Monday, January 16, 2006

Hi all:

Today we had a great and active day. The weather was gorgeous, clear,
sunny, high in the mid-60’s. A perfect day for a drive and a hike.
The Andes are just dramatically beautiful. After breakfast we drove
into the Andes. This was a project itself as the road we drove on was
gravel, with lots of potholes and washboarding. Photo attached.
Fortunately, we were just about the only ones on the road! Our little
teeny Toyota did very well. The signs warning you of steep uphills and
downhills are standard, but then, occasionally, you get one that
emphasizes what’s coming. Photos attached. Views of the local
volcanoes are beautiful, and there is a string of them along the range
of the Andes. Another photo attached.
The Parque Nacional Puyehue is in the southern Andes close to the border
with Argentina. The road to it climbs and climbs until you are in a
valley with mountains soaring above. Our hike started on the valley
floor and went straight up. The trail is beautifully constructed and
maintained, but that doesn’t make the climb much easier. It’s so steep
that most of it is stairs cut into the mountain. After about an hour we
reached a lookout (photo attached) and then turned back. We had lunch
at the restaurant at the park, and then drove all the way into the Andes
to the border with Argentina before turning back and retracing our steps.
Tomorrow we fly to Santiago for a couple of days of city sightseeing,
and then meet up with our trip to Antarctica on Thursday. Friday we fly
out to Ushuaia.