Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales used to be just a sleepy fishing village. Now it is a bustling tourist place dotted with hostels and outdoor gear shops. All thanks to the most visited national park in South America - Torres del Paine. And this is where we are heading. So no internet until Sunday or maybe even mountain refugios are now connected?

Punta Arenas

The road from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas includes crossing the border from Argentina to Chile but the landscape remains the same. Or rather lack of it...Only cold strong winds and few animals occupy these bare lands up to the horizon. Few houses and no trees, only fences, many fences stretching undisturbed for tens of miles. The straight dirt road seems to have no end and only sometimes disappears in a sand storm. And then when you think you almost there after 8-hour trip, the Magellan Straits ferry is cancelled because of 60 km/h winds... It will take another six hours to get there.
When experiencing this landscape from within the comfortable bus, one starts to wonder how people actually ended up living here... Punta Arenas is proud of its residences of former 19th-century sheep and cattle estancias' owners, the Brauns, Nogueiras and Menendez. They believed you can live isolated here as long as you "lived splendidly and remained in constant contact with the outside world". And they lived their rich men's lives until the wool prices remained high. Then just relocated to Buenos Aires. The others that could not afford moving stayed, for good and for bad, in their one-storey shaky houses. And only they should be treated as the true explorers of the Tierra del Fuego... 

Ushuaia

"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by R.E.M. from 1987 and it just explains how it feels here. It is a strange town covered in wind - mix of Antarctic ships, souvenir shops, 15€ pizza joints and full of pimped Opel Corsas (?!?), but at the same time nowhere else you can see at the same time the sea, city and peaks covered with snow. It is really 'el fin del mundo' as we know it... From here it is only the Antarctica to go to (4,000$ for 10-day trip - next time!). Chileans argue that Puerto Williams on the other side of the Beagle canal is the southernmost city but it is way to small to dethrone Ushuaia. And then you come to end of the road and it says: 'to Warsaw 15,000 km' - starting my long way back tomorrow but will first visit few places more...

Patagonia

Politics gets people excited in many countries. Poland or Argentina are no different - it seems like either you are patriotic or leftist, or something like that. While in Patagonia and when asking people here about current Argentinian President, Ms Cristina Kirchner, I hoped to get some type of reaction. In the end she is officially from Santa Cruz, one of Patagonia's states. But then people talked unwillingly... I know very little about Argentinian politics but internal divisions seem to go the long way - Unitarists vs. Federalists, Buenos Aires people vs. country folk, peronists, corporatists and it is difficult to figure out who's who, at least for an outsider.

I only remember when in 2009, Juan Martin del Potro, Argentinian tennis player, following his US Open win (to my sadness he beat Federer) declined to meet the President - officially agendas were to busy, but unofficially he refused to attend the meeting as he comes from a rural area where Ms Kirchner was not really liked. I thought being from Santa Cruz counts as rural, but apparently, as I was told, it is more complicated than that and it is studying in Buenos Aires and owning land that really defines your allegiance. And local graffiti does not help: 

Peninsula Valdes

Puerto Madryn is not really a wine place, as previous post suggested, but it is above all a gateway to Peninsula Valdes, an important Unesco heritage nature reserve. And the experience is amazing... You drive for two hours through dry and arid land but once you hop on a boat it takes five minutes to see whales (Southern right whale to be exact), sea lions or elephant seals. And they are just there :-) Big whales come here to breed so you get often to see a 'little' cubs as well. And then few hours drive more and you are in Punta Tombo, the biggest penguins colony in South America. These ones are really clumsy but so cute and relaxed.

Tomorrow direction Ushuaia - and it is going to be cold... Envious?

Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn is a former Welsh colony on the Argentinian Atlantic coast. It is known for its amazing wildlife, whales, sea lions and penguines, but about this tomorrow... Today we finally managed to get some proper tasting of Argentinian wines. While sipping some nice Malbec I came across a local book proudly saying that Argentina is on 'the right side of the Andes' as far as the wine is concerned... The cool and moist wind that comes from the Pacific (the same Chilean winemakers are so proud of) when passing over the Andes becomes warm and dry - as it should be, say the Argentinians. Dryness requires some extra irrigation, that Chileans despise of but Argentinians say makes their wine only better. Difficult choice... But as far as my taste goes so far Carmenere wins over Malbec - or maybe just need to try a bit more which I'll happily oblige to...

San Carlos de Bariloche

Bariloche - google map

Bariloche, or as locals like to call it Argentinian Aspen :-), is a town located on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi in the middle of the national park of the same. It is quite a strange national park with all the construction and infrastructure all around, but once you leave the main road and head for the woods you have much to discover - stunning views with little mountain lakes nested between mighty mountains. All makes you think of the Alps... And you are not really far off - it is a beer place (Kolsch in Argentina!) with plenty of little chocolate shops and Austrian like penzions. Touristy yes but would come often if only it was a little bit closer...

San Martin de los Andes

Crossing the Andes was a bit easier than expected. Lonely border post next to volcan Lanin seemed more like a Schengen area crossing and after 10 days in Chile we got to Argentina. We will be back to Chile but it really felt like I have seen nothing of the country and need to go back immediately. When travelling, even backpacking, you really just scratch the surface and only have a glimpse a what a place is really like. Let alone saying anything about the people. And Chile stretching for 4300 km is just an extreme example. In its Lakes' District alone there is nine national parks (in whole of Poland there is 23 of them) - we visited only two and barely met anyone. So if you want to get lost in the wild, grab your tent and come to Araucania! And by Chilean standards it is meant to be a busy holiday destination...

Pucon still...

The food of Chile so far has not really won me over. Great meat and fish, avocados in every dish, tasty empanadas and pastel de choclo (meat casserole topped with a crust of sweet corn (choclo) and cornmeal) but not really something to get excited about - getting difficult to please? Wine and pisco sour in all quantities, but food.. And then Pucon is full of hamburger joints, steakhouses and pizzerias so no much help. Or is there? The only problem is that the food was actually Peruvian... All simple and seemingly easy to do but so delicious. First the octopus covered in grey bitter mayo and then fish ceviche -  raw fish marinated in lemon juice with plenty of mint and corriander. Wanna give it a try? I actually found a recipe on my favourite food website: how-to-make-perfect-ceviche ...

Pucon

Skiing in the morning, swimming in the afternoon was always kind of a weird idea. I know you can do it in Lebanon or Spain's Sierra Nevada, but the list should also include Pucon in Chilean Lakes' District. It is above all rafting paradise (tomorrow :-) with plenty of national parks around, but once there you cannot escape a mighty Villarica volcano and beautiful Villarica lake.

It is a funny volcano with all the snow cap on but definitely worth a climb. Pity had to give up getting to the very top because of strong winds or rather little stamina left, but getting down on plastic apple-shaped sledges made my day - does it qualify as skiing? Sledding all the way down, hopping on a minibus and in an hour you are on a black volcanic sand beach. It is still spring here, so water is like Baltic in the summer but this is just another reason to do it...

Valparaiso

Street art is big in Chile - clean walls and courtyards of many European towns would be a dream place for Chilean graffiti painters. Here it's hard to find a wall without scribbles or drawings. But here again a difference - Santiago is all about activism and politics. You need to take a stand, decide and act!

Street art in Valparaiso, like the whole town itself, is much different. It is so-called cultural capital of Chile. Cultural is often used as a concession for being dirty and messy ( which Valparaiso is:-) but is also a true open air museum ''Museo a ciel abierto'. Many hills, lifts or aerial tramways and the roaring Pacific just add to the mix. This town is to be enjoyed slowly, going up and down and imagining who or what is behind a mural or a view you just see...

Central valley is now well behind us - now heading to Pucon...

Isla Negra

The first time I heard about Pablo Neruda, Chilean Nobel Prize winning writer, was mostly thanks to Maria Grazia Cucinotta and 'Il Postino', Italian movie from 1994.
Since then I have heard a bit more about him but really made it up only today. Some friends told me that Chileans are great storytellers and Neruda made me realise how masterful they are.
Casa de Isla Negra was his favourite house right on the Pacific shore. Not really an island and not very black but it really is like nothing else. One moment it resembles a ship, then a train car to finally become a stable, all drowned with collection of ship in bottles, shells, feet warmers and butterflies. But it is above all full of stories.
His favourite room 'Covacha' is where he wrote many of his poems. But for long time it had no table, as Neruda believed the ocean would bring him the table of its own. Then one day he saw a piece of wood floating far away and with his wife rushed to get it to the shore. It took them a whole day, both all wet almost drowned, to finally pick it up, but in the end the ocean gave him its gift... Apparently in reality a ship sailing nearby lost this piece and Neruda's wife picked it up in a boat but hey I still like the story much more.

Isla de Maipo

Wine tasting on the second day of holidays is not a bad idea. In Chilean case one only needs to discover the world of buses intercomunales and taxis colectivos - but then Vina De Martino and Santa Ema in Isla de Maipo will welcome you with all the Carmeneres, Merlots and Chardonnays that you can drink. And they pour much more than the French, even the Germans in Mosel. But then one bottle take a lot of space in the backpack - is 2009 ready to be drunk now? I guess waiting until tomorrow will do just fine...

Santiago de Chile

Santiago - getting up at 6 o'clock helps you getting sightseeing done by midday and then time to start la marathon gastronomique

First aperitif - terromoto (heavy mix of wine and ice cream) in la Piojera

Then fish dish in Mercado central

Just getting started - tbc...

Warszawa

Finally ready to go...