We took the Saturday Night bus from Puerto Natales, Chile to El Calafate, Argentina. The border crossing was easy and the sunset across the sky provided plenty of entertainment. When we arrived in El Calafate, two things happened. First, the smell of meat cooking descended upon us from all directions because people were barbequing in every possible place. Second, we realized that there was some sort of party/festival going on and the whole town was out (at midnight when we arrived), including children of all ages. We set up our tent at the municipal camp ground (whose main attraction was enormous barbeques at every tent site) ground and got to sleep around 2am. The next day, we made our way by bus to the Perito Moreno Glacier, probably the most famous in all of Argentina. Although the day trip was expensive, when we got to the glacier we knew it was worth it. This glacier is actually considered “stable” because it is growing (by a few meters every day) instead of receding. Its position between two bodies of water (Lago Argentino and Channel de los Tempanos) actually makes for a dramatic viewing experience and a coastline that wraps around the glacier. Even when standing on the viewing platforms, the glacier is very close and its incredible size is apparent. The edge of the glacier, where gigantic pieces of ice are constantly breaking off is 240 feet high! Since we arrived in the afternoon of a particularly sunny day, it was no surprise when an enormous piece broke off its left side as soon as we pulled up. We sat in various places along the viewing platform (actually miles long) with our eyes glued to it. There was constant thundering as pieces broke off into the lake below, but about halfway through our visit, JJ noticed a crack forming in a large section directly in front of us and got his camera ready. Almost instantly, the biggest piece of the day broke off right in front of us! The pictures in the sequence he took speak for themselves! A few hours later, just as we were about to leave, I was taking a video and another huge chunk broke off! When we got back to town, it was already 10pm, but that is just about the time that it seems most Argentines have dinner. So, we decided to get some dinner also, at a Parrilla, a special meat grilling restaurant (that also served local trout for me!). JJ could not resist the meat sampler platter (of course, it was all you can eat) and about 2 hours later, we walked out after polishing off a bottle of red wine and eating more food than we could have imagined.
The next day, we took a very early bus to El Chalten, Argentina, to begin exploring Los Glaciares National Park. The weather was so nice when we arrived in town, the bus driver pulled off at a viewpoint so we could get a view of the famous Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre peaks the park is famous for. After planning our route at the Park Service Office, we headed to the market to get our supplies, where we just missed it being open. Every day, everything in the El Chalten closes from 1pm to 4:30pm, for lunch? siesta? Watching football (soccer)? No one knows why, but everything mysteriously closes! So we killed some time by eating as many empanadas as we could from a little bakery we found and JJ journeyed to some random field to hard boil eggs for our backpacking trip. After our 9 day excursion in Torres del Paine, we were happy to fill our bags with veggies and other tasty foods. Later in the afternoon, we began hiking on the trail to Laguna Torre. We passed over hills and walked through small valleys, although the clouds did not grant us a view of Cerro Torre until we reached our campsite for the night, De Agostini. We had a massive dinner of rice, lentils, beets, carrots, onion, garlic, and stock. JJ concocted this tasty, nutritious idea from a crazy Canadian guy, Cameron, we met in Torres Del Paine. Thus, the dish has earned its name, “Cam Slop.”
The next morning, we woke up to cloudy skies, but decided to walk to the mirador next to Glacier Grande, above Laguna Torre. We pretty much walked up and over the perimeter of the lake, to earn closer views of Glacier Grande. On the way back, JJ stopped dead in his tracks to show me an Andean Condor (probably juvenile, but still huge!) perched on a rock only about 20 feet in front of us. It was just looking at us! I could not believe how close we were to it, how big it was, and how lucky we were that they only eat things that are already dead! After a few minutes, it took off, and we were just awestruck. It is so rare to get that close to an Andean Condor and really, any wildlife in Patagonia. The terrain we have been in is similar in many ways to Alaska, but there is no wildlife to dot the scenery. We have met a handful of Alaskans that are kind of creeped out by the place because they can keep their food in their tent and nothing will take it, not even the other people at the campsite! After lunch, we hiked through the forest to our next camping site at the base of Laguna de los Tres and Cerro Fitz Roy, Poincenot, where we would base camp for two nights.
The next morning, the skies cleared and we began our hike straight up the trail to Cerro Fitz Roy. After quite a tough climb, we reached the base of Laguna de los Tres and awed at the steep rock formations in front of us. We decided this was a perfect lunch spot and made our ridiculous sandwiches with fresh veggies while we watched the clouds and light change around Cerro Fitz Roy. After we made our way down, we continued through the river valley, and over a field of boulders until we got to Piedras Blancas. Piedras Blancas is an incredible blue glacier hanging off a narrow cliff, with waterfalls coming off it. We decided not to go anywhere else, but to stay there lying in view of the glacier with the warm sun.
The next day was clear and perfect again! We hiked out of the campsite towards Laguna Capri. The spot was beautiful and the views of Cerro Fitz Roy were fantastic. We continued on the trail back to El Chalten, quickly set up our tent in a campground, grabbed a ton of empanadas and pastries for lunch, then continued to the Park Service Office. We began hiking towards Loma del Pilegue Tombado, where we heard you could get views of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy all in one place. The trail gradually rose uphill the entire way. We walked through several different types of forests, cow pastures, and finally onto a rocky field above the tree line. We were rewarded for our 3 plus hours of uphill with spectacular views of the two famous peaks and the entire Los Glaciares National Park! We continued hiking up a very steep mountain of shale until we felt like we were on top of the world. When we made it back down, JJ made a delicious spaghetti supper for us and we drank a bottle of wine, very happy to give our legs a rest after one of our longest days of hiking.
The next day we were planning to hike back to Laguna Capri to relax and spend the day, but the weather got so ugly that we decided to make our way back to El Calafate (the first of many parts to our journey back to Punta Arenas, Chile to make our connecting flights to Los Angeles on March 2nd!). We got really lucky with a few beautiful days here in Argentina, but now it is time to make our way back to Chile!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Torres del Paine and Patagonia, Chile
Let the camping begin! We made our way from the airport in Punta Arenas, Chile (now is the time to look at a map and see how far south this actually is) to Hostal Independencia and set up our tent. Our rumbling tummies took us over to a local seafood restaurant where we filled up and then went back to have a nap. We spent the later parts of the afternoon walking around Punta Arenas and getting oriented, checking out the grocery stores and picking up random supplies, and going to the central plaza to touch the big toe on the statue of Magellan. Local lore states that if you touch his toe, you will come back to Patagonia one day!
The next day, we took a bus to Puerto Natales, about 2.5 hours north of Punta Arenas. Puerto Natales is the gateway city to Torres del Paine National Park and as we pulled into town, I got really excited seeing the gorgeous mountains and snowy peaks surrounding the bay the town is situated on. We set up our tent at Hostal Josmar 2 and went to the 3pm talk at Erratic Rock, an American owned gear shop. One hour and a half later, it seemed as though we knew everything there was to know about Torres Del Paine and the various trail options. We had the time to do the full circuit loop around the park, so we set off from there and prepared our minds, our bodies, and our packs (with lots of food!) for the next 8 days.
DAY 1
We rose early and took the 2 hour bus ride into the park, passing gorgeous mountains, valleys, and lakes along the way. Once in the park, we saw wild vicunas (vanacos?), a relative of the camel, and some Andean Condors Passing overhead. We got off at park “administration”, the very last stop on the bus. While making our tuna and tortilla lunch, we got our first taste of the famous Patagonia wind. We heard that the weather and wind in Torres Del Paine was unpredictable, but there was nothing like actually experiencing it. After browsing the informational posters and several large maps at the park administration, we started hiking on our first day of the trek (known as the tail of the Q), which turned out to only be two hours of relatively flat terrain we were thankful for. The view to our right was of the entire Paine Mastiff, consisting of sedimentary rock with a main layer of a granite intrusion that was heated and uplifted about 12 million years ago. The Paine Mastiff stands alone and is not connected to the Andes at all, although the surrounding mountains (part of the Andes range) make the scenery even more stunning! We also learned that all the water running through the park is the result of melt off from two massive glaciers. We arrived at our first campsite, Las Carratas, and chose a spot that would best shelter us from the wind. The view and the surrounding campsite area consisted of an overlook above a wide, blue glacial melt river and dead trees, twisted, and gnarled into shapes by wind and fire. We had a nice dinner of queso risotto and a massive chocolate bar then chatted with the other campers before heading to sleep in our tent. The stars were fantastic after the sunset at about 10pm!
DAY 2
We woke up to a magenta colored sky for sunrise! We began walking up and over rolling hills into a river valley where we got an excellent view (mirador) of Lake Pehoe and the Paine Mastiff. It was really neat to be looking into the valleys we would hike into for the next few days. Just as the rain began to come down, we took our lunch break in a nice shelter for campers. From there, we headed along the “W” path towards the base of the French Valley and Campamento Italiano. The rain was off and on and we passed several high mountain glaciers, Lago Skottsberg, and lots of other hikers! When we crossed the river we had been following, we found the most amazing campsite right next to the river (it was the last one and very far from the bathrooms, but still it was the best!)! We had an incredible view of the French Glacier from our tent door. JJ could not resist the urge to give himself a wash in the freezing, ice cold, glacial water (seriously, the water was coming off the glacier only about a mile from our tent site). I dipped my feet in and they almost instantly went numb, just to give you an idea of how cold the water was. After pasta dinner and our nightly chocolate bar, it was time to tell the glacier goodnight.
DAY 3
The sky was clear blue when we woke up, giving us an unbelievable view! The clouds quickly rolled in after breakfast, but we continued with our plans to spend the day hiking up the French Valley and back without our heavy backpacks. The trail began to climb along rocks and shale left as the glacier has scraped up the valley over thousands of years. We had been hearing the “white thunder” from the glacier as it dropped huge chunks of ice all morning due to the intense sunshine, but as soon as we got to a nice viewpoint, a massive piece broke off! We got some great views and then continued our hike along the right side, passing by the French Glacier and into the depths of the valley. We walked through rolling forests and over small hills for about 2 hours until we finally climbed up to the mirador, where we got a very nice 360 degree view of the whole French Valley for our lunch spot! There were lots of people at the viewpoint and we longed for less crowded trails and climbing over the mountain passes we saw in the distance (which we would get to a few days later!). Back at Campamento Italiano, we decided to stay there a second night instead of hiking to Los Cuernos because our spot was so nice. We washed out some clothes in the river and relaxed before our long day of hiking the next day. Although, the wind got to be so strong later in the evening we had a sandstorm inside our tent because of the mesh lining!
DAY 4
We actually woke up late because of our battles with the wind and sand. But we felt well rested and ready to battle the wind along the trail. For our lunch stop at Los Cuernos, it was so windy that our Peanut Butter and Jelly filled tortillas almost blew away! As we walked along the shore of Lake Pehoe, we saw a waterspout (tornado that forms over water) due to the high wind! We thought the wind had died off a bit as we took a marked shortcut towards Refugio Chileno that gave us great views of crystal blue Lake Pehoe. Well, when we got to the pass into the valley of the Torres we realized we were wrong! We could actually see the wind and rain coming out of the valley towards us in sheets! We bundled up as quickly as possible (I sort of looked like a bank robber with my buff scarf wrapped around my head) and headed into some of the strongest winds I have ever faced in my life, but at least the trail was downhill from there! We took a rest stop from the weather at Refugio Chileno, where we sat by a warm fire and shared a nice tall glass of red wine! Realizing that the rain and wind were not going to stop, we decided to put our packs back on and head the hour more up the trail to Campamento Los Torres. The way was uphill, but sheltered by trees most of the way. When we got to the campsite, we made our way to site 29, where our friends Caitlin and PJ had left us some buried treasure when they were at the same campsite only about 2 and a half weeks before us! We dug up the note they wrote us following their directions and read it before bed, putting huge smiles on our faces!
DAY 5
Most campers wake up at 5:30am to hike up 45 more minutes to the view of the famous “Torres”, the three towers of Torres Del Paine National Park. We heard the alarm go off, just barely, due to the loud rain hammering down on our tent. We decided not to get up and let the weather tell us what to do, which was obviously to sleep until about 11am. By lunch time, the skies had cleared and it had turned into a beautiful day! We took all of our things outside the campsite and onto a rock field to dry out. Everything was crisp and as good as new in about 30 minutes thanks to the wind and sunshine combo. We saw a few large foxes walking through the rock field while we were waiting. After having lunch, we decided to hike up and see the Torres. The short hike was steep and well worth the views! The Torres sit at the base of a little lake and the views were really clear! This was a very romantic spot to spend Valentines Day together. We decided that we would spend the night at the campsite again and try our luck for the famous orange sunrise views of the Torres in the morning. We had the best dinner of the trip which was pasta with pesto sauce and a ton of parmesan cheese and felt happy about our decision to stay.
DAY 6
We woke up at 5:30am to partly cloudy skies, but were determined to try to see those first rays of sunshine on the Torres. So, we geared up in all our clothes, packed the stove and our breakfast, then put on the headlamps and began our hike up to the viewpoint. When we got to the top, you could not see the Torres, but you could see lots of snow! The sunrise was gorgeous, but you could not see the rays of light or even the towers due the heavy clouds all around us. The weather at that high altitude was freezing, but with JJ’s expert cooking skills, he got the stove fired up and we enjoyed our hot coffee and oatmeal while trying to wait out the weather. We gave up waiting when quarter sized snowflakes started falling from the sky and made our way back to the campsite. We quickly packed up the tent and headed down and out of the valley. We made our way to the Hotel Las Torres just in time for lunch, which JJ initiated with an ice cream and roll of cookies he bought from the lodge store. We used the afternoon sunshine to dry out our tent and continued hiking into the “backside” of the park. Although it was mostly sunny we battled wind, rain, wind, rain, wind, and rain constantly, but only for a few minutes before the sunshine came out again. The weather is so crazy here! We walked over rolling hills and got dramatic views of lakes and neighboring mountains. We crossed into a river valley and then walked through it finally reaching Campamento Seron. We ate dinner, watched for Condors (that we thought would come get the dead horse in the field nearby the campground – but they didn’t show up), talked to some nice Americans and one Dutch guy, and then headed to sleep.
DAY 7
We woke up to a beautiful day and no condors, but a lot of hiking to get under way (19 miles to be exact!), so we set out after breakfast and immediately began climbing out of the river valley we were in. We filled up our water at a spring along the way and got asked questions in Hebrew by a crew of Israelis for about the 10th time since we started the circuit in Torres Del Paine. Apparently, JJ or me, or both of us appear to be Israeli – and there are a lot of Israelis in Chile right now! So, after politely explaining that we knew the language they were speaking to us was Hebrew, but no, we did not know any of it, and yes, we were American Jews, we began to hike again along the trail. We got amazing views of the glaciers and mountains surrounding us on the backside and it turned out to be the prettiest day with the most spectacular scenery we had seen so far in Torres Del Paine. After finding the Dutch guy’s camera along the trail, then walked with him to lunch at Refugio Dickson. At Refugio Dickson, we had to stock up on supplies, since we extended our trip from 8 days to 9 days and we were hoping to buy some pasta, packaged foods, etc. However, being Chile and all, at the mini-store all we could manage to buy were a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a can of tuna, mayonnaise, chocolate bars, cookies, and milky way bars. JJ had a complete nutrition plan ready to tell me how these foods would help maximize our hiking abilities, but I was really too hungry to think about it, so we ate! We had a half dozen eggs and bread with lunch, right after JJ fixed some complicated problem with his stove using some tools he produced from his backpack. I asked him why he had the tools and he said he always did just in case, so I was very happy for the extra weight for a record of 5 minutes, seeing as he fixed the stove. After lunch, we headed up and up into the mountains and then dropped into a river valley, making our way to Campamento Los Perros, which sits at the base of the Los Perros Glacier. We camped next to some nice American guys from Wisconsin and ate our dinner in the cook shed due to the warmth coming from the door! We treated ourselves to a can of pinapple for desert, which we heated up on the stove for a warm, tasty treat!
DAY 8
I woke up very excited to climb over the John Gardner Pass, which I think was the highlight of the backside circuit. The trail began to climb almost as soon as we left the campsite and after a series of muddy forested sections, we made our way to the rock field below the pass. It was a little intimidating to see hikers so far above us and in the distance, but our packs were light, the weather was perfect, and we were feeling good. We made it to the top of the pass about 2 and a half hours after we started hiking and the views were absolutely spectacular of the great southern ice field on the other side. I had seen it before in pictures, but the sheer size of the ice field was breathtaking. I took so many pictures of this incredible sight and stopped JJ frequently just so I could stare at it. We began our immediate descent towards the edge of the ice field, Glacier Grey, heading down through a forest on an incredibly steep section of the trail. For the next 3 hours we went almost straight downhill and thanked our lucky stars we did not have knee problems. After a few more hours, climbing down and up some ladders, and repeatedly enjoying the amazing views, we made it to Camapamento Los Guardas, our last campsite. The campsite was really quiet and not heavily populated with campers, so we really enjoyed our stay there, especially with the view of the edge of glacier grey almost all to ourselves!
DAY 9
In the morning, we woke up before sunrise to began heading down to the Catamaran dock in front of Paine Grande Lodge. We were moving incredibly fast, but also enjoying the early morning sights. Within the first 30 minutes, JJ pointed out a small hawk sitting in a branch only about 1 foot from where we were standing! We saw Andean Condors zooming over the hills above us and enjoyed the last views we had of Glacier Grey, the southern ice field, and Lago Grey. After battling more occasional wind gusts, we finally made our way back to Lago Pehoe and to the Catamaran dock. Some really nice Americans we met with a gluten allergy that were staying at the nice lodge and gave us their amazing veggie sandwiches when we got there because they could not eat them, but we sure could! We enjoyed the pretty and scenic ride in the catamaran alongside the park we had just walked through and around! After returning to Puerto Natales, we went out for a celebratory dinner at a local Chilean/American owned Brew/Pub, Bagueles (wild horses). The food was excellent and we talked about the highlights of the trip for hours over our Pale Ales.
The next day, we took a bus to Puerto Natales, about 2.5 hours north of Punta Arenas. Puerto Natales is the gateway city to Torres del Paine National Park and as we pulled into town, I got really excited seeing the gorgeous mountains and snowy peaks surrounding the bay the town is situated on. We set up our tent at Hostal Josmar 2 and went to the 3pm talk at Erratic Rock, an American owned gear shop. One hour and a half later, it seemed as though we knew everything there was to know about Torres Del Paine and the various trail options. We had the time to do the full circuit loop around the park, so we set off from there and prepared our minds, our bodies, and our packs (with lots of food!) for the next 8 days.
DAY 1
We rose early and took the 2 hour bus ride into the park, passing gorgeous mountains, valleys, and lakes along the way. Once in the park, we saw wild vicunas (vanacos?), a relative of the camel, and some Andean Condors Passing overhead. We got off at park “administration”, the very last stop on the bus. While making our tuna and tortilla lunch, we got our first taste of the famous Patagonia wind. We heard that the weather and wind in Torres Del Paine was unpredictable, but there was nothing like actually experiencing it. After browsing the informational posters and several large maps at the park administration, we started hiking on our first day of the trek (known as the tail of the Q), which turned out to only be two hours of relatively flat terrain we were thankful for. The view to our right was of the entire Paine Mastiff, consisting of sedimentary rock with a main layer of a granite intrusion that was heated and uplifted about 12 million years ago. The Paine Mastiff stands alone and is not connected to the Andes at all, although the surrounding mountains (part of the Andes range) make the scenery even more stunning! We also learned that all the water running through the park is the result of melt off from two massive glaciers. We arrived at our first campsite, Las Carratas, and chose a spot that would best shelter us from the wind. The view and the surrounding campsite area consisted of an overlook above a wide, blue glacial melt river and dead trees, twisted, and gnarled into shapes by wind and fire. We had a nice dinner of queso risotto and a massive chocolate bar then chatted with the other campers before heading to sleep in our tent. The stars were fantastic after the sunset at about 10pm!
DAY 2
We woke up to a magenta colored sky for sunrise! We began walking up and over rolling hills into a river valley where we got an excellent view (mirador) of Lake Pehoe and the Paine Mastiff. It was really neat to be looking into the valleys we would hike into for the next few days. Just as the rain began to come down, we took our lunch break in a nice shelter for campers. From there, we headed along the “W” path towards the base of the French Valley and Campamento Italiano. The rain was off and on and we passed several high mountain glaciers, Lago Skottsberg, and lots of other hikers! When we crossed the river we had been following, we found the most amazing campsite right next to the river (it was the last one and very far from the bathrooms, but still it was the best!)! We had an incredible view of the French Glacier from our tent door. JJ could not resist the urge to give himself a wash in the freezing, ice cold, glacial water (seriously, the water was coming off the glacier only about a mile from our tent site). I dipped my feet in and they almost instantly went numb, just to give you an idea of how cold the water was. After pasta dinner and our nightly chocolate bar, it was time to tell the glacier goodnight.
DAY 3
The sky was clear blue when we woke up, giving us an unbelievable view! The clouds quickly rolled in after breakfast, but we continued with our plans to spend the day hiking up the French Valley and back without our heavy backpacks. The trail began to climb along rocks and shale left as the glacier has scraped up the valley over thousands of years. We had been hearing the “white thunder” from the glacier as it dropped huge chunks of ice all morning due to the intense sunshine, but as soon as we got to a nice viewpoint, a massive piece broke off! We got some great views and then continued our hike along the right side, passing by the French Glacier and into the depths of the valley. We walked through rolling forests and over small hills for about 2 hours until we finally climbed up to the mirador, where we got a very nice 360 degree view of the whole French Valley for our lunch spot! There were lots of people at the viewpoint and we longed for less crowded trails and climbing over the mountain passes we saw in the distance (which we would get to a few days later!). Back at Campamento Italiano, we decided to stay there a second night instead of hiking to Los Cuernos because our spot was so nice. We washed out some clothes in the river and relaxed before our long day of hiking the next day. Although, the wind got to be so strong later in the evening we had a sandstorm inside our tent because of the mesh lining!
DAY 4
We actually woke up late because of our battles with the wind and sand. But we felt well rested and ready to battle the wind along the trail. For our lunch stop at Los Cuernos, it was so windy that our Peanut Butter and Jelly filled tortillas almost blew away! As we walked along the shore of Lake Pehoe, we saw a waterspout (tornado that forms over water) due to the high wind! We thought the wind had died off a bit as we took a marked shortcut towards Refugio Chileno that gave us great views of crystal blue Lake Pehoe. Well, when we got to the pass into the valley of the Torres we realized we were wrong! We could actually see the wind and rain coming out of the valley towards us in sheets! We bundled up as quickly as possible (I sort of looked like a bank robber with my buff scarf wrapped around my head) and headed into some of the strongest winds I have ever faced in my life, but at least the trail was downhill from there! We took a rest stop from the weather at Refugio Chileno, where we sat by a warm fire and shared a nice tall glass of red wine! Realizing that the rain and wind were not going to stop, we decided to put our packs back on and head the hour more up the trail to Campamento Los Torres. The way was uphill, but sheltered by trees most of the way. When we got to the campsite, we made our way to site 29, where our friends Caitlin and PJ had left us some buried treasure when they were at the same campsite only about 2 and a half weeks before us! We dug up the note they wrote us following their directions and read it before bed, putting huge smiles on our faces!
DAY 5
Most campers wake up at 5:30am to hike up 45 more minutes to the view of the famous “Torres”, the three towers of Torres Del Paine National Park. We heard the alarm go off, just barely, due to the loud rain hammering down on our tent. We decided not to get up and let the weather tell us what to do, which was obviously to sleep until about 11am. By lunch time, the skies had cleared and it had turned into a beautiful day! We took all of our things outside the campsite and onto a rock field to dry out. Everything was crisp and as good as new in about 30 minutes thanks to the wind and sunshine combo. We saw a few large foxes walking through the rock field while we were waiting. After having lunch, we decided to hike up and see the Torres. The short hike was steep and well worth the views! The Torres sit at the base of a little lake and the views were really clear! This was a very romantic spot to spend Valentines Day together. We decided that we would spend the night at the campsite again and try our luck for the famous orange sunrise views of the Torres in the morning. We had the best dinner of the trip which was pasta with pesto sauce and a ton of parmesan cheese and felt happy about our decision to stay.
DAY 6
We woke up at 5:30am to partly cloudy skies, but were determined to try to see those first rays of sunshine on the Torres. So, we geared up in all our clothes, packed the stove and our breakfast, then put on the headlamps and began our hike up to the viewpoint. When we got to the top, you could not see the Torres, but you could see lots of snow! The sunrise was gorgeous, but you could not see the rays of light or even the towers due the heavy clouds all around us. The weather at that high altitude was freezing, but with JJ’s expert cooking skills, he got the stove fired up and we enjoyed our hot coffee and oatmeal while trying to wait out the weather. We gave up waiting when quarter sized snowflakes started falling from the sky and made our way back to the campsite. We quickly packed up the tent and headed down and out of the valley. We made our way to the Hotel Las Torres just in time for lunch, which JJ initiated with an ice cream and roll of cookies he bought from the lodge store. We used the afternoon sunshine to dry out our tent and continued hiking into the “backside” of the park. Although it was mostly sunny we battled wind, rain, wind, rain, wind, and rain constantly, but only for a few minutes before the sunshine came out again. The weather is so crazy here! We walked over rolling hills and got dramatic views of lakes and neighboring mountains. We crossed into a river valley and then walked through it finally reaching Campamento Seron. We ate dinner, watched for Condors (that we thought would come get the dead horse in the field nearby the campground – but they didn’t show up), talked to some nice Americans and one Dutch guy, and then headed to sleep.
DAY 7
We woke up to a beautiful day and no condors, but a lot of hiking to get under way (19 miles to be exact!), so we set out after breakfast and immediately began climbing out of the river valley we were in. We filled up our water at a spring along the way and got asked questions in Hebrew by a crew of Israelis for about the 10th time since we started the circuit in Torres Del Paine. Apparently, JJ or me, or both of us appear to be Israeli – and there are a lot of Israelis in Chile right now! So, after politely explaining that we knew the language they were speaking to us was Hebrew, but no, we did not know any of it, and yes, we were American Jews, we began to hike again along the trail. We got amazing views of the glaciers and mountains surrounding us on the backside and it turned out to be the prettiest day with the most spectacular scenery we had seen so far in Torres Del Paine. After finding the Dutch guy’s camera along the trail, then walked with him to lunch at Refugio Dickson. At Refugio Dickson, we had to stock up on supplies, since we extended our trip from 8 days to 9 days and we were hoping to buy some pasta, packaged foods, etc. However, being Chile and all, at the mini-store all we could manage to buy were a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a can of tuna, mayonnaise, chocolate bars, cookies, and milky way bars. JJ had a complete nutrition plan ready to tell me how these foods would help maximize our hiking abilities, but I was really too hungry to think about it, so we ate! We had a half dozen eggs and bread with lunch, right after JJ fixed some complicated problem with his stove using some tools he produced from his backpack. I asked him why he had the tools and he said he always did just in case, so I was very happy for the extra weight for a record of 5 minutes, seeing as he fixed the stove. After lunch, we headed up and up into the mountains and then dropped into a river valley, making our way to Campamento Los Perros, which sits at the base of the Los Perros Glacier. We camped next to some nice American guys from Wisconsin and ate our dinner in the cook shed due to the warmth coming from the door! We treated ourselves to a can of pinapple for desert, which we heated up on the stove for a warm, tasty treat!
DAY 8
I woke up very excited to climb over the John Gardner Pass, which I think was the highlight of the backside circuit. The trail began to climb almost as soon as we left the campsite and after a series of muddy forested sections, we made our way to the rock field below the pass. It was a little intimidating to see hikers so far above us and in the distance, but our packs were light, the weather was perfect, and we were feeling good. We made it to the top of the pass about 2 and a half hours after we started hiking and the views were absolutely spectacular of the great southern ice field on the other side. I had seen it before in pictures, but the sheer size of the ice field was breathtaking. I took so many pictures of this incredible sight and stopped JJ frequently just so I could stare at it. We began our immediate descent towards the edge of the ice field, Glacier Grey, heading down through a forest on an incredibly steep section of the trail. For the next 3 hours we went almost straight downhill and thanked our lucky stars we did not have knee problems. After a few more hours, climbing down and up some ladders, and repeatedly enjoying the amazing views, we made it to Camapamento Los Guardas, our last campsite. The campsite was really quiet and not heavily populated with campers, so we really enjoyed our stay there, especially with the view of the edge of glacier grey almost all to ourselves!
DAY 9
In the morning, we woke up before sunrise to began heading down to the Catamaran dock in front of Paine Grande Lodge. We were moving incredibly fast, but also enjoying the early morning sights. Within the first 30 minutes, JJ pointed out a small hawk sitting in a branch only about 1 foot from where we were standing! We saw Andean Condors zooming over the hills above us and enjoyed the last views we had of Glacier Grey, the southern ice field, and Lago Grey. After battling more occasional wind gusts, we finally made our way back to Lago Pehoe and to the Catamaran dock. Some really nice Americans we met with a gluten allergy that were staying at the nice lodge and gave us their amazing veggie sandwiches when we got there because they could not eat them, but we sure could! We enjoyed the pretty and scenic ride in the catamaran alongside the park we had just walked through and around! After returning to Puerto Natales, we went out for a celebratory dinner at a local Chilean/American owned Brew/Pub, Bagueles (wild horses). The food was excellent and we talked about the highlights of the trip for hours over our Pale Ales.
Santiago, Chile
Our flight from Lima arrived very late at night, but Helena was waiting up for us in Providencia (the neighborhood in Santiago where her apartment is located). We were so happy to see her, even though we had never met in person! The next morning we made a typical breakfast with avocado, tomato, and cheese she had bought from the store while we were sleeping. What a hostess! Then we headed out on Helena’s guided walking tour of the Provedecia area. JJ and I immediately felt like we were walking around in Santa Monica during the summer time. It was very warm, but there was a cool breeze in the air and not a cloud in the sky. In her area, the city seemed incredibly modern and almost western European. We had a nice lunch and headed out again to navigate the Santiago metro system and make our way to the out-of-town train that would take us south of Santiago.
Helena and her family invited us to come visit their family farm and apple orchard in the San Fernando Valley of Chile. This is actually funny on numerous levels since Helena and JJ grew up only a few miles away from each other in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. We got some ice cream because we could not resist seeing it everywhere we went (everyone in Chile is always eating ice cream! Non-stop!!! There are even McDonalds that only serve ice cream!) and watched the landscape change for the next 2 hours. When we got off the train, Helena’s father was waiting for us. He drove us to the farm in the “village” of Tres Puentes (3 bridges). We met her mother, her sister, and her nephew, Lucas, also known as “El Nino Velos” (the very fast boy!). Everyone made us feel so welcome and like we were a part of the family. The farm property was gorgeous and we were amazed by all of the apple trees surrounding us! Too bad they were not going to be ripe for picking for a few more weeks! Granny smith, pink lady, gala, red chief, etc. etc.! The Rojas family also had chickens, a small flock of geese, cats, and a dog named Jack. After playing with Lucas and bribing him with sweets, we sat down to late afternoon tea/dinner with their family and got to sample the local produce and homemade bread! More family friends arrived later in the evening and we began to try many, many bottles of Chilean wine!
The next day, JJ and I borrowed some bikes and took a ride for about an hour around the Rojas farm. We saw many different orchards and enjoyed the beautiful green scenery. The blackberry bushes covering the fences along the road were just too tempting, so we also stopped many times to sample them. We got a little lost, but made it back just in time for lunch. The table had moved from the pretty corner of the yard we had eaten at the night before to a section of the yard next to the small river flowing through the property (irrigating the soil of the farm). Helena’s mom called this a new “restaurant” and served us the most incredible lunch that included potatoes, tomatoes, salad, green beans, fish, chicken, wine, watermelon, and other delicious food from the neighboring farms! We were so full after lunch we had to take a nap. I woke up in the afternoon to make fresh bread with Helena. I have no idea how much yeast, flour, water, salt, and vegetable shortening when into the dough, but the result turned out to be delicious! Helena took us into the town of San Fernando to show us around and to pick up her sister from the train station. We took a walk through town and passed through some very nice parks. After another good meal that evening, Helena’s mom walked us over to the tomato orchard at one of the neighbor’s homes. We walked around the back of a home and then into a gigantic greenhouse that seemed to go on forever with some of the most gorgeous (and tastiest) tomatoes I have ever seen! We also were given some freshly picked peaches and nectarines by the nice lady who grew the tomatoes. Of course, JJ and I devoured on the amazing fruit right there in front of her to show our gratitude! On the walk back we enveloped by a clear sky full of shining stars. We could see Orion’s belt and the Southern Cross.
The next morning we woke up and had another breakfast of fresh, delicious eggs from their chickens, and said our goodbyes to Helena’s mom, sister, and Lucas. We had such a fantastic time visiting them and left for Santiago with pounds of tomatoes, pears, and fresh eggs. After a filling lunch where I got corn tamale called homida, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the apartment and avoiding the heat. JJ went out to buy some empanadas to go with our wine and we went out to have few pisco sour’s and to stroll down Suecia (a popular street for clubbing in Provedencia on a Friday night). Some of the names and themes of the bars on Suecia made me laugh out loud, like “Louisiana” with a river boat theme, and “Bed Rock” with a Flintstones theme.
The next day, Helena joined us for a day trip to Valparaiso, a very hilly, pirate-ish, historical port-city on the coast from Santiago. When we arrived in “Valpo” via bus and a metro from pretty Vina del Mar, Helena walked us straight to her favorite seafood restaurant above a local produce market. It was about 2pm on Saturday afternoon and the place was full of people! It was the best looking food I had seen in Chile and when we finally got a table, we could not order fast enough, everything looked so good! I got a fish stew with clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc! JJ and Helena had seafood platters with different local catches. JJ’s fish was known as a congor eel, which apparently isn’t an eel at all, but a very long, great-tasting fish. After lunch, we made our way walking up the very steep hills of Valpo towards Pablo Neruda’s home, the famous Chilean poet and politician. He had several homes, but the one in Valpo is known as La Sebastiana, after the original Spanish architect.
The home is incredible because of his eclectic, but somehow functional taste, and the 360 degree view of the entire Valpo area. JJ and I just about drooled on the floor when we saw the incredible ocean view he had from almost every room. Too bad you couldn’t take pictures of the inside of the house! We joined back with Helena and made our way down, across the hills towards the port where we could watch the big cruise boats and the small tourist boats. Later in the evening after walking through the lower parts of the city, we found something hot to drink, watched JJ pound back a local hot dog “El Italiano” (with Tomatoes, Avocado and Mayo, it looks like the Italian flag) with everything on it and piece of banana cake, then got back on the bus for Santiago.
JJ and I decided that the next day would be devoted to our own walking tour of Santiago. We set out for a long day of walking a sight-seeing after a filling breakfast of some more fresh San Fernando eggs! We began to walk along the river and through a modern sculpture garden, tried out some free and strange exercise equipment, then we crossed another big park area and to “the best ice cream shop in Santiago”, Emporio Santa Rosa. I chose berries and mint, while JJ had a cone of rich chocolate. We sat in Parque Forrestal and enjoyed the shade of the trees before setting out on the bohemian side-street, Lastarria. We made our way to the main boulevard, Benardo O’Higgins and headed down to the La Moneda, the capital building in Santiago. When we got to La Moneda, we learned that there had been a bike race, the “Tour de Chile” completed there in the morning, which explained the confetti everywhere! I admired the gigantic Chilean flag, very similar to the Texas flag, before we headed down to the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, the museum under the capital. Before going in, we decided to see if we could get an ice-coffee at one of the trendy cafes inside, so we asked for a café helado. The bartender could speak some English and too be sure, we asked if we just ordered an ice coffee and they said, yes of course. So out came two ice cream glasses full of vanilla ice cream, and blended ice and coffee, which was promptly poured on top, then covered with whipped cream. Not what we wanted, but so good! So, here is to having ice cream more than once in a day and also not always getting what you want! We made our way with a very strong sugar rush down into the museum, where we first viewed early 1900’s black and white print of Patagonia, Chile, the region we would next visit! Next, we entered the main exhibition, “Art in America”, which covered modern works of art from North and South American artists. As soon as we entered, a very peppy and tall, English speaking Chilean girl asked us if we wanted to have a quick walk through with her in a free guided tour! Of course, we took advantage of this as she walked us quickly through the exhibit, pointing out the best works from various artists and asking inquisitive questions. Our favorites included a large pencil drawing that was done with such skill it looked like a photograph, a more liberal and creative drawing that gave the illusion of being wrinkled from the way it was drawn, and a flip flop raft made with barbed wire. We really enjoyed the exhibit, especially with the surprise of a rare Any Warhol print of a Native American woman in neon colors.
After the positive museum experience, we made our way to another one of Neruda’s homes at the base of Cerro San Cristobal. We wound our way through an interesting and colorful neighborhood of nice houses until we found his, right on time for our tour! Our strange, but very informative tour guide took us through Neruda’s Santiago Home, known as La Chascona, the crazy haired woman! He gave the house this name on account of the mistress he had at the time. We liked this house very much and were impressed by the mix of architecture to look like a boat and the retro fixings around the house. After leaving the home, we tried a local snack, jugo con huecitos, made of barley bites and reconstituted juice from a dried peach. Then, we took the cable car lift to the top of the hill where we hiked a little further to see the Virgen de Santiago. We hiked all the way down the hill in the direction of Provedencia and made our way back to Helena’s apartment, enjoying the great views of Santiago the whole way down.
The next day, Helena helped us get things together for our backpacking trip in Torres Del Paine National Park, in Patagonia, Chile. We took an afternoon train to Conche y Toro winery, where we tasted and sampled wines from one of the largest wine producers in the world. We even got to go in the “cellar of the devil”, where the famous while, Casa del Diablo got its name from. We had a great time on the beautiful property. Later in the evening we went with Helena to meet her friends at an art light show on the river, where images where projected onto the river below us. Afterwards, we had a meal at a restaurant on Lastarria, called Patagonia. The food was great and we were very exited for the next part of our journey.
Helena and her family invited us to come visit their family farm and apple orchard in the San Fernando Valley of Chile. This is actually funny on numerous levels since Helena and JJ grew up only a few miles away from each other in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. We got some ice cream because we could not resist seeing it everywhere we went (everyone in Chile is always eating ice cream! Non-stop!!! There are even McDonalds that only serve ice cream!) and watched the landscape change for the next 2 hours. When we got off the train, Helena’s father was waiting for us. He drove us to the farm in the “village” of Tres Puentes (3 bridges). We met her mother, her sister, and her nephew, Lucas, also known as “El Nino Velos” (the very fast boy!). Everyone made us feel so welcome and like we were a part of the family. The farm property was gorgeous and we were amazed by all of the apple trees surrounding us! Too bad they were not going to be ripe for picking for a few more weeks! Granny smith, pink lady, gala, red chief, etc. etc.! The Rojas family also had chickens, a small flock of geese, cats, and a dog named Jack. After playing with Lucas and bribing him with sweets, we sat down to late afternoon tea/dinner with their family and got to sample the local produce and homemade bread! More family friends arrived later in the evening and we began to try many, many bottles of Chilean wine!
The next day, JJ and I borrowed some bikes and took a ride for about an hour around the Rojas farm. We saw many different orchards and enjoyed the beautiful green scenery. The blackberry bushes covering the fences along the road were just too tempting, so we also stopped many times to sample them. We got a little lost, but made it back just in time for lunch. The table had moved from the pretty corner of the yard we had eaten at the night before to a section of the yard next to the small river flowing through the property (irrigating the soil of the farm). Helena’s mom called this a new “restaurant” and served us the most incredible lunch that included potatoes, tomatoes, salad, green beans, fish, chicken, wine, watermelon, and other delicious food from the neighboring farms! We were so full after lunch we had to take a nap. I woke up in the afternoon to make fresh bread with Helena. I have no idea how much yeast, flour, water, salt, and vegetable shortening when into the dough, but the result turned out to be delicious! Helena took us into the town of San Fernando to show us around and to pick up her sister from the train station. We took a walk through town and passed through some very nice parks. After another good meal that evening, Helena’s mom walked us over to the tomato orchard at one of the neighbor’s homes. We walked around the back of a home and then into a gigantic greenhouse that seemed to go on forever with some of the most gorgeous (and tastiest) tomatoes I have ever seen! We also were given some freshly picked peaches and nectarines by the nice lady who grew the tomatoes. Of course, JJ and I devoured on the amazing fruit right there in front of her to show our gratitude! On the walk back we enveloped by a clear sky full of shining stars. We could see Orion’s belt and the Southern Cross.
The next morning we woke up and had another breakfast of fresh, delicious eggs from their chickens, and said our goodbyes to Helena’s mom, sister, and Lucas. We had such a fantastic time visiting them and left for Santiago with pounds of tomatoes, pears, and fresh eggs. After a filling lunch where I got corn tamale called homida, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the apartment and avoiding the heat. JJ went out to buy some empanadas to go with our wine and we went out to have few pisco sour’s and to stroll down Suecia (a popular street for clubbing in Provedencia on a Friday night). Some of the names and themes of the bars on Suecia made me laugh out loud, like “Louisiana” with a river boat theme, and “Bed Rock” with a Flintstones theme.
The next day, Helena joined us for a day trip to Valparaiso, a very hilly, pirate-ish, historical port-city on the coast from Santiago. When we arrived in “Valpo” via bus and a metro from pretty Vina del Mar, Helena walked us straight to her favorite seafood restaurant above a local produce market. It was about 2pm on Saturday afternoon and the place was full of people! It was the best looking food I had seen in Chile and when we finally got a table, we could not order fast enough, everything looked so good! I got a fish stew with clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, etc! JJ and Helena had seafood platters with different local catches. JJ’s fish was known as a congor eel, which apparently isn’t an eel at all, but a very long, great-tasting fish. After lunch, we made our way walking up the very steep hills of Valpo towards Pablo Neruda’s home, the famous Chilean poet and politician. He had several homes, but the one in Valpo is known as La Sebastiana, after the original Spanish architect.
The home is incredible because of his eclectic, but somehow functional taste, and the 360 degree view of the entire Valpo area. JJ and I just about drooled on the floor when we saw the incredible ocean view he had from almost every room. Too bad you couldn’t take pictures of the inside of the house! We joined back with Helena and made our way down, across the hills towards the port where we could watch the big cruise boats and the small tourist boats. Later in the evening after walking through the lower parts of the city, we found something hot to drink, watched JJ pound back a local hot dog “El Italiano” (with Tomatoes, Avocado and Mayo, it looks like the Italian flag) with everything on it and piece of banana cake, then got back on the bus for Santiago.
JJ and I decided that the next day would be devoted to our own walking tour of Santiago. We set out for a long day of walking a sight-seeing after a filling breakfast of some more fresh San Fernando eggs! We began to walk along the river and through a modern sculpture garden, tried out some free and strange exercise equipment, then we crossed another big park area and to “the best ice cream shop in Santiago”, Emporio Santa Rosa. I chose berries and mint, while JJ had a cone of rich chocolate. We sat in Parque Forrestal and enjoyed the shade of the trees before setting out on the bohemian side-street, Lastarria. We made our way to the main boulevard, Benardo O’Higgins and headed down to the La Moneda, the capital building in Santiago. When we got to La Moneda, we learned that there had been a bike race, the “Tour de Chile” completed there in the morning, which explained the confetti everywhere! I admired the gigantic Chilean flag, very similar to the Texas flag, before we headed down to the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, the museum under the capital. Before going in, we decided to see if we could get an ice-coffee at one of the trendy cafes inside, so we asked for a café helado. The bartender could speak some English and too be sure, we asked if we just ordered an ice coffee and they said, yes of course. So out came two ice cream glasses full of vanilla ice cream, and blended ice and coffee, which was promptly poured on top, then covered with whipped cream. Not what we wanted, but so good! So, here is to having ice cream more than once in a day and also not always getting what you want! We made our way with a very strong sugar rush down into the museum, where we first viewed early 1900’s black and white print of Patagonia, Chile, the region we would next visit! Next, we entered the main exhibition, “Art in America”, which covered modern works of art from North and South American artists. As soon as we entered, a very peppy and tall, English speaking Chilean girl asked us if we wanted to have a quick walk through with her in a free guided tour! Of course, we took advantage of this as she walked us quickly through the exhibit, pointing out the best works from various artists and asking inquisitive questions. Our favorites included a large pencil drawing that was done with such skill it looked like a photograph, a more liberal and creative drawing that gave the illusion of being wrinkled from the way it was drawn, and a flip flop raft made with barbed wire. We really enjoyed the exhibit, especially with the surprise of a rare Any Warhol print of a Native American woman in neon colors.
After the positive museum experience, we made our way to another one of Neruda’s homes at the base of Cerro San Cristobal. We wound our way through an interesting and colorful neighborhood of nice houses until we found his, right on time for our tour! Our strange, but very informative tour guide took us through Neruda’s Santiago Home, known as La Chascona, the crazy haired woman! He gave the house this name on account of the mistress he had at the time. We liked this house very much and were impressed by the mix of architecture to look like a boat and the retro fixings around the house. After leaving the home, we tried a local snack, jugo con huecitos, made of barley bites and reconstituted juice from a dried peach. Then, we took the cable car lift to the top of the hill where we hiked a little further to see the Virgen de Santiago. We hiked all the way down the hill in the direction of Provedencia and made our way back to Helena’s apartment, enjoying the great views of Santiago the whole way down.
The next day, Helena helped us get things together for our backpacking trip in Torres Del Paine National Park, in Patagonia, Chile. We took an afternoon train to Conche y Toro winery, where we tasted and sampled wines from one of the largest wine producers in the world. We even got to go in the “cellar of the devil”, where the famous while, Casa del Diablo got its name from. We had a great time on the beautiful property. Later in the evening we went with Helena to meet her friends at an art light show on the river, where images where projected onto the river below us. Afterwards, we had a meal at a restaurant on Lastarria, called Patagonia. The food was great and we were very exited for the next part of our journey.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Machu Picchu
Waking up without hot coca tea was actually not a problem, because we were so excited to see Machu Picchu. Time actually flew by in the bus line and the rain stopped as the sun came up. It was going to be a beautiful day! Finally! There are really no perfect words to describe seeing Machu Picchu for the first time in person. Breathtaking, unbelievable, and uplifting might be a good start, but nothing can do it justice. The most incredible part of the ruins is really location. It is located at the top of some mountains in this gorgeous region of the Andes, where the sacred river literally snakes around the site. After taking countless pictures, Saul began to explain the history of the site. Apparently, many historians and archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was a sort of university or college for boys of the royal Incan families. There are countless terraces that were used for crop experimentation, several temples, astrological viewing points, and homes on the site.
We walked through a few amazing temples were amazed by a perfect replica of the Southern Cross star constellation made from stone, and a temple to the Condor, where granite rock was placed to strategically look like a Condor in the temple. We also walked through some sacred sacrificial sites and tomb locations. Saul made a point of also telling us that many people believe Machu Picchu was an unfinished and eventually abandoned Incan project, based on the fact that an expansive rock quarry was located on site. Also, when the residents of Machu Picchu heard of the Spanish conquest, they took all of their treasure into the jungle, which have not yet been uncovered! Hiram Bingham, A professor at Yale Universty “found” Machu Picchu in 1911 and started taking any artifact he could find (something like over 50,000 artifacts) and shipping them back to the states. This year, 2011, Yale is supposed to ship all the artifacts back and of course, everyone in Peru is really excited about it.
Around 10am, we started heading up Huayna (Wayna) Picchu with our group. JJ and I were in Zion National Park only a few months ago, and this steep mountain rising above us reminded us of the rock fin we recently hiked up known as Angel’s Landing. The way up was very steep and I decided to get it done as quickly as possible so we could enjoy the view and miss the rain. It was supposed to take an hour to hike up to the top, but we hiked up with a friend from our group named Jamie (the PE Teacher) in about 30 minutes. I think that was a pretty good time considering the steep rock steps we clambered up and a few narrow passages including a tunnel that I could barely squeeze out of. About one minute from the top, I saw a girl wearing a white, lacy hippy dress, wearing flowers in her hair. She was singing some sort of chant while she was walking and at this point I figured the altitude was getting to me, but JJ and Jamie saw her too, so I knew I didn’t totally loose it!
The view from the top was astounding! We could see the entire Machu Picchu complex and a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, making the whole place seem even more mystical. Because of the rain, there were waterfalls in almost every direction coming down the steep Andes Mountains. After we all made it up, we sang Happy Birthday to Jeremy, another guy in our group, and all had a shot of tequila to celebrate! Slowly making our way down to a lower platform, we said our first set of goodbyes to the group. We would see some of them again in Cuzco a few days later, but we really did luck out and have awesome people in our group and we were sad to part ways. JJ and I had a lunch of avocado and cheese sandwiches we had brought while we watched our friends make their way down the steep stone steps and gazed at Machu Picchu below us. We could see the place where we hiked down from the Inca Trail the day before and noted how close it was to the entrance of the sun gate. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the ruins and making our way over to the sun gate, the place we would have hiked through if the Inca Trail had not been closed in that section. Before leaving the top, I reflected on the fact that there were terraces and housing ruins all round me on the top of this very high mountain. The Incan people must have been very focused on protecting their sacred city to have developed a place so high and remote.
After making it down from Huayna (Wayna) Picchu, we hiked to the top part of the complex, where we got a different set of views and found what seemed to be a high altar of sacrifice. This beautiful cut piece of granite with elevated steps awed us, especially since we saw every person who passed by it hold their hands above it as if they were extracting some sort of powerful energy from it. I had to try it out of course. From there we hiked back towards the entrance in with perfect timing to see Machu Picchu lit up with sunlight as the clouds parted! We could not believe our good luck with the weather on the day that mattered most. Next, we hiked up to the top terraces of the complex, where we found many Llamas grazing! There were so many posing Llamas to take pictures of, but we could not stop paying attention to the baby llamas (or maybe they were alpacas?). We made the gradual uphill journey to the sun gate. The views were great, but our legs were getting tired and it was time to make our way out of the complex. Ten hours after arriving at the complex, we took one last view and made our way back to Aguas Calientes via bus.
The next morning, we took the tourist train back to Ollantambo. The train was really nice and had overhead windows. I felt really special on the train, repeating a journey that my grandparents and one of my aunts had taken to get to Machu Picchu many years before me. The ride was really beautiful and the weather was nice along the way. We stopped for lunch before heading back to Cuzco via collectivo bus. When we arrived, we walked around and then had dinner with the friends me made from our Inca Trail group who were still in town. Eleven of us when out for an eclectic meal which including people ordering pizza, ravioli, nachos, alpaca, and even guinea pig (cui). There were some very funny moments playing with the guinea pig remains after dinner and I am sure people enjoyed my faces, being universally recognized as the only vegetarian on the trip. Afterwards, we went back to their hostal and had a red wine fest. We drank and had a good time until about midnight when we could not keep our eyes open anymore. We said our final goodbyes and walked back to the El Tuco. Once again, JJ and I really think we got lucky to have spent 4 days with a great variety of entertaining, generous, and positive people. Our experience getting to Machu Picchu and actually being at that world wonder is something that we will reflect on for the rest of our lives.
We flew from Cuzco to Santiago, Chile. We are now in Santiago, having a great time with our new friend, Helena. We will write more about this soon!
We walked through a few amazing temples were amazed by a perfect replica of the Southern Cross star constellation made from stone, and a temple to the Condor, where granite rock was placed to strategically look like a Condor in the temple. We also walked through some sacred sacrificial sites and tomb locations. Saul made a point of also telling us that many people believe Machu Picchu was an unfinished and eventually abandoned Incan project, based on the fact that an expansive rock quarry was located on site. Also, when the residents of Machu Picchu heard of the Spanish conquest, they took all of their treasure into the jungle, which have not yet been uncovered! Hiram Bingham, A professor at Yale Universty “found” Machu Picchu in 1911 and started taking any artifact he could find (something like over 50,000 artifacts) and shipping them back to the states. This year, 2011, Yale is supposed to ship all the artifacts back and of course, everyone in Peru is really excited about it.
Around 10am, we started heading up Huayna (Wayna) Picchu with our group. JJ and I were in Zion National Park only a few months ago, and this steep mountain rising above us reminded us of the rock fin we recently hiked up known as Angel’s Landing. The way up was very steep and I decided to get it done as quickly as possible so we could enjoy the view and miss the rain. It was supposed to take an hour to hike up to the top, but we hiked up with a friend from our group named Jamie (the PE Teacher) in about 30 minutes. I think that was a pretty good time considering the steep rock steps we clambered up and a few narrow passages including a tunnel that I could barely squeeze out of. About one minute from the top, I saw a girl wearing a white, lacy hippy dress, wearing flowers in her hair. She was singing some sort of chant while she was walking and at this point I figured the altitude was getting to me, but JJ and Jamie saw her too, so I knew I didn’t totally loose it!
The view from the top was astounding! We could see the entire Machu Picchu complex and a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, making the whole place seem even more mystical. Because of the rain, there were waterfalls in almost every direction coming down the steep Andes Mountains. After we all made it up, we sang Happy Birthday to Jeremy, another guy in our group, and all had a shot of tequila to celebrate! Slowly making our way down to a lower platform, we said our first set of goodbyes to the group. We would see some of them again in Cuzco a few days later, but we really did luck out and have awesome people in our group and we were sad to part ways. JJ and I had a lunch of avocado and cheese sandwiches we had brought while we watched our friends make their way down the steep stone steps and gazed at Machu Picchu below us. We could see the place where we hiked down from the Inca Trail the day before and noted how close it was to the entrance of the sun gate. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the ruins and making our way over to the sun gate, the place we would have hiked through if the Inca Trail had not been closed in that section. Before leaving the top, I reflected on the fact that there were terraces and housing ruins all round me on the top of this very high mountain. The Incan people must have been very focused on protecting their sacred city to have developed a place so high and remote.
After making it down from Huayna (Wayna) Picchu, we hiked to the top part of the complex, where we got a different set of views and found what seemed to be a high altar of sacrifice. This beautiful cut piece of granite with elevated steps awed us, especially since we saw every person who passed by it hold their hands above it as if they were extracting some sort of powerful energy from it. I had to try it out of course. From there we hiked back towards the entrance in with perfect timing to see Machu Picchu lit up with sunlight as the clouds parted! We could not believe our good luck with the weather on the day that mattered most. Next, we hiked up to the top terraces of the complex, where we found many Llamas grazing! There were so many posing Llamas to take pictures of, but we could not stop paying attention to the baby llamas (or maybe they were alpacas?). We made the gradual uphill journey to the sun gate. The views were great, but our legs were getting tired and it was time to make our way out of the complex. Ten hours after arriving at the complex, we took one last view and made our way back to Aguas Calientes via bus.
The next morning, we took the tourist train back to Ollantambo. The train was really nice and had overhead windows. I felt really special on the train, repeating a journey that my grandparents and one of my aunts had taken to get to Machu Picchu many years before me. The ride was really beautiful and the weather was nice along the way. We stopped for lunch before heading back to Cuzco via collectivo bus. When we arrived, we walked around and then had dinner with the friends me made from our Inca Trail group who were still in town. Eleven of us when out for an eclectic meal which including people ordering pizza, ravioli, nachos, alpaca, and even guinea pig (cui). There were some very funny moments playing with the guinea pig remains after dinner and I am sure people enjoyed my faces, being universally recognized as the only vegetarian on the trip. Afterwards, we went back to their hostal and had a red wine fest. We drank and had a good time until about midnight when we could not keep our eyes open anymore. We said our final goodbyes and walked back to the El Tuco. Once again, JJ and I really think we got lucky to have spent 4 days with a great variety of entertaining, generous, and positive people. Our experience getting to Machu Picchu and actually being at that world wonder is something that we will reflect on for the rest of our lives.
We flew from Cuzco to Santiago, Chile. We are now in Santiago, having a great time with our new friend, Helena. We will write more about this soon!
Cuzco, Peru
With the first rays of light, and unmistakable sound of rain, we happily got off the bus in Cuzco and made our way to the El Tuco, a really lovely place ran by “Coco”. After a quick nap, we went out to explore the city and meet our SAS Inca Trail hiking group at the pre-meeting. We quickly determined that Cuzco was a very pretty and interesting city, with many side-streets to adventure out from the main touristy gringo areas. Later in the evening, we got the full briefing on our 4 day Inca Trail hike from our main guide, Saul, who was really energetic and excited! We met the 9 other Americans, 4 semi-Brit’s on our trip and headed off to sleep after our $1.50 dinner.
We got picked up at our hostel the next morning before the sun was up. After going around town and getting everyone on the bus, we headed towards the Sacred Valley of the Inca’s, where kilometer 82 of the Inca Trail is located and our 4 day hike would begin. At breakfast, we learned that 3 of the 15 people in our hiking crew would have birthdays on the trail and that everyone was really excited, despite the off and on rain. Actually, about half of our group had come to celebrate someone’s 30th birthday by doing the Inca trail and all were somehow connected. The vibe was great from the start.
The Inca Trail
Day 1
After a brief pit-stop in Ollantambo, we got out of the bus and began our trek at the famous “kilometer 82”. We crossed a bridge over the “sacred” and raging Urubamaba River, which we would follow the entire Inca Trail. Then, we began our slow and steady climb. It was still really early in the day and we had quite a while until lunch, but the scenery took our minds away from our appetites as the rain cleared and we could view the steep Andes Mountains and the beautiful scenery all around us.
Saul, our guide, allowed us to take very frequent breaks and explained the flora, fauna, geography, and history of the Inca and Pre-Inca Cultures along the way. For example, our first lesson was about a beautiful white trumpet flower (a potent hallucinogenic plant) some guys he knew that made a tea from it and went crazy. For lunch, our first actual meal on the trek, we were happily surprised with the quality and variety. There were about 6 different freshly prepared dishes to choose from (at every meal!). After lunch, we passed by an overlook where we spotted some really impressive ruins along the river. We spent the rest of the day getting to know our group better and found that we were in the company of a variety of interesting people from a Walmart executive, several army contractors, a lawyer, massage therapist, to a PE Teacher. We arrived at camp, “Wayllabamba” in the late afternoon with our tent already set up for us and hot water ready to wash our faces with! This was our first “group” backpacking experience and we were amazed with the luxury of it!... Note to self…. Afternoon tea was followed by “joke” telling and a great dinner, then it was off to bed in order to rest up for day 2, which is the longest and most difficult day of the trail.
Day 2
When we woke up in the morning, we were immediately handed a cup of hot coca tea through our tent. Wow, there is nothing like getting your morning started in your sleeping bag with a hot cup of tea! At breakfast, we were informed of the route for the day, which included a 3 to 4 hour uphill section and then 2 hours of downhill on steep terrain, than another 2 hour uphill. We began the day walking through a temperate rain forest and then a cloud forest. There was a waterfall running next to the trail and everything was covered in green moss and lichens. JJ and I agreed that with all of the branches and the bromeliads everywhere you looked, we felt like we were in a Dr. Seuss book, similar to a landscape we hiked through with our friend Justin, about 5 years ago on Frasier Island off the east coast of Australia. The clouds, fog, and mist set into the valley we hiked up and out of on our way to “Dead Woman’s Pass”, the toughest climb of the Inca Trail. We could not really see the pass, but about 500 meters from the top, we heard the sound of Andean windpipes. It was awesome! Our own live soundtrack, provided (we later found out) by one of the guides on the trail. We finally reached the top of the trail and pounded back some cereal bars and chocolate bars called “Sublime” (Peruvian version of a Mr. Goodbar) and began walking down the steep stone steps. By lunch time, the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were excited for a break from the very steep steps.
Although, because of the rain, the waterfalls next to the lunch spot, Pacaymayo, were full of water and pouring down the mountain. Walking out of the lunch tent, the rain subsided and we had a full view of waterfalls surrounding us. After walking for a bit, we entered another set of really impressive ruins, that Saul believed were a watchtower overlooking the Sacred Valley. After climbing and descending more, we took some great pictures of the clouded Andes Mountains, and walked through more ruins, thought to have been a mountain market along the Inca Trail (500 years ago!) and an astrological viewpoint.
We made it to the 2nd campsite just before dark. At this point, there was no rain and we finally got to meet all 22 chuskees (porters) for our group. The entire time we were on the trail we saw mostly very tiny, but extremely strong indigenous, Quechua speaking Andean men hauling packs on their backs up the trail at a very fast pace. There are now limits on what the porters (ages 18 – around 60 years old) can carry, up to a limit of 25 kilograms (about 55 pounds). Although, they prefer the name chuskee – which is the Quechua word for Incan running warrior or messenger (I would prefer that too!). These men are vital to hiking groups doing the Inca Trail by transporting all the food, tents, chairs, etc. that the group will need for the 3-4 days on the trail. Their packs often seemed much larger than they were, yet they would keep a very fast pace and travel in groups uphill and usually run downhill! After dinner, there were some “ghost stories” told by Saul and we all fell asleep to the rain outside.
Day 3
At breakfast the next morning, we were informed that there had been a rock slide between the 3rd campsite and the sun gate (traditional entrance to Machu Picchu). Therefore, we would be actually completing the trail today and not hiking through to Machu Picchu. We were all disappointed, but understood the safety concern. After a mostly rainy morning of downhill hiking, we stopped just before a steep downhill section to enjoy a few moments of sunshine. We had passed through two original Inca Tunnels through the rock on the way, and stopped to reflect and discuss the history of the tunnels and the trail. All of the sudden, JJ and I looked up and spotted the most gorgeous (and large) Technicolor butterfly. It was the prettiest one I have ever seen and seemed almost fluorescent. We made our way to Huinay Huayna (Winawayna) where we stopped for lunch and watched the rain come pouring down. Since it was our first trip on the Inca Trail and Saul’s last for the season, he decided that at the Huinay Huayna ruins we would have a sacred ceremony to Pachamama, Mother Earth. After viewing the ruins from the rainy windows of one of the sacred temples at the Incan site, we made a giant circle with the chuskees and Saul led us through a beautiful ceremony. He played some Incan and Pre-Incan tunes on his recorder (flute like instrument) and we all made an offering of coca leaves and buried them in the ground. It was a really memorable part of the journey.
After lunch, we hiked down to the train tracks and made our along the river and past a hydro-electric dam to Aguas Calientes, the last town before Machu Picchu. The way was long and flat, but our legs were tired. We arrived at the hostel with just enough time to put on our bathing suits and run to the packed hot springs before dinner. We had a really great time with our awesome group and we were happy to relax with them in the warm, but not so hot water. After dinner, everyone headed to bed in order to get some shut-eye before the 3:30 wake up call. We needed to get to Machu Picchu early in order to get a stamp that would allow us to hike up Huayna (Wayna) Picchu, the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu that only 400 people get to hike up a day.
We got picked up at our hostel the next morning before the sun was up. After going around town and getting everyone on the bus, we headed towards the Sacred Valley of the Inca’s, where kilometer 82 of the Inca Trail is located and our 4 day hike would begin. At breakfast, we learned that 3 of the 15 people in our hiking crew would have birthdays on the trail and that everyone was really excited, despite the off and on rain. Actually, about half of our group had come to celebrate someone’s 30th birthday by doing the Inca trail and all were somehow connected. The vibe was great from the start.
The Inca Trail
Day 1
After a brief pit-stop in Ollantambo, we got out of the bus and began our trek at the famous “kilometer 82”. We crossed a bridge over the “sacred” and raging Urubamaba River, which we would follow the entire Inca Trail. Then, we began our slow and steady climb. It was still really early in the day and we had quite a while until lunch, but the scenery took our minds away from our appetites as the rain cleared and we could view the steep Andes Mountains and the beautiful scenery all around us.
Saul, our guide, allowed us to take very frequent breaks and explained the flora, fauna, geography, and history of the Inca and Pre-Inca Cultures along the way. For example, our first lesson was about a beautiful white trumpet flower (a potent hallucinogenic plant) some guys he knew that made a tea from it and went crazy. For lunch, our first actual meal on the trek, we were happily surprised with the quality and variety. There were about 6 different freshly prepared dishes to choose from (at every meal!). After lunch, we passed by an overlook where we spotted some really impressive ruins along the river. We spent the rest of the day getting to know our group better and found that we were in the company of a variety of interesting people from a Walmart executive, several army contractors, a lawyer, massage therapist, to a PE Teacher. We arrived at camp, “Wayllabamba” in the late afternoon with our tent already set up for us and hot water ready to wash our faces with! This was our first “group” backpacking experience and we were amazed with the luxury of it!... Note to self…. Afternoon tea was followed by “joke” telling and a great dinner, then it was off to bed in order to rest up for day 2, which is the longest and most difficult day of the trail.
Day 2
When we woke up in the morning, we were immediately handed a cup of hot coca tea through our tent. Wow, there is nothing like getting your morning started in your sleeping bag with a hot cup of tea! At breakfast, we were informed of the route for the day, which included a 3 to 4 hour uphill section and then 2 hours of downhill on steep terrain, than another 2 hour uphill. We began the day walking through a temperate rain forest and then a cloud forest. There was a waterfall running next to the trail and everything was covered in green moss and lichens. JJ and I agreed that with all of the branches and the bromeliads everywhere you looked, we felt like we were in a Dr. Seuss book, similar to a landscape we hiked through with our friend Justin, about 5 years ago on Frasier Island off the east coast of Australia. The clouds, fog, and mist set into the valley we hiked up and out of on our way to “Dead Woman’s Pass”, the toughest climb of the Inca Trail. We could not really see the pass, but about 500 meters from the top, we heard the sound of Andean windpipes. It was awesome! Our own live soundtrack, provided (we later found out) by one of the guides on the trail. We finally reached the top of the trail and pounded back some cereal bars and chocolate bars called “Sublime” (Peruvian version of a Mr. Goodbar) and began walking down the steep stone steps. By lunch time, the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were excited for a break from the very steep steps.
Although, because of the rain, the waterfalls next to the lunch spot, Pacaymayo, were full of water and pouring down the mountain. Walking out of the lunch tent, the rain subsided and we had a full view of waterfalls surrounding us. After walking for a bit, we entered another set of really impressive ruins, that Saul believed were a watchtower overlooking the Sacred Valley. After climbing and descending more, we took some great pictures of the clouded Andes Mountains, and walked through more ruins, thought to have been a mountain market along the Inca Trail (500 years ago!) and an astrological viewpoint.
We made it to the 2nd campsite just before dark. At this point, there was no rain and we finally got to meet all 22 chuskees (porters) for our group. The entire time we were on the trail we saw mostly very tiny, but extremely strong indigenous, Quechua speaking Andean men hauling packs on their backs up the trail at a very fast pace. There are now limits on what the porters (ages 18 – around 60 years old) can carry, up to a limit of 25 kilograms (about 55 pounds). Although, they prefer the name chuskee – which is the Quechua word for Incan running warrior or messenger (I would prefer that too!). These men are vital to hiking groups doing the Inca Trail by transporting all the food, tents, chairs, etc. that the group will need for the 3-4 days on the trail. Their packs often seemed much larger than they were, yet they would keep a very fast pace and travel in groups uphill and usually run downhill! After dinner, there were some “ghost stories” told by Saul and we all fell asleep to the rain outside.
Day 3
At breakfast the next morning, we were informed that there had been a rock slide between the 3rd campsite and the sun gate (traditional entrance to Machu Picchu). Therefore, we would be actually completing the trail today and not hiking through to Machu Picchu. We were all disappointed, but understood the safety concern. After a mostly rainy morning of downhill hiking, we stopped just before a steep downhill section to enjoy a few moments of sunshine. We had passed through two original Inca Tunnels through the rock on the way, and stopped to reflect and discuss the history of the tunnels and the trail. All of the sudden, JJ and I looked up and spotted the most gorgeous (and large) Technicolor butterfly. It was the prettiest one I have ever seen and seemed almost fluorescent. We made our way to Huinay Huayna (Winawayna) where we stopped for lunch and watched the rain come pouring down. Since it was our first trip on the Inca Trail and Saul’s last for the season, he decided that at the Huinay Huayna ruins we would have a sacred ceremony to Pachamama, Mother Earth. After viewing the ruins from the rainy windows of one of the sacred temples at the Incan site, we made a giant circle with the chuskees and Saul led us through a beautiful ceremony. He played some Incan and Pre-Incan tunes on his recorder (flute like instrument) and we all made an offering of coca leaves and buried them in the ground. It was a really memorable part of the journey.
After lunch, we hiked down to the train tracks and made our along the river and past a hydro-electric dam to Aguas Calientes, the last town before Machu Picchu. The way was long and flat, but our legs were tired. We arrived at the hostel with just enough time to put on our bathing suits and run to the packed hot springs before dinner. We had a really great time with our awesome group and we were happy to relax with them in the warm, but not so hot water. After dinner, everyone headed to bed in order to get some shut-eye before the 3:30 wake up call. We needed to get to Machu Picchu early in order to get a stamp that would allow us to hike up Huayna (Wayna) Picchu, the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu that only 400 people get to hike up a day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)