kstuart's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member kstuart on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kstuart en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 31 May 2008 22:58:21 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Straight out of Indiana Jones — Puerto Iguazu, Litoral, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211855760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211855760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211855760/tpod.html Sat, 31 May 2008 22:58:21 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Puerto Iguazu, Litoral, Argentina

Okay, so we cheated and went to see an American movie. We figured that $3 instead of $8 would be less of a disappointment if the blockbuster hit turned out to be cheesey--- imagine that. We were impressed to see Harrison Ford parading around South America, and decided that Indiana Jones' depiction of Iquazu Falls will likely do it more justice than our Cannon Powershot. But seriously, the falls in the film are no joke- our mouths dropped open and stayed that way for several hours while we wandered around the park. The falls are 2 km wide and you can view them from Argentina (our choice) or Brazil (with a $100 visa for US citizens, thank you Bush very much). Gargantua del Diablo (Devil´s Throat) is what you see in the film, and obviously, no human could actually survive the fall.

We supplemented our trip to Iguazu Falls with a stay at Hostel Inn, a hostel version of a poolside resort. We took full advantage of the $10 a night amenities, including an awesome pool, outdoor bar, along with the dinner and a ¨show.¨ Patience has abducted the camera for the remainder of our trip and cannot wait to share her video of Kyle shaking it with the Brazillian dancers who weren´t wearing much more than high heels and feather headdresses. He happened to win a gringo booty shaking contest and his up-close-and-personal prize will have to be explained later, of course, with visual assistance (YouTube here I come). For a minute, Kyle thought he had been transported from South America to a bachelor party in Vegas. Is it really okay for the girlfriend to witness such things?

We are enjoying our last few days in Buenos Aires before returning home to the Pacific Northwest, not without a 2 day stopover with friends and family in New York. The excitement of homecoming awaits us, but we are trying to get our fill of futbol matches, dinosaur bones, steak that we can afford, and Malbec before heading back to the jobless, homeless state that we chose for ourselves three long months ago. Ummm.... is gas really over $4 a gallon?

Can´t wait to see you all soon!!!

Patience and Kyle
]]> Breathing in Bolivia — Uyuni, Uyuni, Bolivia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211302080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211302080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1211302080/tpod.html Tue, 20 May 2008 13:44:29 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Uyuni, Uyuni, Bolivia

After paying for our $100 ¨reciprocity¨ visa (US citizens really shouldn´t complain about having to jump through hoops that other travelers don´t have to deal with, especially once they understand what foreigners go through just to enter our mother-country), we were free to enter Bolivia, the poorest country in South America. A culturally-rich yet financially impoverished indigenous population, new campesino president, new constitution, conflicting views from wealthier provinces, heavy participation in the cocaine trade, and recently discovered oil all play into the volitile politics of the country. We consider ourselves lucky to have not experienced any protests or blockades during our time here, but in reality, we were probably just in the right places at the right times.

Our biggest challenge in Bolivia has been trying to catch a full breath of air. In Copacaba on Lake Titicaca, it was the altitude; in La Paz it was the pollution (and altitude), and in the Salar de Uyuni it´s been the dust (and the altitude). Pilots that fly into La Paz require special training to navigate through the Andes Mountains and the planes require special equipment to land in the highest airport in the world! Check out the prices to fly into La Paz and you´ll see that the cost of tickets cover these extra precautions.

Our plan was to save money by traveling through such an inexpensive country, but we´ve splurged by spending the same amount (roughly $10 a person) to stay in some exceptionally nice accommodations. Our hostel on Lake Titicaca was more of a hotel up on the hill with a perfect view overlooking the lake from any the garden´s many colorful hammocks. Copacabana is a somewhat sacred town and people used to flock here on pilgrimage because of its proximity to Isla del Sol where, believed among pre-Inca cultures, the sun was born. Most interesting to us, were the flocks of newly purchased vehicles that arrived in Copacabana, covered in flowers and doused in champagne, to be blessed by the priest for safe travels and longevity. With some of the most dangerous roads in the world being in Bolivia, it certainly doesn´t hurt to go through such a ceremony.

From there we had an adventurous bus ride to La Paz. At one point we had to stop and cross the lake, except the passengers went in small boats while we watched our bus (and luggage) lean to one side as it crossed alone on a barge. La Paz is a crush of a city but is interesting in its own right. We didn´t do much other than walk its streets, exploring the artesenal alley, coca and musical instrument museums, and black market where you can find anything from bootlegged DVDs, to very expensive mountain bikes, to futbol jerseys, to yarn - each category with its own street devoted to it. We stayed in another exceptionally nice hostel called Adventure Brew that had private bathrooms, an all you can eat pancake breakfast, and a free beer each night upstairs in the brewery´s rooftop bar! The beer was no competition for our Oregon brews, but we enjoyed our evenings hanging out with other backpackers and playing trivia games to win free drinks. Kyle lent a hand one night and helped carry a keg up four flights of stairs (the keg had no handles) and was reminded once again how hard it is to breathe in La Paz.

There are a few big attractions in La Paz that we skipped out on. For an adrenaline rush, you can bike down the most dangerous road in the world. We hear that it´s gorgeous and incredible and probably should have done it, but there´s a reason for its namesake. In the past few weeks, several bikers met their fate on this trip. They closed the road for a while after two car accidents killed six bikers in one day! We like adventure, but we like our lives too, and being so close to our homecoming, we decided it would be a bad time to take superfulous risks. Another big hit in La Paz that we´re not so much in to is the cocaine trade. We turned down invitations to head out to the nomadic club where you can order varying qualities of charlie off the menu, if you can find its current address. Also, with just a phone call to the prison, you can tour the foreign inmate´s luxurious section (that they pay for out of their own pockets) and purchase any number of treats from them. Small bribes will take you a long way in Bolivia, and as I´m sure it´s the same throughout the world, incarceration doesn´t stop a drug trafficker. The real problems in the prison, however, are on the locals unguarded side, where children live with their prisoner fathers and witness far too often the horrendous violence that occurs among the inmates.

A train took us to Uyuni where we are now, awaiting another connection this evening after spending 3 days in the Salar de Uyuni, the massive salt flats in the surrounding area. This trip could have been a Toyota commercial, as countless Land Cruisers headed off into the salar for some rough riding in the altiplano. It´s impossible to describe the austere beauty of being on what looks and feels like a glacier staring off for miles and miles a the mountains far in the distance and believing that everything you see is SALT! We stayed in some basic accommodations and bundled up for the freezing nights at high altitudes! Once we got off the salt flats, we passed several lakes, colored by the algae and borax that is found in the ground, dotted with pink flamingoes, and surrounded by geisers and thermal baths to warm us up in the morning after freezing our toes off during the night! We returned to Uyuni, safe and sound last night to pizza and hot showers.

We hop on the train tonight and if all goes as planned, we´ll grab our backpacks in the massive frenzy of ¨baggage claim¨ and walk across the border and be back in Argentina bright and early tomorrow morning.

P + K

P.S. Next time we have you over for dinner, ask us to make quinoa soup, one of our favorite Bolivian dishes!
]]> Inca Trail — Cusco, Cusco, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1210183560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1210183560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1210183560/tpod.html Wed, 14 May 2008 14:39:24 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Cusco, Cusco, Peru

We spent 4 days on the Inca Trail and lucked out by booking with a great company. There are thousands of operators in Cusco that will take you to Machu Picchu. Llama Path surpassed all others in service, food, and treatment of their porters. Can you imagine cake, avocado tuna rolls, and vegetable art in the backcountry? Kyle had his own battle with altitude/food sickness, and was given special teas and greeted halfway up the last hill one day by a porter that took his pack for the final bit. Thanks to Diamox and coca leaves, Patience rocked the 13,000 ft passes with a slow and steady pace that took her to the top in bliss.

The government only lets 500 people on the trail each day, porters included, which means about 200 backpackers and 300 porters and guides, hence why we made reservations for this trek back in January. The trail itself isn´t too crowded until the end, since people start from different points and have different options for campgrounds each night. The campground for the final night, however, houses EVERYONE with just 6 restrooms for 500 people... and a bar. We woke up at 4am the next morning to be at the front of the line for the final checkpoint and two-hour RACE to the Sun Gate with a serpent-like line of backpackers behind us.

Machu Picchu was incredible. Since the site itself is pretty touristy these days, the night before our sunrise hike to the Sun Gate, we went to a less popular Inca site. We were able to walk around in complete silence, see the sun set, and imagine what it would be like to see this agricultural hub bustling away 500 years ago. At Machu Picchu itself, we had a great tour in the morning before the trains started rolling in, and then hiked 45 minutes to the top of Waynapicchu, a mountain next to the ruins for a breathtaking 360 degree view of the area.

As we travel through Peru and then onward to Bolivia, the people clearly have less and less. Business opportunities are completely dilluted as everyone jumps on the same street-selling bandwagon. You can´t even begin to imagine how many thousands of offers we´ve had for cell phone calls (from people´s private phones), massages, food, souviners, or drugs. We´re worried that so many people have bought into a pyramid scheme of purchasing massive inventories of random things to sell to tourists. There are so many vendors with too much of the same stuff and the people can´t seem to sell through it, even when they offer it in exchange for mere pennies.

We haven´t, however, noticed any shortages of rice. We´re lucky enough to be in a region rich in agricultural diversity because of the varying climates in the valleys. We have fresh fruit juices with every meal (papaya, banana with milk, passion fruit, and kiwi are some of our regulars) and have access to delicious grains like quinoa and over 300 varieties of potatoes! We feasted for lunch today with multiple courses and giant desserts, and our bill was less than $10. The cuisine here reminds us to enjoy the freshness and accessiblility of local foods.

We´ll try to post photos again soon!

P + K
]]> ¡Viva Peru! — Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208702040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208702040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208702040/tpod.html Wed, 14 May 2008 11:29:24 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru

After taking all we could of sandboarding, mountain biking and over inflated tourist prices in Northern Chile, we boarded an overnight bus headed to the border of Peru. We arrived in Arica, Chile at 7 AM and tried our best to shake off our groggy disposition and put on our best game faces - as border towns are generally not friendly places. After a quick bit of investigation we realized our only option to venture into Peru was to hop into collectivo (communal taxi) and drive the 2 hours to the border. I´ve often wondered where all the 1982 Cutlass Supreme Classics have ended up. My friends, these gas guzzling boats are alive and well (open to interpretation) in the Southern Hemisphere and currently shuttle people back and forth between Chile and Peru. One can imagine our hesitation when a stocky Chilean insistently tried to corral us into his beat up ¨chariot¨ with promises of delivering us safe and sound in Peru in time for our next connection. Instincts be damned, we went along with him and thank god he kept his word.

We finally arrived in the colonial city of Arequipa and relished our first taste of Peruvian culture. After spending months in developed, easy going countries like Argentina and Chile, Peru was a stark contrast in terms of lifestyle and rhythm. The further north you go, the more indigenous the population becomes and, unfortunately, the greater the disparity between the rich and poor. However, Arequipa proved to be a beautiful city with many colonial-era Spanish buildings built with pearly white volcanic rock. The city is home to 800,000 (although it seems to be double that) and sits at 7,770 feet above sea level. From every direction, you are surrounded by the massive peaks of the Andes - most notably that of the volcano El Misti.

Over the last few decades, Arequipa has developed into a rather important archaeological site with the discovery of the Juanita Mummy in the '90s. As it turns out, the Incas were fond of appeasing the mountain gods by sacrificing children of nobility. The child was chosen at a young age to ¨take one for the team¨ and between the ages of 12 - 16, he or she was brought up to the mountain peaks, given alcohol and coca leaves to reduce the trauma of being sacrificed, then whacked on the head. A number of these sacrificed children were found incredibly well preserved along with all the artifacts that accompanied their sacrifice. Naturally, the mummies are on display at the University Museum and we were able to gawk at a 500 year old child, preserved well enough to make out the wrinkles in her hand and comment on her full head of hair. Eerie is the best word to describe the scene.

Arequipa is also the jump off point to explore the Colca Canyon - the second deepest canyon in the world and twice as deep as the grand canyon. Being the self proclaimed adventure-types, we booked a three day tour. We set out in late afternoon to decent the 1,000 meters to our first camp. The sights were amazing as we peered down upon small villages carved into the mountainside amidst huge cacti and brilliantly colored rock faces. Our guide, Ruth, measured about 4´ and was full of information and cooking skills. We were well taken care of. We bedded down in a fantastic little bungalow and awoke to massive pancake breakfast and a leisurely hike to the next pueblo. We trekked with a bro and sis pair from England that made the trip exceptionally entertaining and enjoyable, especially when Patience and Rosie got to dance around in traditional Peruvian clothing before breakfast one morning. The next day, Kyle awoke at 2 AM to start the ascent out of the canyon, while Patience slept another hour to be taken up via mule under the stars. As these things happen to ill-equipped gringo digestive systems, poor P was struggling with a touch (to put it lightly) of altitude sickness and food related issues. Our tour ended at a Condor viewing point where we gazed at the largest flying birds in the world putz around on thermal updrafts from the canyon. Amazing.

We will soon arrive in Cusco to prep for the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu.

Kyle and Patience.
]]> Empanada Butt — San Pedro de Atacama, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1209061080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1209061080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1209061080/tpod.html Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:45:24 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Empanada: A half-circle pastry filled with meats, cheeses, veggies and more, fried or baked, purchased warm from street vendors, costing less than $1 each.

Empanada Butt: A direct result of eating too many empanadas.

We are surviving expensive Chile (the fastest growing currency against the US Dollar) by cooking and eating lots of street food, mostly lots of empanadas. We made our way to San Pedro de Atacama, salt flats in the middle of the driest desert in the world. We arrived late in the evening the other day and were surprised to see all the street lamps out, but thankful for the star-watching. We contemplated camping, but the dark streets and COLD desert nights lead us into a nice quiet hostal.

It is late fall here, which means OFF SEASON. We love off season. We probably couldn´t handle walking these streets with any more gringos than there already are. We´ve gotten great deals on places to stay and excursions. The companies just keep dropping their prices in the competition to get you to go with them.

We awoke at 3:45 this morning to prepare for one of the most extraordinary trips of our lives. We drove 2 hours in the desert (sometimes on a road, sometimes on our own road) to catch the sunrise at Geysers del Tatio. The coldest part of the day is at sunrise because the heat of the sunshine pushes all the cold air down to the earth. The contrast of the cold air with the 85 degree celsius water creates the most action in the geysers. Every seven minutes, each geyser acts up, starting with bubbling, boiling bath and errupting in a cloud of steam and water eight feet high! We found a calmer pool to heat our coffee water and boil our eggs in for breakfast. Once the sun started to warm the landscape, we headed to some thermal baths close by and jumped in, enjoying pockets of heat coming from the geysers that feed this pool. After an eight-hour tour, we returned to our hostel at noon, with the entire day still ahead of us.

Yesterday, we rented mountain bikes and set off into the sand dunes in el Valle del Muerte (valley of death) with a ´sand board´ strapped to Kyle´s backpack. After climbing an enormous dune in the heat, barefoot, we did as locals do (or tried) and boarded down the hill in a blend of surfing/snowboarding/skateboarding. The trick is to keep the nose of the board above the sand and just go for it! The hike back up was the most grueling part. We continued on up the dunes for a breathtaking view of the valley and surrounding volcanos. From there, we rode an additional 15 km to Valle de la Luna (of the moon) to explore some canyons, caves, and climb up to see the sunset. The view from the top looks like the valley has been dusted in snow, but it´s all salt. We´ve never seen anything like it.

The only people who have ever seen Patience mountain bike are Jordan and Liz, and even then, Kyle and Jordan lied about the distance to make us feel accomplished. She reached a new level in Chile, ending with a starlit/head lamp ride back into town in the dark. Take that empanada butt!

We hop on a bus tonight and if all connections go as planned, we´ll be in Arequipa, Peru by tomorrow evening!
We´re sad to have missed Grandpa Bob´s 90th Birthday Bash but hear that it was a hoot! We can´t wait to see him and the rest of our families when we get back!

K and P
]]> Wine-Cycling — Mendoza, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208400660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208400660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1208400660/tpod.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:53:11 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Mendoza, Argentina

The best way to visit bodegas (wineries) in Argentina is on a bright orange cruiser.

We are in Mendoza, the heart of Argentinian wine country and hooked up with a company called Bikes and Wines to pursue our adventures in la viticultura. We headed to Maipu, a little town outside of Mendoza and reassured ourselves on the way there that ¨of course we´ll have helmets and a safety talk.¨ We were wrong. We hopped on our delapidated bikes with nothing more than a map and off we went to explore 12 km of wineries, chocolate factories and olive oil plantations.

Our first stop was at a wine museum/bodega. It is fascinating to see the old technology in wine-making and frankly, how little it has changed. The rudimentary process from centuries past really isn´t so different from what we´ve experienced with Buddly´s wine project. We took several photos of the old tools, copper tanks and enormous barrels. From there, we headed to a small factory that produces jams, chocolates and liquors. We were fairly amazed that our $5 peso (about US $1.60) tasting fee included a full shot of whiskey along with the dish of chocolates and spoonfuls of jam and spreads. It was just what we needed at 11am to kickstart our day! From there we had some great tours and tastings at old wineries. Our favorite was Vina el Cerno, a functioning winery since 1914 that closed its doors in the 70´s and opened up again 20 years later when it was bought by its current owners. They still process everything by hand (no factory production lines here) and operate with most of the old equipment, sharing the work with seven other family vinyards in the area.

The backpacker circuit is a small world, and we were nothing less than excited to run into Suzanne, our friend from the Navimag ferry at one of our stops with whom we spent the rest of the day. She accompanied us to the olive oil plantation and joined us for the rest of the evening back in Mendoza. She is a pilates instructer in San Francisco and was lucky enough to find someone to temporarily replace her job and maintain her rent while she takes this trip. Suzanne is only one of many fellow travelers we´ve befriended and continue to connect with along the South American path.

We stumbled upon a local theater and bought tickets for Markama, a lively music group that covers all genres of South American music, focusing especially on traditional instruments and beats of indigenous cultures. Aside from the self-righteous floutist, we were impressed by the percussionist and charango (ukulele-like guitar) player.

It's not all fun and games. We are being reminded that we are back in a big city with lots of people that would love to steal our stuff and have all sorts of ploys to do so. We knock on wood every time we mention how lucky we are after seven weeks with no theft and virtually no harassment. Don´t always obey your instincts or manners. If someone drops something, don´t ever pick it up. After one traveler´s mishap we are even reconsidering whether or not to look at our watches if asked for the time. There are so many instances that appear so natural but are only distractions. It´s such a challenge contrasting these precautions with the desire to connect with the warm and amazing people that make up the majority of Argentinians.

Also, we are taking Spanish classes this week... we´ve got the logistics down, but are somewhat frustrated by our inability to truly connect with and get to know locals. Thus, we´re taking private refresher courses at our own respective levels, and then meeting up for an hour each day for joint conversation practice. It's definitely strange having homework again, but a mini-slap in the face for Patience who will be heading to University of Oregon this fall to start a graduate program in Historic Preservation and Urban Planning. The language structure and practice are definitely helping to nail down the forms, creating a much more balanced flow of sentences and conversation.

We are halfway through our journey, still having the time of our lives, but definitely starting to miss home. If we´re in your thoughts, drink a bottle of Malbec and who knows- we may very well be thinking of you while drinking a bottle of the same wine on the other end of the world. It will be like a cosmic connection...

Kyle and Patience
]]> El Bolson — El Bolson, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1207531080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1207531080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1207531080/tpod.html Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:11:56 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
El Bolson, Argentina

Our voyage from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt upon the Navimag ferry was an easy four days of reading, drinking and eating. The comfort of the boat exceeded our expectations and the beige neutral food that was slopped on our plates was plentiful. We met some gregarious lads from Ireland and a few Ozzies that filled one night with our monthly quota of debauchery. Patience was lucky enough to win a round of boat bingo, but was forced to dance alone to really bad synthesizer music accompanied by a creepy DJ who kept saying ¨my name is Patience¨ in a deep voice. She walked away with a crappy bottle of wine and a handful of her dignity.

We arrived in Puerto Montt and quickly booked tickets out of that funky port city and on to the second leg of our journey - The Patagonian Lakes District in Argentina. During a quick walk around Puerto Montt to regain our land legs, we were approached by a group of six guys about college age who were doused in flour and wearing large fish heads strung around their necks. They asked us for money in a kind of friendly kind of aggressive way and we just kept on walking, not quite sure what else to do. Lonely Planet didn´t cover college kids wielding fish heads!? They laughed and moved on and I later learned they were going through a fraternity initiation. They were sent out like that by their brothers to beg for money for booze for an initiation party later that night. Had we known, we likely would have supported their cause.

We eventually made it back to Argentina and to El Bolson, a little hippie town sandwiched between massive mountains and high alpine lakes and where the town mascot is an elf. Not a mischievous elf, but one of those fat happy elves with long beards and floppy hats..that should give you an idea what this town is like. Within the first 10 minutes of strolling through the bucolic town, Kyle was offered pot, then 100% Columbian pot, then a big jug of home brew by a dude who said he made the stuff in his backyard - all of which Kyle declined. The place could have been Eugene. Turns out, the town is the hop growing capital of all of Argentina and the main attraction, aside from the stunning scenery, is the local brew. We´ve yet to sample and we´re admittedly a little skeptical, as the beers we´ve had in South America rate somewhere between Miller High Life and Aquafina. However, if Argentina were to make a great beer, El Bolson is the place to find it.

We rented an apartment for the first two nights and camped in an apple orchard for the last two. We hiked up to Cerro Piltrioquetron to check a statue forest on our second, glorious sunny day. That´s right, a collection of hand-carved wood statues all standing sentry atop one of the tallest peaks around. It was a rough hike, but worth the oddity of it all. The rest of our time was spent strolling through the farmer´s market, grilling enormous steaks at our campsite and enjoying the company of the friends we met along the way. We could have easily stayed weeks, but our northward journey must chug on. Our next stop is Bariloche to gear up for our next trek and then on to San Martin De Los Andes so Kyle can get his fill of fly fishing. Seriously, life is way too easy right now. New pictures are on the way.

Ciao!
]]> Link to our Photos — Puerto Natales, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206738840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206738840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206738840/tpod.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:17:23 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Puerto Natales, Chile

We've been able to get a few photos posted with our entries, but here's a link to our Picasa album if you want to see more. We've loved reading your comments! Thanks for keeping in touch.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyle.stuart/SouthAmerica

Love to you all,

Kyle and Patience


]]> Torres del (Painful) Paine — Torres del Paine, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206654540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206654540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1206654540/tpod.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:03:19 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
Torres del Paine, Chile

After eight days in Torres del Paine National Park, we are thankful for showers, and beds, and heat, and pizza, and beer, and fresh produce, and internet. We left with 12 pounds of trail mix (along with several more pounds of food) and believe it or not, Kyle never wants to look at dried fruit again.

Torres del Paine is a massive park in Chilean southern Patagonia- definitely one of the go-to places for trekkers. You have several hiking options in the park, the most popular being a four day W shaped trek with spectacular views of mountains and glaciers, camping at fairly well developed sites or staying in the spa-hostels on some of the lakes. All types of people do this part of the park... whatever level of cush you´re looking for, it´s here. We started with the ´W' carrying our tent the whole way and using it too (no pedicures on this trip, as badly needed as they may be), and then continued on the ´Circuit,' traversing along some windy ledges, and climbing over a pass on the back side of the torres (towers) of the mountain for a much more challenging 8-day trek with the rest of the real-deal backpackers. What can we say about our experience?

Torres del Paine is:

-An extremely challenging, yet rewarding trek.
-Carrying 30 lbs of food because your boyfriend can´t control his eating.
-Walking across a beach where every stone is perfect for skipping rocks.
-Hiking in the sunshine while being misted by a lake or dark cloud off in the distance, brought to you by wind that will knock you off your feet.
-The thrill of putting on flip-flops after a long day of hiking.
-Having mice chew a hole in tent and sticking around long enough to say hello when you want to go to bed.
-Climbing up and down ladders to get through ravines.
-Moving with an elephant on your back.
-Being excited that the 80 per hour wind gusts are measured in kilometers instead of miles.
-Hiking up to a glacier that just gets more and more massive the closer you get to it.
-An $8 box of Gato Negro Cabernet.
-Loaning your stove to some Chilean campers for the price of a few swigs of gin.
-Mastering the snot-rocket without stopping on the trail.
-Reading your book, cozy and warm in a refugio after a hot shower, drinking an ice cold beer.
-Throwing away the Lonely Planet book because it´s useless weight.
-Snack breaks on the hour.
-Having an endless supply of trail mix
-Puking in a horse corral.
-Cursing the rodents for eating your cookies.
-Scrambling up a valley for breath-taking views of mountain peaks and glacier faces.
-Climbing over a mountain pass with the wind at your back.
-Snuggling up in your sleeping bag and spooning with layers of synthetic fabric between you.
-Meeting interesting hikers at every stop along they way.

We´re a little sad to be ending this leg of our Southern Patagonia journey, but are excited to head north. There are only three ways out of here, all expensive: a plane, a 32 hour bus ride on a dirt road, and a 4 day backpacker 'cruise' on a ferry through the glacier channels. Guess which one we´re doing? We were supposed to leave tonight but the boat was delayed a day because of poor weather. One more night at our wonderful hostel in Puerto Natales isn´t such a bad thing.

Our next stop is still in Patagonia, in the Lakes District. We´re looking forward to some cool towns, relaxing, cheaper prices, more great hiking, and a warmer climate!
]]> Patagonia! — El Chalten, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1205610840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1205610840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kstuart/1/1205610840/tpod.html Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:43:41 -0400 Don't Hate Us, We're on Hiatus!
El Chalten, Argentina

The further south you go, Internet becomes slower and more expensive, but here we are in Patagonia none the less!

After an interesting time heading down the coast, we made it to Puerto Madryn, our first stop in Patagonia along with our first nights of camping. It was so nice to be in our own space, be it a tent, after jumping from hostel to hostel. We found a great campsite just up from this town of 60,000 that overlooked the water. We took an excursion the next day to Penninsula Valdez to see the penguins and sea-lions. It´s funny going all the way to the other end of the world to see animals that we find in Puget Sound and on the Oregon Coast... the penguins were funny though as they waddled up the hills, squawking and crying. A hedgehod took a liking to us and practically crawled into our laps- Patience was not so fond of that! The best part about our trip was the people we met (remind you of college- joining sororities and fraternities because of all the friends you´ll meet). We spend hours that evening at a restaurant by our campsite overlooking the beach with Ilhame from Morocco and Laurent from France, watching the sunset and eating great food!

As we´ve made our way south into ´backpacker´s heaven´ we find that we keep running into the same people. Ilhame is a funny girl who´s been living in Paris for the last few years and decided to take some time off before heading back to Morocco for a new life. She´s proving to her friends that she´s not the ´fancy´ girl they all thought she was. We spent a few days with her and took her hiking the other day, even though we couldn´t quite convince her to camp. Recently, we´ve been camping and hiking with an avid backpacker from Sweden, Frederick. After our last trek, he and Kyle just went to the store and walked back with their arms full of bottles of beer- have we mentioned yet that beers come by the litre?

It is funny though that we´ve connected more with individuals in their early thirties instead of those in their twenties. Maybe its because we have no interest in staying out all night partying, or that we have a sense of respect about how much noise we create in the outdoors... tent walls do not buffer much sound, or maybe we´re just old. Nevertheless, we´re excited about meeting interesting people from all over the world.

Currently, we´re in El Chatlen, a little village in the middle of Parques Nacionales los Glaciares. We arrived 4 days ago, spent one night in town, and left the next morning for 3 days hiking awith unbelievable views of Mont Fitzroy and
the surrounding glaciers! We really lucked out with 3 days of sunshine
and clear skies. Normally, you´re lucky if you see one of the spires
of the Torres (towers in spanish) and we saw all three plus the giant
Fitzroy! We definitely paid for the clear skies with chilly nights,
but that´s what warm meals and cozy sleeping bags are for.

We´ve both been suffering from colds (Kyle first, then Patience), so when we set up camp at our first stop, Patience took a nap in the tent while Kyle wandered around for awhile. He came back starving and gorged on all our easily-ready (no need to cook) food. It was hysterical! Rationing is apparently a new term for him. The next day, he suffered by having to loop back into town to restock on food while Patience took the trail to the next campsite. Luckily, each stop is only 2-3 hours from town and we both enjoyed challenging solo hikes with magnificent views.

Since Internet is frozen, I´ll just keep typing until it picks up again... making this blog longer and longer, but allowing me free computer time to catch up.

This was going to be it´s own blog, but given the situation, we´ll share our story of the great glacier excursion now.

El Calafate is a town of about 3000 people and is really the jumping off point for Southern Patagonia. The town is geared toward the backpacker, with expensive outdoor stores, tons of hostels and fun restaurants. The main attraction from there is to go to Perito Moreno, one of the biggest glaciers in the area and arguably the only one in the world that is not retreating, but is actually growing at a rate of about 3 meters each day. We were sitting in the bus terminal trying to make a decision about what bus company to use to get to the glacier and to our next stop when some people struck up a conversation with us about the glacier. They were apparently trying to rent a car to go on their own, but needed more people to go in on it. We thought about it for about ten seconds before saying YES! This was the type of thing we´d been looking forward to doing with strangers. We ended up with ten people in two VW Golfs (yes, those are the tiny ones). We had travelers from Buenos Aires, Spain, France, and us from the USA. We met up the next morning with a trip to the grocery store to gather supplies for our ´parrilla´, the local term for an asado or rustic bbq. From there, we drove out of town on dirt roads to Lago Roca, a lake with beautiful views of the mountains... and we parrilla´d. Kyle was practicing his spanish and offered to help by saying ¿Puede ayudarme? which actually means ¨Can you help me?¨ After a lot of laughs, he was put in charge of eating... and we ate! We cooked so much food and drank tons of wine- it was ridiculous! Patience ate two brautwursts and a steak sandwich on her own (big surprise). From there we drove into the national park. In a lot of areas, there are two tiers of pricing, one for Argentinians, and the other for extraneros (non-locals). After practicing their accents, the spanish girls got away with saying they were Argentinian and paid 12 pesos with the other locals while Kyle and I paid 40 (about $13). Lucas is a student and only paid 6. Once we saw the glacier and our mouths dropped in awe, we were just fine with paying our fee. It was so great to see it in the late of the day, since the sun heats up parts of it. At any given time, chunks the size of a basketball to a three-story building come crashing off the glacier and into the water making a huge KABOOM. We wondered why one of the paths was blocked off, but after asking around, found out that there was a great tragedy a while ago with some tourists that were watching a bit too close and were washed away. If you want to see the gory details, I guess there´s a video on YouTube.

Well, we´re back in business and can post this blog. We head to Chile in the next couple of days for our BIG eight-day trek. Take care everyone!
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