RTW: Exchange in Chile

It's the end of the world

"..as we know it.." This trip has reached (and passed) its southernmost stop, in the words of REM. We spent our Juhannus in Torres del Paine, a big national park in southern Chile and probably THE trekking/hiking/camping place in the country. Sorry you all who called with drunken/happy messages from the midsummer parties, I could not listen to any of the voice messages. I'm sure they were lovely, thanks.

In Torres del Paine we first saw the caves of the Milodon, a prehistoric creature whose remains were found in the cave. The big fellow looked like this:



The real sights of Torres del Paine were of course all the scenery. Here you have one postcard shot of the mountain range (which is in fact the heart of the national park) and within it the actual three towers (torres). The other one is of the first part of the Patagonian glacier we saw, the Glaciar Grey (pieces of it in the front and the big mass itself barely visible in the distance).





Travelling to and from the Fin del Mundo itself, Tierra del Fuego, was not all that easy. Here I'm freezing on the crossing of the Magellan strait:



The southernmost destination on the whole trip was none the less than the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, on the Argentinian side. As we got there, the people were celebrating in the centre as Argentina had just won Mexico in the World cup. I kept my Mexico-sweater well hidden at that time -and in anticipation of the upcoming fall of the Germans we both bought Argentinian football shirts..



In Ushuaia we first got acquainted (again) to the Argentinian food culture (now I'm officially in heaven with all the eat-all-you can meat around) and had our share of the party. The next day was spent chilling and walking in knee-deep snow (without snow shoes, of course, but why should crazy Finns care) in the Tierra del Fuego national park. This was the first time the clothes really were not adequate for the place where we were..





To the upset of all you skiing mainiacs, we also went for some snowboarding in the southernmost slopes in the world, Cerro Castor right there in Tierra del Fuego. It was rather cold at first, but the scenery just took ones breath away. And though some slopes were still closed, the majority was still in good enough shape. On top (or bottom?) of the world, mom:



Our visit to Ushuaia was completed with a boat tour in the Beagle channel, where we saw, among other things, an island full of sea lions (too bad, no penguins here this time of year..).



Our next stop was El Calafate, some 18 bus-hours north of Ushuaia. There we took a peak of one of the most active ice fields in the world, the Glaciar Moreno. I could not fit the whole chunk in one picture, as it is 5 kilometers wide in the front and 14 km long (you'd think looking at the photo below that the mountains in the back are closer than 14 km away, wouldn't you?). The front of it is "just" some 60 meters high and it moves some 40 cm per day, breaking every now and then. Being there you can hear the ice crack and sometimes see the pieces falling into the lake. You are left in awe and I myself with a huge urge to go to the Antarctic some day..



On a different note, being here (both Chile and Argentina) has really opened my eyes to the machismo and the general male attitudes here.. Maybe it is just the jealous me talking, but I feel like having some words with some of the drooling guys around. Or then again, maybe It's not just me: a father of two was taking pictures of Johanna in the supermarket with a camera phone -while carrying his daughter! All while talking to the girl: "look how beautiful she is".. Seriously, what kind of a sick a-hole would do that?!? Maybe I should just feel flattered, but some guys really go too far.

All in all, this has been one of the best things (if not THE best) ever! I've kept the schedule tight as I usually do, but Johanna has been great about it and we have really enjoyed the trip even while seeing lots of stuff. Now the next thing is the anxiously expected Buenos Aires, a place of which everybody I meet spills nothing but exceptional reports. And besides, Simo owes me one -or two. ;)


To seal this entry, here are the basic things about Chile: Bic Mac Meal is 2100 pesos (3,05 euros) and the lonely burger 1550 pesos (2,25 euros). The specialty of McD's there is the quarter pounder with avocado.. Also, I did pass all my courses!! The better-quality-than-HSE -formula did not apply in giving the grades, obviously, but I'm just glad to have no problems back home then. In regards to the thesis, I might have some interesting news by the next entry, but can't promise a thing quite yet..

Best national beer tasted: Escudo. Extensive tasting. Second only to Tecate in the world (so far).
Best national dish: Churrasco italiano (a hamburger-like fast food with mayo, avocado and tomato). So shoot me who does not agree.
Best sight/experience is just way too hard to decide.

posted by Kassu @ 4:18 PM