Patagonia, Take It or Leave It

One of the ways I recover from the jolt of returning home after an extended trip is to delve into books about the place or region I’ve just been to, or to read travelogues and anthologies (while swilling copious amounts of wine to assist in the denial that I am “back”). So, I’ve been reading a book of travel stories by AA Gill, a cheeky, smart, observant writer from Scotland (but he lives in Chelsea). I liked what he had to say about Argentina. His description of Patagonia made me nod in acknowldegement and wonder. Here, I share it with you:

“I opened the door, took a deep breath and felt a severe pain in my jaw as it fell to the floor. The sun was out, it was crisp and clear, and there was Patagonia, right there, and way over there. Patagonia is unfeasable beautiful and vast. The beauty never lets up, it’s like ocular tinnitus, a repetitive deafening of the eye, a visual peal of bells that rings form dawn to dusk. We all have a personal template for nature’s wonder, some scale to hold up against a new landscape. Mine is Scotland. Patagonia is Scotland squared, with sagebrush instead of heather. It as all those sense-tingling ingredients that push my personal buttons. It’s leggy and fit, a sinuous place with great curves, it’s competent and emphatic and it’s got a temper, it swears, and most of all it doesn’t give a damn. It’s not one of those landscapes that are arch and secretive, it isn’t gentle or flirtatious. It doesn’t wear make-up and it’s not promiscuous. It’s not for everyone.”

Paddling “The Futa” and The Yelcho

 

One of our dreams on this trip was to do the classic “Andes to Ocean” kayak trip, paddling west from the lower Futaleufu river in Chile, to the village of Chaiten on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Last year we paddled from the island of Chiloé, island hopping for 6 days to east Chaiten. So by doing the Futa-Yelcho river trip to the ocean we would be completing a route we began a year ago (finishing where we left off last year, as opposed to a through trip), taking in the best of Chile’s diverse ecosystems and cultures, from sea to mountain and back to the sea.

From the day I arrived in Chile – early December – we were planning, carefully watching the weather, talking to rafting companies in the little town of Futaleufu about the local conditions. In December there was still much rain, and the river was raging from recent storms and spring run off. But by mid-January things were looking good, and we fluked into a weather forecast of 5 days of sun – not a raindrop or a wind “swoosh” graphic in sight – on the Chilean weather website.

To get 5 days of good weather in the Palena district – southern Patagonia – is a rare occurance, so we jumped on a ferry to Chaiten from Hornopiren, and the next day we were at the edge of “The Futa” building our kayak.

The trip took us through some of the most spectacular mountain and lake scenery in Patagonia. Paddling along the lakes and rivers we witnessed waterfalls tumble off steep cliffs into lakes, glaciers rumble and groan as huge chunks of ice broke free and fell into a funnel of ice debris below, and the everchanging dance of clouds and mist shift through the forests and big blue skies.

The Futaleufu empties into Lago Yelcho, a 31 km narrow bowl of crystal blue, freezing cold water. The lake then drains into the Rio Yelcho, a fast-moving unobstructed class I river. As the the Yelcho’s flows toward the sea, its colour, as water accumulates from hundreds of feeder streams, changes from a transparent glacial green to a silty “cafe con leche” brown. With this constant topping up of water, the current flows fast and strong until it reaches the sea approximately 6o kilometers later.

Photos and comments on the trip can be seen in the photo gallery.

Kayaking Into Fjords Within Fjords

 

Looking back to the entrance of Quintupue Fjord from our campsite on the Quintuepue estuary

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The deep “finger fjords” within the large Fjordo Comau in southern Chile are a kayakers paradise. At the end of each fjord are estuaries with lush vegetation and where trout jump fast and furiously as the fresh water meets the ocean. We spent a few days paddling around the area (partially in the spectacular Parque Pumalin), and on one lucky stretch got a tailwind and sailed to the end of the fjord as the tide was rising. More photos in the gallery …

In the Shadow of the Volcano

We just finished a great 4-day trek around Volcan Puyehue, down to some thermal springs, and around the volcano to the south side. After day 3 we couldn´t find the trail where it enters the treeline, so we had to slog back up to a high pass, and retrace our steps back to the trailhead (shame on you Expediciones El Caulle for chargeing top dollars to enter the estancia lands and selling maps for this trek, and not marking the trails). Anyways, the weather was spectacular, and the mountain scenery breathtaking. More photos in the gallery. Enjoy!

Welcome to Chile

After a long and cramped flight on an packed American Airlines plane, I was welcomed into Chile by Immigration with a us$132 ¨arrival tax¨and a 1.5 hour wait to clear customs. Then the bastards checked my luggage, found all the backpacking food I´d carefully packed into ziploc bags, and confiscated the sunflower seeds. ¨If these were toasted and salted, you could bring them in, but since they are raw, we have to take them,¨ said the perkily annoying customs official. By this time I was so fed up with this Chilean airport, and I could see Frank waving at me from the arrival lounge, that I just said ¨ya, whatever,¨ and got the hell out of there.

We spent a night in Valparaiso, a lovely seaside town, where we kept encountering distressed Chileans on their front porches wailing and reciting ¨Pinochet…. Pinochet…,¨ at hearing the news of the former dictator´s death that same day. Keen to move on to friendlier parts, we took off for Argentina where the cost of travelling is half that of Chile, and the wine flows like water from a tap – to Mendoza, the heart of Argenina´s wine country.

We´ll be making quick forays back to Chile (for specific trips) from Argentina, but the plan is to spend as much time as possible in the Argentine Lakes District – hiking, kayaking and I´ll be learning some mountaineering skills so we can cross some glaciers and such.

Now we are off to a couple of boutique wineries to sip. Look for some photos soon!

Isabel Allende On Chile

I just finshed reading Islabel Allende’s “My Invented Country“, Allende’s memoir about her childhood in Chile, life in exile during the Pinochet years, as an immigrant in the U.S., and how “being a stranger” has fueled her memory and imagination …. Here’s an excerpt from a rather poignant chapter titled The Discreet Charm of The Burgeoisie

“When I was a recently divorced forty-five, I immigrated to the United States, obeying the call of my impulsive heart. The first thing that surprised me was the infallible optimism of North Americans, so different from people of the southern tip of South America, who always expect the worst to happen. Which it does, of course. The U.S. constitution guarantees the right to the pursuit of happiness, which anywhere else would be an embarrassing presumption. North Americans also believe they have the eternal right to be entertained, and if any of their rights are denied, they feel frustrated. The rest of the world, in contrast, expects that on the whole, life is hard, and boring, so they celebrate sparks of joy and diversion, however modest, when they occur.

In my family, happiness was irrevelant. My grandparents, like the majority of Chileans, would have stood with their mouths agape if they’d known that there are people who spend good money on therapy to overcome their unhappiness. For them, life was just difficult, any other view was foolishness. You found satisfaction in doing the right thing, in family, honor, the spirit of service, study, and your own fortitude. Joy was in our lives in many ways, and I suppose that love was not the least important, but we didn’t talk about it, we would have died of shame before saying the word. Emotions flowed silently. In contrast to most Chileans, in our family we didn’t touch much and babies were never coddled. The modern custom of extolling a child’s every move as if it were witty and charming was not in vogue, nor was there anxiety about bringing up offspring who were free of traumas. Just as well, because if I’d been brought up protected and happy, what the devil would I write about now? With this in mind, I’ve tried to make my grandchildren’s childhood as difficult as possible so they will grow up to be creative adults. Their parents are not at all appreciative of my efforts.”