velvetescape's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member velvetescape on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/velvetescape en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:16:02 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com A desert full of wonders — San Pedro de Atacama, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226352960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226352960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226352960/tpod.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:16:02 -0500 Round the world in four months.
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Sit back because this is going to be a long (and hopefully fascinating) read. First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to my friend Dana who persuaded me to visit northern Chile. I was quite hesitant at first because it's a desert region and I'm not a big fan of deserts! They're very dry and extremely hot; elements which I guess most people won't find comfortable. It just so happens that the Atacama desert is the driest and one of the hottest areas on the planet. Parts of the desert are so inhospitable, even bacteria can't survive there! I was still in a doubtful mood when I left Santiago for Calama - I really wasn't sure what to expect, or if I would even enjoy myself. The flight to Calama, the closest airport to San Pedro de Atacama (my final destination), was about 1.5 hours and again, we had some amazing views of the Andes. For pilots, I guess it's a piece of cake navigating around Chile: just follow the Andes north or south! A bit of advice for travellers in Chile: if you're flying north from Santiago, always get a seat on the right side of the plane (i.e. row L if it's a LanChile A320), and sit on the left side if you're flying south (i.e. row A). Trust me, the views are spectacular. Anyway, the desert slowly came into view as we approached Calama. Even from the air, the brown, seemingly lifeless landscape looked bizarre. Flat expansive plains stretched as far as the eye could see, interrupted occasionally by canyons that looked like huge cracks in the earth. Calama's airport was nothing more than a runway and a small terminal building in the middle of the desert.   As I stepped out of the plane, the cold wind made me shiver a bit but it was the sun that caught my attention. Specifically, the strength of the sun's rays. They're so strong, I could feel a stinging sensation on my face and arms almost immediately - I was warned beforehand to come prepared for this: bring sunblock that's at least a factor 40. I arranged my transport to San Pedro de Atacama and stepped out of the terminal. The sun was now slightly higher and the cold wind had made way for a dry, hot breeze. Conditions here change very quickly indeed! 

The drive to San Pedro de Atacama (about 100km from Calama) through the desert was quite surreal. We passed a barren moon-like landscape full of just sand and rocks that seemed to go on forever.   As we neared San Pedro de Atacama, the huge peaks and volcanos of the Andes came into view. We crossed the foothills and entered a vast valley and caught our first glimpse of San Pedro de Atacama: a green oasis in the middle of an expansive valley hemmed in by the Andes, the Salt mountains (a chain of rocky mountains and towering sand dunes) and a huge salt lake (the white-green Salar de Atacama). The spectacular Volcan Licancabur (a 5,900m symmetrical cone) towered high above the valley floor. San Pedro turned out to be a small, dusty village with charming mud-brick houses, a very photogenic church, gurgling streams and ancient-looking trees. It could've been the set for any one of those spaghetti westerns. The only thing I missed were the cowboys galloping through the main street. Instead of cowboys, there were loads of backpackers from all over the world - it's fascinating how groups converge in specific places. I found my hotel (El Tatio: a horrendously overpriced dump that feeds on tourists, like me, desperate for a place to stay), chucked my bags in my room, put on some sunblock and went for a walk. By that time (early afternoon), it was scorching. I would say the temperature was in the mid-30's but the sun's rays were extremely strong. At about 2,400m, San Pedro is not very high but the altitude combined with the dry air and the scorching sun sent warning signals through my system: walk at a slower pace, stay in the shade as much as possible, drink lots of water and concentrate on my breathing. I found myself taking sips of water every few minutes as the air dried out my nose and throat in an instant. The main street, Caracoles, was wonderfully atmospheric and had lots of shops and restaurants.   I stopped for lunch at La Estaka, a charming restaurant housed in a mud-brick building with colourful murals and beer bottles embedded in its walls. After lunch, I dropped by a travel agency and booked three tours: a visit to the Valley of the Moon to see the sunset, a day-tour of the altiplano lakes (a series of lakes high up in the Andes), and a visit to the El Tatio geysers. That evening, I joined a group to go star-gazing just outside the village. The Atacama desert has only 30 cloudy days each year (while it rains only a few times a year, if at all). Combine that with the high altitude and the dry air and you have perfect conditions to easily observe the star-studded sky. As soon as the sun set, the temperature gradually dropped from 30+ degrees to just under 10 degrees! I put on my thick jacket and off we went into the desert to see the stars. It was fascinating. A Frenchman owned the small observatory and spoke very passionately about the stars. With a laser pen, he pointed out the various constellations, planets and stars. I made some awesome photos of the moon's surface through one of his telescopes. Very cool! 

I didn't have much to do the next day - my Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna) tour only started at 3pm - so I spent the morning and early afternoon wandering around the village. I visited the Archeological Museum and various handicraft stores. I was picked up at 3pm together with two Frenchmen, two Spaniards and two Austrian girls for the tour. We headed out of the village towards the Salt mountains. The scenery, consisting of craggy peaks, bizarre rock formations and massive sand dunes, was quite astounding. The average height of these mountains is about 2,700m but they looked like small hills from San Pedro. The guide explained the history and geology of these mountains and said that we were going for a one to two hour walk to explore the area. "Excuse me?!!", I thought. Did I just hear him say a one to two hour walk in the sand, in the scorching sun?!!! I thought we were going for a short, leisurely stroll up to a viewpoint to see the sunset!! I then realised that I'd booked the wrong tour! Anyway, I kept my concerns to myself (didn't want to appear like a wimp) and decided to just follow the group. I figured, I had my cap, sunblock and a big bottle of water, that I would be fine. The trek started with a climb to a 2,840m peak. After several hundred meters, my head started pounding heavily, my lungs felt like they were going to explode, I had trouble breathing and my legs started to feel like lead. It was pure willpower that got me up to the top. Once at the top, I steadied myself, concentrated on my breathing and tried to enjoy the view (because it was spectacular).   We then continued along the rocky mountain ridge. It was amazing. One side of the mountain was bare rock and the other side was covered by huge sand dunes that reached almost the top of the mountain. At a certain section, we hopped off the ridge onto the top of the dunes and walked along its edge. It was a narrow path with the rocky face of the mountain on our left and the steep flanks of the dunes on our right. It was a steep drop, several hundred meters to the valley below, appropriately called the Death Valley. After a while, the guide stopped and said,"Ok, this is where we go down". I looked down and saw the steep sandy slope and thought he was joking. I think everyone thought he was joking as there was some laughter mixed with a puzzled expression. He continued by saying that there were two ways to go down: step by step or a sprint down the slope. Before I knew it, he said "Ready?" and off he went, running down the slope. We looked at each other and decided we didn't have a choice so off we went too. It wasn't as bad as it looked. It was steep but the soft sand slowed our descent and kept us from falling over.   By the time I arrived below, my shoes, socks and trousers were heavy with sand! We paused for a bit to catch our breath. We sat on top of a sand dune, halfway between the mountain top and the valley. The guide asked us to close our eyes, keep quiet and just listen. It was unforgettable: we heard the flutter of the wind and the mountains seemed to whistle. Wow. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and the sight before me was just staggering. In front of us, the sand dune trailed off to the valley below while the Salt mountains loomed large behind us. In the distance, the Andes mountains with the spectacular Volcan Licancabur shone brightly in the late-afternoon sun. We then continued our descent along the ridge of the sand dunes to the valley floor.   From there, we walked another two kilometers (a gradual descent) past the fascinating rock formations to a spot where the van was waiting for us. By the time we reached the van, we'd walked six kilometers and I had several blisters. I felt elated and relieved. When we got into the van, the guide had another surprise for us. "That was the warm-up", he said. "Now we go to the Valley of the Moon where we will walk nine kilometers from the top, down to the valley and through the salt canyon". I now had very serious concerns about this tour. When we arrived at the starting point of the second trek, I seriously considered pulling out but for some reason decided to go ahead anyway - and I'm glad I did. The Valley of the Moon was totally mind-blowing.   From the top, it did indeed look like the rugged landscape of the moon's surface.   We walked along the mountain ridge, then went on a similar clamber down the sand dunes down to the valley (though the descent was a lot more gradual this time), and trekked across the salt flats of the valley to the salt canyon.   The salt canyon was carved by an ancient river which carried huge amounts of salt and other minerals down from the mountains. The river dried up and what remained were the salt crystals which covered the surface of the canyon. From afar, the canyon looked like it was covered in a thin layer of snow. The walk through the canyon is one I will never forget. The imposing reddish-white walls of the canyon rose high above us on both sides while the ground beneath us was completely covered with salt.   The sun shone directly on one side of the canyon and that resulted in an astounding phenomenon: the expansion of the salt crystals (they expand in the heat and contract in the cold). We stopped and the guide put a finger to his lips, signalling us to be quiet. What we heard was just out of this world!! The expansion of the salt crystals resulted in a cracking plastic-like sound. Imagine that cracking sound and multiply it by a thousand. The whole canyon cracked in what seemed like a giant symphony. The whole experience was simply bewildering. OMG factor: 10+++. Along the way, we stopped now and again to listen to the symphony of this canyon. I had a massive headache, my muscles were aching and the sand in my socks were tearing up the blisters on my feet but this experience was truly worth it.   The van was waiting for us at the end of the canyon and took us to another spot to see the sunset (finally!!). We had to do another short one kilometer trek up a hillside (this climbing activity at a high altitude was excruciating!) but the views from atop that hill were phenomenal.   The colourful valley spread out below us while the Andes formed an impressive backdrop. As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, the colours of the valley changed from ochre to a bright orangy-red. The shadows of the Salt mountains grew longer and soon enveloped the valley and reached the feet of the Andes.   From there, the shadows rose up the flanks of the Andes. It was so magical and so surreal that I had to pinch myself to convince myself that I was actually witnessing this spectacle. OMG factor: another 10+++!!

The following day, I woke up at 6:30am for my 7am pick-up - this time for a tour of the altiplano lakes. The tour began with a drive out to the Salar de Atacama (Atacama salt lake). We stopped at the Laguna Chaxa, in the midst of the salt lake. It was a bizarre landscape. The blue lagoon was completely surrounded by a white expanse of rocky salt crystals. The lagoon itself harbours an amazing variety of birdlife, including two out of three types of flamingos found in South America.   There were lots of them, their pink feathers and black beaks forming a sharp contrast with the blue lagoon, the white salt edges and the ochre mountains in the background. We had breakfast at the shore of the lagoon. The views were truly mesmerising. After breakfast, we headed up into the Andes.   We passed the villages of Toconau and Socaire (where we made a brief stop to visit the quaint church made of cactus wood) before proceeding higher up into the imposing mountains. After about an hour, we reached the entrance of the Laguna Miscanti. This turquoise lake is about 4,500m high and is completely surrounded by volcanos with peaks touching 6,000m. The scenery was spectacular.   One thing I noticed was the lack of snow. The guide explained that it is so dry and hot here that snow only falls at these altitudes several times a year, and when it does, it only lasts a few days. We got out of the van and walked the last kilometer or so to the lake. I was completely out of breath (at these altitudes, the air is quite thin) and my head was pounding again (due to the lack of oxygen) but the scenery more than made up for that discomfort. From the Laguna Miscanti, we walked a further two kilometers, this time a gradual ascent, to the next lake, Laguna Miniques. It was a tough walk but I took my time, one small step at a time and got there in about 30 minutes.   I've never experienced anything like it before: due to the altitude and sun factors, I had to ensure that I consciously controlled my breathing and movements. My breathing had to be constant and deep while my movements had to be measured - I felt dizzy each time I made a sudden move, like turning around or bending down. During lunch, I gulped down several cups of coca tea - it really helps against altitude sickness. After lunch, we slowly made our way back to San Pedro, stopping at Toconau and the Jerez valley (a beautiful green fertile valley fed by clear mountain streams) along the way.   By this time, my headache had become worse and I was feeling nauseous and dizzy. Back at my hotel, I took a few aspirins and went to bed. I was starting to get tired of these high altitudes! 

I had an even earlier start the next day: 3:30am!! The tour van came by at 4am and we headed up north to the El Tatio geysers, about a two-hour drive from San Pedro. We slept most of the way. The reason the El Tatio geyser tours leave so early is because you have to see the geysers at sunrise. At that time of day, the temperature is below freezing and that's the best time to see the steam vents. During the day, when it's hot and dry, the steam evaporates immediately. This was another high altitude tour. At 4,500m, these geysers are one of the highest in the world.   When we arrived there at 6:15am, the temperature (I checked at the park entrance) was minus 8 degrees!! Lovely! I had a shirt, two sweaters and a thick jacket on... I forgot to get some gloves so my hands froze but I later found a small steam vent that helped warm my hands and feet!   I've seen other geysers around the world like in Iceland and New Zealand and I must say, the El Tatio geysers themselves were not spectacular compared to the others. What makes these geysers special I guess is the altitude and the surroundings. The geysers are in a volcanic crater surrounded by rocky brown-ochre peaks that are at least 6,000m high. At this altitude, when the sun rose, the colours were just awesome. The contrast between the steaming fumaroles, the colour of the mountains and the clear azure blue sky is just unforgettable.   I've never seen that colour of the sky before: an azure blue that is so pure - check out the photos. Unbelievable stuff. OMG factor: yup, another 10+++. After breakfast, we went for a walk around the geysers, after which we were led to a pool where bathing was permitted. It was still freezing so I didn't have to think twice about stripping down to my swimming shorts! I wandered around instead and just enjoyed the stunning scenery and colours.  We left the geysers after several hours and headed down the mountain, passing more barren volcanic peaks. The panoramas that unfolded at each bend in the road were just mind-blowing.   We spotted some vicunas (wild llamas), llamas (the domesticated sort), flamingos and other birdlife. We stopped briefly at a village called Machuca where I got to taste grilled llama meat (on a skewer). It was surprisingly tender.   From there, we continued on our way down the mountains. It was just so amazing to see the dramatic effect water has in this barren region: a small mountain stream can turn a dry rocky area with nothing more than a few shrubs into a lush green oasis where llamas roam and where fruits and vegetable are grown. As we neared the foothills of the Andes, the shrubby vegetation made way for giant cacti. Some of these cactus trees were at least five meters high! We stopped briefly and went for a walk around the hills to see the cacti.   By that time, it was around noon and the temperature had risen to more than 30 degrees: imagine that, a temperature change of close to 40 degrees in a few hours!!! Some of the people in the group didn't even bother getting out of the van; they were too exhausted (or too ill) to move. On our walk, the guide pointed out a single cactus tree that was 7.5 meters high.   He said that a cactus grows by about one centimeter a year, so that particular cactus was more than 700 years old. Really astonishing. 

When we got back to San Pedro, I took a few aspirins and went to sleep. I had another massive headache and I felt totally exhausted. It was another fascinating day but the altitude and extreme climate were really getting to me. I felt a lot better after a long deep sleep and headed out for something to eat. I met up with the two French guys with whom I did the Valley of the Moon trek and we had a long dinner together.  

I left San Pedro de Atacama the next day for my next stop, Salta, on the other side of the Andes in Argentina. I'll save that story for my next blog. All I can say is: it certainly was a trip of a lifetime. I know, this blog was really long but I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed my few days in San Pedro and its surroundings. The photos will surely prove the astounding sights that I've seen. Once again, thank you Dana for persuading me to come up here. Despite the altitude sickness and the long treks, I had the time of my life and the wonders I experienced of this desert kingdom were truly unforgettable.


Till my next blog.


Chau,
Keith               
]]> Across the Andes to Chile — Santiago, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226028300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226028300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1226028300/tpod.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:50:08 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Santiago, Chile

We left Mendoza on Sunday morning for our second Andean crossing, this time back into Chile, to Valparaiso (Valpo) on the Pacific coast. The seats on the bus were very comfortable and we were served (by a steward on board!) a snack as we left the city limits. We passed mile after mile of vineyards before heading into the foothills of the Andes. The climb through the foothills (I call these the foothills but in fact they're a separate mountain range that runs parallel to the Andes and at an average of 2,000m, these mountains are quite a bit lower than the 5,000m+ peaks of the Andes) was gradual and we were treated to beautiful vistas of the rugged mountains with their craggy peaks. As we cleared the foothills, we entered a dry, shrubby plateau that is fed by a countless number of streams - the streams gush down the mountainsides, then seemingly disappear. Here and there, we spotted green oases with imported cypress and sycamore trees, and fruit orchards, all in the shadow of the snow-capped Andes. The bus continued along the plateau towards the Andes and we soon reached the foot of these imposing mountains where we turned off towards the Los Libertadores pass into Chile. 

The drive through the pass was just spectacular. The Andes loomed large on both sides, with sleek waterfalls tumbling down its sides. I've never seen such dazzling peaks before - it's just awesome when you consider that these mountains are at least 5,000m high!! After three hours of truly outstanding scenery, we reached the Los Libertadores tunnel which took us under the mountains and into Chile. Just when we thought the scenery couldn't get better, it did. As we exited the tunnel, a brilliant snowy wonderland awaited us. On all sides, massive snow-covered peaks towered above us, their rock faces glistening in the sun. We could see waterfalls, streams, huge snow packs and the tips of glaciers. OMG factor: 9+. We soon arrived at the border checkpoint. We got off the bus and just gaped at the scenery - I think we must've been at about 3,000m high but it wasn't cold. There was a massive queue of cars and buses - the Chilean customs are very strict: everything is searched - and after about half an hour, we were ushered into a large hangar-like immigrations/customs building.   We got into lines for the exit stamp from the Argentinian authorities, then an entry stamp from the Chileans. When the passports were done, we had to stand in another line, this time opposite the bus where all the luggage had been offloaded. Several officers came around to collect our customs forms, then two (adorable) sniffer dogs were led past each and every piece of luggage. When they were done, we were instructed to put our hand-luggage on the benches in front of us. The dogs came by again, sniffing every square inch. The whole immigrations/customs procedure lasted about an hour. When that was done, we were allowed back into the bus and we continued on our journey to Valparaiso. The Chilean side of the Andes was very different: there was a lot more snow and while the ascent on the Argentinian side was quite gradual, the descent on the Chilean side was steep. The road curled its way precariously down the mountainside, with each hairpin bend (and there were many of them) drawing 'ooohs' and 'aaahhs' from the passengers. Phenomenal stuff. We caught glimpses of Mount Aconcagua (at 6,960m, the Americas' highest peak) as we descended into the Aconcagua Valley.   From here, it was a smooth drive, basically following the path of the impressive rapids of the Aconcagua river. The valley opened out into a broad plain as we left the mountains behind us. The scenery (vineyards and orchards) looked familiar - we'd visited this area during our wine tour on our first visit to Santiago several weeks earlier. The bus continued through the plain and over the low coastal cordillera (mountain range) and after 7.5 hours, we finally reached the Pacific Ocean! 

The bus made a quick stop at Vina del Mar, a popular seaside resort, before continuing to Valparaiso which is just a few kilometers down the coast from Vina. From Valpo's bus terminal, we took a taxi to our hotel: Robinson Crusoe Inn. This inn certainly deserves a mention. Perched on a hillside (Cerro Bellavista), the inn boasts a truly breathtaking view of the city, the port and the ocean from its rooftop terrace. The interior of the inn, with its eclectic collection of French, Spanish and Portuguese-style furniture and maritime-themed ornaments, is to say the least....bizarre.   We just looked around in amazement as we were led up the creaky wooden stairs to our room, which turned out to be extremely small and jam-packed with classical furniture (once our bags were in the room, there was almost no space for us to move around, and having a shower was an exercise in precision as making a wrong move or turn could result in a bruised head!), and incredibly quirky (the bathroom window opened out to the main staircase that led to the restaurant so it had to be closed at all times). That evening, we were cordially informed that most restaurants in Valparaiso were closed (it's Sunday!) and that our best bet was a small restaurant in another neighbourhood (Cerro Alegre). Exhausted by the trip behind us, we had no choice but to (grumpily) pick ourselves up and head out again. The fresh ocean breeze lifted our spirits as we clambered down the hill. We surveyed the neighbourhood and the brightly coloured houses cheered us up. After several minutes, I thought, this town is just gorgeous. Valparaiso is built on several hills that face the ocean, hugging the bay like an amphitheatre. The first thing that struck us were the colours. Valpo is one of the most colourful towns I've ever seen. The houses cling to the steep slopes of the hills and are painted in bright colours (in various hues of red, blue, yellow, orange and purple). In addition, many walls are adorned with fascinating murals that are a kaleidoscope of colour.   The hills are indeed steep and a whole network of stairs link the various neighbourhoods. There is an easier way to navigate the hills: the many funicular railways. These were built in the 19th century and are still in operation. Anyway, we made it down the Bellavista hill to the narrow (but flat) strip of (reclaimed) land that is now the town's administrative and commercial area. This flat strip connects all the hills and it's often easier (if you're going from one hill to another) to go down to this area, walk to the next hill, then take the funicular up. From here, we made our way to Cerro Alegre and easily found the restaurant, Poblenou, and yes, it was open (and the hotel manager was right: EVERYTHING ELSE was closed!). It was a small, cosy place owned by a friendly (here we go again)..... Dutch girl called Anke! We ordered a lovely Chilean Merlot and some tapas (which were very good). The Merlot went down very well too - I have to say, we found Argentinian wines great. However, Chilean wines are just outstanding. Anke later introduced us to some friends of her's (from Belgium; who also live in Valpo) and we had a lively conversation about why we think Chilean wines have that edge. 

The next day, we went for a long walk through some of the town's most colourful neighbourhoods. We first took the funicular down from Cerro Bellavista (it was a fantastic ride. Really, everything shakes and shudders on those things) to the flat strip where we visited the cathedral and the town square which is adorned with massive fig trees, palms and gorgeous fountains. We then walked along this strip and took the funicular up to our next hill, Cerro Conception. Cerro Conception and the adjoining Cerro Alegre are simply gorgeous.   The colours of the houses are just electric while the sleepy, tree-lined, cobblestone streets with their many wall murals are wonderfully atmospheric. I just loved the murals. There are a countless number of themes: socio-political, historic, sexual, scenes of Valpo, while some were just decoration. Walls are the predominant surface used but I spotted some smaller works of art on the backs of street signs, streetlights, balustrades and even ordinary rocks on the road.  We stopped for a 'coffee with a view' at the Brighton Hotel, a cute bright-orangy/yellow house that's perched precariously on the hillside. We strolled around both neighbourhoods for several hours just soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the panoramas from the various viewpoints. We had lunch at a fantastic restaurant: Cafe Turri, which also came with a fabulous view of the city and the harbour. There we had probably one of the best meals of our trip through South America. Frits ordered a super-fresh swordfish filet while I had the most mind-blowing scallops and prawns (lightly flambed with whisky and drizzled with cumin) EVER!! OMG factor: 10!   And the Montes Alpha Sauvignon Blanc that accompanied the meal was simply divine. After that very leisurely lunch, we took the funicular down and explored the port district - Valpo is Chile's main port. Along the way, I decided to get my sneakers polished by one of the many shoe-polish guys on the street. It looked like fun, sitting in that high chair, and my sneakers did look filthy. It was my first time and it certainly was a novel experience. As for my sneakers, well they're shiny now but they're basically ruined - too much brown polish! :-( From there, we took Valpo's longest funicular to Cerro Artilleria where there's a fantastic viewpoint of the city and the port. The Naval Museum is there as well but it was closed - for some weird reason, all museums in Chile (and there are no exceptions) are closed on Mondays! 

We left Valpo the next day. We took a taxi to the airport in Santiago where I said goodbye to Frits. Gosh, those five weeks have just whizzed by! He's returned to Amsterdam and I'm a solo traveller again. From the airport, I made my way into Santiago where I'm staying for three nights. I chose a different neighbourhood this time: Bellavista (we stayed in Providencia the last time). Bellavista is the bohemian district of Santiago. It is indeed. Its streets are just crammed with restaurants, bars, clubs, cafes, art shops, studios, markets, you name it! On my first night, I stayed up till 3am with a group of Obama supporters in the hotel cafe watching the US election results unfold. Everyone was incredibly excited as the night wore on. There was also a sense of awe and a realisation that we were seeing something historic. Quite memorable. 

I was led on a wild-goose chase yesterday: I have another Andean crossing, this time in the north of Chile from San Pedro de Atacama to Salta in Argentina. I've heard from many people that it's best to purchase this particular bus ticket as early as possible as there are only a few departures each week and the buses fill up rather quickly. I asked around at the hotel reception and they called the bus company here and the person on the line told her that it is possible to buy the ticket in Santiago and that I should go to their office at the bus terminal. I got the address of the terminal from the receptionist and got there within an hour by metro. At the office, they said (contrary to what they told the receptionist) that 1. they don't do that particular route (San Pedro to Salta) but Calama to Salta (Calama is located more than 100km away from San Pedro); and 2. I should buy the ticket in Calama or San Pedro. Great! Anyway, I made my way back to the centre of Santiago and spent the afternoon walking around the city. In the evening, I explored the Bellavista neighbourhood and it really is a vibrant, 'happening' place. The streets are just packed with terraces where you can sit and have something to drink or eat. Loads of interesting restaurants here too. I went to one called La Boheme and had an excellent mahi mahi steak with a garlic dressing. 

This morning, I met up with Lize (an elderly Dutch lady who's travelling around South America on her own, and whom I met at the hotel on my first day) and we went for a stroll around the neighbourhood. By day, Bellavista is somewhat like Valpo, with its brightly-coloured houses and murals.   We found a gorgeous, shady little square and sat there for three hours! Gosh, she can talk! We then took a bus up the Cerro San Cristobal (the highest hill in Santiago) where we had an amazing view of the city and the surrounding mountains - it really is a huge city (there are 6 million people living here) with a massive sprawl.   Up on the hill was a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary looking out over the city. We then took another bus down and found another terrace where we had a nice cold beer (it really is warm and rather humid here during the day - the evenings are cool).  That evening, we went to a lovely Chilean restaurant opposite our hotel and had a fantastic five-hour dinner filled with tapas, wine, tiramisu and great conversation.

Anyway, I fly off to Calama in the north of Chile for my desert adventure tomorrow morning. From there, I have to take a bus to San Pedro where I'll be staying for 4-5 nights. That should be very interesting.


Till my next blog.


Cheers,
Keith    
]]> The good life — Mendoza, Cuyo, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225334220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225334220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225334220/tpod.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:41:43 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Mendoza, Cuyo, Argentina

All the good stuff in Argentina seems to come from Mendoza, like the best wines, mineral water, olive oil and other produce. Wherever we went, whether it was a supermarket or a restaurant in the south or in Buenos Aires, we spotted the name 'Mendoza' printed proudly on the labels. So we arrived in this small city at the foothills of the Andes with great anticipation. To add to the suspense, I couldn't get us a room in any hotel in the city (we later found out that our visit coincided with a big congress in the city involving 3,000 gynaecologists) so we had to settle for a lodge somewhere outside the city and I had absolutely no idea where or how far away it was. When we got into the taxi at the airport, I showed the driver the address and asked him how far it was, he said, "Ohhhhh, very far. Very far...maybe 200 kilometers". You have got to be kidding, I thought while Frits glared at me. Then the driver started to chuckle and said, "I joke, I joke...maybe 30 kilometers". Phew! We drove in a southerly direction past the suburbs of Mendoza. The city is situated at the foot of a range of low, barren mountains (about 2000m high) which quickly make way for the magnificent snow-covered peaks of the Andes, the highest of which is more than 6,500m high, providing a pretty spectacular backdrop. As we drove on, the suburbs gradually ceased and switched into row after row of vines: wine country! The landscape here is flat and barren but thanks to a wide network of irrigation channels carrying water down from the Andes, this whole dusty region has become an important agricultural centre in Argentina. From the air, it looked like a giant oasis at the edge of a massive desert. After about 20 minutes, we turned off the highway towards a village called Chacras de Coria. It's a beautiful area with large ranches (estancias), vineyards and gated communities (with some gorgeous houses). Tall poplar, sycamore and oak trees provide ample shade everywhere while the little irrigation canals that run alongside the roads gurgle cheerily. 
Our lodge, Postales, is situated in an oasis-like setting with the handful of cabanas surrounded by well-groomed lawns, trees and flowering shrubs. That afternoon, we went for a walk around the village. Little did we know but we soon discovered that the village is Mendoza's centre of gastronomy! It's really small but its streets are lined with some of Mendoza's best restaurants. Fancy that! :-) We sat down for lunch at a small restaurant at the edge of the village square and I ordered a sirloin steak; even after our previous steak experiences in Bariloche and BA, I still refused to believe that the steaks here are that mediocre. And...OMG was I proven right!!! The steak was pretty huge (at least 400g), juicy and incredibly tender. The big salad that came with it (organic lettuce, tomatoes, palmhearts and aragula) was superb. I don't know how I did it but I totally cleaned both plates! It was THAT good! Finally, a mind-altering Argentinian steak! Awesome! OMG factor: 9+.

The next morning, we took a taxi into town (about 15 km away). We asked to be dropped off at the bus terminal where we purchased tickets for our trip to Valparaiso (our next stop, over the Andes into Chile and down to the Pacific Ocean). From there, we explored the city's downtown area. Mendoza is a pleasant city: its grid of streets are all shaded by beautiful sycamore trees and there are five town squares arranged pretty much like the 'five' on a throwing dice which provide a welcome retreat from the heat and the noisy traffic. My favourite square was the Plaza Espana with its gorgeous tiled floors, benches and fountains.  We also walked through the Plaza Independencia which had a large fountain as its centrepiece - the water of the fountain was a bright pink, probably because of the nature of the congress (pink is the colour of the worldwide breast cancer awareness campaign).  As we strolled around the city, it struck us that we couldn't see much of any of the buildings due to the large sycamores. They provide much needed shade (it's currently about 25 degrees during the day and about 18 degrees at night - gorgeous spring weather - though in the summer, temperatures here can hit 40 degrees) but they also block the view of some of the supposedly stunning colonial buildings. There were also the ubiquitous sidewalk terraces and restaurants: great spots to just lounge with a glass of wine and watch the world go by! We stopped for lunch at Trattoria Tomasso. What do you order at an Italian restaurant when you're in a region that's renowned for its superb beef? Carpaccio!! And it was indeed superb! :-)
The following day, we got up early for our full-day wine tour. We were picked up at 9am and were driven to our first winery: Achaval Ferrer, about 15km from our lodge. The location of the winery was just stunning: surrounded by expansive vineyards while the terrace offered an unobstructed view of the mighty Andes.  We were taken on a private tour of the estate; it's a relatively new winery (most of the wineries here are about 10-20 years old while only a handful were founded in the late 19th century) so everything looked spanking new. This winery offers barrel-tasting, i.e. tasting wines taken straight from the barrel. We got to taste wines that had been in the barrel for a month and other wines that had been in the barrel for a year. I found it quite fascinating to taste how the complexity and structure of the wine develop over a period of time. The wines themselves were good, but not great enough to warrant buying some and lugging the bottles back home. After two hours at Achaval Ferrer, we headed for the next winery: Ruca Malen, another winery in a gorgeous location. This is another 10-year-old winery and we were given a tour of the estate, the grounds, the production area and the cellar. We were then seated at the winery's patio, which had sweeping views of the vineyard and the mountains, where we were treated to a five-course lunch/wine-tasting.  Sitting there, with a plate of grilled beef sirloin topped with a subtle black pepper and rosemary sauce, and a glass of first class Malbec in front of me, and surrounded by such astounding scenery, I couldn't help but wonder what a great lifestyle one could have here in Mendoza (provided one had sufficient resources and finds a quiet life enticing).  I mean, the beautiful meats and the fresh produce combined with the great wines and brilliant scenery, the laidback pace, and the fact that Argentina is relatively cheap (EUR 10 gets you a great bottle of wine at a good restaurant; add another EUR 15-20 per person for a fabulous three-course meal) make this a bon vivant's dream really!! After lunch, we moved on to our final winery: Weinert. Founded in 1890, Weinert is one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza.  The main building was a very stately mansion and the cellars underneath were quite spectacular. We were taken about ten meters under the ground and the (very ancient-looking) vaults were breathtaking. In them were row upon row of huge wooden barrels, most of which were between 40-60 years old, that contained up to 60,000 liters of wine! A fascinating winery steeped in history. 
We didn't have anything planned for the next day so we slept in and had a late breakfast. There are various wineries within walking distance of our lodge but they only accept visitors by appointment so we tried to make some appointments but, believe it or not, they were all full. I guess visiting wineries is a favourite activity of the Mendocinos on a Saturday afternoon. We then decided to go for a walk around the village. Apart from the restaurants and cafes, there's a quaint church and a variety of handicraft stores.  We stopped for lunch (just a simple salad this time!) at the village square, then headed back to the lodge where we spent a lazy afternoon in the garden (well, I was busy blogging). 
We're off to Valparaiso (Chile) tomorrow. I hope the weather will be clear as the bus drives through a stunning mountain pass and the views of the mountains, including Mt. Aconcagua, is supposedly phenomenal. It rained here in Mendoza this afternoon which probably means there's a fresh layer of snow up in the mountains. I'll be saying goodbye to Argentina for now but I'll be back in about ten days' time. Frits leaves for home on Tuesday and I'll be a solo traveller again. After two nights in Valparaiso, I'll head to the airport with Frits, then continue on my own to Santiago where I'll be staying for several days before flying to the north of Chile. 




Hasta luego,
Keith
]]> Fabulous Buenos Aires — Buenos Aires, Capital Federal District, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225145580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225145580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1225145580/tpod.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:25:54 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Buenos Aires, Capital Federal District, Argentina

I LOVE BUENOS AIRES!! I knew it the first day we were here but more on my new-found love later. I have to tell you another story first: my great laundry adventure. On our second last day in Bariloche, I decided to send some of my clothes to the hotel's laundry service. I looked up the procedure and the prices and got a bit of a shock: EUR 1.50 for a pair of socks!!! I don't think so! Told myself to forget that idea and maybe just wash the essentials myself. When I was in KL, my sister bought me several packs of washing powder (which were still unused) so I decided to do the wash in the bathroom sink. I walked into the bathroom and had a wonderful brainwave. It just so happened that our room had a jacuzzi in the bathroom and when I saw it, I thought, hey, that would make a fantastic washing machine. So I filled up the tub, threw in the washing powder, added bath foam (for extra strength) and...another brainwave, hair conditioner as a replacement for fabric softener (I figured, its purpose is to condition and soften hair so why couldn't it do the same for cotton?). I soon had my clothes in there (since the tub was so big, I threw in any bit of clothing that was remotely dirty) and the water-jets were shooting away, spinning the clothes around and around. Perfect. I felt terribly pleased with myself. I left the bathroom and let the water-jets and suds do their work. Ten minutes later, I walked into the bathroom and was confronted with a bubbly wonderland!! There was a mountain of bubbles that almost reached the ceiling and a carpet of bubbles that had spilled over the tub's edge!! The suds were just everywhere! Oh dear, I thought. I made a path for myself through the bubbles, found the switch for the jacuzzi and turned it off. I then waited a bit for the mountain of bubbles to subside before draining the water. There was still a lot of suds left but after several washes, the tub was rid of them and my clothes looked incredibly clean!! The tub didn't though: its white surface had turned a brownish-grey! So after hanging up my clothes to dry, I got down and scrubbed the tub with soap! Anyway, for those travellers out there who are reading this: doing your laundry in a jacuzzi is a great idea but go easy on the soap and be prepared to clean the tub afterwards - leaving that to housekeeping would be really mean!      


Back to Buenos Aires (BA). Gosh I love this city.  BA is one of those unique, terribly fascinating cities that one stumbles upon, falls in love with and keeps coming back to. BA has a buzz that's one-of-a-kind: I'm not sure how I would describe it; maybe that's because the buzz has so many facets: it's, among others, sensual, raunchy, hip, incredibly artistic and folksy. It stems from the people (how they look, dress, talk, walk and gesture), the traffic, the eclectic architecture (that ranges from cute brightly coloured colonial houses to stately buildings and steel-and-glass skyscrapers), the gorgeous murals on the walls , the quaint cobble-stone streets, the beautiful trees everywhere, the open-air markets, the tango dancers in the streets, the cosy squares, the broad boulevards,...it's in everything. The traffic is maddening yet the city has countless spots that are an oasis of tranquility and there's always something interesting to see, hear or be a part of. Really, this city is literally a jumble of everything and parts of it do remind me of other great cities of the world like New York, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. 


We arrived here on Sunday and checked into our hotel: a wonderfully hip place called Mine Boutique Hotel in Palermo Soho, a very vibrant neighbourhood. We dumped our bags in our room and ventured out into the streets. Palermo is fantastic: leafy, cobble-stone streets filled with loads of shops boasting the latest stuff from young Argentine designers; large squares with loungy terraces packed to the brim; art markets with a myriad of trinkets, jewellery, individually-designed clothing, glassware, ceramics and antiques; and trendy restaurants with fabulous interiors and folksy cafes and bars. We had a beer and a (HUGE) olive/cheese platter   at a terrace, watched the world go by and we were totally captivated. That evening, we went to a fantastic restaurant called Mott (on El Salvador street) and had a splendid dinner. If you're in BA, I can certainly recommend this place! On Monday morning, we took a cab downtown (the distances here are pretty large - there are after all about 15 million people living in this city!!) and explored that area. One thing about the taxis here: if you're looking for an adrenaline rush, forget roller-coasters, just take a cab in BA! People here (especially cabbies and bus drivers) are incredibly impatient, zip across lanes like they were in some Formula One video game and use their horns profusely. I don't know how they do it but the cabbies (somehow miraculously it would seem) do get you to your destination in one piece! We went for a long walk around the downtown area, passing by the pedestrianised shopping areas of Florida street and checking out the gorgeous Galeria Pacifico shopping mall, the impressive Avenida Cordoba and the equally impressive Avenida 9  de Julio (with its 16 lanes, it's touted as the widest boulevard in the world!), the famous obelisk   and the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada (where Evita Peron delivered her famous speeches).   From the Plaza de Mayo, we walked down the Defensa street to the San Telmo neighbourhood, probably one of the most characteristic neighbourhoods in BA. San Telmo is absolutely gorgeous: old run-down buildings mingle with renovated super-trendy eateries and boutiques while quaint squares form the decor for street performers and tango dancers. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Plaza Dorrego , a beautiful square, just soaking up the wonderful energy in this neighbourhood.   That night, we had dinner at Cluny (recommended by Lonely Planet), also on El Salvador street close to our hotel. The food wasn't as good as in Mott and the service was rather crappy but the ambiance was great. I ordered a beef sirloin and it was rather uninspired - I've heard so many times that the beef in this country is awesome; well, I've tried the steaks in various places and they've all been pretty mediocre: either a huge portion (we're talking at least 600g of meat on your plate!) and mediocre or 'nouvelle cuisine' small and mediocre! The Gauchos steakhouse chain in Amsterdam serves better meat (ou, that hurt!) and doesn't kill the meat by preparing it extra well-done (good luck in trying to get a perfectly grilled 'medium' steak). Oh well, maybe we haven't been going to the right places..... During dinner, we started chatting with an American couple next to us and the conversation moved to the upcoming US elections in no time. I must say, in the past few months, I've met many Americans along the way and all of them have said that they will (or have) vote(d) for Obama. I guess that means one of two things: either Obama will win with a landslide (ok, I haven't met THAT many Americans but from what I gather, the mood seems to be swinging his way); or Republicans don't travel! Come to think of it, the Americans I've met all come from either the West or the East coast, they're all very ashamed of the Bush administration (and feel a certain amount of guilt for the current credit crisis) and they're all hoping that Obama will win and manage to turn things around (maybe not the economy, but rather US relations with the rest of the world). There is some hope after all!


This morning, we hopped into a cab to get to Recoleta, another famous BA neighbourhood. As we got into the cab, another cab zoomed by and stopped, blocking the cab we were in and refused to move. Both cab drivers began a heated quarrel about something; there was a furious exchange of words and gestures and in the end, our cabbie told us to step out and hop into the other cab, which we did. Seems the second cabbie saw us first but the first cabbie cut him off to get to us, hence the argument. When we got in, the (second) cabbie apologised profusely. We weren't rid of the first cabbie though because he got ahead of us and blocked our passage by swerving left and right until our cabbie made a 'getaway' manoeuvre to steer us clear. I've never experienced anything like this before. Quite bizarre. I can only relate to experiences involving cabbies who are fussy about who they pick up and where they have to go. Anyway, we got to Recoleta safely. Whereas San Telmo is quaint and colourful, Recoleta is grand, stately and oozes an air of prestige. Our first stop was the Recoleta cemetery where many famous Argentines (yes, including Evita Peron) are buried. The cemetery is just awesome.   It's a huge maze of grand mausoleums and chapels that are decorated with impressive statues and busts in stone and bronze. Compared to some of the other mausoleums, I thought Evita's tomb was like a simple hut! We then visited the gorgeous white Pilar church next door and continued on to Buenos Aires Design, a mall that showcases the best of Argentine design. I must say, the art and design scene here is very much alive and kicking! Absolutely love the stuff they have here. It's imaginative and downright funky. From here, we moved on down the broad Avenida del Libertador where we passed the Floralis Generica monument (a giant flower made of aluminium that opens in the morning and closes at night...like a real flower!).   We then continued down this avenue past the many grand mansions and stately buildings (lots of embassies here) to the Malba Museum (of contemporary art) where we stopped for lunch (at the very cool Restaurant del Arte). After lunch, we walked into the museum but we were told that it was closed. The day before, we wanted to visit the famous Colon Opera Theatre and that was closed (for renovations) too! What's up with that?! Anyway, we continued our walk back to Palermo, passing the different neighbourhoods with their tree-lined streets and beautiful houses and slowly made our way back to the hotel. In the evening, we headed to Palermo Hollywood, another section of the sprawling Palermo neighbourhood, where we had dinner at Tatana, an authentic Italian restaurant (on Gorriti street) - we've given up on Argentinian steakhouses. Wow, the food was pretty awesome. The salmon sorrentini (home-made pasta stuffed with fresh salmon with a creamy lime dressing) was superb, and so was the Argentinian Pinot Grigio.  


It was a short stay in this great city but I'm totally awed. I'll be back in BA in mid-November and I'm looking forward to it already! We'll be flying back to the west tomorrow morning; this time to Mendoza where we'll be staying for four nights. A lot of Argentina's wines come from here so guess what we'll be doing?!             


Lots of hugs from BA,
Keith
]]> Lake Crossing to Bariloche, Argentina — Bariloche, Argentina http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224635940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224635940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224635940/tpod.html Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:55:52 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Bariloche, Argentina

Gosh, it seems like ages ago that we were in the deep south of Patagonia. I looked up my itinerary to check the dates and discovered that it was only four days ago that we left Punta Arenas for Puerto Montt - it's getting increasingly difficult to keep track of the days! Puerto Montt is about halfway between Punta Arenas and Santiago, and is the gateway to the Lake District, a beautiful region of crystal-clear, emerald lakes and magnificent snow-capped volcanos. We arrived there in the morning, then took a taxi to Puerto Varas, about 20 km north of Puerto Montt. The countryside here is significantly different from the steppe-like south; it's hilly and very green, with some beautiful forests.   Some of the hills were completely blanketed in Scottish broom that were in full bloom, giving entire hillsides a bright yellow cover. Puerto Varas is a quaint town right on the shores of Lake Llanquehue (pronounced as 'jean [as in French]-kway-way') and looks across to the stunning Mt. Osorno, a Mt. Fuji-like volcano, on the far side of the lake. The town was founded by German immigrants and that's pretty evident in the architecture and the numerous German names all over town. It was a pretty cloudy day with occasional showers - guess we've run out of 'good weather' luck. Bit of a shame as we couldn't see the volcanos, just a bit past the snowline while the peaks were completely shrouded in thick clouds. Puerto Varas is a resort town with many hotels (built almost exclusively in Swiss/German alpine style) that offer gorgeous views of the lake. That evening, we went for dinner at a lovely restaurant called Living. We had a beautiful view of the lake while we enjoyed our salmon and leg of lamb (superb! OMG 9+) and a bottle of Montes Alpha's Merlot, our absolute favourite red. This estate churns out some exquisite reds - we've tried the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Camenere and they're all absolutely divine. If you see this label in your local wine shop, don't hesitate! 
Our lake crossing tour started early the next day. This is a very popular tour in this region. It starts in Puerto Montt/Puerto Varas and takes you through the Andes by a combination of boat and bus and ends in Bariloche, Argentina. We chose the version that stops for the night in Peulla, a hamlet in the heart of the Andes. We left Puerto Varas by coach and headed east to Petrohue. We managed to catch a glimpse of the conical peak of Mt. Osorno as the clouds lifted for, literally, a few minutes.  I showed Frits the photos I took from the plane when we flew from Santiago to Punta Arenas on that clear day (see previous blog) to give him an idea of what it looks like on a cloudless day!  Along the way, we stopped at the Petrohue waterfall at the foot of Mt. Osorno. The falls were rather impressive and the colour, a deep emerald, was stunning. A lot of the rivers and lakes in this region have that same colour (in varying degrees) as the water originates from the glaciers which carry heaps of minerals with them from the mountains. The minerals, especially copper, give the water this beautiful colour. From Petrohue, we boarded a boat which took us on a two-hour trip through the beautiful Lago Todos Los Santos (All Saints Lake). It would have been an awesome boat ride had it not been for the poor weather. The lake should've been a bright emerald, instead it was grey, and the surrounding mountains were all hidden behind clouds. The guide showed us pictures instead (!) of the lake and the four massive volcanos that rise steeply from its shores. We arrived in Peulla just in time for lunch.  Peulla is nothing more than two hotels, a few houses and a pier! Its location though is just spectacular, with the reed-filled lake, beautiful rivers and waterfalls, and the imposing snow-capped mountains right at its doorstep. I guess being out here, right in the middle of the Andes mountains, made us feel adventurous so we decided to go zip-lining through the forest canopy: a first for both of us. I'm usually scared of great heights (see how I skipped 'The Edge' experience in Melbourne) so I was quite hesitant but we went along and did it anyway. We were joined by an American couple and the guide strapped us up with safety lines, hooks, helmets, gloves and the trolley. For those who don't know what zip-lining is, it's basically zipping through the forest, high up in the canopy, from tree to tree while being suspended from a cable. There are special platforms built high up in the trees (these were, at 20-odd meters, relatively low. I chickened out of my first zip-line encounter in Costa Rica years ago - those were considerably higher... 40 - 60 meters above the ground!) from which you launch yourself and the cable guides you to the next platform and you zip to the following platform from there. The first was easy enough. The terrified look on Frits' face was priceless! Don't think I've ever seen him that scared before! The second was quite scary as the distance between the two platforms was about 80 meters and there was a considerable descent, which meant a greater speed. Frits was close to trembling and I told him (and myself!) to relax, assured him (and myself) that it was totally safe. Off he went and it went well. Then it was my turn, the guide gave me the signal to go and I lifted my feet off the platform and away I went. Strangely enough, it wasn't panic that swept over me, it was pure exhilaration. This is fantastic, I thought. I didn't brake so I zipped down at a tremendous speed, only slowing down when I neared the platform. Loved it! OMG factor: 9. We went from platform to platform eight times and it was awesome! Funny how fear has us in its grip in so many ways but when we let it go for just a bit and explore that unknown, we then realise how silly we were to harbour that particular fear in the first place.  After the ziplines, we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with the Americans and downing a couple of pisco sours :-)  
We had a rather extraordinary experience at dinner that evening. We sat down across from an elderly American couple (in their early-80's) that shared a table with a Spaniard who spoke no English. Since the couple didn't speak any Spanish, the lady told the Spaniard, "why don't you talk and I'll just nod my head and smile"!! She was hilarious! They had some trouble ordering so I helped them with the translations (me translating Spanish!! haha! I may not speak the language but I know my food and wines!!) and ordered their food and some wine. Tired of the arduous conversation at their table, they soon turned around to us and a cross-table conversation began. Then another couple (from Colombia) sat down and they joined in the conversation, and then two other couples (from Brazil) joined in later, and soon we had a conversation across five tables! Everyone had to speak up as the tables were about a meter or two apart! It was a lively, boisterous, evening which we enjoyed tremendously. The elderly couple were going to attempt the canopy ziplines the next day (I admire their determination) and we shared our experience with them. As we left, they got up, gave us a big hug and the lady said to us (laden in her heavy New York accent),"I don't know much about you but I love you to bits already". Now isn't that sweet! :-)
The next day, we hopped onto a bus and continued on our lake crossing tour. We left Peulla behind us and continued deeper into the Andes mountains. The scenery was spectacular. We drove past the dense temperate rainforest (only one of two places on Earth with temperate rainforests; here and in Washington state) - loved the huge beech and sequioa-like trees - and past various waterfalls and gushing rivers.  The Chile-Argentina border was at the top of the mountain pass and the Brazilians clambered out of the bus and were thrilled with the patches of snow. We arrived at Lago Frias (another stunning lake) and from here, we took a boat to Puerto Alegre.  The weather on this side of the Andes was a lot better and we could start to see the true colour of the lake and the imposing mountains around us. At Puerto Alegre (which isn't much more than a pier and a hut), we climbed onto a bus which took us to Puerto Blest where we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we continued by boat to Puerto Panuelo, stopping at some impressive waterfalls along the way. The boat ride to Puerto Panuelo along the Lago Nahuel Huapi offered us a magnificent vista of the huge forest-clad mountains.  We arrived in Puerto Panuelo an hour later and a bus was there to take us on the last 25 km to Bariloche, which is where we are right now. Bariloche is a popular ski resort in the winter. Its location, on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi and backed by the Andes mountains, is just breathtaking. The town itself is ok, a bit of a jumble of kitsch; there are lots of restaurants, shops and hotels.  The town is famous for its alpine architecture and chocolates - there's a thriving chocolate industry here. We had some but weren't too impressed. Guess you wouldn't be if you lived next door to Belgium, in my book, the true chocolate country! Villa Huinid, our hotel here sits atop a hill and commands brilliant views of the lake and the mountains. The view from our room window is really like a postcard - it's quite surreal, getting up in the morning and looking out the window!

We fly over to Buenos Aires tomorrow where we'll be for a few days. I'm sure we're going to love it there! :-)


Till my next blog!


Cheers,
Keith
]]> Patagonia: the Home of the Gods — Punta Arenas, Patagonia, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224387120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224387120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1224387120/tpod.html Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:02:29 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Punta Arenas, Patagonia, Chile

Patagonia. The name conjures images of impenetrable wilderness; rugged and daunting. The name Patagonia, given by Ferdinand Magellan, actually means 'big feet'; it seems that when he first arrived in the area, he noticed that the indigenous people who lived here were tall and had large feet. Guess 'ol Ferdy was a bit of a size queen. :-) Err, back to those images... Yes, Patagonia is indeed a rugged and daunting place. It's a huge area that's divided by countless channels, fjords, ice-fields, glaciers and the southern end of the mighty Andes mountains, making large parts of the region quite inaccessible. Then there's the extreme weather. The wind is relentless and can bring with it rain, hail and snow at any time of the day throughout the year. The wind is a dominating factor in Patagonia: through the course of millions of years, it has determined where forests grow, where the glaciers flow and how the vegetation is shaped. All these elements make Patagonia a remote and wild region that is fascinating, awe-inspiring and often bewildering.     

Frits and I flew into Punta Arenas from Santiago (a 3.5 hour flight) on Wednesday. The flight down gave us an unforgettable impression of Chile's geography and geology. It was an incredibly clear day and the pilot basically followed the line of the Andes to the south, treating us to amazing panoramas of the snow-capped mountains, lakes, volcanos, rivers, fjords and glaciers. It was simply breathtaking. The highlight was seeing the Los Glaciares National Park from the air.   The park is just across the border in Argentina and encompasses a large slice of the massive Patagonian ice-field, including the famous Perito Moreno and Uppsala glaciers, and the massive jagged peaks of the Fitzroy mountains. 

We were prepared for some rough weather in Patagonia (we were warned by both our guide books and Mauricio in Santiago) but apart from the constant strong wind and the accompanying chill factor, the sky was clear and the sun shone brightly. We were warmly dressed and we slathered dollops of sunscreen as we were also warned that in the spring, the hole in the ozone layer is directly above Patagonia so the risk of severe burns was very real. We were met at the airport by our guide for the day and we hopped into a mini-van along with a small group of other tourists for our trip to Puerto Natales, about 250 km northwest of Punta Arenas. Along the way, we stopped at a colony of Magellanic penguins. Funny creatures.   As we stood there observing the penguins, one of the guys in the group asked the guide where the sun sets in Patagonia. The guide gave him a puzzled look, answered "in the west" and pointed in a westerly direction. Now it was the guy's turn to look puzzled. After a moment of thought, he said, "I thought the sun sets in the east in the southern hemisphere, opposite from the northern hemisphere". I guess that's one reason why travelling is so important: to expand our horizons and to learn new things, like where the sun sets in the southern hemisphere! :-)

The drive to Puerto Natales took us through the massive wind-swept desolate Patagonian steppe. Just low, thick shrubs as far as the eye can see and not a tree in sight. We later passed an area which did have some midget-like trees and all the branches faced one way, in the direction of the wind. The wind here is indeed harsh and incredibly dry (after having dumped all its moisture in the Andes). We arrived in Puerto Natales in the dark and were dropped off at our hotel: Hotel Indigo. We were glad to finally get out of that cramped mini-van. We stepped into the hotel and were just blown away by the interior. Black and different shades of brown constrasted sharply with the white, red and yellow in the cushions and furniture while the black granite floor complemented the wooden walls, windows and doors. Ramps and broad staircases criscrossed the main atrium, some accompanied by cascading streams. The spa on the rooftop was just incredible. It was all white and had among others outdoor pools with ergonomically designed 'deckchairs' IN the 38 degree water that had built-in jets to provide a massage as you lay in them.   And the views of the harbour and the snow-capped mountains in the distance were nothing short of stunning. Our room was pretty stunning too. We had an open-plan bathroom - the sink and counter faced the sleeping area while the shower had just two glass walls that separated it from the rest of the room.   A large bay window formed a perfect frame for the gorgeous view. Absolutely loved it. We left our bags in the room and rushed downstairs to explore the rest of the hotel. The loungebar was great - large sofas and ditto cushions. We ordered our new favourite drink, pisco sour (the Chilean national drink - which, by the way, originates from Peru - a liquor with lemonade and whipped egg-white and tastes absolutely yummy!), sat back on the comfy sofas and though we were both exhausted, we felt very happy. 

We left Puerto Natales the next morning at 6:30am for the long drive across the border into Argentina to the small town of El Calafate and further to the Perito Moreno glacier. The five hour drive was very scenic. We first drove past the deep blue Seno Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope Sound) - love the name - where huge snowy mountains rise steeply from the water's edge to heights exceeding 2,500m, their flanks littered with gorgeous waterfalls and cascades. After crossing the border, we continued through the steppe, with its bare hills, gushing streams and aquamarine lakes, while the imposing granite peaks of the Andes formed a constant backdrop. After several hours, we reached Lago Argentino, a huge glacial lake with water that's a bright turquoise.   Here and there, we spotted several icebergs that had broken off from various glaciers that flow into the lake. A stunning sight. We passed the town of El Calafate and drove another 80km to the Perito Moreno glacier. The Perito Moreno glacier is located in the Los Glaciares National Park which we saw a day earlier from the plane. The park is huge and includes the Patagonian ice-field, the origin of several massive glaciers, including the Perito Moreno. The drive to the entrance of the park past huge glacial lakes and impressive snow-capped peaks was magnificent. Just when I thought it couldn't get more spectacular, we rounded a corner and caught our first glimpse of the glacier. OMG factor 10+.   To begin with, it's huge! I'm not sure how long it is but it is four kilometers wide and at its end, it towers 60 - 80 meters high above the lake. The glacier is so huge that it literally divides the huge lake in two: it flows down from the mountain into the lake and hits the opposite shore of the lake, thereby creating a dam. Every so often, the pressure on one side of the lake builds up to such a tremendous level that it breaks through the glacier in a spectacular display of exploding ice - that's what most people hope to see when they come here but this phenomenon only happens once every few years.   Furthermore, the glacier's surface is not smooth but craggy, giving it a very thorny appearance. Its colour is just awesome: an icy blue. Plain water does have a colour: it's blue - Frits told me that not many people actually realise that water is blue in colour. Well, not in a glass but when it's frozen like this, and compressed into a massive glacier, it suddenly becomes very evident! And the blue is just STUNNING!!   The most bewildering thing about this glacier: you can hear it move!! It doesn't creak or squeak, when it makes a move (you can hear something every few minutes), it releases a thunderous roar that you can hear from miles away. We took a boat ride to the front of the glacier's wall and we were so lucky. Just as we pulled up to the front of the glacier, we heard a massive cracking sound and all of a sudden, a large piece of the wall just fell away into the lake, sending a big wave heading our way. OMG factor 10+++. Good thing regulations prevent boats from getting closer than 300 meters because those waves were pretty big. Good thing also that we were in a catamaran which was very stable! Smaller pieces of the wall crashed into the water in the next half hour - I just couldn't believe these astonishing scenes. It felt so surreal. We were soon surrounded by icebergs and other smaller bits of floating ice. WOW! We spent an hour on the boat cruising along the two kilometer north face of the glacier (the south face is another two kilometers wide), and when we got back to the pier, we went on a walk along the boardwalks which brought us to the front of the glacier that hits the far shore of the lake. Impressive stuff.   The glacier was prominently featured in Al Gore's alarmist documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth' as an example of global warming -  convenient filming I guess. Just find a glacier that crashes into a lake on a regular basis, film it (you don't have to wait too long before the next piece crashes down), and there you have it: 'concrete proof' of global warming! He just forgets to mention that this particular glacier has been very active for centuries and that glaciers' retreat and expansion have been occurring in cycles for billions of years. And I believe the 'big freeze' is up next. There you go, I've said my piece!

On the way back to Puerto Natales, we stopped by at El Calafate which I must say is a lovely small town that's definitely worth a visit. We had a cold glacier beer, then hopped into the van for the long drive back. 

We were treated to another absolute highlight the following day: the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. It was another early start, this time at 7am, and we drove northwards from Puerto Natales. It was another glorious day: clear and sunny, but cold and windy. The Torres del Paine NP is one of those few places on Earth that will absolutely blow your mind away.   We spent the whole day driving through the park and the scenery along the way was so intense that the superlatives I had in mind aren't sufficient to describe this place. We saw huge, imposing mountains, with granite faces that rise vertically almost 3,000m high; magnificent jagged peaks that resemble the tips of fountain pens; immense turquoise and dark blue lakes, some littered with gigantic icebergs; eery moss-covered forests; gorgeous alpine meadows; impressive volcanos; massive glaciers; crystal-clear rivers full of salmon and trout; and beautiful waterfalls. One of the highlights of this trip was the trek along the shores of Lago Grey (Grey Lake). It's one of the many lakes in the park but the scenery is simply mind-blowing.  OMG factor: way off the scale! Seriously, if Bora Bora was a "little piece of heaven", then Patagonia (and Torres del Paine in particular) must surely be the Home of the Gods.   Throughout my travels, I've not seen anything so spectacular and magnificent. Yes, landscapes like this exist in places like New Zealand's South Island but absolutely not on this scale. We spent the day just gaping at the scenery and there were lots of 'ooohhs', 'aahhhs' and 'wows'. Well, let the photos speak for themselves. This place is just incredible.   We were very lucky of course because the weather was good throughout the day and aside from the occasional clouds, we had unobstructed views of the Torres del Paine peaks for most of the day. 

The next day, we went for a boat trip along the Seno Ultima Esperanza to two other glaciers: Balmaceda and Serrano.   It was another beautiful day and the trip was just gorgeous. The fjords were breathtaking, with mountains rising steeply on both sides to their snow-covered peaks more than 2,000m high; cliffs that harbour a variety of wildlife including sea lions, condors and cormorans; and countless waterfalls and cascades down the mountainsides.   Totally breathtaking. The glaciers were stunning - that icy blue is just magnificent! After cruising past the Balmaceda glacier, we docked near the Serrano glacier and were led through the forest along a series of trails to various look-out points which offered stupendous views of the Serrano glacier and the little icebergs in the lake.   That afternoon, we docked at an estancia (a cattle ranch) where we were treated to a lovely BBQ lunch with heaps of grilled beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Awesome! As we left the estancia, the weather turned quite suddenly. The sunny sky turned a dark grey in an instant and it started to pour. We were tossed around by big waves and strong winds as we cruised back to Puerto Natales. I'm quite accustomed to bad weather on boats now :-) so I just shrugged it off and fell asleep!                      

When we reached Puerto Natales, we were taken to the bus terminal where we boarded a regular bus to Punta Arenas, where we are right now. Punta Arenas is the southernmost city on the American continent. Located on the shores of the Strait of Magellan, the city is really interesting and colourful and boasts an amazing history of pioneers, immigrants, booms and busts and Antartic explorers. I guess it's a pretty important city for the Dutch as well because both ING and Rabo have big offices here and there's also a Dutch consulate! By the time we arrived in Punta Arenas (about a three hour bus ride from Puerto Natales), it was dark and very cold and windy, and we were totally exhausted. We checked into our hotel, Cabo de Hornos, which faces the town's main square. After a quick dinner, I was glad to just climb into a nice warm bed and doze off. The next morning, we were taken on a short tour of the city. It is a very pleasant city. I especially love the brightly coloured houses and the broad avenues.   We were driven up to a viewpoint where we had a brilliant view of the city, the dark blue Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego in the distance.   From here, it really did feel like we were at the 'end of the world' as the tourism office here proclaims. Funny though because Punta Arenas is as southerly as Amsterdam is northerly, yet it feels so much more remote. Could it be because most of the planet's landmass (and its population) is in the northern hemisphere? After the viewpoint, we went to a museum where we had a great overview of the city's history. Fascinating place filled with the adventures and haunting stories of the city's earliest inhabitants. We then continued the tour to the city's cemetery. Morbid, no. Stunning, yes! The cemetery was opened in the late 19th century by one of the city's richest citizens, a wool baroness by the name of Sara Braun. Her tomb and that of her husband's are absolutely impressive. The other tombs (little houses where whole families are laid to rest) were really beautiful - I loved the manicured trees too. 

Anyway, that was Patagonia. A bit of a long read I guess but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. I feel so privileged that I've been able to witness the immaculate nature of this region. I'm still feeling quite exhausted from all those amazing sights but the excitement and exhilaration is pushing me on. Quite a few people have asked me if I'm now tired of the travelling, the new impressions and experiences every day. The answer is a resolute NO! Why, I'm seeing the most amazing things, experiencing new cultures and above all, during these four months, I'm actually living one of my dreams: travelling around the world and writing about it. I don't know if it can get much better than this. And for that reason, I've extended my trip to early December :-)

Ok, back to my trip. We leave Punta Arenas tomorrow morning for a two hour flight to Puerto Montt, halfway between here and Santiago. From there, we'll head to Puerto Varas, a small lakeside town where we'll stay for a night. The next day, we'll embark on a two-day lake crossing trip that will take us over the Andes and into Argentina where we'll be for the following twelve days. 

Take care all.


Big hugs from 'the Home of the Gods',
Keith   
]]> Santiago — Santiago, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223862120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223862120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223862120/tpod.html Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:13:00 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Santiago, Chile

How time flies!! We've now completed our ten day South Pacific leg and have embarked on our final leg: South America. We arrived in Santiago on Sunday evening after a four hour flight from Easter Island. That Sunday morning before our departure from Easter Island, we woke up and went for breakfast only to find the hotel's breakfast room closed. We informed the manager and he told us that the clock had moved forward an hour in the early hours of Sunday morning so it was 10am, instead of 9am...as our watches showed (there was no Lyn to tell us that summertime had come into effect!!). The manager was kind enough to re-open the breakfast room for us and for a few others who were equally oblivious to the time change. Imagine if our flight to Santiago had been early on Sunday morning! Anyway, just before we landed in Santiago, around sunset, we were treated to wonderful panoramic views of the city and the Andes mountains. It was quite a bit colder as expected - about 12 degrees. Our hotel in Santiago, Hotel Orly (very charming), is situated in Providencia, a vibrant neighbourhood with many restaurants and shops. After we'd checked into the hotel, we went for a stroll and found everything to be closed - it's Sunday - so we ended up having a snack at a Chilean fastfood-type place, the only thing that was open.

The next day, we went for a half day city tour with our guide, Mauricio. He showed us some very cool neighbourhoods in this rather fascinating city. We started off in the oldest parts of the city including my favourite neighbourhood, Concha y Toro.   This neighbourhood is filled with old mansions, some dating from the mid-19th century, in a variety of styles: Venetian, German, French renaissance, etc...  There were also many neat rows of houses painted in strikingly bright colours - imagine a purple, cobalt blue or yellow house!   We then continued to the downtown area of the city which is composed of very stately government buildings and broad avenues. We walked around the Plaza de Armas (main square) and visited the magnificent cathedral.   We also got a peek into one of Santiago's famous coffee bars 'with legs'. These are places where coffee is served by skimpily-dressed waitresses; some of these bars are pretty decent and some are downright nasty. After a quick coffee at one of the more decent coffee bars, we moved on to the more modern part of town: Providencia and Las Condes. This is where the financial district, with its gleaming towers and trendy eateries, is located as well as the main shopping malls. We dropped by at one of the larger malls and did some shopping and I got myself a haircut. The hairdresser asked me how I wanted my hair to be cut. I said 'karta blanco' (a direct translation from 'carte blanche' in French, which basically means I'm giving you permission to do whatever you want to do); I'm not sure if it's a term that's also used in Spanish but she understood and laughed. She said 'korto' or something like it (I guess that meant short) and I nodded.....big risk but I like the result - she obviously knew what she was doing! And I look like I'm 25 again! ;-)

The following day, Mauricio picked us up at 9am and off we went on our wine tour in the Aconcagua Valley. The drive to the valley, after we left the city limits, was beautiful: green hills which gradually rose to the foot of the imposing snow-capped Andes mountains. That's one of the things I love about Santiago: everywhere you look, you're never too far from a prime view of the Andes (on a clear day that is, because the city's usually shrouded in smog - the city, very much like Mexico City, is located in a 'bowl' surrounded by mountains so the smog has nowhere to go). After more than an hour, we got our first (and only) glimpse of Mt. Aconcagua (at almost 7,000 meters, the Americas' highest peak). We passed the small town of Los Andes and arrived at our first winery, San Esteban. We were greeted by the owner's daughter who gave us a tour around the vineyard, the cellar and the production area - very interesting stuff - before the wine-tasting.   The red Grand Reserva (a glorious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Camenere and San Giovese) was just superb. And they export to the Netherlands as well under the In Situ brand. Grand! We got the Dutch importer's name and then continued our tour through the valley to the Errazuriz estate (one of my favourite Chilean wineries), passing by fruit orchards and hectares upon hectares of vineyards.   Errazuriz is one of Chile's oldest and most prominent families and they have several wine estates in the valley - we visited the oldest estate. We were first served a very good four-course lunch on their terrace with a view of the vineyards, accompanied by a selection of wines, before being taken on a tour around the estate. Loved it. It was quite amazing - I've been drinking their wines for years and now I finally got to see where those wines come from.

The next morning, we took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city on the American continent, and the gateway to the Patagonia region. I'll tell you all about our Patagonia trip in my next blog (which will be up shortly). I can tell you this now: Patagonia is unbelievably AWESOME!! So don't miss my next blog ok!


Hasta luego,
Keith      
]]> Mystical Rapa Nui — Easter Island, Chile http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223768160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223768160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223768160/tpod.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:53:17 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Easter Island, Chile

I don't think I've ever been to a place that's so isolated than Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it's called by the locals. It was quite amusing seeing our flight path from Tahiti - it was literally from one dot to another and the rest of the screen was filled with the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean.   Easter Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world; the closest landmass is about 4,000 km way! Frits and I arrived here after a 4.5 hour flight from Tahiti. The flight itself was great - I was really impressed with Business on Lan Chile. We had flat beds, large TV screens, great food and fab wines and they provided not blankets but duvets!! Fantastic. The flight's timings were odd: we left Tahiti at 1am  and arrived in Easter Island at 9:30am (local time - there's a four hour time difference) which meant we had just two odd hours of sleep on this 'overnight' flight. So, despite the flat beds, we arrived pretty exhausted....and our first tour of the island was booked for the same day.   Anyway, we got our bags and were greeted by a rep from the tour operator with some beautiful garlands and (great) news that the tour would only commence later in the afternoon. Needless to say, the first thing we did when we got to our hotel was climb into bed.

We were fetched at 3pm and headed out into the countryside. Easter Island really is a small island (at 120 square kilometers, it's about a quarter the size of Singapore) but the scenery is spectacular and it boasts an extraordinary history, with one of the greatest mysteries of our time. My first impression of the island was that it looked rather much like the Irish countryside/coast: windswept green rolling hills that abruptly end at the coast with massive white cliffs, some 300 meters in height, with the great ocean tirelessly pounding at their feet. And then I started to notice the cones of extinct volcanos that litter the countryside, and on closer inspection, the green shrubs were guava trees and the forests were eucalyptus, and I thought, no, this is pretty unique. Another first impression: the fresh air! It really is incredibly fresh...I guess it would be if you're thousands of miles away from everything. Probably because of the fresh ocean air, I've been sleeping here for at least ten hours every night! 

Our first stop was the breathtaking site of Ahu Akivi. 'Ahu' are the great platforms on which the 'Moai' (statues) were erected. It still is very much a mystery why these statues were built and how the locals managed to erect such huge statues (the largest are more than 20 meters long) and haul them many miles from the quarry to the ahu. Various theories were introduced during the next few days but I like the one that says that aliens created them during their stay on Earth ;-) There's a spot where the evolution of the moai can be seen clearly (what the earlier moai looked like compared to the later versions) and the earlier moai actually looked more alien than human! But I guess that's just my wild imagination... The widely accepted theory is that these statues were built as a shrine to the ancestors who the locals believed protected them. Something generic like that. Anyway, Ahu Akivi consisted of a large ahu and seven large moai, all of them facing the sea - this is a unique feature as all other moai on the island face inland. We were then taken to former cave dwellings which were created by ancient lava flows. The locals would use these caves as a refuge when they were under attack and as a shelter from the summer heat and cold winds. The caves all had a water source, gardens with vegetable and fruit trees, and sleeping and living areas. I thought the caves were great, with their cool interiors and bright 'courtyards' (formed by the collapse of the cave roof) where vegetables and fruits were grown. 

After the tour, we went for a short walk around the little town of Hanga Roa, the only place on the island where people are allowed to live (the rest of the island is a national park). Only 5,000 people live here and they mostly depend on tourism for their income so the town is filled with little restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops that cater to tourists. There's also one bank, one post office (from which we got some very cool stamps in our passports for USD 1), an interesting museum and a hospital. The town's harbour was filled with many fishing boats. When we walked by, we spotted several large green turtles which, we later found out, live in the harbour. That evening, we had dinner at a quaint restaurant at the harbour called Taverne du Pescheur. The owner, a temperamental but entertaining Frenchman (who, seriously, looked like Obelix), remarked that he had the best fish restaurant in town, and since there's no other town within a radius of several thousand kilometers, his restaurant was the best in an area that's 55 million square kilometers big (that's more than twice the size of Russia mind you!). Tuna - there're loads of them in the surrounding waters - dominates every menu in every restaurant in town so we had.....tuna. Since the owner boasted that the tuna was so fresh, "straight from the boat in the harbour across the road to my kitchen and to your plate", I decided to order the tuna sashimi. It was pretty awesome - both the size of the dish (I'm sure they could've made two tuna steaks from that single serving of sashimi!) and the freshness of the fish. 

The following day, we were picked up at 9:30am for our full-day tour. We were first taken to a spectacular spot called Vinapu. The coastline here is very rugged with high cliffs and rocky plateaus, and the waves here are monstrous and relentless.   At the edge of one of the cliffs was a rocky platform with what initially seemed like a row of large slabs of rock with several boulders. As we neared the platform, it turned out that this was indeed an ahu with toppled moai.   There were many wars among the various clans on the island and many of the moai were destroyed or toppled. In 1960, a massive tsunami hit the island and toppled the rest of them - presently, archeologists have re-erected 36 of the more than 800 moai on the island. 

We then continued up the spectacular eastern coast to Rano Raraku, an extinct volcano and the site of the quarry or the 'factory' where the moai were made. As we approached the volcano, we saw dozens of heads just sticking out of the grassy hillsides, an astounding sight. A path led us up and around the volcano and along the way, we could see dozens of moai in various stages of production.   There was a huge unfinished moai measuring 22m - its head and body were carved but it was still attached to the rock. Other completed moai stood tall, with their proud heads sticking out of the grass. Really amazing. OMG factor 9+. We climbed into the volcano's crater and there was a reed-fringed lake and along the embankments were more moai. After a BBQ lunch at the site, we headed to probably the most stunning ahu, the Ahu Tongariki. This is by far the largest ahu (fifteen moai in a row) with the ocean and cliffs forming a dazzling backdrop.   Breathtaking stuff indeed. 

We then crossed the island, passing by guava plantations and grazing fields with cows and horses, to the northern shore where we visited an ancient ceremonial site with a round magnetic stone which locals called the 'navel of the Earth' (when you put your hands on it, you can actually feel little electric shocks - very cool). We then continued to the Ahu Nau Nau and Anakena beach. Anakena beach is quite extraordinary as it's the only sheltered bay on the island, and it boasts a broad arc of golden sand. I think the locals wanted to give the beach a more exotic feel so they planted straight rows of coconut trees along one side of the beach. I guess it would've looked more authentic if the coconut trees were planted randomly around the beach! 

Today, we were taken on a half day tour to Orongo, another ancient ceremonial site on the edges of a volcano. We passed the airport along the way. The airport's runway, at 4 km, is the longest in Chile and in the South Pacific - the Americans extended the existing runway in the 1970's as an emergency landing site for the space shuttle but it has never been used for that purpose. Anyway, we hiked up the last stretch, with the howling winds playing puppets-on-a-string with us, to the top of the volcano where a magnificent view of the large crater awaited us.   We continued along the path and visited primitive houses where the priests used to live and we were shown large boulders full of rock carvings (petroglyphs). The views of the crater on one side and the deep blue ocean on the other were just stupendous.

I'm now back at the hotel finishing off this blog. We'll be going out for dinner in a minute (more tuna I guess!!). We leave for Santiago tomorrow afternoon where we'll be staying for three nights (I've arranged a day tour to Errazurriz my favourite winery at the foot of Mt. Aconcagua, South America's highest peak, and I'm sooo looking forward to that!), after which we'll be heading south to Patagonia, which means that my summer clothes go back to the bottom of my suitcase and my winter gear come up to the top!  


Till my next blog from mainland Chile!


Adios,
Keith
]]> A little piece of heaven — Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223251200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223251200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1223251200/tpod.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:32:02 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia

I remember a quote by the late Pavarotti (bless his soul) when he first visited Pangkor Laut, an upscale resort in Malaysia. He said that when he saw the island, he wept because it was so beautiful - obviously, the resort uses that quote profusely in their ads. Well, I can definitely relate to those emotions. When we arrived in Bora Bora, I guess the excitement of being here combined with the baffling beauty of this place made me a bit teary-eyed. I just can't believe I'm actually here - I keep reminding myself every hour or so. Bora Bora is everything I thought it would be... and more. I've seen pictures of it in countless publications, documentaries and travel programmes but it's not till you're actually here that you begin to fathom just how magical this place is. I mean, I've been to many places around the world that have similar surroundings but Bora Bora just has, let's call it, the 'X-factor'. I think it's a mix of the lagoon's breathtaking shades of turquoise, aquamarine, sapphire, emerald, fluorescent green and electric blue - you could spend a day or two here just trying to get your mind around the myriad of colours; the impressive rock face of Mt. Otemanu that towers over the whole lagoon; the crystal clear water and pristine white sandy beaches; the low-rise resorts (that give the place a very exclusive feel) with their idyllic thatched roof overwater bungalows; the constant scent of frangipani and tiare Tahiti (the national flower that's used for almost everything); and the fact that you're in the middle of the South Pacific!  I can now understand why people are willing to spend a large chunk of their life-savings just to make a trip out here. It's really like a little piece of heaven on Earth - I wouldn't know how else to describe it.              

Frits and I arrived in Papeete on Tahiti last Saturday after a six-and-a-half hour flight from Sydney on Air Tahiti Nui.   It's funny how you go back a day when you cross the International Date Line from west to east. We left on a Sunday morning and arrived on a Saturday evening. I changed the time and date on everything, including my iPod. It refused to play a song after I'd made the date change. When I brought the date forward, it worked again - guess iPods were not designed to play music in the 'past'. Weird, eh? I must send Steve an e-mail. Anyway, we arrived safely in Papeete in the dark. I just think it's amazing how navigation systems work so brilliantly to steer a plane precisely to a tiny dot in the middle of this massive ocean. We were greeted at the airport with garlands made of fragrant tiare Tahiti. We then made our way to the airport hotel. The next day, we got up early to catch our 7:40am flight to BOB (Bora Bora's airport code). When I opened the blinds, I was just stunned by the view. We faced the airport and its runway but beyond that loomed the deep blue Pacific and the dramatic peaks of Moorea. Wow! 

The 45-minute flight to BOB was quite special. You could sense the excitement of the passengers as the plane descended through the clouds. As we broke free of the last cloud, a magnificent vista awaited us: a massive multi-coloured lagoon bordered by lush green atolls, the fringes of which broke the waves from the open ocean, and a mountainous island in the middle crowned by steep lofty peaks. What a sight! OMG factor 10++. The airstrip was on one of the atolls, which meant that you had to take a boat to wherever you were heading. We were met at the arrivals hall with more garlands and ushered to a waiting boat.   Our luggage was taken care of and we were whisked away into the lagoon to our resort, the Sofitel Motu. The boat ride to the resort was nothing short of stunning. The colours of the lagoon and the shape of Mt. Otemanu kept changing as we sped along. Awesome.   We were greeted at the resort's pier by the lovely Rebecca and a guitarist (who also doubles as the resort's bouncer I believe).   The Sofitel Motu is situated on a private island in the lagoon, with a small number of bungalows scattered over the hill, beach and over the water. We opted for an overwater bungalow (I can't imagine coming all this way and not staying in an overwater bungalow!!) and it was just beautiful.   It had a large bedroom and bathroom; a living room with a coffee table which featured a glass floor, making it possible to see the fish in the clear water below; and two decks, an upper deck in the shade and a lower deck with deck chairs and steps which led down to the water (you could go snorkelling right off the deck) and an outdoor shower. OMG factor: 9+. I kept pinching myself for the first half hour as I just could not believe I was here and what I was seeing. The colours of the lagoon were quite simply mystifying. We sat out on our deck for the rest of the day and just gaped at the scenery and the many fish that swam by below us.   That evening, we had dinner at the resort's only restaurant and the food was superb. The foie gras with a dark chocolate mousse was gorgeous while the mahi mahi tuna, straight out of the lagoon, was grilled to perfection. I also ordered a bottle of Chablis which I thought was very reasonably priced at EUR 20. When the bill came, I was confronted with my (emm, rather pricy) mistake; EUR 20 was for a glass and the bottle was actually more than EUR 80!! Oh well, serves me right for constantly nodding off during those French classes I had years ago (by the way, everything in French Polynesia is in French; you're lucky if you manage to find a local who speaks decent English). 

On Monday, we set off after breakfast in a canoe (a first for both me and Frits). It took a while before we finally got it together as various factors complicated things, such as the waves from speedboats, avoiding the shallow coral reefs, and uhhhh, two terribly stubborn people who both think they know better. Anyway, we cleared the reefs just off the beach and away we went. We didn't see a lot though. I think we were both too fixated on not capsizing (because of the waves), co-ordinating our strokes and keeping our course! We made it around the island in about an hour and we were pretty happy to haul that canoe back onto the beach. That was not a very successful endeavour. I then grabbed my snorkelling gear and swam around the reefs for more than an hour. The corals weren't too spectacular (guess I'm spoiled after seeing those mind-blowing reefs in Malaysia and Australia) but there were large numbers of multi-coloured fish such as the emperor angelfin, triggerfish and parrotfish. I then spent the afternoon on our deck, enjoying the view, listening to my iPod and looking out for black-tipped reef sharks; I saw quite a few of them as they leisurely swam by our deck just before sunset.    

The following day, we went for an island tour which included shark and manta ray feeding. We first visited the edge of the lagoon, a shallow area near one of the wave-breaking atolls. In the distance, huge waves from the open ocean pounded on the atoll while we calmly bobbed up and down in the relative calm of the lagoon. One of the two guides jumped into the water with a bucket full of fish. We jumped in along with him and within minutes, we were surrounded by a school of black-tipped reef sharks, some up to two meters long. They swam around us for a bit, checking us out, then ventured closer. I was quite surprised when one of them swam up to within two meters of me, then made a quick turn - I discovered why when one of the guides hauled me back into the boat: I had cut my foot on the sharp coral and though it was only a small cut, the little blood that emanated from the wound was more than sufficient to make a shark gauge if I was suitable for lunch! We then circumnavigated the island and judging by the silence, I think everyone on the boat was just absolutely mesmerised by the astounding scenery. Our last stop was near our resort in a shallow spot. As the boat anchored, about a dozen large manta rays glided by beneath us. What a stunning sight! We were soon in the water swimming around these gentle, inquisitive creatures.   They swam up to me several times and hovered around for a bit, long enough to allow me to run my hands across their backs. OMG factor: 10+++. The largest mantas had wingspans of more than two meters with tails of about the same length. This was definitely one of my most amazing experiences so far during this trip. We were dropped back at our resort around noon and we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing on the deck and taking in the views. 

We spent this morning on our deck, just absorbing that fabulous view for the last time. Later in the morning, we flew back to Tahiti where we are right now. We'll be leaving Tahiti tonight for Easter Island, where we'll be touring around for four days. 

I've been keeping up with the financial news and what's happening right now is just horrific. Anyway, I've decided not to think about it too much, especially what lays ahead of me when I get back to 'reality' at the end of the year. I'm just going to absorb and enjoy each and every moment of this trip. No use bothering myself with things that I can't do anything about right now, right? One thing at a time, and the next thing on my mind is seeing those statues on Easter Island!        


Take care. Till my next blog!



Hugs,
Keith  
]]> One night in Singapore — Singapore, Singapore http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1220784480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1220784480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/velvetescape/1/1220784480/tpod.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:02:46 -0500 Round the world in four months.
Singapore, Singapore

"Wan nah-yeet in Sing-ah-por on-ee ahh?", asked the immigrations office at Singapore's Changi Airport when I told him I was only staying in Singapore for a night. It's called Singlish - Singapore's pidgin version of the English language - a blend of English and Chinese (Hokkien). It's quite funny listening to them speak, that is if you understand what they're saying.

Singapore is a rather quirky country, albeit one that's done very well for itself considering they don't have any natural resources to speak of. It's really just a city on a small island (that keeps growing bigger by means of land reclamation). It's squeaky clean and very green - the government must have whole armies of street cleaners and gardeners as the streets look pristine and the many, many gorgeous trees and bushes are neatly pruned. There's hardly any crime and the government preaches a brand of laissez faire that's unique anywhere in the world. It's the survival of the fittest (rather Darwinist really) so Singaporeans work hard and play hard but if you fall behind, well....tough. There is no safety net. Fascinating stuff.

Anyway, I stayed the night at my friend's (Senthil) place. We went for a walk around Chinatown that Sunday afternoon and there was a lovely buzz in the air. Little stalls selling cakes, herbs, souvenirs, jewellery and colourful (i.e. garish) Chinese clothing and decorations. Senthil showed me a stall that was selling clothes. A little board hanging over the stall advertised: "Special Offer: 2 bottoms and 1 top for $20"!!! Classic.

One thing that struck me about Chinatown is how lovingly restored the old buildings are. Most of these buildings were built (probably) in the early-1900's, some in the late-1800's in a mix of colonial and art deco styles. They now house a wide variety of businesses: restaurants, bars, antique shops, etc.. but these beautifully restored buildings still ooze a unique old-world charm.

That evening, we went out for dinner and let me tell you: it's a big challenge trying to find a restaurant in Singapore that's open on a Sunday night! I don't know what the reason is (they're not all devout Catholics or something) but Senthil and I walked miles to find a decent place (other than the fast-food chains and Korean noodle shops which were open) and finally settled for a steakhouse where I ordered fish & chips (haha!).

Anyway, my visit to Singapore was short but very interesting. One of the highlights was definitely seeing the new Airbus A380 for the first time at Changi airport. I was really hoping to catch a glimpse (Singapore Airlines is currently one of only two airlines that have them) and I was really excited when I arrived at the airport and there they were: yes, two of these massive machines, parked side by side. What an impressive sight! OMG factor: 9. Kicked myself that I didn't have my camera ready.

I'm now in Perth, Western Australia, where I'm staying for five nights (will tell you all about it in my next blog). I arrived here yesterday afternoon from Singapore. The Southeast Asian leg of my trip has now come to an end. I had a truly amazing time. Breathtaking sights, great food, fantastic company, made some new friends, had some spectacular adventures,... Wow! A big THANK YOU to my friends Allan and Nigel for the fab company in Siem Reap and Krabi, and another big THANK YOU to my family in KL who spoiled me tremendously!!

Take care!


Cheers,
Keith
]]>