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13 November 2003
My bus for Punta Arenas is at 2:30 PM, I will be travelling with Jackie and
Sam, all heading foe Ushuaia (the southern most city) in Argentina via Punta
Arenas. Punta Arenas is the largest town and supply and communication centre
in Chilean Magelanes, located along the Magelanes Strait. Other than that
there is nothing much to do there, we will be stopping there for the night
to catch the early morning bus to Ushuaia, next day.
Sharon- Louise and Margaret bade farewell and left for Calafate early this
morning. I was still thinking about last night’s conversation with
Sharon-Louise, in the bigger context - how the empires and geopolitics over
control of resources and power drove human society in all ages in similar
pattern of cycles. Rising empires establishing its rules, domination, mainly
directed to further monopolise power and resources, eroding the influences
and resources of the declining empires.
It almost always happened that the declining empire, at some stages, at it's
peak become very complacent and sure of permanency of its supremacy - the
eternal human-folly - forgetting that it is mostly the unique confluences of
historic events that gave rise to its prominence - forgetting or even
unaware of those driving historic factors - not realising that quality of
the leadership is the only significant human influence in these events. Soon
they also forget that of the original human ingenuity that influenced the
events, how much of it is still relevant - or has those factors has turned
into disadvantages under the changed historic circumstances?
A declining empire and its elites and offcourse the general population
succumbs to the inevitable human folly - taking all the credits for their
successes, believing themselves inherently superior - stop having self
doubts and become increasingly self indulgent and static - its institutions
gets weaker, produces succession of weak leaders - splinters into
disorganised fiefs - waiting to be taken over by somebody else.
In the meantime, a rising or budding empire/power, organised and led by a
capable leader mostly does the right things (correctly asses historic
circumstances and prepares accordingly by accumulating resources talents,
technology) to take lead and begins to take over the older empire - their
greatest asset is that they are yet to have sufficient successes to fall
into the trap of the eternal human folly - the vanity, we are inherently
superior and ordained by god to have it.
However, one day they will also fall into that trap too, and bring their own
demise - history repeated it nth times - but such is human vanity,
intoxicated by success, they will believe what they would like to believe -
even knowing the lessons of history - they will naively make believe - they
are different, this time it is different.
Few years back, a guy called Fukyama (or something similar), an ex USA state
department Diplomat currently working for a conservative think tank, even
wrote a much publicised book called "End of The History", which propagates,
once again, the same naivety for nth+1 time - they are different, this time
it is different!
My thoughts were interrupted as I realised that it was time to catch the bus
for Punta Arenas. Me, Sam and Jackie said good-bye to Nancy and Emanuel,
these two gentle caring souls who took care of us for the last week. It was
a short walk with our backpacks to the bus station. It was a sunny but
unusually hot day in Puerto Natales.
Sam and Jackie is an exceptional young couple - Sam is a plumber by
profession, measured in conversation and a very deeply thoughtful person. On
the other hand Jackie has completed her law studies from one of the best law
schools in Australia and plan to begin a bright law career after they have
completed their long world tour - she is steeped in very liberal political
outlooks and is very staunchly nationalistic, with a touch of youthful
naivety. But as a couple, they are so much in harmony, as I observed them go
about their idle days in the guest house and those tough trekking days -
they must be naturally very compatible. The bus trip was insignificant; it
was through the flat plain wind swept and treeless grassland. I have never
seen such a wide horizon on land - all the worlds’ stadiums and playing
fields could fit into it. We left the last traces of Andes far behind and
far out of sight to the west. On the voyage to Puerto Natales, at some stage
we have crossed to the east of the Andean ranges through the glacial
channels.
We arrived at Punta Arenas around 6:30 PM, and straight way went to the
guesthouse that we reserved from Puerto Natales through Nancy. Later I went
out for a walk around the town and to take a look at Magelanes Strait.
The city was established as a penal colony (otherwise how do you get people
to live in this windswept god forsaken cold place like this), now serves as
a bustling hub for commerce and transport communication for both Chilean and
Argentine Magelanes including the large Island of Terra Del Fuego. The
Magelanes Straight is quite wide around Punta Arenas, the other side of the
channel is Terra Del Fuego Island, one part of it is Chilean and the other
Part is Argentine - there is a long and intriguing political-colonial
history behind these borders. Ushuaia is located at the south-western corner
of the Island in Argentine territory, but just across beagle channel to the
south of Ushuaia is again Chilean Territory.
14 November 2003
Early morning we left for Ushuaia. An 11-hour journey - 8 hours in a bud to
Rio Grande, then another 3 hours in cramped microbus. Landscape was more or
less same as previous day till the approach to Ushuaia. The Andean magic was
back, Andes appeared with its snow capped peaks, rich green forests, blue
glacial lakes, and its endless waterfalls and white rivers. Ushuaia is
located inside the Andean ranges, in one of its slopes, rising from the
Beagle Channel. From the bus I tried to take a shot of this spectacular town
under the setting sun, but the bus turned too quickly.
Here I had to go to a different hotel, as all the single accommodations were
booked out where Jackie and Sam took the last available double room - After
a long tiring walk around the town with my backpack, I eventually got a good
room with satellite TV for US$15 -a luxury indeed.
15 November 2003
First thing in the morning, I booked my flight to El-Calafate and then to
Buenos Aires. This is to save some time and cost, to skip over the vast
Argentine south where there is only vacant grasslands or arid desserts with
scant population. Moreover, I had to go to British Airways or IBERIA office
to delay my departure date from South America by 10 days. As it was close to
Christmas New year season it is getting very difficult to change dates, but
I got to try as I am beginning to realise that not only that I will not have
time to cover Peru and Bolivia, even covering the rest of Argentina over the
long distances would be difficult. I have created this impasse by including
Bangladesh in my loop (I haven't been there for last four years - my
longest), otherwise with a South America loop back to Australia; I could
extend it and cover it - now I am stuck with my Round the World Ticket. I
will do them next trip possibly in 2005.
As I returned to the hotel, I met with Tina and Jasper. They have just moved
into the same hotel, they could not sleep in the dorm of another hostel.
After lunch I dropped at a local museum. Its theme is the geological
formation of the landscape around Ushuaia and its original Indian
inhabitants (an extinct race now). The landscape and its formations were
very well explained with diagrams and models - but there were very few
information on the Indians. I took photographs of most of the exhibits for
my record.
Around 3:00 PM I went for a boat tour of the Beagle channel and few small
bird sanctuary islands in the channel. As a final stop of the trip we
dropped into an island, which used to be inhabited by the pre-colonial
natives, who are now extinct as a race, exterminated by white man - their
guns and diseases. It is so sinister that some of these developed countries
now cry foul and put immense pressure on many developing countries in the
name of endangered species like tigers, seals and whales!
The island is now uninhibited, its windswept climate is so harsh that only
few unique plants and grasses can survive there. One unique plant (I forgot
to note the name), thousands of individual plants join their roots to form a
green stone like clump, it’s so hard that one can seat on them.
In the evening went for dinner with Tina and Jasper in a 'Tenidor Libre´
(Argentine eat as you can grill restaurant) restaurant - there were grilled
meat of every kind along with around 10-15 different salad, pasta and other
dishes including desert - all for 15 pesos or US$6/person - offcourse drinks
are billed separately. Food in Chile was bland, in Argentina it all grilled
meat, particularly beef (best and most succulent beef) - they eat lot of red
meat and it a lot. Nobody, from anywhere in the world will ever complain
about the size of the dishes. Food in Argentina is always served in style
and it was always cheap, but current exchange rate makes it ridiculously
cheap.
Just think about it, this morning I went into a European style cafe to have
a cup of white coffee or Cafe con Leche. Here they do not make white coffee
with hot water - they make it with a hot cup of milk. What I got against my
order - a proper Cafe con Leche, a small glass of fresh orange Juice and
three croissants, all for 2.5 Peso or about US$0.80!
16 November 2003
As planned, me, Jasper and Tina went for a day long trekking through the
nearby national park - after few days of rest we were feeling ok again to
stretch our legs - the terrain, although similar, was rather easy compared
to Torres del Pain - there were only one steep climb of around 300m,
otherwise rolling tracks along the lake. But we walked a lot in that hilly
terrain, about 15 kilometres in about 5 hours. We saw little wildlife, a
beaver made water dam and few unique bogs created by Andean glaciers. It was
quite refreshing.
One unique thing, like everywhere lese in Andes there are lots of dead trees
in Andean ranges - all dead or toppled due to erosion of soil around their
roots - it rains and snows so much here (7000 mm in a year) and all these
water continuously drains down the slopes, eroding the soils and uprooting
the trees. This is a normal cycle; it’s going on forever, eroding Andes
continuously at a vigorous rate. On the other hand Tectonic plates are
pushing Andes up by 1 centimetre each year - one can not help to wonder who
will win, weather or the geological forces - may be whichever force lasts
longer!
In the evening we went for a seafood dinner for a change. At the dinner the
talk soon turned to the issue of 10 Eastern European countries joining EU
next year (It was in a BBC feature that day). Soon Jasper voiced his unease
about Turkey trying to join EU, his point was that EU is a Christian Block,
how can Muslim Turkey join it, when already the Hijab issue was becoming a
hot political issue in many European countries.
I took few minutes to take in his comments - well these issues are lurking
in everybody's mind, just below the surface. Since the victors of the 2nd
world war established a new world order at Yalta conference, the world is
again going through a tectonic shift in geopolitics - though it was
initiated by the demise of USSR, it did not gain momentum till late. Whether
people understand these shifts or not, their thinking and reactions are
affected by it - Holland used be one of the most tolerant and liberal
society in Europe - but no more.
My first question to Jasper was "what happened to much touted secular
European liberal democracy? Is it just a fashionable slogan when going is
good? - Jasper mumbled, grasping for answer.
I continued - why Hijab is an issue - while Christian nuns traditionally
were wearing similar dresses? - And nobody raises issue with it - where is
that vaunted freedom of choice and civil liberty now? - More mumbling and no
answer - he has not thought these through, just formed an ignorant and
biased view, probably fed by tabloid media.
I personally think that in practice, all monotheist religions have generally
degenerated into sort of paganism - ritual based, devoid of original intent
and principles, often directly contradicting those principles and intents
with their current practices - extensively used by vested quarters to keep
their hold and to further advance their group interests.
Anyway, I did not want to go into those touchy issues in a crowded
restaurant. I diverted the topic back to EU - I agreed with him that due to
prejudice, current polarisation of geopolitics and many other reasons Turkey
will never succeed in Joining EU.
Then I continued:
But even without Turkey, a consolidated EU empire will remain a pipe dream
for long time to come. Firstly, there is no precedence of a European empire
in the history (Roman empire was essentially a Mediterranean affair,
Austro-Hungarian empire was not much of an empire - and then Napoleon and
Hitler had two failed short lived attempt to create one). Therefore, there
are too few common threads. One the other hand there are too much historic
enmity, mistrust and conflicts of interest among the major countries in EU.
Secondly, to overcome such opposing forces and to force a common identity,
empire building always required a very determined and ruthless central
forces or leader (Romans, Genghis Khan, Alexander, Timurlane, Persians,
Ashoka in India, etc). Such a dominant force is absent, EU been dreamt up by
feeble Euro Bureaucrats and driven by them - not much of an imperial force
and definitely no forceful leader in existence yet.
Thirdly, such an integration with eastern European countries will require
huge sacrifice from the population of the richer countries (Germany is still
grappling with their national reunion) - which is unlikely to be politically
palatable for the population of those richer countries - a capitalist system
does encourage mere sacrifices for the common good.
Then I pointed out to him that YALTA arrangements are becoming unstuck and
many of the assumptions arising from that arrangement may not be valid in
the future - and it is most likely that in his lifetime he will definitely
see many major changes - he seemed a bit stunned, although he knew most of
the information, he has not thought through them.
Jasper and Tina both have become good friends - the conversation was carried
out in a good spirit, more as a free and frank discussion - I am also
beginning to enjoy these pleasant-unpleasant discussions. I wanted to
travel, to see a lot, listen a lot, and to think a lot, away from the
humdrum of the daily life.
17th November 2003
Around noon, Tina and Jasper left for Buenos Aires for their on ward bus
journey to Iguaju falls - we promised to meet again in Buenos Aires around
middle of December. I spent a lazy day, walking around the town and spending
some time on Internet, writing up my diary.
This evening I am flying out to Calafate and from there two days later to
Buenos Aires. I am flying because lower part of Argentina is quite barren,
both geographically and population wise - flying is lot cheaper to travel
over this long stretch than land routes - moreover, I will gain some time.
Only important spot I will miss around this area is Peninsula Valdes, the
very famous marine life sanctuary including Whales. I will try to get back
there at a later stage over the land route, depending on further planning of
my trip in Buenos Aires.
I am already realising that my original plan also to cover PERU and Bolivia
in two and half months was too ambitious- these countries are vast, with
long distances to traverse. From the long term travellers I have somewhat
adopted the leisurely living and travelling mode - which gives one a more
feel of a place, its culture and people - mere fleeting touristy sightseeing
can not allow that kind of depth.
Moreover, Bolivia is going through some political turmoil, which adds the
risk of me getting stuck in some remote Bolivian high planes. I have decided
to continue living and travelling through Argentina and then to San Pedro de
Atacama in Chile, and if time permits cover Bolivian high planes up to lake
Titicaca. Looks like Peru and trekking to Machu Pichu has to be left for
another time - also it is already unfavourable rainy season there.
Later took the evening flight to Calafate and arrived there around 10 PM. I
had no reservation, so ended up in a dorm in Hostel Glacier. It was awful -
although, luckily there was no other person in my room, my luck stopped
there - a vigorous and thunderous snorer was roaring in the next room - the
thin wooden partition was no barrier against that thunder - I banged the
partition many times in an effort to stop him, or at least for a pause - but
nothing doing. I hardly had any sleep.
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