Brett's Southern Crossing

The Rio Negro divides Buenos Aires province from Rio Negro province, and twin cities on either side of the river mark the farthest south and farthest north cities of the respective provinces.  Viedma is the capital of the province, and while the cities barely rates a mention in my Lonely Planet I decided to stop in briefly since sometimes these out of the way places can turn out to be amazing.  It also worked out as a convenient place to rest since it is a 12 hour night-bus ride from Buenos Aires (city).

I began to get sick with some kind of stomach bug just before leaving, and I ended up spending the entire first day locked in my room.  The second day I felt a little better and decided to try exploring.  The guidebook seems much more positive about Carmen de Patagones, so I began by taking a ferry across the river (in this case a small boat with a capacity of around 8 for $1.50 ARS.  Carmen de Patagones seemed entirely dead, without even a cafe open.  There were quite a few people setting up sound stages and shopping stalls for some kind of festival scheduled for the weekend.  Although the architecture is kind of interesting, with plenty of old spanish-era buildings, they’re low and a bit run down which to me didn’t make them as attractive as the Lonely Planet author seemed to find them.

Viedma looked like a surprisingly nice place to live, and had a few museums.  The tourist office  was filled with enthusiastic people and had lots of nice brochures and maps available.  But the museums were only open from 10-12 and 6-8, and the timing never worked for me to see them.  Welcome to South America…siestas are very long!

The only other thing to do in Viedma is to visit El Condor, the small beach town 30km down the river at the mouth with the gulf.  Since it is out of season the town was basically deserted, and the tourist office had closed early.  The main attraction here is that the largest colony of parrots in the world live in the cliffs near the beach.  They’re called Burrowing Parrots.  Since the tourist office was closed I wasn’t sure exactly where the cliffs were and had to explore myself.  Two stray dogs near the office began to follow me, and spent the the next two hours walking behind me (just bored I suppose).

Eventually I found the cliffs and sure enough, packs of parrots were flying around well above me.  It was dusk so I only was able to see their silhouettes.  Eventually I did see a parrot up close when my canine friends found a dead one in the bushes…they promptly tore it to shreds and ate it wings, feathers, and all.  Keep it classy guys…

This might all sound a bit depressing.  Many days are a bust, but these days weren’t altogether unpleasant, just a bit unproductive.  From here I’m heading to Puerto Madryn which should have lots of wildlife and lots of activity.  As for Viedma, Carmen, and El Condor, my recommendation would be to only come in January and only if you’ve got plenty of time.  January would have the advantages of warmer weather, the peak of the season for fledgling parrots, and it would be vacation season in Argentine so the beach town of El Condor would be active.

The trip to Mexico is obviously quick from Austin, taking just four hours including a connection. Since my final destination was a fancy all-inclusive resort, I wanted to take a few days to see a bit of Mexico on my own and experience something more authentic. Starting from Cancun the obvious candidates were Chichen Itza or Tulum. I decided that in the short time I had it wasn’t possible to do both. But Chichen Itza wasn’t enough to fill the time. The best thing seemed to be a visit to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve just south of Tulum, followed by a visit to the ruins at Tulum, and then to head on to the resort.

I rented a car and headed south from the airport towards Tulum.  I didn’t know what to expect as a driver, but Federal Highway 307 runs down the Caribbean coast of Mexico and made it really easy.  It’s a nicely maintained road with everything well-marked by signs, and the drivers are easygoing.  I’ve heard it’s crazy around Mexico city but don’t hesitate to rent a car in Quintana Roo.

My plan was to spend the first two nights at Cesiak, a conservation lodge in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.  I wasn’t able to fax in the paperwork to reserve my cabana, but I decided to go there anyway and see if they had space.  The road to the reserve was the exception when it came to having a clear sign and I was about thirty minutes past Tulum before I was sure that I had missed it.  I stopped for gas and since it was getting late I was frustrated and unsure if I would be able to find it.  ”Donde esta Sian Ka’an?” is the limit of my Spanish (“where is Sian Ka’an?”), but the gas station attendant was able to give me a clue through a few hand gestures.  Fortunately, I found the right turn and ended up on a narrow road with dozens of small Eco Chic hotels.  I suspect most of them are eco-friendly in name only, but it seemed to be a spot that draws a lot of visitors.  Eventually I reached the park entrance, and stopped at the office to ask directions to Cesiak.  It turned out I needed to pay a park fee ($5 for two days) and get an entrance wristband, and the staff told me Cesiak was 4km further into the reserve.

By this point I was feeling stressed out…my quick trip was taking longer than expected, and it was almost 9pm with no guarantee that they would have a room available when I arrived.  At the park office, a middle-aged man was waiting with the staff and needed a ride 5km down the road to his home.  I described this to a few people with great effect as “picking up a hitchhiker.” But in context it’s much more boring, just a guy who works in the park, known to the staff, looking for a quick lift.

He didn’t speak any English, and as we drove off he asked me a question in Spanish.  I realized after a moment that he was asking where I was from.  I replied, “Austin, Tejas.”  His jaw dropped, he put his hand on his forehead and gasped “Tejas!  Whooooaaaa! CHUCK NORRIS!!!!!”  I laughed and said “Yes, Walker Texas Ranger.”  For the next 10-15 minutes as we drove he (I assume) described all his favorite episodes, and let me tell you this guy knew how to do special effects, both the acting the scenes and the sounds.  He was shooting machine guns (“Dat dat dat dat dat!!”), jumping on moving trains (“”Chuh Chush, Chuh Chush, Wooo wooooo!”), riding horses (“Duh duh lun, duh duh lun, duh duh lun…”).  It was so funny all the stress melted away in just a few minutes and I was really enjoying myself.  It’s one of the best parts about traveling, one moment things can seem miserable and a few minutes later something unexpected happens that changes everything.

Cesiak happened to have one more tent cabana, and I arrived just in time to get a quick dinner before their little restaurant closed.  After eating and settling in, I took off my shoes and walked down to beach and laid down to look at the stars.  I could hardly believe how many stars there were…this area is nearly undeveloped, with very few lights to pollute the night sky.  I think the last time I was so far from a city was at least 10 years ago, back country backpacking in New Mexico.  I’m not sure if you can see any stars at all in Austin.  It was a great way to unwind, just spending 30 minutes looking at such a beautiful sky.

The Sian Ka’an reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and consists of a narrow strip of land, sometimes only a few hundred feet wide, that extends south of Tulum for around 80 kilometers.  On the east side is the ocean; on the west side are a network of wetlands, natural canals, and lagoons full of native birds, animals, and vegetation.  The reserve itself includes a portion of the sea, including a number of coral reefs.

Cesiak consists of just 15 cabanas and a small building with a restaurant.  My cabana was more rustic than I had anticipated, with no power or water.  I had a candle and a small battery-powered lantern.  The cabana is made of a nice wooden platform on stilts above the sand, with a wood and grass thatched roof.  On the platform is a large canvas tent with a queen bed and plenty of extra space.  There’s also a front porch about 10×20 feet with chairs and a hammock to relax in.  The cabanas are all built on the leading edge of the dune, no more than 30 feet from the ocean.  It was really a beautiful place although I have to say the ocean was incredible loud here due to the large waves that come ashore (it was great for boogie boarding though!)  There are a few other private places available for rent up the beach, but most were unoccupied.  During the day I walked for an hour up the beach and back and saw only 4 other people.  After a busy few weeks of work a day of complete laziness in a hammock with some cervesas was great.

After 1 day and 2 nights at Cesiak, I headed back up the bumpy dirt road to Tulum to see the ruins….to be continued…

My good friends Ben and Bianca are getting married, and they’re cruelly forcing us to go to the Riviera Maya on the Caribbean coast of Mexico to attend the wedding.  So I’m off today for 4 days of nice warm beach-y weather!

I’m staying at the resort they’re getting married at from Friday through Monday, which leaves me a couple days to see a bit of more authentic Mexico.  Since it’s not much time, I decided to stay in an ecological reserve called Sian Ka’an.  I’ll take an all day tour of the reserve on Thursday, then spend some time at the ruins near Tulum before heading to Excellence Riveria Cancun for the weekend.

It’s almost 50 degrees warmer in Cancun than in Austin now, so it should be nice!