"You cross three cattle rails and after several kilometers the road climbs. You can camp there. Do not miss the turn it is marked with a small stick. On your way back tomorrow give us a shout so we know you are all right. You know we do not see many people here."
"Bon dia!" "Do you know that this is a private property? Aaaa, a foreign tourist? What are you doing here? Do you need help? No? Be careful nobody lives here in hundreds kilometers range. Well then...buen viaje."
Thousands of uninhabited islands, hundreds of glaciers, millions of not climbed peeks, wild and uncharted lands - fiords of Patagonia. Grand playground for antisocial oddballs. I'm in!
So this is the famous Chilean Patagonia's treasure, right? Oh it is beautiful and swarm with American tourists. There must have been Torres del Paine commercial on Fox television recently.
All right boys and girls, I am making a big U turn and starting to head North. Do not look like this at me, the bridge to Antarctic is not ready yet.
All the news I am interested in I get from weather reports. And they said that autumn is comming to Tierra del Fuego and brings warm colors to this cold land. So enjoy while you can.
What they left out is that while surveying waters at the end of the world Beagle's captain Pringle Stokes fell into depression, locked himself in for days and finally shot himself and died a few days later. He was buried on shore on the Straits of Magellan at Port Famine.
If only my car's door could adapt to crazy winds of Tierra del Fuego as well as flag trees...
Beyond this there is Tierra del Fuego and then Cape Horn and then Drake Passage and then Antarctic. All those names sound like from a fairytale and turn on my imagination - lands and seas at the end of the world. I wish I had a sailboat to explore all of them. Well, I must buy one then.
Pali-Aike volcanic field is the least visited national park in Chile. Chances are you will be the only human visitor there.
So you think penguins are cute. The one thing you cannot see in TV or cinema about them is that their colonies stink. At Monte Leon you'd better be upwind from thousands of these little buggers.
Exercises in physics. Sound travels much slower than light. First you see a ten story tall block of ice falling into water then you hear it, long and deep thunder. Then again, and again.
The most difficult mountain on Earth - Cerro Torre. Since I started hiking and climbing I have always dreamed about seeing and touching it. And here it is. Can I have an unattainable dream, please. My life is boring - a long string of fulfilled dreams.
How does one run a road in pampa? One takes a map and a straight ruler. That is it. No Ph.D. in civil engineering required. The mother of all gravel roads - Ruta 40. Never ending pampa, never ending road, 120km/h with cruise control on on this gravel road. That's an experience!
No streets, only wooden walkways between houses build on stilts. Everything made of cypress wood. A road came here only two years ago. Caleta Tortel is emerging from isolation in the hart of Patagonia. Still if you want world to forget about you move here.
Do you want to see the bigest salmon in the world? - he asked. Sure - I smiled. And there they were. And he caught a small one to give it a hug.
This must be the nicest road of all. This loose gravel road goes for thousend kilometers where no other roads go. Steep mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers. Place to test your and your car's offroad and survival abilities. This is Patagonia. Crusing and enjoying. This is great.
Valley of Explorers. This is a proper name for this place. Glaciers everywhere, waterfalls, rivers, and lakes. Next season I am taking a see kayak here to go down the river and then paddle to great glacier at Laguna San Rafael. Nobody did it so far. Nobody even comes here.
They eat nothing but seafood here. My belly already hates this rainy island of Chiloe. Brothers and sisters, let's prey for chicken for dinner tonight.
I spent last weekend in Japan. Not really. But Fuji has his brother in Chile. Perfect cone. And for climbers - dangerous, very dangerous.
All gauchos from the area came to Junin de los Andes to party and show off their skills. I have not seen that many horses and riders in a single place in my life. I guess Argentinian pampa is big enough for all of them. They put me on a horse and invited to live with them. My brother would love it.
What do you do with dozens of three and a half meters logs? You build a Swiss cross shaped house. That's patriotic! Will it be painted red and white?
I am addicted to good food. And lots of it. Cook for me and I will be your slave. I am announcing a job opening: Jarek's Personal Chef. Email me your resume. The job comes with a full package of benefits which includes.... Well, we can discuss it in private during the initial interview.
Fruits from my camera. Photographs taken during my flying in Santiago. There is a high chance you will recognize your wing on one of the pictures. Plenty of great models in Parabeer club. Are you sure you are not wasting your talents? See the Paragliding Santiago gallery.
Finally, Central America pictures are ready. Easy countryside living helped here a lot. With increased processing speed the remaining backlog of pictures should be ready in...a couple of years. Check out the Central America gallery.
Five hours of climbing, getting ready for a pioneering flight, and then... What an experience flying down from a rim of snow covered volcano into lush green valleys far away! I love my life.
More photos at the What's Cooking? gallery.
I am living on a farm with horses deep in a countryside. Just like summer in Poland. Well, almost...
One more glass of wine, please. Or a botle. On the second thought, make it a whole case. In Iquique next to Tercer Ojito there is an anonymous alcoholics club. Just in case.
Kisses and hugs to all my great friends in Santiago. It was so much fun here. Hope to see you and fly with you again. But now Patagonia is waiting for me.
Summer flying in Santiago is soooooo good. Last Saturday I flew 35km from Vizcachas, got to 2700m, landed at 21:15 after almost 4h flight, and was greeted by three cute chicks (unfortunately none of them was legal age). On the other hand the two who came to retrieve me were very doable. Thank you Mona and Poly for the retrieve.
