Posts

Showing posts from 2018

The Towers of Patagonia: Torres del Paine

Image
“Que mierda (shit)” the driver said in Spanish. The car sputtered and I jerked forward in the seat. Those words, and the feeling growing in my gut, were ones I hoped to avoid. The car sputtered again. “We are out of gas” he said. My mind immediately went to my water and food supply. We could stay in my tent until someone passed to give us a hand worst case scenario. A smile crept across his face and he laughed. He flipped a switch to the right of the steering wheel and hit the accelerator. “I have a big extra gas tank. I’m just joking!” It was an average afternoon hitchhiking the barren landscape of Southern Patagonia. Green eyes greeted me at the hostel. I responded with a smile and took particular interest in the Italian woman. She was travelling with two friends from Greece and Switzerland she met during her travels. We bonded over life on the road while the wine began to pour like the conversation, smoothly. Puerto Natales wasn’t my favorite town, but meeting the right people

An Adventure on the Bottom of the World

Image
I was about to begin my first major hike through Patagonia: the Sierra Valdivieso Circuit. Without a hiking partner, I decided to register with the Argentine Civil Defense Force. The warnings and recommendations from the officers were digested, but there was a good weather window. I knew I had to take the opportunity. Prepared for a difficult hike in the mountain range north of Ushuaia, what was another few miles walking to the trailhead? The eight miles to the trail were as good as walking along a road could be. Whether in Ushuaia, on a road, or on a mountain, spectacular scenery was abundant. After sevenish miles, and before entering the mountains, I stopped for lunch. Lunch consisted of a can of tuna, cereal bar, and a spoonful of Nutella. Seated on a cliff overlooking a beaver dam on the Olivia River, a quick roadside lunch took on a new meaning. An interesting invasive species, Canadian beavers were introduced by fur traders to the area and have since wreaked havoc on the fo