Snaps from the SBSB
Saturday, December 06, 2003
Friday, December 05, 2003
Hi All,
Iīve had a shave. Getting off the boat from Puerto Montt I decided I looked a little too Captīn Birdseye. Naomi might kiss me now too. I canīt show you cos the lady in the internet cafe is a bit scary and I dont want to break anything
We had a great trip down on the boat. It finally sailed at 1pm. Only 18 hours late. We met some great French guys on board. Mike (who has lived there since 76) Laurent, Eric and Renaldo. Iīm guessing at the spelling here. They took us under their wing and invited us to join them for apperitives last night. We shared a cabin with another French guy, Bernard, who is in political excile apparently for doing something fairly serious to annoy the Free Masons.
Nomes and I had our best nights sleep so far, rocked to sleep by the motion of the boat and woke up to the stupendous views of the Fijords of Southern Chile. We got off at Puerto Chakabuko and shared a minibus with our French amigos to Coyhaique. We stopped on the way to go to a mini nature reserve and saw a stuffed Condor. Imagine a black labrador withwings and a beak. Thatīs how big it was.
In Coyhaique we found a great hostel and went to the Firemans Social for lunch. A room with no windows next door to the fire station. Stuffed. Image a standard poodle with chips. Thatīs how big it was.
We had to work it all off, so on the spur of the moment Nomes and I hired some bikes and went for a 15km cycle in the surrounding hills to look at the stunning mountains and rivers. Got some great pictures. I bust the quick release handle on the saddle within 5 minutes and so spent the whole trip with the seat just a bit too high. Now finding it difficult to sit down. Nomes was great up the hills I was good going down īem.
We are meeting Les Garcons at 10 for a drink and to "mettre les feu" as they say. Tomorrow we fly out to Punta Arenas - this will be our most southerly destination. We decided to fly as the bus situation was becoming far too complicated and this should leave more time for glaciers and treking. So after tomorrow we stop going south and start the long haul back to Buenos Aires. Missing yall at home and dont worry they are playing jingle bells (in spanish) in all the shops here too.
Finally, Alice if you are reading this you are a star.
Iīve had a shave. Getting off the boat from Puerto Montt I decided I looked a little too Captīn Birdseye. Naomi might kiss me now too. I canīt show you cos the lady in the internet cafe is a bit scary and I dont want to break anything
We had a great trip down on the boat. It finally sailed at 1pm. Only 18 hours late. We met some great French guys on board. Mike (who has lived there since 76) Laurent, Eric and Renaldo. Iīm guessing at the spelling here. They took us under their wing and invited us to join them for apperitives last night. We shared a cabin with another French guy, Bernard, who is in political excile apparently for doing something fairly serious to annoy the Free Masons.
Nomes and I had our best nights sleep so far, rocked to sleep by the motion of the boat and woke up to the stupendous views of the Fijords of Southern Chile. We got off at Puerto Chakabuko and shared a minibus with our French amigos to Coyhaique. We stopped on the way to go to a mini nature reserve and saw a stuffed Condor. Imagine a black labrador withwings and a beak. Thatīs how big it was.
In Coyhaique we found a great hostel and went to the Firemans Social for lunch. A room with no windows next door to the fire station. Stuffed. Image a standard poodle with chips. Thatīs how big it was.
We had to work it all off, so on the spur of the moment Nomes and I hired some bikes and went for a 15km cycle in the surrounding hills to look at the stunning mountains and rivers. Got some great pictures. I bust the quick release handle on the saddle within 5 minutes and so spent the whole trip with the seat just a bit too high. Now finding it difficult to sit down. Nomes was great up the hills I was good going down īem.
We are meeting Les Garcons at 10 for a drink and to "mettre les feu" as they say. Tomorrow we fly out to Punta Arenas - this will be our most southerly destination. We decided to fly as the bus situation was becoming far too complicated and this should leave more time for glaciers and treking. So after tomorrow we stop going south and start the long haul back to Buenos Aires. Missing yall at home and dont worry they are playing jingle bells (in spanish) in all the shops here too.
Finally, Alice if you are reading this you are a star.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Still in Puerto Montt. We stayed in the ROUGH hostel last night. It is next too the main port road and the window doesīt close. Wanna see the view from our window?
Well the inside was worse. We decided the only thing to do was go an have a slap up supper. We wondered along the front and found a retaurant which served the traditional meal of Curanto. It was amazing. A combo of mussels and shell fish, sausages and fatty lamb all cooked together. Here have a look......
Naomi took the interesting step of having mussels for starter too? We had a lovely bottle of wine and I finished it off with Pisco. Never have the last Pisco. Never. Unless you want to sleep for 10 hours through torrential rain and traffic outside your open window, in which case it`s a great idea :)
So today we got up with water dripping through the ceiling and headed into town to find a laundrette. We did eventually. Wandering round this town with a hangover and a bag of dirty washing in the rain was neither Nome`s nor my idea of a good time. Then headed back to discover that our boat is delayed until 4am tomorrow morning. Surprisingly we didn`t book back into the hostel again instead opting to sleep in the waiting room of the ferry terminal. We have now spent the last 3 hours in this travel agents/internet cafe. Nomes has booked our fast boat to the San Rafael Glacier for Saturday and I've been mucking up all the computers trying to upload the much demanded pictures of the Moose.........(this one was on the ferry back from Chiloe yesterday.)
Well the inside was worse. We decided the only thing to do was go an have a slap up supper. We wondered along the front and found a retaurant which served the traditional meal of Curanto. It was amazing. A combo of mussels and shell fish, sausages and fatty lamb all cooked together. Here have a look......
Naomi took the interesting step of having mussels for starter too? We had a lovely bottle of wine and I finished it off with Pisco. Never have the last Pisco. Never. Unless you want to sleep for 10 hours through torrential rain and traffic outside your open window, in which case it`s a great idea :)
So today we got up with water dripping through the ceiling and headed into town to find a laundrette. We did eventually. Wandering round this town with a hangover and a bag of dirty washing in the rain was neither Nome`s nor my idea of a good time. Then headed back to discover that our boat is delayed until 4am tomorrow morning. Surprisingly we didn`t book back into the hostel again instead opting to sleep in the waiting room of the ferry terminal. We have now spent the last 3 hours in this travel agents/internet cafe. Nomes has booked our fast boat to the San Rafael Glacier for Saturday and I've been mucking up all the computers trying to upload the much demanded pictures of the Moose.........(this one was on the ferry back from Chiloe yesterday.)
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
I'll tell you what, this seat is hard. Been sitting hear far too long answering emails and now me bot has gone to sleep. But thanks for all the messages and comments they are much appreciated and they have in no small way contributed to the sense of homesickness which decended on us earlier.The fact that we were in the middle of nowhere was also a contibuting factor. Feel much better now except I cant find much punctuation on this keyboard.
Anyway, last time I wrote I was about to go rafting. Now this was going to be extreme I thought. So I bowl up to the office where I find that my companions are a family from Columbia who are in one boat and Don, John and Hans in my dinghy.........Don was 70 John was 67 and Hans was in his late 50s. Dudes.
The rapids were big enough for a beginner like me and the two english boys were hysterical. We are going down through the white water, Hans and I paddling for all we are worth and they are happily singing Sailing Down the River on A Sunday Afternoon. And they knew all the words too, to all the verses! I think we'll have a nice bit of cake after this Don, don't you, says John. Splendid company.
On our return we met Naomi who had come to check her gear for the climb the next day and then the two of us headed for a beer. We got chatting to a couple called Matt and Joy who lived in a commune in Yorkshire. I got all Socialist Worker after the second beer.
We got up at 7 for the climb but as we had feared the weather was too bad, so we couldn't go. Instead we made a quick getaway and drove through the backroads to get a good look at the lakes of the Lake District. They were stupendous, but as the clouds were so low the we couldn't make out the volcanos in the distance. We then went to the phonetically spelt POO YEH WAY National park, took a hike into the clouds to get a view of the white then took a dip in a thermal bath. Just like Budapest.
On down the Panamericana to the ferry to Chiloe Island. 30 min crossing then more road to Acun and on to Castro the capital of the island. To get there we went through the longest traffic lights of all time. The road works were 20km long and the lights stayed red for 15mins. The people on a bus infront got out and started doing a Conga round the vehicle. I had to restrain Naomi from joining in
We styed in the Blue Unicorn hotel which was surreal and ate great seafood.
So this morning we drove to the Chiloe national park and took a long windswept walk on the beach. I felt really at home and a long way from home. It was a bit like Braunton Burrows. We then returned through the island lookoing for the international heritage sites that are the wooden churches of Chiloe. They were all closed or had collapsed. So back through the road works and across on the ferry to Puerto Montt where we dropped the car off. In the last 5 days we have driven 2500km and didn't get one speeding ticket.
We are now staying in a ROUGH hostel opposite the ferry port where tomorrow we get the car ferry for 24 hours to Puerto Chakabuko. I wonder if Don and John will be singing on that one too.
Anyway, last time I wrote I was about to go rafting. Now this was going to be extreme I thought. So I bowl up to the office where I find that my companions are a family from Columbia who are in one boat and Don, John and Hans in my dinghy.........Don was 70 John was 67 and Hans was in his late 50s. Dudes.
The rapids were big enough for a beginner like me and the two english boys were hysterical. We are going down through the white water, Hans and I paddling for all we are worth and they are happily singing Sailing Down the River on A Sunday Afternoon. And they knew all the words too, to all the verses! I think we'll have a nice bit of cake after this Don, don't you, says John. Splendid company.
On our return we met Naomi who had come to check her gear for the climb the next day and then the two of us headed for a beer. We got chatting to a couple called Matt and Joy who lived in a commune in Yorkshire. I got all Socialist Worker after the second beer.
We got up at 7 for the climb but as we had feared the weather was too bad, so we couldn't go. Instead we made a quick getaway and drove through the backroads to get a good look at the lakes of the Lake District. They were stupendous, but as the clouds were so low the we couldn't make out the volcanos in the distance. We then went to the phonetically spelt POO YEH WAY National park, took a hike into the clouds to get a view of the white then took a dip in a thermal bath. Just like Budapest.
On down the Panamericana to the ferry to Chiloe Island. 30 min crossing then more road to Acun and on to Castro the capital of the island. To get there we went through the longest traffic lights of all time. The road works were 20km long and the lights stayed red for 15mins. The people on a bus infront got out and started doing a Conga round the vehicle. I had to restrain Naomi from joining in
We styed in the Blue Unicorn hotel which was surreal and ate great seafood.
So this morning we drove to the Chiloe national park and took a long windswept walk on the beach. I felt really at home and a long way from home. It was a bit like Braunton Burrows. We then returned through the island lookoing for the international heritage sites that are the wooden churches of Chiloe. They were all closed or had collapsed. So back through the road works and across on the ferry to Puerto Montt where we dropped the car off. In the last 5 days we have driven 2500km and didn't get one speeding ticket.
We are now staying in a ROUGH hostel opposite the ferry port where tomorrow we get the car ferry for 24 hours to Puerto Chakabuko. I wonder if Don and John will be singing on that one too.
Sunday, November 30, 2003
On the Road, Jack Kerouac. Load of cobblers. We arrived at our surfers paradise last night and it was surprisingly very similar to Westward Ho! Felt right at home. It was cool and overcast but beautiful and the sand was black. We stayed in a very cute hotel with cosy blankets and yellow bed covers. There were a million restaurants with no one in them. We were too scared to be the first so we bought pizza, empanadas and cake and ate them with orange juice outside our room.
The next day we set off early to get to Pucon 400 K as the crow flies - the extrreme sport capital of Chile. However this meant going down the Panamerican Highway, thousands of km of 4 lane tarmac. Great, but we have a 4x4 and I wanted to use it. We read about a place called "The Seven Cups" a place where a waterfall had carved seven perfect pools out of the rock face and was only reachable by a 55Km dirt road. After getting a little lost we found the way and headed off asking every hat wearing Goucho if this was the correct way. They just kept waving up the mountain. The road was great fun to drive and after about an hour bumping and grinding we arrived. What an adventure......only to be greated by a bus load of school kids. How did they get here in that bus? This was supposed to be extreme! I felt a little deflated. But hey the waterfalls did not disappoint.
So after a little picnic we headed back down the road. I was feeling more confident behind the wheel, stuck it in 4x4 and hammered it. It took about 40 mins to get back to the tarmac. Brilliant. As we hit the paved road again we stopped to get a map from the boot. Nomes got out and related that we had a flat tyre. By the looks of it we had been driving on it for about 10 mins. Donīt panic, now where did the Hertz guy say the spare was? Now were you one of those kids who did Airfix models without looking at the instructions, got glue all over the place and realised in the end you had forgotten to put the pilot in before sticking down the cockpit? Well I was. I put the jack in the wrong place. It went high enough to get the tyre off but not high enough to put the fully inflated one on. I couldnīt then get the old one back on either. Rats. Now have you seen "Ice Cold in Alex?" Great movie. There is this bit where they lower the ambulance down onto some rocks to change the flat (which then collapses on the German spy) So we did that. Hey it worked with no undercover incidents! Got the jack out then put it in the right place and did it all properly. I was then just tightening the nuts when the car came off the jack and somehow the end got jammed in the suspension. Finally got it out by driving up a pile of stones. I am a spanner, serves me right. Just kept thinking of that sketch in the Fast Show where they those two idiots are all talk then yell, "Letīs off road!" only to get stuck 3 feet later. Naomi was fantastic she stayed very calm as I flustered about.
We decided it would be a good idea to get the spare fxed which we did, finding a lovely guy with some glue and a bit of old bike tyre. Cost a pound. We are running a bit late, it was 5pm and we have 450km to drive to our next stop. So we did. We arrived at 9.30pm and checked in to great hostel and had veggie food. We have just signed up to climb a volcano tomorrow (you have to wear crampons and a gas mask) and this avo Iīm going white water rafting. Nomes isnīt. So we have to finish up here so we can go for a bit of trek and get some exercise.
Thanks for all the comments
The next day we set off early to get to Pucon 400 K as the crow flies - the extrreme sport capital of Chile. However this meant going down the Panamerican Highway, thousands of km of 4 lane tarmac. Great, but we have a 4x4 and I wanted to use it. We read about a place called "The Seven Cups" a place where a waterfall had carved seven perfect pools out of the rock face and was only reachable by a 55Km dirt road. After getting a little lost we found the way and headed off asking every hat wearing Goucho if this was the correct way. They just kept waving up the mountain. The road was great fun to drive and after about an hour bumping and grinding we arrived. What an adventure......only to be greated by a bus load of school kids. How did they get here in that bus? This was supposed to be extreme! I felt a little deflated. But hey the waterfalls did not disappoint.
So after a little picnic we headed back down the road. I was feeling more confident behind the wheel, stuck it in 4x4 and hammered it. It took about 40 mins to get back to the tarmac. Brilliant. As we hit the paved road again we stopped to get a map from the boot. Nomes got out and related that we had a flat tyre. By the looks of it we had been driving on it for about 10 mins. Donīt panic, now where did the Hertz guy say the spare was? Now were you one of those kids who did Airfix models without looking at the instructions, got glue all over the place and realised in the end you had forgotten to put the pilot in before sticking down the cockpit? Well I was. I put the jack in the wrong place. It went high enough to get the tyre off but not high enough to put the fully inflated one on. I couldnīt then get the old one back on either. Rats. Now have you seen "Ice Cold in Alex?" Great movie. There is this bit where they lower the ambulance down onto some rocks to change the flat (which then collapses on the German spy) So we did that. Hey it worked with no undercover incidents! Got the jack out then put it in the right place and did it all properly. I was then just tightening the nuts when the car came off the jack and somehow the end got jammed in the suspension. Finally got it out by driving up a pile of stones. I am a spanner, serves me right. Just kept thinking of that sketch in the Fast Show where they those two idiots are all talk then yell, "Letīs off road!" only to get stuck 3 feet later. Naomi was fantastic she stayed very calm as I flustered about.
We decided it would be a good idea to get the spare fxed which we did, finding a lovely guy with some glue and a bit of old bike tyre. Cost a pound. We are running a bit late, it was 5pm and we have 450km to drive to our next stop. So we did. We arrived at 9.30pm and checked in to great hostel and had veggie food. We have just signed up to climb a volcano tomorrow (you have to wear crampons and a gas mask) and this avo Iīm going white water rafting. Nomes isnīt. So we have to finish up here so we can go for a bit of trek and get some exercise.
Thanks for all the comments
