070120 - "There's just too much to do here"

El Bolson, ARG - I wasn't rushing myself like many of the friends I had going down south. The majority of them took a bus straight from Bariloche to El Calafate. An at least 30 hour busride! No why that I'd be up for that. I decided to take it slow.

I was recommended a very chilled place not too far from Bariloche, called El Bolson. Smaller town, less tourists, better beer, more relaxed atmosphere. And that's just the way it is. Well, there are quiet a few tourists here. Especially young students. It's amazing. I don't really know if kids in Germany go as much countryside as kids do here -- which is great. People seem to appreciate a lot more of what they have here then back in Europe.

I arrived in El Bolson with the intention wanting to stay only a few nights, three at the most. I ended up staying almost ten, as Aldana, the very lovely girl from the Hostel Refugio Patagonico, kept on giving me all this information on what to do and where to go that I finally surrendered begging her not to giving me any more information. I wanted to leave. I needed to keep going south. Or I'd be "stuck" here for more than a months. ;o) Nevertheless I made the most out of my time being here: mountainbiking or hiking in the area every single day!

070110 - "Sorry, we're full!"

Bariloche, ARG - After hearing the same answer from all the 5 hostels I called the day before we would arrive in Bariloche, I knew this place was going to be stacked up to the max. And getting there, seeing it with my own eyes even succeeded my worst expectations. Bariloche seems to have been built for only one reason: tourism. Everywhere you would look the one thing you see: tourists.

But, of course, there's a reason why this place is so popular...

Oh, the accommodation problem we solved by staying at an old (kinda grumpy) lady's place who migrated to Argentina from Lubljana after World War II. The hut she rented out "didn't have an architect" why climbing the stairs could be somewhat dangerous at times, especially after having drunk too much. (Lucky me, that never happend while staying there). Later that day we saw many people who came with us on the bus running around town with a list of accommodations, handed out by the tourist office, desperately trying to find something to stay at.

Luckily I met all my Israeli friends from Mendoza again in Bariloche... And as we haven't seen us in quiet a while this called for a big party bashing. Well, end of story is me falling out of my top bunkbed - and having no memory of it whatsoever. Till the people from my dorm ask me the next evening (when I was getting up) if I was alright. And I am like, "Why? What happend?" - Realizing the scratch on my knee. ;o)

During the days we stayed in Bariloche I went for several bike rides: climbing Cerro Catedral, Circuito Chico, by bike to Villa La Angostura and Bosque de Arrayanes...

070108 - "Stupid question... But just how are we gonna cross over to Isla Chiloé?"

Ancud, CHL - Isla Chiloé is a nice place, away from all the hectic tourism of Pucon. A laid-back place that is famous for its wooden churches. And for its penguins. This being the main reason for us crossing over to the island. Eva, as the guide and itinarary planner, took care of the travel arrangements. I had no plan where we went. All I knew, Isla Chiloé is an island. ?¿?

Well, to be honest, I come from an island. So crossing over to it seemed like no big deal. Man, there's bridges. So please... But here: total different story. The crossing took place by ferry. The bus company not only owns buses, but also some ships. Apparently. Pretty cool.

In the hostel we met a bunch of people (a laid-off worker from Germany, a Norwegian girl and an Austrian who had his face burnt badily while climbing Volcan Villarrica and now is facial skin was pealing off) and together we arranged a taxi-ride to the Pingüinera.

As we arrived early nobody of the fishermen seemed to care of giving us a boar ride out to the penguin colonies. Finally a kid approached. His dad was still eating breakfast but later would gladly give us a tour. As he arrived he took us to his boat which took him quiet a while getting going. It was stuck on a sand bank. Thus all guys of us and some other fishermen helped out. The boat wa ready to be launched... and in came the "walk-way". Really nice feature, but I couldn't belive me eyes. Really, a walkway, on which we would climb and the son rolled it up to the boat so we wouldn't get our feet wet. Amazing.

The tour ended quickly after visting all four colonies, but remains momorable thanks to Carlos' vivid explainations.

As we left the little port dozens of "human-penguins" came out of the huts. A quick talk revailed that they all were members of a corporation. They went out to the reefs to research the extensive growth of the mussels -- over the last few months they had grown about 3cm, from 9cm to now 12cm.

It started pouring rain. So we hit under a tree and hoped to catch a ride back. Which we eventually did. Soaked wet we arrived back at the hostel. And before going back to Puerto Varas (without going to Castro, the center of Isla Chiloé with the amazing churches) we spend the time drying ourselves in the winter garden of the hostel.

070106 - "There's bugs everywhere! I cannot enjoy the hike at all this way!!!"

Puerto Varas, CHL - Next stop on our route was Puerto Montt. But luckily, in Pucon, they recommended us to go to Puerto Varas (which is only 25km away) instead.

Puerto Montt is the mayor port in the south of Chile where the cargo boats go to Puerto Arenas in the far, far south. It is not really a -- how to say -- good-looking city, which we got to see for ourselves one afternoon.

Puerto Varas, on the other hand, is a small town on the edge of Lago Llanquihue from where you can see Volcan Osorno rising to the sky on the other end of the lake.

The second day we spend in Puerto Varas we decided to take a bus to the falls of Rio Petrohué and walk from there the remaining 6km to Lago Todos Los Santos. Well, as it is not only high season of vacation it is also season for some special bugs that are said to exist only between the end of December to the 20th of January. They are a real pain in the a**. Constantly zooming around one; gradually becoming more and more to the point where one just cannot take it anymore.

After we left from the falls (where the bugs were already bothering us) and walked about 350meters our "boiling point" was reached. We stopped a car that gave us a lift to the lake; strolled around there for a bit.

Instead of the proclaimed hike we intended to do we decided for "Plan B": visiting Puerto Montt.

070105 - The ducky-adventure

The best of the best: www.kayakpucon.net

There is just not more to say!!

070104 - Climbing Volcán Villarrica

"What is coming up the mountain? Can you see this? Looks like ants!!!"

Getting up early, around 4:30am, with almost not having slept at all, I nightwalked to the kitchen, made my every-morning oatmeal, ate it without even noticing and the next instance the pick-up arrived at the hostel. We (a Brazilian guy who also stayed at the hostel) hopped in and went to pick up two Austrian girls (Gudrun and ??? [I am sooo bad with names. Sorry.]) The transfer to the starting point took about an hour. And it was impossible to sleep thanks to the many roadbumps.
The two Austrians were still daydreaming about taking the lift to the top when we started our ascent. (Well, to be fair, indeed, there is a lift which takes people who arrive at 8am a little bit closer to the top. But since we arrived so early the lift wasn't operating). It was a nice steady climb to the top and we didn't need any of the hard-core equipment we brought.

We had the volcano all to ourselves which probably was the best thing money cannot buy. (Well, it actually kinda did.) In town there are only two guides who have a permit to take people up the volcano at 5am. Everybody else can't go before 7am. This comes into picture later again.

After only 3.5hs we arrived at the top. A smell of rotten eggs penetrated our lungs, the wind was blowing hard in our faces, making it almost unbearable to wanting stay longer. We took a quick walk around the edge of the crater. Constantly smoke would be visible. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any lava, but heck, it was an incredible feeling anyway.

Soon after we started our descend. The first couple hundred meters we would be walking. And then the fun part started: sliding down on your butt! Probably not the safest nor fastest, but defintely the most-butt-wetting way. ;o) As we approached a cliff and took a peak over the edge, I suddenly saw hundreds of people coming up. The daily routine was underway. A huge human snake-line was winding up the volcano. During the high season almost 350 people climb the mountain. It could be even more, if there were just more guides around. Eye-witnessing this we realized that getting up sooo early was the best idea ever -- and I am thankful to Claudio to have me taking on this expedition. He is one of the most experienced guides in Pucon who has climbed the volcano an astonishing 1,500 times (and even more).

Happy and with wet butts we returned to Pucon town around 1pm where I had a nice siesta before finishing the day in one of the many hot-springs. The end to an eventful day.

070103 - A MTB-tour in the area

After a good night sleep my bones were almost back to new, so Eva and I decided on a MTB-tour to some of the local waterfalls and lakes. It was pretty normal, a lot of up- and downhill. To the point where Eva would be on the verge of quitting.

As the wind was building up and the road appeared not to have an ending she stopped out of the blue, sat down at a bus stop and said "I am taking the bus!". Surprised, I didn't know what to say. Turned out that she felt she was holding me back. And this was bothering her so much that she couldn't enjoy the bikeride. As we only had 7km left, I said I would wait for about 10min at the bus stop to give her a bit of a head start. And so we did. She took off on her bike -- and I wouldn't see her again until the bike shop in Pucon. Must have stopped for flowers along the way... ;o)

070101 - From Santiago to Pucon

Getting up the next morning wasn't easy, but I thought to fight the little hang-over I had managed to get with a little run in the park. Therefore I lifted myself up at 10am and kept on going for 2hours. Felt nice afterwards, but still (or now even more) tired. The rest of the day I was just hanging around in the hostel as Eva and I had a bus to Pucon late in the evening.

We left Santiago around 11:45pm and arrived in Pucon almost 8hours later. As we chose the cheapest bus there I felt like being run-over by a truck again. And my knees, which had been bothering me since the climbing accident, felt terribly. No chance for any activity but walking around town a bit that day.

Pucon is situated in the so called Lake District (comprized by 12 lakes of different sizes as well as waterfalls and snow-capped volcanoes) on the southeast corner of Lago Villarrica. Between New Year to end-February the town is overly crowded and expensive. We found a nice hostel (Backpackers Hostel) with the local guide Claudio.

061231 - Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, CHL --- Oh, and New Year's Eve

"¡No hay lugar! - ¡¡No hay lugar!!" ("Nothing available! Really, nothing available") --- "You are doing it for the fun again?" Two comments that seem to have not much in common. At first. But then... Well, it is high season. And this fact suddenly smacks me hard when I walk into the bus terminal. Hundreds of people. Everywhere. Where to start? Is this the end of the line? But for which company? Are they going to Valparaiso? Many, many questions that needed to be answered. I put myself in some random line that seem to lead to the Turbus office (one of the two mayor bus companies in Chile). After an extensive time of waiting I get to the box office -- and the guy tells me: "¡No hay lugar! " Not today young man. Well, at least not before 4pm. Oh, my god! Thanx. After consulting with Eva we decide to get tickets for the next day. So I get back in the line. At the very end. And the Americans who were waiting behind me ask me when leaving "So, you are doing it for the fun again?" I had to wait another 30 to 45min - but got tickets to Viña del Mar. All this took place on the 30th. The day we planned to go there, but instead did the city tour.

We got to Viña del Mar, one of South America's leading seaside resorts, around 1pm. All dressed in shirts and shorts, ready to hit the beach. And what happened? It started raining. Of course we didn't bring any appropriate clothes for this kinda weather. Who would have guessed. So we went to the market and bought some sweaters. Ahh, how sweet. We strolled around town, heading towards the water, and stopped along the Palacio Vergara, formerly the residence of a local shipping guru.

From Viña we took the metro to get to Valparaiso. Near the port the city seems run down and has not very much to offer. Indeed it appeared to me very ugly. But up in the hills, that rear up from the sea, it is a whole different story. Residential areas with a bohemian, slightly anarchic feel. Absolutely lovely. And spectacular are the funicular railways (dating from 1883 - 1914) which connect the lower and upper cities.

Time passed by very quickly here. And the sooner we knew we had to head back to Santiago. We wouldn't arrive before 10:30pm.

Ohh, yes!! The last day of 2006 was approaching it's end. By the time we got to the hostel the party was already up and started. A quick dinner - and on the terrace the owners (d***, I forgot their names) offered a great barbacue and some delicious cakes. A great, little intimate party with all the guests from the hostel.

Welcome 2007!

061229 - Santiago de Chile, CHL

"Are you still here?" Suddenly I wake up out of my dullness that was surrounding me. What has happened? I was still in the kitchen in the Andes Hostel in Santiago - and that seemed to be the problem. Well, I had left the kitchen, hence the TV in front of which I was lazing around, to get some food. But that had slipped by by Eva. To her I hadn't moved since the last 2 or 3 hours that we had talked last. But come on.. gimme a rest. I was anything far from being in good shape.

I had gotten to Santiago this very morning after a tiring bus ride. We left Mendoza, ARG, on time around 22:45. But soon the air conditioning went out, and shortly after the headlights of the bus. Which didn't seem to bother the busdriver at all who kept going through the dark night. Some passenger already got a funny stomache feeling. And when we got to Uspallata a couple of hours later to have a brief stop for taking on more passengers rebellion broke loose. People got off the bus and started arguing with the bus driver who still wouldn't see a problem driving on without any headlights. He simply would continue tailing another bus until we got to Santiago. But luckily the people convinced him that this is not a good idea. So we called it in and asked to have another bus come. Meanwhile the passengers started stopping buses who would pass by asking if they'd have any empty seats. And yeah - soon after a bus stopped that took on almost all passengers. Gladly not having to wait half the night for the next bus to arrive in the middle of the night we got on. But it was a low cost carrier. No leg room. Air conditioning broken. So

when we got to Santiago at 7am I was a wreck. Took the train. Went to the hostel, checked in and went to bed. Around 12am I woke up again, went to the kitchen and made my usual porrage. And that's when I first talked to Eva who had also arrived here the same day, but flew in from Madrid. Eva, a girl from Germany who I first thought was from Spain (had worked 1.5 year in Madrid), on a three-week vacation would become my travel companion for the next two weeks. And since we both were new to the city we joined forces to discover Santiago. To me a perfect deal since I hadn't read anything and didn't have the slightes idea of what to do nor to see here. While Eva had done her homework. The first day was just a quick stroll around downtown and conquering the top of Cerro Santa Lucia.

The next day -- ohh, my god! I don't know how much we walked but pretty far. And near the end, unfortunately, we became witnesses of a robbery. We were in the old part of town were London and Paris Street cross when we met a group of retirees from Germany who sat down on the banks next to us. Suddenly a boy is approaching and I am starting to wonder to what he is up to. But before I can even finish my thoughts, I see how his arm reaches out - and with a quick pulls steals the necklace from the woman next to us; starts running down the street.

And everybody remains like statues. Unbelievable. Nothing we can do anymore. Wow... Just like in a bad movie. And for the first time that I became a witness. And yes, you act completly different than from what you ever have expected. I wanted to run after him, but with the flip-flops -- impossible. And I also was kinda shocked.

However, Santiago was a lot better than I had expected. Many people I met along the way didn't like it. Maybe it was due to my nice new comrade but I really did like it a lot. Especially the subway is one of the best I have ever seen. Of course, you have to get used to the Chilenean accent -- but, hey, come on! it could be worse. ;o)

061227 - Off to Parque Aconcagua for a day trek

061224 - The Christmas holidays

061223 - Bikes and Wines, Part 2

After missing the wine museum and the chocolateria on the first "bikes and wines tour" I did with the boys, this time, in company of Rosie, this was the task of the day. And we managed it easily, I have to admit. ;o)

Same procedure as before we took the bus to the bike rental station, got ourselves some nicecruisers and off we went to La Rural, one of the oldest wineries in the region which happens to have a very good wine museum. Here they tell you a bit about the history of the bodega (winery), the way the destilling process has changed over the centuries and finish you of with a wine tasting.

During the tour we met a bunch of nice Israeli girls (Yael, Inbal and Adi) who we would hook up later with and celebrate Christmas with. [But that is another story.]

After La Rural we tried to make it to a different bodega, but sadly it was closed. And as we started out late it was already time to head back to the rental station, return the bikes and go back to the hostel. But not before not having been to the Chocolateria.

An amazing place where an industrial engineer turned his hobby into his profession and produces all kinds of jams and licors. Superb! I think a left his place with a bit of a buzz as we tried sooo many different licors. Great place.

061222 - Hot Springs in Cacheuta and Meeting a fellow Climber at the Bus Station

061219 - Bikes and Wines, Part 1

061218 - Rafting with Rios Andinos

061214 - Arrival in Mendoza, ARG

061213 - National Park in San Luis, ARG

061209 - Parachute-Flying in La Cumbre, ARG

061208 - Capilla del Monte, ARG

061202 - Return to La Ola... And going home with broken knees

"Thomas - wake up! Your friends are here!" What? What? Where am I? That cannot be right... I just fell asleep - on the couch. Man, it is 6am! But, right, Pacchu is waiting outside. We wanted to go to La Ola for the day to climb. This is gonna be tough.

The night before we had a big, big party at the hostel. Many people showed up and had a great time. I was probably the only one there who hadn't had a sip of alcohol or dope as everybody else seemed to be carried away. Well, now I am exaggerateing but it was a lot of fun. Luther put on his usual show which turend the girls crazy. And the guys stood in awe of disbelief. The party ended around 5am and many continued on to an after-club. Finally I could crash on the couch and wait for Pacchu to arrive. Why didn't I go to bed earlier? Well, my room was right next to the party area. No chance at all to even think of getting some sleep. But at least I got a quick power-nap.

We arrived around 8.30am to La Ola and started climbing right away. It was a really nice day and within a few hours we already had climb 7 routes. We changed to a different location. As I wanted to improve we had climbed many routes of 6a, 6a+ and 6b. The next one would be a 6b+. Pacchu wanted me to be the lead climber. So I started, but a few meters into the mountain I realized this would not be happening. Not this one. Not today. So Pacchu tried. He got a little further but also didn't make it to the top.

Now we had to think about how to dismantle the route. We went around the rock and climb on top. Unable to see the route from atop, but we saw the neighboring one. We armed the rappel on this one - and suddenly Pacchu realized that this is not gonna work. I wanted to see for myself, armed the rappel, took a peak. And yeah, it was not going to work, because rappeling from here meant a 4m jump down and possibly breaking every bone. Realizing this the last thing I heard was Pacchu saying "Wait!" - I lost my balance and fell. BUMM!! CRASH!! "%$·*ª?" O-U-C-H... My knees and toes had hit the wall. Pain was rising in my body. And there I was: hanging in the rappel. Adrenaline kept me awake. But the pain was growing on me. And we still had to dismantle the route. I hung in there and with Pacchu oscillating me to reach the mosquetones we achived the task. I rappeld down. Barely abe to walk. Initally we wanted to do some bouldering to finish the day, but now? No way! Pacchu was also tired , so we returned to the car. On the way back, the knees started to swell up. We stopped along the way to get some ice. When we had to stop in Villa Carlos Paz to refill the gas, I could hardly get out of the car. My knees were like stiff. With thehelp of my arms I lifted my legs out and had to push up on the roof of the car to be standing up. By the time we got to Cordoba Pacchu and his girlfriend had decided to bring me to the emergency hospital for a check up. Slowly, bt very slowly I walked (well, not really walking) over to the entrance. The doctors were very nice. First he checked for torn ligaments, then i got x-rays (and no, they didn't 'protect' my goodies) -- and luckily, nothing was broken. The next days I had to lay down, minimize movement, cool with a lot of ice and take some medicine. And yes, it got better.

061125 - Climbing in Tanti, ARG

It was about time to finally go back into the mountains, even though this one was only a small, very small one. But Jere was up for it - and so was I. Jessica, a friend of Jere, who had been taking a course with him was still undecided when we mad the plans on Friday. So it was me and Jere who head out to Tanti where a few vías can be found. We started on an easy one, moved on to the next without any hesitation to finally start on a more difficult route. Jere, as a more experienced climber, was the lead climber.

The route had a roof which made it kinda difficult. And as an add-on to the challenge, you had only water to jump into as there was a little lake beneath you.

Jere made the first passes easily, came to the tricky part, took a deep breath -- and before I knew it, he was knee-deep in the water! Okay, the first try went bad... and we almost had no magnesium left. So we went to try his equipment and took a rest. By the time I had climbed our initial route twice to stay warm, Jessica and a few friends arrived to the scene. We got them suited up and up they went the wall.

Jere took another try on the "water-route", but it ended with the previous result. We called it a day - and went home.

061116 - Entrenando en Cordobo, ARG

Time in Cordoba passed by. And there is really no reason to stay any longer than a week in this town. Okay, it is a city filled to the last drop with students - and many, but really many good-looking girls among them. But the days become kinda monotonous: going out late, waking up late, eating, standing outside of the hostel and just do people-watching with Luther, a guy from Guatemala who plays soccer professionaly in Cordoba.

But luckily I had met Jeremiah and Pachu at La Ola. Two climbers who took their sport seriously. And I took the chance of training with them for the next four weeks which really was the reason for me to stay longer in Cordoba. The two are very ambitious, have their own mini-muro and a big wall and dream of opening their own climbing center. At the moment they want to extend the bouldering-wall. Two really nice guys who I feel fortunate to have met.