Grating Expectations
After our extra rest day with Tomoko and Fred we knew that we wouldn’t make Villa O’Higgins in time for the Saturday ferry that would take us through to Argentina, but didn’t really mind as we were looking forward to a few days of sleep-ins, Internet and good eating. Ha! What dream world WERE we living in?
Villa O’Higgins is certainly at the end of the line. We knew this, but didn’t really appreciate just how remote and isolated it really was. The Carretera Austral ends here, and the only way out is to return in the same direction (this was never an option) or cross a lake, then walk for 22km to Argentina to cross another lake before reaching the road and 37km that takes you into El Chalten (located at the base of Mount Fitzroy) in the Los Glaciares National Park.
Sounds incredibly adventurous don’t you think? Adventurous is putting it mildly. We think (and seriously so) that we have been on one of those stupid survival reality shows where the participants don’t know that they are being filmed and scrutinized by psychologists as they endure a series of tests that calculate levels of patience, mental and physical strength, and for the length of their short fuse! You guys have probably been watching it for the last 5 months and no doubt it is on par for the final Friends episode in ratings? We are probably page three reality television stars and don’t even know it! Perhaps now the coffers of the SIJEN Adventure Fund will start to fill up.
As we have mentioned before, southern Chile is ridiculously expensive, and banks are (as the Mountain Goat would put it) “rare as rocking horse shit”. If you are lucky enough to find an ATM, it usually only takes Mastercard, and not Visa. Guess what card we are traveling with? Yep, Visa. Test number one. In Cochrane, the last major town on the Carretera, the ATM only accepted Mastercard, so we pushed on hopeful that our cash would see the distance. We managed, just.
After two nights in a cabana, funds were depleting so we opted for the cheaper option of a hostel. Test number two. Most hostels these days offer rooms for couples, but the options in Villa O’Higgins are very limiting. We found a nice looking place that was warm, small but comfortable and with a toasted sandwich make. What more could we ask for really? We were set. We were showed a room with 4 bunk beds thinking that we would have the room to ourselves but to our dismay at 2200hrs, with us already tucked into our sleeping bags, two more people were showed in, and that was where the fun began!
I am a very quiet sleeper. The Mountain Goat, on the other hand, is more of a snoring sleeper. Hence why I intend to have ear plugs surgically inserted when we return home. Needless to say, on a good night when I catch the Mountain Goat on his back, I am only woken once or twice. Our night in the hostel was sleepless to say the least. One of our late arriving roommates snored for 3 hours. When he stopped, the Mountain Goat started. Because I was on the top bunk, there was no way for me to “gently” shove him onto his side, although I did try wriggling around to shake the bunk but it made no difference. He didn’t even respond to me calling his name - ear plugs. Oh the joy of communal dormitories.
This hostel was really a piece of work though; camping outside and 6 bunks inside. The living area was the size of a shoe box and the bathroom, a match box. All the campers would use the kitchen, and even though there were facilities outside they would use the bathroom inside. So, that is fourteen people using one bathroom - are there no hygiene regulations in Chile? I was not happy when I had to wait twenty five minutes to use the bathroom the next morning. All of this and we had to pay for the privilege. Never again.
In Villa O’Higgins itself, there is nothing. The library is the only place to hangout as it offers free Internet for half hourly intervals - when the wind hasn’t dislodged the antenna and the connection is working! Test number three. For those of us familiar with broadband and WiFi, old fashioned dial up internet facilities are an absolute nightmare and are often not worth the trouble, even if it is free and we have nothing else to do. We are all so used to things happening in an instant and when they don’t …. oh my goodness, the frustration is unbearable!
So, with five days to waste in Villa O’Higgins without money, we were going out of our minds with boredom. After the grating night in the hostel we moved back into our tent on the side of the road just outside of town along the road to the ferry. We really needed a good nights’ sleep for the trek to Argentina and everyone knows that Jen with little sleep under her belt is not a nice person. The poor Mountain Goat.
Our night in the tent was peaceful apart from the gale force winds. The ear plugs didn’t even help. It didn’t matter so much though as we were finally getting on the ferry….we thought.
On arriving early at the Port we met up with Italian cyclist Giovanni. Giovanni was the infamous snorer from the hostel. He had caught the bus from Puerto Yungay and had arrived in Villa O’Higgins late at night and dropped at the hostel. He too, is not a hostel person and professed similar feelings to us with the poor value for money that the hostel offered. Regardless, the other travelers were pretty nice and respectful. Ok, I will stop going on about the hostel, but readers, please take note: avoid hosteling at all costs!
Ok, back to the ferry. The ferry was due to leave at 0830hrs, but when the Captain didn’t arrive until 0930hrs, we suspected something was amiss. Test number four. The wind was too strong and the ferry would not run until the next morning. Oh my goodness! Another day! Do we slit our wrists now or later? We decided against another night in Villa O’Higgins and found a bloke working on his boat at the Port who said we could sleep on his boat for the night and use his shed for the day to keep warm and out of the rain. We had time to kill.
I was not feeling very well due to sleepless nights and lady problems so curled up in my sleeping bag on the rotten floor to sleep it off whilst Simon and Giovanni conversed in Espanglais. Giovanni’s English is good, and our Spanish is terrible so we all communicate very slowly through a mixture of English and Spanish. It can be very frustrating but we get there in the end. It rained all day and the wind howled down the valley. We just prayed that the ferry would at least leave the next day.
Taking everything into account, we actually had a lovely evening that night. The boat that was being repaired had a wood fired oven that kept us toasty and we enjoyed soupy risotto with Italian parmesan cheese followed by coffee and chocolate; sophistication amongst rack and ruin. In the early hours though, we woke to coughing and near suffocation as the cabin filled with smoke whilst Giovanni tried to relight the fire. Simon had stepped into the galley to sort it out to find Giovanni hidden behind a layer of smoke. Simon then got up every hour or so to add wood to the fire to keep it burning. Another sleepless night, but we all laughed about it the next morning.
Overnight, the wind disappeared and the rain returned to a slight drizzle and the ferry was ready to go. Finally we were on our way again. The boat was fully loaded with all the backpackers from the hostel as well as other tourists who had been waiting, waiting, waiting.
With such a full load, we were a little concerned that we would be unable to get a horse to help
carry our panniers for the 7km section between Chile and Argentina that was next to impossible to do with bikes as it was a hiking track. We had read that other cyclists had struggled with carrying their bikes unloaded and because we are traveling with so much kit, we knew that the only way for us to reach Argentine customs in time for the second ferry would be to have a horse carry our equipment and us the bikes. For this reason, we had spoken with a man in Villa O’Higgins who had confirmed a horse for us but we have learnt along the way that what people tell you isn’t always what transpires. Needless to say this situation was no different.
We arrived at Candelario Mancilla, on the other side of the lake, to load our bikes and bags onto a tractor before walking up the hill to Chilean customs. We then set off for the 12km walk to the official border whilst the tractor chugged up the hill with all of our bags and bikes. The walk was pleasant enough, until we arrived at the border to find that there were no horses. Test number five. Surprise, surprise!
So, with trepidation we loaded up the bikes and with 4 hours to make the next ferry, we set off. On a normal day 7km is a piece of cake, a walk in the park, plain sailing, but after a couple of meters the mud started, then the track became so narrow that we had to try and lift the bikes onto the side of the path to get through and over fallen trees. Oh my goodness, I have never done anything so physically challenging in my life.
At each slight incline, it would take the three of us to push one bike to get it over the hill. The mosquitos and sand flies were unbearable, and the mud so deep in places that half the wheel was swallowed up. The river crossings were next to impossible with Giovanni and Simon having to take off their shoes to push the bikes through the freezing water. It was absolutely ridiculous. What on earth were we doing trying to push bikes through a muddy sodden walking track? It would have been difficult enough with just the bikes had we been able to get the horses, but with the bags as well. At least it wasn’t raining.
Six hours later we cleared the forest and arrived at the top of the hill that overlooked Lago Del Desierto and Argentine customs. We were covered in mud, bruisers and scratches but the sight of Mount Fitzroy against a blue sun drenched sky was rewarding, to say the least. The view was spectacular and our elation of finally reaching the lake was astounding.
As we gazed down at the buildings in the distance with Fitzroy as a backdrop we noticed the ferry returning. Because there had been so many backpackers they had had to make two trips across the lake. Oh my goodness, would we make it in time? We rushed down the hill as best we could but the track became deeper and more muddy and because I couldn’t lift my bike onto the hard edge of the path, poor Simon had to push through with his bike and then return to help me with mine. I think it still took us another 40 minutes by which time the ferry had already been and gone. Test number six. At least the sun was shining.
That night we enjoyed the perfect campsite on the Lake’s edge as we watched the sun set turn Fitzroy all shades of pink. We even managed hot showers in the guards’ house (at a price of course) with a sleep in to look forward to and a 1200hrs ferry. We met three Kiwi girls at the campsite who were off the next morning in the direction we had come from. They didn’t really seem to want to know what lay ahead of them, so we didn’t want to spoil their fun by filling them in. They were lucky though; horses turned up to carry THEIR bags.
After two nights in El Chalten enjoying the ever changing faces of Mount Fitzroy, the three of us took to the road south once again; destination El Calafate. With the wind at our backs, and a beautiful tarmac road we managed 112km by 1400hrs. That has to be a record. We stopped at a cattle station for banana cake, and as The Mountain Goat was feeling poorly, decided to stay and camp for the night. We had anticipated four days for this section because of relentless westerly Patagonian winds, but lady luck was on our side. About time she showed up as far as I am concerned!
So after two days of 224km, and two broken spokes you find us in El Calafate; gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier. We are planning to spend Christmas here and indulge in a cabana so we can cook roast chicken, broccoli (you have no idea how much we miss normal vegetables) and watch television. The 
simple things really. We will say goodbye to our wiry little Italian traveling companion as he heads further south - not everyone has two more months left to get to Ushuaia, but I will miss his parmesan cheese in the evenings (goodness knows how he got it through customs though) and his company. As tiring as it had been at times (with the language difficulties) it has been wonderful getting to know Giovanni and appreciating the love that Italians have for food.
We hope this post finds you all well and gearing up for Christmas. Wish we could be there. More to follow before too long….[Jen]
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Sounds like its getting to be a lot of fun - looks pretty remote from the photos. Wanted to wish you both a warm and relaxing Christmas - I hope you find somewhere to enjoy it!
Something tells me that, after this lot, in the future you’ll not be complaining much about the cycle track on the Boscombe - Poole promenade. It will seem like a motorway in comparison.
However, you don’t get the scenery there that you are enjoying. So for every good thing there is a price to pay.
Hope that you find somewhere to enjoy christmas and have a rest. You have earned it.
Thinking of you
Roy and Carolyn
For real English man, it will be difficult for him to adapt in a Hokkien/Mandarin society as the expectation has a great gap to close up. For an English teacher from S’pore, it will be easy and much more fanciful to live on a chinese ground.
For real English man, it will be difficult for him to adapt in a Hokkien/Mandarin society as the expectation has a great gap to close up. For an English teacher from S’pore, it will be easy and much more fanciful to live on a chinese ground.
For real English man, it will be difficult for him to adapt in a Hokkien/Mandarin society as the expectation has a great gap to close up. For an English teacher from S’pore, it will be easy and much more fanciful to live on a chinese ground.
No I never have, but I’ll google him now. You probably would have had more luck posting this in the nascar section…
I have seen is that things will always be easy peasy if you have found your one true love. You are going to face hard times at some point, you are going to argue and you are not going to agree on everything.
Fully agree with your views. You give exact point related to this post. Thanks a lot..
Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel.
Thesis is still not finished yet, hoping to do some more work on it over the bank holiday weekend.
I haven’t been jumping up and down to mark the demise of the last relationship I was in. This is because I still really care about O, hope that one day we can be friends again, and was trying to be sensitive.
I went to the front of the stage and the music started, torrents of memories came back to me, and I forgot about everything else as I started to sing. Once I had finished, the director said that he would call on Friday to let me know if I had got the part.
The loan are important for people, which would like to ground their own company. By the way, that’s not very hard to get a bank loan.
Hi Grating Expectations that is also depend on all country calculate all is also very impressive and also very must.
They’re really only a pain to clean because the blades are so incredibly sharp. All the important parts of the device come apart, so accessing surfaces isn’t a problem.
One can only anticipate more trouble stirred up by Chavez as his economy tanks, he’ll need to provide some distractions to keep his peasants happy.
I love to participate such type of adventures.
it give me calm and rejuvenated myself.
thanks for sharing with me.
I can’t tell how much I am addicted to such trips. I just love these trips.
Oh DUDE its nice. i love this type of adventures and i can’t tell you that how much enjoy i m getting and hope to do more work on this
I am thankful this morning to be a part of the “superior” party that does not appeal to bitter, angry people like you. Your negative, anti-intellectual party has virtually torn our country apart for years.
The beauty lies in the intersection between those two thoughts and mutually informs them. Accepting that expectation is the root of one’s disappointment isn’t a call to never expect anything from anyone.
You have faced the Great Beauty. You will be very cool at this step.
In Cochrane, the last major town on the Carretera, the ATM only accepted MasterCard, so we pushed on hopeful that our cash would see the distance.
O’Higgins is a nice palace. I once visited there with my Dad.
this is a cool page .
I am thankful this morning to be a part of your “superior” occasion that doesn’t appeal to bitter, angry folks like you. Your unfavorable, anti-intellectual get together has practically torn our country apart for many years.
Hi Buddy I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
Hi very nice blog all flag is very great indicate about nationality thanks for it.
I’ve almost made a sport of letting myself get taken advantage of — almost always knowingly. I just don’t care. Karma takes care of most of the “worst people….
Greate thing you are shared with us. Thanks!
I said I was smug, but it’s not true. I’m relieved. “Smug” reminds me of when the Republicans stole the election from Gore.thanks..
i hope you have blonde hair, blue eyes a completly aryian background and absoltely no birth defects like deafness blindnessin fact i hope yr family shite jewish gold bullion otherwise yd be like looking to c if any of yr family survived the holocaust…
i had the worst headache listening to him. usually i think he’s a little better than the cbc guy loblaw mentioned in his previous question but aside from that they weren’t biased at all.
Experiencing mountain biking travel adventure with your family is one thing that you can do during summer.You can go beautiful places that are seldom visited.
Expectations can be a touchy subject. and this is a great sharing thanx….
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This is because I still really care about O, hope that one day we can be friends again, and was trying to be sensitive.
No, I don’t swear on my blog and I don’t swear off my blog as well. I don’t mind it on other blogs as long as it not a f-bomb and if it is not gratuitous.
a little better than the cbc guy loblaw mentioned in his previous question but aside from that they weren’t biased at all.
Pip has a passionate attraction he feels for Estella even though she was mean and condescending to him. Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel.Thanks….
lol…if I hadn’t had similar conversations with people over the last 20 + years, I’m not sure I could believe this possible ;^)
Really you are getting such a thrilling and adventures experience.Traveling across many countries and having different tastes n experience…
when i am starting your post and my interest is increase and then i make a coffee and decide to read all your post today. bcoz all of your post are look so real.
Thank you admin.
sometimes he says or points out things that are really inappropriate. he chews like a damn barnyard animal. he’s a great guy, but i am tired of feeling tired and dismayed. to be happy do you just have NO expectations, then when he/she does something right, it’s a nice surprise?
Thanks! Didn’t know my component was being used by Adobe-people to showcase the framework, wow..
This is an adorable outfit!! Of course if its a cute back to school outfit, always depends on what your style is, what you want your style to be, what grade your in, what other people at your school wear.
Such journeys can fully exhausted you.There are plenty of good points here, but I’m not sure that under real-time search being discarded. I agree that it is very important, but not the point of that to show what people are saying today about a topic.
Many thanks sharing with all,your experience with different culture.Its not easy to do such dangerous journey’s,its require dare n dedication…
Pip has a passionate attraction he feels for Estella even though she was mean and condescending to him. Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel.
First of all, I would like to thank you for the stellar and informative entry. I have to admit that, I have never heard about this information. I have noticed many new facts for reasoning. Thanks a lot for sharing this useful and attractive information. I will be waiting for other interesting posts from you in the nearest future.
That’s what I had to get off my chest, and I feel much better for the disclosure. If you’ve read this far and haven’t already quit, thank you for your time.
What ferry can I ride in Seattle to get a good view of the city?
I choose…Acceptance over Expectation.
The only expectation I have of myself is to stay with my NOW moments.Expectations are just my ego lying to me again, telling me that I know what happiness or joy is.To be honest, on my own…I dont!
Sure guys.. The Christmas will be great as planned…
Nice Post. This experience is really Amazing.
This experience is really Amazing. I like to travel a lot and you guysexpress your travel experiences.
hey i am also start my own travel blog and i am sharing my visits on it everyday..but i miss a trip like you.
I hope your whole journey gave you a taste of different culture and people to with you talk and share your experiences liked u a lot.Its really dream come true to go for such drive…
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Pip has a passionate attraction he feels for Estella even though she was mean and condescending to him. Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel.
Hope that you find somewhere to enjoy christmas and have a rest. You have earned it.Thinking of you.
Thank you for providing more information. I feel for you, I really do. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult this is on a daily basis.
Thank you for providing more information.If you are an adventurer and natural enthusiast, you can have great time in India with nature and wildlife travel packages.
I haven’t been jumping up and down to mark the demise of the last relationship I was in. This is because I still really care about O, hope that one day we can be friends again, and was trying to be sensitive.
Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel..,,
I appreciate your journey.Experiencing mountain biking travel adventure with your family is one thing that you can do during summer.You can go beautiful places that are seldom visited.Keep on doing like that…
I received 1 st credit loans when I was 32 and this supported me very much. But, I need the auto loan once again.
I wonder how you accomplished your mission of such adventure full journey.Hope that you find somewhere to enjoy christmas and have a rest. You have earned it.Thinking of you.
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Does anyone know if Ninomiya sensei plans on starting a new manga series? Since Nodame Cantabile has been over for a while now. I’d love to read more of that genius!
I really enjoyed reading about your journey.Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House. Estella is Pip’s unattainable dream throughout the novel.Great site to visit really.
Your efforts are priceless.I feel for you, I really do. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult this is on a daily basis.I fully enjoyed your whole journey.
Your journey through forests are really thrilling.
I love tracking and biking on high hills and won many state level competition.Motivating post.
Needless to say, I never skipped a day of work to huddle around a funny world. thanks! Happy NEW Year 2012
Pip has a passionate attraction he feels for Estella even though she was mean and condescending to him. Making fun of his social class etc. Pip still thinks she’s pretty and he cries when leaving the Satis House.
Hats off for the spirit. Great log and loves the photos
Interesting! I am sick of disqus and other systems which try to hog the users from blog to their system!…
all communicate very slowly through a mixture of English and Spanish. It can be very frustrating but we get there in the end. It rained all day and the wind howled down the valley.
The empty Hills road give you the feeling that you are totally cut off the humanity. Just nature and you. It is a great feeling.
If you need Car Rentals services, well I hope you never need in between, because I know the pleasure of riding, but still who knows the destiny, contact us.
Have you started your countdown..You are doing so many things how you manage yourself?
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It can be very frustrating but we get there in the end. It rained all day and the wind howled down the valley. thanks………
I’ll line up to see a band that is playing one show in my local arena because I won’t be able to see the same thing tomorrow.
The area you showed in pics tells that how difficult was your long journey.You spent difficult in different cultures and spent time in tents.A memorable experience.
I can the images and knew that how difficult was your whole journey.Perito Moreno Glacier was really your best choice to celebrate Christmas.Inspiring article post.
Welcome to Grate Expectations, a family run business, established in 1984. We are fire and fireplace specialists who offer free home surveys throughout London, Surrey and the Home Counties…..
I have seen is that things will always be easy peasy if you have found your one true love. You are going to face hard times at some point, you are going to argue and you are not going to agree on everything.