In Love with Traveling (or) Whiskey on Ice

Pictures:

*Me with Fitz Roy in El Chalten
*Seal happily swimming
*Cormorants and Sea Lions on an island in the Beagle Channel
*Me with Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate


What made me fall in love with traveling:

The following paragraphs are about the adventures through the southern Argentine Patagonia (Rio Gallegos, El Calafate, El Chalten, and a bus/ferry ride across the Strait of Magellan to Ushuaia... El Fin Del Mundo... the southern most city in the world).

Packed my bag on the 4th of March, 2008 and left Puerto Madryn (also leaving behind my familiar friends who I knew from El Bolson). The ride to Rio Gallegos was mostly flat dry land, but a different kind of beauty with herds of sheep, llamas, and the occasional ostrich. What you have to understand about Argentina, is that the central and eastern portions are all flat desert land. A stark comparison to the area I spent the other half of my trip (Mendoza Provence, and the provinces of the Lakes District). I passed through Comodora Rivadavia, which is the largest oil drilling area in the country. Contradictory enough, I also saw my first Argentine windmill here! Apparently in 1907 the town struck it rich when they were drilling for water, and struck oil.

I stopped in Rio Gallegos only to transfer to a bus to go to El Calafate. In Rio Gallegos the wool industry used to be the main success in this area, and now the economy revolves around oilfields. There is a large military base there, and RG played an active role in the Falkland/Malvinas War.

A few lines of my journal from the bus ride to El Calafate: "I just put on my headphones (The Night by Edie Carey). I turned to the side and put my feet on the seat next to me, looking out the window -- the land passing me -- horses on the hills. Life that I've never seen before, but that existed all along -- the world revealing itself to me. I'm falling in love with this planet. My insides are smiling."

In El Calafate I stayed the Hostal de Los Manos. This is a small town of 8,000 that only exists because of one attraction: Perito Moreno Glacier. I went to a church service at a catholic church in town, had a late night dinner in a park with a couple I knew from El Bolson (random reunion in a grocery store). Took some amazing walks along "Lago Argentino" and went to the lagoon which is home to many different types of birds that all feed in a small piece of land by the lake. El Calafate was the first time in my trip when I actually spent the majority of my few days there by myself. It was a refreshing experience.

My third day there I did a mini-trek on the Perito Moreno Glacier. I can still ever-so-vividly see the image of my first view of the glacier. I actually had a tear fall from my eye. I couldn't believe that what I was seeing was real!

I met a couple from St. Paul on the bus! Peter and Nancy. They were nice enough to record this experience with camera since I didn't have one. We got out of our bus, and hopped on a boat which brought us past the glacier to the other side of the lake. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Our guide explained to us how this massive piece of ice forms. It is located at 185 meters above sea level. Usually glaciers form in much higher areas. However, because of the high rainfall in Chile, and the winds from the Pacific, the snow compacts into glaciers. Most glaciers in the world are reseeding right now, Perito Moreno is growing! The glacier is 200 meters high (from the water to the top). Thats 600 feet. The height of the Seers tower! The blue color in the glacier is because the ice compacts so much that light reflects darker colors.

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field covers 13,000 square kilometers and feeds several large glaciers which feed into Lago Argentino, and eventually into the Atlantic via the Santa Cruz River. The Perito Moreno Glacier covers 257 sq. km.

After getting the run down on the facts, we geared up with crampons and started our trek. We dug our feet into the ice, peered down deep blue crevasses filled with crystal clear glacier water. At the end we had "Whiskey on Ice" and alfahores. What more can you ask for?

We got some amazing views of this massive thing from the other side... realizing it is actually about twice the size as it appears viewing it from only one side. Incredible!

What followed this experience was three days in El Chalten. A pueblito of 300... existing to run the national park which includes the famous Fitz Roy. I spent a night in my one person tent in the free camping, only to becoming frozen to the bone. The first thing i did when i shook out of my frozen dream world was book a hostel and sleep for half the day. Luckily I woke to a packed hostel with plenty of interesting people to pass the hours with as I recuperated from my unfortunate night of numb toes. Not sure how many cups of Nescafe I had... but I thought of my daddy who is only now discovering the world of real coffee beans (In the words of Lilly, an El Bolson friend, "We are so damn close to Columbia, why is there no good coffee?). The following day I met a fun chick named Leah who joined me for a day of amazing sites on a day hike which lead us to our ultimate destination... an amazing view of Fitz Roy, a glacier, and Cerro Torre (slightly covered with clouds). My journal is full from hours of thinking thinking thinking... and also complaining about the painfully itchy bug bites I had... and the cold which would soon turn into a sinus infection which I blame on my decision to sleep outside with a bad sleeping bag in southern Patagonia (stay tuned).

After my hunker-down/hiking days in El Chalten I caught myself a bus to Ushuaia. Met Kat and Ed by offering them my veggies which were about to be confiscated before crossing into Chile. These amazing people ended up being my traveling companions for the 3 days following. We took a ferry across the Strait of Magellan, became best friends with immigration staff going in and out of Chile. Arrived in Ushuaia... El Fin Del Mundo (The End of The World). Got the stamp that proves it and everything. It is the southern-most city in the world, but in my eyes can boast more about its beautiful views of the Chilean and Argentine mountains, the Beagle Channel which is the waterfront that Ushuaia sits on, and its beautiful, and giggle-producing animals. The three of us (me, kat and ed) had a blast eating a chocolate beaver (didn't get a chance to see the real beavers), drinking Cape Horn beer (I had a stout, of course), ate at a ""Tendador Libre" (all-you-can eat)... serving asado and Asian cuisine. We took a boat ride in the Beagle Channel and saw cormorants, seals, and sea lions. The seals were so much fun dancing in the water next to us... I just couldn't stop giggling!

Those were happy days, an I would have stayed in Ushuaia longer, but had a plane ticket booked for Buenos Aires on March 15th. Bused to Rosario that same day (I laugh now remembering that I held my pee while waiting in the terminal so as to save 1 peso... yes, they charge you.)

Rosario was great. Beautiful architecture, fun beaches on islands that are just a 10 minute boat ride away, and amazingly beautiful monuments. Saw the birthplace of Che Guevara and walked around the Parque Independencia. And YES... what I'm about to say is true. On March 18th, 2008... I sat in the Hyprodromo in Rosario, Argentina... row 5... with a perfect view of "La Layenda del Rock" (The Legend of Rock). Bob Dylan. Oh, words can't describe. The show was sublime... and I met a porteno (a guy from Buenos Aires) who was a hardcore fan... and enjoyed some beers with myself and others in my hostel who also attended this south american Dylan show. I have to tell you this detail that still makes me laugh to recall. Dylan left the stage and the crowd started cheering... and the "encore cheer" consisted of rhythmed clapping and, "Oh le oh le oh le oh le... Dylan, Dylan."

Rosario was also my first out of two experiences with Argentinean doctors. All I had to do was tell the hostel staff that my ears were hurting and they called a doctor, he showed up in 15 minutes, we had a consultation in Spanish for about 5 minutes, he gave me medicine with four things in it (one of which I recognized as being a decongestant), charged me 12 pesos ($4 USD), and left. Wow... any government that takes care of a FOREIGNER in this way is as close to paradise in my book.

I got better, but still had to take antibiotics while in Buenos Aires, which was the last dot on the map of this crazy trip. Ate at two Mexican restaurants, went to a TON of ferrias (fairs), saw the obelisk, and the bridge on the river thats suppose to be shaped like a tango dancer. Oddly enough, watched some NCAA at an American Bar called Shoeless Joe's the Alamo.

Found a bookstore/music shop/cafe that I loved, and spent time letting my mind roll and adjust to the fact that I was going home (on a flight via Chicago on March 26th).

The word "home" now means something else to me. I think "home" should have the definition, "the place where your being feels alive and at rest at the same time." Home was/is every place I've ever been. I can no longer say that my soul finds rest in only one place. I've seen something new... and know that there is more out there. This world is enormous... and I want to see it all. I sit here, on the porch of my current home of which I am Inkeeper for the LeBlanc House Bed and Breakfast in Minneapolis MN. It has taken me nearly a month to get myself to write this blog. I guess somehow it meant that my trip is really over. That Argentina is really actually thousands of kilometers away, and I am here. To be completely honest with you, who are reading this... I'm depressed. Depressed in a way I've never been depressed before. Culture shock that I can't believe... nightmares... the works. I guess its a sign that what I have experienced truly meant something. It meant something for me... and I believe it means something for the world. I am one more person who has had their eyes opened to the beauties and tragedies of the world. Opened my heart to a different way of living. A way of living the honestly feels more natural to me. Sure, it could be that I will become re-accustomed to the way we live here. But should I? Do I want to? Can I live the way I want to live in a culture that I don't agree with any more? These are the questions that run through my head daily. AND I'm 25 now. Young, but as close to 30 as I am to 20... and that seems to mean something to me. I guess it slaps time in my face. Makes me wish I could rip myself out of this depression to use my time in more positive and productive ways. I've got one remedy in mind, which is a trip to Central America in July with Maisie. I figure I can remedy travel-sick blues with traveling!


So as not to end on this rather dour note... My trip was marvelous. I allowed myself to be challenged, and to lay back and relax. I met amazing people from all over the world who I know I will remain friends with forever. I saw mountains, rivers, lakes, glaciers, islands, etc etc etc..........


This quote is likely the only explanation for my post-travel blues:

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe." ~Anatole France