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South America | Visiting Torres del Paine
slide show links | National Parks and things to see
other recs and trip reports | photo galleries | lodging | transportation
Slide show links (temporary category)
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares — Check out the very cool shockwave video on the home page that illustrates the March 14, 2004 collapse of the Perito Moreno Glacier's dam.
Laguna Verde color change — Scroll to the bottom of this page (to the very last picture) to see an animation of the Laguna Verde color change. It occurs as the wind blows and churns up the copper in the lake.
National Parks and things to see
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine
Parque Nacional Iquazu
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
Louie Escober's Patagonia trip report on Photo.net — This is the kind of thorough trip report I expected to write upon my return from Patagonia. But Louise beat me to the punch and did an excellent job. I wish I had been able to read this before my trip!
Fodor's Latin America forum — This isn't exactly the online hangout for the backpacker crowd but forum participants tend to be very helpful and well traveled. I also found a wonderful travel agent via recommendations on this forum...
Wow! Argentina travel agency — I contacted Cintia after reading glowing reviews of her on Fodor's travel forum. Even though the majority of my trip was very budget-oriented and unplanned I decided to splurge a bit (and to be honest, I desperately needed some flight/hotel help) for the Iguazu Falls portion of my trip. Cintia not only performed miracles in pulling together a terrific package for me but she was unbelievably kind, generous with her time, and extremely knowledgable (going so far as to recommend particular trails/views in Iguazu). If you are looking for individualized itineraries and an extraordinary experience in Argentina I highly recommend contacting them. Makes me wish I had the kind of budget that allows for a fully travel-agent planned trip!
Sierrasoul Patagonia trip report — I remember finding this shortly before I left on my trip and was doubly impressed by the fact they provided an entire tip guide in pdf format. Totally in the spirit of early Internet and exactly the reason I love the web. I believe this is where I picked up the very valuable tip of putting a rain cover on your pack to protect it on long, dusty bus rides.
Photo Galleries
I enjoy looking at other photographers' work as much as I do my own. When I was researching my trip I spent a great deal of time looking at other collections of Patagonia photography, partly because I was trying to figure out good angles and times of the day for my own pictures and partly because I just love looking at photos. Of course, now that I've returned from my trip and I'm more familiar with the place and feature names I'm able to do more accurate Google searches for pics. This, I'm sure, will be an ever-expanding and revised list but here are some galleries that have caught my eye:
Shields Around the World – Website chronicling Tom and Louisa Shield's year-long honeymoon around the world in 2000. If you are looking for Patagonia pics start with El Calafate/El Chalten or Torres del Paine. And did I mention the photos are quite excellent? And that the site itself makes you want to spend a year traveling around the world, too?
Paul Hofman's Argentina Gallery — His website is unbelievably extensive; I haven't even had the chance to explore all the individual galleries. But he has hundreds of fantastic photos in the Argentina gallery alone; I think there were something like 75 pages in that one gallery (just click on the numbers at the top of each page to get to the next set of pics). Worth spending some serious time here.
Seth Pollack's Patagonia Gallery – In particular, his sunrise shots of Los Glaciares are spectacular.
Geoffrey Peter's Patagonia 2001 trip – He was even brave enough to break out the camera gear in typically nasty Patagonia weather.
With the exception of a one night stay with a family in Puerto Montt, all the locations below had bilingual staff who spoke excellent English (and were kind enough to not make fun of my pitiful attempts at Spanish). In order of my travels:
Puerto Montt:
Puerto Natales: Concepto Indigo
My home away from home. Fantastic views of Last Hope Sound from every room, super-friendly staff, excellent restaurant, breakfast included (oatmeal, toast, jam, oj, tea/coffee).El Calafate: Hostel del Glaciar Pioneros
Large, bustling hostel. Part of Hostelling International so it has pretty high standards and young, friendly staff. They organize tours to Perito Moreno as well as more extended trips to other glaciers and the Fitz Roy area. I signed up for their "Tour Alternativo" to Perito Moreno and thoroughly enjoyed it.El Chalten: Albergue Patagonia
If you've ever been to Byron Bay, Australia and fallen under the spell of that town, then you'll understand when I say El Chalten exerted a similar pull. Totally different landscape, of course, but it had the same relaxing vibe that makes you want to stay much longer than you plan to. I was completely comfortable at this popular Hostelling International location. Good lounge areas and storage space plus plenty of books, videos, and even handmade photo-illustrated guides of the surrounding area. Laundy service available in-house and maps available for purchase. Great place to hang out.Ushuaia: Los Cormoranes
After a 13 hour bus ride from Puerto Natales I arrived in Ushuaia just as it was getting dark and with some light rainfall. The bus dropped us off in what appeared to be some random parking lot. I didn't have any reservations and the only locals who met the bus were hawking rooms too expensive for my budget. What I did have was a scrap of paper with Los Cormoranes written on it, a suggestion from the staff at Concepto Indigo in Puerto Natales. So I trekked for a few blocks til I found a taxi and asked the driver if he knew how to reach this hostel. He did and 5 minutes later I was happy to be walking through the doors of this great hostel. Luckily they had a bed available and they even set me up with transportation to Tierra del Fuego National Park the next morning.San Pedro de Atacama: Hostal Mama Tierra
Another wonderful find. A few minutes away from the main street but worth the short walk. Family-run place with very comfortable beds, great rooms, excellent showers, comfy open-air shared areas (I loved kicking back in the hammocks). Even the architecture of the place is nifty and smartly designed. Chances are the owner (who is incredibly nice) will be at the bus stop when you arrive so you'll have an easy ride to the hostal.Puerto Iguazu: Hotel Esturion
I haven't been able to locate an official website for the hotel but this was definitely the nicest place I stayed during my trip. (Of course, going from youth hostels to a hotel will generally improve one's experience!)
Transportation
Mare Australis: Well, this cruise convinced me that I had been severely misguided in my previous opinion of cruises (of course, formed without ever having taken a cruise). I assumed cruises consisted of fancy dinners, crowded ports of call, and too much time at sea. And while I know a lot of cruises are like that (which is great if that is what you are seeking!) I've now learned there are options out there for people with a greater interest in traveling than in dinner and dancing. I signed up for the Mare Australis cruise because it appeared to be the only way I could really see Tierra del Fuego and pass through the channels and islands in the area. It was the biggest expense of my trip but the experience was worth it. A friend joined me for this part of my trip and we traveled on the 4-day, 3-night itinerary from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas, including navigation around Cape Horn. Their website is very nicely designed, with an excellent flash animation of the route, but we discovered it doesn't come close to doing the itinerary and excursions justice. There were multiple excursions every day and the scenery was fantastic. Every cabin was spacious and had great windows. The staff were multi-lingual and the food was simply astounding. (And I was completely comfortable the whole time because it was very casual, with no dress code. They actually request you bring hiking boots on board.)
Navimag: I had bad weather on pretty much the whole 4-day, 3-night passage and yet I would've hopped right back on board for more if I had had the time. That should tell you how much I enjoyed this ferry. Part of the enjoyment was related to the fact I met a terrific group of travelers. And watching the scenery pass by is relaxing for me, not at all boring. But if you don't care to hang out in the lounge reading a book or listening to music, there are lectures every day plus movies at night. Even though there is only one shore excursion (to Puerto Eden) during the 4 day cruise I can't imagine boredom setting in for anyone (which seemed to be the biggest concern among other travelers I met when they asked about the Navimag).
Tur Bus: As a car-addicted American I haven't had much experience with buses save for the occasional ride on a local city bus. But bus trips in South America were a whole 'nother world. In a good way. You choose which type of bus you want to travel on (Premium, Salon Cama, SemiCama, Clasico) and pay according to the comfort level. I highly recommend the Salon Cama at minimum. Seats that recline 65 degrees, pull down leg rests, hot meals served on board, even individual headsets for the movies shown on tv screens. Believe me, the slight increase in cost for the higher-end seats is worth it, especially for those long transportation days (e.g., the 23 hour ride from Santiago to Calama). Heck, if you go to Tur Bus's website you get a discounted price and you can pick the exact seat you want. (However, I wasn't always able to book on the website as it was flaky with some browsers.)