Battle scars..

I must say I have decided I really like Pucón even though it is quite the tourist type town and would fit in with any westernised country. It has a very relaxed feel to it (Ok, the peak season is over and so it is fairly quiet) and the surrounding scenery is very beautiful. Being the ´adventure capital´ of Chile it has a lot to offer but it has so much more. The thought did cross my mind of owning a nice property in a quiet valley not far away...

(I like the gum tree in the corner of this photo...)
Talking of valleys I got up to my usual, yesterday, of taking some random roads without a map. The country road was perfect, as was the weather. I found out afterwards that I was very close to the Argentinean border.

But, then the powerline I was following stopped but the road kept going - so I continued. The road soon deteriorated further becoming very steep as it followed the valley. I could see a good road hundreds of meters down in the bottom of the valley. Well, the scenery was awesome and so I continued expecting the two roads to meet somewhere...

I think they did but I didn´t find out. Going down a steep section (why don´t photos show how steep it really was??) which was followed by a sharp corner I lost the front wheel on the fist sized rocks. This road was becoming beyond my limits and probably the bike´s..

After getting the bike upright and picking up the pieces a man arrives on a horse. I find out the road is VERY long and joins up with the road at the bottom in Argentina (I think, but I could be wrong here). I get the impression that the road doesn´t improve so I make the decision to turn around.Showing off her undies....

Damage? nothing major, just a broken indicator and a few scratches down the side. Atleast it looks used now...

Volcán Villarrica

Today I climbed the Volcano Villarrica which is near Pucón. This volcano is about 2800m above sea level with the top permanently iced up (unless it becomes really active I suppose...). Since you are not allowed to climb this mountain without permission and to get permission you need to show you have the correct gear and experience I opted to join a tour group with a guide. It meant I climbed it with a whole bunch of others. Actually not really a mountain to climb on your own unless you really know what you are doing.



In the morning the mountain was shrouded by clouds. Since there was little wind and the weather looked promising we left anyway and climbed up through the clouds. Volcan Villarrica boasts a ski field in winter which I think would be pretty good. The last major erruption took place in 1972.

Even got to wear a full set of crampons..

The last half hour or so of climbing was interesting with many of the rocks having big icicles hanging off them.Reaching the top of the cone we were greeted with the deep crater. It was much larger and the vent was cylindrical in shape going a long, long way down. So far in fact that I couldn´t see the bottom. The fumes were choking giving me an instant Asthma attack. My asthma has been nonexistant in South America and my Ventolin Inhaler was down at the bottom of the mountain. Fortunately I noticed someone with the same problem but she was better prepared... It was very hard to breathe up there, asthma or no asthma.Since I didn´t get to see red hot glowing lava as I hoped I contemplated jumping in but then I then I thought it be a bit of a problem leaving my motorbike stranded out here..The way back down was a lot of fun with a lot of sliding down the ice on our backsides. A numb bum was the result.. The very last bit of ice was the best as we slid down this steep crevasse to the bottom (no photo of this.). It was curvy like a bobsled run and I really got up some speed, forgetting to use my iceaxe at the end to slow me down...So, yeah, another great day in paradise...

Puerto Natales a Puerto Monnt

24th March

From Thursday Night to Monday morning I took the boat ´Evangelista´ from company Navimag. This is a cargo boat that has been fitted out for passengers as well. The trip took me from P. Natales to P. Monnt via the Patagonian Fiords so most of the time it was in pretty smooth water (thankfully as I don´t seem to hold up to well when the swell picks up..). Travelling at around 11 knots we covered some 2000km.

It was a very beautiful voyage. The mountains and islands plunge sharply into the water on either side with the vegetation clinging to the steep sides right to the water´s edge.

The mornings were all very still with patches of mist hugging the mountain sides and hanging above the water until the sun warmed the air.
On Sunday we were given nice blue skies and a slight wind pushing us along making it rather pleasant to hang around outside and soak it all in..

Yes, it was an interesting way to break up my motorcycle travel...

And now I am back right into it. Valdivia was a nice place to visit. It seems to be a very moist/wet area with lots of wetlands. I noticed a lot of tree plantations in the area - especially Eucalyptus trees. I read somewhere about a Papermill in the area that killed off some 5000 swans the other year - it is still running..

(Fishing village near Valdivia)

Chile seems very intent on making money but the environment seems to be taking a bit of a hammering..

Today I am in Pucón. It is a very nice place. Quite touristy though and not cheap. I am camping here for a few days and tomorrow I hope to climb the Volcano Villlarrica. It is still active...

If I don´t write anymore, maybe I fell in....

Chau.

Slight change of plans..

My rather bald tyre has dictated that I can´t do the Carreta Austral without the biggish risk of being stranded somewhere along the way. So today instead of heading north back into Argentina after Tierra del Fuego I headed west back to Puerto Natales to try and get a passage on board the ferry.
It was a bit of a race against the clock with over an hour spent at customs, muddy and rain damaged roads, the odd rain storm, trucks going the other way creating clouds of mud.. it was a fun day. I arrived just after 9pm. without a ticket. Boarding time begins at 9 but the boat was late. yesss. I manage to work it out and now I´m off on a boat trip through the Patagonian Fiords up to Puerto Monnt. Can´t complain really.

Rio Grande

Hotel Argentino is a great place to hang out. I stayed here on the way down to Ushuaia and even though it is only 200kms from Ushuaia I decided to it would be a good place to return. Although I am biting at the bit to start travelling north I have ended up staying here for two nights instead of one. The people here are very friendly and genuine.

Tomorrow I plan to leave for Tres Lagos or Calafate on my way to the border of Chile..
(Back in Ushuaia - It reminded me of something....)

Yeh, thanks Ash and Len... Cheap Banrock Station.. If you want cheap come over here. I paid about one aussie dollar for a bottle of wine yesterday and it tasted quite good..


Update 19 March
I am still here at Hotel Argentino (maybe it is becoming a hotel california..). The weather has turned rather foul. Cold, wet and windy. Much like a cold winter´s day back home and not conducive for riding motorcycles. Well not when you don´t need to anyway. Sooo, I stay another day. I could think of much, much worser places.

Maybe I will leave tomorrow...

At Hotel Argentino I met Manuela. She is 10 years old and we had a great time together. She taught me some Spanish and a card game and I taught her a bit of English and a game called `squares´ which I often teach the children in my class back at school. It was fun interacting in both Castillano (latin spanish) and English with a child rather than an adult. Manuela is the same age as the students I usually teach back home and I have to admit it made me miss my job...

and to think this was only after one day holed up inside.... imagine...

Ushuaia - Fin del Mundo - The End of the World

Ushuaia - Fin del Mundo - The End of the World.

Well, that is what they like to tell you around here and, yes, Ushuaia can boast to be the southern most city/town in the world. The end of the road. For many travellers it is just that - the destination/ the goal which they are trying to reach. And it is not such a bad place to visit either. For me it is neither the beginning nor the end of my trip but still a definite milestone. From here I turn my bike around and slowly make my way North. My initial plan (before I left Australia) was to make a quick dash (3000km) to Ushuaia and then slowly make my way North. Hmm, it took me a month to get here and I covered over 6000kms.. At this rate I´m not sure how far North I am going to get but it really doesn´t matter. This trip is not about how far I travel but about the trip itself. It is good to have a goal to reach for but not to measure success only by the acheivement or non-acheivement of that goal.

To reach Ushuaia you need to cross the Strait of Magellan to reach the island, Tierra del Fuego.

I crossed at its narrowest point at 4kms. It is often wind swept (like the rest of this area) and quite rough. As a matter of fact the last couple days of travel I had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing the famous Patagonian winds. Getting blown across the road and not having to lean around (some) corners was interesting...

Oh yes, just before you cross the channel you pass by this mine field... Unfortunately I have no idea on the history behind this. And then you need to cross the border back into Argentina.

I have been in Ushuaia for a few days now. Checked out a few museums which focus on various topics- the penal colony, maritime history, and Antartica. - Being only 1000km from Antartica I checked out trying to get there, but two problems - still a bit too expensive (upwards of 4000USD) and the season to visit has just finished.

I went into the National Park here. More mountains and lakes but every place I visit is special.

Where to from Here?

Well I plan to head up through Chile to start with. I will need to retrace about 1000kms to get to the first road crossing back into Chile on the mainland (I was there about 3weeks ago I think). Once in Chile I will ride on the Carretal Austral up tp Peuto Monnt which has been highly recommended. This highway is almost all gravel, about 1200kms long and quite remote, cutting through dense forests, mountains and lakes. The alternative is to take a ferry all the way to Puerto Monnt (2000kms) which passes through the Patagonian Fiordlands and saves me some time. Both look interesting and I will probably end up making my decision on the spur of the moment.

While in Puerton Natales I had this idea to find a boat to take me from there to Tortel, which is near the beginning of the Caretal Austral Highway. Tortel is an old fishing village that has no roads, just kms of boardwalks or so I am told. Anyway I asked around. Went down to the docks but couldn´t find a way. This would have been the ultimate way to include both the fiordlands and the highway but now I will have to leave something for next time..

The smell of the sea,wood, paint and deisel, the slapping of the water against the hulls. Peaceful but with a definite air of adventure about it. I loved the place - maybe it was a link with my ancestral roots in the fishing industry...

Torres del Painé

Well, ofcourse, I loved Torres del Painé. It truly is a beautiful part of God´s Creation. You can only marvel at His handiworks. While it is never easy to choose what photos to upload onto this blog, after perusing the photos for this place, I found it extremely hard...

(I found out that this lake is actually green in the daytime..)

I completed the Classic ´W´circuit over 4 days. What I loved about this area was not only the beautiful mountains but also the variations in the vegetation, the colours, the rocks, the skies.. Looking back over my photos I realised how much I had seen.

I hooked up with a group doing the same walk on the first day - Rachel, Ilana and Chris from the ´States and John from the UK - which was an added bonus. It is always a lot more enjoyable walking and sharing with others and these four were great value - thanks guys. Torres del Painé is a very popular place and I can see why. What spun me out were the Refugios along the path, something I am not used to at all. Imagine doing a full day´s walk and then being able to sit in a dry, warm place and buy a beer - in the middle of nowhere. While sounding a bit ´soft´ we still took advantage of the situation.

Bruce, Rachel, Chris, John and Ilana

Las Torres. It was hard to make a photo to do them justice. (this was the clearest day we had as well, not that we let that get in the way)

Yes, the water was VERY cold..

The Refugio at Los Cuernos



Vallé Francés



Looking back down Valle Francés..
A Freindly Guanco

Glacier Grey
A favourite amongst all of us

I always think of the sky as God´s Easel. Beautiful and ever changing paintings.

The boat trip back to the beginning of the walk

I return to my bike and find two. Rather bizare..

Spot the differences..