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November 09, 2004

Michelle vs. the Volcano

I used my time in Santiago to regroup and relax before I started on a tour heading down the coast to Ushuaia, my jumping off point for Antarctica. I did manage to find a Ruby Tuesdays in the city and successfully gorged myself until I could barely breathe. (For those interested, I had spinach artechoke dip for an appetizer, and then a combination plate of bbq ribs, chicken fingers and breaded shrimp for a meal.) It was grrrreeeat! Traditional South American food is like being on the anti-Atkins diet. The food is predominately breads, pastas, potatoes, and whatever other starchy carbs they can come up with. I also revisited the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolumbino for a second time, since the first time I visited was a month ago when I first arrived in Santiago, and was hopelessly jetlagged from the flight from Australia. It was much more interesting in a coherent state of mind.

Leaving Santiago, we headed south toward a region called Patagonia (it's more than a clothing retailer), which is the the area that makes up most of the southern end of the continent of South America. It covers almost a third of South America, but is inhabited by only 5 percent of the population. It's a sort of mecca for outdoor enthusiasts - riddled with lakes, glaciers, fjiords, volcanos, mountains, hotsprings, and petrified forests. I'm going to LOVE it.

On the way we stopped at a popular waterfall, called Salto del Laja, it is right off the main road, and therefore a very busy spot. I thought it was funny that there was a sign for "no bathing" near the waterfall. Seems like common sense, but maybe not. We also passed some spectacular fields of yellow flowers or plants, I'm not sure what they are. If anyone can tell me, I'll send you a postcard.

The first destination was in a little town called Pucon, in the Lakes District of Chile, about 12 hours south of Santiago. There are all kinds of adventure activities to do here, including river rafting, mountain biking and mountain climbing. I decided to climb the Villarica Volcano, an active volcano 2800 meters ASL. Its last major eruption was in 1984, and it now blows out puffs of smoke regularly. Some think it is due for another major eruption, which could obliterate the town of Pucon. That would be a shame because so far Pucon is the cutest town I´ve seen in South America, reminiscent of a Swiss Alpine village.

After being geared up with crampons, ice axes, and waterproofs, we began our ascent at about 9 in the morning. It is also possible to ski down the volcano, and because of this there are chair lifts that can take people part way up the mountain. Chair lift? Come on, isn't this supossed to be a hike?. Most people took the chairlift, which knocked about an hour off of the total hiking time of 6 hours. I opted not to take the chairlift, along with only about 5 others. The entire climb was in snow, and some parts were very steep. I've climbed in ice/snow before, so I already knew how to use the ice axe to arrest if I were to slip, which is a good thing, because the group was not given any safety instructions prior to the climb. The tour company we used was the most reputable in town, but I guess it just goes to show the lack of safety awareness or enforcement in South America. There were several aspects of the climb and the descent that would NEVER be allowed if it was in the U.S. There were at least 10 people that turned back part way (sensible) because they knew that it was beyond their ability to get to the top.

There were some very nice views on the way up, and in some spots, it was hard to tell where the ice ended and the clouds began. The weather was relatively clear when we first started climbing, but unfortunately as we neared the top, it got very windy, the clouds rolled in, and it became near impossible to see anything. I was at the back of the group of 4 people I was hiking with and it was a bit scary the few times that the person only about 10 feet in front of me dissapeared in the clouds. Finally reaching the top was a little anticlimactic, since there were so many clouds that there really wasn't much of a view and i couldn't see the bubbling lava inside the crater that I was so looking forward to. We only stayed up there for about 15 minutes hoping the clouds would clear, but no luck. We began our descent down, and (this is the part that would never be allowed back home) after about 10 minutes of walking down with very little visibility, were told to sit in the snow and slide down the volcano, using our ice axes like paddles! What the...

I opted to use the ice axe as more of a brake, rather than a paddle, which I think was the smarter thing to do, since with all the clouds it was hard to tell where the drop offs and/or ice walls were. Unfortunately, a $@"&%$! girl behind me was completely out of control, laughing hysterically and came barreling at me at about twice the speed I was doing, with her ice axe pointed straight at me in the air. I managed to get out of the way of her axe but as she whizzed past screaming and giggling, she still hit me with her body and sent me spinning. And then of course she let go of her axe (the number ONE thing NOT to do). When I got down to the stopping point, she was there giggling with her friends and laughing about how she "hit about 3 people on her way down and dropped her axe on the way." What an idiot. I made SURE to stay well away from her, and everyone else who couldn't figure out how to properly hold their ice axes or that they should keep an adequate distance between them and the person in front of them, for the rest of the descent.

It was a great climb, unfortunately without the spectacular view at the top, but at least the volcano didn't erupt on me!

If you enjoyed this blog entry, please make a comment! I like to know who is out there e-traveling with me! Thanks!

Posted by msshell on November 9, 2004 12:34 PM
Category: South America
Comments

I liked the video made by Erik. Now that I'm motivated to travel the world. How about some motivation for school 'cause it's so not cool.

Posted by: jeff on November 9, 2004 10:27 PM

Nice pics. I want to climb a snow capped mountain or volcano. How about a glacier. I LOVE snow. Just not the little we get back home. Need feet apon feet like our folks talk about!!! Good Luck on the next adventure. Watch out for crazy girls with ice axe's. (women drivers) ;)

Posted by: jeff on November 9, 2004 10:32 PM

Mmmmm, I'm hungry now.....

Great photos!

Posted by: Kellie on November 10, 2004 01:34 AM

Wow! Everything looks so incredible and exciting. Everyone at my work is having a great time traveling the world via your blog. Can't wait to see you.

I think the yellow flowers are tansy, but not 100% sure.

Posted by: Sharlene on November 10, 2004 12:11 PM

Your description of South American food is very different and yet in some ways similar to the choices in the sled lab crapeteria (loaded with carbs). But at least the crapeteria has Slim Jim's for the carb conscious!

Posted by: Tim on November 11, 2004 10:10 AM

Ok, I will say it again...I'm jealous, hideously jealous!

Posted by: Michelle on November 11, 2004 09:57 PM

JEFF: Motivation for school? Sorry, that would be playing God...

MICHELLE: See, now I have to go find a Ruby Tuesday's now... Damn you! ;) Great picts by the way... looks WAY colder there than here in sweltering Bombay...

Posted by: Erik in Bombay on November 11, 2004 10:53 PM

There is a yellow flowering bush, typical to S. Patagonia, called Calafate. From the picture, I don't think that is what you saw but it has a fun story.

According to tradition, those who eat the fruits (the yellow flower of spring turns into purple fruit in summer) will always return to Patagonia.

Posted by: Lynn on November 13, 2004 01:13 AM

Well, I hope you gave that $@"&%$! girl a piece of your mind when you got to the bottom!

Your stories keep getting better and better. Great pictures too, as usual. Especially Salto del Laja.

Posted by: Rob M on November 15, 2004 12:25 AM

Hey Michelle,
Finally got caught up on my reading, textbooks aside. Valcanos look fun. Mine did not errupt on the surface until the week after I left Hawaii so I missed seeing the lava too. I did not get to slide down that mountain thoug. Sounds neat.

Posted by: Luke on November 15, 2004 08:30 AM

Hey Everyone! Thanks for the comments, sorry I can't respond to them right this second, I just finished the entry on the hellish bus episode and I have to run to the store to get some food before they close! Going on a glacier trek tomorrow! Rescheduled! Yippee!

Posted by: Michelle on November 17, 2004 06:34 PM

SHARLENE: HI! Thanks for the tip on the flowers, I still haven't found anyone to positively identify them here, so tansies are the frontrunner. Postcard on the way!

KELLIE: Go back to the Mexican restuarant you took me to in Melbourne! That was fantastic!

JEFF: Mission Glacier Accomplished! Story to follow.

ERIK: Sorry about that... hee hee. I wonder if Ruby Tuesdays has franchises in Thailand...

LYNN: Thanks for the story about the Calafate flower. I saw them all over El Calafate (how appropriate, huh?) Considered eating berries, but decided to evaluate more of Patagonia before sealing my fate!

ROB: Nah, didn't bother giving the girl a piece of my mind, I'm better off saving my mind for other things, like finding more American food franchises abroad. :)

TIM: Antarctica coming up! Stay tuned!

MICHELLE: Hi! Welcome!

LUKE: No lava, sad, huh? maybe next time.

Posted by: Michelle on November 21, 2004 06:21 PM

Wow, that picture of the side of the mountain and the clouds is really amazing!

old news, but so were the ones of machu pichu, and the amazon, and...

Posted by: Ed on November 23, 2004 10:42 PM
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