Hello again,
We continued our journey from El Bolson, stopping in Bariloche to catch a bus that dropped us off in the Chilean border town of Osorno. Osorno is commonly known as a dumpy border town with little to offer, but we beg to differ. Its actually just a normal South American town without the glitz and glamor of the tourist industry. A more authentic vibe that we´ve grown to prefer. And speaking of authentic, lets speak about our hostel owner, the proud dueña of the Dirty Sanchez oops, we mean, Hospedaje Sanchez. Aka crazy bird lady, aka the bird whisperer. We dont know if any of you are familiar with the disease cryptococcosis (caused by accumulation of bird droppings, and she had at least 20 birds in her kitchen), but we´re pretty sure that her brain has been taken over by it...perhaps long ago. She was quite the character, thus adding to the local flavor, and to our love of Osorno. Plus we had cable tv in our room. Very luxurious.
Outside of Osorno is the national park of Puyehue, made famous by the volcan (volcano) located in the center of the park, and the various hotsprings that surround it. The original idea was to go on a three day hike, stopping along the way to take advantage of some natural jacuzzi´s, however it was still too cold and snowy to reach the second day of the hike. Our first night it even snowed! We had met some American study abroad students on the way to the park, and it turned out that they were heading in the same direction, so we all hiked up together and ended up staying the night in another convenient refugio, complete with a wood burning stove.....and two Israeli´s named Yotam and Nisan. Luckily for us, they had already been warming the place for about an hour, it was as if they had been expecting us!
Due to the bad weather, the next day we hiked down and decided to camp in the valley for two more nights with Yotam and Nisan. We stayed in a "quaint" (read: old and busted) shack down by the river. We hiked to some beautiful waterfalls, had some fun bonfires, and found the infamous "empanada lady", a sweet old chilean woman who made them from scratch in her kitchen. Muy rico!
After two days of our shack paradise, we had to pack up and pack out, in order to continue our journey northward. We stopped off at Valdivia to meet up with our new study abroad friends, and spent the next two days enjoying the comforts of a city. Despite the constant rain, we managed to have a good time, even going out one night and socializing to support a national fundraiser held every year to support disabled children in Chile.
Now we are off to Santiago to meet the third member of our party, Mr. Rowan Steele, who will be joining us in just four short days! Hurray!
Hasta pronto amigos, y gracias por leer.
Kamelia
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
volcano pics
refugio with volcano puyehue in the background covered in snow and fog
us in the refugio with some cool american cats. 
us with Yotam and Nisan (some chill israelis we camped with)
next to our campsite at the base of volcan puyehue
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Trek Pics
El Cajon Azul...Refugio famous for its homemade bread and cerveza
Hey girls
View from second night refugio
Yet another sketchy bridge crossing
Katie and Eyal in front of El Cajon Azul (The Blue Canyon)
El Bolson y Hielo Azul
After arriving to El Bolson, the three of us found a great hostel, bought supplies, dropped off our stuff and left early the next morning on a three day trek into the mountains surrounding the town. This happens to be a very established trek, so we didn´t have to take our tents and instead slept in the local "refugios", which are shelters equipped with basic facilities. The first day, after a 10k hike, we stopped off at Refugio Playita, which is run by a very cute and nice family (with an 11 month old named Amelia!) who house backpackers every summer for the great price of 3 dollars a night. The next day, after passing through incredible canyons and lush forests for most of the afternoon, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a dramatic landscape of snow covered jagged mountains and various crystal clear lakes. It was very obvious that winter was still going on strong at this altitude.
Alongside one of these beautiful lakes is where we found our next resting place, Refugio Natacion, a bareboned cabin that is maintained by the backpackers that pass through. Luckily there was a wood burning stove, complete with lots of wood, which made the night more comfortable. However, for some reason (maybe because we are in the very beginning of the summer season) the sleeping quarters in the attic were locked, and we had to sleep on the kitchen tables, aka big slabs of cold wood, haha. Tables aside, it was a cute cabin and a yet another Amelia-and-Katie-ism (poor Eyal never saw it coming).
The next day, after waking up a little stiff, we hiked for 6 hours, got a little lost twice, crashed uphill through thorn covered bushes to our final destination, el camping!
The last couple of days we´ve just been relaxing, laying around our Little House on the Prarie style hostel, reading, talking to the locals and getting some much needed sun. We checked out the local fair today, and basked in hippie paradise. Alls good in the world.
Tomorrow we´re off to Osorno, Chile via Bariloche. Crossing borders!!!
Alongside one of these beautiful lakes is where we found our next resting place, Refugio Natacion, a bareboned cabin that is maintained by the backpackers that pass through. Luckily there was a wood burning stove, complete with lots of wood, which made the night more comfortable. However, for some reason (maybe because we are in the very beginning of the summer season) the sleeping quarters in the attic were locked, and we had to sleep on the kitchen tables, aka big slabs of cold wood, haha. Tables aside, it was a cute cabin and a yet another Amelia-and-Katie-ism (poor Eyal never saw it coming).
The next day, after waking up a little stiff, we hiked for 6 hours, got a little lost twice, crashed uphill through thorn covered bushes to our final destination, el camping!
The last couple of days we´ve just been relaxing, laying around our Little House on the Prarie style hostel, reading, talking to the locals and getting some much needed sun. We checked out the local fair today, and basked in hippie paradise. Alls good in the world.
Tomorrow we´re off to Osorno, Chile via Bariloche. Crossing borders!!!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Parque Nacionales Los Alerces
Us in front of a glacier
The lake where we camped.
Oldest and biggest tree in the park.Sunday, November 16, 2008
On being 13 in Esquel
After jumping on the night bus in Viedma, we arrived in the early hours to the sleepy little town of Esquel. We were a bit nervous at first because the mountains around us were covered in snow and it felt about 30 degrees, but as the day went on the snow melted away and the sun came out; a weather pattern that we were lucky enough to have stay with us the rest of the trip.
The main attraction for us in Esquel was the Parque Nacionales Los Alerces, populary known as the "Redwoods of the South."
Our first attempt to see the famed trees did not go exactly as planned. We were scheduled to take a boat/hiking tour of the Old Growth Alerces, but upon arriving we were informed that the boat battery was dead!! But that was cool for us, as we were already planning on camping in the park, so we set off to find our campsite, an easy enough task, but the park was bigger than expected! However, after a rather difficult search for the free camping, we stumbled into an empty and incredibly beautiful campsite, just a short walk away from El Lago Verde. It was hard not to think of home that night as the harsh wind blew on the lake, creating waves, whitecaps, and the comforting sound of waves on sand...aaah, California we always think of you. Luckily, before we left the boat that day, the park service told us that we could hop on the boat tour the following day (for free plus a full refund :) ) and thats exactly what we did. Aaand of course, knowing us two and the weird situations we always seem to find ourselves in, the trip just happened to coincide with the entire 6th grade of Esquel field trip, which meant....Up to our neck in, oh nooooo, PRETEENS!!!!
5 minutes into the tour we had already been transformed into the new attraction at the zoo, complete with pointing, starring, and the amazement that the fact that we could speak. It was cute though, as we were the first Americans most of them had ever gotten to speak with. No, we don´t know any celebrities, no our hair isn´t really blonde, no we didn´t bring any boys for you. Haha, all girls think the same!! It was as if we ourselves had been transported back to Junior High...and for those of you who knew us in middle school, yes, we laughed absolutely uncontrolably nonstop for 7 hours.
Giggles aside, we actually did see some incredible trees, including El Abuelo (the grandfather tree) that is 2600 years old. Think about that, older than the United States, older than Christianity, and one of the oldest things that is still around AND ALIVE. They truly are the Redwoods of the South. And so, after a 4 day stay in Esquel, and a last minute addition to our team, a cool Israeli named Eyal, we were off to El Bolson....Donde la mágica es natural!!!
The main attraction for us in Esquel was the Parque Nacionales Los Alerces, populary known as the "Redwoods of the South."
Our first attempt to see the famed trees did not go exactly as planned. We were scheduled to take a boat/hiking tour of the Old Growth Alerces, but upon arriving we were informed that the boat battery was dead!! But that was cool for us, as we were already planning on camping in the park, so we set off to find our campsite, an easy enough task, but the park was bigger than expected! However, after a rather difficult search for the free camping, we stumbled into an empty and incredibly beautiful campsite, just a short walk away from El Lago Verde. It was hard not to think of home that night as the harsh wind blew on the lake, creating waves, whitecaps, and the comforting sound of waves on sand...aaah, California we always think of you. Luckily, before we left the boat that day, the park service told us that we could hop on the boat tour the following day (for free plus a full refund :) ) and thats exactly what we did. Aaand of course, knowing us two and the weird situations we always seem to find ourselves in, the trip just happened to coincide with the entire 6th grade of Esquel field trip, which meant....Up to our neck in, oh nooooo, PRETEENS!!!!
5 minutes into the tour we had already been transformed into the new attraction at the zoo, complete with pointing, starring, and the amazement that the fact that we could speak. It was cute though, as we were the first Americans most of them had ever gotten to speak with. No, we don´t know any celebrities, no our hair isn´t really blonde, no we didn´t bring any boys for you. Haha, all girls think the same!! It was as if we ourselves had been transported back to Junior High...and for those of you who knew us in middle school, yes, we laughed absolutely uncontrolably nonstop for 7 hours.
Giggles aside, we actually did see some incredible trees, including El Abuelo (the grandfather tree) that is 2600 years old. Think about that, older than the United States, older than Christianity, and one of the oldest things that is still around AND ALIVE. They truly are the Redwoods of the South. And so, after a 4 day stay in Esquel, and a last minute addition to our team, a cool Israeli named Eyal, we were off to El Bolson....Donde la mágica es natural!!!
Oh, Argentines...
No sos vos, soy yo! Check out the corrections...oh silly argentines and their crazy spanish
Friday, November 7, 2008
La empieza de todo
Hey Everyone,
A brief (and pictureless for now) recap since we left Buenos Aires, Capital Federal. Saturday, November 1st, marked the beginning of our adventure, leaving from Retiro Bus Terminal, headed to the capital of the Rio Negro region, better known as Viedma. We took the Pinguino Bus Line 12 hours south, and were greeted with a sign on the bus that said,
Señor Pasajero, es su "obligacion" usar su "cinturon de seguridad"
Mr. Passenger, it´s your ¨obligation" to use your "seat belt"
A step up in the land of bus travel in South America. So with our "seat belts" fastened we began....
Viedma is a cute and quiet little town, located alongside the banks of the Rio Negro. We stayed there for one night and then took the "ferry" (more like a dinky little boat that went about 100 meters) to the other side of the river to Carmen del Patagones, a colonial throwback that looked like something taken out of 1800s Spain. Oh, and to settle any doubts, Patagones is indeed the southern most province of Gran Buenos Aires.
After Ariel, the cool owner of the Patagones hostel, gave us a ride to the bus station (everyone is so nice down here!) we made our way further south to Puerto Madryn, an Argentine vacationer´s hotspot and the jumping off point to Peninsula Valdez, an UNESCO World Biosphere. Translation...nature reserve with cool animals and other shit.
Top Highlights of Peninsula Valdez:
1. Whale watching boat trip where Southern Right Whales come so close you can see the whites of their eyes. By the end of our two day stay we had seen at least 15 whales!, from the boat and just from walking along the beach.
2. Watching three Orcas (Killer Whales) hunting a Right whale and chasing it into a bay and forcing it to flee up a river. Incredible! And also extremely rare, our guide said that he had worked there for three years and never seen anything like that before. Que suerte!
3. Penguins! They were nesting two feet from us. And we got to see them waddle to the water and swim around, how cute!
4. Elephant seals lounging and sunbathing on the beach, 100´s of them!
After camping on the beach, (yet somehow managing to sleep on top of something very hard that felt like concrete) we woke up, went on a quick hike, and hitched a ride with some cool locals back to town.
Tonight we take the night bus, Camaaa!!!! (for all those who don´t speak the spanish, cama means bed, and that´s just what it will be, first class bus style), east across the country to Esquel, where we plan to do some backpacking. Updates and pics soon to come.
Paz, amor y felicidad,
Catí y Meels
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