Chile - Punta Arenas, Torres Del Paine NP

Punta Arenas

March 11 - 12

From Ushuaia we took a bus to Punta Arenas (about a 12 hour trip, including a ferry and border control).

The main attractions in Punta Arenas are going to see a colony of Penguins, and shopping (there is a good duty free zone). After buying some necessary equipment for camping that we did not have (such as a tent) we tried to see some Penguins.

We went 0n a boat cruise to a penguin colony. The boat ride was horrible. Strong winds made the boat rock. It was not a pretty sight on the boat..

Arriving to the penguin colony we were told we cannot embark since the waves are too high so we had to return.

So the overall result: feeling bad for a couple of hours and seeing nothing.

We were offered to go in 2 days (the next day was supposed to be even worse weather), but decided to continue up north..

We were told that this does not happen a lot - usually they know there is going to be a strong wind and do not do the tour, but the forecast was OK for that day..

Well sometimes luck is not on your side..

The next day we took a bus to Puerto Natales (about 4 hours away)..

Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park

March 13-20

Picture links:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/TorresDelPaineNationalPark

The main (and I think only) attraction in this city is the Torres del Paine National Park.

This seems to be the most leveraged trek in the world. There is one trek there (that has several variations, and shorter paths) and some climbing areas, and it seems like there is a whole city built around that trek (the city of Puerto Natales). But it is one of the famous treks in Patagonia.. It is also very convenient to hike due to the many refugios in which you can sleep in, and the well marked trails.

We went for the park for a 6 day trek. Trying to see the main attractions: John Garner Pass, French Valley, the Torres, and of course the rest of the views in the pass.

Eventually we finished after five days - March 15-19 (deciding to walk more than originally planned in a certain day). The main motivation behind this was to arrive to Argentina and have a good steak 1 day earlier.

The trek itself was great.

We had rain on some of the days, but overall the weather was nice to us (sometimes luck is on your side).

The trek included seeing nice glaciers :

crossing rivers:

The beautiful french valley (in which we saw a nice avalanche)

and some other great views..

One of the highlights is the Torres (basically large tall rocks). It is said that in sunrise they are amazing since they turn red. After hearing this we (Oren and I) decided we will hike up for sunrise to see it. In our last night in the park (after 4 days of hiking) we woke up around 4 am. I have to say that waking up at 4am in the tent was a lot of fun, hearing the rain and wind outside made it even better. After a short debate wether it is worth going, we decided that there is nothing to lose and we should give it a try. I have to admit that hiking 45 minutes uphill (mostly on boulders, but some in the trees) in total darkness while it is raining, cold and windy is not great, but we were determined. I will point out is that the main advantage of climbing in the dark, is that you have no idea how far you have to still to go, since you see nothing, and you are miserable enough that all you think about is your next step, and nothing else.

Arriving at the Torres in time, made us very happy. We were so happy we were shivering (the cold temperature and wind helped as well). Waiting for the sunrise, we were wet and cold. Making some soup (we brought gas etc.) helped a bit. As it cleared it was pretty obvious: we were not going to see much. There were a lot of clouds and some fog. For a minute, when it was still almost dark, we could see the Torres since the fog mostly cleared. It was too dark to take a decent photo (unless you go for long exposure etc.), and they were definitely not red (the sun was also behind clouds at the time). Waiting some more did not help. This is what we saw most of the time we were waiting:

After about an hour we decided it was enough, and headed back down.

This was the last day in the National Park. From here we went back to Puerto Natales, and our next stop was El Calafate and El Chalten..

Ushuaia, Argentina

On March 2nd after an overnight layover we arrived to Ushuaia (from Rio).

Link to the pictures from Ushuaia are in:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/Ushuaia




Ushuaia, is the southermost city in the world! From here we start our way up north through Argentina and Chile.

In Ushuaia we did a few day trips to a Laguna, Glacier, Canyon, rented a mountain bike for a day to go up a glacier and down a nice track back to the city.
We also did one 2 day trip (called pass of the sheeps).
In this trek there was a couple, and 4 girls who asked to join us. For the 4 girls it was the first trek ever.

We knew it was a risk getting into this.. But how can you say no to 4 smiling girls who seem to be in desparate need of help?!

As we were reaching our camp at night, it started raining and as we kept climbing it started snowing. We arrived to the camp when it was snowing heavily all over.
At the camp site we met a couple of locals who had a fire started already, that helped us start our own, and warm up.
The girls were in panic (and cold and tired), afraid that we will be stuck there and not able to go back due to the snow. Oren and I were pretty sure we will not have any problems, but were not able to calm them down.
The next day, we woke up to snow all around us, and we made it back happily and safely..

The locals envited us a few nights later for Asado in one of the guys house (who is a chef in a local restaurant)..


From here, on March 11 we continued to our next stops - Punto Arenas and then Puerto Natales in Chile...

Brasil - Rio De Janeiro

Arriving On February 24 to Rio de Janeiro..

Link to the pictures from Rio:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/BrasilCarnival (together with the Salvador pictures)

Things I saw and did in the city include:

Enjoying some street parties that were part of the Carnival (much more relaxed than the Salvador Carnival), visiting the Christ Redeemer, Sugal Loaf mountain, a favela, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, walking around the various parts of the city, going out at nights, etc.

We also saw a soccer game in the Maracana stadium.

We went to see a game with about 40,000 people.

After deciding that we will chear for Botafogo, and meeting a local fan(who barely spoke english) we were given a careful explanation that the white seats are better for security, and the yellow and green are better for the atmosphere. Considering the fact that Rio is one of the more dangerous cities in the world, we decided to go for the green!!!

The atmosphere was great..

Of course this meant that we had to start singing songs that we don´t understand about 2 hours before the game, so nobody will suspect that we are not real fans in our heart and soul.

The friend that we met was very nice and friendly. But Once the game started he changed completely and started yelling and cursing in Portugese. It was very amusing.

We won 1-0. I was happy especially since it meant that there is a good chance I will survive.

Here is a glimpse of the atmosphere in the game: (Sound is horrible...)

One of the highlights was the amazing winners parade in Rio (this is the last thing in the Rio Carnival). We stayed until about 6 am when it all finished.

Unfortunately here as well we came with only a crapy disposable camera, so the pictures from this part are really bad.

After Rio, on March 1st - we took a flight to the southermost city in the world - Ushuaia, Argentina. This will be in the next post..

Brasil - Salvador Carnival

Our first stop on the trip - Brasil.
The reason - the famous Carnival.
Pictures from the Brasil trip (Feb 14 - March 1) are in:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/BrasilCarnival


Arriving about a week early, we had some time to do some touring.




Feb 14 at night we land in the violent city of Salvador. Taking a taxi at midnight and arriving to our hostel. The next day we spent around Salvador, walking around the old city, the beach etc.



I also decided to shave my head for the first time (as can be seen in the pictures)..


February 16 we took a boat to an island called Morro De San Paulo, mainly for relaxing before the carnival. The main reasons for going to the island are beaches and parties. There are no cars in the island..


Returning from Morro on Feb 19 directly to the Carnival in Salvador.


The Carnival in Salvador is CRAZY!


It is a huge crowded street party with a lot of people, beer, cops , thiefs, not enough toilets and no trash cans.





As can see in the picture the cops are always walking one after the other in groups of at least 4 in an orderly fashion (numbered a,b,c,d) and everybody is afraid of them and lets them pass.

There are big trucks (around 25 meters long) that come with bands and singers on top of them all day. Either you go with a truck (called bloco) or stand outside watch the trucks pass, and give yourself to the mercy of the pickpocketers (this is called popcorn since the people jump up and down like popcorn).


Therefore armed with very little money and a disposable camera (so there is not much to steal) we went to enjoy the carnival (this also explains the very bad pictures from the Carnival).


Most nights we did ¨POPCORN¨ (also considered the most dangerous since you are with the crowd) and it was a lot of fun. We were in the various areas of the city, which are a bit different, have different music, and different atmosphere (some are more crowded than others)!


One night we went ¨BLOCO¨(where we followed a certain truck (we had a t-shirt that meant we could go with the truck as sen in the picture - everybody with the truck has the same t-shirt). This was also very crowded, but is considered safer.





Overall Salvador Carnival Stats:

Number of nights: 5
Number of nights in BLOCO: 1
Number of successful picpockets attempts: 1 (on Oren) 0 (on Lotan)
Overall money stolen: about 5 US$
Approximate number of pickpocket attempts: 4
Number of fights in close vacinity: 561
Number of fights we participated in: 1 (no recorded injuries)
Number of police officers we saw: 468392
Number of people dancing in the streets: 2384456236757


Here are some suggestions for those who want to feel how it is to celebrate the carnival in Salvador (this is a do it at home Salvador Carnival):
1. Get some portugese Carnival music (exact type depends on where you are). In some areas all singers sing more or less the same songs..
2. Invite a lot of people to your home (more than you think is possible). Make sure there will be no place left empty.
3. About 2 days before the party you need to piss around your house and throw trash around (this will give an authentic feel of the smell and dirt in the Carnival). Close all windows so the smell will not escape.
4. Before the party make sure your place is very hot and humid
5. During the party have a lot of beer, make sure everybody is jumping up and down all the time, and once in a while sprinkle water on people (this simulates the rain that comes and goes, and will also mix well with the dirt you spread around your house).
6. During the party try to steal as many things as you can from your guests
7. Don´t worry about the fights - if it is crowded enough they will start..
8. HAVE FUN!!



After the Carnival in Salvador we flew to Rio De Janerio (on Feb 24). This will be in the next post..