Home ·· News Room ·· Prints ·· Licensing ·· Gallery ·· About Us ·· Contact Us ·· Articles ·· Services South America stock photography trip report, December 30, 2007 to January 15, 2008 Updated August 27, 2008 Page 1 of 5 Next page
	See the South America image galleries Click here to download the whole South America report in Acrobat PDF   South America: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay December 30, 2007 - January 15, 2008 © 2008 Aaron Linsdau Exchange rate: $3 Argentine Pesos ($3Arg) to $1US December 30, 2007 Just getting there... Jason and Jake dropped me at the San Diego Airport with plenty of time to spare. My flight was at a pleasant 11am. The two massive backpacks I'm carrying added up only to 41 pounds, to the amazement of the check in clerk. The 3 hour flight to Dallas was uneventful. I met Harold and Melanie of San Diego who were out to visit their daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Buenos Aires for a month, and then they'll be heading down to Patagonia for a little sight seeing. Harold and I discussed the merits of getting out and seeing the world while one can, before settling down. That helped burn off half the flight. The retired Navy officer had a pragmatic yet pleasant outlook. Dallas airport looks more like a Los Angeles freeway interchange than an airstrip and terminal. The courteous info booth guy let me in on the secret free internet terminals in terminal B34. I had all the sudden gotten it in my head to skip Buenos Aires and go over to Easter Island and I had to entertain myself. Crazy ideas It would have been possible to cancel my Punta Arenas, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina flight on January 11, but I quickly discovered I would be really missing some neat stuff on that terribly isolated island, as well running the risk of a 35 minute connection from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Santiago and then on to Buenos Aires. Even though I've been though the terminal in Santiago and knew it was possible to make the walk, I knew it would be a terrible mistake because then I would miss my flight back to the States. There was an option to overnight in Santiago, head to Buenos Aires in the morning and then catch my evening flight back home. Again, it was quite risky. It was extremely tempting until I started reading that people visit Easter Island for 4-5 days. And, travel there is slow. I was only giving myself 2 days on this itinerary. I'd have to save that for another time. The ticket from Punta Arenas to Santiago to Easter Island back to Santiago and then to Buenos Aires was $1460 before any cancelation penalty. That little side trip virtually equals the airfare for the current trip. Owch. But, the thought of doing this on a whim gave me the wild-eyed, crazy smile look, but in the end, I ended up waiting on this one. The 10 ½ hour Dallas to Buenos Aires flight was a bit bumpy, but nothing bad. I had the seat next to me empty, so I stretched out and thrashed around in a vain attempt at slumber. I'd stupidly left my earplugs in my checked bags, so I didn't get any substantial sleep. It's amazing the difference those make. Next trip, baring bad weather or a tough location, I'm going to travel with my little laptop bag because having to check luggage is just plain annoying. If Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines fame cam travel with only a toothbrush, I should be able travel with 10 pounds, including my brick of a Nikon camera. Of course, Branson has a few billion dollars to just show up and buy things, but hey, I can come close. Monday, December 31, 2007 International Time I arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at 10:40am local, right on time. I killed myself at the first cambio (money exchange) I came to. They had a 2.75 to 3.1 buy/sell split. That's at least as bad a rip-off as changing money in the U.S. Funny, an hour later, I read the guide book warning that you should never use the first cambio. They're a ripoff. The cambios inside the airport check-in and reception area are much more reasonable. My bags popped out on the other side and getting through immigration and customs was no issue. I caught the P$35 ($12US) Manuel Tienda Leon (with the big lion graphic) for the 1 hour ride from the international airport (EZE - Ezeiza) to the national airport (Aeroparque Jorge Newbury) to catch my continuing flight on to El Calafate, another 3 hours south by jet. Close call I have to check on departure tax before getting to the airport gate so I don't have to run back and pay the tax. I've done that dance in Lima, Peru and didn't want to get caught by it again. Fortunately there is no departure tax for El Calafate, so I was golden. On the 3 hour flight to El Calafate, I'm sure we almost died. As we began the initial decent, the pilot yanked hard back on the yoke and poured on the power. Several women yelled out for just a moment. Everyone was fully squashed into their seats. We stayed glued in our seats for several moments, then leveled off. Since we didn't receive an explanation, I could only guess that it was either a close call with a mountain or another aircraft. As it was a very clear day, I doubted hitting a mountain was likely. But, with the strong winds there, a severe downdraft could be a reason, too. And I've only been in the country a couple hours. Scary. Landing in El Calafate was pretty wild due to the strong winds. Nothing like a sideways slip and slide before touching down. There was no shuttle available to the Marco Polo Inn waiting for me, so I just caught the regular shuttle service into town. I told the check in person my hostel, but something must have been lost in translation to the driver. Just like Cairo, I got a complete tour of El Calafate and ended up at the driver's house. Although it would have been nice to visit, I had to get on. So, on to another bus and back into town and up to the Marco Polo Inn where Joann Luu was waiting for me. Reunion It's been 3 years since I've seen my former intern from Callaway Golf. Since I saw her last, she had blown out after school and racked up travel experience in her 20's that most people dream of covering in their lives. And now after a string of emails and phone calls, her being 2 months on the road and me 2 days in the air, we met up. It's always mind boggling to think that 2 people can communicate intermittently and some how meet each other literally half way around the world. I'm easily fascinated. Since I've never stayed in a hostel before, this was a new experience. The room contained 3 bunk beds and for this night, the room was empty save for Joann and me. Apparently a rarity this time of year. But, I didn't complain as I needed some good sleep. It was likely to this being New Years Eve. I dropped my two massive backpacks, one of which was now Joann's, and we wandered into town. It's only a 5 minute walk to downtown El Calafate, but the hostel was removed enough from the hustle of the town to be relatively quiet. After touring the town a bit, we returned to the hostel and watched Pablo the cook prepare 2 lambs on traditional Argentine cowboy cross iron spits, held over hot coals outside the building, as one might have done 40 years ago on the Patagonian steppe. It was all quite frontier-like yet quite interesting in the manner that it was done. Cooking over an open fire, in the middle of Patagonia, in a frontier town, in a desert like landscape reminiscent of eastern Washington State, with an Argentine cook with a wry sense of humor made the entire experience. To them, this was just another day. To this visitor, it was unique and interesting. Tasty food and fireworks Dinner was served at 10pm, traditional Argentine. Argentines eat incredibly late compared to the rest of the world. Austria eats at 8pm, for comparison. And I though they were late. It was a fine meal with different pieces of lamb served with a heaping bowl of vegetable salad mix. The room was filled with many different languages, laughter and discussion. Dinner went on for an hour and a half. Joann and I split a small bottle of beer bought from the hostel, as we weren't allowed to consume the beer she had bought outside. The trick was to stealthily refill the small bottle in the kitchen. Joann had the procedure down. Conversation ebbed and flowed with the tempo and volume of the room. We met Aire, a Dutchman who was going to visit his son working in Ushuaia studying the swamps and bogs. What? Tierra del Fuego is a land of bogs, not fire? It never occurred to me that it was possible to study swamps at the end of the world. But, that's probably why I don't have a PhD - I don't come up with crazy ideas to study swamps at the end of the world. I need some crazier ideas. Champagne was served with our P$70 ($22US) meal and everyone toasted in the New Years. Feliz Nuevo Ano! I hugged and check kissed a bunch of people I didn't know. That was all part of the festive atmosphere. As if on cue, we heard the pop-pop-boom of fireworks outside. Everyone grabbed their coats to fend off the chilly wind and we all stood outside, champagne glasses in hand, watching the spectacle of multicolor fireworks ripple across the little pueblo of El Calafate. It was a unique spectacle, watching waves of exploding fireworks cascade across the small valley the town sits in. This was very different from the single-point, concentrated fireworks back home. Here, you never know where the next explosion would appear, giving the event an unscripted, carefree feel to it. Joann and I retired to our room soon afterward, as we had to rise at 7am to catch our bus over to Perito Moreno glacier. That night, sleep came fitfully at best. Tuesday, January 1, 2008 Cold blue ice A night of delirious tossing and turning was what I called a night of sleep. I should have been completely unconscious. Apparently, Joann didn't fare much better. At least I had the excuse of a 6 hour time difference, a badly congested head and the incredible noise the wind made as it screamed across the hostel. Maybe it was something in the meal? It seemed to sit well enough, but something tripped out the brain and kept it running full tilt. Maybe the excitement of the new place? The alarm went off, I rolled out of bed and immediately felt like I could clock out for another 8 hours right there. I was tired. Joann and I rapidly wolfed down the provided corn flake breakfast, with some juice and bread. It was well worth the few extra Pesos to be able to walk out to the common room, eat breakfast and get the day started, fueled up. We hoofed it into town and caught the bus that Joann had purchased a few days back. As we saw the weather looming over the where we were headed, we brought our rain gear just in case. I mostly napped on the way to the glacier, an uneventful hour ride along the lake and up into the area mountains. We arrived at the Perito Moreno Glacier National Park after paying our P$30 ($10US) entrance fee, coming in to leaden skies and a slow, cold rain. Joann and I went to the restrooms to gear up for the bad weather. It was well worth bringing the wet weather equipment. We walked over to the first viewing platform above the glacier. Views of Perito Moreno are spectacular from any of the viewing platforms. There are three decks and hundreds of yards of connecting walkways to view the 160 foot high glacier face. One of the fun characteristics of this particular ice flow is the dramatic and constant calving of ice. There are fewer audible cracks and booms compared to the Child's Glacier outside of Cordova, Alaska, but this glacier visibly calves with far greater frequency. Just in the few hours we stood in the soaking rain, we saw multiple house size ice falls hit the lake, creating 8 foot waves radiating out into the vast lake. The funny thing about the offered boat tour this day is that you wouldn't want to have been on the deck to take photos with the incessant rain and blustery wind. And, you can't safely get any closer to the glacier than the free walkways. The ice falls and large waves make it impossible for the tour boat to get any closer. As an added bonus, we took a half hour and enjoyed a toasty hot chocolate and scrumptious pastries, again something impossible on the stormy boat tour. We went out again for another 45 minute viewing prior to catching the bus back to El Calafate. There were a few decent ice falls, enough to justify the misery of the chilly, skin-cutting, wind-blown rain. The clouds did open up a bit, making it possible to see much farther back up the glacier. The glacial flow of the azure blue ice was revealed to be impressively massive, justifying the designation of an Argentine national park. Ice cream in a cold place Back on the bus, we road in relative silence, likely due to the fatigue from the bad night's sleep. After walking back to the hostel to change out of our wet weather gear, we swapped for bike riding gear to tour the town. We rented a couple mountain bikes and tore off toward the early man cave paintings between the town and the airport. The ride in that direction was amazingly fast due to the stiff 15 mph wind at our backs. We rode the 6 miles out of town to the turn off for the petroglyphs, only to find the gate closed for New Year Day. That was a bit disappointing. Though, we did explore a side road religious shrine next to the gate, only delaying the inevitable grind into the wind, uphill, back to town. The most entertaining part is the complete lack of a road shoulder. You either rode on the slower gravel or took your chances of being sideswiped by a passing car. Going back to town took much, much longer. For a consolation prize, Joann guided me down to the lakeside where we wandered, tossed rocks at birds (at least I did) well out of throwing distance, all the while watching a gray storm clouds roll across the lake toward us. The cold, winter-like wind didn't suggest the middle of an Austral summer to me. But, this is wild Patagonia and not cushy San Diego. We returned the rental bikes after a 3 hour tour and went off to find a popular ice cream shop, found along the town's main drag. Joann ordered a three way split cup between blue glacier, Calafate berry ice and toffee ice cream. It was a strange mix, but it was fun to try two local specialties in one small cup. Next page
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