OK on Easter Island

As everyone now knows there was a massive earthquake in Chile early this morning - I am writing late at night. By some extraordinary stroke of fortune I had booked my trip to Easter Island and flew out yesterday morning arriving here in the afternoon. I had spent the previous 24 hours in an over night bus to Santiago going past many of the places that have been so badly affected.

So at 6.15am we were woken by a car going by with a loudhailer announcing that every one living along the coastal roads had to go as fast as p[ossilbe to the church (on higher ground) because there was a risk of a tsunami. Sharon, who owns thje cabin I am staying in understood as it was in spanish and immediatley was shouting to get us up, I quickly dressed grabbed money, passport, specs, camera and computer and we got in Sharons car (I and two other guests ... two others had a hire car). The church was only a few streets away. There a crowd was forming and some kind of bush telegraph of instructions was that they expected a wave to hit the other side of the island at about 7-8 but that it may ripple around the island and come quite high up the coast - possibly over the road ... and the cabins are just the other side of the road. So as the sun rose there were people just hanging around for more news: people sitting on the roadside, milling about, cars, horses, dogs,,,,,,

News slowly trickled through about the earthquake .... as you probably know Easter Island is part of Chile so many people here have relatives onthe mainland. Alll very worrying and even now Sharon has not heard from her great friend who works with her running the cabins who was visiting her family in Conception and was due to fly back here today.

So, I am all right and feel blessed that I am here rather than in Santiago or anywhere else there.There are no flights in or out of the island at the moment until LAN who have a monopoly on the flights here has anything today.... website jammed and office closed. Airport has no info either. While Santiago airport is reportedly closed for 72 hours.

I am due out on a flight on Thursday .but there are loads of other people due out before then. Not sure what will be on offer as alternatives. There are rumours that they are diverting people to Mendoza in Argentina. That would be fine by me as I have decided that is where I would be aiming for now.

So as long as the food lasts here this is where we stay. Sharon made us go straight to the supermarket to stock up ... found it very difficult to decide what to buy... so I have spaghetti and porridge ...oh and I found some coffee which is a rarity anywhere in Chile who seem to live off nescafe and the boring thin powder stuff at that.

Finally it was deemed safe to return to the cabins and so we had a late breakfast and just slowly came to over what had just happened. It was a glorious day with beautiful blue skies and seas ... it seemed hard to believe that such devastation was unravelling across the seas.

Finally I put on my boots and set off to hike up one of the craters and see the ceremonial village of the birdman rituals. I felt I should celebrate being safe in a positive way. It was hot and the crater itself was magnificcent. Pictures later. Must got to bed.

Fiesta de los guachos

Yesterday was the first time in these travels that I experienced some real local colour. I had arrived in San Martin del los Andes on Thursday (my birthday !) which is in the Argentine lake district. I got a tip off that this weekend was when all the gauchos from the local estancias (and beyond) come into town for an annual shop and to have a general knees up including various competitions. This would be in Junin de los Andes (about an hour away) and so I set off on a bus arriving about 2 in the afternoon.

I spent a little while going around all the stalls in town selling everything from smart neckties, knives, hats, belts, ponchos, saddles, ...in fact anything that a gaucho may want.

Gauchos, in case you don't know, are the equivalent of american cowboys.... farm hands who work on the estancias or even polo teams! Anything that involves horses and probably cows. They are not indians and from what I can gather by tradition many of them came from Chile in search of work. Most of them look very weather beaten and much older than they are as a consequence of their constant life outdoors. It is a tough, rough life but apparently one that most of them choose and love. I am told that some of the gauchos in the north - in Corrientes - go barefoot:riding and walking.

As the bus drove into town it was clear that something was going on as there were bands of chaps riding horses through town, laughing and joking and dressed in their best clean shirts, smart hats or large berets, a thick leather belt with various decorations on it and a red sash and a knife stuck in the back of the belt.

Lots of battered old cars and 4x4s lined the main road. So, I followed the buss and found myself at an arena with the proceedings just starting: loads of guachos and their friends and families already in the stands, lots of icecream and chip stalls and a bar around the outside. A compere doing the most elaborate introductions of the events which started with the national anthem (I presumed as everyone stood up and sang along) followed by some other songs sung by a lady ... and then a great parade of people on horseback with banners from each of the estancias or settlements. It felt like the opening scene of an opera!!

I wandered slowly among the crowd trying to work out a good place to take up position for a good view of the arena..... it was delightful to see all ages dressed up.. little gauchos (boys of about 10 upwards and some girls), big gauchos with their small children in front of them on their horses, groups of young men, groups of old men greeting each other ...others on their mobile phones whilst leaning on their horses!

After speeches from all sorts of notables, the activities started. The first was a slalom race where the guys had to weave their horse through some sticks, turn and go back through again, gallop forward,turn, gallop back and return to the middle with a sudden stop (dust flying!) Great roars from the crowd when someone's horse was particularly nibble. I have no idea who one but it was certainly ages before it was announced.

Then there was a mass lassoing of some pretty fiercesome cattle. They were driven up to one end of the arena and the middle of the arena was filled with chaps arranging their lassoes around them in readiness .... lots of waiting and chatting and then the cows were driven forward, they all swung their lassoes everywhere and from what I can see the cattle won the day .... chaps, hats, dust and lassoes all over the place and I think only one cow trapped. It was hilarious. This was followed by letting young steers out of a corral one by one with two chaps at a time with lassoes trying to get them before they bolted. Again lots of posturing and then whoops the steer gets through in a flash ... if they did catch it between them one of them has to get on the steer and ride it for a little distance. So that is pretty hilarious too. More roars from the crowd!

Finally..... well for me because I had to catch the 7pm bus, there was bareback rodeo! They had to stay on for about a minute I think. Again pretty dramatic and action packed ... see photos. One chaps horse just reared straight up and fell backwards onto him .... intake of breath all around, much prodding of the guy and he eventually gets up and limps off. Miu Macho!!

It was a such a colourful and vibrant day ... a completely change

from hiking and m

ountain gazing. I completed the day by buying a delicious icecream before getting on the bus and was chatted up by a very handsome Argentine architect on the bus ..... a very satisfactory day!!!

Patagonian photos

Mountains, Lakes, Glaciers ... and buses

I can hardly believe that it is almost two weeks since I set off northwards from Ushuaia. My first step was to catch a bus ... or rather 3 buses for a 15 hours journey to Puerto Natalies in Chile via Punta Arenas.(I should really find out if I can put a map with little progress tags so I can show you where I am going but that is all too technical for me at the moment)

The journey started at 5.15 in the morning with a minibus picking me up from my B&B for the first stage of journey to Rio Grande. Then just as I was boarding the next bus at 8am to go to Punta Arenas I realised I had left my ski/waterproof jacket on the previous bus... I am now resolved not to put anything in the overhead rack. But a quick explanation (!!! with gesticulating to describe my problem) to someone who looked efficient at the bus station and he was immediately on his mobile phone, said that the bus was still in town and 10 minutes later it arrived by taxi. No one too fussed about the bus leaving late and everyone so quick to help ... that has really been my experience all the time I have been travelling ... in Argentina in particular. That was a good lesson and I am now much more organised!!!

So we moved from the mountains and woods that surrounded Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego into the wide open pastureland that stretched across into Southern Patagonia...Scrubland as far as the eye can see with bi, big skies. The buses are really very comfortable (with allotted seats) and the bus conductor hands out cups of coffee and doughnuts at strategic stages. He also shepherded everyone through both the Argentinian and Chilean border posts making sure we all had our correct papers and stood in the right lines depending on whether we were locals or foreiners. All very efficient.

Finally arrived at Puerto Natales, a small town on the edge of a lake which is where the Navimag ferry sets off (taking 3 days) through the Chilean fjords which make up a large part of southern Chile. I had decided not to take that trip as I had spent so much time on a ship already but I wanted to go to Torres del Paine National Park which is famous for its great peaks and glaciers. They say that the Torres themselves are actually not part of the Andes and are quite a bit younger but it is very close to them as the other side of the glacier park is in Argentina and I believe they are definitely part of the Andes range.

Finally arrived at 10.30pm at the bus station in Puerto Natales, I took a taxi to the backpacker hostel I had booked into. I will describe my initiation into the 'backpacking culture' in another tale! Anyhow, I spent the next day sorting out a plan..... Most people come to Torres del Paine to do either the circuit (7 days hiking and camping) or the 'W' (5 days hiking and camping). I did not intend to do any camping or challenge myself with the rigours of the mountains.... I saw some people returning after walking continuously through rain and snow for 3 of the 5 days! Soakedm, muddy and exhausted. So I decided on 3 days: the first a touristy day tour which then left me in the park to catch a ferry across a lake to spend two days at a refugio from which I could hike (or not depending on the weather). The first day was rainy and overcast so no great view of the Torres (peaks) but I did see my first guanacos and rhea wandering about the foothills ... and I made friends with a lovely German girl and her mother. Then as I was queuing up to catch the ferry I met up with two other solo women travellers: an English woman called Lindsey taking 7 months off work and an Austrian woman called Marguitta who was travelling for 3 months. So, as happens a lot, we teamed up the next day and did a hike .... Lindsey carrying on to another refugio while M and I returned to base. The next day M and I hiked up to a glacier and back.

The mountains were spectacular when eventually the clouds cleared ... we were walking very close to them so you felt the cold wind whistling down the valleys. The paths are narrow going through wooded areas, up craggy areas and through streams: lots of lovely wildflowers and the occassionaly bird. At one point we came across a group of magellanic woodpeckers quite oblivious of the people hiking by. They are big with black bodies and bright red heads. We also came across a young owl (see my next set of photos).

You are always passing other people either coming up or down the path and everyone says hola! as they as each other. I found I got quite hot as a lot of it was pretty steep but as soon as you got out of the sun or out of a valley when the wind caught you we got pretty cold and were glad of down jacke, lined craghopper trousers,fleece had and scarf. However, I was very pleased with myself ... did about 7 hours on the first day and 8 hours the next... no blisters even! Many of the hikers seem just to be steaming along as fast as they could but luckily M was as keen as I to take our time to walk up to the viewpoints, take photos and just take in the whole 'big experience. Most of the lakes were the most amazing milky turqoisey blue... like porcelain. This is apparently caused by sediment brought down by the glaciers. The lakes formed from river were a completely different colour.


So I left M to go a bit further on the last day while I zipped back and caught the 6.30pm ferry back across the lake. There were a series of buses waiting for people going in different directions and as my bus wound its way out of the park I looked back over the spectacular sunset over the mountains. It had been well worth it and I met some lovely people on the path.

So my next step was to go back into Argentina to El Calefate ... a town on the other side of the glacier park where you can see a magnificent glacier called perito merino at very close quarters as it actually meets a peninsular within the lake it feeds into. So up early again and on a bus ... the change in scenery was quite marked as soon as you go back into Argentina. From green pastureland in the Torres park to wide open quite brown Patagonian steppe. The visit to the glacier was very touristy but it was still magnificent. I took an hour's trip on a boat that went quite close to the face of the glacier. From there you could see the occassionaly bit fall of (sounding like a house collapsing even though it seemed very small) but you could also hear the glacier cracking ...the sounds very much like the sound of a gun firing. Of course as you looked into the cracks in the glacier you saw the most intense blue while the face and top of glacier were white.


So I checked into my next hostel and started to prepare the next stage ....