Friday, September 12, 2008

OUR WEEK WITH A CAR, Sept 4-12 (By Kevin)


Sept. 4 - After a week at the 1004 youth hostel it was time to move on. We got a car for 1050 pesos for a week, or $360. We drove with Emma, a solo 20 year old traveler, and Gabriel, an Australian who grew up in Dharamsala, India. We drove around some lakes and went for a hike near Tronador before arriving in lovely El Bolson, in a valley surrounded by snowy peaks. We found a great hostel with hardly anyone there, with foosball, free internet, and an American woman from Maine hanging out while sailing around the world. The hostel cost $30 and we had our own room. Sept. 5 - We drove to Indian Head Rock then left our car at the hostel and took a taxi up 4000 feet and 7 miles and hiked up an hour more in the snow to a tree sculpture garden and then to the hut. The hut was pretty cool, perched on the side of a mountain surrounded by snowy peaks, except it was Friday and there were a bunch of kids partying. Amber and I did a little snow climb above the hut on mixed snow and rock. We cooked our soup on the stove as the kids got drunker, until one of them threw up on my jacket. That was my clue to get us in to the freezing hut next door where there was some peace and quiet. The hut was only $5 per night. Sept 6 - Amber and I hiked the 7 miles downhill 4000 feet, which we felt in leg soreness for days after. We talked the whole way about Doodie, Robert, growing up with 3 brothers, my travels with Dad to Nepal and Switzerland, etc. Today was the artisans fair and with over 40 booths we had a field day shopping for souvenirs and presents. Amber got the most amazing dress, hand knitted by the artist. We enjoyed the cassis and fruita del bosque ice cream at Jaujas, bought groceries at the local market and cooked a dinner back at the hostel, where Amber learned ´Stairway to Heaven´on the guitar from Mendu. Two Aussie girls showed up who are going to work on a local organic farm. There are a lot of hippie types who live in El Bolson, a town we like a lot.










Sept 7 - After 3 nights in El Bolson we headed further south along the Argentine side of the Andes, first to Lago Puelo which unfortunately was full of trash. I complained to the tourist office lady about it and Amber said I was rude. Around Lago Futalaufquen on dirt roads Amber got to practice stick shift driving (uh, she needs more practice). Soon we arrived in Esquel, which really was not very pretty, but we drove up to the ski resort in a snowstorm and had a hot chocolate (hot milk with a piece of chocolate in it, called a submarino). We continued on to Trevelin (3 mills in Welsh) and found another cool hostel with only one other guest, a Welch guy being paid to increase the use of the Welch language there. Our own room at Casa Verde was $24, and we found a salad bar in town.

Sept 8 - On a beautiful day we drove in to Parque Nacional Los Alerces, full of lakes and waterfalls and snowy peaks. At Lago Verde was the most beautiful green water and we had a typical lunch of bread, cheese and jelly overlooking the beautiful lake. It reminded me of Banff and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. We only saw one car all day. Two blue green rivers met in some rapids and drained into another lake. At some cabins the owner told us what hapened (in Spanish) when the nearby Chaiten Volcano erupted, first an earthquake, then a roar and smoke 30,000 feet high. Back at the hostel we met a British guy who was motorcycling from San Francisco to the bottom of South America. He was 5 months into his journey. Nuts! We had empanadas for dinner.

Sept 9 - It was overcast so we hired a guide to take us snowshoeing ($60) above the Mapuche Indian reservation of Lago Rosario. The snowshoes really help! We would be sinking in up to our thighs otherwise. It was a cold day, as soon as we paused for lunch you had to put on our extra clothes. In 5 hours we walked about 5 miles and gained 2000 feet of altitude. It was Amber´s first time on snowshoes and my second. Our boots were soaked, poor amber that is the only shoes she brought. She played guitar while I got us dinner in town.

Sept 10 - The rooster next door started braying at 7AM, he screeched once each 5 seconds for over an hour, that is 720 times I listened to it. Im suprised noone had wrung his neck yet. Amber slept through it. We drove back in to Los Alerces national park to meet up with a boat trip which took us to a 2600 year old Alerces tree. The ground was covered in clumps of ash from last month´s eruption (it stopped). The lake and glacier and peaks were more than beautiful. Amber spoke with the high school kids on the boat with us. We drove for hours on dirt roads back to El Bolson hostel, playing more foosball and guitar and using the internet.

Sept 11 - We drove up the Tronador Mountain road, 18 plus miles on windy dirt roads. You could go pretty fast because they only allow traffic one way up in the morning, and one way down in the afternoon. The road ended in snow and after a 1 mile walk we ended up facing a huge cirque with hanging glaciers and ice cliffs and snow. We saw 3 avalanches pouring down the slopes in front of us. It was an incredible spot. We hiked in the snow even closer to the cirque before heading back to the car and driving back to our favorite 1004 hostel in Bariloche. There was no more room but they let us sleep on mattresses on the floor of one of the workers. It was good to feel at home with our new friends. That night was another wine party with violin and guitar music then dancing music. Amber met up with her ping pong buddy and he showed her around Bariloche. His name is Bruno, he is in the ping pong picture posted previously. I tried all the wines and went to bed in a daze at 2AM.

Sept 12 - Today we flew to Buenos Aires and then to Port Iguazu, on the border with Brazil, 2 flights for about $180 each flight per person. The view of the Andes was incredible! We arrived at Iguazu with no hotel reservations, but walked to a few hostels mentioned in our Argentina book and picked the best one, getting our own room for 70 pesos, or $23 with breakfast. We had the local fish at a restaurant, $20 for 2 meals. Amber spoke with the British girls who are traveling for 5 months but running out of money, so they are heading off to Brazil where it is cheaper. Amber convinced me to go to Iguazu Falls because she really wanted to go and she paid for her own flight using some of her earnings from working this summer.

BE SURE TO SEE THE PREVIOUS POST, I JUST POSTED TWO VIDEOS OF US TANDEM PARAGLIDING!

1 comment:

RWY said...

Hello Amber and Kevin! So you made it back to Males Aires and then to Porto Iguazu (not in my atlas)! The grand circuit has been completed, with a side-trip to finish it with a bang, not a whimper. Take some pictures of the waterfall, please. I loved the new photos which accompanied the latest blog entry, and ESPECIALLY the videos of the tandem ski gliding. The sound effects (the whistling wind and the cheering Am) added spice to the thrilling cinema. Enjoy the falls, survive the long flight home, and come visit us on the 18th! Love from RWY