Winter 2003

Smiler was away in South America for this winter, some of you may have read about some of his adventures on his blog. Due to communications difficulties Smiler was unable to keep the blog up to date so in the interests of completeness we have published the remainder of his escapades here. Photos will follow.

The Cuthbertsons ‘Chasing Che’

*From the original blog. If you have already read this then skip it and go to the final update here.

[ Tue May 06, 01:59:25 AM |

We're in southern Ecuador (a place called Cuenca) and it's quite a nice
town. The scenery was magic in S. Ecuador for the last two days but the
police checkpoints are a pain. We stayed at Loja first and it was dump.
Things are looking up.

Thermal baths and more Inca ruins next, and then hopefully some volcaoes
around Quito.
I make it 19 days holiday left!

[ Tue Apr 08, 01:14:31 AM |

Smiler has had a bit of free time and has sent more detailed update on his adventures.

Once i get a minute i'll publish a selection of images in his gallery so you can put an image to a place.

He's been a busy guy...

Arriving in Santiago on December 4th, we were soon heading down to the Lake district of Chile, and on the way south, visited Malalchuella where there is a 2000 mt+ volcano covered in snow. As I couldn't get the
kids up that, we climbed a smaller (1800m+) newer volcano called Navidad (all shale but a smoking Joe!)

Continuing down to Puerto Montt we sightsee'd and saw where our boat from Puerto Natales would come in, two and a half months later.

Back up to Santiago and across to Bariloche, a great place and beautiful country on the Argentina border. Then across in Argentina and across to
Necochea on the coast below BA where we had Xmas and a great time on the beach and in the sea. I went up to BA to meet Wyn and joining the family
back in Necochea, we all went west to Bahia Blanca and spent a superb New Year's Eve there.

Next we moved south to Puerto Madryn and the Valdez Penninsula (penguins, elephant seals but no whales). Taking Wyn to the Welsh settlements of Trelew and Gaiman was fun and enlightening. We left Wyn for a night with the Taffs and went to Punta Tomba, where there were more big seals (delivering babies!) and 1000s of penguins.

South to Rio Gallegos and Sarmiento (Petrified Forests).

Then comes the big ones (for me)!
Across to El Calafate and the trip to the edge of the Perito Merino glacier - Awesome! Then came a three day spell on Fitzroy (awesome), which needed a big hike for the kids (and me with all the gear in my sack!). But a splendid mirador (veiwpoint) smack in front of and close to the big faces of Fitroy, Poincenot and the smaller one on the right!
Then it was off to Puerto Natales and some great outback horse riding and then another great trip to see the Towers of Paine (also awesome!). We threw in a trip to the Miloden caves nearby and then it was off to Punte Arenas and a one-day trip to Ushuaia, suposedly the lowest town in the world. The place was great and we regreted only having a brief time there. It's the kick-off for the Antarctica and we'll be there again one day for that place!

On to the very nice (restfull) 4-day boat trip up the west coast to Puerto Montt again. Moving north and westwards we visited Chiloe Island and ate some great fish meals in Ancud and then the capital of Chiloe, Castro, where there are lots of houses on stilts on the estuary.

Back up to Santiago and across to Mendoza for the Aconcagua work for 20 days. The weather beat me again on that laborious and logistical climb and I think the next time (third attempt) I'll just get acclimatised and do it in one stint with no laborious ups and downs, clients or no clients.

Clare and the kids spent a great 16 or so days on a campsite outside Mendoza and with frequent trips into town, had a great time there.

Leaving Mendoza, via a frustrating border crossing back into Chile, we hit La Serena, at the south of the Atacama desert. There is a great deal to see and enjoy with this desert, not withstanding, Elqui Valley and Pisco (hic) factories, the Observatories with great midnight views of a completely clear and beautiful starry sky, Calama, and then the Chinquicamata copper mine (vast), San Pedro de Atacama, another part of this vast desert, adobe houses etc and no water for miles, the Valley of the Dead (a superb dry valley and the Valley of the Moon (beautiful at sunset), then a three-day trip across the desert bound for Uyuni, but one of our 6-some party got seriously ill with the alitude and we had to force our driver to go down and direct to Uyuni, missing out the vast salt desert. The company came good though, paid for hotel and meals in Uyuni and then put on a special return trip across this incredible salt desert, complete with a hotel (not used) made out of salt blocks. Flamingos were also a highlight along the way and the evacuation trip was wild, totally off road for 7 hours! Add on thermal springs and a couple of big volcanos, some great geysers and we had a great Atacama trip!

On to Potosi where the silver mine trip was pretty scary for me, let alone the kids and Clare. Down through 3 deep levels of crawling with limited air and headtorches, wellingtons and full waterproofs (boiling hot at times). Claustrophobic, what?

Northwards to Oruro and off to Sajama, here there is the most beautiful volcano going! I made a fast trip up to the base camp at 4700m and climbed an easy peak of 5200m next to the BC, in trainers but luckily no snow, whereas the volcano is covered near and after high camp at 5400m. Then it was off to La Paz (4000m), a great place and with 6 million people, a vast and interesting experience. We left there after a couple of days civilisation living and went over into Peru, to Lake Titicaca and the Isla del Sol (pretty) and great burial sites of the Incas and lots more to see.Today we went onto the floating reed islands (spooky) but a great trip (and cheap too).

So we've seen lots, spent lots of days on overland buses (quite comfortable though) and Cuzco is now next (tomorrow) with Machu Picchu and then Arequipa with some very deep gorges, then Huaraz and Lima and then into Ecuador and hopefully do a volcano or two.

Only 49 days left - where has the time gone?

[ Tue Mar 25, 05:13:04 AM |

An Update - better late than never!

Smiler has been very busy and while he has been travelling around he has been keeping me in the picture. Unfortunatly news has been a bit thin on the ground and rather than posting that Smiler is here or there i thought i'd get a chunk of info togther an post that.
Smiler has visited the Fitzroy and the Torres del Paine and a couple of images are available in the gallery. He has now moved up to Bolivia and is exploring the snowy volcanoes in this region and is now moving north to La Paz.
Smiler has been across some awesome salt flats, around an amazing Copper mine and DOWN (with Clare and the kids) a fantastic but sligthly terrifying silver mine. They have seen so much that they tell me it's hard to recall everything. On Friday the 21st they were off to recce a future trip up Sajama, the highest volcano on Bolivia. More news on this when I get it.

[ Mon Jan 06, 02:39:52 AM | Steve Tunnicliffe |

On the 6th of January 2003 Smiler sent...
Too much to tell you about at this time - elephant seals breeding (babies as well as monster seals, penguins galore (so funny) and lots of other interesting animals (no whales yet though).
We are now in Puerto Madryn and have visited the Welsh towns and seen a couple of welsh speakers (Wyn Ellis, our man with us, is extremerly happy.) Tomorrow we go further south to Rio Gallegos and look at petrified forests.
Then it is off down as far as one can go ( Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia).

So, next time I will call you I will be even further south.

The final update...

Several great days were spent on and around Lake Titicaca. We visited the famous tourist sites of the Isla del Sol by boat, and spent a couple of good days exploring Copacabana. Returning to La Paz, we stopped off to meet the founder and still manufacturer of the famous reed boats, the Kontiki and the Ra II. These superb boats were involved in precarious and exploratory sea trips. Paulino Estaban was still able and lively at 80 plus years and was a great host that day. We have a large souvenir of the classic boat now.

More fun days in La Paz, a great city and then north to Puno. Reached by road and ferry, this coastal town has the distinction of having the nearby ‘floating reed’ islands as its neighbour. Uros and other islands have a continuous process of bottom layer (reed) degeneration, the top layer being added to. This ‘topping up’ process leaves a spongy yet quite safe layer on which whole villages survive.

The weather here in April was very nice, contrasting with the damp Bolivian atmosphere earlier. Also from Puno, we visited the Sillustrani funeral towers, more pre-Inca culture. Next came one of the highlights of our six-month trip — Cusco and Machu Picchu. Cusco itself, with splendid culture and architecture, is the starting point, by train, for this world famous trek to the famous hidden city. Trekkers and tourists are disgorged at Kilometre 108 and the 4-day trek to, and the viewing of, this world famous Inca ruins, commences. With our children in mind, we opted for the shorter but no less interesting 2-day trek, staying at a splendid but rather out of place hotel, high in the mountains on the first night and then an early morning two- hour walk to the ruins, hoping to catch the splendour of these majestic ruins at first light. The weather beat us again though, drizzle spoiling an otherwise fantastic trip.

Ing and his family from Bali, joined us for the second day and after the usual sightseeing, Ing I made a rapid ascent and descent of Huayna Picchu (2800 metres), this steeply inclined peak overlooking the best of the sights. Back to Cusco but not before experiencing the suspect engineering of the Cusco to Machu Picchu railway components. Coming into Cusco at night, a glorious sight of the lit-up city was disrupted by a loud crack, and the train pulling to a halt, leaving us stationary for half an hour. Off again towards the city, investigations had to be made (had we hit a Llama?) No, the linkage between the engine and the carriages had snapped’ From Cusco, we made our way to the coastal city of Arequipa and the famous Colca Canyon, This valley, splendid as it is, did not look not the depth we were advised — twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in Arizona — it didn’t think so, but was a superb canyon. But the condors, swooping and gliding very close to our viewpoint, as if by order, were indeed spectacular. Great pictures of this majestic bird were digitally captured. Arequipa is home to some coastal mountains and volcanoes, the most famous of the latter being El Misti, at c6000 metre but with little permanent snow. I was hoping to climb one of its higher neighbours, Chachani, at 6300 metres and covered in permanent snows and glaciers. I was able to or a smaller than usual ‘guiding’ fee for this 2-day ascent. A ‘Mont Blanc’ type of peak. Justin, an American living and working in Cusco, also made the ascent with me, it being his first peak!

Another highlight of Arequipa was the bull fight. Not the cruel and insensitive fights of Spain, but a contest where two bulls lock horns an ‘persuade’ each other to back off thus leaving a victor, usually chasing the loser around the field. The safety of spectators is a little questionable!

Leaving Arequipa with great memories, we took the bus to Nasca, where the famous and mysterious Nasca lines are to be seen. These lines are sometimes as straight ‘as a rule’ for many 100’s of metres but there are also distinctive shapes, of humming birds, a monkey, a dog, and others. Their construction and ability to survive the winds etc. are a real mystery even to this day. There is virtually no rain here all year, so that helps! The raised surface of the lines is only a few centimetres wide and deep, and one would assume identity would soon be lost. But no, for many 100’s of years, the Nasca lines remain in perfect order.
After we had visited the main area by car and on foot, Laurie and I attended to the Internet café chores while Clare and Robyn took the little plane and made a scenic viewing trip of the lines, for about an hour.

Next it was Lima! Having just touched this vast sprawling city in the mid 90s, while on the way to the Cordillera Blanca, the bus station at that time seemed the safest part of this then decaying city. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a lot more to Lima on this visit. Miraflores, the well-to-do coastal section of the city was wonderful, and even the downtown city life was interesting. Chinese restaurants (Chifas) abound and provided glorious rice dishes at very low prices.
Towards the end of April we were on our way (bus again) to Huaraz where my ascents of Huascaran, Ishinca and Maparaju climbs had taken place in the mid 90s. I wanted to show Clare some views of Huascaran (at 6768 metres the highest peak in Peru) but the weather was against me, the mountains covered in cloud. It would be another two months before the conditions improved enough for Huaraz to become the teeming ‘Chamonix’ of Peru, climbers arriving in their hordes, ready to scale the majestic peaks of this Cordillera Blanc. We were able to visit Yungay or the re-established town, the original destroyed by a monstrous avalanche from Huascaran in the 70s. Over 70000 people lost their lives and the sombre views of the monuments in memory of the disaster were sobering!

My son, Laurie, and I spent a great, although slightly uncomfortable, day on horses, roaming the hillsides south of Huaraz, and seeing some spectacular peaks and ridges in that area. Some idyllic plans were made with the arrerrio (mule man), for future 10 - 12 day trips into and up the peaks we could see.

Relaxation was high on the required list after so much travelling, so we headed west for the beach. A famous one at that, it was reckoned to have the ‘longest left-hand surfing waves in the world’! The place was called Huanchaco, north of Trujillo. The waves weren’t quite as big as I’d heard but it was warm, and great fun diving through these (to me, monstrous) waves. The beach was clean and delightful crabs, wary of the human presence, kept diving down hastily dug 50mm holes and when the coast was clear, were popping up again and scurrying along the beach in a mad search for food.

The little town of Huanchaco is also famous for the flat reed boats that leave very early from the beach, paddle out to their fishing grounds, and are a spectacle when returning with their catch.

We took a taxi back to Trujillo and the local bus to Chiclayo and the witchdoctors market. A bustling, busy town, its market is enormous, full of artefacts and potions which supposedly will cure and solve any illness or problem.
We moved on to the town of Puira for the night and then crossed the border on a luxury (?) coach into Ecuador. The small town of Loja was our entry into the final country of our tour. Cuenca was next, with the cathedrals splendidly lit up at night and what turned out to be one of the best restaurants we’d visited in the whole of South America. We visited the thermal baths there and then, well into May by this time, saw our final Inca ruins at Incapirca. Very nice and interesting but when one has been to Machu Picchu, a little deflating. On to Alausi for the magical train ride on the Sibambe circuit (the Devil’s Elbow). This was supposed to be the highlight of the short journey from Alausi, riding on top of the train carriage, and viewing the spectacular scenery. We actually found the second and much longer stage, returning to Riobamba, through splendid countryside, as interesting, even though a little shivery!

The tourist town of Banos lived up to its image and provided most things a westerner could desire, especially good food and festivals with colourfiul processions. I had eyed up the local volcano, Tungurahua, at over 6000 metres, with a view to spending some cash and scaling it. The local agents were reluctant to engage a deal, as the mountain was very active, spilling rocks well into the air at regular intervals. I did get one private guide to agree to climb it, but at his price I decided I’d go back another time with my own clients. Instead, the whole family took a 4 wheel jeep ride to fairly high on the peak and then a leisurely but exiting bike ride down the track. Laurie was eager to race off down, but Robyn was slower to gain the confidence on the rough and slippery track. Towards the end though, she was up at the front. More thermal baths (but with one pool section so hot even the elders couldn’t stay in too long). The contrast between the hot pools and the icy waterfall five yards away was phenomenal!
Finally into Quito. A great city and the capital of Ecuador, it holds around 2,000,000 residents. Lying right on the equator, it is surrounded by many volcanoes, one of which had recently erupted, covering the town with white ash. Now cleaned up, the town was back to its vibrant self and we visited the equator, the ‘Mitel del Mondo’, where the children managed what dad couldn’t, balancing an egg on the head of a metal nail, half of the egg on one side of the world and the other half on the other side. We were shown the water vanishing down the plug holes with the circles of water flowing in one direction and then the other way around. Spectacular!

There two or three volcanoes I felt I should climb, especially as we would be returning to Europe in a week or so. Clare and the children decided to splash out and visit the Galapagos Islands, world famous for the wildlife there (and only there!)
Once the deals were struck with the travel agents in town, I was pointed to a local guiding agency, for my trips up Guagua Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and the biggest of the lot, Chimborazo. Then what occurred was only our second disaster of the South American trip. Next day, on our visit to the world famous Otavalo market, passports and cash were stolen (I know, we shouldn’t have had them with us, but after six months, a slight slackness in attention prevailed) and with the Galapagos and first acclimatisation trip planned for the next morning, there were frantic efforts on behalf of the travel agents, getting last-minute police reports, racing us back and forwards across the city to some shady areas where “you don’t come here on yoi own”! With the airline appeased, Clare and the kids took off on the Sunday and I waited for Raphael, my guide (and friend now), to collect me for the cclimatisation walk up Guagua Pichincha. At just over 4800 metres, it’s just a walk and slight scramble, but they said the view of the crater was spectacular. The rain and cloud put paid to that! I also had to abandon the rest of the week’s projects, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, as I felt I had to stick around the city, visit the embassy and sort out how we were going to get home the following Monday.

Our exit visas had also been stolen on that fateful previous Saturday (another lapse of concentration — never carry documents together, and then only copies). Raphael was understanding and told me, if things were sorted out, we could still get up a peak later. Frustrating hours and days past by (with the rest of my family probably relaxing on daily visits to fabulous islands in the sunshine) as I progressed with my quest to replace the stolen passports and exit visas. Backwards and forwards I went, from embassy to travel agents, waiting in lines, but all to no avail. I needed the passport photos, copies of which had also gone! So it was left to try and pull the family off the tour a day earlier than planned and get them on the first flight available, back to Quito. This would be, at the latest, by Thursday mid-afternoon, and then Victor(??) would do some dealing and get our new exit visas in two days, Friday and Saturday. If successful, we could then relax on Sunday and take our booked flight home on Monday morning at 6am. All went smoothly thanks to the efforts of the travel agent, and lo and behold, the money talked and exit visas and passports were secured by the Friday mid-morning!

That meant I could hastily arrange a trip up Cotopaxi with Raphael and his four female clients. He also had his young lad along to assist. But as a guide myself, I ensured that my role was not as a client, but an assistant guide. So no money change hands, apart fron some gear hire and a park entry fee. An afternoon on the nearby glacier was spent showing the beginners some ice craft techniques and on Sunday morning at midnight we again left our camp for the trek up to the refuge and then the peak. We’d been advised to stay at the camp, at a lower height, as it was difficult to sleep at this very high hut. Unfortunately, it still proves acclimatisation pays off. Three of the four girls didn’t make it too far past the hut. Raphael, the senior guide and owner of the company, escorted the girls back down to camp and I was left with Kaye, from Ireland, and the young boy, who steadfastly wouldn’t allow me to take charge of the party. Oh well, get in line and follow the leader! Eight gruelling hours later, the view of the crater and the surrounding countryside was fantastic, worth all the hassle of the previous week (well, maybe!). Back down to the jeep and the return to Quito. Next morning we are on the plane, touching down first in Miami, then a cold Heathrow. It was all over!

Our original plan, to follow the Silk Road, from Jerusalem to China, had been thwarted by the events of September 11th. But ‘Chasing Che’ proved a wonderful replacement (a journey of a lifetime), one I hope my children will treasure for the rest of their lives. Admittedly, the memories, at that young age, soon fade, but as they go through life and handle whatever comes up, they’ll use some of the skills and experiences they learned from 4th December to 2nd June 2003 I hope it will to assist them through their young lives. I learned a lot as well, seeing the poverty and political pressure that Che Guevara fought and died fighting to ease, and we all had some truly amazing times.

Next? The Silk Road maybe, but we have been so close to Antarctica as well, and I’m already making some tentative plans for the Super Couloir on Fitzroy! It has just got to be climbed!

Watch this space. Smiler will keep you informed throughout!