The Knight Bus

I almost feel silly writing the post I'm about to write. Here I am, paying homage to some of the greatest cities in South America, and I'm about to place a 19-hour bus ride on the same level. But before you get all up in arms over that, let me explain. When we started planning our travels throughout South America, I was under the impression we'd be taking a number of 19-(or more) hour bus rides. But I was wrong. Most of the flights we found made it affordable for us to jet-set around the Southern Cone, except for our trip from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls. So, I knew early on that this 19-hour night bus was in my future.

All Harry Potter references aside, the night bus doesn't seem like the most ideal form of transportation, so when EGTG (the Extreme Gringo Travel Gang as we came to call ourselves, which I later would refer to as the Extremely Gringo Travel Gang) sat down to book our bus tickets, we were give two options "semi-cama" (half bed) or "super-cama" (super bed). We obviously chose "super-cama," which ran us about thirty dollars extra. Little did we know what was in store for us. Listen folks, if you're ever traveling across South America by bus and you have the option of "super-cama," take it! Take it every time.

I'll try to find more pictures! Bus... this is a start.

Not only was this bus ride the best bus ride of my entire life, but also it was, perhaps, the nicest mode of transportation I've ever taken. We had seats that fully reclined so we were able to lay completely horizontally, our own, individual pillows, blankets, televisions, headphones, and privacy curtains, and were served both a hot dinner and breakfast the following morning. Although it wasn't a five-star meal, I was able to enjoy my chicken cordon bleu and appetizer and dessert and soda as I reclined and watched all of "Armageddon" dubbed in Spanish. And, yes, it's a good movie in any language.

I was also able to help Sophie celebrate her 25th birthday as the clock struck midnight, and we rattled through northern Argentina. Our bus even made it to Iguazu Falls in under 18 hours, out of which the majority of us probably slept at least 14.

All in all the night bus was a raging success, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Don't cry for me...

We flew into the heat of Buenos Aires (at least what we thought was heat, until we got to Brazil... ugh). Buenos Aires is a pretty cool city. While Santiago probably has it beat on safety and cleanliness (where we live, at least), Buenos Aires puts Santiago to shame on character.

Our first night there we walked around shop-lined streets and explored a couple of plazas, particularly the "Pink House" made famous by Eve Peron. While we sat in front of the house, I channeled as much Madonna as I could muster and (as quietly as possible) sang "Don't Cry for me Argentina" from "Evita." As it got darker, I became more fond of Buenos Aires; however, I've found I feel that way about most cities. The particular streets we were walking on were adorned with ornamental lighting, and I'm kind of a sucker for things lit up at night. Later that evening we walked down by the river to an all you can eat steakhouse. It was a pretty successful first seven hours in Buenos Aires.

Now repainted, cow's blood gave the building it's original pink color.

 

Puerto Madero, where we had dinner our first night in town.

The following day we explored more of the city and took a little time to relax and regroup, which was lucky, because on Saturday night we hit the town in true Buenos Aires fashion. We left our hostel at 10 p.m. and staying out late (or early) enough to see the sun rise the next morning.

We were SO TIRED when this photo was taken.

But this sunrise was pretty worth it.

Other highlights of the trip included visiting a huge and cryptically gorgeous above-ground cemetery where Evita was burried. An antique market, a neighborhood with colorfully lined buildings called La Boca, and another neighborhood called Polermo. Beyond that, it was nice to be in a place long enough to catch our breath. We slept in the same beds for four nights, we were able to eat what we wanted when we wanted, and then there was the ice cream. If you ever go to Argentina, get ice cream every single day.

La Boca was super touristy, but super cute. A great place to visit for an afternoon.

Sophie and I checking out some glass work in the nearby market.

Pretty cool.

People still leave things at Eva Peron's grave every day.

I feel like I don't have too, terribly much to say about Buenos Aires, but I don't want that to make it seem like I didn't enjoy it. I did. It just all seems to meld together in a mass of graffiti, scents (or airs) both good and bad (and sometimes confusing), and incredible architecture. Oh yeah, the architecture... I almost forgot. In an attempt to keep up with Europe, Buenos Aires created a huge number of buildings with absolutely stunning designs. And they're something you can't help but notice as you travel thought the city. We had the chance to visit a restored theater built in the early 1900s, and you could almost feel yourself being taken back in time. It was amazing.

Such a beautiful theater.

And I spotted this guy just as were leaving. Score.

Icebergs and Supercontinents

When we rolled into El Calafate, Argentina, it was obvious we all needed to unwind a little bit, and a little tourist town was a good place for it. After checking into our hostel, booking our glacier tour for the following day, and wandering around town for a little while, we settled into our hostel to just breathe for a minute.

Soph and I took a number of pictures like this... we're real cute.

Thankfully, there's not a whole lot going on in El Calafate to miss out on. The small town thrives on exactly one tourist attraction, the Glacier Perito Moreno, located approximately 90 km away. So we joined a swarm of tourists on the town's streets that are lined with over-priced shops and restaurants. After we were done with our resting, we visited one of these eating establishments. It was worth the price, though. The rustic steakhouse looked out over the waters of Lago Argentina with the Patagonian Andes far in the distance, and, as if that weren't enough, the food was incredible.

We turned in early that night in anticipation of our tour the following day. At eight o'clock in the morning our tour bus picked us and about 15 others up and started rolling around the Argentinian countryside. And it was beautiful. Although the area is literally surrounded by water in glacial lakes, the weather patterns created by the glaciers themselves and the surrounded mountain range make the area almost a desert. Aside from a few small shrubs and trees the are doing the best they can, the land is dominated by barren rolling hills and plateaus.

So beautiful.

I chased these sheep around for an embarrassing amount of time.

At several points the bus stopped so the guide could point out a bird of prey or a sheep, which were kind of cool, bus on one stop our tour guide told us to look at the "rhea" to our right. Do you guys know what a rhea is? It's an ostrich! I didn't know there were ostriches in South America, so I was really excited about finding out. Cause listen, gang, rheas in South America, ostriches in Africa, and emus in Australia are like an astounding example of Pangaea, and I think Pangaea is really cool.

Around noon we reached the national park where the best viewing of the glacier is. Our bus dropped us off so we could take a short hike and look at the glacier at a distance. Then it picked us back up and delivered us to the viewing platforms. Let me tell you something right now... glaciers are cool. They are. Number one: They're enormous. We're talking mile after mile of seemingly endless, craggy, blue ice. B of all: They really are blue, shockingly blue. And the water in the lakes surrounding them is also blue. The color seems to be suspended permanently in the water as though every morning someone is in charge of mixing in a packet of Powerade. They're really, really blue. Finally, watching a glacier calf is really, incredibly awesome. You've got to pay attention because if you wait to look until you hear the explosive crash of ice hitting the water, you've already missed it. However, if you happen to get lucky and see a huge chunk of ice plummeting into the water below, you won't be willing to even blink.

This glacier was huge!

A little sunburned here... but very pleased with all the glaciering.

Such a cool experience.

After the viewing platforms, we were able to take a short boat trip up near the face of the glacier for more pictures and a chance to watch the calfing from another angle.

That evening, after Ryan and Dan took a four hour nap (apparently glacier tours really take their toll on boys), we went to eat at a pasta place for our final meal in El Calafate. The next morning we made it to our flight (just in the nick of time, mind you) to Buenos Aires.

I left my heart in Patagonia

Before coming to South America, the only place that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I wanted to visit was Patagonia in southern Chile and Argentina. So visiting Torres del Paine was like a dream come true. The entire landscape in Patagonia is unreal. It truly feels like you're in a completely different world. In a series of miles you can be surrounded by deeply rolling hills covered in nothing but grass and shrubs before wind-gnarled trees come into focus, and then you find yourself stunted by mountains surrounded by painfully blue glacial lakes. 

I mean, THIS is the beauty we were dealing with, folks. Unreal.

Mountains, waterfalls... what more could you want?

When our bus neared the entrance to the park on Thursday morning, the expanse of the park was in clear view. We could see everything, even the Torres. And it was incredible. We took the catamaran to Campamento Paine Grande and started our 11km hike to Refugio Grey.

Me, on the catamaran, ready to go! Also, I look ridiculous.

Sophie, Dan and I... I represented Nebraska with this look for five days.

After maybe one-third of our hike, Lago Grey came into focus, and with it Glacier Grey. Yeah, that's right, I saw a glacier, no big deal. The farther we walked, the closer we got to the glacier and to where we would be camping that night. As far as weather goes, I think we got really lucky. Weather in Torres del Paine can be fickle at best. The sun's reflection off of the ice plain just northwest of the park makes it possible to experience rain, sun, hail and winds that will knock you over all in the span of several hours. However, our first day was mostly warm and sunny with just a taste of strong winds as we looked out over the glacier and lake.

The glacier is to the upper right, but Sophie was really excited about the iceberg.

When we got to camp, Ryan, Dan and Sophie decided to walk a little farther to get a better view of the glacier while I decided to lay in the sun and try to ask my legs for forgiveness. When they returned, we sat down for our first cooked meal of the trip: chicken soup mix with couscous and lentils. (How fancy and awesome are we?) It was also over this meal that I shared with the others that I would not be joining them for the remainder of the hike.

I did, unfortunately, miss some really incredible scenery.

Let's face it folks, I was completely out of my league. The 11km hike to Refugio Grey was beautiful, and I'm so glad that I did it, but the hike back to Paine Grande was daunting enough. I didn't feel like four more days of hiking approximately 70 more kilometers was a realistic choice for me. Could I have done it? Maybe? I don't know. But I do now that I couldn't have done it and been happy. If fact, I probably would have been pretty miserable. So, when we packed up camp early Friday morning, I stayed behind at Refugio Grey for another night. I napped in the grass as the sun shined on me at the base of a mountain. I walked up past the refugio to get a better view of the glacier. And I got complemented on my Spanish... TWICE. Here's a pretty accurate update on how learning Spanish is going for me. When I'm speaking to people who primarily speak with native speakers, they look at me as though they wonder why I'm even trying. HOWEVER, when I'm speaking with people who primarily speak with tourists, I am a Spanish-speaking goddess! So, if nothing else, this trip will be a huge boost to my Spanish-speaking self-esteem.

BUT... this was the view from my campsite at Paine Grande... no too shabby.

Saturday morning I woke up early and set off on the hike back to Paine Grande. I wouldn't say it was easier on the way back. I did, however, enjoy it a lot more. I took my time, sat by a few mountain streams where I filled up my water bottle and enjoyed the overwhelmingly beautiful scenery. Of course, when I got to Paine Grande I spent more time lying in the grass at the base of a mountain, an activity I'd be okay making a habit. That day and the next continued with more beautiful weather, and while I wasn't with my friends for a few days, Patagonia is a pretty great place to pass the time. Aside from the grass-lying activities I've already mentioned (trust me, they were plentiful), I met some fellow travelers, spent some time writing, listened to the chaos of languages that surrounded me, and took part in some of the best people-watching I've ever seen.

My bag all packed, ready to hop on the boat back to my friends.

Monday morning I packed up all my gear and took a ride back to my friends on the catamaran. We headed back to Puerto Natales to shower and eat Sophie-mandated pizza.

Buying Dried Fruit and Lentils

Now begins a series of blog posts throughout the next month that chronicle my (already experienced) month long journey through South America, specifically, through Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Enjoy.

The first two days of our travels were wildly successful. Sophie and I arrived at the airport in enough time for quick soda and palta before our flight left at 9:30 a.m. Little did I know, this would be the last palta I had for the next three and half weeks. Oh gosh... I don't think I've mentioned palta, yet. Technically, palta is simply avocado, and I already knew that I loved avocado... but the palta in Chile... holy cow. I would eat nothing else forever if I had the choice.

Much to our delight, Sophie and I found ourselves surrounded by a group of American and Canadian retirees touring southern Patagonia on the airplane. I had forgotten how awesome it was to be able to eavesdrop on every conversation that way going on around me. I can now say, with a lot of confidence, that being a nosy eavesdropper is one of my favorite things of all time. After a short stopover in Puerto Montt, Chile, Soph and I arrived in Punta Arenas. We learned that the last bus to leave Punta Arenas wasn't actually at 3 p.m. like we thought (our plane landed at 2), and we decided to grab a taxi and head to the bus station.

On the way into town, we were driving by a large body of water. Sophie asked me, "Is that the ocean?" To which I confidently responded, "Yes." Then, Sophie, showing her complete lack of confidence in my incredible intellect, asked the cab driver, "Eso es un lago?" (Is that a lake?) To which the cab driver responded, "No, es el mar." (No, it's the ocean.) As we pulled into town and took a closer look at the map, we realized it was not only the ocean, but also it was more specifically the Strait of Magellan. After we bought our bus tickets, Soph and I walked to the beach to get a better look. I'll be honest, the Strait of Magellan isn't a whole lot to look at, but it's pretty cool to have seen it.

Sophie and I attempting to take a picture with my automatic timer at the Strait of Magellan.

A kind stranger came and helped us out. Our arms are saying, "Look what we found!"

When we reached Puerto Natales and settled into our hostel, we found out that Dan and Ryan had got themselves struck in Argentina for another day. Therefore, it was up to us to buy all of the food we would need for our five-day trek, rent all of our gear, and buy whatever extra things we might need. I must say, for two people who had never gone trekking before, we nailed it. When the gentlemen arrived, we were almost completey prepared for out hike through Torres del Paine. They went with us on our last couple of errands, which included a lesson on how to put our tent together, and then we ate dinner with an Australian who was staying at our hostel at a seafood restaurant recommended by Omar, the man who ran our hostel.

Patagonia is stupid beautiful. This is the view from Puerto Natales.

 

Sophie and Dan with our friend, Australian Dan.

One picture of the Extreme(ly) Gringo Travel Gang (EGTG) before starting our journey.

All in all, the preparation we had to do to hike Torres del Paine went really well. Although I had read quite a lot online and Sophie and I both have an adequate level of camping knowledge, neither of us had ever undertaken preparations for a five-day backpacking trek. However, thanks to the fellow backpackers we met at Kawaskar Hostel, the information meeting we attended at Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales, and the general helpfulness of the people who live and work in the town (people preparing to hike Torres del Paine are a way of life there), Soph and I were able to do everything really easily. The next morning we said goodbye to Omar, promising to see him again in five days and headed to Torres del Paine.