Change of scenery, I leave this area of Argentina, bordering Brazil and Paraguay to go to the Andean northeast. After a stop in the city of Salta, I head for the Humahuaca quebrada where a set of tiny villages stretch out along the canyon. The Argentinians who lives in these lands have much more similarities with their Bolivian neighbours than with the distant porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires). The quebrada-built-in asphalted road leads me up to the village of Humahuaca. The dusty alleyways weave in and out of the whitewashed buildings. I live in the Posada El Sol hostel, an architecture jewel, simple and local, nestled in the bottom of the village. The overhead colourful hill overlooks the village. A heaven to rest or to immerse oneself in the Andean culture.
The next day, departure for the village of Iruya through a bumpy, earthy road. We cross a 4000m-plus pass. We are geographically at the beginning of the Altiplano, this high Andean plateau that towers between 3000 and 5000m high. The village stands in the only flat corner of the canyon. All the rest is only stone-draped hill and dried riverbed. A promontory-topping shrine and a white cross enlighten and protect the villagers. The time seems to stop and the daily public bus is the only link with the other southern villages.
Tilcara and Purmamarca complete the list of the villages of this valley. While the first one entices the Andean-craft-lovers tourists, the second one nestles in the spurs of the seven-color hill. A path goes up and down behind the village. I plunge into the earth and stone rainbow which covers the hillocks of the route. The night, zampoñas, sikus and guitar propagate the melodious waves of the Andean music in one of the restaurants of the village. The music is gut-wrenching. I walk out the restaurant, the music keeps on resounding inside my head ; my feet lift up the dust of the church-lined alleyways in the silence of a soft night. It's hard to think that in one week I'll set foot on the big malls among the crowd, two days before Christmas.
Before definitely leaving the quebrada, a small local travel agency offers an excursion to las salinas grandes. A miniature replica of its Bolivian neighbour, the salar of Uyuni. A flat, white expanse stands out with the tormented sides of the quebrada, salt in abundance cracks under our steps. A white desert whose salt is partly exploited to end in a box, laid on a table.
Keyword - chromatic vertigo -
Saturday 15 December 2007
the palette of colors of the Humahuaca quebrada
By dorian on Saturday 15 December 2007, 10:03 - RTW-Argentina
Friday 30 November 2007
The nudibranches of Poor Knight Islands
By dorian on Friday 30 November 2007, 20:07 - RTW-New Zealand
Our second day of diving is located on the archipelago of the Poor Knight Islands that Jacques-Yves Cousteau made it popular ranking the spot as one of the 10 best dives in the world.
We have an appointment at 9am in the peaceful pier of Tutukaka. We get the diving equipment before settling on board of the boat. After a short safety briefing, we heave the anchor. The sea is calm while the outline of the islands loom in the distance. En route, we suddenly change the course to chase a group of pilot whales. Sort of big bulby-headed dolphins. For a short time, we forget the scuba diving and our eyes look for the dark spots on the water surface.
We leave the company of the cetaceans to head for the islands of the archipelago. A large opening in the rock overlooks us and it's under this arch we 'll pass diving. We quickly put on the equipment, mask installed and regulator in the mouth, we jump into the ocean. A trickle of cold water flows alongside my spine as we sink to the bottom of the sea. We enter in a long corridor where the giant seaweeds dance in the current. A soft light illuminates the colossal gully we swim in. A kind of triomphant aisle reserved for the submarine world. Despite the imposing size of the way, our looks linger on the small animals which live among the seaweeds. The mulitcoloured nudibranches (sea slugs) give eerie shades to the rocks. Tiny invertebrates which let us forget all the rest.
The second dive completes our visual set of fish, nudibranches and submarine flora. A second dose of nitrogen in the outstanding sea bed of this archipelago.
Monday 26 November 2007
Chromatic delirium on the Tongariro Crossing
By dorian on Monday 26 November 2007, 19:59 - RTW-New Zealand
All the hiking buffs (tramping in the New Zealand language) arranged to meet here for certainly the finest one-day trek we can enjoy on the kiwis' land. During the Tongariro crossing, several choices are possible to extend the path such as the ascent of the Ngauruhoe volcano. We'll opt for climbing this almost-perfectly-conical volcano.
In the morning, we take the shuttle from the National park village to go to the beginning of the route. We get in the lands of the Mordor. A few years ago, within this barren and dark area, Peter Jackson settled the headquarters of the nasty orks for his trilogy "the Lord of the ring". Debris of volcanic rock strew the uneven scenery of the trek. Everything is only dark red and black.
We turn on the right to walk the steep slope of the volcano. Our feet sink into a mixture of mud and pumice. The sun burns. Droplets of sweat stand out in beads on the face. We climb with a lot of difficulty, our steps are so uncertain on the unstable parts. After an one-hour effort, we reach the summit. Smokes escape from the puffy stones. The crest outlines the snow-covered crater where we peer the lunar panorama from. A 360° mind-boggling vista. Sterilized and dark mountains suddenly welcoming and intoxicating.
We walk down through the scree. An acrobat exercise to avoid falling down. A jealous climbing hiker insults us shouting that our stupid games trigger off avalanches of stones. Sheer envy of our refined style. I sit down to keep on going down a sheet of snow. The speed overwhelms me. The 2 hands and 2 feet aren't enough to stop me and I fininsh into the rocks. I'm all right with only a sprain at a finger and a painful ankle. But I perhaps broke the record of the fastest descent of the volcano!
A the bottom of the volcano, we empty all we collect during the descent from our shoes and we start again the normal path of the Tongariro crossing. A gentle slope our tired bodies take it and suddenly forget in front of the spectacle which faces us.
A red and black monument, a sort of volcanic, rocky grottoe and 3 lakes with colours that only nature can give. The science will explain these are deposits of sulphur. Our eyes are far from all these rational explanations. They dip again into this other world we don't want to leave any more. Every trekker walks in slow motion or stops, the faces twisted by the stunning beauty.
We decide to have the lunch on this unreal ground. A little bit of rice before starting the long descent to the valley. The multi-hued show is behind us. Our minds seem ethereal, relieved by so many beautiful things.
The Tongariro Crossing : let you write it down in the page "must do in New Zealand".
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