Last night the Geezer and I retired to our huge double room with ensuite (a luxury in backpacker terms) while the rest of the hostel partied on in to the night. It was 11:30pm. The main courtyard where everyone was drinking was right outside our door and we lay there listening to the giggling and storytelling of the other backpackers. They were having a ball. We wondered if we were old and boring.
For both the Geezer and me, this trip is not about partying but the chance of a lifetime not to be splurged on booze and midnight kebabs (although in Argentina the midnight kebab is more like 8am in the morning since they don´t go out until 3am!). We´ve seen backpackers stagger on to tour buses after a boozey night out and sleep the entire way through breathtaking scenery.... We´ve looked at each and gone... errrrrfff!
I want my photos to capture moments of magnificence or a split second of time in my life when I am so awed by what is front of me that I want to capture it on camera... not ones where I look like I´m about to puke.
Don´t get me wrong... we are not hostel snobs or straighty-one-eighties by any means. We´ve had some ripper nights out. And being a 20 year old backpacker is about discovering who you are and how much alcohol you really can tolerate.
Of the people we have met over the last three months and had great times with, some will be friends forever... even if they are on the other side of the world, we know that we will always have a couch to sleep on! And vice versa!
But the promise I made to myself when I jumped on the very first plane was to enjoy South America without a hangover and droopy eyelids (unless it´s the result of age degeneration - which frankly I´d also rather do without).
On our Antarctic cruise we watched with slight envy the other young travellers form a tight knit group as they stayed up night after night drinking. But when a couple of them almost missed the landing on the actual Antarctic continent itself we agreed that we had made the right decision. We worked damn hard to get there and neither of us wanted to waste a single precious minute of being in that place. Needless to say the last night on the boat was a blur... footage has since emerged of yours truly and other girls on the boat dancing on a Columbian tall ship docked in Ushuaia while balancing 25 drinks. Geezer had to carry me and both our backpacks off the boat the next morning.
At 34, am I old and boring?? In backpacker years... probably! But it´s not every day that you get the chance to travel with someone who loves the same things you do, to places that leave you lost for words, at the right time in your life. I don´t want to miss a thing.
4 May 2010
26 April 2010
Easter Island!
I didn’t know how to start this next edition of our blog so I asked the Geezer. His response “two shit films later and we were in Easter Island”.
After six weeks of cold weather, we arrive on Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) with day packs full of winter clothes. It hadn’t registered with either of us that we were heading to a tropical island so we swelter in the heat at the airport wondering if we’ve lost the plot. This time around we haven’t booked any accommodation following the advice of various guide books which say that accommodation touts mob the plane when you arrive. Unable to spot a single tout we mooch off into the town with our thick winter jackets and hiking boots feeling stupid.
The island itself is quite small with the barest of facilities which surprises us. The landscape reminds me of New Zealand – black volcanic rocks, the greenest grass, the bluest sea and islanders that look Maori but speak Spanish. The town consists of one main street with a handful of mini markets and restaurants that charge exorbitant prices just to walk in the door. A couple of coffees set us back $10USD which in South American terms is daylight robbery. Slightly alarmed at the expense of the place we come across a moody hostel with even moodier owners – who later redeem themselves by bringing us a fruit shake and freshly baked banana bread because they feel sorry for us being ill from the dodgy tacos we’d eaten a few days back!
We wander down to the ocean and catch our first glimpse of a moai. We are pretty excited –especially the Geezer who has waited for this moment for years. We hang around to watch a fabulous sunset and call it a night.
The next day is Sunday and the entire island has shut down. Even the dogs have disappeared. We can’t find any information on tours and are scared to scratch ourselves in case it costs another $10. We come across several places that rent out jeeps and given that the island is so quiet we decide to give driving on the opposite side of the road a go.
It feels weird at first driving on the other side of the road but I soon get used to it and before long we are flying along towards our first stop – Anakena Beach. The beach is a beautiful backdrop for four moai that are lined up on a platform. The moai have hats on made of red volcanic rock carved out of a volcano on the island. We take loads of pictures and then drive past lots of ruins to Ahu Tongariki, a large open space that has 15 moai lined up on a platform. They are so handsome and stand proud. We spend quite a bit of time there marvelling at the moai before moving on to Rano Kao where the so called ‘unfinished moai’ are. Some of them are still set in the stone from which they are carved while others have fallen and are lying face down. But the ones that really blow us away are the famous moai that feature in most pictures of Easter Island.
We stop at a pasta place on the way back to the hostel where the owner picks fresh basil out of his garden to make our pasta and is playing the Rolling Stones which Geezer dribbles all over. We planned to only hire the jeep for a day but we’ve had such a great time whizzing around the island and there is still more to see so we hire it a second day.
Day two of our driving tour and we head to Puna Pau which is the volcano where the moai’s hats are carved from. There are many hats still lying about on the volcano. Then it’s on to Ahu Akivi where there are seven moai lined up on a platform. These are the only moai that face the water. Most of the other moai on the island have their backs to the water so that they can watch over the villages that used to be there. All that remains of the villages are ruins but the many of the moai still stand tall – some having been restored. It surprises us that so many of the moai are lying in ruins. The most famous ones have been restored but the island has clearly taken a battering after several earthquakes and tsunamis.
The roads around the island are atrocious. It’s pretty much impossible to go over 30kph because they are so terrible. The Geezer takes over the wheel but is relegated back to the passenger seat after getting a bit too excited and fish-tailing the jeep!
We spend the rest of the day driving back around to the moai taking more pictures, soaking in the atmosphere of the island, and trying not to move too much in case it makes us hungry.
By some miracle, despite bags of winter clothes, we have still packed our togs and we finish with a swim at Anakena Beach. The last swim we had was in Antarctica so, needless to say, the water is significantly warmer!
On the way back to the hostel we find a couple of tired looking French travellers standing on the side of the road and drive them back to town. We wander down to the water for another beautiful sunset with the moai at Ahu Tahai and sit in our hostel room eating hot chip butties.
Two shit films later and we are back in Santiago.
After six weeks of cold weather, we arrive on Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) with day packs full of winter clothes. It hadn’t registered with either of us that we were heading to a tropical island so we swelter in the heat at the airport wondering if we’ve lost the plot. This time around we haven’t booked any accommodation following the advice of various guide books which say that accommodation touts mob the plane when you arrive. Unable to spot a single tout we mooch off into the town with our thick winter jackets and hiking boots feeling stupid.
The island itself is quite small with the barest of facilities which surprises us. The landscape reminds me of New Zealand – black volcanic rocks, the greenest grass, the bluest sea and islanders that look Maori but speak Spanish. The town consists of one main street with a handful of mini markets and restaurants that charge exorbitant prices just to walk in the door. A couple of coffees set us back $10USD which in South American terms is daylight robbery. Slightly alarmed at the expense of the place we come across a moody hostel with even moodier owners – who later redeem themselves by bringing us a fruit shake and freshly baked banana bread because they feel sorry for us being ill from the dodgy tacos we’d eaten a few days back!
We wander down to the ocean and catch our first glimpse of a moai. We are pretty excited –especially the Geezer who has waited for this moment for years. We hang around to watch a fabulous sunset and call it a night.
The next day is Sunday and the entire island has shut down. Even the dogs have disappeared. We can’t find any information on tours and are scared to scratch ourselves in case it costs another $10. We come across several places that rent out jeeps and given that the island is so quiet we decide to give driving on the opposite side of the road a go.
It feels weird at first driving on the other side of the road but I soon get used to it and before long we are flying along towards our first stop – Anakena Beach. The beach is a beautiful backdrop for four moai that are lined up on a platform. The moai have hats on made of red volcanic rock carved out of a volcano on the island. We take loads of pictures and then drive past lots of ruins to Ahu Tongariki, a large open space that has 15 moai lined up on a platform. They are so handsome and stand proud. We spend quite a bit of time there marvelling at the moai before moving on to Rano Kao where the so called ‘unfinished moai’ are. Some of them are still set in the stone from which they are carved while others have fallen and are lying face down. But the ones that really blow us away are the famous moai that feature in most pictures of Easter Island.
We stop at a pasta place on the way back to the hostel where the owner picks fresh basil out of his garden to make our pasta and is playing the Rolling Stones which Geezer dribbles all over. We planned to only hire the jeep for a day but we’ve had such a great time whizzing around the island and there is still more to see so we hire it a second day.
Day two of our driving tour and we head to Puna Pau which is the volcano where the moai’s hats are carved from. There are many hats still lying about on the volcano. Then it’s on to Ahu Akivi where there are seven moai lined up on a platform. These are the only moai that face the water. Most of the other moai on the island have their backs to the water so that they can watch over the villages that used to be there. All that remains of the villages are ruins but the many of the moai still stand tall – some having been restored. It surprises us that so many of the moai are lying in ruins. The most famous ones have been restored but the island has clearly taken a battering after several earthquakes and tsunamis.
The roads around the island are atrocious. It’s pretty much impossible to go over 30kph because they are so terrible. The Geezer takes over the wheel but is relegated back to the passenger seat after getting a bit too excited and fish-tailing the jeep!
We spend the rest of the day driving back around to the moai taking more pictures, soaking in the atmosphere of the island, and trying not to move too much in case it makes us hungry.
By some miracle, despite bags of winter clothes, we have still packed our togs and we finish with a swim at Anakena Beach. The last swim we had was in Antarctica so, needless to say, the water is significantly warmer!
On the way back to the hostel we find a couple of tired looking French travellers standing on the side of the road and drive them back to town. We wander down to the water for another beautiful sunset with the moai at Ahu Tahai and sit in our hostel room eating hot chip butties.
Two shit films later and we are back in Santiago.
22 April 2010
15 April 2010: Volcaneers Grim and Lod-ge
Feeling a bit sad to leave Bariloche we make our way back in to Chile for some volcano action. The view crossing the Andes is amazing. We reach immigration where we are frogmarched off the bus to line up in alphabetical order to get our passports stamped. After all the Gonzales’ have lined up, a Mr Grim is called out. “Mr Grim???” “Mr Frederick Grim??”. We absolutely kill ourselves laughing and then try to hold it in because its best to behave here.
Then “Mrs Lod—geh?” “Mrs Lod-geh??” which sets us both off again. Their attemts at pronouncing Green and Lodge were almost there!
First stop back in Chile is Puerto Varas which has a Mt Fuji look alike. It’s nice but we decide to move further north to Pucon where we’ve heard that the volcano is really smoking! And we aren’t disappointed.
Volcan Villarrica is Pucon’s backdrop and it huffs away, billowing smoke that lights up red from the reflection of its lava lake at night.
Our hostel offers us a guide to climb it the next day and we enthusiastically jump at the chance – well I’m enthusiastic until I see them fitting us with crampons and ice picks which makes me wonder what I’m getting myself in for.
Some stats about Volcan Villarrica: It is one of only four volcanos in the world to have an active lava lake in its crater. Height: 2847m. Last eruption: 1971. Active: in the last two weeks – Yes! Estimated hiking time from chairlift at 1400m: 4 hours. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villarrica_(volcano))
My fears about not being able to keep up with the group are quickly allayed when our guide, Inrique, assures us we will walk slowly but consistently. There is just Geezer, me and an Italian in our group. The Italian doesn’t speak English so Geez and I pretty much keep to ourselves. It is very steep and once we hit the snow Inrique fits the crampons to our shoes to make it easier to walk on the ice. The hostel has hired me hiking boots which are like weights on my feet. With the crampons, they weigh a ton. The guide tells us to hold the ice pick ‘like this.. not like the way you see in the movies’. But he says they are more to steady us than anything else... mmm OK I think.
The smoke at the top seems to get closer and closer and around lunchtime we hit the top. I don’t know what to expect. An American at the hostel had said that we might see lava and that we would never forget peering in the top of a volcano.
What I don’t expect is the smoke to be so strong. Just as we reach the top it seems to blow straight into us and everyone throws their heads underneath their jackets to get some protection. It is pretty overwhelming and our guide ushers us over the side of the cone.
I’m amazed at how small the opening is – I’m guessing 20m across. The radius of the top is much larger – perhaps 200m across. As we walk around the cone, our guide finds a suitable viewpoint where we see red hot lava bubbling away. We are gobsmacked. Occasionally the lava comes a bit higher allowing us to get some great photos. The smoke again heads our way so we move to the other side where we have a great view of the lava. Inrique tells us that he hasn’t seen lava for two years and in the last two weeks it has suddenly sprung to life.
The Geezer and I are in awe. We could spend the entire day here but our guide hurries us along and we have a few minutes to soak in the view of two other Chilean volcanos and the Andes mountains. It really is something.
We hurry back over the lip of the volcano and strap on a thick black sheet to our backsides. We make our way over to a series of ditches carved out in the ice. And we slide all the way down to the chairlift on our bums like a team of bobsledders. I seem to create a giant snowball in front of me which slows me down. Geezer yells at me to sit on a blue paddle that we have also carried up top with us. ‘Lean back’ he yells. ‘You’ll go faster!’.
I lean back - probably too far - and suddenly take off, hurtling down the mountain, swiping a rock that catches my elbow and nervous that I’m heading straight for my group who are waiting for me. Geezer breaks my fall and I collect him on the way through. We finish up looking like a giant snowball with arms and legs protruding. It is great fun but Geezer’s camera doesn’t fare so well.
It’s not until we reach the bottom that we realise how good our guide was. Some of the other groups hadn’t been told about the tobogganing and he had let us take extra time for photos. Some of the other guides seemed more aggressive.
We finish up back in Pucon devouring tacos (which we will later regret) and hop on a bus to Santiago bound for Easter Island!
Then “Mrs Lod—geh?” “Mrs Lod-geh??” which sets us both off again. Their attemts at pronouncing Green and Lodge were almost there!
First stop back in Chile is Puerto Varas which has a Mt Fuji look alike. It’s nice but we decide to move further north to Pucon where we’ve heard that the volcano is really smoking! And we aren’t disappointed.
Volcan Villarrica is Pucon’s backdrop and it huffs away, billowing smoke that lights up red from the reflection of its lava lake at night.
Our hostel offers us a guide to climb it the next day and we enthusiastically jump at the chance – well I’m enthusiastic until I see them fitting us with crampons and ice picks which makes me wonder what I’m getting myself in for.
Some stats about Volcan Villarrica: It is one of only four volcanos in the world to have an active lava lake in its crater. Height: 2847m. Last eruption: 1971. Active: in the last two weeks – Yes! Estimated hiking time from chairlift at 1400m: 4 hours. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villarrica_(volcano))
My fears about not being able to keep up with the group are quickly allayed when our guide, Inrique, assures us we will walk slowly but consistently. There is just Geezer, me and an Italian in our group. The Italian doesn’t speak English so Geez and I pretty much keep to ourselves. It is very steep and once we hit the snow Inrique fits the crampons to our shoes to make it easier to walk on the ice. The hostel has hired me hiking boots which are like weights on my feet. With the crampons, they weigh a ton. The guide tells us to hold the ice pick ‘like this.. not like the way you see in the movies’. But he says they are more to steady us than anything else... mmm OK I think.
The smoke at the top seems to get closer and closer and around lunchtime we hit the top. I don’t know what to expect. An American at the hostel had said that we might see lava and that we would never forget peering in the top of a volcano.
What I don’t expect is the smoke to be so strong. Just as we reach the top it seems to blow straight into us and everyone throws their heads underneath their jackets to get some protection. It is pretty overwhelming and our guide ushers us over the side of the cone.
I’m amazed at how small the opening is – I’m guessing 20m across. The radius of the top is much larger – perhaps 200m across. As we walk around the cone, our guide finds a suitable viewpoint where we see red hot lava bubbling away. We are gobsmacked. Occasionally the lava comes a bit higher allowing us to get some great photos. The smoke again heads our way so we move to the other side where we have a great view of the lava. Inrique tells us that he hasn’t seen lava for two years and in the last two weeks it has suddenly sprung to life.
The Geezer and I are in awe. We could spend the entire day here but our guide hurries us along and we have a few minutes to soak in the view of two other Chilean volcanos and the Andes mountains. It really is something.
We hurry back over the lip of the volcano and strap on a thick black sheet to our backsides. We make our way over to a series of ditches carved out in the ice. And we slide all the way down to the chairlift on our bums like a team of bobsledders. I seem to create a giant snowball in front of me which slows me down. Geezer yells at me to sit on a blue paddle that we have also carried up top with us. ‘Lean back’ he yells. ‘You’ll go faster!’.
I lean back - probably too far - and suddenly take off, hurtling down the mountain, swiping a rock that catches my elbow and nervous that I’m heading straight for my group who are waiting for me. Geezer breaks my fall and I collect him on the way through. We finish up looking like a giant snowball with arms and legs protruding. It is great fun but Geezer’s camera doesn’t fare so well.
It’s not until we reach the bottom that we realise how good our guide was. Some of the other groups hadn’t been told about the tobogganing and he had let us take extra time for photos. Some of the other guides seemed more aggressive.
We finish up back in Pucon devouring tacos (which we will later regret) and hop on a bus to Santiago bound for Easter Island!
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