Bolivia - Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol

Our last destination in Bolivia was Lake Titicaca. When we went to Peru for a two week escape from the Yukon winter back in 2008, we didn't have time to visit. This made the lake, which lies between Peru and Bolivia, a must see destination this trip. At over 3,800 metres above sea level, and over 8400 square kilometres, Lake Titicaca is the largest high altitude lake in the world. It is also considered the birthplace of the Incan civilisation.

We bussed from La Paz to Copacabana, the most popular spot to visit on the Bolivian side of the lake. Copa has about 50,000 inhabitants and lots of accommodations and other services for tourists. It's quite a pleasant place to visit. We did well to book a suite at Las Olas Hostel up on the hill on the edge of town with fantastic views over the lake and the city.

The view of the Copacabana harbour from our hostel.

Northern Argentina and Bolivia

We originally bought tickets from Iguazu to Mendoza in Argentina with plans to bus north to Salta and then into northern Chile. After travelling all the way to Puerto Williams and spending 23 days backpacking in our first 2 months in South America, we were starting to feel pressed for time. So we changed our flights to take us directly to Salta, and decided to leave northern Chile for another trip. Many of the high elevation places we'd wanted to visit were in the middle of the rainy season when roads can become impassable, so it wasn't much of a loss.

We used Salta as a base for some multi day trips in the surrounding area. First we took a 4 hour bus trip west to the small town of Cachi for a couple of nights. The steep road switchbacked over the Cuesta del Obispo pass then ran through the Parque National Los Cardones. Los Cardones are the candelabra cactus, and they are the only substantive plants in the area. Outside the park, the large cactus are harvested and milled for lumber to make doors, window frames, furniture and even rafters. While in Cachi we did a 20 km day hike along back roads that ran through several smaller villages and ended with a tasting at one of the local wineries.

Next up was a few days in Cafayate, the second most important wine area in Argentina after Mendoza. Since we'd skipped Mendoza, it only seemed right to spend a bit of time in Cafayate and sample the local products. It was also just a half day bus trip from Salta through colourful canyons and rock formations. It's a beautiful little town with just the right amount of tourism infrastructure. Lots of places to stay, decent restaurants, and numerous wineries in the region sprinkled among the cactus and rocks.

After returning to Salta we headed a few hours north to the Quebrada de Humahuaca. The UNESCO listed Quebrada is a narrow and very dry valley with amazingly colourful mountains and small indigenous towns. We settled into Tilcara for three nights and explored the area.

The hills south of Tilcara.

Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls

After bussing and boating well over 4000 kms south through Chile and Argentina we decided to splurge and fly back up north. First we took a rough zodiac ride across the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, Argentina. From there we caught a flight to Buenos Aires via Trelew for a few days, then on to one of the most astounding places we have ever seen - Iguazu Falls.

We always try to avoid large cities or at least get through as quickly as possible, but everyone we talked to told us that Buenos Aires (known as BA) was worth a visit. We had to pass through on our way to Iguazu Falls, so we decided to stay for a bit and decide for ourselves.

Since we only had three days, we tried to fit all the "must do" BA activities into our short visit. We stayed in the historic San Telmo area of BA with its colonial architecture and narrow, cobblestone streets. We wandered along Avenida 9 de Julio - the widest street in the world at fourteen lanes, plus two parallel streets of two lanes each for a grand total of eighteen lanes. We even managed to cross it twice, although it took us two green lights to make it all the way across. 

Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding
of Buenos Aires in 1936, the Obelisco de Buenos Aires
is in the middle of Avenida 9 de Julio.

Patagonia - The Dientes de Navarino

We didn't go all the way to Puerto Williams and Isla de Navarino just so we could brag about visiting the southernmost town in the world. We also went to do the Dientes (Teeth) de Navarino hike just south of Puerto Williams. Although Scott and Amundsen would probably disagree, the Dientes is (of course) billed as the southernmost trek in the world. So we've got that to brag about as well.

The raw numbers don't really capture the essence of the hike. If you include the walks from Puerto Williams to the trailhead and from the end of the trail back to Puerto Williams, it's around 45 kilometres in length. The highest point is Paso Virginia at only 3,280', although the hike does start pretty much at sea level. We were only on the trail for 4 days, and only actually hiked 3 of those days. Despite the easy numbers,  sometime late in our second day of hiking, Cyd decided that the Dientes was the hardest hike we'd ever done. And that was before the last and hardest day.

The hike was easy enough at the start. After walking about 4 kms along the gravel road from town to the trailhead, we followed the popular day hike trail to the top of Cerro Bandero. To this point, the trail is well marked and maintained. As you continue past the huge Chilean flag waving at the top of Cerro Bandero, not so much.

Looking west down the Beagle Channel from the top
of Cerro Bandero. Argentina in the distance.

Christmas at the end of the world.

We parted ways with Cory in Puerto Natales as she headed north to El Calafate, then Buenos Aires and eventually North Bay for Christmas. It was great to have some company for a while, and Cyd really enjoyed catching up with her friend after many years. We headed south to... the end of the world. When you travel in Patagonia, you see the phrase "El Fin Del Mundo" everywhere, and it often feels like it. Patagonia's position as the southernmost land on the planet (excluding Antarctica) is a big part of the marketing for the area.

Ushuaia, Argentina calls itself the southernmost city in the world. Puerto Williams, Chile is south of Ushuaia across the Beagle Channel on Navarino Island and disputes Ushuaia's claim.  Although it would be hard pressed to call itself a city, Puerto Williams is a registered municipality, so perhaps the southernmost town in the world would be a fairer statement. Then on the east coast of Navarino Island and slightly south of Puerto Williams is the fishing village of Puerto Toro. They settle on the "southernmost permanently inhabited community in the world." With the competing claims of Ushuaia, Puerto Williams and Puerto Toro we visited all three just to be safe.

First we hopped on a bus to Punta Arenas, Chile for a few days. Punta Arenas is the largest city in Patagonia with a population well over 100,000. It is a flourishing port and tourist hub with old downtown mansions leftover from the Patagonian wool boom.

December 23rd was my birthday. While we spent Cyd's birthday in September dealing with snowstorms and floods in Utah, I got to spend my birthday on the high seas. We boarded a ferry at 6:30 pm for a two hour ride across the Strait of Magellan to Isla Magdalena where we spent an hour in the wind and rain hanging out with 120,000 Magellanic penguins. The island is pretty much completely bare, and completely covered with penguins as far as we could see. They hung out in their burrows with their babies, conducted important looking debates in small groups, and purposefully strutted around the island as only penguins can. They were smaller than we expected - one of 17 species of penguin, Magellanic penguins max out at about 30" tall - but just as cute as we'd imagined.

Penguins everywhere you looked.

Patagonia - Torres del Paine

When we first started making plans for an extended visit to South America, Torres del Paine was the first place on our itinerary. It's also on most "best hikes in the world" lists. There are numerous trails to hike at Torres del Paine, but most people do one of several options that include a trip up to the Mirador (lookout) de Las Torres. Many people do it as a long day hike, while many do it as part of the popular "W" trail (named for its shape) over 4 - 6 days. We weren't travelling all this way to take any shortcuts, so we planned 10 days to do the full Paine Circuit, about 130 kms of mountains, lakes and glaciers.

Torres del Paine is just north of Puerto Natales, so we had to cross back into Chile. At our request, Cory had brought down some dehydrated backpacking meals for the trek as this type of food is almost impossible to find in South America. Chilean customs are notoriously picky about allowing food into the country, so we let Cory be the mule and carry the meals in her backpack. We all sighed with relief when she managed to convince the authorities that dehydrated camping food was no threat to the integrity of the Chilean agricultural system.

Puerto Natales has all the same amenities as El Calafate - lots of accommodations, restaurants, outdoor stores and tour companies. It is more affordable and somehow manages to escape the touristy feel of El Calafate. It felt like a real town that just happened to be the gateway to some of the best hiking in the world. We quickly completed our food shopping when we arrived in town, enjoyed some great beer and burgers at Baguales brewpub, then headed to the park the next day.

Looking back at Refugio Las Torres on Day One.

Patagonia - Perito Moreno Glacier

To give ourselves a bit of a rest between the Fitz Roy hiking and our longer Torres del Paine trek, we decided to hang out for a couple of nights in El Calafate and visit the Perito Moreno glacier. The glacier trip had all the things we dislike about over popular tourist attractions - busloads of visitors and expensive entry fees, transportation, food and gift concessions. Of course there are very good reasons the Perito Moreno glacier is so popular. It is one on the most active and accessible glaciers on the planet and was definitely worth putting up with the crowds and high costs.

The view of the glacier from the parking lot.