries here. I may get a bit wobbly on the bike later, hopefully. Call it hair of the dog!
Today is a holiday here in Argentina to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict. Today I am going to be Australian (which many folks in Chile initially thought I was! Fair dinkums mate!)
Mendoza is a small city, which in many ways reminds me of the south of France. All streets are lined with sycamore trees to give shade from the strong sunshine. It has a very relaxed feel to it. The difference between Chile and Argentina is quite noticeable. It is much cheaper here. The wine and steak in a restaurant cost 5.00 UKP. The cars here are old (remember Ford Escorts and Sierras), and there are no street dogs (the police remove them and shoot them apparently :-( )
Time to get on my bike.
Change of plan. To get to the wineries you need to get a bus. To use the bus you need a magnetic card. Because of the holiday all the places issuing cards are closed.
Will do the wines and mountains round here again next week or over the weekend, as tomorrow I head south to Malargue for volcanic cones!
Last night was wandering down Avenida Belgrano, not sure if I was heading towards the exclusion zone or away from it, all I know is I was sunk later. I was torpedoed by a wonderful bottle of locally produced wine and the biggest, juiciest steak you can imagine. I was finished off by a few pisco colas, having got chatting to a Dutch chap. The bars are pretty busy here at 3am.
Today I´m going to rent a bike a visit some of the major wineries here. I may get a bit wobbly on the bike later, hopefully. Call it hair of the dog!
Today is a holiday here in Argentina to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict. Today I am going to be Australian (which many folks in Chile initially thought I was! Fair dinkums mate!)
Mendoza is a small city, which in many ways reminds me of the south of France. All streets are lined with sycamore trees to give shade from the strong sunshine. It has a very relaxed feel to it. The difference between Chile and Argentina is quite noticeable. It is much cheaper here. The wine and steak in a restaurant cost 5.00 UKP. The cars here are old (remember Ford Escorts and Sierras), and there are no street dogs (the police remove them and shoot them apparently :-( )
Time to get on my bike.
Change of plan. To get to the wineries you need to get a bus. To use the bus you need a magnetic card. Because of the holiday all the places issuing cards are closed.
Will do the wines and mountains round here again next week or over the weekend, as tomorrow I head south to Malargue for volcanic cones!
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Thoughts On Chile
Tomorrow (Sunday) I head over the Andes to Argentina, where I will spend most of April. After this my plan is to head back over into the northern part of Chile, and a little of Bolivia, before dropping back down into northern Argentina once more.
So after just over two weeks in Chile what are my thoughts.
Of course 6 nights of my 2 weeks were spent on Isla Robinson Crusoe, a remote and wonderful place, but one where opinions on a whole country should not be made. But I have also been to the capital, an Andean vilage, Valparaiso, and a village in the coastal mountain range.
I certainly did not expect to see Chile as developed as it is. I would say this country is already first world, or at least is approaching it fast. It definately feels European. Everything works efficiently well, the public transport system is quite fantastic.
The people are efficient and honest, and appear to work hard. They are latin, but not loud. Social attitudes appear to be modern, they have a woman president after all. There does appear to be a respect for the law.
There are a lot of street dogs and cats. But they, on the whole, appear well nourished and healthy. My guess is that dog owners just let them lose during the day whilst at work.
I knew Chile would be quite expensive. It´s certainly cheaper than Europe, but I would not describe it as a cheap destination, more a moderate cost destination. Argentina should be considerable cheaper than here.
The food here has been excellent, particularly the seafood. Although the food I have had here has been pretty basic, no grand meals out, and I have taken the advantage of the lunchtime menu del dia's. The fruit I have bought has been deliscious. Apparently Chile is one of South America´s market gardens.
Santiago's pollution levels are high, Chileans aspire to clean this up.
What will Argentina hold? Watch this space. One thing for sure I will not be mentioning the Falklands War on Monday (which ironically is an Argentinian holiday day, start of Semana Santa week)
Here are a few pics not yet posted.
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