Thursday, January 26, 2006

A little "me" time

After being cooked up on a ship with 100 other passengers, i decided i needed a little "me" time. The glacier trek in El Calafate was a nice start, but i was craving more. So after arriving to El Chaltén (also in argentina) i rented some camping gear, strapped it all to my backpack and set out for a 4 day trek in the northern part of Los Glacieres national park. Starting the trek, i remember thinking...geeze my pack is heavy...my worries were confirmed on the second day when my waist buckle snapped due to the weight. That was also the day that it rained the entire time...soaking half the things in my pack...i wasnt a happy camper :) But everything turned out for the best...beautiful weather, Mt Fitz Roy was out in all its glory, skinny dipping in glacial lakes...the usual stuff. My feet are sore, my belly is hungry, my beard is out but ive got a big smile on my face. Have a couple days of bus rides and ill be back in Torres del Paine national park for some more trekking.


Fitz


Too close! Just enjoying the sunset...


Clouds in patagonia are the coolest things you´ve ever seen

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Back to old Perito

Yes im back in El Calafate, can´t seem to get enough of patagonia. This time instead of just looking at the glacier (Perito Moreno), i spent the day trekking on it. Went with a great company called Big Ice...we trekked for the whole day...and finished off the day drinking whiskey with glacier ice on the boat ride back from the glacier.


How did that get there?

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Antarctica!!!

Was sad to leave south america behind but after my 10 day antarctic expedition im back to my favorite continent. Due to excellent weather the trip was brilliant. The 2.5 day voyage crossing the Drake Passage was very interesting, got sea sick on the second day but nothing major. In total we spent 4 action packed days in the Antarctic. Everyday, we made two landings with our zodiaks, did some hiking, photographed wildlife and just enjoyed our surroundings. What makes this place so special is it´s remoteness from human civilization. No towns, no cars, no people, nada...just water, iceburgs, massive glaciers and the freshest air i´d ever breathed. Penguins were the main attraction...one colony we visited had roughly 150,000 penguins! Seals were very abundant...my two favorite were the elephant seals for their shear size and leopard seals, vicious penguin eaters. Finally we saw at least a dozen humpback whales. I´d also like to mention that i swam off the boat in 0C water (salt water freezes at -1.8C)! Save the albatros!!


First one to blink loses


Embarkation day


Antartic Reflections


Penguino


Mini iceburgs in still water


Humpback

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

End of the World

It´s the middle of summer here in Ushuaia (no easy way to teach you how to pronounce this one), the southern most city in the world! That means it´s light outside until 11pm at night and we see temperatures peak at a sweaty 14C. Ive spent a day hiking in Tierra del Fuego national park and taken a morning boat cruise on the beagle straight. But the best thing about this place is the food! Meat lovers paradise. Patagonia has the country´s best lamb, plus you have the standard (but amazing) argentinian beef. Next comes the king crab! Fresh out of the water and cheep! Add to that a variety of fresh fish, mussles, oysters complemented with the contient´s finest wines and you get the general idea. Would have never thought the end of the world would be so tasty :) Ushuaia is also the starting point for my antarctic cruise! See you in a couple weeks...


Much busier before the boys up north built their stupid (panama) canal

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Patagonia...not the company...the place

Over the last three days ive been hiking, horseback riding and having a great time in Torres del Paine national park in Chile. This is¨"the" big attraction in patagonia and its easy to see why. One of the most beautiful places on earth that ive ever been to. The first day i did the famous Towers hike. The following day, i went horseback riding...this was my third time ever...and i must say it was for real this time. The horses were magnificent...strong, fast and very responsive to every command. On several occasions we were in a full gallop. For those unaware (as i was a few days ago) there are different names for the various ways a horse runs, each one getting progresivly faster...walk, trot, canter and gallop (think horses racing on a track). Luckly i had a great teacher. Tonight im in Puerto Arenas, still on the chilean side but will be crossing back into argentina tomorrow.


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