Chapter Seventeen
Ushuaia to Punta del Este, Uruguay
Again an excellent service was provided by VW Ushuaia
including repairing the broken windscreen wipers. After leaving Ushuaia we
backtracked across Tierra del Fuego and crossed the Magellan Strait again to
Tierra Firma. Our next adventure was a long hike into the mountains of Torres
del Paine National Park. We drove to Puerto Natales, a pretty little fishing
town overlooking another channel across from which was another magnificent
backdrop of snow-covered mountains in the distance..jpg)
After purchasing some
supplies for our hike we drove north, spending a few moments visiting a huge
cave along the way, Cueva Milodon. A drive along a rough dirt road led us deeper
into Torres del Paine National Park and ever closer to the spectacular mountains
that we could see from a long way off. The high rock towers of grey granite,
after which the park was named, seemed to form the outer rim of a huge cake tin
with its centre raised by another sheer tower of rock. Words are sometimes
superfluous to describe the incredible beauty of this remarkable planet that man
seems determined through greed, lust for power, corruption and high technology
to destroy!
We camped along the edge of a lake in calm tranquillity. The
following morning at daybreak a series of gale force winds almost blew off the
pop-top from the van. I awoke to the sound of tearing canvas and creaking hinges
being wrenched free and managed to get up just in time to prevent the entire top
from being blown completely away. As Raymond was sleeping amongst the trees
somewhere and was nowhere to be found at this urgent moment, I had to deal with
the problem of tying down the top, without letting it go and then turning the
van into the wind, all this while still half asleep! I succeeded eventually and
felt relieved once the top was secured! Before long my good companion appeared
after a well rested night, completely oblivious to any near disastrous
circumstances!.jpg)
Our hike into the mountains required us to walk all day
against this same fierce gale at an acute angle with eyes half-closed. Taking
photographs of this absolutely picturesque environment proved difficult to say
the least! It was an incredible hike, the difficulties probably adding to the
delight. After walking across open prairie we followed a well-worn trail that
went along a narrow tree-lined ledge over a fast flowing river before coming to
the shores of an emerald green lake where waves were whipped up into a frenzy of
fury with whitehorses spraying us with water as we passed along the trail
nearby. Despite these obstacles the view became more astounding as we approached
these magnificent mountains. Towards late afternoon we came across a small log
cabin, traditionally known as a 'refugio', a place for shelter. This cabin
provided a roof over our heads during our stay in the mountains, enabling us to
stay warm while we slept and cooked our meals without any discomfort. As we sat
comfortably around a wood-burning combustion stove eating our meal and drinking
a cup of hot chocolate, we heard the incessant wind howling furiously outside
and whistling through small holes in the tin roof.The following morning we continued our hike along a
moss-covered pathway through an enchanting verdant forest wearing our
weather-proof clothing which proved invaluable against the cold wind and misty
rain that fell continuously, blanketing the entire area with moisture. We hiked
as far as the awesome Grey Glacier and rested awhile there before turning back
and climbing towards the rock towers of grey granite that loomed so precariously
close over us from this vantage point. The wind had blown out some of its fury
by this stage, enabling us to enjoy more reasonably, the panoramic vistas that
surrounded us and to reflect upon the absolute beauty of mother nature!After enjoying our tremendous hike into the park, we returned
along the same trail by the river to the van, this time with the wind behind us!
As we drove out of the park, rays of low-angle sunshine lit through puffs of
white cloud onto the towers of rock that we had just visited, enabling several
photographs to be taken that could be considered suitable for the cover of my
planned book.We returned to the dirt roads of the Patagonia and crossed
once again back into Argentina to visit, what I consider to be another of South
America's highlights, Perito Moreno Glacier. I'd heard much of this glacier from
travellers who had visited it and looked forward tremendously to viewing it for
myself and to compare it with the awesome Columbia Glacier of Alaska. Is it
possible however to compare one spectacular sight of nature with another? For
instance, how can one compare Niagara Falls of North America with Victoria Falls
of Africa and Iguazu Falls of South America? I have visited all three of these
magnificent masterpieces of nature and was completely overwhelmed by them all,
the only visible difference being that made by man! I found Victoria Falls and
Iguazu Falls still surrounded by lush tropical forests whereas Niagara Falls had
commercialisation and concrete structures all around and of course thousands of
visitors wandering everywhere.We arrived at Perito Moreno Glacier with expectant
anticipation and were not disappointed at what we saw! As we stood on top of a
tree-lined precipice directly overlooking this majestic glacier, we gazed in
total astonishment at the view before us. A solid wall of ice just fifty metres
away confronted us and stretched for miles into the distance until it too was
engulfed by the equally impressive chain of snow-capped mountains that marked
the border between Argentina and Chile. I was absolutely stunned by the
breathtaking magnificence of this inspirational view. Clearly visible was a wall
of ice over fifty metres high, that stretched for two or three miles along the
surface of a pristine lake, the colour of emerald-green. The vista was made even
more impressive because it was possible to walk very close to the glacial wall
and view it whilst looking up at its white walls of carved ice from just five
metres away, with the ever present possibility that at any time a huge chunk of
ice could break away from the wall and crash thunderously into the lake below
with an almighty splash, unleashing a wave that could engulf the unwary visitor.
In fact during the whole time that we were present, there was the constant roar
of huge chunks of ice breaking away from the ice wall and crashing tumultuously
into the icy lake and floating away as huge icebergs. Hundreds of these icebergs
could be seen floating immediately below the ice wall. Huge cracks and crevasses
could also be seen developing constantly in the wall, which after some time
would crack further apart, yielding another immense mass of ice breaking off and
crashing into the water. Sometimes you could determine the next break in the
glacier and wait in anticipation for the crashing thunderous splash!Raymond and I decided to spend the night near the glacier so
as to sleep with the constant cacophony of breaking ice. The only place possible
was the carpark located on the precipice immediately in front of the glacier. We
did read signs however that no overnight camping was allowed but decided to
gamble on no park rangers visiting us to enforce the rules. Besides, one of the
tyres had also gotten another puncture which I decided to repair the following
morning. Raymond went off into the forest to find a place to sleep. Suddenly at
midnight the sound of people knocking aggressively on my van woke me up. The
rangers!! To enforce the rules!! From all of the places that I had visited so
far this was the first time that I was to be sent away! And from such a
spectacular setting with no other location nearby where it was still possible to
hear the creaking and groaning glacial sounds! Not only that, I had to repair
the puncture there and then, as well as look for Raymond. After wandering a few
minutes in the forest I noticed a glow somewhere ahead and was surprised to find
a campfire which he had lit in the national park forest and was astounded when I
discovered that he was nowhere to be seen! He had obviously gone for a midnight
stroll down to the glacier to admire its charm and beauty at night. I followed a
path that led me groping about in the darkness to the edge of the glacier. I
needed to find him and warn him of the presence of the rangers because if they
discovered a campfire in the middle of a national park forest, and without
anybody attending it, all hell could break loose! He showed up finally, unaware
of the precarious situation that he could have placed us in. I was able to
surreptitiously warn him to return and extinguish the fire while at the same
time gather his belongings. This entire ordeal took at least two hours and while
I was repairing the puncture, Raymond tried to convince the rangers to allow us
to stay, to no avail! Therefore, at three o'clock in the morning, disappointed
and reluctant, we drove away from one of South America's great highlights!On the road again across the flat and desolate drylands of
Patagonia, we finally arrived at the main north-south artery of asphalted
highway linking Buenos Aires to Rio Gallegos. This signified no more dirt roads,
for a while anyway, except for Valdes Peninsula. As there was very little
traffic we celebrated with a delicious breakfast cooked at the roadside. We
turned north and drove along the Atlantic coastline, stopping at San Julian, to
reflect upon the winter months that Ferdinand Magellan suffered here with his
crew on that momentous voyage of the first circumnavigation of the globe in
1509. Other crewmembers were literally to suffer more here as several mutineers
who rebelled against the harsh conditions were discovered. They were hung, drawn
and quartered at this lonely bay, a horrendous yet common form of torture in
those bloodthirsty days. Some years later on his first circumnavigation, Francis
Drake hung another mutineer, Thomas Doughty, at the same location. It was now a
tranquil bay protected from the Atlantic Ocean rollers by a rocky peninsula.
Today children play upon its shores unaware of what happened here centuries ago
in a bygone era.At Comodoro Rivadavia, a large fishing port as well as a
service town for outlying farms in Patagonia, VW serviced the van and repaired
the damaged pop-top.Heading north again we made another sidetrip, this time to
the Valdes Peninsula where whales which have migrated from the colder Antarctic
waters give birth to calves in a protected bay just off the peninsula. Thousands
of sea elephants, sea lions, seals and penguins also gather here in relative
safety away from predators and from man. Travellers wanting to visit are urged
to respect this unique ecological environment.By this time Christmas was approaching and as we travelled
further north the suns' rays became stronger, allowing us to enjoy some
delightful beaches along the Argentinian coastline for some swimming and
relaxation. One of these beaches was Mar del Plata, where we spent Christmas Day
among thousands of Argentine beachgoers who come regularly to this resort every
summer to enjoy the superb sunny weather.Upon our arrival in Buenos Aires we parked the van in the
port again, with views over the city centre and the shipping that entered and
exited this attractive harbour. Once again I made contact with some of the
tugboat crews who had been so kind to me many months earlier. Together with
Raymond, we took another tug out to the harbour entrance and watched the captain
and crew perform their duties as they towed a freight-laden ship to one of the
many docks in preparation for unloading. Due to the summer conditions,
mosquitoes in their thousands, coming from nearby marshes, made it unbearable to
stay in the port more than a couple of days this time. Besides I had already
lived here for three months before and felt that I had become well enough
acquainted with this interesting city. I also had an additional passenger to
consider and therefore, apart from obtaining visas for Uruguay, there really was
no other reason to stay except to go for another workout at the gym and have
another hot shower to wash off the road dirt.After our short visit to Buenos Aires, we drove around the La
Plata estuary into Uruguay and into another country where we immediately noticed
several old jalopies that were still being driven around as transport. We saw
many of them driving along the Uruguayan highways, automobiles from the twenties
and the thirties, nowhere else in the world had I seen so many still running so
smoothly.Montevideo was disappointing as far as interesting capital
cities are concerned. The Spanish colonial fortress and its walls, long ago
dismantled, were replaced with boring, dirty buildings that did not impress me.
Nearby, just outside Montevideo, was a little museum dedicated to the
"Admiral Graf Spee", a German World War II pocket battleship (swift,
heavily armed cruisers) which preyed on British merchant ships. It had been
scuttled just outside Montevideo harbour, when the captain realised that he
would have had to fight it out with three British cruisers in order to reach the
open seas. Rather than give away the secrets of construction and weaponry to the
British, he had the entire crew taken off and the ship filled with explosives.
With a bare minimum of crew required to manoeuvre the great ship into the outer
harbour, the pocket battleship was positioned just off the coast and blown up,
sinking within sight of the three British cruisers. Captain Landsberg committed
suicide after this incident.
We drove to Punta del Este, a popular Uruguayan beach resort
located on a narrow peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful
beaches were plentiful on both sides of the peninsula here where the wealthy
from Montevideo and Buenos Aires come to play, living in many apartment
buildings and luxury homes that line the tree-lined avenues. Many people come to
Punta del Este every year to enjoy the New Year festivities in perfect summer
sunshine..jpg)
We too stayed a few days, camping our van overlooking a splendid beach
and watched the comings and goings of the well-to-do Latin Americans. Some of
these beaches along the Uruguayan coastline reminded me of the beaches near my
home town in South Australia. Both coastlines are located at similar latitudes
south of the equator.