I’m here in Brazil now happily scratching my mosquito bites with the wonderful company and comforts of ^home^ away from home.
Missing you all very much, will write more about the final parts in Patagonia, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo
xoxo cy
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
South America ~ Photos
Peru ~ Amazon Jungle & Lake Titicaca ~ 52 photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86186&id=790580483&l=ab980145a0
Peru ~ Machu Picchu ~ 51 photos:
Bolivia ~ Salt Flats & Uyuni ~ 59 photos:
Chile ~ Fjords & Horseback Riding ~ 50 photos:
Chile ~ Patagonia ~ 60 photos:
Argentina ~ Patagonia ~ 45 photos:
Buenos Aires, Argentina ~ Dec.15/16
Arrived in Buenos Aires again. It is nice to be here. We are exhausted. We slept in, we relaxed. We played tourist for a few hours through the city and were probably too relaxed...
In the evening, we went to a salsa lesson (for which we were the top of the class after an hour, I’m sure of it!) Heh heh heh! We will try this again, soon! FUN!! We then ate a steak dinner and watched a great Salsa show. Ahh, only in Argentina!
Comments on Bolivia, Patagonia, Argentina & Chile ~ Nov.29 - Dec.16 '07
*Bolivia:
We arrived by Ferry. We took a 3 day ferry ride southward along the Chilean Fjords. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling problem, the ferry was a day late and the sites we were supposed to pass during the day, we passed at night. None the less the views we saw were beautiful including my first ever glacier! It was 5 kms across and about 20 meters high. What a sight! We had to punch a couple of aggressive tourists to get a good view. Joking, but I wanted to! :D Perhaps I was the aggressive tourist! Hawhaw! Gurrrr!
Patagonia is simply breath taking. We hiked a lot through the Torres del Paine National Park. The flora and fauna are spectacular. Everything is undisturbed and works perfectly with everything else. The way nature should be and for great distances. It’s so very pure there that you can truly find your inner peace.
We hiked 43kms in the first 3 days. I injured my ankle on the first day and hiked over 20kms on it none the less. Evgueni probably did about 25kms more with 2 more hiking days than I. But truly, the hiking was a part of the whole experience. Camping played another great part. We had so much fun in tents (it was nice and warm!) And one night our group of 8 stayed in a cabin with a bunk each. The space must have been about 35 square meters (about 350sf)! How you wonder?: one bunk was 2 beds high and 2 bunks were 3 beds high. These were not kiddie-bunks so the 3rd bud was at least 5 meters (18 feet) high. That night, 3 of us were ill plus me with my ankle to pamper. Suffice to say, there weren’t enough lower bunks! Oh what fun! :D
Patagonia is wild! Don’t ever ask what the weather will be like because the locals will roll their eyes and avoid answering. The answer is: everything. Why?: in one day you can have: rain, sun, hail, snow, major summer heat and major winter cold. And then there is the wind. A light wind is about 60kms/hr. We arrived at a moment where the weather was: overcast with sporadic big, cold drops of rain with an accompanying wind of 80kms/hr.
So Bolivia was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. The expansive views were unknown to me. I knew earth was beautiful, but this reminded me that beauty is not just the known and even taken for granted: forests, jungles, deserts, mountains, oceans, beaches, cities, sky and space we know, but also the celebration of the unknown. Bolivia was this for me. The combination of unlikely minerals and reactions between one mineral and the other made a mysterious and wonderful, toxic and intoxicating scene that filled my eyes and heart. The colour, texture and resultant atmospheres were of seemingly unlikely combinations and were like something out of this world.
Having the constants I already know (and don’t take for granted): beautiful sunset skys, cliffs, volcanoes, dessert all mixed with the unknown and unfamiliar, made me feel so privileged and actually, quite insignificant on this earth. What an amazing feeling.
The touristy annoyances, the bothersome and often smelly transportation to arrive to this destination (including our terrible, ignorant and rude tour guide) was all extremely forgettable once we got to see the magnificence of the salt flats and the surrounding high (4600m) desert. FYI, we had a “guide” a driver and a cook. None of us could stand the guide who was quickly completely ignored by all of us leaving the remaining 4 of us to have a great time despite the excess baggage of one human. :D
Having the constants I already know (and don’t take for granted): beautiful sunset skys, cliffs, volcanoes, dessert all mixed with the unknown and unfamiliar, made me feel so privileged and actually, quite insignificant on this earth. What an amazing feeling.
The touristy annoyances, the bothersome and often smelly transportation to arrive to this destination (including our terrible, ignorant and rude tour guide) was all extremely forgettable once we got to see the magnificence of the salt flats and the surrounding high (4600m) desert. FYI, we had a “guide” a driver and a cook. None of us could stand the guide who was quickly completely ignored by all of us leaving the remaining 4 of us to have a great time despite the excess baggage of one human. :D
*Patagonia ~ Chile and Argentina:
We arrived by Ferry. We took a 3 day ferry ride southward along the Chilean Fjords. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling problem, the ferry was a day late and the sites we were supposed to pass during the day, we passed at night. None the less the views we saw were beautiful including my first ever glacier! It was 5 kms across and about 20 meters high. What a sight! We had to punch a couple of aggressive tourists to get a good view. Joking, but I wanted to! :D Perhaps I was the aggressive tourist! Hawhaw! Gurrrr!
Patagonia is simply breath taking. We hiked a lot through the Torres del Paine National Park. The flora and fauna are spectacular. Everything is undisturbed and works perfectly with everything else. The way nature should be and for great distances. It’s so very pure there that you can truly find your inner peace.
We hiked 43kms in the first 3 days. I injured my ankle on the first day and hiked over 20kms on it none the less. Evgueni probably did about 25kms more with 2 more hiking days than I. But truly, the hiking was a part of the whole experience. Camping played another great part. We had so much fun in tents (it was nice and warm!) And one night our group of 8 stayed in a cabin with a bunk each. The space must have been about 35 square meters (about 350sf)! How you wonder?: one bunk was 2 beds high and 2 bunks were 3 beds high. These were not kiddie-bunks so the 3rd bud was at least 5 meters (18 feet) high. That night, 3 of us were ill plus me with my ankle to pamper. Suffice to say, there weren’t enough lower bunks! Oh what fun! :D
Patagonia is wild! Don’t ever ask what the weather will be like because the locals will roll their eyes and avoid answering. The answer is: everything. Why?: in one day you can have: rain, sun, hail, snow, major summer heat and major winter cold. And then there is the wind. A light wind is about 60kms/hr. We arrived at a moment where the weather was: overcast with sporadic big, cold drops of rain with an accompanying wind of 80kms/hr.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Patagonia, Chile (Torres del Paine National Park)
Hi Everyone!!
We´re in Patagonia, Chile now!
We´ve just returned from 3 days on the Pacific ocean traveling southward along the fjords, while mini-iceberg and 5km wide glacier spotting. Some in our group were sea-queasy and nappy, myself included. The 3 lazy days were followed by a strict exercise diet (4 days of hiking) through the Patagonian wonderlands (Torres del PAIN), viewing gorgeous mountains, landscapes, lakes, wildlife, trees, shrubs, skys, clouds, glaciers etc. My total mileage was 43kms. Evgueni did about 20 or so more. Cause: my boots were too tight and screwed up my ankle a bit - I lost a day. I expect to be back to normal soon! I actually scheduled it.... :P
Today it´s been sunny, warm with a warm breeze and now it´s getting cool. We experienced an assortment of amazing weather every day. I thought there were only 4 seasons, but apparently, there are more! Sunny one minute, rain, hail and powerful cold wind the next. The wind started at 90km per hour one day then mostly died the next in time to whack us with much stronger than 90kmph on another day. We saw snow which turned to ice or water. We got wet. But don´t worry about it since we were soon dried by the lovely sun, then got wet again by our sweat. Suffice to say, we were weathered and stinky. It was wonderful!
I´m now my normal clean self again though as I write this (not a scratch and sniff email).
Next we´re off to see Calafate, and Perito Moreno (huge glacier) then Buenos Aires again. I will write more soon. On the 16th I head to Sao Paulo and on the 18th Evgueni is planning to head to Montreal.
Ciao chicos,
Cybèle xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
We´re in Patagonia, Chile now!
We´ve just returned from 3 days on the Pacific ocean traveling southward along the fjords, while mini-iceberg and 5km wide glacier spotting. Some in our group were sea-queasy and nappy, myself included. The 3 lazy days were followed by a strict exercise diet (4 days of hiking) through the Patagonian wonderlands (Torres del PAIN), viewing gorgeous mountains, landscapes, lakes, wildlife, trees, shrubs, skys, clouds, glaciers etc. My total mileage was 43kms. Evgueni did about 20 or so more. Cause: my boots were too tight and screwed up my ankle a bit - I lost a day. I expect to be back to normal soon! I actually scheduled it.... :P
Today it´s been sunny, warm with a warm breeze and now it´s getting cool. We experienced an assortment of amazing weather every day. I thought there were only 4 seasons, but apparently, there are more! Sunny one minute, rain, hail and powerful cold wind the next. The wind started at 90km per hour one day then mostly died the next in time to whack us with much stronger than 90kmph on another day. We saw snow which turned to ice or water. We got wet. But don´t worry about it since we were soon dried by the lovely sun, then got wet again by our sweat. Suffice to say, we were weathered and stinky. It was wonderful!
I´m now my normal clean self again though as I write this (not a scratch and sniff email).
Next we´re off to see Calafate, and Perito Moreno (huge glacier) then Buenos Aires again. I will write more soon. On the 16th I head to Sao Paulo and on the 18th Evgueni is planning to head to Montreal.
Ciao chicos,
Cybèle xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Monday, December 3, 2007
Patagonia, Argentina
Hello All!!
I hope all is well!
I don´t know if you heard... , but I just wanted you all to know that a GAP Adventures ship sank in the Antarctic. Don´t worry, it wasn´t us! :) Although we seriously considered taking that trip!!! Phew!!
Evgueni and I are doing quite well, we’re truly in the swing of things now! Packing more lightly, wearing and re-wearing clothing, washing clothing whenever we can, eating extremely hardily and delicious meals (amoeba free too!!!) etc. We’re planning wonderful and successful day trips like horseback riding, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting, hiking etc. It´s truly fantastic! We’ve been in Patagonia within both Argentina and Chile. Patagonia’s weather is truly tempermental and unpredictable! Today we saw overcast skys, rain, hail, sunshine. We managed to coincide our “undercover” ventures during the rainy times. We´re like spys! Crazy! Yesterday we spent the day outside. It was perfect clear weather to view the snow-capped volcanoes on the Chilean-Argentinean boarder. Good thing too because we horseback rode for 5 hours!! What an adventure!! And ouch! Yay for padded chairs!
We´re just about to begin the hiking portion of Patagonia. But before we do, tomorrow we head onto the ferry southward along the Chilean coast (for 3 days). Along the beautiful coast we will see the infamous fiord's where glaciers calve (forming of icebergs)... Can´t wait! We’ve got plenty of warm clothing and gravol to boot. Pacific ocean, here we come!
Well, Abba is on the loudspeaker here *my cue to depart....* Mamma Mia!! Truthfully, I´m in the usual rush so I¨ll write more later.
Take care all and Merry Christmas (naw, I´ll write before then!!)
xoxoxoxoxoxxoo
cy!! :)
I hope all is well!
I don´t know if you heard... , but I just wanted you all to know that a GAP Adventures ship sank in the Antarctic. Don´t worry, it wasn´t us! :) Although we seriously considered taking that trip!!! Phew!!
Evgueni and I are doing quite well, we’re truly in the swing of things now! Packing more lightly, wearing and re-wearing clothing, washing clothing whenever we can, eating extremely hardily and delicious meals (amoeba free too!!!) etc. We’re planning wonderful and successful day trips like horseback riding, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting, hiking etc. It´s truly fantastic! We’ve been in Patagonia within both Argentina and Chile. Patagonia’s weather is truly tempermental and unpredictable! Today we saw overcast skys, rain, hail, sunshine. We managed to coincide our “undercover” ventures during the rainy times. We´re like spys! Crazy! Yesterday we spent the day outside. It was perfect clear weather to view the snow-capped volcanoes on the Chilean-Argentinean boarder. Good thing too because we horseback rode for 5 hours!! What an adventure!! And ouch! Yay for padded chairs!
We´re just about to begin the hiking portion of Patagonia. But before we do, tomorrow we head onto the ferry southward along the Chilean coast (for 3 days). Along the beautiful coast we will see the infamous fiord's where glaciers calve (forming of icebergs)... Can´t wait! We’ve got plenty of warm clothing and gravol to boot. Pacific ocean, here we come!
Well, Abba is on the loudspeaker here *my cue to depart....* Mamma Mia!! Truthfully, I´m in the usual rush so I¨ll write more later.
Take care all and Merry Christmas (naw, I´ll write before then!!)
xoxoxoxoxoxxoo
cy!! :)
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