Glacier El Morado

Hi all,
Well things have picked up since I last wrote. As well as the temporary class I described in my last post, I have picked up two more classes starting this week, and another starting the following week. So I am now busy! Especially as one of the classes is for 1.5hrs everyday. Sounds interesting actually - is with some high profile chef (who of course I haven't heard of) who needs English because he is going on some ambassador trip to Malaysia in May to teach people about Chilean food. He also has to do interviews and deal with hotels and airports, so I have been employed to do a crash course. Won't exactly be teaching by the book, and hope my cuisine and cooking vocabulary is up to it! Am looking forward to being busier though.

Yesterday I went on a trip to Glacier El Morado, in the Andes about 3hrs from Santiago. It was magic - such a beautiful day with great people in a stunning location. We met at the metro at 8am, which was early for a Saturday! I wasn't even sure I had all the details sorted as all the booking was done over email between me and the guide, in Spanish! But something I wrote must have made sense because he was expecting me. There were officially 8 of us, 6 Brazialians, a Chileno and me. There were also some friends of the Chileno, and some family of the guide, so we ended up with quite a good sized party. And I had to try and communicate in Spanish, because that was the only common language between us all. Everyone was very patient with me though, and I ended up having some good chats with people, I think! So we had 3 hrs in the minivan, 2 hrs of which was on a road that was worse than the Mount Hutt ski road, and resembled a 4WD track. I hit the roof quite a few times as the driver tore along the road at high speed.

We got to stop for a photo opportunity and stretch our legs, so here are a couple of shots from the road up there. This is the volcano, I am not sure of the name. It is on the border between Chile and Argentina, so we really were right up in the Andes. Most of the mountains bordering this and the adjacent valley which we were walking through are between 5000 and 6000m. It is active, though I couldn't establish when it last blew. Apparently it is a little worrying given the proximity of Santiago.

We aborted driving when faced with several large rocks and a large ditch, which apparently were not there last time this group came through here. It meant that our 3hr walk didn't actually begin until we had already been walking an hour... I thought that a 3hr walk up in the mountains would be fairly easy. It wasn't. I underestimated the effect that being at altitude, and actually walking uphill, could have. A couple of the women in our group actually couldn't do it and had to turn back. It wasn't that bad though as long as you were willing to take it slow. And of course it wasn't as hard as walking 100km in 30hrs! The views were so incredible that taking it slow wasn't really a problem, and I really did enjoy it.

Here is a picture looking back down the valley that we have just climbed up. It is impossible to get a sense of scale really, but if you look closely on the right of me, you can see a couple more people coming up the track.

We finally made it to the glacier late in the afternoon, and it was worth it. The views were stunning, both of the glacier and of the surrounding mountains. The foot of the glacier is about 3500m, the highest I have ever been! However, with some of the peaks overlooking us standing at 6000m, it was difficult to imagine that were actually even that high.

We hoofed it down the valley in two hours, as the light was fading fast. The last 20min or so was almost in the dark, and I was in the lead group. The ones behind us came in with a few scrapes and bruises from trying to deal with the scree in the dark. The stars were amazing, maybe because you are that much closer to them when you are up so high, but more likely because the air was so clear (and thin!). I saw the Southern Cross, and it made me think of home. I like that it doesn't matter where in the southern hemisphere I am, that I can see the southern cross. I tried to explain the significance of this to the Chileno guy, but I think something was lost in translation and that he now thinks I am some sort of pagan moon hippy who was insisting on something important to do with the stars, and was likely to produce a knife at any point and insist on him joining me in some sort of ritual.

Then it was back in the minivan for an unpleasant trip back down the bumpy shingle road, in the dark. I was feeling quite ill, probably from a combination of the horrible headache and congested sinuses which I could attribute equally to my cold and the altitude, the sun and wind burn, and car-sickness. I was very pleased when we hit a sealed road again! We arrived back in Santiago around 10pm, just as promised, and I got a taxi home and slept like a log.

I had a fantastic time, and can't wait to get out exploring some more. At the moment though I have lessons to plan, and I have to pack all my stuff as I am moving tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the photos, this really is just a selection and there are more on Facebook.
Adios, KiwiKaz.