Sunday, January 06, 2008
Patagonia Trip Two December 2007 – Phase Two – Torres Del Paine National Park:
We left Argentina for 12 hours of bus ands van riding to get to the eco-camp (EC) in Chili. Upon arriving we had no problem with the "domes," (high-end tents,) the crappy showers, or even the composting toilets.
The park itself was fantastically beautiful and we met some very nice people there, including the Fried Family, who shared our journey for the rest of our trip. Paul, Judith, Ian and Reena are from NYC and we really hit it off.
Then came the bullshit.
According to our itinerary we were supposed to have a "free day" to rest and catch up on energy. Erik also needed a day away from groups of people. But apparently the itinerary from Adventure Life, (the people who booked everything,) was wrong, and we were supposed to see the local glacier that day. We wanted to see the glacier, but we did not want another day of driving around in a crowded van, a three-hour boat ride to see the ice, then stuffed back into the van.
Erik told the guide we were not going with the group, and were just going to hang out and read. This caused an argument they lost. But after losing the argument they took a "fuck you" attitude towards us. There was no shady spot to read and the eco-domes get too hot during the day. (I wondered what they did when someone was sick.)
So we wandered around the place, looking for a shady spot underneath some trees so we could just relax and read. They made no offer to show us where the spa was, (at another place down the hill,) or even a trail-head so we could take a short hike.
They really just blew us off, but we said (to ourselves) "fuck you too," and we found shady spots to read and recoup our energy.
If that was all, that would've been enough of a complaint. But the food was shit. I've gone white-water rafting where they cooked an amazing meal over a fire, so there was no excuse for the shitty food we were served at EC. On the last day a woman from Australia got food poisoning from her lunch meat, and the dinner that night was inedible. Erik tried to eat some of it and got food poisoning.
That was the final straw that broke my camel's back. I found the manager of the EC and tore him a new asshole, (verbally.) I told him the dinner was inedible and had sickened my partner, and that our experience there overall was terrible. Erik is demanding a partial refund from Adventure Life for that portion of the trip.
We took a couple of hikes, saw some great things, but hated the EC.
But not to worry. Phase three – the ship – more than made up for the Eco-Camp. More on that tomorrow.
We left Argentina for 12 hours of bus ands van riding to get to the eco-camp (EC) in Chili. Upon arriving we had no problem with the "domes," (high-end tents,) the crappy showers, or even the composting toilets.
The park itself was fantastically beautiful and we met some very nice people there, including the Fried Family, who shared our journey for the rest of our trip. Paul, Judith, Ian and Reena are from NYC and we really hit it off.
Then came the bullshit.
According to our itinerary we were supposed to have a "free day" to rest and catch up on energy. Erik also needed a day away from groups of people. But apparently the itinerary from Adventure Life, (the people who booked everything,) was wrong, and we were supposed to see the local glacier that day. We wanted to see the glacier, but we did not want another day of driving around in a crowded van, a three-hour boat ride to see the ice, then stuffed back into the van.
Erik told the guide we were not going with the group, and were just going to hang out and read. This caused an argument they lost. But after losing the argument they took a "fuck you" attitude towards us. There was no shady spot to read and the eco-domes get too hot during the day. (I wondered what they did when someone was sick.)
So we wandered around the place, looking for a shady spot underneath some trees so we could just relax and read. They made no offer to show us where the spa was, (at another place down the hill,) or even a trail-head so we could take a short hike.
They really just blew us off, but we said (to ourselves) "fuck you too," and we found shady spots to read and recoup our energy.
If that was all, that would've been enough of a complaint. But the food was shit. I've gone white-water rafting where they cooked an amazing meal over a fire, so there was no excuse for the shitty food we were served at EC. On the last day a woman from Australia got food poisoning from her lunch meat, and the dinner that night was inedible. Erik tried to eat some of it and got food poisoning.
That was the final straw that broke my camel's back. I found the manager of the EC and tore him a new asshole, (verbally.) I told him the dinner was inedible and had sickened my partner, and that our experience there overall was terrible. Erik is demanding a partial refund from Adventure Life for that portion of the trip.
We took a couple of hikes, saw some great things, but hated the EC.
But not to worry. Phase three – the ship – more than made up for the Eco-Camp. More on that tomorrow.
# posted by Phillip T. Alden @ 11:53 AM 
