and finally, a climbing day in Mendoza

15 to 17 February 2005

It was in Mendoza and 179 days into our trip. And this was the first time I got to go climbing. Even though it was very expensive for half day’s worth of bad climbing, it was still climbing. And I was still so happy about it.

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These are bus tickets from Mendoza. And the postacard with a picture of the volcano we climbed.

The crag. The routes.

a little bit of Europe in Chile

11 to 14 February 2005

Valparaiso. About two hours by train from Santiago. It’s a little bit of Cote d’Azur, a little bit of Cinque Terre, a little bit of Lisbon. It was hilly, beautiful graffit and lots of dog shit too.

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We met Roan and Hilary again. This time in Santiago, Chile.

muk and ling vs Volcan Villarrica

07 to 10 February 2005

Our six-hour trek up a volcano. From rock to snow to a finale of larva-fireworks. It was worth every step with our heavy packs with full gear. Ice axe. Crampons. Gloves. Ski mask. Gaitters. Water-proof pants. Water-proof jacket. It was my first ice axe experience. First snow trek. First snow slide.

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Our room in Pucon has a sun roof. We saw stars every night.

My sketch of our volcano trekking gear.

And my record of the rock, ice and fire day.

surviving the 31-hour bus ride from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt

03 to 06 February 2005

It was the great grand mother of all bus rides. It was a 31-hour journey in a crampy bus. And with no inclining seats. Puerto Natales (Chile) to Laguna Blanca (Chile) to Rio Gallegos (Argentina) to Caleta Olivia (Argentina) to Bariloche (Argentina) to Osorno (Chile) to Puerto Montt (Chile). Actually, the ride was supposed to be 36 hours. But somehow, the driver managed to cut 5 hours off. Lucky us. Lucky for our sore bottoms and aching backs.

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That’s the map. The route of the bus in red.

We visited wood-shingled Castro on 6 February.

all alone in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

01 to 02 February 2005

Coming all the way to the end of the world and not trekking the ‘W’? It’s crazy. But that’s what we did, or rather, didn’t do. Since Ling doesn’t want to do it,
I’ll just have to do it alone. Actually I was never alone. I was accompanied by the great outdoors. By the purest of nature. But trekking the whole ‘W’ would take four days, I was allowed only one. That’s why I only did the first part. Just eight hours of trekking. Barely enough to whet my appetite. And blatantly disrespecting such a gloriously breathtaking place.

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The amazing three towers view at the end of the accent. These were all sketched onsight, and completed with coloured-pencil shading back in the room.

Along the way on the eight-hour trek.

The bridge at the starting and ending of the trek. The map and ticket to Torres del Paine.

My blistered but happy toes after the trek.