From Polar Bears to Penguins – Driving North to South across the Americas
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Underground |
The meaning of a String – Reading Borges – At the library – Ricardo del Ponte – Today’s Borges. (Map this!)
No puedo combinar unos caracteres dhcmrlchtdj que la divina Biblioteca no haya previsto y que en alguna de sus lenguas secretas no encierren un terrible sentido.
– Jorge Luis Borges, “La Biblioteca de Babel”
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Cuverville Island |
Reasons – An Unusual Destination – Maverick Life – the Real Reason (Map this!)
When we asked our fellow passengers for the reason that they had wanted to go to Antarctica, we got an answer similar to the famous repost by George Mallory, “Because it is there”. Antarctica has a mysterious draw that is hard to explain. We met people that had traveled all the way across the world just to run a marathon in King George Island. Others were there for visiting the “Peace Continent”, so called because of the fact that no one country owns it. One thing is certain, it attracts a very select set of travelers.
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Ferdinand Magellan |
A Portuguese entrepreneur – A Sindhi industrialist – In Punta Arenas – A Hindu temple – Indian food – Being Indian. (Map this!)
In 1505, a young man from an relatively unknown family undertook a long voyage from Portugal to India, on a route pioneered by Vasco da Gama. The Portuguese were at their height of their maritime prowess and controlled a significant portion of asian trade. Having gained valuable experience the young man proposed a daring expedition to his king; a westerly route to the Spice Islands.
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Curanto |
What to do with a mountain of seafood? (Map this!)
What do you do with a “mountain” of “mariscos”? You dig a hole in the ground, heat up some stones and dump the shellfish on top, add spicy sausage or longaniza, chicken and pork for good measure and potatoes just because you grow a hundred different varieties, then cover it all up with the local Nalca leaves and steam it for a couple of hours. The “Curanto” is now ready to be enjoyed with a class of Chilean wine.
Posted in Chile, Picture of the Day, Videoblog on Feb 9th, 2009
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Chaitén |
Eruption – Destruction – Disturbance. (Map this!)
“You haven’t heard about the eruption in Chaitén? The Carretera Austral is closed.” , said the man in Temuco. That was the first time we heard about Chaitén; with relief we found that the ferry was still running and we could still do the Carretera Austral.