Tag: 27mm

Tierra del Fuego (Chile / Argentina)

Hi !

Located in the southernmost part of the world before reaching Antarctica, la Tierra del Fuego, a.k.a. The End of the World, is a land of adventure and cold wet windy weather. Here boats sink, people live in eternal winters, king crab is the best food and the nature rules ! It is also a place where the natives lived almost naked, using fires to keep warm, thus giving the name the place when the first sailors passed by and saw these fire from their boats.

As you drive from Puerto Natales (or Punta Arenas) to Tierra del Fuego, first comes the realisation of all the shipwrecks that built the myth. If most ships are now decomposing on the bottom of the oceans, seas and channels, so are forever part of the littoral. Reaching the ferry later made it clear that the strong currents are not for beginners.

Shipwreck_in_Patagonia.jpg

The southern part of the Tierra del Fuego is where the Andes ends. If in Peru the free air freezing zone (or bush line) is above 5000masl, here you only have to climb 700masl to enjoy all year round snow.

Roads_of_Tierra_del_Fuego.jpg

If I haven’t enjoyed Ushuaia as much as I should have, according to my traveling partner, the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego was a better surprise, the best chance to observe the vibrant green vegetation and a landscape shaped thousands of years ago by glacier.

Blooming vegetation of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
Blooming vegetation of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
Laguna Roca
Laguna Roca

Now at that point you may be noticing the grey cloudy sky and wonder if there’s any chance to see something more summer like. In short, yes, but only for a few minutes, for the wind will always end up bringing back these clouds.

Estancia_Caleta_Josefina.jpg

If I don’t have a lot of positive stuff to say about Ushuaia, I should write that my opinion is not mainstream. Many enjoy the city more than I did. However, something should be said about the king crab, and that I had the best ones there. So if this is something you are looking for, do not avoid Ushuaia.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

 

Salinas Grandes of Tumbaya (Argentina)

Hi !

Whenever I’m talking about the places I’ve visited, there’s always somebody to tell me that I shoud have been to this other place, better for it is ignored by the tourists. Today I’m doing this by trying to sell you that these salt flats are better that the Salar de Uyuni. Of course there’s no point trying to make the comparison, but, on the other end, it would be crime not to talk about the journey that took me there.

There are multiple ways to reach the Salar de Uyuni from Argentina, by either going to Tupiza in Bolivia or to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. We picked the latest. It took us through an amazing journey from Salta (Argentina) to San Pedro (Chile), crossing the border at the Paso de Jama at some 4200masl. At first, the road took us to some high jungle, until we reached the Provincia de Jujuy. From there the rocky Andean landscape replaced the lush green vegetation, offering dramatic scenery. We then drove to the high plateaux, passing salt flats after salt falts, until we were between huge volcanoes (some reaching almost 6000masl), driving at some 4800masl. Then, the descend to San Pedro (at some 2400masl) started, but instead of the usual snake-like mountain road, the 2400m descend was nearly straight, with a change of altitude so fast I started to feel like one of my eye would pop out of my head. But it did not, just my imagination I guess.

Why these salt flats ? The road simply pass through them, which is actually unique, and convenient. Oh, and you are not surrounded by thousand of tourists, so way better 🙂

To finish, here’s a view of the sunrise…

Dramatic_sunrise_over_the_Salinas_Grandes_de_Tumbaya.jpg

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

La Hornocal, or Cerro de 14 Colores (Argentina)

Hi !

The Andes offer quite a lot of features, with the rainbow mountains probably been one of the most photo friendly one. Here above is La Hornocal, or Cerro de 14 Colores (Mountain of 14 colours) which can be reached quite easily by car in Argentina and are best enjoyed around the sunset, from a Mirador at about 4200masl (provided you can bear the high altitude).

There are many other examples of these rainbow mountains, all formed though billions of years of tectonic movements and volcanic eruptions. Another testiment of nature true power, and also of the general randomness of things, as how many chances was there that these colours would mix so well.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

La Boca, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Hi !

Buenos Aires is a city I always wanted to visit. From the best barbecued meat to the sophisticated tango, with a so-so economy and the promise of finding a vibrant popular art scene, I thought it would look like what Paris must have been before the gentrification happened. So what better to begin with than La Boca, probably the most colorful, yet one of poorest part of Buenos Aires, with strong historic importance for been one of the oldest part of the city and one that bear most of the scars of the city economic development.

It was the first port of the city and home of the largest immigrant community. It was the birth place of the tango (as a music and a dance). But the port eventually closed when a bigger and more modern one was built somewhere else, so then the neighborhood became more industrial, which took a turn for the worst as economic crisis hit Argentina. It was only when Buenos Aires artist Benito Quinquela Martin invested his money to finance some essential public services (hospital, school, …) that the neighborhood came back to life, painted with vibrant colours, inspired by the colorful art of Benito.

I like this picture of the port for they even painted the wharf, something usually left undescorated. The colors reflection on the water changed something usually grim to a pleasant view I would love to look at from my apartment.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

 

Inca Trail day 4, Intipata to Machu Picchu (Peru)

Hi !

Final day of this epic journey to the world’s 7th wonder, the Machu Picchu, it is also the most relaxed one. Only about 6 km to walk, mostly flat (or Andean flat, which means a bit up or a bit down).

Hiram Bingham discovered the Machu Picchu before he found the trail(s) leading to it. After cleaning up the Machu Picchu, he followed a trail and found the Sun Gate, and kept following that trail a uncovered the Inca Trail as we know it today. Then the consensus was that there was only one path to Machu Picchu, though by now 7 more have been found, going in various directions.

Arriving at the Sun Gate is a magical thing. First because there’s a horde of regular tourists who came by the bus station, and they only can have this view by hiking up the gate. Second because the view is just insane, though here apparently we were exceptionally lucky to have another crystal clear blue sky.

Of course, when you continue from the gate to the Machu Picchu, the magic goes away for you realise you are now one of the 3000 other tourists there. The feeling is weird as having done the walk to get to enjoy it, I sort of felt more entitled than the rest of been there… however the only advantage I had was that I could just scream that I haven’t shower for four days to get some space when the crowed thickened.

This journey was by far the best trekking I’ve done in my life… Sure this is not a private and true nature experience, but walking through this incredible landscape, on a road build some 600 years ago, passing through ruins and feeling the glorious past of the Incas is just plain awesome.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

 

Inca Trail day 3, Pacaymayo to Intipata (Peru)

Hi !

The third day is synonym of high jungle (and rain forest), which is basically jungle in the mountain, a concept that is mostly possible for Peru is a tropical country. It also means a lot more Inca ruins, all hidden in the lush green vegetation of this high jungle, so it has an Indiana   Jones feeling that I must admit, made it the best day on this trail.

But before you get to enjoy it, there’s the usual climb of these steep stair to begin with, in order to deal with the Runkuraqay pass (3900masl). We were all sort of scared, for the previous day left us with sore bodies, but it turned out to be rather easy climb, with terrific view on a beautiful ruin. Our guide promised us that it would be the last difficulty for the trip.

Once the pass was dealt with, the day lived up to our expectation. Ruins after ruins, gringo killer stairs after gringo killer stairs, tunnels carved in huge granite rocks, gorgeous views, and the green vegetation only missing birds singing and monkeys screaming, the journey to Machu Picchu became the adventure we were looking for, full of stories on how Hiram Bingham discovered all this forgotten heritage.

Cherry on the cake, as we were in a rain forest, it is rare to have a dry day there… we were the lucky ones, it was such a great weather to hike: crystal clear blue sky and comfortable temperatures !

Now I could have show you all of that, instead, but it turns out I kinda suck at shooting ruins, so instead I’ll leave you with the busy activity on one of the resting stops, where most groups (but not us) usually have lunch on that day.

Would I do the Inca Trail again ? For that day I’m tempting to say “yes, yes and yes !”…

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

Inca Trail day 2, Wayllabamba to Pacaymayo (Peru)

Hi !

Oh that second day ! No ruins, nothing to learn about the Inca except that the stairs they built are steep, and there are so many of them to climb !! 1200m elevation gain to reach the Warmiwañuscca (Dead Woman) pass at 4200masl, with the joy of fighting against the thin air !!!

Surprisingly, considering the night camping and my previous experience at high altitude, we made it rather easily up there. It takes usually 5 hours to climb up and 2 hours to climb down to the next camp, and we needed 4 hours for the uphill section (including the breaks) and 1h15 for the downhill section. The weather was spectacularly good, so we where able to enjoy 30 minutes of view, until another reality hit us: we need food (we purposely decided not to have a lunch break half way through the climb to not deal with digestion during the steepest sections) !

As you can imagine, the obvious reward for all this effort is the view. On one side (not the picture above), there’s the view on the Wayanay glacier; on the other side (the above picture), the view on a valley and the what will be tomorrow challenge: the Runkuraqay pass (at 3900masl). This section of the Inca Trail is about the spiritual journey, as the mountain are sacred for the Incas, and while I haven’t found my religion, I would definitively agree that there’s something majestic about these mountains.

I cannot leave this post without a picture of the Wayanay Glacier…

Inca Trail day 2 (Wayanay Glacier)

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

 

 

Inca Trail day 1, km 82 to Wayllabamba (Peru)

Hi !

This is the first of the 4 articles about the highlight of my first time in the Peru: the Inca Trail. Starting from km 82 (at the train station close to Ollantaytambo), the first day is all about climbing from a low 2600masl to 3000masl and acclimate for the next day.

So a gentle day in essence, good to stretch the legs and enjoy some Inca ruins and a rather dry weather. It is also a great opportunity to take a look at the Salcantay glacier, though frequently covered with clouds (just like on this picture). There are a few ruins along the way, some a bit far and some you’ll pass right through. The camping site of that night was incredibly well located, with a beautiful view on the Wayanay glacier (in front of us) and the Veronica glacier (on the left side). There was also a view on the daunting Warmiwañuscca pass, also know as the Dead Woman pass…

When I have cleaned the GPS trace properly, I’ll add the detail about the journey to this post. Until so, I’ll leave you with this picture taken at the very beginning of the day.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned.

Moray (Peru)

Hi !

If for most people Moray is all about these round terraces the Incas built to farm experimental crops of corn and potato, I was a lot more interested by the view of the glacier on the other side.

The Inca site itself is really nice, though probably not that high in the list of thing to see, for it is just terrace and a short 30 minutes of explanation. The round terraces (or so they look) are impressive, but a lot is left free to imagine, for there are few hard evidence (and next to no documentation) of what this site was really about.

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

Inca Trail through the Sacred Valley (Peru)

Hi !

Well, this picture is not really showing much about the Inca Trail itself, but it sort of lay the expectations for what will be this incredible journey through Peru most sacred area. The Incas, aware that the spanish will make an attempt at conquering this part of Peru, decided to remove the trace of the road leading to Machu Picchu (which was sort of paved), successfully hiding the most sacred of all site. It is only several centuries later, in the early 1900, that Hiram Bingham discovered what would become the Inca Trail, subsequently leading him to the Machu Picchu. To be fair, it is likely that others knew about the site, but he was the one discovering it for us.

Therefore, this site has the particularity of having been left alone for centuries (as it was forbidden to non noble Incas to go there, it really got forgotten). When I’ll see a running fountain, I should pay my respect to the engineer who built it to last un-maintained for that long !

But before talking about the coming adventure, I need to give you my impression on the Sacred Valley. Though I learnt a little bit about the Inka, it is mostly ruins. And before you get the chance to visit them, there’s the mandatory passage through the various souvenir stores, all showing handcrafted stuff that could not look any less handcrafted. So much potential waisted in trying to rip the tourist. The ruins themselves are sort of repetitive, and really what makes it so special is probably the surrounding landscape.

Back to the main story !

So seven days from now I’ll be putting my foot on the Inca Trail, following an old road laid by the Incas to take us from km 82 (Piscacucho) to the Machu Picchu, some 48km away. It will require us to pass a 4200masl pass (known as the Dead Women Pass), and climbing down some 2000 stairs. As I’m not in my prime years anymore, we took the 5 days options, which would mean a lot of time up there taking photos and watching endless flows of clouds passing the giants surrounding us. There’ll be also porters and cookers, so really it just about as adventurous as trying to score a decent meal in Paris. The barely freezing temperature at nights will just make any visit to the bathroom very well calculated.

Day 1: We’ll start at some 2400masl and walk some 10km to the first campsite, Hatuncacha, at some 2900masl.

Day 2: We’ll walk some 16.5km, pass the Warmiwañusca (Dead Women Pass) at 4215masl and finish at the second campsite, Pacaymayo, at some 3630masl

Day 3: We’ll walk some 11km, pass the Runkuracay (second pass) at 3900masl and finish at the third campsite, Phuyupatamarka, at some 3640masl.

Day 4: We’ll walk some 11km, going down to our third campsite, Puente Ruinas at some 2030masl.

Day 5: No walking, just catching the bus to be among the first to the Macchu Picchu.

There will be plethora of ruins and curiosity along the way. I’m gonna say the Condors will be looking at me like some potential diner, for I’m absolutely not fit, but if I can give a little something back to nature…

Enjoy (or not) and stay tuned !

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