Valparaiso

Due west of Mendoza lies the old port town of Valparaiso. We discovered that it was a seven hour bus ride away and so decided to visit it for a couple of nights. I had heard about it, but wasn't really sure what it was all about. I knew that it was an old (and current) port and that it had lots of funicular elevators - I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. I also had heard that it was 'cool'.

So, with little thought of why we were going or what we expected to see when we got there, we set off on an early bus.

In addition to going to Valparaiso, we also had the treat of going through the Andes on a pass that is 2,800m above sea level.

We had mentioned to our guide on the wine trip that we were off to Valparaiso and she said that she goes there quite often (as do quite alot of Mendocians, apparently) and told us to get a taxi to Corre Conception - wherever that might be - and stay in the British hotel - or something. Armed with such detailled insider knowledge, we felt we could hardly fail.

The bus journey was astounding. Well, the pass part was. Two hours of flat Chilean countryside was bit tedious - but the pass. Wow.

The Argentine side of the pass is quite a long, shallow incline for a couple of hours. Pretty much accompanied the whole way by the river, which sits in a vertically-sided gorge about 30-40 feet deep. Also going through the same pass is the (sadly defunct) railway line. Usually it is on the opposite side of the gorge to the road, which allows one time and scope to really see and appreciate the engineering miracle that it must have been. Apparently there is talk of rebuilding it (a pretty major undertaking in some places by the looks of things). I hope they do - it would be a truly stunning journey.

The Border was reasonably well organised (we are becoming quite the experts on Latin American borders - our fumbling around in no-man's land between Belize and Guatemala seems a world away). Chile and Argentina seem to be in a different economic trading bloc (Argentina is in Mercosur, along with Brazil, Paraguay and others I forget - Chile is not) and, as Chile exports fruit, meat etc.. to Europe, the border is strict about the importation of fruit, honey, semen and seeds (i.e. it is forbidden). One Argentinian woman got caught trying to bring a big bag of fuit across - she got a bit upset - the border guard was a model of a polite, firm, patient official (really - no sarcasm). Not only did she have a bag of fruit in her checked luggage, she also had an orange (which was discovered and confiscated with a phlegmatic shrug) in her hand luggage. Amazing.

The Chilean side of the pass is breathtaking. I don't know the statistics, but the road must drop an astounding distance as a series of zig-zags clinging to the side of the hill. T made a bus-friend - a Chilean bloke who told us a bit about Chile and was the source of the Border processing information. He said that he had learned English from chatting on the Internet. His English was pretty good (much better than our Spanish, I am embarrassed to say). We stopped in Vina del Mar which is a Chlean beach tourism destination about 10 Km from Valparaiso, and dropped off all the other passengers. T and I arrived in Valparaiso, mid-afternoon.

We had discovered that the British hotel on Corre (hill) Conception was called Hotel Brighton. With that kind of Karma, it would have had to have cockroaches; a dog pound outside our room; a poo-pot and be underneath a Tango dance school for us not to stay there.

Hotel on a Hill

Hotel Brighton was a little, um, rustic. But it was cheap and it was authentic. Corre Conception is th Bohemian, arty Corre and it has a real chilled-out vibe to it.

At some point over the last couple of days I'd started to feel a bit cold-y and, by the time we hit Valparaiso, had become a pathetic creature, incapable of regulating my own temperature - great for marching up and down hills - not. So, I went to bed and T had a mooch about. Then we both went out for a brief stroll and used the Corre Conception elevator which was cool. I dragged myself up for a nice meal and we went to bed early.

The view in the morning was beautiful. The concrete high-rises sort of spoil the view, but, at the same time they do help one to realise that this is a living city and not a tourist attraction. The legislature of Chile meets here (in a "love it or hate it" architectured building) and it is the capital of the region as well as a financial centre and a working port, not to mention a serious Naval base.

Morning over the bay

We took a walking tour of the city. It started with the first elevator being out of order, which did not help my condition, but then proceeded to be quite interesting, if a little sketchy on detail. The woman giving the tour seemed do do alot of "Look at that House" pretty enough, to be sure, but not any historical context. Oh, and if I had a centavo for every time she told us to go to Vina del Mar (where she lived) ...

Painted Houses on Corre Conception

The afternoon (for me) was spent in bed again; T did some hanging around the hotel and environs.

Trudi, just outside Brighton

In the evening, we walked down the hill and found another elevator (we took 3 of the 15 that the town has to offer) which was well hidden and went up to a recommended Thai restaurant on Corre Bellavista. It was O.K. We sat outside even though it was probabaly a teency-weency bit too cold to do so sensibly.

An early night, up for the bus back the following morning.

The trip back was just as spectacular as before with two exceptions.

1. Argentine customs was a ridiculous charade. They certainly know how to make a border crossing painful.
   
2. T obviously got illness-envy and spent the whole trip trying to sleep off an awful migraine. (I was quite fine by now). Pobre Trudi.
   

We did little in Mendoza upon our return, just laundry; shopping; eating and last minute wine tasting before catching our bus, Iguazu bound.

Cruce de Lagos

We stayed in a nice place in Puerto Varas and had a very nice meal in the Merlin restaurant. I had cream of beer soup - which was very salty, otherwise it was excellent. Early to bed for the first day of a two day crossing from Chile to Argentina on the, apparently, famous Cruce de Lagos.

We were picked up in the morning and taken, along with a bus load of mostly Brazilians, to the boat on the Esmeralda lake.

Pretty Lago Esmeralda

A fairly relaxing trip on a lightly loaded boat, passing some interesting islands and a pretty waterfall, ended in the small town of Peulla. We were there at around about noon.

We had a forced stop at Peulla, as the 1st of May was the start of the winter timetable and so the 'in one day' option wasn't on.

Peulla is a bit of a tourist trap. There are two hotels; one is a hundred years old (and looks it) the other is one year old. We were in the newer one. The town contains lots of 'things to do'. We chose 'canopy'. The food and service were pretty poor. But the room and the location were quite amazing.

"Canopy" turned out to mean dangling from a bit of string at a great height above a stream. T had a practice a little closer to ground

Mountain explorer in waiting Wiseman

However, the sight of the stream a dizzying distance below proved a little too much, so T had a walk up a hill, across a rickety bridge and then back across the bridge and walked down again. I rolled down the wires a bit slower than strictly necessary and then was abseiled down the last tree at the end.

Going down

Interesting - but I'm not sure I'd bother doing it again.

In the morning, we started early for the second half of the trip. A short ride to the border and then a series of boats and buses were to take us to Bariloche in Argentina.

Basically it all turned a bit pear-shaped at this point. There was much waiting, faffing, carrying of bags (in Chile they had had the bright idea to put the bags in boxes and move the boxes around - in Argentina they moved all the bags by hand between three buses and two boats - madmen) and - worst of all - hanging about to wait for a group coming straight from Chile (so the winter/summer timetable thing was a lie).

Getting wet on Lago Frias

We sat on a boat in the pouring rain in the middle of a lake for two hours, then went to get the fast-track group and then sat on the boat in the pouring rain for another hour as we got near to Bariloche. Only when we'd tied up did it occur to our guides that they ought to tell us what to do next (to get another bus). However, they managed to give several sets of contradictory instructions and we just sat on the boat for another 1/2 hour as it got dark. We had no accomodation booked in Bariloche yet.

Eventually, we arrived in Bariloche and checked into the nearest hotel - which was fine. So ended the Cruce de Lagos, Badly organised. It is amazing to think that they do that every day.

Ferry Trip - Day 3 and Arrival

Our last day had a bit less rain. I wouldn't go as far as to call it sunshine. However, we didn't really do much outside. I did see the tail of a whale disappearing, much to T's annoyance - as I'd only been looking for about 5 mins - her 1/2 hour in the rain was fruitless.

In the evening, we had "Bingo". It was a bit of fun. Apparently they sold 35 cards.

The first prize was given for getting one line.

T won

The second prize was given for getting two lines

T won

The third prize was given for getting three lines

T won and was banned from winning any more prizes.

The fourth prize was given for getting four lines

T didn't win (she was banned, remember), but was two numbers ahead of the winner (i.e. T would have won)

The fifth, and major, prize was for a full house.

T got a Bingo on the same number as the winner.

Then they started a new game for the losers (i.e. anyone who hadn't won a prize yet.) Everyone stood up and then sat down if their board had any of the called numbers on it.

After 4 (or 5) numbers, there was only one chap left. T, with the same board, had had no matches either. Basically, one board would have won (as far as we can establish) every prize had we not been banned.

What's the probability of that then? (yep, 1) O.K. but what's the liklihood? 75 numbers. Board as shown below.

Board yet?

Another night's sleep saw us arriving in Puerto Montt where we were disembarked by the cargo elevator and not the perfectly good stairs next to it, for some reason.

Moo

We got a transfer to Puerto Varas (15 km North and much, much prettier).

Ferry Trip - Day 2

Day two started much like day one - moo, Spanish, "Wake Up". However, after discovering the bar in the boat, it appeared that I was a tad unwell and skipped breakfast.

The scenery was ... not.

The "view"

In the deepest part of the journey, we passed a ship that had managed to miss the deep bit and not sink. The captain pulled an insurance job and got a prison sentence for his trouble.

Shipwreck

A mostly uneventful day.

Ferry Trip - Day 1

We woke to the lowing of cattle and the tinny voice of our guide announcing breakfast and the impending navigation of the narrowest part of the trip.

We are to go through the right hand channel here:

Camel? Needle?

We did get through and so did the cause of the lowing (but not much baaing - perhaps sheep prefer ferry journeys.)

Cargo, safely through narrow channel

We all know what a rainbow means ...

Yep - rain.

Rainbow

So, we spent most of the day in our suite.

Our palacial suite

I borrowed the film and we had our own private viewing. In the film, they showed Lago Frias on the Cruce de Lagos - we will be there in a few days.

Leaving Puerto Natales

Our last day with the truck was mostly spent arguing about what to do with our last day with the truck. Ordering important tasks like shopping; returning the truck; eating; getting our luggage to the ferry terminal; filling up with diesel and going on a litle jaunt south which all vied for our attention. In the end we went south for a bit - got to a bridge and then turned around.

We went just over 100km (62 miles) and saw one turning; one 'town'; a statue of Jesus; a bridge; an old road; a posh hotel and a couple of army checkpoints. We also saw a shrine-y thing.

Bottle Shrines

We are not sure exactly what is going on here, as the guide-book seems to be more interested in being clever about the relative fortunes of the Chilean and Argentine tourist industries than actually saying what the shrines are, and, perhaps more importantly, why they are surrounded with Coke bottles.

We also saw the ferry arrive.

Our ferry, arriving

Once we had done our chores we found a nice Internet cafe and coffe shop.
Unfortunately their DHCP server wasn't handing out any addresses, so we just bought chocolate and books and moved on.

We had decided to eat in a pizza restaurant that had been recommended to us. It was full of people with English accents, ready to board a ferry. We had nice pizzas.

We went down to the ferry terminal at 9:00 and boarded our boat. Unfortunately, my Leatherman somehow didn't manage to stay in my bag from the ferry terminal to the cabin. It's annoying to have stuff pinched - but, as things go - touch wood - that's the first issue of this sort we have encountered in the three months (yes - we are half way through) so far.

We attended the welcome talk, but were too tired to stay up for the film. This was a real shame, as it was "The Motorcycle Diaries" which T has just read and which has footage of the Andean Lakes crossing that we are going on when we arrive in Puerto Montt.

A reasonable nights sleep was punctuated by the periodic noises of the crew lashing down the cargo in the hold. I think I know what it would feel like to be a mouse living in a Timpani.

Torres del Paine

We got up and boarded the truck to drive to Torres del Paine National Park. It was a long drive there (2 hrs) and then an exorbitant entrance fee (15 quid each). Most of the road was dirt track. I'm glad we got a truck and not the Ford Sierra that was the alternative.

The weather wasn't the best, but it was, at least, dry. At one point we had to stop to let a herd of cattle pass. They were being driven by three blokes on horses and about a dozen dogs.

Cows

Once in the park, we drove up to Lago Grey and stopped to admire the view in numerous places.

Pretty Mountains and stuff

At Lago Grey we had luncheon at the hotel (which looked a bit more like Maplins holiday camp than a hotel charging 150 quid for a double chalet (room)). It did have a nice view of the glacier in the distance. And there was a convenient iceberg too.

We went for a walk and got pretty close to the iceberg. It was a bit chilly (geddit?)

An iceberg

T was stoic during the journey there and back. Only a couple of "Jesus!" and other, more graphic, expletives passed her lips as the Truck careered out of control towards the gully of the dirt track at a great rate of knots.

To be fair to the driver, the roads took a great deal of concentration and sometimes just took you where they wanted you to go, whatever you did. I may have been going a soupcon faster than strictly necessary at some points though.

One the way back, we stopped at the Milodon caves. The cave itself was massive, and pretty damned impressive.

For dinner, we decided to try the hotel again and it was very nice.

T went to bed early and I'm here typing up our last blog entries before setting off on the (Internet free) ferry trip.

Puero Natales

We crossed into Chile without incicdent and descended into Puerto Natales. There are signs on the way in that inform you what there is to do.

Things to do in Puerto Natales

• Go to a Hotel
  
• Eat
  
• Play cards
  
• Use a telephone
  
• Go to Hospital
  
• Write a letter
  
• Get petrol
  
• Fly a plane
  
• Wash your hands
  

However, the metropolis is clearly too diverse to be described by one sign, so another one pops up a bit down the road:

More things to do in Puerto Natales

• Fish
  
• Go to church
  
• Go on a boat
  
• Eat fish and get drunk on cheap Chilean wine
  
• Ask a question
  
• Take a photograph (of bizarre street signs, presumably)
  
• See birds
  
• Go to a museum
  
• See a mountain
  

We are staying in a lovely hotel, just outside town and overlooking the bay. The weather isn't perfect (a bit chilly (geddit?) and windy) but the place is a wonder. It is so quiet and peaceful, we a sleeping brilliantly. The staff are amazingly helpful. Not only did they pick us up from the bus stop, they have helped us decide our itinerary (we are going to drive to the national park) and also helped track down "Chile Woman" who has been helping to organise the part of our trip once we get off the ferry. Wonderful.

Did I mention that we hired a car - OK - a truck. Or a truckio, as the locals don't call it. It's a monster.

Truckio

The first thing we did once we got the truck was to go 15km North to Puerto Prat, to take a picture of the town sign. For those with good eyesight, you actually get two for the price of one in the following picture (look right in the middle of the obvious one and see the back of the other one.)

Puerto Prat is not a big place.

Puerto Prat

Tomorrow we drive to Torres del Paine National Park.