San Cristobal and Rosario (La Mina)

San Cristobal and Rosario (La Mina) Originally uploaded by Road Trip

that small bit on the left is almost the whole town of Rosario, its a very small place

A few days back in Tegucigalpa

So after Lima I spent a few days back in Tegucigalpa visiting friends. It was nice to be back but I was still ready to get home. Its amazing how much of central america is still so far behind the rest of latin america. I spent a day in National Park "La Tigra" about an hour out of Teguc, stayed in a small town called Rosario or La Mina, its an old silver and gold mining camp. Mos of the buildings are old woode structures left after the mine was abandoned. Its also the site of the first telegraph and electricity of the whole country. Only a few hundred live there now but at the peak of the mine there were over 5000. It was an american mining company using it but they only brought in the essentials. A bar and a bowling alley being two of the things they couldn't live without. So after 5 days or so it was time to fly back from home, unfotuntely the first flight of my 3 flight itinerary was cancelled so I spent the next day and a half waiting in lines and for Taca employees to figure out what the best thing to do with me was. After standing around for about 6 hours in New York they finally just gave me 50 bucks to catch a bus down to Atlantic City and home. Dumb suckers didn't know it was only gonna cost 40.

Return to Lima

So after a couple harrowing days of travel north, including another strike that I had to take a plane to get passed, I ended back in Lima. I had about a week in the city and it was nice to get back to Wayruros, the hostel my friends own, my second home south of the equator. Most of them work working outside of the city but Nacho was there as well as a few friends I'd made last time I went through. The closer to home I get the less patience I have and more I realize Im ready to get back.

Cerro San Cristobal

Cerro San Cristobal Originally uploaded by Road Trip

up top theres a big statue of the "Blessed Virgin Mary"

Santiago

Santiago Originally uploaded by Road Trip

hard to tell from fotos but santiago is huge

up the hill by train

up the hill by train Originally uploaded by Road Trip

there's a big hill in the middle of town called Cerro San Cristobal and from up top you get a good view of Santiago. I ended up taking a cable train up and the gondolas back down

Santiago, Chile

I was only able to get a few days in Santiago but with the help of all the good people I met in La Casa Roja it was a great time. Much bigger than I ever imagined and down in a bowl that traps all its smog Santiago has a great night life. I spent the days walking around or nursing hangovers and the nights out in Bella Vista in a variety of its tons of tiny bars and clubs. Both skiing and Valparaiso were cut from the itinerary because it was hard to leave the people I met while in there (plus skiing will be easy to come by in Colorado). I only regret not having more time in the city, it´s one I could see myself visiting again.

Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt Originally uploaded by Road Trip

ship carcass

ship carcass Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this boat hit a sand bar roughly 20 years ago and its still there rusting away

our bow

our bow Originally uploaded by Road Trip

big chess

big chess Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the rest of the passengers

the rest of the passengers Originally uploaded by Road Trip

some fellow passengers

some fellow passengers Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its hard to tell from a oicture but this was taken in some seriously high winds

some of the boat

some of the boat Originally uploaded by Road Trip

NAVIMAG

NAVIMAG Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt

NAVIMAG is a cargo business with shipping routes all along the coast of Chile. But its boats also have room for tourists travelling between the same points. The boat I was on carried a maximum of 170 people but at the time of year that I did it carries considerably less. Without counting a generous estimate would put it at a group of 15 not considering the crew. It took 4 days and 3 nights north and started out with the same perfect weather I had in Torres del Paine. The first day was spent outside watching the passing mountains and occasional seal and playing big chess up on the roof deck. The second day was fogged over and was a little less eventful until we got out to the open ocean and started getting tossed around. Quite a few peole lost there lunch and the wind up on deck was so strong that if you spread out your jacket you could really lean into it. After about an hour up there we were scolded by the biggest Chilean I have still yet seen and were told the gusts were up to 85 - 90 km per hour up there ands too dangerous to be up there. The third day too was clouded over but being back in the channel it was a much calmer one. Most of it was spent inside watching the movies they put up on the projector. We got into Puerto Montt the fourth day and a few of us were trying to get onto Santiago as quickly as possible but there was a strike blocking the roads and the only way to go about it was flying to Santiago to avoid the demonstration and shelling out about 100 bucks to do it. Between strikes and drug charges Chile turned out to be a very expensive couple of weeks.

sky in Torres

sky in Torres Originally uploaded by Road Trip

our lodge

our lodge Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres II

Torres II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

view from up in Valle de France

view from up in Valle de France Originally uploaded by Road Trip

some lonely footprints

some lonely footprints Originally uploaded by Road Trip

we got high enough up we were leaving the only footprints we could see. Meaning we were the only ones up that far since the last snowfall, but there were tons of animal tracks all over the place

small suspension bridge

small suspension bridge Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres

Torres Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the locals

the locals Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the hike out

the hike out Originally uploaded by Road Trip

thats the german mother daughter team

Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine

Puerto Natales is a really small town far down south in Chile that other than an amazing setting doesn´t seem like it has much going on. But to be fair the little bit I saw only while running around paying illegal substance fines, after that headache was over I found out that my boat north had been postponed a day for problems with the loading cranes. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though because it allowed me to spend an extra night in Torres del Paine. A huge national park in southern Chile that at this time of the year, because of the cold weather, is more or less empty. I really lucked out with 3 perfect days and a small but great group of people that were also out there bearing the cold. A few english, a kickass mother daughter team from Germany and a guy from New York who turned out to have done Peace Corps in the Maldeves. Most of the time he and I hiked together comparing stories. The park is gorgeous but to seeit well its all tough hikes, we hiked 5 hours in, 7 hours the second day to Valle Frances (great day, we were the only two on the trail that far up) and another five hours out. Perfect timing too because that last day I got in in time to catch the NAVIMAG boat north and my feet were in need of a few days rest.

they never give up

they never give up Originally uploaded by Road Trip

so unfortunately this is the only foto from the border crossing I was detained at. But the sign is a great statement for Argentina they officially los the Faulkland Islands (they call them the Malvinas) to england a secong time in the 80`s but this brand new sign shows that they`re still not over it.

Possible prison time

So after leaving Calafate I turned west and planned to cross over into Chile to get a few hikes in over there in a hightly recommended national park before getting on a cargo boat that takes people north. Unfortunately what I didn´t realize is that coca leaves which are legal in most of the other countries in south america are considered an illegal substance in Chile. I had been carrying a small bag since Bolivia and the crossing into Argentina had not been a problem. I ended up getting stopped and questioned about them and having to let my bus leave me at the border. At first I wasn´t too worried about it but when I was refused a minute outside to have a cigarette I realized I was being detained. Coca leaves even if chewed all day can only be compared to a mild caffeine buzz so I still I wasn´t too worried about it until the garbled voice coming over a cb giving instructions clearly reapeated the word ¨carcel¨ a few times (in spanish carcel means prison). The rest of the 4 hours I was detained in that room with 3 or 4 border officials weren´t so fun. After sweating it out for a while I ended up only having to sign a statement saying I was unaware of Chilean law and believed them to be more or less like those of surrounding countries and pay a fine of $220 for not declaring I was importing organic material. I hitchhiked into town, which was only about 20 minutes away, and payed the fine as quickly as I could in order to put the whole thing behind me. A fine is a hell of a lot better than a few days in a cell but at the time the $220 really hurt.

Perrito Moreno II

Perrito Moreno II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its friggin` huge

300 yr old ice

300 yr old ice Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a snack on the glacier including some whiskey with 300 yr old ice

Glacier hike

Glacier hike Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Perrito Moreno

Perrito Moreno Originally uploaded by Road Trip

doll head

doll head Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Flamingos

Flamingos Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Emmanuel's ride

Emmanuel's ride Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Calafate and Perrito Moreno

So I ended up catching up with Baptista and Emmanuel in Calafate. From the few days I was there it seems like a nice place, probably a little too busy in the high season though. Its on the edge of a huge lake full of flamingos and surrounded by snow capped mountains. Probably the biggest attraction nearby is Perrito Moreno, a huge glacier and apparently one of only three that are still growing (supposedly the other two are in New Zealand). It really was an amazing thing to see, I got to put on crampons and hike on it as well as see a huge chunk break off while I was on the platform over looking it. The hostel ¨America del Sur¨ is a really nice place to stay but again probably a little much come high season.