Postcards from Patagonia

Ajourney to the end is sometimes just the beginning. I recently visited Ushuaia in Patagonia, known as the city at the end of the world where reality ends and dreams begin. For me, it was a haven where dreams became reality

From Ushuaia, the gateway to Antarctica, I took an hour-long flight aboard my preferred airline Aerolinas Argentina to picturesque El Calafate. The best description of this stunning sanctuary of nature’s finest would be “Eden on Ice.” Imagine cruising along giant icebergs like frozen vodka monoliths where thousands of languid seals and teeming penguins in black and white tuxedoes lazily converge while, in the backdrop, calving glaciers float magnificently in front of you. As if this wasn’t enough, just a boat ride away, gray sperm and humpback whales frolic as they playfully perform antics and tricks as the gaping audience is mesmerized. The mighty Leviathan of the sea, coordinated by sound, is animated grace in motion. Around the watery landscapes, colossal icecaps formed thousands of years ago creep down to the sea in shelves that powerfully crack causing a thunderous avalanche of howitzer blasts. This extraordinary recurrence is a glorious phenomenon. It takes a glacier mountain millions of years to form yet they break off in minutes, a shrill demise of a fragment of eternity.

Beginning in Central Argentina and stretching from the Rio Colorado to the Strait of Magellan, this dramatic windswept region of Patagonia is truly an unspoiled haven for nature lovers. Glaciers, volcanoes and peaks, sub-tropical savannahs, petrified forests, dinosaur fossils, emerald lakes, immaculate fiords, intense sunsets, native villages, orchards and gauchos with their herd comprise this dreamscape.

The most peculiar etymology of the name Patagonia is owed to Antonio Pigafetta, the scribe of the mission of Magellan who alluded to the feet of the native inhabitants in this region as Patagonia, meaning large feet. It later evolved to the exclamation “Ah Patagon” or earth of giants. The mythical giants belonged to the tribe of the native people called Tehuelche who dominated a greater part of the region. 

Thousands of penguins in their characteristic black and white tuxedos are a common sight to behold in Patagonia.

The main island, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego spans an expanse of 48,000 square kilometers and is shared by Argentina and Chile. Giorgio Nicoletti, who penned the book Sur Patagonia, described it aptly: ”A soul divided in two, Patagonia is, in reality, one earth and one soul. This vast territory is separated by the Cordillera of the Andes, a long backbone that rises above the blue shimmering lakes, breaking the ochre of the immense Argentinean steppe. On the other side, there is the Chilean Patagonia, a thin strip of land covered by sharp pine forests, crushed between the waves of the Pacific and the enormous expanses of the glaciers, a wild world still difficult to explore, but perhaps, for this reason so fascinating.”

I remembered the gracious Argentinian Ambassador Joaquin Daniel Otero and Consul Miguel Realmonte, who facilitated my visa to be able to visit this paradise. My incessant thanks to them as well as my dear friend Menchie Gregorio of Travel Excellence Corp., who lovingly planned my itinerary. I followed their advice to board the train that takes you to the end of the world. Imagine how the most despicable of prisoners jailed here actually constructed their own prison. Visit the mysterious Ushuaia, take a turn to Malvinas islands, the Antarctic peninsula and explore the southern Shetland islands. Being continuously at extreme temperature, the multitude of the environment takes a while to grasp. The picturesque town of Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world, is a picture of perfection. Scenery here resembles structures lifted from storybooks, what with its watercolor buildings, antiquated homes with charming windows that frame the landscape and views and eclectic wooden walls. As you cruise the crystallized waters around the Beagle Channel, you will be beguiled by albatross, gulls, whales, dolphins and cormorants. Check out winter sports rides like snowcat mobiles and sleds pulled by husky dogs. It certainly felt like an early white Christmas. I listened to my Yuletide music on my touch-screen iPod as I drove the snowmobile and all I needed was a cup of cinnamon-laced eggnog to complete the mise en scène. Truly, it may have been freezing outside but I felt warm inside.

Facing the Beagle Channel a few kilometers from Ushuaia — with the snow-capped Andes as our backdrop — was my home away from home, the five-star Los Cauquenes Resort and Spa, which resembled the deluxe log cabins of Aspen, Colorado. You can also enjoy spectacular views while savoring gastronomic Patagonian cuisine, being pampered in their spa sanctuary or taking time out in the heated swimming pool while admiring the stars through the romantic glass ceiling. Truly, a magical and spiritual place for total relaxation.

In Ushuaia, it is known that some men came bearing the Bible to plant the seeds of God’s mighty word. No wonder it is so blessed with the loving kindness of its people and natural bountiful treasures as well. My tour guide and published photojournalist Evelyn Devereux explained why in Ushuaia days are long and nights are brief. It was 10 in the morning as we drove to the Beagle Channel yet it was still very dark. Every June 21, Fuegians celebrate the longest night of the year holding flaming torches. They converge in the heart of the city of Ushuaia as they listen to music and drink to warm their bodies from the omnipresent snow.

Savor nature’s canvas from the Los Cauquenes spa with a scenic view of the Beagle Channel.

I met the gracious secretary of tourism of El Calafate, Ana Maria Ianni, at the luxurious Posada Los Alamos Hotel. We toured the hotel as she shared with me all the challenging excursions one ought to experience in this beautiful region. Surrounded by lush aged poplars and Green Park, this posh five-star property in El Calafate is the premier lodging in town. Its 144 exclusively decorated rooms including four suites and the widest range of services await the most demanding traveler.

It was still dark when I joined the tour group to the Los Glaciares National Park, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. The glaciers after which the park was named, about 13 in total in the Argentine side, show a 10,000-year-old world. The most famous glacier of all of them is the Perito Moreno Glacier, located on the Argentino Lake, at about 85 kilometers from the town of El Calafate. The renowned glacier descends at the foot of the Andean range like a tumultuous river that has been frozen for millennia. Worthy to note, the last rupture of the Perito Moreno Glacier took place on July 9, 2008 and it is the only Patagonian glacier that can be seen from walkways with various observation decks on different levels. One can also take an exhilarating walk atop the glacier, amid intensely blue crevasses or take a surreal boat ride in the underground canals and ice slopes.

I will never forget the deafening sound of the crashing ice blocks as they detach from the glacier and fall into the Canal de los Templanos or iceberg channel. It seems as though the world is being created anew.

This is the charm of the Patagonia region. In its solitude and silence, sparkling lakes, year-round glaciers and endless space, one experiences a slice of eternity. Here, one relives an infinite adventure of a timeless universe where the omnipotent handprint of God is evident in His paradise that comes alive before our very eyes. No need to wake me up. I am not dreaming. Patagonia is genesis’ finest seal and it is for real.

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For more information, call Travel Excellence Corp., the General Sales Agent for Aerolineas Argentinas for the Philippines and Guam, at (632) 892-6006 or fax (632) 892-6254) or send e-mail to travelexcellencecorp@yahoo.com. To visit Patagonia and Ushuaia and the rest of Argentina and South America one can avail more travel bargains by using the Argentina Pass for minimum three flight coupons at US$399 and South America Pass at US$499 for minimum three flight coupons)

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E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.