Perito Moreno - Los Glaciares National Park - Argentina

Sunday, February 18th. After our exhausting journey through Parque Nacional Torres del Paine we were in the mood for a mindless tour, one in which they drive you around in a big comfortable bus and tell you when to get out and take pictures. This is exactly what we got at Perito Moreno, and it was terrific!!
Perito Moreno is also on the top 3 list of places to see in Patagonia along with Torres del Paine and Mount Fitz Roy (which we did not see).
Perito Moreno is a huge glacier that was actually growing in size until the 1980´s. It has now reached a state of equilibrium in which 2 meters fall off everyday but are replaced by massive amounts of snowfall at the top of the glacier.
Perito Moreno is famous for its ruptures. You can read more about this phenomenon at this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier I just don´t feel like explaining it.
During our tour we also took a one hour boat ride that took us right up to the glacier. All in all it was a fun and relaxing end to our journey in the Patagonia. The next day we headed back to Puerto Natales. And then on Tuesday we began our 30 hour bus ride from Punta Arenas to Osorno. Upon arrival in Osorno I purchased a bus ticket for Concepcion and parted ways with Jon and Lisa (they headed back to Valparaiso). I arrived in Concepcion early Thursday morning February 22nd after 37 hours in a bus. I moved in with my family, and will begin classes late next week.

Day 5: Sunrise on the Torres del Paine

We woke up at 5am on Saturday, February 17th in order to make the one hour climb (in the dark) to the mirador to view the sunrise on the Torres del Paine. After stumbling through the dark, and then nearly getting blown off the top of the mountain(the winds were even stronger this day, I would guess gusts were up to 50+ mph, meaning at times I had to crouch down to avoid getting blown away), we got a spectacular view of the sunrise hitting the Torres del Paine. (granite pillars that rise to 2800m).

This was quite the finish to our awesome camping trip in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.

After viewing the sunrise we returned to camp, packed up and then hiked half the day down the mountain to the bus stop.

Day 4: Long hike to the Torres del Paine

This picture was taken towards the beginning of our day 4 hike, near the shore of Lago Nordenskjold.

Day 4 was definitely our hardest day of hiking. We woke up early to hike 16.6 kilometers before starting the 3 hour climb up to the base of Torres del Paine. (Towers of Pain as I like to call them). The climb to the campsite near the Torres was incredibly hard. It was very steep and their was a 30 - 40 mph wind blowing in our face the whole time, threatening to blow us off of the mountain. But we made it to the campsite and would be rewarded the next morning with one of the special treats that the park had to offer. A sunrise on the Torres del Paine.

Day 3: French Valley (without our packs!!)

On day 3 we were able to leave our tent and hiking packs at Campo Italiano and just do a day hike up into the French Valley. This was a nice break from lugging our packs everywhere, although we still covered a lot of ground this day.

This picture was taken on the way up to the French Valley. Pictures just don´t do the French Valley justice, the beauty of the French Valley is that it is almost entirely surrounded by granite towers and mountain peaks.

Once we got to the mirador (lookout) at French Valley. We decided to continue climbing to see what was over the next pass. After about an hour of hiking and climbing up rocks we were rewarded with a rare view of the back of the Torres del Paine. I say rare view because their was no path, and hardly any other people near us.

Day 2

I do not know the name of this mountain, but after hiking 21.6 kilometers on day 2 (Valentines Day) we set up camp at the base of this spectacular mountain.
Throughout the night we could hear the sound of what seemed to be thunder from the tent, but we found out that this noise was actually avalanches falling from the glacier capped mountain. Such a powerful mountain!!!

I also forgot to mention that Jon, Lisa, and I were also traveling with a German guy named Fredd. Fredd is 20 years old and is in Santiago for a year, fulfilling his German service requirement. We met Fredd at a Hostel in Punta Arenas and he was looking for people to camp with in Torres del Paine.

Day 1: Glacier Grey

We arrived at Torres del Paine at about 1:30 on Tuesday, February 13th. We then had to hike 14km (you can do the conversion). We hiked past Lago Grey (Lake Grey) and set up camp just above the magnificent Glacier Grey (seen in this photo).

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

Lisa, Jon, and I flew down to Punta Arenas from Santiago on Sunday, February 11. Punta Arenas is the city located on the Straight of Magellan on the southernmost part of the American Continent. From Punta Arenas we took a bus 3 hours north to Puerto Natales, a smaller town which is the staging point for camping trips to Torres del Paine National Park. In Puerto Natales we rented all the gear that we would need for our 5 day 4 night camping and hiking trip at Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
We woke up early on Tuesday morning, February 13th and took a bus from Puerto Natales to the park entrance. We first took a half hour Catamaran ride that took us past the Cuernos which you can see in this picture.

Strait of Magellan

Yesterday we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile. Punta Arenas is a decent sized city located on the Strait of Magellan. It is amazing to think that I am just about at the end of the world right now.

We are now in Puerto Natales preparing to embark on the 5 day trek through Torres del Paine National Park.

I can´t wait to share the pictures with all of you.


Chao

Preparing for Patagonia

We (Jon, Lisa, and I) are getting ready to leave for a trip to the Patagonia. After many failed attempts to acquire bus or plane tickets we were finally able to purchase our plane tickets this afternoon for a flight tomorrow morning out of Santiago. We will fly down to Punta Arenas, but on the way back we will take the 48 hour bus ride. The 48 hours is the reason for flying one way.

We will be doing the W trek at the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. We will spend about 4 days hiking and camping through the glacier formed mountains of the Chilean Patagonia, hopefully enjoying some spectacular views of one of South Americas most amazing natural wonder The Torres del Paine.

I probably won´t be able to post any pictures, stories, or check my email. But hopefully when I return to Concepcion I will have some unbelievable pictures and stories to share with you. Keep us in your prayers as we will be doing a lot of traveling over the next two days.

Chao

Tour of the Harbor

Yesterday morning we (Lisa, Dave, Jon, and I) took a boat tour of the Valparaiso harbor. It was pretty unbelievable to see giant ships loaded up entirely with fruit! That being said the fruit here is one thing that Chile is known for and it has been delicious here. This time of year a lot of the fruit in the states comes from Chile, so next time you buy some nectarines, peaches, strawberries, plums, or apples at your grocery store they very well might be from Chile.

La Playa

We have spent the past two days at the beach. The first day at Reñaca and the second day at Viña Del Mar. This is a picture of Viña Del Mar. This beach is one of the more popular tourist destinations (especially in the summer months) of all of South America and consequently the beach is very crowded.

La Campana

This picture was taken near the top of La Campana. La Campana is the highest peak in the coastal Cordillera. Jon, Dave, and I spent about two and a half hours hiking up the mountain through the clouds and when we reached the top we finally broke through the tops of the clouds. On a clearer day you can see both the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean from this point. Darwin apparently made this place somewhat famous by writing about this fact. However, I would not trade the view that we had, we really had the feeling that we were standing on top of the world.
The mountains in the background of this picture is the Coastal Cordillera (Cordillera means range).

It´s fun to stay at the YMCA

This is a picture of the room that I have been staying in for the past week at the YMCA in Valparaiso. It has been really nice to have my own room for a little while. I am able to spread my stuff out and not worry about anything getting stolen. I will be staying here until I decide to move in with my Host Family in Concepcion. My semester at Universidad del Bio Bio will begin on March 1st.

Valparaiso II

I have had a couple of fun action packed days in Valparaiso. I have been staying in the YMCA (I even get my own room). My friend Jon Milonas lives and works at the YMCA, however this week he has been staying in a hotel up the road with his brother Dave who is visiting this week from Chicago. It has been great to sight see with the two of them. The day after watching the Bears lose the Super Bowl we hung out at the Y for the morning and then went out to the foster house where Jon volunteers (I have a lot more respect for Jon, the kids were out of control). After spending two hours with the kids we met up with two of Jon´s friends and went to a Circus (Los Tachuelos) in Viña Del Mar. The parts that I could understand were pretty hilarious.

The next day we went to La Compana, a national park about an hour away from Valparaiso. We hiked to the top of the peak, and got one of the most spectacular views that I have ever seen (I will upload pictures later), but basically we spent the entire climb in the clouds and when we reached the top we broke above the clouds and could only see clouds and other mountain peaks.

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach in Reñaca, just past Viña Del Mar. It was a very relaxing fun time. That night was Salsa night at the Y, so I had my first hour and a half of Salsa dancing lessons. It was fun, but much harder than it looks, I will need more lessons, but hopefully before I leave I will have it down.

Today we took a tour of the Valparaiso harbor in the morning and then spent the afternoon at the Viña Del Mar beach.

I will hopefully be posting pictures with more details in the next few days, but for now that is all.


Chao

Valparaiso

I took the one and a half hour bus from Santiago to Valparaiso today. I will be in Valparaiso for 1 to 3 weeks. I am staying at the YMCA here with my friend Jon Milonas. I will be helping out with some things here, day camps, English classes etc.. but I can mostly decide what I want to do. I am in Jons room right now, but will probably get a room of my own later this week. It has been so awesome how God has worked all these people out for this trip. It has really been a blessing to get to travel, see the country, meet new people, and serve God before my semester starts here.

I was able to watch the Super Bowl here at a Sports Bar in Vina Del Mar with Jon, Dave his brother, and Lisa another girl at the YMCA from New York. I was very unhappy about the result, but atleast im here and well, and it was a really fun first quarter!!!

This is a picture of the 4 of us at the sports bar, with a delicious artery clogging appetizer.

Chilean Countryside

This was our third and final location for showing the Jesus Film. We partnered with the Emmanuel Pentecostal Church in this area.

Iglesia Biblia Abierta

We showed the Jesus Film twice at this church.

Border of Argentine and Chile

This mountain/plateau marks the border between Chile and Argentina. The scenery was absolutely beautiful in the area where we showed the Jesus Film, right along the border of Chile and Argentina.

Jesus Film Project

We showed the Jesus Film to about 400 different people at 5 different locations in Chile over the course of 6 days. The Jesus Film is a movie about the last three years of Jesus life and is based off the gospel of Luke. We showed the Spanish version, but one of the other groups showed the film in Mapundungu, the language of the Mapuches.

Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le, Viva Chile!!

Myself, Diego, and Pato striking a pose in front of the Chilean flag.

Argentinian Asado

The last night of the Campamento the Argentinians did what they are known for and grilled us all some delicious beef. They had a fire going and would shovel the burning embers under the grill to cook the meat. I am not sure exactly why they used the cardboard to cover the meat, but it came out delicious.

The Beach - Lake Alumine

Enjoying the beach on Lake Alumine, in Villa Pehuenia, Argentina, with Daniel, Diego, and Matthias. Unfortunately I got pretty sunburnt, their isn't much of an ozone layer in the south here.

Dessert at the Campamento

This is a picture of me enjoying dessert with some of the Chilean students at the Campamento in Argentina.

Lake Alumine - Villa Pehuenia, Argentina

This is the lake upon which the Campamento was located.

Campamento

Campamento located on Lake Alumine in Villa Pehuenia, Argentina. This was the location of the week long Campus Crusade retreat for students from Chile and Argentina.

Bus Ride

Loading up the bus that took us from Temuco, Chile through the Andes Mountains to Villa Pehuenia, Argentina for the Campus Crusade retreat (Campamento)

Jesus Film Project - Región de la Araucanía, Chile

We departed the Campamento on Saturday, January 27 to begin our week long Jesus Film Project amongst the Mapuche people of Chile. I was in a group of 14 students and Campus Crusade staff from Chile that would be showing the film in Icalma (just across the border of Argentina in Chile) and two other communities in the area, Merimenucu Alto and Bajo (spelling is most likely wrong).

In Icalma we were able to show the Jesus Film for Children in front of an entire camp of 230 chilean kids. The camp is a government funded project that allows underpriveliged Chilean students to enjoy a week at a camp by the lake with fun and good food. By the Lord's grace the camp director allowed us to show the story of Jesus' life in front of the entire camp.

We also showed the Jesus Film (the last three years of Jesus life taken from the gospel of Luke) in Spanish at a campsite on the lake. Their were probably about 50 people in attendance.

One other highlight of our stay in Icalma was seeing our dinner fall out of a wheel barrow. The church graciously grilled us a sheep for the last night, and early that afternoon as we were getting ready for the movie we saw a tied up sheep fall out of a wheel barrow outside of the church. Needless to say some of the girls in our group were a little heartbroken.

After two days in Icalma we traveled about a half hour down the road to Merimenucu Alto where we stayed and worked with pastor Augustin at the Biblia Abierta (Open Bible Church). We should the movie there twice and had about 30 people at each showing which is really amazing considering an hour long walk would only take you past 5 other houses. We were really in the middle of nowhere, the community had just gotten electricity the week before, but it was absolutely beautiful there.

For our last leg of the Jesus Film Trip we drove about two miles down river to Merimenucu Bajo where we stayed at the Emmanuel Pentecostal Church. This community had a few more houses and we should the movie three different times to crowds of 50, 30, and 20. One of the highlights of this stay was the grilled goat dinner that we enjoyed our final night. The pastor's family did a terrific job of seasoning and grilling the goat meat.

The Jesus Film was overall a terrific experience. It was very stretching to live in such rustic conditions and to only be able to communicate with people in Spanish. It was also heart breaking to hear some of the Mapuche's tell us that they can't come to church because their god will be mad at them. While at the same time it was extremely encouraging to see how real and powerful the message of the gospel is to the pastor's of the churches, their families, and their church bodies. I will continue to think about and pray for the Mapuche people. God is definitely working amongst them, but still many of them have a lot of barriers built up toward Christianity.

One verse that kept ringing over and over in my head during this trip was Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!""

I feel so blessed and so unworthy to have been the feet to bring the grace and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Mapuche people.

John 1:14
"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Campamento - Villa Pehuenia, Argentina

I am now back in Santiago after my time in Argentina and Chile at both a Campus Crusade retreat in Argentina and a Jesus Film Project trip in Chile. I can't post any pictures right now (I left my camera plug at another apartment in Santiago, but hopefully later today I will have some pictures). I will start out by detailing my experience at the Campus Crusade retreat in Argentina.

We left for the retreat at about 10pm local time on Sunday, January 21 from Santiago, and after a long trip through the night and day we arrived at the campamento (camp) in Villa Pehuenia, Argentina at about 5 pm on Monday. Our trip included an overnight bus ride to Temuco, Chile, and then a smaller winding bus ride through the Andes Mountains and across the border into Argentina.

The scenery during the drive and at the Campamento were amazing. We passed numerous volcano formed snowcapped peaks and even traveled through a 3km long, one lane tunnel.

The Campamento is located on beautiful Lake Alumine. This lake sits in a mountain valley, has beautiful sandy shores, and cold clean water. I spent a couple afternoons laying by the lake talking with people, reading, and just enjoying the surroundings. Unfortunately their isn't much of an ozone layer and I got sunburnt pretty bad.

Their were about 60 or 70 students and staff from Argentina and Chile at the camp. Fortunately for me their were a number of Americans on staff with Campus Crusade that could help me a little bit with the language since everything was in Spanish.

The campamento was a great week of worshiping God, learning from his word, practicing Spanish, and getting to know new people. It was a great introduction to South America, and I will have some more pictures and details coming soon.