TIMOTHYSHOUP'S
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| timothyshoup's Travel Blogs and Reviews | ||
| Travel Blogs and Reviews | ||
| Title and Date | Location | |
 The Pangaea Diaries Jan 11 '08 | The World | |
 South America: The Great Adventure Jan 11 '08 "Well, the game is afoot." | Chicago, Illinois | |
Why We Travel Jan 11 '08 "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. -- Lao Tzu" | Chicago, Illinois | |
The Departure Jan 12 '08 "I awoke in daylight to my first ever glimpse of this vast continent...." | Mexico City, Mexico | |
The Arrival Jan 13 '08 "The bus driver didn’t seem to mind and burned through another 4 or 5 cigarettes, but thankfully he wasn’t inside downing Quilmes with them..." | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
Finally There After 30 Hours of Travel Jan 13 '08 "...but, in spite my exhaustion, I was of course too excited to sleep..." | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
Exploration Jan 14 '08 "This would never happen in the U.S., but this is a completely different culture with a markedly different schedule." | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
The City of Mardel Jan 15 '08 "Mardel has skyscrapers everywhere that look like they were assembled without much planning, but the city also has some very charming neighborhoods with grand old houses and beautiful architecture." | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
Highlights of My Week in Mardel Jan 16 '08 "ice cream shops, which are everywhere down here....apparently Argentinians love their helado" | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
Kicking Restaurants and Super Cool Fellow Travelers Jan 17 '08 "If I lived in Mardel, this would be my regular haunt. Great vibes, cool atmosphere, hip crowd, fantastic food and drinks, I don’t have enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this place." | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
Driving Chaos Jan 18 '08 "I’ve seen so many guys almost get crunched on bicycles that it gives me goosebumps." | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
PHOTOS: Mar del Plata, Argentina Jan 19 '08 "85 photos in total of the city, beaches, restaurants and historical landmarks & architecture. Enjoy!" | Mar del Plata, Argentina | |
The Bus Ride Jan 20 '08 "The bus system in Argentina is very modern and very efficient; the seats are large and comfy and long-distance travel is relatively tolerable." | Puerto Madryn, Argentina | |
Patagonia Jan 21 '08 "It’s very difficult for me to survey the immensity of the terrain and the raw presence of nature and not feel completely and totally overwhelmed at the core of my gut." | Chubut, Argentina | |
Punta Ninfas Jan 22 '08 "Elephant seals (bulls) can reach a maximum size of 7 meters (22 feet) long and weigh over 11,000 pounds" | Chubut, Argentina | |
Reserva Provincial Punta Tombo Jan 24 '08 "...after reaching 100 kph I began to have delusions of competing in the Baja 1000 in Mexico or the Dakar Rally in Africa..." | Chubut, Argentina | |
Reserva Faunistica Peninsula Valdes Jan 26 '08 "It was one of those serene moments in life when you’re truly and completely immersed in and living in the moment..." | Chubut, Argentina | |
Highlights of My Week in Puerto Madryn Jan 28 '08 "Every 3 days or so, Gaston throws a giant asado (BBQ) for all the residents of Hi Patagonia, where he cooks up a variety of bife de chorizo, sausage, blood sausage, chicken, potatoes, salad..." | Puerto Madryn, Argentina | |
Burnin’ a Day Jan 30 '08 "I ended up stranded here for a day after the Via Tac omnibus (16-hour ride) I was traveling on from Puerto Madryn arrived 2 hours late..." | Rio Gallegos, Argentina | |
The End of the World Jan 31 '08 "The Four Horsemen for the evening included myself, Derek and Gary from Kinsale, Ireland and a chap from Oakland, California named Leighton, who grew up in Santa Cruz, California." | Ushuaia, Argentina | |
The Broom of God Feb 01 '08 "...cabin fever and general excitement eventually overcame my better judgment and I walked out of the hostel around 2:30pm into The Broom of God." | Ushuaia, Argentina | |
Going Underground Feb 03 '08 "Since satellite access to the internet while on the boat costs something ridiculous like $5 per minute, this blog will be going underground." | Ushuaia, Argentina | |
The Professor Multanovskiy Feb 04 '08 "Our ship of the same name is a true expedition vessel (this is not your Grandma’s jumbo Caribbean cruiser), only 66 meters (~220 feet) long with capacity for 49 travelers, 21 crew, and 10 expedition staff." | Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Argentina | |
West Point Island Feb 06 '08 "About 3 minutes later, we were overrun by 60+ mph winds and pebble-sized pieces of hail that stung the face like thousands of pinpricks." | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | |
The Capital City Feb 07 '08 "...while I dined on sausages, beans, chips and onion rings (my heart almost stopped half-way thru the meal) and Carlsberg Beer." | Stanley, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | |
A River of Krill Feb 08 '08 "Krill...are the largest biomass on earth at an estimated 500 million tons, roughly twice the biomass of the human species." | Antarctic Region | |
The Antarctic Convergence Feb 09 '08 "The Antarctic Convergence is located between 50 degrees and 60 degrees South and stretches for more than 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) around Antarctica." | Antarctic Region | |
The Great Beyond Feb 10 '08 "Materializing slowly in the distance from behind ghostly, white cloud cover, the jagged, snow-fleeced peaks rising precipitously out of the open ocean almost seemed more mirage than reality." | Antarctic Region | |
The Grave of Shackleton Feb 10 '08 "Shackleton is most famous for the expedition that involved his ship, the Endurance, becoming trapped in polar pack-ice in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica in January 1915 for a period of 10 months." | Antarctic Region | |
The Slaughter of Thousands Feb 10 '08 "Over 60 years, well over 60,000 whales were “processed” at Grytviken. At the height of its efficiency, an 80-ton Blue Whale could be processed in only 45 minutes." | Antarctic Region | |
The King Penguins of Salisbury Plain Feb 11 '08 "In case you’re wondering what 500,000 King Penguins look and sound like, I just happened to take a fantastic 1-minute video..." | Antarctic Region | |
The Wandering Albatrosses of Prion Island Feb 11 '08 "The Wandering Albatross is a truly majestic creature, and the largest of all the great ocean-going seabirds...with a wingspan averaging over 3 meters (almost 10 feet) and a maximum verified wingspan of 3.7 meters (12 feet)..." | Antarctic Region | |
The Shackleton Walk Feb 11 '08 "The remarkable journey required the 3 explorers to trek for 36 hours, fighting blizzard conditions across numerous glaciers and mountains. And all after crossing 800 miles of the Southern Atlantic Ocean (from Elephant Island, just north of Antarctica) in a 22.5 foot-long open whaleboat known as the James Caird." | Antarctic Region | |
Moltke Harbour & Gold Harbour Feb 12 '08 "The most awesome, interesting, cool sight in Moltke Harbour was some video footage I shot (just before our departure back to the Professor) of a couple juvenile male Southern Elephant Seals engaging in some playful mock sparing." | Antarctic Region | |
Larsen Harbour & Drygalski Fjord Feb 13 '08 "...Conrad described Drygalski as “Mordor-esque”, as in something straight out of “Mordor”, a land bordered by three enormous mountain ranges in the fictional universe of Middle Earth from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy..." | Antarctic Region | |
Astrolabe Island Feb 17 '08 "Second in size only to Southern Elephant Seals, Leopard Seals can reach over 4 meters long (13 feet) and weigh up to 450 kilos (almost 1,000 pounds)...are formidable hunters and rank alongside Orcas (“Killer Whales”) as Antarctica’s top predators." | Antarctica | |
The Antarctic Swimming Club Feb 18 '08 "“This certifies that on Monday, February 18, 2008 while in the presence of Gentoo Penguins and a Weddell Seal, Tim Shoup most valiantly entered the waters of the Southern Ocean at Neko Harbour, off the Antarctic Continent (64 degrees 50.7’ S, 62 degrees 31.9’ W), when the observed temperature of the ocean registered 0 degrees Celsius. We solemnly acknowledge that this was an act of indubitable courage (as well as extraordinary, incomparable foolishness)." | Antarctica | |
Whaler’s Bay, Deception Island Feb 19 '08 "The island erupts approximately every 35 years or so and most recently erupted in 1969 (yes, you did the math right, we’re overdue for a biggie) in a monstrous explosion that sent Chilean research scientists and base crew literally running for their lives, dodging falling molten rock as they sprinted over a rise to a nearby foreign research station at Whaler’s Bay." | Antarctica | |
The Drake Passage Feb 19 '08 "Trying to sleep that night was an exercise in futility as the ship rocked well past 45-degree angles on either side at certain points…I moved both mattresses (having my own room was definitely a plus that night) off the bunks, placing one of the mattresses on the floor, wedging the other between myself and the wall, with a buffer of pillows on the other side, and hanging on for dear life..." | Antarctica | |
Return To The End Of The World Feb 22 '08 "Also difficult for me (which is entirely unexpected) is the fact that all my fellow expeditioners are heading “home”…for the first time, it’s really setting in that I have no home. The “road” is my home, and at least right now, I have some mixed emotions around that." | Ushuaia, Argentina | |
Cerro Guanaco Feb 23 '08 "I laughed villainously at the estimated 4-hour hike time to the summit of Cerro Guanaco and set out to do my worst (yes, I know, I’m still hyper-competitive with myself even though I’m supposed to be on “vacation”)." | Ushuaia, Argentina | |
Gettin’ On with Gettin’ On… Feb 24 '08 "Having exhausted my to-do list in Ushuaia and still struggling with post-expedition blues, I couldn’t bear the thought of spending another 6 days here killing time waiting for a bus…I just wanted to get out of Ushuaia..." | Punta Arenas, Chile | |
Un Completo Con Palta Feb 28 '08 "Yeah, I was skeptical at first as well, but it actually tastes pretty fantastic, and they used organic, all-natural mayonnaise too...which is a good thing since I’m watching my diet and trying to eat healthy." | Punta Arenas, Chile | |
Too Much Stuff? Mar 01 '08 "Arriving into Puerto Natales 20 minutes late on Saturday morning around 10:20am, I wondered if 10 minutes would be sufficient time for the exchange. What if Ivan was late? Or forgot? A million things could still go wrong with this stunt, and what do I do if he doesn’t show?" | Puerto Natales, Chile | |
Valle Ascencio and Campamento Chileno Mar 01 '08 "Dominated by imposing 3,000-meter tall spires of vertical, sheer granite faces and pristine, spectral blue glacial lakes, all set amid the (usually) roaring-like-a-freight-train southern Patagonian steppe, Torres del Paine is a truly rugged spectacle to behold, the hallucinogenic panorama of a modern-day Xanadu thoroughly drenched in southern beech forest, encroaching glaciers and river-sliced valleys that cut deep fissures into the rocky terrain..." | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
Sunrise at Mirador Las Torres Mar 02 '08 "The steadily warming atmosphere in the wake of the pressing sunshine accelerated circulating air currents, brushing away the cloud cover to reveal the stunning peaks and full span of the three massive granite spires of Torres del Paine: Torre Sur (2,850m), Torre Central (2,800m) and Torre Norte (2,248m), flanked on either side by Monte Almirante Nieto to the south and Cerro Nido de Condor to the north, and all set against cloudless, clear blue skies." | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
Valle Frances Mar 03 '08 "Valle Frances is a truly spectacular Eden-like paradise, the archetypal garden utilized conceptually in so much literature over the ages, and enveloped by almost 360 degrees of panoramic mountain scenery. The skies rendered themselves once again a spectacular, cerulean blue as they danced among billowy, scattered clouds above a rich patchwork of Southern Beech Forest and the meandering Rio Frances leisurely rolling down the valley." | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
The Essence of Patagonia Mar 03 '08 "Patagonia bewitches with the game played by the clouds being chased by the great, high currents, with its iridescent skies and eternal ice, with the vastness of its pampas and the murmur of the streams, with the lament of the forests and the sighs of the relentless wind." | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
Glaciar Grey Mar 04 '08 "I reached a beautiful overlook (the vista I was anticipating finding) about 1.5 hours hiking past Campamento Los Guardos around 2pm and not far from Paso John Gardner (the mountain pass to the backcountry area of Torres del Paine). I spent my lunch-hour snapping photos and soaking in the panoramic grandeur of it all. What a magnificent landscape!" | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
Mirador Los Cuernos Mar 05 '08 "The three peaks of Cuernos del Paine, Cuerno Norte (2,400m), Cuerno Principal (2,600m) and Cuerno Este (2,200m) are ruggedly spectacular and a serenely beautiful landscape, flanking the northern edge of the Rio Frances-carved gateway up to the rich splendor and magnificence of Valle Frances." | Torres del Paine National Park, Chile | |
Seno Ultima Esperanza Mar 06 '08 "A pastel wash of corrugated-tin houses shoulder to shoulder, this once-dull fishing port on Seno Ultima Esperanza (“Sound of Last Hope”) has become a clattering hub of Gore-tex clad travelers headed to the continent’s number-one national park." | Puerto Natales, Chile | |
Perito Moreno Glacier Mar 09 '08 "While not the largest glacier in world, what makes Perito Moreno such a spectacle is the clockwork regularity with which it calves large sheets of ice into Lago Argentino. Advancing a speedy 2 meters a day (which is like a sub-10 second 100 meters for a glacier), Perito Moreno sheds tons of ice each day into the lake with a resounding roar." | El Calafate, Argentina | |
El Calafate Mar 10 '08 "And then there’s Cathy. Around 3pm on the afternoon before my departure for El Chalten, I was sitting on the couch in the lobby of Marco Polo with my BOSE Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones (which completely rock out…thanks to the family for hookin’ me up a couple Christmas’s ago) on, listening to music and working on writing for this blog…when a cute blonde sat down next to me, opened up her laptop, looked over and smiled at me and said, “So you’re from California?”" | El Calafate, Argentina | |
El Chalten Mar 12 '08 "Heading out to explore El Chalten in a spitting, but chilling drizzle with rain jacket on and hood overhead, I grabbed lunch at Patagonicus (local pizza joint with a great selection) and an El Bolson artesanal beer…before heading back to Rancho Grande for a 2-hour nap (the beer definitely hit the spot as a precursor to a late rainy afternoon siesta)." | El Chalten, Argentina | |
Cerro Torre & Cerro Fitz Roy Mar 13 '08 "After a brutally arduous climb up an exposed and rocky trail, I arrived at Laguna de los Tres huffing and puffing, heavily perspiring and out of breathe around 6pm. With the sun reflecting brilliantly in the aquas of Laguna de los Tres and off the Glacier Fitz Roy, I let go once again…and was immersed in the serenity of this divine grandeur, an archetypal mountain paradise." | El Chalten, Argentina | |
Sunrise at Fitz Roy Mar 15 '08 "Awake at 4:20am the following morning, Cathy and I were at the Sendero al Fitz Roy trailhead by 5am and set out for the long trek up out of El Chalten Valley en route to Laguna de los Tres. The night air was unexpectedly warm, and we quickly shed layers of clothing as we ascended the dirt trail, constantly interspersed with roots and rocks and lit only by my Tikka Torch headlamp." | El Chalten, Argentina | |
Cerro Torre…Again Mar 16 '08 "Continuing along the Rio Fitz Roy, we stopped to each lunch on the far side of Laguna Torre from Glaciar Torre and Mirador Maestri. Cathy did the woman thing and made the sandwiches, while I did the man thing and ate the sandwiches. I usually despise traditional gender roles, but I played along this one time only (well, probably this one time only…actually she made sandwiches yesterday too, so I guess that makes twice, but I don’t seem to mind)." | El Chalten, Argentina | |
Ruta Nacional 40 Mar 17 '08 "...our mid afternoon restroom break was at Rio Chico…which has “outdoor facilities” (our bus didn’t have a bathroom), caballeros to the left and damas to the right, and plenty of brush cover for whatever…just bring your own toilet paper, which hopefully you don’t find yourself needing." | Bajo Caracoles, Santa Cruz | |
The Southern Carretera Austral Mar 19 '08 "The Carretera Austral (Ruta 7) was constructed in the 1980s by then dictator General Augusto Pinochet as a means to effectively link the widely separated and highly isolated towns of Northern Patagonia, Chile. Ruta 7 stretches some 1,200km from Puerto Montt at the northern end all the way down to Villa O’Higgins near Parque Nacional Bernardo O’Higgins and connects some very remote countryside towns. This is definitely cowboy country!" | Coyhaique, Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo | |
The Northern Carretera Austral Mar 20 '08 "Hung out with a former Alaska backcountry park ranger named Gabe for the duration of the time, before we both boarded a Navimag ferry christened the Barcaza Alejandrina on Saturday morning for the 5-hour trip across the Golfo de Corcovado, a spectacular body of water with beautiful views of the surrounding volcanic peaks, including Volcan Corcovado (2,300 meters high) and Volcan Michinmahuida (2,404 meters high)." | Chaiten, Los Lagos | |
The Magical Island – La Isla Grande de Chiloe Mar 24 '08 "In the magical forests of this island lives a small, ugly imp-like creature known as El Trauco, who has the ability to hypnotize young beauties, lead them deep into the lush, green forests of Chiloe, seduce them and impregnate them (well, there’s one way to avoid the family shame associated with a pre-marriage pregnancy…conjure up a legend of a magic imp!)." | Chiloe, Los Lagos | |
Getting to Pucon x 2 Mar 25 '08 "Well, I wasn’t diggin’ on any of this…it would probably take her 3 to 4 days at least to get to Bariloche by bus and then another couple days to get to Pucon…and I wasn’t havin’ any of this we may see each other, we may not, it take another week if at all…whatever! So I set about to find a way to clear up this little “problem”." | Pucon, Chile | |
The Lake Tahoe Of Chile Mar 27 '08 "also rented a car from Pucon-Rent-A-Car to visit Parque Nacional Huerquehue, before taking a homemade, self-assembled tablita of cheese, meats, crackers, fruit and (boxed, but we’re still classy) red wine along for a 6-hour therapeutic soak in the natural hot springs of Las Termas Pozones from the 8pm to 2am hours…eventually having the place to ourselves (as we outlasted the other tourists) with no one but us, the steaming waters of Pozones and a billion stars above us in the night sky." | Pucon, Chile | |
Volcan Villarica Mar 28 '08 "Scrapping our crampons and mountaineering boots, we wrapped our bottom-sides with a sledding device of some sort, and slid down the glacier in meandering ice chutes (which were some somewhat slushy from the heat of the afternoon sun), using our ice axes like oars to propel ourselves faster down the slopes." | Pucon, Chile | |
Pucon, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina Mar 31 '08 "We loaded the car quickly, squealed back over to the terminal (where I dropped her off with both our luggage), before cranking on over to the gas station, filling the car with unleaded, driving to the rental agency to drop off the car (while the gas station still had my credit card, yes it was intentional…I told them “I’ll be back”)..." | Bariloche, Argentina | |
El Circuito Chico Apr 01 '08 "Back in the car, we drove on up to a lookout point of Lago Perito Moreno, Llao Llao Hotel and Lago Nahuel Huapi on the other side with gorgeous views (look at pics for descriptions), where we purchased a bottle of homemade spiced red wine with flavors of orange, cinnamon, raspberries, spices and “un secreto especial” while gazing at the panoramic view and an iron sculpture of La Virgen Maria." | Bariloche, Argentina | |
The Chamuyero & Cerro Piltriquitron Apr 02 '08 "The vistas from Piltriquitron rival those of Torres del Paine and Fitz Roy, and are some of the most spectacular views in all of Patagonia. The El Bolson valley is sheltered on 4 sides by picturesque, undulating mountain ranges with national parks such as Nahuel Huapi to the north, Lago Puelo to the south and Los Alerces still further south (all within eyesight from the summit), and 3,554-meter high Monte Tronador off in the distance to the northwest." | El Bolson, Rio Negro | |
Raspberries, Red Wine & The Cool, Refreshingly Crisp Waters of Lago Puelo Apr 03 '08 "Our first stop for the day was Parque Nacional Lago Puelo, a gorgeous national park set around the centerpiece of a picturesque lake. Wavering at first, I eventually decided the crystal-clear waters were too inviting to pass up a chance at a glacial lake relic swim. Not to be outdone (she is just as competitive as I am), Cathy donned her swim gear just as quickly as I did, as we both dove in gregariously (ok, tip-toed in really) to the shocked views of a few incredulous, yet possibly slightly jealous onlookers." | El Bolson, Rio Negro | |
The After-Hours Border Crossing Apr 03 '08 "I couldn’t tell if the guard was irritated or just indifferent as he said back to us, “Vamos a ver” (which means “we’ll see”…which also means I have no idea what the hell he means or whether we’ll actually get across tonight), before closing the door, sitting back down and continuing to eat dinner with his comrades." | Futaleufu, Los Lagos | |
Whitewater on the Fu Apr 06 '08 "With the river completely to ourselves, Cathy & I assumed the helm for the first “bridge to bridge” stretch and we attacked the rapids with vigor, conquering the rapids Magic Carpet (Class IV), Pillows (Class IV), Cara de Indio (Class IV), Mundaca (Class V), Cazuela (Class IV), and Tiburon (Class IV) over a 40 minute stretch of non-stop rapids action. WOO-HOO!! The second section of the day was the “Casa de Piedra” section where we’d crank up the volume as surf thru the rapids Mas o Menos (Class V), Right Turn (Class IV) and finally the bigboy, Casa de Piedra (“House of Rock”), a very full Class V that splits the river in two right down the middle. YEE-HAW!!!" | Futaleufu, Los Lagos | |
