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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Nov 20, 2016 09:00 PM Chacabuco - 30 minutes too late...
I know that just today at 8 am from Puerto Chacabuco little catamaran goes with the tourists to remote Laguna San Rafael. I was planning just to jump from boat to boat to go with them for the full-day tour.
At 6 am I was already ready for disembark. But all local fellows were still sleeping and the ship was still sailing long Chacabuco fiord. I was so brave to go to the bridge. The officer there did not speak any English but my Spanish was good enough to understand that we have delay and we will reach the port at 8.30. And sorry, but he can do nothing...
Bad luck! At 8.20 on approach to the port I saw the catamaran sailing opposite direction.
Well, as I always say: apert from good planning and experience the traveller need also a big portion of good luck!
A day tour to the lagoon was a side-trip - it dooes not harm my main Carretera del Sur itinerary.
Puerto Chacabuco is just a sleepy little port with a great view of the snowcapped mountains. There was was waiting a bus to nearest township of Aysen but I decided to use a minibus directly to Coihaique on Carretera dreaming about the shower after hard time on the ferry. We were driving more than an houre in the pastures landscape, then along the thumbling river. Blue sky and strong sun. Time for thr little rest and laundry!
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Nov 19, 2016 09:00 PM Sailing Patagonia
Ferry ticket cost me 17300 pesos which is cheap regarding the lenght ot thd trip. Naviera's ticket are subsidized by Chilean gvt. and so far they charge from foreigners same price like from locals.
But let you know that it is not a luxury voyage. You have your chair like in the plane (no cabins) but to spend such a long time in one room with 150 other people snorring, caughing, baby crying you must be resistant.
In the middle of the night twice or three time the ferry is calling little settlements, the light is switched on, ther is the noise...
But... If the weather is clear (I had a strong sun) the views are breathtaking. You will see snowcapped volcanos, mountain ranges, rocky and lush-green islands and islets. And that was what I expected!
At the back of the ferry there is little open deck to enjoy the scenery and I spent most of the day there. Tea, coffee and noodle soup I was cooking in the toilet. There is cafeteria for passengers but they charge 1000 peso for little cup of coffee or 1600 for sandwich...
People from Naviera office told me that we will reach Chacabuco at 6 am tomorrow. I believe, I will survive also the second night...
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Nov 18, 2016 09:00 PM Wooden churches from UNESCO list
On the big Chiloe Island there are more then 50 churches. 16 of them - built in 18 & 19th century are on the UNESCO list as a samples of unique architecture. I always wanted to see them. Without car rental it is difficult to see most of them since they are in the countryside and even on the little islands spread around.
To see good representation you can take a bus to Castro - the capital of Island, leave there your backpack in the bus terminal for 900 pesos and after visiting Castro (interior of the cathedral is closed for restoration) took the minibuses to Dalcahue, then to Achao and after returning to Castro - to Chonchi. Yes, churches of Chiloe are different and worth to see.
In the evening I reached Quellon - little port on the soutnern coast of the island to board the ferryboat of Naviera Austral sailing to Puerto Chacabuco on the Chile mainland. I will spend aboard the ferry 2 nights and full day sneaking in the fiords and between the islands of Patagonia.
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Nov 17, 2016 09:00 PM Bus and ferry to Chiloe Island
Is was sunny morning when I said bye--bye to Gustavo - my host in Puerto Montt. Before going to the bus station I visited the office of Navimag shipping company. My journalist credentials were presented and I received the deep discount on their sailing. Great! It is worth to write for the journals for such a privileges :)
Almost every hour from Puerto Montt bus terminal buses go to the biggest island of Chile - Chiloe. The ticket cost 4000 pesos (at the moment 1 USD is worth 653 pesos) After an hour of friving we reached Pargua where is the ferry crossing. Walkers do not pay for ferry. For bus passengers the cost is included in the cost of the bus ticket. We spent about 40 min crossing the passage. They offer even free wi-fi on the ferry. Half an hour after landing our bus reached city of Ancud. Ancud was first capital of the island. Now it is atmospheric little town with few churches, museum and many timber houses. Remains of Spanish Fort San Antonio are worth to see. Sun and flowers around... But terrain is hilly so I walked few hours up and down around to see places and people who are nicer here then in Santiago. Tomorrow I wi?l see famous wooden churches of Chiloe...
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Nov 16, 2016 09:00 PM Puerto Montt. Back on the track!
The Brasilian sun was raising when they took us from the hotel back to the Sao Paulo airport. Then it was 4 hours flight to Santiago de Chile with nice views of the snowy Andes. Immigration is working well and quick but when you alredy have a stamp in the possport you must fill the fito declaration and go with your luggage to the customs when they are screening all stuff including your jacket. Yes, I have food: chocoletes, bread and cookies. OK, go... Uff! (I had much more!)
My fourth flight Santiago - Puerto Montt took me only 2 hours. They served only snack but if you ask they will bring you Cristal beer :)
The landscape was more and more green with snow-covered volcanos on the east side.
Nice, cozy airport. They offer bus transfer to the bus station in the city for 2500 CLP or airport to door service for 5000. Lovely, strong sun.
Puerto Montt changed a lot since my second visit: now they have huge artizanal bazaar and much more traffic. Only two white volcanos on the horizon are still the same. I am back on my track! It is good when planning to add one day for adjustment an the beginning of the voyage.
That's what I did. My stay in Puerto will be 1 day shorter, but I will be on schedule...
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Nov 15, 2016 09:00 PM Broken computer means broken plane...
It is 1 am in the night. I stay in the long line in Milano airport. Bad luck!
The second flight should depart at 8.40 in the evening. It was brand new Airbus 350. We were already on the runway. Then captain announced that we have computer problem and super-plane accommodating 400 people must go back to the gate. At the gate they said they must reset computer. It took an hour. We were taxing again tothe runway. And second time we experienced the same! Broken computer in brand new Airbus 350! They are giving now hotel vouchers to 400 people.... What will be next? Who knows?
On the next morning the other A350 landed to took us to Sao Paulo. The brokem one was still on the airport parking when were starting...
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Nov 14, 2016 09:00 PM Four flights one by one...
It was still dark when I was going with my backpack to the bus stop. Taxi to the airport from my place cost around 40 zlotys, but if you go by bus with one connection it will cost the senior less then 2 zl...
It is a long way to Patagonia! First flight of low-cost Ryanair took me to Bergamo - with the nice views of Alps on the way. In Bergamo to move to Malpensa airport you can take infrequent direct bus for 18 euro or -to go initially to Milano Centrale station - this bus costs just 5 eu and to take Milano Centrale - Malpensa bus for 8 eu. For me this was a chance to see again the central Milan and to save some money..
There is also train from Centrale to Malpensa but is goes also 50 min and the cost is higher - 13 eu. Once in Malpensa airport there is still the reason to walk to the railway platform - on the way there is a hall with the stage. On the stage they present fantastic 3-D projection about Milan and some "live" music too. Worth to see if you have the time!
In the evening I have my second 12,5-hours flight to Sao Paulo, then third to Santiago and then the fourth to Puerto Montt. I hope I will be still alive at the end of such a voyage... :)
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Nov 13, 2016 09:00 PM I pack my backpack again!
New, far-away voyage! Days in Poland are getting colder and shorter and shorter - so it is time to fly to the other hemisphere! In Patagonia I was already twice, but I visited mainly the East - the Argentinean part. This time, I set out to Chile. Patagonia Chilena is famous for bad roads, a maze of islands, rarely visited fabulous fjords and glaciers - it's much bigger challenge for the traveler. To many interesting places you can get only by water. Due to irregular transport and I'm not sure if I succeed... It will be therefore once again a great adventure, improvisation, wiping a new trail. I begin the journey in Puerto Montt and famous for its wooden churches the island of Chiloe (they even found their way to the list of World Heritage of UNESCO). Then I will follow the road south via the famous Carretera del Sur - to the place where it (as a gravel road) finally ends in the hamlet of Villa O'Higgins. The only option to follow further south is the passage through the Andes range to the Argentine side of the main mountain ridge - to the bottom of the famous summit of Fitz Roy - and to wander further south - re-crossing the border - to Chile, where I would like to visit once again the National Park Torres del Paine. All of these combinations require the perfect refinement of the various possible options. I devoted to the analysis many hours, but what will be the effect of this will work I will see only on the road. The plan there has still a lot of unknowns, starting with the weather, which can not be predicted...
Look at the map on the left column - for the first time it is so stretched down! Chile stretches from north to south by more than 4000 kilometers. A section, which I intend to defeat by land and sea is 1300 km in a straight line in each direction ...
I'm going to come back on December 20th - on time to buy a beautiful Christmas tree. Because there's nothing like Christmas in Poland! I ask my friends to keep the fingers crossed - it can make that the sea will be calm, and ferries and ships will not be delayed, that battered buses do not get flat tires on the gravel roads of Patagonia, that the cloud does not obstruct the views of great glaciers, and my condition will overcoming consecutive kilometers of mountain trails.
If I will have the access to the free internet, a short messages from the road you will find as always in my travel log.
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Nov 12, 2016 09:00 PM Snowy Rzeszów
First snow appeared in Rzeszow today. This is last day of the traveller's meeting - we still have a time for the exchange of information. I am as usual very busy. Not only to share my the travel info with the others, but also to to collect the knowledge about the areas I want to go in the future. What do you think about Northern Caucasus and San Blas Islands? In the afternoon we will say goodbye, wishing each other happy travelling and all the best till the next 33rd annual meeting in November 2017.
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Nov 11, 2016 09:00 PM Annual Meeting of Polish Globetrotters
I am again in Rzeszów - in the Southern Poland attending 32nd Annual Meeting of Polish Globetrotters.
We are watching slide shows and video presentations from all over the world - from Greenland to Australia. It is also a chance to meet my old friends - Polish globetrotters. They also travel far and wide so usually I meet them only once during each calendar year. Great people! Many of them publish articles, giving lacteres like me and even have their programs on the regional TV channels. Exemplum - Lisowski family from Cracow - on the picture. So far the most impressive show was from the remote areas of Kyrgyzstan - great views of the mountain lakes and rivers. But the shows go on till tomorrow and maybe there will be even something better...
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