window of opportunity

A few snaps of the Andes crossing by bus - 8 hours in all but about 2 at customs, one of the most ineffectual border crossings I have ever seen. We sat around waiting and waiting whilst a number of customs agents sat around twiddling their opposables. There were windows for bus passengers (huge long lines) and windows for a few car drivers. (twiddlers)

Do you think there was a chance for the Twiddlers to help out the Bussers when they had nothing to do? (About as much chance as me becoming lead male for the Bolshoi Ballet that´s how much)

So I stood sullenly in line casting baleful glances and wishing for sprained thumbs on the lot of them.

I was lucky to have decided to come today. My bus driver told me the high pass at the customs post was blocked the day before and people had to sit in their buses/cars for 11 hours!! And he said there was another blizzard forecast for tomorrow.

Arriving in Santiago I was blessed with one of those rare occasions where everything works effortlessly in my favour.

There was a metro station outside the bus terminal and it was on the correct line to take me to the station directly opposite where I was staying. My hostel happens to be right in the centre of the city in a lovely cobbled-streeted area full of big old buildings. This atmospheric area only extends to one city block.

The hostel was huge, old and looked very interesting in the website photos. This should have rung alarm bells.

It turned out to be like a cross between something from Gormenghast and the Addams Family. Huge cavernous rooms, dimly lit and full of old (not antique - just plain old) furniture.

The staff were also cadaverous and moved about slightly hunched on parquetry that creaked and groaned like an old forest in a gale.

Still, I unpacked in my room (up 84 flights of stairs to the attic) trying to put things on tables and on hangers without actually moving about on the floor, to avoid the dreadful creaking.

I decided I really needed to move in the morning - and this idea was reinforced when I went looking for the breakfast room the next morning.

After negotiating several flights of stairs (up AND down) criss-crossing various stages and wings of the building, I finally found the ´Señora´ who was preparing breakfast. She was dusting off a table in a lovely little room on the corner of the building with early morning sunshine streaming in through the windows. The room was charming with a ´homely´touch to it.

¨Desayuno?¨ I inquired, pointing to the room.
¨No!¨she replied and instead ushered me into a dim, dark room in the middle of the building with a faint glimmer coming from a window into a small light-well.

Breakfast was a 3 day old bread-roll and instant coffee.

So now I am in a much more friendly and pleasant place across the road.

I´m quite liking Santiago. Today was hot and sunny and I wandered the streets all day, taking in the Museum of Contemporary Art.

When I first entered this magnificent edifice I could see the main entrance rotunda was being set up for something, and I was directed downstairs to a single large exhibition room. It contained 12 large paintings by one artist.

Then I asked the door attendant where next. He said that was it. Nothing else.

I left a little shocked and continued with my rambling, past the building, only to discover the front entrance was at the other end!

I had gone into the arse end of the building - so it comes as no surprise that all I saw was a lot of s***



across the andes


through the mountains


mountains road


near the customs post


chile border post (the 66th!)


my street


the 2nd hotel


detail from my window


art gallery


some church or other


protester - good to see demos are alive and well in chile


demo detail

fox on the runway - sweet!!

Well yesterday lunchtime I was sitting slightly perspiring in the beautiful springtime gardens of Colonia del Sacramento, a UNESCO Heritage town a few hours busride west of Montevideo.

It was a picturesque town with all the usual quaintness that makes people flock to these places. I really liked it - but an afternoon, evening and half the following day and I was champing at the bit for some grunge. I can only take so much pretty.

Now here I am less than 24 hours later in 2 deg C in Mendoza, central west Argentina, having spent last night back in Buenos Aires. (¨Do try to keep up, Fanny¨)

Taxi-ing in on the Mendoza runway I was surprised to see a plethora of pussies prancing about the runway. At a closer look I realised they were a type of fox. (Hence the heading)

Despite the chill, I experienced a thrill at being in such close proximity to the Andes, which nestle on the very outskirts (or so it seems) of the city.

Yesterday here it was apparently 20-22 degrees - the cold snap has brought fresh snow to the mountains which I hope will just add to their overall beauty.

I am here only until the morning and then I hope to catch an early bus to Santiago in Chile, where I will spend a few days. The hostel manager here is a charming chatty fellow originally from Panama. Casper (The Friendly Host) gave me an exhaustive overview of what to do in Mendoza.

He had outlined what appeared to be a 6 hour marathon encompassing all of the city´s highlights - despite the fact that it was approaching 4pm and gets dark about 7. But I had to admire his enthusiasm and promised to do my best to SEE IT ALL.

Consequently I walked 9 blocks to the city centre, found a cafe and had pizza.


colonia street


ba graffiti


mendoza abstract

(*apologies for the terrible ´70´s reference in the heading!!)

montevideo glimpses

montevideo building


main square mvd


a bit jeffrey smartish - mvd harbour


suburban building


graffiti


windows


wall abstract

alfa-yum

thanks to my good friend Jana, I now have a new addiction.

ALFAJORES

(Ordering them sounds a bit like asking for ´A Grade´ prostitutes)

They are a chocolate covered caramel biscuit and are quite fragile so you really MUST eat them as quickly as possible.

I think I am up to number 12.

illegal alien

You would think that having spent so many years travelling that I would pretty much have everything down pat.

But somehow I found myself in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay - probably THE most despotic of all the South American regimes - with nothing in my passport to show I was actually there.

This is what is generally known as ¨not good.¨

Somehow I had caught a local bus from Iguacu in Argentina, crossed through a tiny bit of Brazil and entered into Paraguay without the bus stopping at customs.

Once I reached Asuncion, I ended up splurging on a taxi as it was getting dark and I knew the hotel was a long way from the bus terminal.

When the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel I was sure he had taken me to the wrong place.

It looked... well... too nice.


the hotel

The following morning, after meeting another solo traveller, Paolo from Milan,over breakfast, we both went to the immigration office a few blocks from the hotel and with Paolo´s Spanish had it all sorted in a blink of an eye.

No seriously - and remember this is South America - they issued me with a letter for customs really quickly. I can only think that a lot of stupid poor saps like me do exactly the same thing. (Go with it - I´m trying to alleviate the embarrassment)

I´m afraid to have to say that the nicest thing about Paraguay (or at least the few square metres I experienced)was the hotel. The countryside was...well...like a cup of really milky weak tepid tea.


scenic paraguay

Asuncion had so little to offer that Paolo and I felt we had done it very good justice in 3 hours.

Currently I am now in Montevideo in Uruguay and loving it. I liked the place 5 minutes into the bus trip from the airport. I have just returned from 7 hours of walking around town. It is fascinating with some excellent pieces of Art Nouveau and Deco architecture. The sun is shining, and the people are smiling, and I finally worked out how to get some damned money out of the automatic teller.


iguacu falls


more falls


yet more falls


ho hum


bored yet?


overlooking one of the cascades


...well they keep kerb-crawling

24 hours

I have been here for 24 hours and slept for 12 of them.

I have just eaten possibilty the worst cheesecake in the known civilized world (as the uncivilized have not yet progressed to cheesecake) It was the consistency of soft silicon rubber with considerably less taste. The biscuit base was a thin stain on the bottom with no resemblance to anything biscuity. On top of this extravaganza was a paste of something that could possibly once have been fruit. (A long time ago in another galaxy)

This was after ordering nachos which turned out to be a sea of guacomole on a plate with a flotilla of cornchip sailing around in diminishing circles as if being sucked down into a whirlpool.

I watched a motorcyclist ride a good 50 metres down a busy road clutching a subway sandwich IN BOTH HANDS - not actually eating it, rather trying to determine what was inside said roll.

Once darkness fell, a myriad of garbage-rummagers came out and descended on the city´s refuse.

I have just returned to my hostel to bump into a fellow student from COFA.


some b.a. graffiti


some more


the soap on a stick in my lunchspot bathroom. The action needed to use this phallic device meant it was preferable to be the only one in the bathroom at the time.


night time architecture


perfection... a cafe that also sells motorbikes. Or a motorbike store that has a cafe. (I prefer the first interpretation)

habla nothing

My Spanish is sadly lacking, and I have a tendency to pronounce everything the way the French do out of habit (French being the only language I have actually put any effort into bastardising)

So a lot of my questions are generally met with raised eyebrows and ¨Que?¨

Buenos Aires is currently cold and wet - and so am I. It also is a gridded city and looks like an old delapidated Canberra.

And its vast.

I´ve been walking all morning and dont seemed to have gotten anywhere.

But its great - after all - I´m in Argentina! (62)

(will add photos shortly)

priorities

"my name is Terry...and I am a caffeineaholic."

OK I admit it. I can't do without my coffee.

In the past I have given up smoking, alcohol, meat and fish, and...other things. But I cannot, nay will not give up coffee.

I tried once - worst 5 hours of my life. To heap horror onto the horror I replaced it with ... .decaffeinated That's like replacing Laurence Olivier with Ben Stiller.

(Ugghh.. I can't believe I've stooped to putting the words 'decaffeinated' AND 'Ben Stiller' on my blog.)

And so - the first, and most important item in my luggage has always been my plunger-mug. (Or 'cafetière cup' if you like) A brilliant invention up there with the kidney dialysis machine and Tim Tams.

It is a coffee plunger built into a mug. Add ground coffee, hot water, plunge and drink. It's an emergency make-do replacement when there isn't an espresso machine within coo-ee, and eliminates the need of that other abomination (shudder)... instant coffee.


my little preciousssss...

...but the malady lingers on.

I've been a little remiss with my posting it seems. I am still not over my pleurisy but it is improving slowly. But I have been busy nonetheless.

I have been working on a new piece of sculpture since early May - though not directly travel related it does pertain to my journey through life.

(See I can make excuses for just about anything.)

Here is a sneak preview!


(click for a larger view)

It is difficult to photograph - but in reality you can see right into the heart of the iMac G3 down to the circuit boards, disc drive and screws and washers.

I'm fairly pleased with the result.

*(If you are interested in seeing more of my mesh work click on 'My Art Website' link to the right under 'Worth a Butchers'. There are examples of my work going back 20 years!)

coffers and coughers

I have been a little under the weather for the past 6 weeks.

And with the trip looming I have been forced financially to keep working, which hasn't helped the healing.

Currently convalescing from a malady that this clue, if you know your Tennessee Williams, should enlighten you:



So with a fair amount of recuperation time up my sleeve I have had plenty of opportunity to spend on the finer details of my forthcoming adventure.

Here is an extract from my itinerary as it so far stands:


(click for larger view)

Yes I know it smacks of anal-retentiveness, but let me tell you - with dwindling days 'til my dotage, I am more and more conscious of the fact that I am not likely to get the opportunity to return to a lot of the countries I visit.

One of the remarkable things about the internet is the degree to which you can plan an overseas trip to maximise the time you have there.

These days I can achieve at least double that which i could in the days when I would simply set off with an out of date Lonely Planet under my arm.

I know many of you would hanker after those halcyon days where wandering like a will-o'-the-wisp seemed like the simple essence of backpacking travel.

But how often did I return home from a trip to be asked "And what did you think of the ------?" to which I could only reply "THAT was THERE???"

I am far better informed and prepared these days and thanks to the 'www' I save bucket loads of money by doing this pre-travel research.

y'know what I REALLY love?

...that I can sit in my local cafe in Sydney, Australia and book and pay for a room in a hostel in El Chalten Argentina.
The internet ROCKS!

guess where?

As I will be away for my birthday in October (no surprises there!) I will let you try and guess where I will be on the day.

Here is a little hint..........

wings, wheels and a rudder.

Now I have actually booked my flight it feels more real. So I have begun to sort out some of the finer details.

I fly to Buenos Aires on September 17th, and then a few days later I fly up to Iguacu Falls. These amazing waterfalls border 3 countries - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. I will stay overnight in Argentina, cross the river into Brazil and then later walk over a bridge into Paraguay.

Then I head to the capital of Paraguay, Asunción, by bus for a couple of days and then fly to Montevideo in Uruguay. From there I bus it across to Colonia where I catch the ferry back to Buenos Aires.

A couple of days or so later I will probably fly to Mendoza so I can experience crossing the Andes to the capital of Chile, Santiago, by bus. The scenery is supposed to be spectacular.

From Santiago I head south by bus, stopping here and there (including the still active Volcano Villarrica which I hope to climb) until I get to Punta Arenas in southern Patagonia. From here I want to travel across to Tierra del Fuego.

Then it's a little north to Torres del Paine in Chile for a 7 day camping trek through the mountains, followed by another trip across the border back into Argentina to the Los Glaciaros National Park and the spectacular Mount Fitz Roy. After that I fly back to Buenos Aires for a couple of more days before heading home.

It might seem a little over-planned - but I intend to maximise every day I have for the 6 weeks.


trip route (click to enlarge)

uncharacteristically vacillatory

I know I had set my mind on Iran.

What you didn't know was that after that post below I had had a change of mind and then decided I really must do the Baltoro Glacier Trek in North Eastern Pakistan.

"What...are you MAD??!!" is the usual exclamation at this point - followed by lots of words like Taliban, bombs, hostage, death, etc.

But really, if you stopped listening to or reading the utter drivel pumped out by moronic journalists who regurgitate snippets of gossip and hearsay, embellished with puerile globs of their own bigoted and ill informed ideas about places they have never been to, don't understand and probably cannot even spell; then sure it probably isn't the best place to go.

There is a great deal of hysteria whipped up about Pakistan which serves various powers' vested interests in certain wars being fought in certain neighbouring countries.

Much of North Eastern Pakistan I believe has, in its remoteness and isolation, continued along much as it has always done unaffected (and possibly unconcerned) about troubles around the Afghan border.

The North Eastern Frontier of Pakistan has to have some of the most beautiful and extraordinary scenery of anywhere in the world. Try Google Image searches for any of the following: Baltoro Glacier, Mashabrum, K2, Hindukush, Hunza Valley, Trango Towers, Rakaposhi and Fairy Meadows, and you will see what I mean.

The North Western Frontier.........well I wouldn't go there for quids. Full of bloody wackos.

The Pakistan trip was all but a reality - to the extent that I had even bought the Pakistan/Karakorum Highway Lonely Planet. But something held me back.

Possibly the fact that I had absolutely no money.

But also I realised that if I was to get there it was most likely to be mid to late September and I know that the high pass, Gondogoro La, would be getting seriously tricky by late September. At the best of times one needs crampons and ropes to get over it.

So 2 days ago I went online to see if Pakistan flights had (wistfully) come down in price - when a small ad by Qantas caught my eye.

It said - "Sydney - South America - AU$1033.00 (incl.taxes)

It seems unbelievable. Usually these offers come with a swag of conditions such as: you must leave on a Thursday at 3.30am, travel in a group of 25 or more, stay 2 days, travel with a canoe and your name must be Nigel.

I quickly entered a couple of random dates around September - and sure enough, it was genuine.

I have had an Argentina/Chile trip semi planned in the back of my head for quite a few years - but getting to South America from Sydney was always very expensive. So this was too good to miss.

Guess what I'm spending my Economic Stimulus Package bonus on?

Thanks Kev.

Here are a few photos from the web to show why I am going:
(click photos to enlarge)


torres del paine at sunrise


cerro torre, los glaciares national park


iguacu falls


perito moreno glacier


patagonia


volcano villarica (must climb...must climb...)


mt fitzroy

I'll do Pakistan next year.