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 Parinacota volcano, a magnificent 6300m symmetrical cone in Lauca National Park. Laguna Chungara, the large lake at its foot is said to be the world´s highest lake at 4500m. Chile (10/2004) |
 The slender Vicuna is the only member of the camelid family still wild and free. The others (llama, guanaco, alpaca) have been domesticated. |  The 4000m high Andean plateau at Lauca is choked full of wild animal roaming around. The shy Viscacha is the high altitude version of our rabbit. Cute litte bugger. Lauca National Park (10/2004). |
 Its funny how some places are so overhyped and over-rated (such as Torres del Paine) yet other magnificent places are virtually unknown. Lauca National Park in the far north is my favourite Chilean National Park (10/2004). |
 Easter Island (10km long x 6 km across) is considered the most remote place in the world. The closest land to it is the west coast of South America, 3700 km to the east and Tahiti, 4500 km to the west. Sunset at Ahu Tahai (11/2004). |
 Easter Island´s claim to fame are the hundreds of remarkable rock statues, called Moais, which dot the island. Ahu Tongariki (11/2004). |
 Sunset over Ahu Tahai moai's, Easter Island (11/2004). |
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Apart from having the amazing landscapes and statues all over, Easter Island has beautiful pristine beaches. Anakena Beach, Easter Island (11/2004). |
 Moais on Anakena beach, Easter Island. |
 Horse-back riding on the north shore of Easter Island (11/2004). |
 The "Moai factory" where many statues were carved almost to completion but not yet extracted from the ground. |
 What is a Suzuki Vitara doing at the top of Easter Islands´ highest point ??? I found out that there was a rough track to the top of the island so off we went.....I am a car rental company´s biggest nightmare ! From the top of Mt.Tereka you have a 360 degree view of the whole island and the big blue wide-open Pacific ocean. Easter Island is expensive and hard to get to but thoroughly worth it. It is a special and remarkable place, and one of the highlights of South America. |
 After the tortureous climbs in Peru`s Cordillera Blanca in June, I wondered if I would do anymore climbing in South America. Volcan Villarica, an gentle 2800m stroll-up was too easy to pass-up. Pucon in the Chilean Lake District (11/2004). |
 Chile is in the Pacific Ring of Fire and is dotted with massive volcanoes. Osorno volcano in the Lake District is my favourite (11/2004). |
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Lots of brightly painted fishing boats on Chiloe Island, Chile (1/2005). |
 Torres del Paine National Park is probably the 2nd most famous place in South America after Peru´s Macchu Pichu. Its a beautiful place but also the most corrupt and mismanaged national park in existence. Chile is a country of 2 faces, sometimes it seems 1st world and other times, its another troubled South American country. Torres del Paine, Patagonia (12/2004). |
 The wild and remote Carretera Austral, a 1300 km lone gravel road down Chile`s west coast, is Patagonia at its best. View of town from the 1300m summit at Coyhaique National Reserve (11/2004). |
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Termas de Menegue, Pucon, Chile (11/2004). |
 Many of Easter Island´s statues were knocked down hundreds of years ago in a civil war. Tourists staying at the island for more than a week are required to help put some of them up. Rano Raraku, Easter Island (11/2004). |
| Subject: Torres del Paine disaster and a truck full of shit. | Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 |
| OK, I have been sending all these
look-how-much-fun-I-am-having emails, people are getting pissed off and
all so I thought I would balance it out with some crappy-times
emails.
Torres del Paine disaster : When you spend as much time as I do in the wilds hiking about you are bound to get screwed once in a while with the weather. I´ve been very lucky so far, its hardly ever happened to me but when it does it kinda sucks. Rented a tent, stove, food and all stuff and off to world famous Torres del Paine Park (probably the 2nd most famous hiking place on the continent after the Inca trail). Got there, it starts to rain and never stopped. I even had to time my pee breaks in-between storms, cooked in the rain..blah blah. Spent over 50 hours stuck in my tent towelling up leaks and drips. Slept over 30 hours in those 2 days...still cannot figure out why ? On the plus side, I had already been to Torres a few weeks ago and seen it in good weather. See, a day at work isn´t so bad after all. Truck full of shit : After packing up camp, I stroll out to the road to hitch-hike back to town. A truck pulls over...huh, whats that smell ! I get in...damn, what the $%*# is that smell ! Its the shit-truck carrying 2 weeks worth of crap from the nearby hotel. National park has no sewer and requires hotels to carry it all out. 20 mins later I beg them to let me out. 2 days at sea crossing the roughest ocean in the world (on-route to Antarctica) and I never got sick. 20 mins in the shit-truck and I was gonna puke !! Even 2 days later I could still smell it....maybe even permanent damage to my smell sense !! Yah, lots of weird things happening lately in my trip. Yesterday I cooked for the first time all trip. Chile food sucks, I couldn´t handle it anymore. I was cooking some onions in a pot and burnt them. Girl next to me commented, "...thats the first time I´ve seen someone burn something while standing right there next to it !!"...what a smart-ass. Now in Isla Chiloe on Chile´s wet wet wet westcoast. Its raining side-ways today. Lee Chai who is still having lots fun. |
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