The North Cape, Norway

The North Cape claims to be the northernmost point of land in Europe. But is it? Like most other records, it is claimed by others and in this case, Knivskjellodden and Cape Nordkinn. In reality, the North Cape and Knivskjellodden are in the island of Mageroya, while the later, in the European Continental landmass proper. You decide.

To get there, I landed at Honningsvag that claims to be the northern most city in Europe. Then I headed north to the North Cape and made a stop at an indigenous people trading post, the Lapponian Camp, where there was a “Teepee.”

It happens that the Sami, the indigenous people of the Nordic countries, use this type of shelter called a Lavvu. What jumped to my mind was the similarity of the Lavvu to the Teepee of the North American Plain Indians. I propose that design similarities were the result of both cultures being nomadic, in need of portable shelters that could be easily set-up, dismantled and transported. They depended in migratory animals for their survival; the reindeer being to the Sami what the buffalo was to the Plain Indians.

Once at the North Cape, the landscape was barren with steep cliffs down to the rocky shore. One could be at any other place in the world at similar latitudes and could not notice any thing naturally peculiar about this place. Points of interest here were recently created by man for the benefit of tourists, who bring income to the area in excess of the traditional fishing industry. As one arrives, the large North Cape Center building with shopping stores, restaurant and museum is the dominant structure. There is a Thai Room in memory of King Chulalongkorn who visited in 1907; I least I have something in common with royalty, the curiosity to travel.

There are seven round monuments that look to me as giant old greek coins. They are called the “Children of the World Monument” and each of was designed by a child from a different country who visited there as guests of the Norwegian government in 1988. They are to promote peace, happiness, friendship, etc.

There is also a statue of a woman with a boy pointing south (according to my bearings) and she may be saying “Go South Young Man.” where is sunny and warm.

While walking by the cliffs I noticed a carving on a rock that looked to me as an insect. It was just there, no marker or fence to protect it; I am sure that I am not the only one that has seen it. I just photographed it and did not think about until I got home. I was intrigued by this lithograph and emailed the image to the North Cape Center. Surprisingly, Khristian, the service manager at the Center, was kind enough to respond and said that it was called a “rune.” Runes are a type of writing derived from ancient italic alphabets. It is tough that it was introduced by returning Germanic mercenary soldiers that served in the Roman Imperial Army. So what I tough was a representation of an insect is a group of rune letters. Would like to know what it says, anyone out there can translate it for me?

It is time to depart for new latitudes and after a last photo of the Cape, I return to Honningsvag, where at the port, I ran into a group extreme explorers fitted in space suits to conquer the “Finis Terrae.”

Lofoten Islands, Norway.

After a while, new places do not look so different from others in the world. The Lofoten Islands reminded me of Iceland, Alaska, and southern Argentina as well as Chile. It is all location and in this case being close to the Artic or Antarctic Circle. It seems that the weather dictates the landscape as well as the building construction. Most buildings are painted red or other vivid colors; and these are mostly built of corrugated metal sheets or wood. And of course, the major historical source of wealth is the fisheries. In the case of these islands as in Iceland, cod fish.

The islands are one of those places that as Patagonia, Torres de Paine, and East Africa, I would like to return time and time again. These islands are scarcely populated with beautiful land and seascapes, picturesque fishing villages and old churches, small farms and not environmentally spoiled. And the weather is perfect; it changes every fifteen minutes—imagine the photo opportunities. I was here in mid-June and it was cold!!!

I had lunch one day at the Maren Anna Restaurant in the fishing village of Sorvagen and was named after a fishing boat that moored at its pier. It has a prominent sign stating that it was close but it was not, I assume that it has recently opened for the tourist season starting in June. It also has rooms for rent. It has a buffet line and I explored the local delicacies, one in particular was intriguing, cod tongues. I rather say that I preferred the wonderful smoked salmon also available as well as reindeer stew and potatoes, I wonder what people ate before the Spaniards brought the potato from Peru to the old world?

Below the bridge over the small creek that provides access to the restaurant, I saw this old rusted cast iron turbine, so down I went to take a closer look, I found that it was used to generate electricity and was first put in use in 1916 to generate electricity for the fishing processing operations in Sorvangen. If you take a closer look, there is a metal plate in the turbine with the following information: Model #177, VAPLANS MEK, Verkstads A.B., 19-NALDEN-09.

Next to the restaurant there is a pier still along with storage buildings in use today for fisheries operations and as nesting for black footed kittiwakes. These birds are quite oblivious to the presence of humans and quite noisy. According to the locals the restaurant was originally a cod liver oil factory and then a cannery

Driving down the chain of islands that have been recently connected by a series of bridges and tunnels, I passed a larger fishing village, Reine. It is located in a cove with a wonderful range of mountains as a background; one of those photogenic places in the world that everyone passing by has photographed. Don’t believe me? Just google Reine and see how many similar images as the one above you will find.

There are lots of fishing villages as you meander along the narrow roads, some are abandoned and others are still in use. And then there is A, a preserved fishing village which is now the Cod Museum in Sorvagen. It is a wonderful place and cod is still processed and hung in racks for drying. For more information go to: http://www.datadesign.ws/nfmuseum/museet.htm

And there is nesting colony of black-footed kittiwakes in the steep rock cliff right next to the piers. Since I was there in June, the birds were just fighting for nesting space.

The Lofoten Islands have a long history of human habitation who earned a living out of the cod fisheries and up to this day, is the major exported of dried codfish to Europe and
Africa. So far, the cod population is not threatened with decline as in New England and the Maritime provinces of Canada and not the subject to cod wars as those that has regularly taken place between Iceland and Britain. The Lofoten fishermen has diversified and developed extensive salmon farms, just as it has been done off the coast of Chile and Scotland. But fishing today is not the major income of these islands. Tourists like me, are their major catch, generating more income than the traditional fishing industry.

Chile: Torres del Paine II

While driving in Torres del Paine Park one late morning, I observed a guanaca and her young standing next to a fence and decided to stop to photograph them. I suspected they were about to jump the fence. I thought that they would move back and to run to get speed before jumping. Much to my surprise the adult one just squatted a bit, sprinted into the air and over the fence she went. Then she started calling her young who was hesitant but eventually cleared the fence too. Once reunited with the mother, it was rewarded with a snack. I have seen Thompson’s gazelles springing into the air but I could have never imagined a bigger and heavier guanaco doing the same.

Most of my adventures are in search of new bird photo opportunities. While in Torres del Paine I added a new bird to my image collection, the buff-necked ibis, known in Spanish as the bandurria baya or scientifically as Theristicus caudatus. This bird appears larger than the ibises commonly seen in the United States and move in flocks of 5-6 birds in the fields looking for insects. They have a peculiar call and are not easily approachable.

There were some Southern Lapwings (called teros in Spanish or by their scientific name of Vanellus chilensis) in the same pasture as the ibises mentioned above; but these are very noisy and aggressive towards each others. They look for food in horses’ droppings by breaking the piles searching for insects. When one takes possession of a pile of manure, it becomes very aggressive and chases away others at times resulting at times in fights as seen below.

After leaving the park I stopped at Puerto Natale for fueling at a gas station across from the bay. What did I see swimming nearby? One of the birds I had been chasing for a long time, the black necked swans. These I had seen in a previous trip but was not able to photograph. This time I got the opportunity but weather conditions were not the best. These birds seem to be at home in fresh as well as salt water.

And yes, there are gauchos in Chile too.

Chile: Torres del Paine

This park is to Chile what Yellowstone is to the United States. Both are unique and quite different, yet superb in landscapes and wildlife. No comparison as possible so each must be visited. I was at this park the first time back in 2003 and took me until 2010 to return. I traveled from Calafate, Argentina to Puerto Natale in Chile, where I rented a 4-wheeled truck to go to the park. It is mostly known by its huge granite pillars from which takes the name, and also Los Cuernos (the Horns). These are primary the reason why landscape photographers and tourists to go there.

The weather here is like in Iceland; it changes every 15 minutes, so warm as well as foul weather clothing are a must. The roads within the park are not well marked and rough requiring stressful driving. Recently the access roads to the park have been paved but those inside the park are still narrow gravel roads. Talking to one of the locals, I found out that there is some controversy going on between the purists and the realists. The purists want the roads left as they are to “protect” the environment while the others want them asphalted. There is heavy traffic with large tours buses that I wonder how they manage to get through those roads. They should be upgraded to slow down erosion in the shores next to the lakes as well as to keep the dust down, but mostly for safety reasons. The photo below speaks for itself.

I stayed at the same hosterias as in my previous visit; but there numerous new ones are now available but they do not offer such great views of the park. My favorite ones are: (a) the one in Lake Pehoe that is located in a small island that provides an outstanding view of the Torres particular in the afternoon and (b) the one in Lago Gray where the glacier is visible and located inside a wooded area full of wonderful creatures. I spent the first night at the hosteria in the island from where the landscape photos in this blog were taken.

Next I stayed at Hosteria Lago Azul where there is a family foxes that live on the grounds of the complex and are accustomed to humans. One early morning I was out taking photos and ran into a large fox that was growling at me about 10 feet away, my first though is that it was rabid, so I took photos and moved on (no, I was not afraid of getting rabies since I was bitten by a raccoon a couple of months earlier and freshly vaccinated). Later on in the morning, I told one of the staff in the Hosteria about my encounter. He laughed and proceeded to take me an area where the fox’s liar was. And there the whole family was lying around, including the one that harassed me at sunrise. Most amazingly, it appears that since now I was properly introduced, I received no more signs of hostilities. I just sat on the ground ignored by the vixens that played chasing each other and jumping on the parents. According to the staff member, families of foxes has been there for years and the present male, took over when he pushed his parents away 3 years ago. It is obvious why these foxes are here…they get fed and/or raid the trash containers. But they have not learned to beg from tips when photographed.

The Patagonian parrots were nesting in the nearby old trees and their cacophony was the first thing to be heard in the mornings. They were hard to photograph due to the harsh early morning red light and constant activity. I had seen then in my previous trip but did not have the opportunity to get close. They feed on the leaves and fruits of favorite trees, I noticed this one morning so the next one I arrived at the location earlier and waited, within minutes they were there within 10-15 feed and totally ignored me.

That morning I saw a small beautiful owl seating on a branch where it stayed for hours. I decided that I was going to catch him at the time when he would fly away; as always the owl took off so fast that I missed the shot.

Another common bird is the Cincloides patagonicus. This small bird spent the time wading around the shore of Lago Gray feeding. He is constantly jumping around and turning around stones looking for insect larvae.

After a few days in the shores of Lago Gray, it was time to move to the northern part of the park which I will discuss in a future blog. Boat tours to the glacier originate from the vicinity of this Hosteria. I did not go since I have taken the tour during the previous visit. One of the amenities of this trip is that the crew offers you cocktails with glacier ice fished from the lake, while the tourists partake, the blue iceman watches begging for some too.

Calafate and Perito Moreno

Calafate is the gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier in the providence of Santa Cruz, Argentina. This glacier unlike most other glaciers on earth is growing and is to Argentina what the Masai Mara is to Kenya as a tourist attraction. Most visitors will stay in Calafate and visit the glacier for the day. As a result, the tourist accommodations are booming at an incredible pace. I was there the first time in May 2009; and returned in February 2010, I was amazed as to the number of new hotels and lodges rising along the shoreline of the lake on the road to the glacier. The old sleeping town is gone. Still much of the old charm is still left as illustrated above.

I have previously visited glaciers in Iceland and Alaska but none compares in majesty and awe to Perito Moreno. The iceflow covers approximately 100 square miles and has and average height of 200 feet where it flows into Lago Argentino. One of the major attractions for this glacier, is the fracture. This occurs when the ice flow creates an ice dam splitting the lake in two. When the dam is eventually broken it causes a spectacular water rush. This event is not easily predictable and not an annual event. Just watching and listening to iceflow moving is most interesting. One hears like rifle shots as the ice flows and chunks of ice break and fall into the lake. This process of large pieces of ice separating from the glacier is called calving; these calves then float about the lake pushed by the winds and water current until eventually melting away.

As tourism increases in Perito Moreno, the government activities to accommodate the influx of people is impacting this natural wonder. An extensive elevated metal trail and stairs ways is being completed. No doubt this will expedite the movement of visitors but at a cost of impacting the beauty of the area. They have constructed several “orange colored” rest stops along the trail that ruins the view. Could have they done this in a more subdue way? Is there a need for these structures in the first place?

The hand of bureaucracy using the excuse of “safety” has struck again in Perito Moreno. When I was there in 2009, I was able to access the shoreline in the area where the ice dam is formed (see image below). Now the old elevated trail that provided access to the shoreline has been closed.

No longer will visitors be able to experience to be close to the iceflow from land, see the deep blue/cyan colors created by the light filtered through the cracks in the clear ice from ground level, or touch the milky blue waters. Yes, there are boat tours that take you close to the iceflow or trekking on the glacier, but another experience to enjoy the glacier has been lost. Where else in the world could one experienced standing near the base of such a massive wall of ice?

I found that renting a car to visit the glacier for the day is more cost effective plus gives you the flexibility of staying at the glacier longer and stopping along the road to take landscape photos. One thing about Argentina that is more extreme than in other countries that I have traveled, is their gouging of tourists. You will pay ten times more for entering the national parks than a local citizen; but their practice of charging higher airfares to foreigners I have never experienced before. And is you are a US citizen and fly into the country, you will pay $130 fee, the good news, once you pay it, the passport is stamped and good for multiple entrances until the passport expires. In fairness this practice is not limited to Argentina, the same applies in Chile , but if you cross the border by land this fee is not charged, so walk or drive, don’t fly.

Peninsula de Valdez

My main motivation to go to Argentina early this year was to visit the Peninsula de Valdez in the province of Chubut. The best way to get there is to fly to Trelew and then drive to the park. There is a fancy gate and building at the entrance to the park, and once you go thru the registration and fee processing, the next stop is Puerto Piramides; the only place where limited accommodations and food are available. This is a center for whale watching tours and summer resort for the locals. There is a nice beach and great shore scenery for sunset photos.

The peninsula is a desolate steppe with gravel roads that lead to Punta Norte by a main central road or the coastal route plus secondary ones connecting these through the length of the peninsula. From a photographic destination, it was not what I expected. The marine fauna, such as the sea lions and other shore animals, were not accessible since the park prohibits access to the beaches that are not easily reachable. For this purpose, there are other places down the coast that are more photography friendly.

One event that occurs in March is the arrival of the orcas and their peculiar behavior of swimming into the beaches trying to capture sea lions. This event is strictly regulated for photographers wishing to record the event. It is extremely bureaucratic and costly to foreigners boarding into extortion. Not only are daily fees of $300 (US dollars) per photographer but additional fees for the accompanying game warden and one must turn over all the images to the park; they will claim 50 % of the royalties that the earned from the images. In top of that, one must provided a detailed narrative of the photographing operations. Peninsula de Valdez is one of those places that is nice to visit once.

One day while at the Parador Elvira, I went down to the walkway paralleling the beach and I saw what looked as a dark storm fast approaching from the south with strong winds. I took a few photos and proceeded to run towards the restaurant. While going up the hill, I got caught by the storm and could hardly breathe. It was a dust storm. It reminded me of the sand storm that I experienced in Mongolia in 2008. While inside the restaurant, the dust came thru the small openings in the doors and windows and visibility was reduced to no more than 50 feet.

If given a choice, I rather be in a dust storm. Sand storms are more aggressive due to the grains hitting the skin and eyes and making breathing impossible unless there is some protection. When I encountered the sand storm in Mongolia, I happened to be inside in an SUV, we had to stop because there wass basically “zero” visibility. When the storm was over, parts of the vehicle’s paint and windows appeared to be as they were sandblasted.

While in Punta Norte I had my first encounter with a Pichi, a small armadillo not shy and easily approachable or…rather it approaches you. It really looks like a giant cucaracha and spends the time digging for grubs and other edibles.

There were also other birds new to me as the Yal negro below, also scientifically known as Phrygilus fruticeti according to the Profe, a wildlife expert from the Comodoro Rivadalia University.

Near the Isla de los Pajaros, is the Museo Fuerte San Jose; all that is left there is a reconstructed church that was originally constructed by the first Spaniards that arrived there in the early 1500. The church is small and of a peculiar configuration but attractive. The other structure of interest is the lighthouse at Punta Delgada but at the time I was there, the road was closed and I was not able to photograph it.