Bolivian Buscapades

A nightmare bus journey last night. But it all started out so well. We (Anand, Melissa, Davide, Alessandra, Andrea & I) were desperate to get out of the dive that is Uyuni (see previous entry on the Salt flats). On a recommendation from our salt flat tour driver we used the Emperador bus company. Big mistake. The first half of the journey was fine, we had the back seat of the bus to ourselves and Andrea was sitting near. Sleep was a bit difficult because the driver was blaring traditional Bolivian music but we each managed a bit. The bus laid over in Potosi for an hour before we had to change to another bus. This was where the fun began...

After loading our bags into the luggage compartment and as soon as entering the bus, it became pretty evident that we were not going to have our assigned seating. The bus was already almost full and there were single seats available here & there but not enough for the 6 of us. When we went out to talk to the driver about it, he showed us the list of passengers, brushed us off and said that there were 19 free seats on the bus! It turned out that half the extra passengers on the bus did not have reservations as we did, but the driver & the child-like conductor didn't/couldn't do anything about it. So 3 of us had to stand for the entire 4 hour journey from Potossi to Sucre. Anand sat on the floor for part of it, Andrea & I switched seats every half hour or so, and Davide stood the whole time. I don't know how he did it. Arriving in Sucre, we were almost delirious from lack of sleep. We are staying at different hostels, so Anand, Melissa & I left to our hostel, and Alessandra, Andrea & Davide went into the office to have words with the company. It seemed that the a bunch of other passengers were in there complaining as well. We haven't seen the others yet to hear how it went but I'm sure it will be interesting...

Chile to Bolivia via the Salar de Uyuni

We (Anand, Melissa & I) hung out in San Pedro de Atacama for a few days talking to the different tour operators and eventually settled on Estrella del Sur for our 3 day 4x4 tour to get from Chile to Bolivia and visit the salt flats. We chose Estrella because they don't use any of the salt hotels (not environmentally friendly) and the guy in the office was more informative about what we should take/eat/drink and what food would be available on the trip. We made a good decision, the food on the trip far exceeded my expectations and we had comfortable, pretty new jeeps – with good suspension J.

Despite all that, I still got really sick because of the altitude and couldn't stop throwing up the first night and second morning. The first day we visited a bunch of different coloured lagoons, the last of which I didn't get to because I was already really ill by the time we reached our first refugio. I didn't sleep much that first night – despite taking drugs (which I threw up again anyway), my head & heart were pounding, and everytime I looked at the clock, only 10 mins or so had passed. I was near hysterical in the morning when I didn't feel any better – I was beginning to think it would never go away.

Our driver Simone gave me a pill he had stashed away and later in the day I took some Dramamine (sea/motion sickness pills) I had left over from Antarctica, and we were descending from 4100m to 3600m. By the time we reached our refugio that night, I just had a small headache, my appetite had returned and I didn't feel like I was going to die anymore J. The same for Melissa – we were both able to eat with the group that night.

Day 3 saw us up at 5am to get to the salt flats for sunrise. We spent the morning driving through the salt flats and taking the usual touristy/cheesy photos – great fun! We reached Uyuni around midday and went to visit the train graveyard. Unfortunately the trains are not the only thing left to rot in the desert outside of Uyuni, the place is full of rubbish and plastic bags. It looks like a dumping ground.

Uyuni is a strange, dusty little town, and the 6 of us in our jeep had no wish to stay there any length of time, so after tipping our driver we headed down the street to book a bus to Sucre for that night.

Argentine Inca Trails on Horseback - Salta

"We reach campsite after a day riding in the wilderness. We will never forget our new friends and horses. At the campfire, dinner gets ready while we listen to the local ancient tales. The evening star comes out as the night shows up. It is the first of the million stars that lighten the sky of the southern hemisphere. Long conversations recreate the incredible day gone by. This is how our nights are..........This is how our riding vacations are." – Pioneros brochure

Day 1 – Yungas forest. Night in Refugio in Lerma valley.

The day started off hot & humid in Salta city. After breakfast, we packed up & drove 2 hours into the mountains to meet our horses. Upon exiting the van, the noise of the forest was deafening. Had lunch, met our horses, saddled up & took off into the mountains. Temp was warm but no longer horribly humid. Beautiful scenery, red earth, crossing streams, cacti larger than trees sticking up out of the brush further up on the valley walls. The sounds of birds, insects & our guide hacking through the forest in front of us with a machete (also on horseback). Saw Pata del Agua (sp?) birds, strange looking creatures, perched on top of the cacti, with long hooked beaks & a strange, deep cry.

Later in the day, as we climbed higher and higher in the valley, we needed to dismount & hike ahead of the horses, and then the vaqueros drove the horses along the trail to meet us. The trail was too steep at that point for us to ride through. While waiting on the opposite side for the horses, we heard the ominous sound of thunder. Sure enough, about 20 mins later, large, fat drops started to fall. Everyone suited up for rain. I decided to take the advice of the guide from the Torres del Paine talk, accept the fact that I was going to get wet, & keep my Gore-Tex dry for when I would need it later when we stopped moving. The downpour was so heavy that the Gore-Tex would have been useless anyway. After 20 mins, the rain seemed to ease up & while my riding trousers were soaked through; my multiple top layers were only damp underneath my fleece. "That's grand" – I thought to myself – "I'll get the chance to dry off a bit now". But it wasn't to be, a clap of thunder & a flash of lightening a few minutes later & the rain came down heavier than ever. Again, as in Mendoza, I was amazed by the horses; they paid no attention to the thunder & lightening crashing around us for the next hour. I got soaked through to my underwear but it was the stuff (my) horse riding dreams are made of! The smell of the forest in the rain was mouth-watering – so sweet – like honeysuckle. Crashing through a forest on horseback, trying to beat the rain – it was the most fun I've had since Antarctica – and reminded me that the white continent is not the only beautiful/fun place on earth.

Tonight we are staying at a Refugio (with flushing toilet – heaven!), using our saddle blankets as mattresses & sleeping bags. The storm has finally stopped & the sounds of the forest have returned. I am warm & dry again thanks to a change of clothes & 2 "Irish" coffees – courtesy of one of the other riders on the trip (thanks for the whiskey Oscar!). Everyone's wet clothes are hanging on a makeshift clothes line stretched along the main room of the Refugio & I am crossing my fingers & toes that my clothes are dry in the morning – at present my boots make squelching noises when I walk in them & my riding trousers & fleece are so wet that they are dripping onto the floor – even after I have wrung them out. Please, please, please let them be dry in the morning.

Day 2 – Crossing from Lerma valley to Calchaqui valley. Night at Refugio in Amblayo village.

My first thought/action this morning was to reach out & feel my sheepskin saddle blankets to see if they were dry. Relief! – Almost dry, merely damp. I got up quickly to check my clothes, no such luck there; the riding trousers were still soaking. The sun was coming up over the mountains, so I took all my stuff outside & hung them on fences/trees/window sills – wherever they could get the most sunlight. Over the next 2 hours while we had breakfast, packed up & the horses were saddled, I kept rearranging my clothes according to the sun. When it was time to go, my clothes, to my great surprise & relief were dry enough to wear.

This morning's riding was difficult going for the horses. We were climbing out of the valley & after yesterday's rain – the red dust was now slippery red mud. By the time we stopped for lunch, my horse looked exhausted. We stopped for an hour or so for lunch & the horses were able to catch their breath. The scenery at the top of the valley was amazing & I had a really great view when nature called! J

After lunch, the going was much easier, apart from one hairy moment over rocks where we were instructed to just let the horse choose his/her own path, do nothing but hold on! My horse decided to hop from rock to rock (or at least that was how it felt). When we passed, our guide smiled at me & told me to take a moment to get my soul back into my body – I must have looked terrifiedJ. After that, the trail was a gentle downhill slope into the next valley. The scenery was so beautiful. After climbing out of yesterday's narrow & forested valley, from the mountains we crossed, you can see (what appears to be) endless similar forested valleys, it looked like a rolling green carpet. There were condors flying overhead & the only sounds apart from the horses, was the occasional bellow of cattle grazing on the mountain pastures.

Upon descending into the next valley, which is flat, u-shaped & desert-like, we stopped for a group photo opportunity in front of some ENORMOUS cacti and then headed for our Refugio. If I was pleased with last night's Refugio because it had a flushing toilet then tonight I am in heaven! J We have beds, electricity, flushing toilet & even hot water for a shower. I joked that the rest of our group were spoiled & would not be able for all the camping on the Mendoza ride (see previous post – Ceiling of the Andes).

I am clean & sleepy after showering. The only thing that is keeping me up is curiosity over dinner. Last night we had empanadas, which, while tasty, I do not consider them overly nutritious. I remember reading as part of the trip literature that one of the nights we would be having roasted goat for dinner. We passed goats (live ones) as we arrived into the village. I am partly curious; partly horrified....I wait & will see.

Update: I don't like goat.

Day 3 – Amblayo village. Calchaqui valley.

An easy day. After breakfast we explored the village of Amblayo – on foot. Amblayo is where our current Refugio is located & has a total of 40 inhabitants. After visiting the local telephone booth (I kid you not) and the church, which has a really old painting, we were invited into the local school where the students were practising for the April 2^nd commemorations (Islas Malvinas Day). The children referred to us as "las turistas" which made me laugh as I was the only true tourist there.

After lunch, we rode out into the valley, to a dry river bed, which because it was sandy, was perfect for some fast riding. And because we were staying at the same Refugio for 2 nights, we hadn't needed to pack & make the horses carry our saddlebags. As my horse was carrying about 10kgs less, I felt much better & less guilty about galloping. I can't describe the sense of freedom – only to say that I felt truly free & totally happy during those gallops up & down the river bed. Nada mas J. I was also chuffed when told I rode like a gaucho not like a European – but maybe that was just flattery J. On the way back from the riverbed, we posed for photos on top of some large rocks which we had to ride up onto.

Update: Until tonight, I had been disappointed with the food on this trip compared to the Mendoza trip...but tonight we had the most delicious milanesa – the best I've had (milanesa wise) since arriving in Argentina. The meat was tender, the bread coating crisp, fresh & clearly just out of the pan, not pre-made, frozen, defrosted & reheated, like I've had plenty of before.

Day 4 – Riding out of Calchaqui valley. Night at Refugio at Cafayate Creek

A long day of riding. We were called at 7.30am this morning & started riding out of the valley by 9am. As we approached the end of the valley, the landscape began to change gradually and we saw guanacos grazing low down on the hillsides nearby. Out of the valley, we descended into a beautiful red canyon, which one of my fellow riders proudly proclaimed was more beautiful than the Grand Canyon.

We were descending gradually further & further down, with the canyon becoming narrower & narrower. Near the bottom we met a small river and the canyon ground became quite rocky. As at the beginning of the week, we needed to dismount the horses, go part of the way on foot, and wait for the horses to make their own way down (see video). Once back on horseback, we made our way up into the mountains again, and reached our Refugio near Cafayate Creek.

Day 5 – Riding out of Cafayate Creek & back to civilisation

I couldn't get over how isolated the last Refugio we were staying at was. What really brought it home to me was the old lady who lived there with her 2 sons. The Refugio was a mud hut (as the one on the first night had been) but there was no running water here, no electricity, and the dogs there were so thin you could see all their ribs and hip bones sticking out. There was a mad rooster who kept crowing all evening and of course woke us up at daylight. I asked our guide how the old lady survived up there with no running water even, and she told me that one of her sons lived in a "nearby" town and would bring supplies in to his mother every now & then, when he could. The only way in & out of this place was on horseback – a good four hour ride to the nearest road, again down gravelly mountain sides, where we had to walk in front of the horses and they would come down after us. I didn't expect to find this isolation and such a basic way of living and if I'm honest, it scared & shocked me a little. It could be a beautiful but harsh way of life, and certainly took some of the romantic sheen off of living in the mountains, and was a reality check for me. On that last day I was very glad to get to our meeting point & take the bus back to the hostel in Salta where hot running water awaited J.

A beautiful 5 days in the wilderness which really showed me some of the harsh realities of living in the mountains.

Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas seems to be the perfect antidote for everything (for me J). I came here without a hostel reservation (and almost missed my bus to start with) but very luckily I met 2 people from my Ushuaia hostel on the bus – Meryl & Forrest. They had a reservation at Erratic Rock – Punta Arenas. They had stayed in the Puerto Natales branch previously and had only good things to say about it. We all got a shock J. The "hostel" was basically an apartment above a bakery that we shared with the family!

But the proprietor was lovely – and clearly desperate for business, so we stayed anyway – even though it felt a bit uncomfortable with the family all in one room while we had the run of the kitchen.

Punta Arenas is a cute little town with brightly coloured roofs and bustling streets. It felt like coming back to civilisation – there was even an ATM in the supermarket – I haven't seen an ATM in a supermarket in 2 months! Cafe Montt is a sweet cafe on Pedro Montt with wifi and a very nice latte macchiato. I chillaxed there for an hour or so (the wifi wasn't working in my "hostel"J). I also visited the cemetery – which has really amazing mausoleums.

The cemetery made me quite sad. There were a lot of graves with English inscriptions – and other languages too (French/German/Italian/Dutch among others). Most of the graves referred back to the deceased's home country. If I die, I want my remains to go back to Ireland! Haven't decided between burial and cremation yet...

Post Antarctic Blues

What do you do when you've crossed one of your big to-do's off the "before I die" list?

In my case I moped around Ushuaia for 3 days trying to imagine how to continue around the rest of South America when all I wanted to do was get back on a southbound ship. I never imagined I would run into this mental block after only 2 months on the road. It didn't help matters when most of my fellow passengers seemed to be dusting themselves off and hitting the road for the next adventure without a backward glance at the South Pole.

But as usual, my buddies came through for me J. After a good solid Facebook session where I talked to a few different people who are also meandering around Argentina/Chile – I've made tentative plans to bump into 'em and that's cheered me right up – and got me out of Ushuaia and back on the road – Chilean Patagonia: Here I come!

The End of the World - almost

12 hours after arriving in Ushuaia – I had a horrible hangover and a ticket aboard the M/V Ushuaia for a classic Antarctica 11 day expedition. The ticket had been semi-planned (in that I knew I wanted to go but didn't know when that would happen), the hangover was not.

The hangover arose as a result of arriving in Ushuaia extremely late & then becoming extremely ticked off to discover that my thermo rest mattress had "disappeared" from the luggage hold of the bus since I had last seen my bag at the Argentinean/Chilean border, some 12 hours earlier. At least my baggage is becoming less (see earlier post – Luggage Issues). When one of my fellow passengers who was staying in the same hostel as me (Free Style Hostel) suggested we go for a drink at the Irish pub around the corner (Dublin pub, Ushuaia) I had to agree. Got home in time for breakfast...sobered up in time to go to travel agency...hangover kicked in shortly afterwards but I was already set.

Anyone planning to head to Antartica – in my opinion – should definitely wait until you get to Ushuaia to book a trip – unless you are tied for time and really need to leave on a certain date. The week before I arrived in Ushuaia, I contacted a number of tour operators online and they were all still charging full price for the trip, and tried to convince me that if I didn't book with them in the next 24 hours I would not be able to depart. That was a complete lie, there were people on my trip that booked & paid 3 hours before departure – and I booked just the day before.

Day 1

We boarded around 4pm, had welcome drinks and dinner and were all generally in good form. Our briefing that evening, we were introduced to the crew, went through some safety stuff and were then warned about the journey through the Drake Passage which would begin about midnight. The worst storm of the last 4 years was passing through the passage that day, we would miss it – just, but the swell would still be quite large. I woke sometime in the middle of the night, disturbed by the tossing & turning...and it was not pleasant...

Day 2

....it took 3 attempts & until lunch time to get dressed, get out of the cabin & up 2 decks to the dining room – and that was WITH sea sickness tablets. The ship was silent today....everyone was suffering. I'm proud to say I didn't actually get sick, but the nausea & dizziness was quite debilitating.

Day 3

We got out of the Drake Passage earlier than expected and arrived at the South Shetland Islands around 4pm. Everyone was feeling much better today, people were laughing, joking & chatting – in place of yesterday's silence. We got to disembark on Aitcho Island where we saw Gentoo & Chinstrap penguins and Fur Seals. It was not too cold (+4C) but very windy.

Day 4

This morning we visited Robert Island. It was colder (0C) so I wrapped up with 3 hats J. We visited Chilean & Russian research stations, got to post our postcards from the Chilean post office and then visited the Russian Orthodox Church on the island.

Day 5

There was one landing this morning & then the ship had to travel for 7 hours to reach our next destination. The island is mostly protected as an area of special interest so most of it was off limits, and as a result I decided to take a break and not disembark. Everyone said it was the best landing so far...the penguins there were really friendly and came quite close. The 7 hours spent travelling to our next destination were quite rough and I was back on the sea sickness tablets again. When we got there the wind was too high (35/40 knots) which made the sea too rough for a landing. But the ship entered the bay of Deception Island so that we could take photos. The sunset here was really pretty.

Day 6

Today was a long one. We started early in the morning with an invitation to come up out onto the deck to see the first sight of the Antarctic peninsula (proper) and take photos of the beautiful strait we were navigating through. Then we made a landing on the Antarctic peninsula – very exciting! It was here I got pecked by a penguin – another exciting first :D. During this landing we also got to see some beautiful glaciers and to hear & see them calving – very impressive.

In the afternoon we took a zodiac cruise around Paradise Bay – which is surrounded by glaciers and has beautiful icebergs. Here we got to see Weddell & Crabeater seals, penguins & cormorants – and even a rather vicious looking leopard seal which didn't exactly chase us...but followed our boat for a bit – enough to make our zodiac driver nervous & tell us we couldn't go any closer – that the seal would try to eat our boat! We were quite proud of that one and made sure to brag to the other groups (eh, well I did anyway ;)).

Day 6 finished with the excellent news that we had been granted permission to visit the Ukrainian research station Verdansky the following morning – Verdansky has the world's most southern bar – with homemade vodka :D.

Day 7

Day 7 was legend! In the morning after breakfast, we were greeted by the sight of the barbeque onboard our ship being fired up and asado being prepared. We took off on our zodiac boats to visit Wordie House, which is an historic Antarctic site. It used to be one of the British research posts but has been preserved to show how research life in the Antarctic looked in the 1940's and 50's. After Wordie House we had a tour of the Ukrainian station and finally got taken to the world's most southern bar. Our group was not the last to arrive at the bar – but we were certainly the last to leave! The Ukrainian's have a tradition of giving the generators that power their station women's names & of giving free drinks to women who leave their bras behind the bar. Check out the photos to see what little piece of me is still at Verdansky! ;)

Back on board the Ushuaia, we had an asado lunch which was perfect soakage for the 6 vodka shots at the station...and then after trying to sober up a bit, we had another landing & zodiac cruise in the afternoon. If I wasn't sober when I left the ship, it didn't take long for the cold to sober me up! There were lots more penguins & leopard seals to see that afternoon and a rather bumpy zodiac cruise to see some really beautiful icebergs – awesome. I was totally soaked when I got back to the ship, so after a hot shower and some food I went to bed early to try to stave off the hangover J.

I awoke at 11.30pm and wandered upstairs to the bar/lounge to find a singing session in full swing. One of our lecturers had brought a guitar on board with him, and a couple of the guys on board could play and sing so we were singing until 2 in the morning. Good times.

Day 8

Our last landing & zodiac cruise of the week was today. Lots more penguins, seals & icebergs to see. It was really sad afterwards when we had to give back our lifejackets & rubber boots. The ship got underway to start heading back to Ushuaia and in the afternoon slowed down for whale watching. – of which there was plenty!

Days 9 & 10

Back in the Drake Passage: stormy outside and silence inside the boat. The highest rumoured waves were 12 metres! At one point I was clinging to the mattress of my bed with my foot braced against the neighbouring twin bed in order not to fall out. Even the crew were feeling ill on the way back to Ushuaia. Nearer to the Beagle Channel the sea calmed down and the ship was able to pick up speed again. Last night on board, the ship dropped anchor in the Beagle Channel outside Ushuaia and there was a captain's dinner & we partied with the crew.

Day 11

We got up early for breakfast & to be ready to leave the ship L. Plenty of sore heads this morning. I really enjoyed the 11 days and if there was room on the boat I would have gone back again immediately (yes, I did check, and no, there wasn't any room, it was sold out). I can only recommend Antarpply and the Ushuaia – if anyone is thinking of going to Antarctica – go on this boat!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165114&id=693536230&l=37e490dc1e

The Ceiling of the Andes

My words cannot do justice to the amazing 5 days on horseback I spent in the Andes in Mendoza province. I will give the bare details and let the pictures do the rest.

Company: Pioneros Cabalgatas http://www.pioneros.com/
Personnel: 2 Pioneros guides, 2 vaqueros (local guides who know the mountains very well & who owned the horses we were using)
Tack: traditional Argentinean; 3 blankets on the horses back, followed by a saddle tree of wood/metal, followed by 2 sheep skin rugs. The blankets and sheep skins are also used as your bed underneath your sleeping bag.

Clientele: As previously related, I was lucky enough to meet Lisa in a hostel in Mendoza where she told me of her plans to join this ride. When I said that I was interested she contacted the Buenos Aires office to see if there was still room and if it wasn't too late for another addition to the group. I was able to join (obviously). Another different aspect to this particular ride was that it was marketed internally (not internationally) to the Argentinean market – so we were the only 2 tourists. The rest of the group was made up of 10 Argentineans & 1 Spanish guy living in Argentina. Pioneros does also market internationally through horse riding travel agencies, but those rides have more personnel and as a result are more expensive.

• Day 1: Meet our horses, load up with our saddle bags and take off into the desert. 3-4 hours flat riding to a valley river where we set up camp. That night it was mild enough to sleep in the open (even though we had already put up our tents).
  
  
• Day 2: After breakfast we mount up and begin to ride out of the valley. Today is a hard 3 hours riding again. We are going up and down rocky mountain sides, gravel & stones moving under the horses' feet and making them slide. There are some scary moments but as my horse has decided he is still hungry and tries to grab mouthfuls of grass whenever possible – even if that's while balancing on a surface hardly large enough to hold his four feet – I realise if he's not worried, then neither should I be. The horses here are amazing – they live out when not working and as a result are hardy, working animals that are incredibly obedient and sure-footed like goats! (The sure-footed bit, not the obedient bit). Today is an active day in the saddle, spent either leaning backwards to help the horse balance as he goes downhill, or leaning forwards & standing a bit out of the saddle as the horse carries us both uphill. Tonight we make camp high in the mountains, again beside a stream, with a couple of caves used for cooking (and to sleep in if the weather turns bad). Again we are lucky enough with the weather to be able to sleep outdoors and after a campfire singsong, we turn in for the night.
  
• Day 3: is a long and dusty day. We ride for 6 hours+. 2 hours in the morning, break for lunch, then 4 hours to get back to base. Today, once out of the mountains, we are riding through dusty scrub. When we get back to base, Pioneros transport us back to our hostel where running warm water is much appreciated & long overdue. I don't get out of the shower until I'm wrinklyJ.
  

• Day 4: Today we are riding again into the mountains, this time to a lookout point to see Aconcagua. Riding for about 6 hours. Unfortunately the weather closes in and we don't have a good view at the summit. We camp in an abandoned mining village, and use the old houses' chimneys for cooking.

• Day 5: We ride back to base, say goodbye to our horses and have a farewell meal with our guides & vaqueros.

Pictures available at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160128&id=693536230&l=35b7552fb7