Page 172 - Ath Airport Profile
P. 172
IT points over the expanse of rippling white mountains
was near freezing when I woke up with my sleeping of ice—a brilliant white with phosphorescent blue
bag partly unzipped. If not for the brisk, glacial air streaks bursting through the cracks. They sat and
seeping in, I might have dozed right through the watched as if the glacier was putting on a show
night. There wasn’t a sound around to wake me, only for their entertainment. As I got closer I saw that
the faint whisper of an icy river in the distance. indeed it was.
It’s a good thing I didn’t keep sleeping. I had waited It starts with a few crumbs of ice toppling off of the
all evening to see this, but after an arduous day of face. Then a large fissure slowly appears behind one
hiking I couldn’t keep my eyes open much past sunset, of the pointed pillars—the height of a New York City
which this time of year in Patagonia is about 9pm. apartment building. Soon it starts to lean over the
With few clouds in the night sky, a rare occurrence water; the crowd gasps and cheers; and the massive
in this rainy part of the world, I looked for higher structure comes crashing down into the lake in a roar
ground to get an even better view. like a thousand bricks falling on pavement.
Zipping up my fleece jacket I clambered up a small For Patagonia, this was just another tiny cube falling
rise, topped by a solitary legna tree, and there off the largest ice shelf outside Antarctica, and the
shone the Holy Grail that I had come so far to largest source of fresh water in the world.
see: the Southern Cross in the midnight sky. The What to do for an encore? I could hop on a catamaran
only terrestrial light to dilute its brilliance was the to sail up to another ice field, the Glaciar Upsala,
faintest moonlight reflecting off the snowy peaks. only accessible by boat. Or I could hike up once
Even nature was silent for a moment, just a direct again to Fitz Roy for another spectacular view of the
exchange between the stars and me, alone at the jagged peaks, trek across the icefield and hopefully
tip of the Earth. this time catch a glimpse of condors, lamas and
Patagonia has always been a refuge for those perhaps even a puma.
seeking the solace of remote spaces. Awestruck But my legs were tired; I was hungry; and I was
Spanish explorers aboard Magellan’s ship were ready to sample some wildlife internally.
the first Westerners to lay eyes on this land, which Restaurants in the national park are few, but I did
they named after the tall natives who inhabited it manage to sample the best of what the area has to
(Patagon is a mythical giant in one of Magellan’s offer: lamb and Patagonian trout. The steppe below
favourite novels). In later centuries, pockets of these mountains is studded with sheep farms, well-
Welsh refugees set up tiny villages here. They were known to both the restaurateurs, who cook racks
followed by Argentines, especially those in recent of mutton with their special “cordero” sauce, and
decades escaping the country’s murderous junta. also to the mountain’s pumas, who are known to
They built cozy wooden cabins on the shores of slink down to the lowland farms to get a bite for
cobalt lakes, surrounded only by natural beauty and themselves.
more than enough firewood to get them through At the restaurant Estepa, you can warm your insides
the winter. with braised chunks of local lamb while gazing out
For them, that sense of solitude has endured up at a sweeping view of the Fitz Roy range through tall
until the present, inhabiting an expanse of steppes, windows surrounding the dining room.
mountains and forests eight times the size of Greece All this wasn’t enough for me, though. I wasn’t
and with only about one and a half million people; far enough away from the rest of the world. Sure,
and even then, most of them live in the cities and I could do just any outdoor activity I wanted to in
towns. On a cold night, gazing at the Southern Patagonia: from the world’s best fly fishing, scenic
Cross on a one-tree hill, I might as well have been horseback rides and glacier walks to see all the
the only person in the world. penguins my heart desired. However, if I’m going to
When I folded up my tent the next morning and go to the end of the Earth for all of that, I decided,
made my way down to the Perito Moreno Glacier, I’m going to the very tip.
I realised I was wrong. Not only was I not alone in The city of Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego
Patagonia, mine was just one of dozens of tents at Province and more famously the southernmost city
this very campsite. in the world. Upon arrival, my first impression is
Other visitors were congregating at one of the lookout
172
was near freezing when I woke up with my sleeping of ice—a brilliant white with phosphorescent blue
bag partly unzipped. If not for the brisk, glacial air streaks bursting through the cracks. They sat and
seeping in, I might have dozed right through the watched as if the glacier was putting on a show
night. There wasn’t a sound around to wake me, only for their entertainment. As I got closer I saw that
the faint whisper of an icy river in the distance. indeed it was.
It’s a good thing I didn’t keep sleeping. I had waited It starts with a few crumbs of ice toppling off of the
all evening to see this, but after an arduous day of face. Then a large fissure slowly appears behind one
hiking I couldn’t keep my eyes open much past sunset, of the pointed pillars—the height of a New York City
which this time of year in Patagonia is about 9pm. apartment building. Soon it starts to lean over the
With few clouds in the night sky, a rare occurrence water; the crowd gasps and cheers; and the massive
in this rainy part of the world, I looked for higher structure comes crashing down into the lake in a roar
ground to get an even better view. like a thousand bricks falling on pavement.
Zipping up my fleece jacket I clambered up a small For Patagonia, this was just another tiny cube falling
rise, topped by a solitary legna tree, and there off the largest ice shelf outside Antarctica, and the
shone the Holy Grail that I had come so far to largest source of fresh water in the world.
see: the Southern Cross in the midnight sky. The What to do for an encore? I could hop on a catamaran
only terrestrial light to dilute its brilliance was the to sail up to another ice field, the Glaciar Upsala,
faintest moonlight reflecting off the snowy peaks. only accessible by boat. Or I could hike up once
Even nature was silent for a moment, just a direct again to Fitz Roy for another spectacular view of the
exchange between the stars and me, alone at the jagged peaks, trek across the icefield and hopefully
tip of the Earth. this time catch a glimpse of condors, lamas and
Patagonia has always been a refuge for those perhaps even a puma.
seeking the solace of remote spaces. Awestruck But my legs were tired; I was hungry; and I was
Spanish explorers aboard Magellan’s ship were ready to sample some wildlife internally.
the first Westerners to lay eyes on this land, which Restaurants in the national park are few, but I did
they named after the tall natives who inhabited it manage to sample the best of what the area has to
(Patagon is a mythical giant in one of Magellan’s offer: lamb and Patagonian trout. The steppe below
favourite novels). In later centuries, pockets of these mountains is studded with sheep farms, well-
Welsh refugees set up tiny villages here. They were known to both the restaurateurs, who cook racks
followed by Argentines, especially those in recent of mutton with their special “cordero” sauce, and
decades escaping the country’s murderous junta. also to the mountain’s pumas, who are known to
They built cozy wooden cabins on the shores of slink down to the lowland farms to get a bite for
cobalt lakes, surrounded only by natural beauty and themselves.
more than enough firewood to get them through At the restaurant Estepa, you can warm your insides
the winter. with braised chunks of local lamb while gazing out
For them, that sense of solitude has endured up at a sweeping view of the Fitz Roy range through tall
until the present, inhabiting an expanse of steppes, windows surrounding the dining room.
mountains and forests eight times the size of Greece All this wasn’t enough for me, though. I wasn’t
and with only about one and a half million people; far enough away from the rest of the world. Sure,
and even then, most of them live in the cities and I could do just any outdoor activity I wanted to in
towns. On a cold night, gazing at the Southern Patagonia: from the world’s best fly fishing, scenic
Cross on a one-tree hill, I might as well have been horseback rides and glacier walks to see all the
the only person in the world. penguins my heart desired. However, if I’m going to
When I folded up my tent the next morning and go to the end of the Earth for all of that, I decided,
made my way down to the Perito Moreno Glacier, I’m going to the very tip.
I realised I was wrong. Not only was I not alone in The city of Ushuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego
Patagonia, mine was just one of dozens of tents at Province and more famously the southernmost city
this very campsite. in the world. Upon arrival, my first impression is
Other visitors were congregating at one of the lookout
172
