South Westy Travels: March 2011

Tame? Did I use the word tame? Well shortly after that last blog our trip took a wild turn.

Sadly, we were the victims of what can only be called a horrific case of mistaken identity. We were assaulted outside of a small village while parked on the side of the road for the night. Our assailants apparantly thought we were someone else with whom they have issues. They were looking for a white combi and we look like a white combi....

They pummeled the van with large rocks. In an attempt to flee during the attack, we began to drive away but missed the road and drove off an embankment. We were incredibly lucky the van did not roll and came to a stop where it did; a few feet beyond was a much steeper drop-off over which we surely would have rolled.

We were not robbed, no one entered the van and once they realized we were not who they thought we were our assailants retreated.

Both Mike and I sustained injuries to the face and eyes. The Beagle lost three windows in the milieu and has a number of battle scars to show for her efforts. Chettie came though unscathed.

What followed was an incredible show of caring and compassion from the community, the members of which were shocked and appalled at what had happened. We were embraced by strangers who, one step at a time, led us first to Huancayo and then to Lima where we received medical care and began the healing process.

Without going into a lot of details, know that we are okay. To be sure, it was a very scary experience and one that will take time to sort out.

Provided our injuries continue to heal we intend to adhere to our plan and travel through Ecuador and Colombia. We do not want this one incident to define our trip as we have met hundreds of great people and have seen many incredible places. We know there are good people everywhere and yes, sadly, a few bad people scattered about.

This was a random event that happened neither because we did nor didn’t do something. We know this type of incident could happen anywhere and is not specific to Ccaccasiri (the town we were in), Peru, or South America.

I am sorry that our adventure has caused those who love us to worry. It is impossible to express our gratitude to our family and friends who have enveloped us with love and caring from so far away. One would never choose to have this happen, but what one is shown when it does helps make sense of it all.

Mike and Marisca, the nurse who provided our initial care.

Mike recieving a shot on site.

Me, Mike (and Andres) upon being reunited after I spent the night in the local health center.

Looking up the embankment from the van at the community members who came out to help in the morning.

Mike talking to some of the community members while others in the foreground are busy building a road with picks and shovels to pull the van out of her predicament. The towel is covering the broken back window.

The extrication operation.

Mike and I with Damien, Marta, Eleanor, Chettie, Jan and Josef in Huanchaco. They were some of the first people we met once we arrived in Lima. They were gracious and kind and helped us begin to return to normalcy by being good friends. We have traveled north through Peru crossing paths with them several times. They are the first friends I made with my ´new look´and their acceptance helped me to know we are going to be okay.

Life is like a bicycle...if you want to keep your balance you have to keep pedaling.

Since leaving our home 16 months ago, when asked where we were going our reply was always, ‘South’. If pressed for more information we’d respond, ‘Ushuaia’.

Our original plan was to drive to Ushuaia and back in a year but we quickly realized that a year wasn’t enough time. So we revised our plan and slowed our travel, thinking we’d go south to Ushuaia and then north to Buenos Aires and ship the van home from there.

We lived with this plan for a long time. Our journey south included many encounters, adventures and enlightenments and then, one day, there we were in Ushuaia.

It’s a long way from Salida Colorado to Ushuaia Argentina and it was humbling to arrive with the knowledge that we drove there.

After several days in Ushuaia we headed out to camp at Estancia Haberton, the oldest estancia in Tierra del Fuego. Situated on the Beagle Channel, Haberton really gives you a sense of place. It was just the time we needed to reflect on our travels.

We enjoyed Ushuaia knowing that we were at ‘el fin del mundo’, but we especially loved Estancia Haberton.

Trish and Chettie looking down the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia

View of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel from the mirador at Glaciar Martial

Ushusia from Punta Escarpados

Enlightened?

Our camp site on Estancia Haberton

Mike, Chet and the Beagle

Mike heading out to fish in the Beagle Channel

Mike fishing

Chettie intently watching Mike fish and not believing she didn't get to go

Looking up the Beagle Channel towards Puerto Williams

Banner Trees on Estancia Haberton

As we pointed the nose of the Beagle (the name by which the Burly Beast now goes) north there came an unspoken disquietude between Mike and I regarding our plan. Certainly, we wanted to explore the Atlantic coast of Argentina, but the idea the trip being over didn’t sit right with either of us.

For one thing, we weren’t excited about spending time in Buenos Aires (big, hot city…not our favorite). We were enjoying some really remote, undeveloped beaches along the coast and we knew (it being summer), the beaches would become increasingly crowded as we headed north.

And in some very abstract way ending our trip in Buenos Aires seemed a little too tame.

We have loved Argentina and the Argentineans. It’s a beautiful country with really warm, open people. But, frankly, we’ve found it to be just a little too much like home. At first we welcomed this. After so many months of arduous travel, Argentina came as a vacation from our trip. There are great national parks to explore, the infrastructure is strong and nearly all goods and services you want or need are available. There’s a tourist office in every town no matter how small and in many towns you’ll find a ‘Camping Municipal’….a municipally owned campground. In short, travel in Argentina is easy.

Slowly, our conversations began to take the shape of alternative plans for returning home. We boiled our options down to a) continuing up the coast of Argentina, making a quick pass through Buenos Aires to make shipping arrangements, and then heading to Uruguay and southern Brazil, looping back to Argentina by way of Iguaçu Falls and back to BA for our shipping date or b) skipping all of those places by turning the nose of the Beagle north to travel back through Peru, Ecuador and Colombia and shipping from Cartagena instead.

I think you already know which option we chose.

With limited time left and the responsibilities of home beckoning louder, we made our decision and traveled across northern Argentina and Chile quickly and are now in southern Peru.

Though we both would have liked to see Uruguay and Iguaçu Falls, neither of us have had even the slightest doubt that this was the best plan for us. We are excited to visit with some of the great people we met on our way south and to revisit Ecuador and Colombia, two of our favorite places.

Other reasons this seemed like the best plan included already having a shipping contact in Cartagena and knowing the general layout of the city and the port, and shorter and cheaper flights from Cartagena which will be better for Chet.

We have had a wonderful trip and knowing all that we know now, we are relishing every minute. Our few remaining months are longer than many people’s entire trip and so we know just how fortunate we are.

I’m sorry I didn’t blog more through Argentina (and Chile) but really, it was just so easy to travel that we fell into major vacation mode. I’ll leave you with some pictures from these last several months (we were in Chile and Argentina for nearly 6 months!) and try to keep you posted on our travels north.

Entering Argentina in La Quiaca on the Bolivian Border. Ushuaia 5121 kilometers!

Beef, it's what's for dinner. Argentinian beef is great and we gorged ourselves the first few nights in Argentina after being in Bolivia where we had become 'preservatarians', that is, eating only meat with preservatives (hot dogs, bacon, salami).

Us, above the Termas de Reyes

Cactus fencing above Cachi

Mike, Chet and the Beagle at Laguna Brealito (Mike named the rock formation in the background the Devil's Butt Crack, after seeing so many Devil's Throat's in our travels.)

The Devil's Butt Crack

Remember the picture of Chettie jumping into this pool? Well, we were on our way to Fiambala Hot Springs and we passed the Aguadita Hot Springs. We were told Aguadita was closed but we drove the 5 kilometers in to see what we might find. The place was in the middle of a massive redevelopment project but the owner said we could stay the night if we wanted. There were three pools in series in a narrow canyon and I (timidly) asked the owner if we could let Chet in for a swim. He agreed but asked that we only let her in the lowest of the pools. The water was beautiful and she loved her swim.

The hot springs at Fiambala. We came here on a tip from Swiss travelers Andy and Sandra who said it was the nicest hot springs in Argentina. They were right, it was fabulous.

At Fiambala I met a group of women who were there together for a week. They were like 'The Wild Women'. They have known each other for 40 years! They warmly welcomed me, they knew to speak slowly and clearly so I would understand and they told me about lots of other places to visit in Argentina. I loved them but it did make me a little homesick for my Wild Women friends.

The Wild Women South introduced me to my first sip of Mate.

At Fiambala we also met Linda and Ludwig and their customized 1965 Mercedes truck. We loved them and we think their vehicle is the coolest one we've seen on our trip. Here they are pointing out the license plate which denotes the vehicle is a 'classic' or historic vehicle, thereby exempting it from certain regulations in Germany.

Mike enjoying the waters at Fiambala

Mike chillin' at Fiambala

Chet tearing after me at our campsite in the canyon leading up to the Cuesta de Miranda

Chettie and me in the Cuesta de Miranda

Trish at our campsite in Cuesta de Miranda

Mike enlisted these boys to clean up our campsite in Calingasta. While we chatted with them about our lives and our trip one of them asked us, 'What year is it in the United States?'

Now the job of tourguide is a tough one. I'd read about the town of Barreal and it being a center for Carrovelismo or car sailing but it didn't jump out as something we should do. Then, I was reading aloud to Mike about Barreal as he drove and he exclaimed, 'I want to do THAT'. Who knew?

Here's Mike in his rig

Just starting to take off

At first the wind was moderate and the guy who owns the rigs kept saying to me that it was an unusually non-windy night. But as time went on the wind picked up and by the end of the night the wind was ripping and Mike was flying! You know, the idea in something like this is to go as fast as you possibly can, right?

Mike ripping at sunset in Barreal

An accidental shot that captures our cockpit...my foot, an atlas of maps, a painted rock given to us by a man in Peru, a towel to sop up condensation when it's cold out, a pottery shard Mike found near Fiambala, and the blue Mazote bag which holds our daily driving snacks.

Mike and Scott on the road to Uspallata. We met Scott the night Mike did the car-sailing and we crossed paths for the next few days as we worked our way towards Mendoza. Here we stopped and had a little road side Mate break.

Mike with Cerro Aconcagua on the pass on the way to Chile. We camped at the base of the mountain though the park was closed as it was still late winter.

Trish with Cerro Aconcagua

Our campsite at the beach in Cachagua Chile. This was one of the toniest towns we've been in and the beach was beautiful. The Chilean coast is often shrouded in fog but we were treated to some beautiful beach weather.

The view out the side window from our site in the dunes at Pichidanqui Chile

Some really fun guys we met at the Dique Valle de Uco near La Consulta. We spent an afternoon sharing life stories with them.

Does that say 'Supermercado Mancel'???

From our campsite on Lago Moquehue

Trish and Chet in the morning on Lago Moquehue. Here we met a father and son, both named Ramiro, who invited us to join them for an asado (barbeque). We asked what we could bring and they said they had plenty of meat but we could get some goat. Which we did and we shared a great afternoon with them exchanging our views on life.