Lake District Argentina Style

The Lake District in Argentina is in no regards unique, there is an identical one just across the border in Chile and its namesake in the north of England. However, this in no way detracts from the absolute beauty of the region. Created by the uplift of the Andes and carving force of retreating glaciers the Lake District is full of towering peaks and glimmering blue lakes.
After a long bus trip down the Andean spine we arrived in Bariloche and were greeted by pouring rain. Seemed as if the name wasn´t the only similarity to the England Lake District. However, upon awakening to sunshine the following morning we were rewarded with snow capped peaks in every direction. Bariloche is the main town of the Lake District, and although not the prettiest place still has a certain charm. Situated on the banks of the biggest lake it is privileged to have stunning views across the waters to the mountains and the Chilean border. In winter Bariloche is home to one of the largest ski resorts in South America, being here in summer we were relegated to either biking, horse riding, or hiking. We chose hiking and after catching a bus to lovely woodsy Colonia Suiza spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, every now and then getting a glimpse of a shimmering lake.
Our next stop on the Lake District tour was Villa La Angostura, a small town about an hour away from Bariloche. Situated on the lake front with the ever present mountains towering overhead, Villa as its referred is a sleepy little place. Our activity of choice here was mountain biking, the first time I have been on a human propelled bike since my trip down the worlds most dangerous road in Bolivia a few years ago. This time we decided to go up and after a fairly gruelling climb up the mountain made it to the bottom of the Cerro Bayo ski resort. Holding onto your bikes we road the chairlift to the top and after savouring the views sped down the ski runs. Definitely a weird feeling being on a ski resort in the middle of summer.
After Villa we moved onto San Martin de los Andes, definitely the most picturesque of the towns we visited. San Martin is hemmed in by two mountains and funnels down the valley towards the lake. It is a beautiful little place full of great restuarants, chocolate factories, and boutique clothe shops. When you head out for dinner you just follow your nose to the smell of wonderful grilling steak. For those not in the know, Argentina is home to the worlds greatest steaks. There is no argument on this, even though Australia and Scotland claim good beef it simply pales in comparison. On our last day in San Martin we went horseriding up into the hills. Since South Africa Leighanne has been itching to go horseriding again. The day didnt dissapoint, we arrived early at Victors farm to find about 10 hours calmly grazing in the nearby fields. After saddling up with graciously soft saddles we started the ascent up the mountain. The horses were great the whole way, even with numerous dogs running between their legs. The views from the top were sweeping.
Our visit to the Lake District has been wonderful, we are really looking forward to what else Argentina has to offer. Next on the agenda is Pennisula Valdes and hopefully a sighting of the famous orcas, then its onto the real highlight, Patagonia and the glaciers.

Up and Over

After returning to the mainland we didn´t linger long in Santiago, instead opting to extend our stay in Argentina. The two countries are divided by one of the worlds great mountain ranges. The Andes run the length of South America and form a perfect border between the thin coastal country of Chile and the expansive pampa of Argentina. A long way back in the trip we had a similar mountain crossing over the Atlas mountains. Luckily this one was vomit free and spent in superb luxury. The developed countries of South America are blessed with wonderful buses and transport networks. Most buses that travel any sort of distance are of the airplane business class quality. The seats are very soft and recline a ridiculous amount and usually a little man serves you drinks and food. What more could you want. With this knowledge in hand we boarded the bus in Santiago for the trip up and over to Mendoza and the Argentinian wine district. Very quickly after leaving Santiago we began to climb and at one point it became dizzying with endless switchback roads rising into the sky. Even at this late stage in the southern summer the peaks of the mountains were covered in snow and swirling clouds. The views the entire way were stunning and foreshadow much of the scenery we would see for the weeks to come. Unfortunately for Leighanne she has developed a slight case of motion sickness and the windy roads up the mountain were not for the faint of heart, or stomach. Tablets we had bought in Thailand for some of the longer boat trips came in handy and she was out cold most of the way.

After a lengthy stay at the Chile/Argentina border we headed down toward Mendoza, a very picturesque town, which is bang in the middle of Argentinas wine district. Mendoza is full of wide avenues and outdoor restuarants and we definitely indulged in the famous steaks and vino. After Mendoza it was time to head back towards the mountains and the Lake District of Argentina.

Middle of Nowhere

For any of you who has or been tempted to say ´this is in the middle of nowhere´ about a place you have visited most likely you weren´t even close. Easter Island, Isla de Pascua, or Rapa Nui depending on your association is truly the Middle of Nowhere as eloquently expressed in the following quote:

¨If I climb to the highest point on Rapa Nui, the Maunga Terevaka, and look to the North, all I can see is the vast immensity of the ocean, but I know that the closest land is the Galapagos Islands, located 3800km away. I turn slightly and look to the West. Again, all I can see is ocean. This time, 4000km separate me from Tahiti and 2000km frm Pitcairn Island, the nearest land. I turn once more and face the South, where more then 5000km of water lie between the Antartic ice caps and me. Finally, I turn for the last time and face East, and now, stretching before me are 3700km of empitness before reaching the coast of Chile in South America.¨

Carlos Huber ¨Easter Island, Rapa Nui A Land of Rocky Dreams¨

We were incredibly lucky to be able to include Easter Island on our round-the-world ticket, because for the vast majority of travelers it is seriously off the beaten track. Easter Island is really famous for only one thing, the huge stone head statues called ´moai´that dot the landscape. Nobody is really sure why the people built them and why in such numbers. What they do know is that the building of the moai helped lead to their destruction. It is thought that the island was inhabited by two similar groups, the long ears and the short ears, both decendents from the original people who by some miracle found the island after theirs in Polynesia was wipped away by a tsunami. A competition built up between the two groups as well as on and off warfare that intensified as time went on. Eventually the building of the moai became an obsession that overtook other parts of life including agriculture. Eventually the long ears triumphed, which is only right, and tragically soon after the first Europeans arrived bringing with them all kinds of nasties that quickly wiped them all out. So what you see on the island today is the remains of a once powerfully unique society, which probably were the worlds greatest navigators.
The island is very small, only about 20km across at its widest with 3 extinct volcanos dominating the terrain. Their is only 2 real sand beaches with the remainder of the coastline being very dramatically rocky cliffs. Most of the island is also bare, as all the indenginous trees were cut down to aid in the movement of the moai from the quarry to the ceremonial platforms. The only trees now are introduced gum trees from Australia. We rented a jeep for a day to tour around the island in order to see all the moai in all their glory. They are truly bizaare, with varying facial expressions and sizes. Some are quite small wereas others are up to 10m high. Its still a mystery how the people managed to transport and then erect these statues with no mechanical tools. Its the same dilemna that has faced archaeologist in Egypt, trying to figure out how these seemingly unsophisticated people managed to do something us modernites can´t. The largest grouping of moai is 15 in number. They had been scattered inland by a tsunami in the 1970´s, but a Japanese crane company in exchange for the picture rights, were kind enough to put them back in place in 1997. So now 15 glorious moai line up next to each other right on the cliff overlooking the pounding Pacific waves.
Luckily for us, in addition to the ´normal´sites to see on the island, the Rapa Nui people were celebrating their 2 week long festival in which the new Queen of Rapa Nui is crowned. It´s a kind of ancient beauty pagaent. Basically a couple families get together and find their candidate and then the following 2 weeks is spent competing in various contests between the other families. They have swimming, stone carving, baking, island style sledding, banana carrying race, etc... All very authentic and great fun to watch and be a part of. The winning family has their candidate crowned Queen for the coming year.

We both feel truly lucky to been able to visit Easter Island, it is definitely a unique place with a lot of unanswered questions. Our next stop is back to Santiago then up over the mountains into Argentina.

Vegas Baby!

Apologies for the absence of any posts recently, but we have been living in the 1950s for the last 4 weeks and as you know Al Gore hadn't invented the internet by then. Anyway, after our delightful Christmas break in Kansas with lots of wholesome family experiences we flew into Sin City for some real fun and New Year Eve celebrations.

However, we first rented a car at the airport and set off towards Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Renting a car is a unique experience in America, especially for people used to small cars and small roads. There is an automatic need to have a big car in America, regardless of whether it is any good or not. Due to monetary constraints we had opted for the Economy variety and were quite happy when informed at the desk that it was a Hyundai Accent. On approach to the actual car we found something not resembling an Accent in the slightest, we had been stuck with some huge Dodge stationwagon tank hybrid that was a total piece of crap. I have erased the name from my memory as to ward off any future nightmares. Anyway, we drove out of Las Vegas and across the impressive Hoover Dam and into Arizona. Staying in the Grand Canyon National Park is for the privileged few, so we stayed in Flagstaff about an hours drive away in a wonderfully typical roadside motel. I had visited the Grand Canyon before, also in winter, but this was to be Leighannes first trip as she missed going last time in the US. As always the Grand Canyon is immensly impressive. The scale is hard to guage with the eye, but the colours are what make it unique. As clouds slowly drift over the landscape the reds and greys of the various rock layers changed dramatically from minute to minute. We also had snow the night before, which added a certain dramatic effect to the colours. Down inside the canyon it looked hot and dry, but up on the rim cold and white.

After our day in Arizona we drove back into Las Vegas and found our hostel in the rather seedy part of Las Vegas, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Strip. In order to get to the Strip we had to take public transport, heaven forbid. This is almost unheard of in the US apart from the major cities, but it turned out to be a great experience getting to mingle with the local people of Las Vegas.

Our New Year Eve celebrations started with the Cirque de Sol show KA at the MGM Grand. We opted for the show instead of the booze mainly to stop us spending everything we have on blackjack tables. It turned out to be worth it with a very impressive performance by people dressed in bizarre outfits. After the show with about 2 hours till countdown we ventured over to New York New York to inhale a few daiquries and play the pokies. As usual we won absolutely nothing, mainly because we were playing for pennies. At countdown time we went out onto the Strip with a million others and watched the clock tick down and were treated with a impressive fireworks display from all the big hotels along the Strip.

After a day recovering from our excess we walked the length of the Strip to see all the hotels during the day and visit the Coca Cola shop, which Leighanne was very impressed with. On Jan 2nd we flew out of Las Vegas towards Mexico City, but not without some trauma thanks to the utter incompetence of American Airlines. At this point in our trip we had taken about 15 flights in 4 continents with various airlines ranging from Ethiopia Air to Cathay Pacific with not a single delay, lost baggage, or even slight complaint. However, within the space of 2 flights American Airlines delayed us 10 hours, lost our tickets, lost our bags, and general pissed me off for life. It is beyond me how one of the largest airlines in the world can be managed and operated by petulant children. Ah, I feel better, have had that on my chest for weeks.

Our next stop is Chile and a detour to the most remote island on earth, Easter Island.