27 December 2009

Picture of the day: the view of Monte Fitz Roy from El Chaltén.

After leaving Ushuaia, we had only the briefest stopover in El Calafate before coming to El Chaltén, about 180 km north. The clouds cleared briefly while we were walking to the internet cafe, letting us grab a shot of the elusive Monte Fitz Roy.

Blogmistress note: we´ll be hiking for the next four days, so don´t expect any posts for bit. Chau!

26 December 2009

Picture of the day: the beginning of the trail to Glaciar Martial, reached after walking up a ski slope (the aerosilla was closed for Christmas!).

After stuffing ourselves silly with Christmas dinner, we took a nice gentle (hah!) walk up a ski slope to a glaciar... then up on the glaciar. Yeah, we broke the rules--we're rebels like that.

25 December 2009

Picture of the day: the view of Ushuaia and Isla Hoste beyond, from the roof of the hotel where we spent our Christmas.

On our cruise, we met a lovely Australian couple (hi, Christian and Katie!) who were nice enough to invite us over for Christmas. They cooked unbelievably tasty Argentinian steaks, asparagus, potato salad... and of course, great wine. Not a bad way to spend the holiday.

24 December 2009

Picture of the day: water running through the soft soil of the peat bog.

We spent our first full day in Ushuaia trying to hike to what Lonely Planet described as a "lovely alpine glacial lake". Despite what the guide said, there was really no trail to speak of, and so instead we spent 6 hours slogging through a lovely valley... filled with peat moss.

Water water everywhere

Thought you were done with pictures from our cruise through the Beagle Channel and surrounding archipelago? Not so, I'm afraid. We took close to 500 pictures. (Hey, digital cameras make taking photos cheap!) Plus, we are lining up several posts so that you all are entertained while we hike around Tierra del Fuego.

The most surprising thing about the islands at the very southern tip of Patagonia has got to be the waterfalls. I had assumed we'd see glaciers and snow and ice; waterfalls, not so much. But all that snowmelt has got to go somewhere:

Several waterfalls cascading down the side of a small island.

A bigger waterfall, below a larger icefield.

A view of the ship, below a large snow field.

You know you're on a luxury ship when they serve you whiskey (or coke!) after every excursion... chilled by glacier ice, of course.

23 December 2009

Picture of the day: the view of Ushuaia from the Beagle Channel.

Ushuaia is in Argentina, while the Beagle Channel is split between Chile (south half) and Argentina (north half). This picture was taken in Chile, of Argentina.

22 December 2009

Picture of the day: the Chilean flag flying over Cabo de Hornos.

21 December 2009

Picture of the day: the Pía glacier.

20 December 2009

Picture of the day: Fuegian forest and stream.

Mare Australis

Below are some pictures from our cruise. It was the priciest part of our trip, but I think we can both say it was worth every penny.

We left Punta Arenas at 8pm on Saturday. The landscape there was flat and windy; when we woke up on Sunday morning, this was the view out of our cabin window:

The Cordillera Darwin (the end of the Andes), running east-west across Tierra del Fuego.

Sunset from the bow of the ship (about 10:30pm).

Looking south over Cape Horn. Next land: Antartica (600 km).

The Mare Australis, behind the ice fields by the Glacier Pía.

In Argentina

We've survived our trip on the high seas, and we are now enjoying the frigid (nearly) Antarctic air in Ushuaia. Computers are slow here, so we won't be posting a whole lot, but we have some pictures from the trip here that will trickle out over the next few days.

Expect the first in a few minutes.

We're on a Boat!

We're on Day 4 of our cruise today. Depending on the weather, we may get to visit Cape Horn. Keep your fingers crossed for mild-ish winds and smooth-ish seas.

For a good map of where we've been on the cruise, check out the Cruceros Australis website.

We get to Ushuaia tomorrow. We'll try to post some pictures once we get there.

Cementerio, oh Cementerio

Those who know me really well probably don't know this about me: I'm crazy about graveyards and cemetaries. Seriously. Some of my best memories of Iowa are when I could convince Kyle, who grew up 20 miles from the college, to drive me around to the old graveyards down practically unused dirt roads.

I don't know what it is about them, but in case any of you are as enamored as I am of old headstones and cool crypts, the following pictures are for you. (Since we're currently at sea and unable to post, I thought I'd set up these pictures to keep you all coming back...)

The cementerio municipal in Punta Arenas is probably one of the best cemetaries I've seen in South America. According to Lonely Planet, "in death as in life, Punta Arenas' first families flaunted their wealth--wool baron José Menéndez's extravagent tomb is a scale replica of Rome's Vittorio Emanuele monument." See for yourself:

Headstones and sculptures stretching as far as the eye can see.

Crypts lining the walkway at the entrance to the cementerio.

19 December 2009

Picture of the day: looking out over the town of Punta Arenas and the Strait of Magellan.

Blogmistress note: The pictures of the day for 20 December through 23 December will not be posted until we land in Ushuaia on the 23rd. They should be stellar, though, so stick around to see the penguins!

Blown away by Punta Arenas

After a week of roasting in the sun in Valparaíso and Santiago (we have the sunburns to prove it!), we flew down to Patagonia on Friday. Punta Arenas is the southernmost city in Chile, a town of about 130,000 sitting on the Strait of Magellan.

The Strait of Magellan as seen from the edge of town.

Punta Arenas is definitely a port city, but also has some cool architecture, courtesy of families who made it big during the wool boom. (Yes, you read that right: sheep estancias were big business in Patagonia a century ago!)

The Sara Braun mansion, right in the center of town.

It is not as cold as we expected here--probably in the 60s--but it is seriously windy. You get very tired walking around just from leaning into the wind. We have been told to expect this throughout Patagonia, which means hiking with our packs on should be... interesting, to say the least. Also, the sun never sets! We were dead tired after waking up at 6am for our flight, but just could not go to bed when the sun was still so high in the sky.

The streets of Punta Arenas at 10:00pm--just about time for sunset!

18 December 2009

Picture of the day: statue of the virgin Mary on top of Cerro San Cristóbal.

17 December 2009

Picture of the day: enjoying the fountain at the park on Cerro Santa Lucía.

Simmering in Santiago

After a nearly unbearable 1.5-hour, 90-degree bus ride from Valparaíso (have we mentioned, it seems like the fancy new technology of air conditioning does not exist yet here?), we arrived in Santiago, the capital of Chile. We spent our first day sweating: our bags are too small to fit our boots in, so despite the 93-degree weather, we traveled in long pants, wool socks, and full leather boots. This would not be so bad, except we had to navigate from the bus station to the metro to our hostal, all while carrying our 35-pound packs. Yikes.

We climbed up Cerro Santa Lucía in the middle of the city, and got some great views that are only partially obscured by the layer of smog. (Notice the small, white statue on the hill to the left--you'll be seeing her again later.)


Today, we were lucky to have a slightly cooler (85 or so) day. We put on shorts and sandals and walked around the parks near our hotel.


Santiago was built around a river. I imagine that it looked a bit better a few hundred years ago...


Tomorrow we're off for Punta Arenas. Given that it's a 4.5 hour flight directly to the South, we'll definitely be in for cooler weather there.

16 December 2009

Picture of the day: 2-headed lamb (born 1950 in Chile) on display in the Museo Tonck.

This museum is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you ever make it to Viña del Mar and like really weird things. They also have a moai from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) on display, plus an exhibit on shrunken heads (real shrunken heads from Bolivia, plus step-by-step instructions on how to shrink heads, included!) and all manner of stuffed dead animals. Freaky.


Note: We´re headed to Santiago today, then flying down South on Friday, and our access to computers is a bit unknown at this point. We´ll try to keep a relatively frequent posting schedule up, but we make no promises. Thanks for the comments, we´re definitely reading them!

A day at the beach.

After spending the day climbing the hills of Valpo, we needed a more relaxing pursuit on Tuesday. We caught the commuter train to Viña del Mar, only 3km north of the city but a world away in terms of mindset. It´s one of the most popular tourist destinations for Chilean tourists, but there are almost no foreign visitors there. Why, you ask? Why would foreign visitors not want to come and visit the beaches?

Because the Pacific Ocean is really, really, really cold.

We walked along the boardwalk beside the ocean, enjoying the salt spray. At the top of the boardwalk is a beach, where we rolled up our pants and dipped our toes in the frigid water.

We also walked in the beautiful, manicured parks of Viña. No trash, no graffiti, no walking on the grass... it´s definitely different from Valpo!

Other highlights of our day:

• Visiting what may be the coolest museum in Chile.... pictures to come.
• The best Pisco Sour yet, on a veranda overlooking the waves.
• Seeing the inside of a Chilean tattoo parlour! (Calm down, Mom(s), it was just to buy a new nose hoop.)

15 December 2009

Picture of the day: waves crashing on the rocks at Viña del Mar, 3km north of Valparaíso.

14 December 2009

Picture of the day: view of houses on the hill from Cerro Panteón.

We put the fun in funicular!

Today, we walked around (and up, and down, and up....) the city. The best part was probably riding the funiculars: a cross between a streetcar and a gondola, they pull you up the steep hills when your feet hurt too badly to walk up yet another set of stairs. Most were built in the late 1800s, and while they have probably been updated at least once since then, you can definitely see the tracks below through the cracks in the wooden floors.

The entrance to the funicular Ascensor Concepcion (built in 1883--oldest one in Valparaíso).

The Ascensor Artillería in action, with the port in view beyond.

13 December 2009

The picture of the (yester)day: graffiti in the pedestrian alleyways on the way to dinner.

First impressions of Valpo

First impressions of Valparaíso:

• There are a serious number of stray dogs here! On one street corner last night, we counted *nine* dogs in various stages of repose. The dogs seem well-fed and friendly, but not so clean.
  
• The city is beautiful, more vertical than horizontal, and also gives one the disconcerting sense that it´s crumbling down around one´s ears. The graffiti is everywhere, but it seems more like art than vandalism.
• NOTHING IS OPEN when the presidential elections are going on. The Chileans take democracy seriously... they have to vote or they are fined. Oh, and they can only vote in the city where they registered the first time as young adults, even if it takes all day to get there.

And now, for some pictures.

The view of the sea from the hills near our hostel in Cerro Bellavista.

Up, up, up...

We made it!

We're in Valparaíso. It's beautiful here. Only downside? Everything is closed today because it's national presidential election day...

Ready to Go

We're packed (mostly), planned (more-or-less), and ready to go (definitely).

There's really not much to say at this point. Our flight leaves on Saturday evening. All we have to do is wait until then.

If you don't hear from us again before we leave, we'll try to get some sort of post up shortly after we get to Chile.