sarabanda's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member sarabanda on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sarabanda en-us Copyright ©2012 TravelPod.com Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:22:25 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Life on board Akademik Ioffe - first day — Southern Atlantic, Falkland Islands http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604419/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604419/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604419/tpod.html Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:22:25 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
Southern Atlantic, Falkland Islands

Where I stayed
Akademik Ioffe
(Stanley hotels)



Saturday 6th February mid evening
(Note: As a courtesy and respect for privacy, I won't identify any of my fellow passengers by name nor background on this travel blog. So you will have to put up with just me and my observations - suffice to say that we had some Antarctic winter veterans, addicted polar adventurers and lots of crazy fun amazing people among the passengers. The rest of us came from Argentina, a big Aussie contingent of course with representatives from Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Chile, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan, Israel, the USA, Taiwan, South Africa, plus our Kiwi cousins and not to forget my regular dinner mates from Yorkshire. )

The ship finally departed Ushuaia about 2330 last night, when the last of the passengers arrived.
Turned out to be a film crew from a TV travel series Pilot Guides who are creating a couple of episodes on South Atlantic ocean and Antarctic Peninsula adventure travel. I am not sure when the program will eventually screen in Australia but you may get a glimpse of my wind swept self, dressed in wellies and waders dodging penguin poo on one of our shore excursions.

The risk when booking a trip that involves sharing a room with strangers is that it is pot luck if the arrangements work out. I am sharing with two other women, one older than I and the other younger who are part of a NRMA tour group. Having had more than your average experience in ship travel, including naval vessels, I was happy to take the top bunk. And my cabin mates were more than happy for me to do so. There are more upmarket cabins on the upper decks but I would have to take out a second mortgage to pay for them. Besides the cabin is close to the bar and dining room and the heads and showers are just down the passageway. And there are two portholes in my cabin with views of the open sea. So this is luxury for me.

This is a Russian ship with the Captain, officers and crew all from Russia or neighbouring countries from the old Soviet Union - Russians are the world renowned experts at navigating through polar waters. Naturally all the ship board signs are in Russian, the crew announcements and our housekeeping and dining room staff are also Russian. So I will aim to learn a Russian phrase each day (just to impress my lovely Russian born cello teacher, Boris, back in Sydney!).

Fortunately our barman, Diego, is Argentinian so I won´t have to think too hard when ordering my happy hour cocktail. (Note: groan... is that my bar bill? How many margaritas and gin and tonics did I order during this voyage?)

The meals so far have been pretty good too, with three courses at lunch and dinner, hot breakfasts, gourmet cheese platters and fresh biscuits for afternoon tea. I will look like a fat waddlin´ penguin when I disembark. (Note: No more desserts for me till next Christmas.. Thanks Dave -. Scottish head chef - no jokes please, we had great food on board and I will have to tango double time in BA to work off the extra kilos.)

There's also a full bar with choice of Sth African, French and Argentine wine for dinner. I've a bottle of red and white going which should last me the first week (note, wine lasted four days). Happy hour from 6.30pm each night with half price cocktail of the day (I´ve volunteered to help Diego devise the drink of the day. Have read of a polar special created by some stir crazy scientists at one Antarctic research base involving bourbon and lifesavers. Guess which nationality thought up that one?)

Haven't found the gym yet but there is a plunge pool and sauna and masseuse available. Should attend the first, will probably get to the pool and sauna and probably don't need to spend money on the third. (Note: Found the sauna regularly, never made it to the gym, ducked into the plunge pool up to my waist in Antarctica but didn´t go completely Russian....)

There's a library with books on Antarctica, the great polar explorers and volumes on wildlife of the polar regions. The lounge has a DVD player – as you can guess most of the videos are Antarctic documentaries but there is a copy of 'Master and Commander' and 'Happy Feet' both of which will probably get a showing before the voyage is over. An upright piano sits in another corner of the lounge – it's in tune but no one seems to know where to find a piano stool, let alone some music. (Note: Didn´t matter - within a couple of days, the three children on board brought out a violin each, who, together with our Japanese traveller, gave out some impromptu recitals.... and then we had the the ´knitting club' ladies from the NRMA group who managed to knit, pearl, knit in rhythm with the movement of the ship..)

Woke suddenly at 0450 this morning by a sudden roll of the ship so I decided to head up to the bridge wing to watch the morning arrive. Was soon joined by a bird watcher from California and a black-browed albatross soaring and gliding in the pre dawn light. (OK had to cheat on that one) I felt pretty good at seeing my first albatross but was quickly out-done at breakfast by others who had identified at least five other species including the beautiful wandering albatross and someone had even spotted dolphins! There is a tally sheet in the bar listing all the different species of wildlife we are likely to see during this trip - so you can imagine the competitiveness.

We have a commissioned professional photographer on board and everyone is pooling their best photos for a commemorative DVD of our voyage. (Note: Have DVD, a few of my photos even made the grade) My little digital camera looks pitiful against some of the whizz bangery most of my fellow passengers have brought with them, but apparently the abundance of wildlife, particularly in Sth Georgia, makes it easy for anyone to emulate David Attenbrough.

This morning we had the lifeboat drill and this afternoon, mandatory presentations on how to get in and out of the Zodiacs safely and also the do's and don'ts when visiting the Antarctic region. The environmental rules are pretty strict, we'll have to disinfect our boots and vacuum our clothes to prevent transporting exotic seeds and foreign bacteria and other nasties between the islands we visit.

There were two other presentations to help us pass the time during a full day at sea- a fascinating account by a polar veteran of a 1963 Australian scientific expedition using a dog sled team to map one of the major ice shelfs and another on how to identify the different species of albatrosses, terns, cormorants, shearwaters, prians and other feathered friends. By the end of this voyage I should be a whizz on identifying the many species of cetaceans and pinnepeds in these parts...see I told you it´s easy being David Attenbrough.

Anyway a final get together in the bar with our polar veteran who is talking about sailors' superstitions. Tomorrow night we are learning to tie knots. Thus ends my first day at sea.

My nautical lesson for the day: What is longitude and latitude? http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/mappi ng/a_latlong.html

Russian word of the day: Good morning! dObraye
Utra Добро 77; утро
]]> An Unforgettable Andean Experience — Puno, Peru http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/1/1211682600/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/1/1211682600/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/1/1211682600/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:13:45 +0000 Tango and Chocolate - a South American journal
Puno, Peru

Where I stayed
El Buho, Puno, Peru
(Puno hotels)


After spending two and half weeks in Peru including 10 days in Cusco and the surrounding mountains, I am about to head into Bolivia for what will be a brief sojourn in Copacabana, perhaps a trip out to the Isle of the Sun then to La Paz before flying back to Buenos Aires, Argentina and home next weekend.

I haven't really planned anything specific, in fact I just want to chill out over the next couple of days - to 'come down' both literally and figuratively from my experiences in the Andes Mountains and the Island of the Sun, Lake Titicaca may be the place to do so.

Also I have picked up a mild case of gastric - so have dosed up on some of the drugs I brought from Australia (having played nurse to two other fellow travellers over the past fortnight, it has been a wise decision to I bring out half a pharmacy in pills and other useful stuff).

I'm staying at a South American Explorer discounted hotel near the main square of Puno (the main town on the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca) sipping the Andino cure -all (mate de coca and wondering if I can stomach anything more than a soup tonight.

Luckily I have avoided any signs of altitude sickness (except for a brief moment when I exerted too much energy at the 4200 m high Argentinean / Chilean border crossing earlier in my travels). Others around me have not been so lucky including my other fellow traveller on the Qoylloriti Pilgrimage (with Apus- Peru http://www.apus-peru.com/qolloritty_pil grimage.htm ) who needed oxygen on the first night.

The old saying is so true. It doesn't matter how fit you are, or young or healthy, the only way to save the misery and danger of altitude sickness is to ascend to the higher altitudes slowly. Don't try to trick the mountains or your own capabilities. Ask anyone who has been here before me.

I am still in sensory overload from my time in the Andes. It has been the combination of the Pilgrimage, the physical demands of walking long distances over high mountain passes

Imagine tens of thousands of Peruvians, the majority indigenes, dressed in a range of amazing costumes, all converging on to a mountain top sanctuary for three days of non stopping dancing, singing, praying, the letting off of rockets and fireworks inendless cacophany and then, when exhaustion should have felled them, walking all night with just the full moon for light, carrying heavy wooden crosses up glaciers and across high passes (over 5000m) to the final procession on a mountain top.

People came from the jungles (identified by the bird plumage in their head dress) and the mountains (identified by the alpaca and sheep wool in their costumes) to show their devotion in an amazing mix of traditional culture and Catholic rituals.

There were perhaps fewer than 20 of us who could be described as 'foreign tourists' - and except for one specific ceremony which took place high in the glacier, we were allowed to trek, camp and join in the processions.

I have some great photos and video, but in the meantime - this will explain what I am referring to:
http://www.incatrail-peru.com/inka-trai l/en/cusco-highlights/cusco-festivals/q oyllur-riti.php

http://www.amautaspanish.com/amautaspan ish/phototour/photo_tour.asp?CodCat=CAT 006&SubCodCat=SCAT011&index=0
The pilgrimage climaxed with an amazing Corpus Christi procession in the Plaza de Armas, Cusco last Thursday and joining in the local gastronomic tradition of chiri uchu ( a cold platter featuring chicken, cuy, sausage, tortilla and other delicacies.
http://www.aboutcusco.com/cusco/eng/fes tivals/corpus_christi.asp
http://www.infocusco.com/modules/xcgal/ displayimage.php?pid=30&album=4&amp ;pos=2

One thing I learnt. You don't have to share in another's religious faith to feel their joy in their expression of it.

All conversation around me has mostly been in Spanish, Quechan (or the other local language Aymara. ) Having to focus on my own Spanish has had its rewards in the day to day dealings with the three guides, two cooks and the horse wrangler who looked after the the two 'paying clients.' Ruben, our twenty something guide who has taken part in more than eight Pilgrimages in his young life, even introduced his extended family to us (he had uncles and aunties in almost every town and village associated with the Pilgrimage.

Aside from the cultural experience, the trek in the high country around Apu Ausengate was an exhilerating and challenging walks I have ever done.

The route of the Pilgrimage took us into a countryside of high plains, marshlands, eucalyptus forests, farmlands and high peaks. There were some sharp descents and wearying climbs (I even used one of the horses at one stage so I could ride and look around me rather than at the ground below - and was rewarded by the sight of a condor dipping behind a sheer rock face near by.)

But if I was taking it slowly, I was constantly overtaken by the 'compassas' of costumed dancers, family groups, their mules, and the singing and music of the bands.

I did have one brief moment of solitude in the four days. For a brief moment, while walking across one high mountain pass as light snow fell, I looked around and saw no one else before or behind me on the track. It was silent except for the rush of wind. Of course the moment passed quickly and the sudden appearance of the other walkers appearing like phantoms in the dimming light was very welcome indeed.

Once I am home I will try to piece all my notes and photos into a proper narrative.
- and maybe write up a story.

This has been the most exhaustive period, mentally and physically, of my travels in South America. I have spent endless hours walking the cobbled streets of Cusco (and took local buses to visit the lovely towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo and their famous ruins in the Sacred Valley. After a night in the hideous tourist trap of Aguas Calientes I took the pre dawn bus to Maccu Picchu and spent almost the whole day there, including climbing the neighbouring Wayna Picchu peak.

So forgive me if I just sound weary and Inka-ed out. I have had enough of Cusco, of the sidestepping hawkers, handicraft sellers, beggars, the wet nosed cute costumed kids nursing baby alpakas and the taxi driver thieves that buzz around you like persistent blowflies as soon as you step out in to the street. I met some lovely people in Cusco but was glad to get out of the place this morning.

Give me a day or two to refresh my spirit, get over this tummy bug, and I will write again.






]]> A Russian Church in Antarctica — King George Island, SouthShetlandIslands http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267640039/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267640039/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267640039/tpod.html Thu, 20 May 2010 10:16:20 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
King George Island, SouthShetlandIslands

Where I stayed
Akademik Ioffe


South Shetland Islands
After the high seas and storms that accompanied us to the South Orkneys, we faced another challenge. From our entry to the Weddell Sea and into the Antarctic Strait we encountered inpenetrable pack ice - something the earlier explorers also faced when sailing in these parts! Attempts were made to find a way through the ice but finally the Akademik Ioffe was forced to navigate around the top of the Peninsula to enter the Bransfield Strait on the western side of the Peninsula. This detour meant we had to cancel any thought of a visit to Paulet Island - a popular stopping off point for its reputation as breeding ground for Adelie penguins but also famous for its role in the 1901-1904 Antarctic Expedition led by Swedish geologist Otto Nordenskjöld. This expedition rates at the top in the pantheon of great polar adventures of the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic exploration and scientific research.

In January 1902 Captain Carl Anton Larsen (the founder of the Gryvitken whaling station) dropped off Nordenskjöld and his overwintering party on Snow Hill Island on the east of the northern tip of Antarctic Peninsula to conduct charting and scientific work. However when Larsen returned to pick up the team 12 months later, his ship, the Antarctic, was blocked by pack ice (thus leaving Nordenskjöld and a few of his men to spend two winters on their research station they had established on Snow Hill Island, unaware of what happened to their ship.

Larsen disembarked three men at Hope Bay at the northern tip of the peninsula to try to reach Nordenskjöld's research station by foot over the ice. Unfortunately, the trekkers could not reach Snow island and returned to Hope Bay. Meanwhile, the Antarctic tried to break through toward Snow Island only to become trapped and ultimately crushed by the pack ice (a fate that would befall the Endurance a decade later) Larsen was forced to abandon ship and settle his men on Paulet Island. There were now three separate groups forced to survive the winter of 1903 with little real hope of rescue.

In October 1903, as spring arrived, the Hope Bay party moved south, met members of Nordenskjöld's party probing north, and all returned to Snow Island. By happy concidence the Paulet Island party had managed to reach Snow Hill Island at the same time that an Argentinian naval corvette, the Uruguay, arrived to rescue them all. There was only one fatality from the expedition with one of Antarctic's crew succumbing to illness. I ventured aboard the Uruguay (now a museum ship at the Buenos Aires docks) where the story of this amazing adventure and rescue is captured in array of mementos and documents. You can almost hear the relieved laughter of the rescued men and smell their pipesmoke lingering among the creaking bulkheads.

Any disappointment at missing out on Paulet Island was alleviated by the impromptu opportunity to visit the the Chilean Antarctic Research Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva located on King George Island, South Shetlands. Check out the Wikipedia link to this base
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_Presi dente_Eduardo_Frei_Montalva

King George Island is known as the 'capital' of the Antarctic Peninsula with 10 nations establishing research stations on the island. The Chilean base is right next door to the Russian Bellingshausen Base (a muddy creek divides the two).

Our group were given fairly free reign of the Chilean base as long as we kept to the main areas and did not interfere with the local workers, (population is around 40 or so - there are even children here, I have been told)

Most of my fellow shipmates, in addition to checking out the local post office for especially marked stamps and the small souvenir shop (set up in shipping crates on stilts) and ducking around the chinstrap penguins ambling lazily around the foreshore - headed to the famous Russian church built on the Bellingshausen base but easily accessible from the Chilean side. This building was reputedly transported from Siberia on a sister ship to the Akademic Ioffe in the late 1990s (if anyone can confirm this?) It stands high on an icy hill overlooking the Chilean Catholic Church, also constructed from shipping crates. The Russian chapel in its simple wooden and rustic beauty seems almost out of place in this place of unitilarian construction, even if the various crate buildings are painted in a series of bright colours. St Trinity's - check it out via this link- has its own priests and I have heard of a wedding taking place there. It is certainly beautiful, and several of my shipmates including our Russian compadres took part in a mass during our visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Georg e_Island_(Antarctica)

In chasing up links to this entry, I stumbled on the blog site of the Pilot Guide TV crew assigned to our ship. Big cheerio guys, you were great company and I can't wait to see our trip through your lens and POV.

http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/glo be_trekker/shows/antarctica/antarctica- travel-blog.php


STOP PRESS The trailer to the episodes are now on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOZpe2he DOA

and their travel diary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRKTMgdo cIA&feature=player_embedded

There have been many stories about Antarctica and the Sub Antarctic lately, or perhaps my eyes are opened to such accounts (like the all black King penguin in Fortuna Bay South Georgia that had its ten minutes of fame recently).

But whatever the reason, my heart always skips a beat whenever I hear the word Antarctica.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ws/article-1258041/Incredible-pictures- giant-ice-sculptures-carved-sea-water-p olar-winds.html
More of my Antarctica story in my next entry plus photos of close up encounters of whales, icebergs, penguins and seals and did I mention icebergs??

POSTSCRIPT
I was sorry to learn that a significant and respected figure in Australia's Antarctic story, Dr Philip Law, died recently. His name came up in many presentations and discussions during our expedition. A tribute to a public servant who brought honour to the title:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituari es/scientist-planted-strategic-flags-on -antarctica-20100303-piwn.html


]]> The Milonga Diaries — Buenos Aires, Argentina http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1268861040/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1268861040/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1268861040/tpod.html Mon, 17 May 2010 01:13:26 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Where I stayed
Antiguos Buenos Aires
(Obelisk hotels)


March 2010 Buenos Aires

My week or so dedicated to all things tango passed too quickly. I think of it now in a mix of images or music and rhythms in my head. From the outset I forced myself into a routine, ensuring I had allocated at least a few hours for sleep and showering each day if only to find the energy to attend the milongas every night. I rarely got to bed before 2.30am and even then the noise from the street would cut into my sleep.

(How I missed the southerly busters of Sydney to relieve the humidity and grittiness of BA in summer. I resorted to a cool shower or wash both morning and evening - but a little note to anyone staying in private residences in BA especially in the older buildings: Water pressure is not guaranteed thing in BA. How did the locals look so cool and fresh all the time on the dance floor?)

By the second day of classes I had refined my schedule down to an art. Out of the apartment by 9.15am, catch the Subte to the centre of town and a walk for a block or two along Calle Esmerelda for a quick breakfast at a local cafe (ham and cheese croissant, a small glass of orange juirce and a cafe con leche for 10 pesos - about $3.50 AUS) with just enough time to cross the road to our dance studio Tango Brujo. We had a morning class of one and half hours under the patient tutelage of local tango teachers and professional dancers Damien and Noelia, followed by a two hour lunch break (and a siesta if necessary) before a one and half hour practica in the afternoon with Fabian and Karina Conca, our Sydney based tango teachers.

The afternoon was our own, many of us went shopping for shoes and clothes - I've somehow ended up with two pairs of dance shoes, a red leather wool lined jacket, a suede handbag, a leather belt and a gold lame top for my tango skirt. Not bad for someone who finds shopping for clothes and shoes etc a tedious bore. But then we are in BA and shopping for tango shoes takes retail therapy to a whole new level.

For a florid if fun intro to 'Tango Brujo', click on this link I found on the internet:
http://argentinastravel.com/644/tango-b rujo-home-of-nuevo-tango-in-buenos-aire s/

Our dance class comprised about a dozen Australians from a range of cultural backgrounds - we are all students from Fabian and Karina Conca's classes and workshops held regularly in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Hobart. Here are some photos from our time together, which give the impression that all we did was dance, eat, drink, shop and more dancing.... which probably summed up the week.

http://www.tangomilonguero.com.au/galle ry2.html

I had promised myself a siesta before our nightly milongas but somehow never found the time...
Here are some Youtube clips of the various salons we visited after the days of classes and shopping. We usually arrived 'early' around 11pm and left 'early' around 2am or so. I would definitely pace myself more slowly if I were spending more time here.

Saturday 6th March
Saturday night was our introduction to the tango as 'spectacle' with stunning dancing (of the tango fantasia style) singing and music at Esquina Homero Romanzi, one of the many tango shows in Buenos Aires. You can find a show to suit any taste and budget, of course the style of dancing is overly theatrical, and for me lacks the passion and beauty of the more traditional milonguero style of the traditional salon:
http://www.esquinahomeromanzi.com.ar/hi storia_esquina_ingles.htm

Sunday 7th March Club Grisel
Our first milonga in this tour after a day touring La Boca and San Telmo and lunch at the Old Market.
http://www.viejoalmacen.com/ing/histori a_lugar.html

Yes, each is a hyped tourist destination but well worth the visit especially if in Buenos Aires for the first (and only) time. Perhaps I am getting a little jaded, but I found the San Telmo markets alonga Defensa and around the Plaza Dorrego a little less interesting and diverse than the markets of just a couple of years ago and certainly the theatrical acts seeemed a little more low key. Found myself annoyed by the Afro drummers who noisly banged their way up and down Defensa cutting into the performances of the guitarists and others - then having the audacity to hold out their hands for money. Go away.

One of the stalls belonged to a local heritage and conservation group protesting against the plans to build a high rise tower in the midst of the historical district. Of course it would then be open slather for developers to come in. In my best Spanish I expressed my sympathy explaining that my own city of Sydney was also being ruined by rapacious development encouraged by those in power and that political cronyism, incompetent government and an overstuffed bureaucracy was not confined to Argentina - well actually I didn't use those exact words, my Spanish isn't that good. But they got my drift.

Of course the highlight of Sunday in San Telmo is when they clear away the stalls in the Plaza and everyone gets up to dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Ja5soU -5M&feature=related

Anyway tonight our group went instead to Club Gricel. This was a suburban milonga which reminded me of similar venues back home in Sydney, even down to the set up of tables, though of course here in Buenos Aires, you can get empanadas and drinking water comes 'con gas' or 'sin gas'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA7TPSyR eA0&feature=related

And at this milonga, another familiar addition to the night was the Chacarera, a local folk dance that made an appearance late into the evening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB1Ca7UH iek

Monday 8th March Salon Canning (Parakultural) Scalabrini Ortiz

The first thing you notice about this venue are the murals. We arrived at the tail end of a class, a lot of well dressed young people, many of whom were foreigners like us- saw some beautiful dancing and I wished I were younger and able to spend a long autumn here, just practising tango.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHCiZ06z PeM

Tuesday 9th March El Beso La Bruja
An intimate art deco era salon. Single women on one side, men on the other and where a subtle catching of the eye and a nod signifies your interest in partnering up for the dance. Of course the good girls of Buenos Aires in earlier decades would have been chaperoned by mothers or aunts. This video brings back memories of the night we were here, when a similarly aged couple got up to dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ak2y84C -9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s6l_-l8 IAI

Wednesday 10th March Association Armenia 'La Viruta' Av Armenia 1366 A casual atmosphere where people can go up to the bar to order drinks rather than rely on waiters.
The crowd are younger and many are very casually dressed. Fabian says that when he were younger, this was the place he and his friends would visit later in the night (the hours of madrugada) when entry was free, breakfast would be offered (cafe and media lunas?) and the best dancers would be still be on the floor. We arrived early about midnight for this milonga and for awhile the distortion of the loudspeakers was rather distracting, plus the number of beginners on the floor (who were unfamiliar with social tango routine and courtesy) made this place hard to settle in to for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCyG3iAO uUY

Thursday 11th March Centro Region Leonesa Humberto Primo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVV83rj9 aOc&feature=related

I am beginning to get the hang of this... .

Friday 12th March La Baldosa, Ramon L Falcon in Flores district 'Salon El Pial'

My final milonga where finally I managed not to disgrace myself on the dance floor. More importantly I won a smile from my professional dance partner and felt the rhythm in my soul.
A chance, too, to watch two young couples, visitors from out of town, put
on an exhibition of stunning dancing particularly the beautiful tango milonguero and vals styles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iepwQLA rCY&feature=PlayList&p=0AF7BF69 1E2C1D5E&playnext=1&playnext_fr om=PL&index=60

On Saturday, while I was somewhere over Antarctica flying back to Australia, the rest of my class were enjoying their last milonga at what is perhaps one of the most well known of the dance salons, La Confiteria in Suipacha which was made famous in The Tango Lesson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TufSIR3 onU&feature=PlayList&p=406AB105 1DD3EB11&playnext=1&playnext_fr om=PL&index=26

This is perhaps the most famous scene from the film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqYg0ZVg V4w&feature=related
I never warmed to this movie or its theme, as it plays on the stereotype of the cougar and the pups. Just hope my lovely Argentinian dance partners this week never thought of me in that way!

Here are some famous Argentine tango dance scenes from various movies... pick the flick!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bibtqDxX v1o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBHhSVJ_ S6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6VvR3hk ePI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcAOqW-F ErM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Esl2Le dIg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yacBERWe SVg&feature=related

We did enjoy a break from tango for a taste of the other side of Argentinian history and culture, namely its folklorico - with a visit to Estancia Cinacina located on the far outskirts of Buenos Aires in San Antonio de Areco - the town is known as the centre of gaucho tradition having initiated an annual fiesta celebrating the Argentinian cowboy - which were either romantic and legendary figures of history or nothing more than drunks, cross breeds and layabouts. Here are a couple of links to both the Day of Tradition and the Estancia itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3aK9mr6 lSY
http://www.lacinacina.com.ar/ ing_index.php

And so on my last morning, a visit to Cafe Tortoni for breakfast. http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/index_ing les.html Get here early enough and you don't have to queue. The waiter was a bit snooty and the food average but the decor and ambience make for a perfect farewell to Argentina - I am already planning my return here next year with my tango group with perhaps a side visit to Colombia.

Hasta luego

]]> Getting to know you: Humpback, crabeater, gentoo — Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267224488/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267224488/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267224488/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 14:21:39 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Where I stayed
Akademik Ioffe


Journal of an Antarctica tragic:
If the past two weeks were not special enough, our coming few days stepping ashore on the Antarctica Peninsula itself were unforgettable. I know now why anyone who has travelled here returns home spiritually and emotionally renewed. I understand too why the men of the Endurance could still be in awe of the icy world around them even when it threatened to take their lives. And when I read of the expeditioners and navigators who ventured here over the centuries, and who endured conditions beyond my own understanding, I can only feel humbled.

Later
Having recently returned to Sydney I am now slowly updating and filing all my travel blog posts. Hopefully I can complete this task in the coming month or two (I have just realised I have written more than 18,000 words in my travel journal, which must now be deciphered, and have almost 1000 of my own photos to process. Please bear me with me if my posts are a little late. I am caught up in other matters of my life, and still waking up each morning wondering why I am hearing English on the radio and not quite recognising my own bedroom.)

Later still:
But Antarctica taught me how to forgive the idiocies of petty bureaucracy and incompetent management that is the hallmark of my hopefully soon to be former workplace. I now have a store of Antarctic imagery that I have uploaded to my computer at home to remind me what is real and important in this world when others try to drag me down.

Thursday 18th February Weddell Sea

If there is one guideline when considering travelling to Antarctica, it is this: There are no guarantees written into your itinerary. There are no promises that the planned visits to scientific research stations, penguin breeding grounds or the various glacial wonderlands will take place. If you measure your travel experiences by such assurances, then please do not consider Antarctica, never venture beyond a five star hotel resort. But if you are like me, and relish the unexpected and the joy of unknown possibilities, you will be rewarded in so many ways.


Antarctica

I keep coming back to the draft of this entry to update it, to add my photos and to try to explain my deep emotional response to this place. Like my shipmates, I didn't want to leave here and although we all farewelled Antarctica with much dancing and singing and drinking in the bar that late evening while the Akademic Ioffe steamed her way north towards the Drake Passage, the farewell was very bittersweet; I doubt any of us really wanted to leave.

We know we are like every other visitor here, the strict rules of Antarctic eco-tourism mean that our footprints in this place must remain light and our time here limited. Of course these Antarctic expeditions ex Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego are short. On our trip, our wellies barely kissed the top of the Peninsula itself. But time in Antarctica is not measured by our presence here, nor if I personally stepped 10 metres, 100 metres or several kilometres ashore (afterall there are here are thousands of square kilometres of coastline and ice and landmass that has yet to be traversed by man).

Antarctica is about realising that this is perhaps the last true wilderness on this planet and how you wish to experience it is up to you. On our trip you could trek up a mountainside for spectacular views, kayak in between the icebergs, spend hours observing penguin chicks in their rookery, or get close and personal to a crabeater seal for that perfect photo - or, as many on our ship did, even camp out on the ice one evening - Antarctica gives each of its visitors a memorable moment or two and how you wish to remember this place, well that is up to the individual.

Here are some of mine, drawn from the too few days we spent on the peninsula:

Just like sailors of yore, we passengers on board the Akademik Ioffe had company for our voyage throughout the southern ocean - seals, penguins, sea birds, dolphins and orcas and the most magnificent of all - whales who rode the swells with us, or flew up in unison from their floating iceberg to greet us or even bothered to look up from the ice floe that was their home to give us a disinterested glance. I don't think the tropical seas have as much surface traffic as occurs at the more extreme latitudes - am I mistaken??

It was absolutely thrilling to ride the waves with the pod of orcas in the waters off South Georgia but our close encounters with the humpback whales in the Antarctic have to rate as the most emotionally uplifting experiences I have had in a long while. I don't think I was alone. During one amazing contact, a mother and calf (or perhaps two juvenile humpbacks) played with our stationary vessel, scratching themselves on our keel and swimming from side to side. Can you imagine almost 100 people, including passengers, the ship's veteran polar Russian contingent and TV crew rushing from portside to starboard as a couple of cetaceans played hide and seek with us?? A fellow Australian, female, a straight talking horsewoman in her mid 40s from south western Sydney, openly admitted crying with the sheer exhilaration and emotional buzz of being so close you could almost touch the growths on the whale and have eye contact and smell and feel its discharge from its blow. Thank God for such creatures on this planet and thank God we (Australians) no longer feel the need to kill them.

Another memory:

Cruising in the Zodiac in one of the many inlets on the Antarctic Peninsula. Hearing the cracking of the glacial ice, staring up at the basalt cliffs, feeling the crunch as our little rubber boat glides through the remains of hundreds of thousand year old icebergs now melting into the cold waters. One of my fellow Zodiac passengers picks up a block of the ancient 'black ice' blocks out of the water which ends up in my happy hour gin and tonic, (the pure clear melting ice - the likes of which I have never tasted before!) I take a picture of a cormorant (yeah, have photographed the ubiquitous 'shag on a rock') but wish I could identify the species as easily as I can now identify the different penguins and stil the image in my head of a magical iceberg melting into stalegites and stalegmites of blue ice (that in an instant brought back memories of the river caves ride in Sydney's Luna Park of my childhood but these were nature's own carvings.

I did not have my camera this particular excursion amongst the icebergs and Antarctic bays but I can still picture the group of seals, I think they were mostly crab eaters (a misnomer, this species actually eat squid and krill I believe) and perhaps a weddell seal? sunning themselves on a berg, a smear of blood next to one creature perhaps spelt a vicious encounter with a leopard seal - one of the chief predators around here.

A few days later I would again zodiac among languid seals and even a couple of dozing humpback whales; so close we had to deliberately avoid brushing up against them. The sea kayakers in our group encountered minkes up close while other species of whale were spotted during our time in these waters. Hopefully these our signs that the populations are building up again.

Another memory: I am dancing alone on the top deck of my ship, somewhere in Antarctica, in a state of undress, post the sauna and bar and staring at the southern cross and feeling at utter peace with the world. My companions are sleeping on the ice, across the expance of floes and cold water of the bay. A rough sleep I suspect. I almost joined them except that the inbalance of sleeping gear to interested passengers resulted in my missing out. Not too disappointed. Noticed that those folks who have actually spent time in Antarctica consider the whole exercise unnecessary.

Could I sleep on the ice with the sounds of dogs and the whipping of the wind cutting into my face. Doubt it. My regard for Shackleton and his men and those before him and since grows ever stronger.






]]> Fossils, glaciers and a night on a ranch Part 1 — El Calafate, Argentina http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1272891732/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1272891732/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1272891732/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 13:03:07 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
El Calafate, Argentina

(El Calafate hotels)


Monday 1st March El Calafate, Patagonia

After disembarking from the ship last Tuesday, I have been travelling in beautiful Patagonia, a region that covers the southern region of Argentina and Chile. For the most part I have just been `chilling out´ which means taking easy walks, sitting in bars/restaurants writing, or just staring out of the window at amazing vistas of snow peaked mountains, turquouise lakes and glaciers. Imagine the west coast of the South Island New Zealand, on a grander scale with much of the country wild, still untouched by human exploration let alone habitation.

The forces of nature over millenia are written in every mountain face and in the powerful winds and cloud formations that race across the sky. It is also there in the remains of the receding glaciers and deserts that were once lush beech forests.

The mountains are the bottom tip of the huge Andes range, running down the continent to the Archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. The border between Argentina and Chile is just a line on a map (though for a couple of centuries now the two countries have been fighting both a cold and hot war over territorial claims).

If the Argentian side of Patagonia is nature in slow motion, then the Chilean side of the Andes range (which is on the Pacific ´rim of fire) is the more tempetuous and violent. Last time I was in Sth America (2008) a volcanic eruption dominated the headlines and today as I sat in a low key restaurant on the main street of El Calafate for lunch, the TV (sound down) had non stop coverage of Saturday´s el terremoto en Chile. Argentinian relatives of the dead are being interviewed, the (Argentine) President has promised aid, the TV is showing traffic jams as people flee devasted areas, and also the ripped up streets and crushed buildings.

Although you can´t hear a word, you can tell the people are shell shocked, in some of the emergency shelters, survivors are just standing listlessly in line. This has been Chile´s worst earthquake for the past century. Current reports say at least 700 dead, and this is a modern
developed country with first world infrastructure and they are reeling from the catastrophe.

Seeing all this on TV is a jarring contrast to the peace and tranquility of the past few days back on land not to mention the absolute awe-inspiring beauty of the landscape I´ve encountered.

Worth checking out, especially if the weather precludes a trip out to see the Magellanic penguins or trekking in the Tierra del Fuego national parks.

Here in the Los Glaciers National Park, I also opted for a laid back few days. I never made it to the glacier of Perito Moreno, perhaps the most famous of the day trips nor did I walk on glaciers or climb mountains out of El Chalten. These are must do excursions if you can't consider excursions to Antarctica or Sth Georgia (this will be a familiar refrain for the rest of my life, I'm afraid) and if you can catch Perito Moreno collapsing ( a regular occurrence I'm told) then you will have something to remember all your life.

But I can recommend other day /weekend trips - on the Friday of my long weekend in El Calafate I did a day trip to the petrified forest which included a bus ride via the famous Leone hotel that once reputedly hosted Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid .. I'm not going to doubt this claim but here are some photos.
ttp://www.welcomeargentina.com/elcalafa t/la-leona-petrified-forest.html
http://www.patagonia-argentina .com/i/content/butch.php
http://www.hoteldecampolaleona.com.ar/h istory.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDHayMS3 3MA&feature=PlayList&p=175FBC68 84F85794&playnext=1&playnext_fr om=PL&index=9

Walking through the arid canyon that was once a beech forest teeming with prehistoric fauna is a surreal experience. I spotted a lone fox quietly tracking through the dried up riverbed but that was all. Dinosaurs once lived in these parts, their fossilised bones perhaps brought down by the glacial floes from surrounding areas or even in the forest itself. It was dry work walking firstly through the gully and then out again. We stopped in the shade of an overhang for lunch mindful not to drop a scrap of bread or a wrapper as a reminder of our presence. And as soon as we left, it was as if nothing had passed this place in a millenia, such is the absence of time here.


]]> Everywhere Ice - and Happy Birthday to the Boss — South Orkney Islands, Scotia Sea, Antarctica http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267223903/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267223903/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267223903/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 12:14:38 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
South Orkney Islands, Scotia Sea, Antarctica

Where I stayed
Akademik Ioffe


Monday 15th February South Orkney Islands, Scotia Sea heading to the Weddell Sea

Today's bad weather and high seas prevented our landing on Laurie Island, the furthest east of all the four main islands in the South Orkneys and home to the Orcadas Argentine research station. We could see the station huddled beneath the snow covered mountains with the cold surf lashing right up to the buildings themselves. Here's a link to show where we are::
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcadas_Is landshttp://www.polarconservation.org/e ducation/antarctic-islands/south-orkney

A stream of icebergs has made navigation a challenge, but somewhere in the fog I can see a small colony of chinstrap penguins hitching a ride on one of the icebergs. They look a little forlorn out there in the open seas, (I have confessed to Antje, our lovely penguin expert that I have a soft spot for the chinstraps.)

By afternoon the winds of last night's gale force storm had subsided a little but the decks remained slippery from ice - several people have already fallen heavily - even the ship's exterior railings and deckheads are crusted with ice. The large swells have also sent a few people back to their bunks. However for those of us who still have their sea legs, the bar is doing good business.

Today marks the 136th birthday of the 'Boss' Sir Ernest Shackleton so we celebrate the occasion with a toast of rum at dinner and later in the bar, all against a background of traditional Irish music. I get up to dance a jig and am later joined by one of the photogenic members of the TV crew who shall remain nameless lest he get a gig on Dancing With the Stars in future.

Later in the evening I take advantage of the sauna for a late night sweat before turning in.

Tuesday 16th February Weddell Sea

A day at sea. Calmer waters and even a glimpse of blue sky. The birders are not the only ones on board rushing for their binoculars when the huge tabular icebergs that pass up with regularity now reveal that they are home to perhaps thousands of snow, Antarctic and giant petrels which rise in a dark cloud and fly overhead as we pass by. I peruse the bird identification book more thoroughly whenever I stop by the bridge or the ship's library. Memo to anyone who plans a trip to these waters, read up on the sea birds beforehand.

And even though there is no need to shout out 'thar she blows' each time you spot a whale, it does help to learn about the different type of shapes made by the species of whales when they blow.

There was much excitement when a pod of humpbacks swim close to the ship. But they were only teasing us.The air temperature outside is minus one degree celsius so it doesn't take long for extremities to get cold if you forget your gloves in the excitement to get a photo. But how to capture the whole scene playing out in front of you?

A return to the lounge, hot chocolate, sharing photos and updating travel journals though nowadays the journal is more likely typed on a laptop.

A few of the passengers, including the three children on this expedition, have brought along violins and so begins an impromptu performance, with another passenger providing accompaniment on the piano. The knitting circle gets bigger with each day at sea along with their creations and a couple of members of the expedition crew have made a cribbage board out of an old box and toothpicks.

One of the passengers, a Scottish geologist, gives a presentation on the geology of the Scotia Sea which proves popular along with the numerous BBC documentaries on polar wildlife. So the day passes by, lazy all round and punctuated by exercise walking up to the bridge.

1445 The most amazing sight off our portside- a pod of killer whales - there must be a dozen at least, a few blow in chorus, then they swim across the bow. By now there are about 20 people on the bow itself, the rest of in the bridge or on the bridge wing, with cameras out. The orcas (which are of the dolphin family, not whales at all) are swimming with the ship, rising out of the water - each leap draws gasps from us all. Hope the camera crew have captured some vision of this. I've left my camera on my bunk, can't bear to turn away from the sight to go and get it, the picture is imprinted on my brain.

Wednesday 17th February Weddell Sea

Ice floes merging into pack ice has prevented us or any ship penetrating south towards the Antarctic Sound, which means no excursion to Paulet Island, a dot of a place just east of Dundee Island but very famous in the story of Antarctic exploration with the amazing story of Nordenskjöld's Antarctic expedition of 1904. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwedAE
http://www.eoearth.org/article/The__Her oic_Age__of_Antarctic_Exploration

(note: When I was in Buenos Aires a fortnight later, I managed a visit on board the by now museum 'Corvette Uruguay' which had such a pivotal role in the rescue mission.)

Meanwhile with passage through the Antarctic Sound impossible, our ship tries to work its way around the ice floe around the top of the peninsula to enter the Bransfield Strait. This map may help:

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Antarcti c_Peninsula

Biggest buzz this morning was the sighting of humpback whales. Clearly visible swimming among the ice floes. While up on the Bridge, I happened to peer starboard, and the head of a humpback rose right out of the water in front of me, I could see its "tuberous growths clearly - and again I am too much in awe and miss the photo. And I was the only one looking in his direction at the time! I venture out to the starboard bridge wing, bracing myself in the freezing cold and sharp wind to look out for it again. After only five minutes I have to come inside the bridge cabin for warmth.

1350 The day is clearing - have seen seals on the ice floes, penguins too while there are petrels and albatrosses overhead. We are continuing trying to venture southwards, finding a passage through the ice but the journey is slow. Such are the vagaries of Antarctic expeditionary travelling. I stare out to the distance and try to imagine myself in these same waters 95 years ago, in three small wooden lifeboats, suffering frostbite, with basic rations and no surety of survival.

And so our own journey south continues.



]]> What's new Buenos Aires? — Buenos Aires, Argentina http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1269809482/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1269809482/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1269809482/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 12:12:08 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Monday 1st March
Well here I am, back in one of my favourite cities on the planet, Buenos Aires - a city that is maddening, fascinating, vibrant, cramped, wistful, generous, suspicious and passionate all at the same time.

I flew in on Monday evening after a long flight from El Calafate via Bariloche (a gentle hint, confirm all internal flights on the local carrier a day or two before departure otherwise you end up on round about flights and paying extra fees. And don't forget the airport taxes not to mention the new impost for travellers from US and Australia etc just arriving in the country)

After being cautious in my outdoor adventure activities lest I damage my dancing pins before my week of tango classes, I managed to bang my leg on the car door as I was getting into the taxi at the local airport. There's a lesson there somewhere, I thought, as I massaged my bruised knee.

Travelling down Avenida de Julio I immediately recognised old landmarks; even the graffiti ridden facades of abandoned buildings had a comforting familiarity about them. I gave the taxi driver the address of my homestay - the same apartment in the San Telmo district where I stayed two years ago.

http://www.antiguobuenosairesguesthouse .blogspot.com/

Arriving at the front door of this well maintained Art Deco building, it seemed nothing had changed - and my lovely hostess Carla came down to help me with my luggage and thank the driver - who escorted me to the front gated door as this is not exactly the safest street in town- and soon I greeted her partner Sergio and the two contented cats that run this household, Frida and Fidel. It was as if I only left for a the weekend and was returning home.

Thursday 4th March

The past few days have been busy. No tango so far, just catching up on washing and writing and enjoying the luxury of cooking for myself. I shop locally - vegetables and fruit and pasta and other staples, and tonica and lemon of course for my daily happy hour cocktail.

I visited one of my favourite bar/restaurants Bar Britanico on Calle Defensa and looking out to Park Lezama two mornings ago during breakfast whereupon I spied a familiar face, my journalist editor friend Carlos, whom I met during my first visit to Buenos Aires two years ago. (I never managed to meet up with him properly again during my fortnight in the city but did receive an email on my return home to Sydney.)

Tuesday I just stayed in, half watching the Chilean earthquake coverage on the TV and reading the Spanish subtitles on Hollywood movies. On Wednesday and Thursday I revisited old haunts, the shopping malls in Palermo district and the Puerto Madero district - renovated, expensive and suggestive of Darling Harbour back home but without our stunning natural attractions. http://www.buenosaires54.com/english/pu ertomadero.htm

The docks are now home to two of Argentina's most famous museum ships - the corvette Uruguay (built around 1877 in England) and the naval training frigate Sarmiento. You can board both for a couple of pesos each and they are well worth a look. The former is well known to anyone interested in the history of Antarctic exploration particularly for its famous involvement in the rescue of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition. When the steam ship returned to Buenos Aires in December 1903 all on board received a hero's welcome from 100,000 people waiting dockside followed by several days of receptions and parades.

Friday 5 March

Today was a long day that I had hoped to punctuate with a siesta but never got around to it. Late morning found me back at Puerto Madero where I joined thousands of other locals in celebrating 200 years of independence struggles with the arrival of tall ships from around South and Latin America and even Spain. Lots of fun, lots of dash and rigging and oompah (and the Argentine naval band in their historically inspired uniforms make our RAN band look decidedly dowdy.) Anyone who knows me can understand why I feel perfectly at home surrounded by naval white uniforms.

In the evening, I caught up with my fellow tango students from Australia and my lovely Argentine born teachers from Sydney Karina and Fabian. We gathered for dinner at one of their favourite restaurants/ asador parrillas in Buenos Aires, La Chacra. Of course I could only get through a couple of empanadas and the chorizo and the huge slab of steak and barely had room for the flan of dulce de leche.... thank goodness there was plenty of red wine to wash it all down. The excuse is of course that from tomorrow, I will be dancing. Now my journey of ice will turn to the fire of tango. I can't wait.

]]> Fossils, glaciers and a night on a ranch Part 2 — El Calafate, Argentina http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604460/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604460/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1264604460/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 12:11:24 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
El Calafate, Argentina

Where I stayed
Estancia Cristina, Lago Argentino, Glaciers National Park
(El Calafate hotels)


Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th February A Room With a View

I mustn't go too far without mentioning my overnight stay at Estancia Cristina. This was a spur of the moment decision, made while I walked down the pleasant main street of El Calafate late in the afternoon on the Thursday and talking to the charming young sales assistant.

Estancia Cristina is a ranch founded in 1914 by a pioneering English family, the Masters, who, like many immigrants at the turn of last century, was drawn to Patagonia for its promise of agricultural riches. There were two children in the family, the daughter Cristina who died in her early 20s from pneumonia and it is after her that the Estancia is named.

Located in a sheltered place on the southern bank of Bahia Escuadra, the Estancia today takes a couple of hours to reach by a speed boat in a journey that takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery in Argentina (the lake itself is second in size only to Lake Titicaca in the high Andes between Peru and Bolivia)

Under the Masters, the property expanded to 22,000 hectares of land surrounded by glaciers, snow peaks and lakes of great natural beauty. Their stock included 27,000 sheep, 30 heads of cattle and some 50 horses. The son Percival Herbert Masters inherited the ranch from his parents when they died and he lived there (with his parents' nurse who became his wife) until the 1990s.

However on his death the Estancia became absorbed into the Glaciers National Park (the original deal was struck in the 1930s I understand) and now it is managed on behalf of the National Park system by private operators.

Staying here for the weekend was an absolute indulgence on my part. Upon arrival, you are taken to an octagonal wooden building (rebuilt after fire partially destroyed the original structure) where, over chocolates and coffee you fill in your registration forms and decide your activities for the weekend.

You are then taken to your room - well suite actually- located four to a cabin - where you can easily pass the next few hours just staring at the magnificent views. There is no TV or other distractions of the modern world in your room and power is switched off at midnight (you have emergency torch light) - so it is easy to get lost in time and space.
http://www.estanciacristina.com/

The overall cost for the weekend includes the three course lunch and dinners plus afternoon tea, all showing off the best in Patagonian cuisine. I could barely eat a third of each plate.

Horseriding, 4WD excursions, trekking and fly fishing are the main pursuits here. I joined my fellow guests for the bumpy 4WD drive to a lookout over just the eastern arm of the Upsala Glacier.

The only thing you really have to be prepared for is the wind. It is constantly gusty here and trekkers have been known to be literally blown of course and sustaining serious injuries. I signed up for horseback trek from the Estancia but after a couple of hundred metres, when I realised I was not experienced enough to control my horse, I called out to our horse wrangler, gaucho Juan and dismounted.

Of course there was a tinge of regret when I saw the riders who persisted with the trail ride returned that afternoon after a memorable (for them) four hours ride through stunning Patagonian scenery, but I am old enough to play cautious at times, and had enjoyed, in my own time that day, my wanderings through the museum on the ranch, the chapel and family cemetery and in particular the windswept two hours spent in the early morning walking out to the shipwrecked boat with just a curious canine companion to guide the way and pursue in wild abandon the local birds - well I look upon my time at the Estancia Cristina as a relaxing sojourn in the middle of wilderness.

A quiet hello to my companions at the Estancia from this weekend, they were mostly American with a fellow Australian to wave the flag and also a big thankyou to the staff of the Estancia for your hospitality. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. I love this country.

]]> Staying out of the wind and relaxing — Ushuaia, Argentina http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267222092/tpod.html http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267222092/tpod.html#comment Travel Blogs http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarabanda/2/1267222092/tpod.html Wed, 12 May 2010 12:10:29 +0000 Ice and Fire - The Second Story
Ushuaia, Argentina

Where I stayed
Costa Ushuaia Hotel
(Ushuaia hotels)


Wednesday 24th February A couple of days in Ushuaia before continuing my travels.

I have disembarked, albeit reluctantly from my ship, and now must focus my mind on the next state of my travels. Firstly a couple of days in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego to come down from my high - I have half planned to go out on a boat cruise to get close and personal to some Magellanic penguins (which I missed in seeing in the Falklands. Can anyone have too much mucking about in boats??) and I can do a walk in the Tierra del Fuego national parks or catch up for some tango with the new contacts I made at El Centro before my trip (how long ago that seems now.)

Ushuaia is known for being wet and overcast most of the year. It must have seemed ´the end of the world´ to the prisoners sent here late in the 19th century. The former presidio is now the major museum in town and it was here that I spent most of my 'cultural' time in town in fact I spent several hours here and even tagged along to a guided tour in Spanish.

Can recommend a tour of this museum if you are interested in maritime heritage in the centuries of grand exploration and discovery (think Ferdinand Magellan and the story of Charles Darwin, Captain Fitz Roy of The Beagle fame among others; then there is the unique penal and political history in Argentina during the 20th century and the grand history of Antarctic exploration in which Ushuaia has always played a special role. This has always been a frontier town.

Everything´s in Spanish and English (except the guided tours) so there´s no problem in deciphering the displays - even if some of the English translation is a little odd at times.

Check out the links for the museum - it´s a must do especially after visiting Antarctica, cruising the Beagle Channel and following in the wake of the legendary navigators in these parts (to the disappointment of some of the hardier sailors on board Akademik Ioffe, we had calm seas throughout our voyage home north east from Antarctica through the legendary Drake Passage - it was cold and windy but hardly any swell, even rounding the notorious Cape Horn. You would have to get sea sick in the bathtub to be affected during our trip. Others not so lucky.
With this in mind, I dedicate this entry of my blog to the young Australian sailor Jessica Watson.)
Here are a couple of links:
http://www.museomaritimo.com/eindex.php
http://www.welcomeargentina.com/ushuaia /maritime-museum.html
http://www.ripioturismo.com.ar/eushpris ion.htm

My second night in Ushuaia this week was spent in a new hotel on the lake called Hotel Costa Ushuaia. I had half planned to venture into the mountains of the Tierra del Fuego National Park during the day I spent here, but when I saw the storm clouds roll in and the wind cut across my body with such a ferocity, I ended up in a nearby restaurant (in another hotel) looking out through the windows to the distant shores of Chile, sampling the local seafood, drinking the local wine, watching the local seabirds dance in the gusts and enjoying the singular hospitality of a restaurant when you are its sole customer for lunch.

]]>