Sink Hole (Video)

Riding through the Steppe

On Tuesday morning, I went to meet Gustav Holzmann, who leads horseback treks. While I wasn't up for a trek this time (see posting from July 07 about my horse trek through Kyrgyzstan), I did want to spend a couple of hours our and about on horseback. I asked him how he got a name like Holzmann living in Argentina and if he was from Germany. He proudly responded that he is Austro-Hungarian. It's not too often you have someone claim a place that hasn't existed in a century as their homeland. But that's Patagonia for you. There are Welsh colonies dotted throughout Patagonia, where they still carry on Welsh traditions.

The ride was very nice. I was with two Scottish people from Edinburgh for the ride, she was scared senseless of horses, that I couldn't figure out why she was there. We first went through the Patagonian steppe, which has that sandy/yellowish hue to it. We were led not by Gustav, but by another Gaucho, whose name I couldn't catch, because he never moved his jaw when he spoke. His lips moved (barely), but his jaw was clenched. What I did get is that he is from Patagonia and his family is still in the area. He had a windswept face, somewhat typical for a rancher in this area, where winds are often in excess of 6mph.

After we got to the top of the hill, you could see a great view of Lake Argentina (Argentina's biggest lake), which has a very deep blue color (as I later learned because of the glaciers).

We rode down hill, through dunes, and then alongside the shore. We were actually galloping, which is rather unusual for these types of tours. Usually all you do is go slowly. But apparently these gauchos take their business seriously, and we were riding for the vast majority of the time (and the bones and muscles in my body can prove it). Riding along the beach was great. We stopped for a picnic lunch before returning to Calafate.

This is my horse, Pallo Blanco (could be Pajo or Pago, I have no idea how to spell Argentine Spanish). He was very nice (and very blond).

Another shot of the steppe. In Patagonia there is the steppe, the forest, and then the Andes.

Saw some great flowers along the ride, here are some shots of my favorite alpine flower: edelweiss.

That's Gustav. Check out the knife. Typical for gauchos, but seriously, wouldn't it make you nervous to have a knife while bouncing around on a horse? I couldn't figure out why a gaucho would actually need a large knife.

And then it became clear. A gaucho needs a knife because you might be out by a lake riding with some tourists, when your dog, who has been by your side the entire ride, decides it would be fun to hunt wabbits. And then your dog catches the rabbit and brings it back to you in his mouth (making a slight detour to show it to me). So Mr. Gaucho whose name I could not decipher, strung up the rabbit along side his saddle and rode back to Gustav with dinner for the ranch. I imagine you can make goulash out of rabbit too.

The Camel, The Kook, and the Glacier

Before I even get started, I think this is my favorite picture of the day:

Greetings from El Calafate! Today I visited one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen in my life, the Perito Moreno Glacier. It's located about an hour and a half outside of El Calafate, which essentially makes it located in the middle of nowhere. The glacier is enormous, over 7k long, about a mile and a half deep, and really really wide. I took 177 pictures. I think that speaks for itself. I'll post some here, but the rest to Snapfish or something like that. And then I'll post the link. The glacier is one of the few in the world that is advancing - and this one moves about 2m every day. Because it is moving and growing, you can hear it moving, and better yet, you can see it moving, as it calves and just falls into the lake. I took a couple videos of this, which I'll post separately, as soon as Blogger lets me. For the first time in my life I a) understand why a glacier is an ice river and what it actually is, since I've never really seen one in action and b) how when I go places and they tell me the valley was created by a glacier, how that actually happened. Here is a massive chunk of ice, which is "flowing" by being pushed by more ice through the landscape, and it pushes everything in its path out of the way. Amazing.

On a random note before I get to the glacier, I have had a perpetual cold since before leaving for Argentina. Today it finally bugged me enough to go to a pharmacy. I walked in and went straight back to the pharmacist. I asked him if he spoke English. The standard answer is "a little bit," but this guy didn't even say that. So I demonstrate breathing through my nose, or the lack thereof, and he recognizes that I am congested. He pulls some spray off the shelf, puts it in a brown paper bag, and sends me to the cashier. I then ask him for Pseudoephedrine, but he doesn't understand what I'm saying. So I got the cashier and I ask him for Pseudoephedrine. After back and forth where I say the word and he repeats it, he exclaims "oh, pseudoephedrina!" I should have known to add an a. My bad. So he goes to the pharmacist, and you can see them having an animated conversation regarding the dumb gringo who didn't know that sudafed was called pseudeophedrina, and returns with my sudafed with ibuprofen. I asked if they had just straight up sudafed and they didn't. But apparently, if you walk into an Argentine pharmacy and demonstrate symptoms (real or otherwise) you get drugs. And sudafed does not appear to be a heavily regulated drug here...if you can figure out how to ask for it.

And since I don't want to keep you waiting any further for incredible pictures of Perito Moreno Glacier, here are a few. The first is a view of the face of the glacier, which is about 20m to 40m above water at different points. It's almost a straight face of ice, because if it isn't straight, then it calves and comes crashing into the water. I spent hours today just waiting around for various calves, and it was def worthwhile. The second picture is of an area of the glacier that as particularly active today. If you are able to enlarge the picture, the part that is closest in just lost a huge chunk, and you can see the blue ice more clearly. The third picture is taken from a higher vantage point, which allows you to see how long the glacier is, and how spiky it is on top. On Wednesday, I'm going on a 7 hour ice trek to the center of the glacier.

I started my day by heading to the Calafate bus station to grab a tour bus to the national park. I had the great misfortune to sit next to a guy who looked like an Argentine version of Tom Selleck, but made many camel noises throughout the 90 minute bus ride. I seriously thought I was sitting next to a camel (he kept on fluttering his lips and then spitting...strange). I prayed I didn't have to sit next to him on the way back. The Camel. As for the kook, while I was up on one of the balconies/observation points overlooking the glacier I met this Canadian who was on my tour bus. He seemed nice enough at first, but he kept on talking my ear off. At first it was fine, we were talking about sites nearby like Chalten and Fitz Roy mountain on the other end of the park. But then somehow we got to the topic of avocados. I mentioned I was allergic. He asked me "who are you allergic to?" I said, not who, but what, avocados. He told me he does holistic medicine and that people are not allergic to things, but to other people. So I need to figure out to whom I am allergic, because after that I'll be all cured. I guess I was born allergic to certain people since I never like bananas either. This was my first indication that he was kooky. But it got better, he told me about a book he's written about a diet consisting of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. He told me he cured a guy of leukemia in 10 days on this diet. The pity is that in between all these kooky things, he actually had some decent points. But then I was brought back to reality when he told me that lower back pain is 100% caused by financial stress. He can lift 75lbs boxes all day and not get hurt, but if he talks about money, he hurts his lower back. The kook. I think his name is Tom Woloshyn.

But I digress. I took an hour long boat ride to the face of the glacier and met lots of cool travelers. After the boat docked, I did this walk along this path that runs probably 2km alongside the glacier, going up and down....lots of steps. I befriended an Israeli couple that were very un-Israeli. They were super nice and friendly. I ended up hiking with them on and off throughout the day. After I reached some of the better vantage points along the path, I just stayed in each one to watch the glacier break apart.

Close up of the glacier wall:

Glacier wall from the boat:

A cave. I like to call this my ice palace. The White Witch (aka Queen of Narnia may live here):

Another closer-in shot:

And a great shot of the crags, peaks, valleys, etc on top of the glacier:

Edge of the Earth

View of Lago Argentina from the airplane. Notice the amazing blue color (sorry about the photo quality) of the water contrasted with the brown desert.


View of the mountains around Bariloche taken from the plane en route from Bariloche to El Calafate.

Fun Fact about Patagonia: Butch Cassidy and other outlaws, when fed up with the growing law and order (as opposed to growing lawlessness) in the West, ran away to Patagonia to start new lives. They thought its remoteness would provide security from the law. They were right. That is until they decided to start holding up Argentine banks. It was the most random thing I've learned about Patagonia thus far. I have Bruce Chatwick to thank, as I've learned lots of random facts from his book In Patagonia, which was pubished in the late 70s.

I arrive in El Calafate yesterday (Sunday). It looks like a western outpost. Some houses, hotels, buildings sitting a bit depressed from the surrounding hills/dunes. There is a nice main drag, but then you walk one block off and the roads deteriorate, sidewalks are made of dirt, and signing/lights go way down. It really does have a frontier town feel to it. Oddly enough, like most cities in Argentina, it also has a casino. I imagine that's the "saloon" where shootouts occur. Anyhow, being out here does give you a sense of isolation and that you are really at the limits of civilization. I am at the Edge of the Earth...don't be coy, I know, the earth is round, not flat, and has no edges. Just go with this one...