Apr 2007

Sunday 15th April

Mendoza, Argentina

We remember Derrick on his Birthday today.

So, another travelling day, and we're up early to squeeze in breakfast before heading to the busy metro for the few stops to the bus station. Hopefully, being quite early on a Sunday, the metro won't be too busy.

Yep, it's fine and we get to the bus station before 10am for our 10.30 departure.

A little odd when we check-in to where we bought our tickets - we're led to the booth next door and seemingly signed on to another bus/another company, though this bus is due to leave now, at 10am.

Turns out fine, maybe even a little more comfy on this semi-cama bus, which is going all the way to Buenos Aires, via Mendoza. Also, as we leave the terminal, there's not too many people onboard, so should make the border crossing a little quicker.

As well as the treat of snacks during the journey, we're also treated to some loud music courtesy of the driver. Curiously, it seems that whenever he looks down and touches the volume control (by his feet), the bus veers into the centre of the road. We should be safe, it was Friday 13th a couple of days ago.

A couple ofours into the journey and the terrain gets hilly and mountainous. Set against the clear blue sky, it's a great sight.

We're essentially climbing to the border and pass the nearby Parque Provincial Aconcagus, which has the western hemisphere's highest summit, at 6960m.

Took a little while to cross the border (we had been used to getting a coachload through in 20 minutes, but took an hour here, but it is a major road border between Chile and Argentina.

Impressive scenery as we continue the journey, though our driver seems in a hurry, and these roads are a little narrow, with steep drops to the side.

Went through Uspallata, a pretty valley (especially due to the autumn colours creeping into the trees. This place was where they filmed '7 ears in Tibet' (Brad Pitt).

Passed a few of the rafting sites along the way and as we neared Mendoza, though the water looks pretty flat, and not a lot of fun.

At the bus terminal, arriving an hour or so later than expected, we're met by a guy who would like us to stay at his hotel. He seems fine, the place looks good, and we get our own apartment for 70Pesos (just under GBP12) a night, including breakfast. Mendoza would have been a good place to meet up with other travellers, but the lure of our own bathroom, cable TV, small kitchenette is a good lure. It's also a minute from the centre of town - it's called Providencia Apartments, on San Juan, and neear to the tourist information 'hut' by Avenida San Martin.

It's evening, so we have a wander around town - Mendoza is quite different to what we expected, a lot more busy, though not suggesting it's a bad place. Good vibe in town on this Sunday evening - the main plaza (Plaza Independencia) busy with market stalls and open air performances. Quite a few police in town to keep an eye on revellers out to watch the Boca Juniors v River Plate game on tonight.

Had a bargain dinner at a local pizza/pasta restaurant -washed down with a local beer. Nice to be back in Argentina and enjoying the amazingly good prices, and even moreso that it's even warmer here than Santiago - in fact, nudging on the humid side.

Had a further wander around the Plaza - Christine wishing her sister, Julie, was here for them to enjoy spending aaaagggggeeeesss at the jewellery stands.

Managed to make a collect call back to the UK - you need to call the international operator on '000'. Convenient to have an English speaker at the other end to save Paul from his limited Espanol. Seems that Morgan Stanley have sorted my account from the recent misuse by some ponce in New Zealand.

Watched a little bit of telly, before a good nights sleep.

Monday 16th April

Easy morning - a little bit of internet, and caught up with Kim online, arranged to meet for late lunch with her and Rebecca.

Chris did a some research on wine tours while Paul caught up some more with the blog.

Had lunch at a great vegetarian restaurant, called Green Apple, a little bit out of the centre of town, but easy walking distance. It's an 'all you can eat' buffet, and the range and quality of food is really good. Was 15Pesos, excluding drinks - nice people run the place and we're looking forward to at least one more visit while we're here.

Realised again that Mendoza is much bigger than we thought.

Found out about a 'huge' mall near the bus station and decided to walk down there. Wasn't quite where it was pinpointed on the map for us, and it turned out to be a few kilometres up the highway, though literally a few minutes bu taxi. A nice place (if you like that sort of thing), though not a huge amount of shops. There's a multiscreen cinema there too. Didn't spend too long here before the taxi back to town.

Met back up with Kim in the evening (her truck leaves town in the morning), and the three of us grab some food and beer at a local restaurant in the pedestrian area. Great steak sandwich!

Were joined by a couple of dogs, though it was unusual to see one of them (with a limp) being aggressive to the other. Ended up in a bit of a fight (started by the disabled one), that was broken up by a couple of local guys. The disabled one hobbled off, limping, and yelping.

Tuesday 17th April

Making the most of our nice apartment and took it lazy again in the morning. Enjoying having breakfast brought up to our room!

Paul doesn't think it's worth going on one of the expensive all-day wine tours, that include lunch. It's between USD105 and USD125 each. Neither of us is that 'into' wine, and we're not sure how good the inclusive lunch will be, especially for veggie Chris.

Instead, we take our chances on a half day tour, that will visit two wineries, including one that is listed inthe top-20 in a magazine we picked up at reception. This tour costs 40Pesos each, less 5% discount for being good HI members.

Had a semi-picnic lunch in the park-like Plaza before getting to the nearby HI Hostel to wait for our transport. Sod's law at work here - arrived a few minutes before the suggested pickup time of 2.30, to be collected at 3. Also a little cross to find we have a coachload of 24 people, when we were told that the max is 14. Grrrr.

The first winery we visit, about 40 minutes drive from town, is 'Weinert'. The tour wasokay, though the commentary in a mix of Spanish and English - a little rushed. Nice to see a traditional cellar being used to store the wine in huge oak casks. ( metres deep, and the walls a metre thick.

Got to taste a white, a red and a dessert wine. Chris preferred the latter - Paul still prefers a cool white.

Next winery stop - French-owned 'Fabre Montmayou', rated 17th out of 20 in Wine Republic magazine.

First we saw the vines, which are covered by an expensive neting to prevent damage by seemingly frequest hail storms, which is despite the area receiving little rainfall through the year.

Different to the previous winery, the wine here is fermented in huge, modern, stainless steel tanks and then stored in smaller wooden barrels. These barrels are only used 4 times, whilst the huge barrels at the previous winery are used for over 100 years, with regular, thorough, cleanouts.

Their white wine is bottled within several months of harvest, and their longest-barrelled wine (and the most expensive) is stored for 16 months and then bottle-stored for a further 12 months.

We learnt a few things today, including that the barrel (from California) gives the wine some of its flavour, including chocolate, pepper and leather (??!!??) - the tannins coming from the wood, and the higher oercentage of tannins, the longer the wine will keep. This therefore explains why 'young' wines do not keep (low tannin content, as they're not stored in barrels).

Chris was happy to also learn that the indentation the the bottom of the wine bottle indicates the quality of the wie, though surely this is just a gimmick. We're also told that the winery use different labels for the same wine, but for different world markets. Again. more marketing gimmick'ry.

Of course, tasted a few more wine here, including our first ever (we think) Malbec. Not sure if we could really taste the difference between this and other red wines. The Malbec vine is Argentinian, though initially it came from France but didn't suit the soil there as well as it did here. That said, we still weren't that fussed!

This tour was very informative and it was better that the English speakers in the group had their own guide.

Had hoped that, time permitting, we'd also be stopping at a chocolate factory. Instead, we were taken to a church which contained a 200 year old statue of the Virgin Mary, broughtover from Spain in 1666. Of course, Paul is very glad we came here rather than the chocolate factory.

We get dropped off back in town around 7ish and buzz about for a while before heading back to the apartment, and watch The Fantastic Four.

Wednesday 18th April

Oops, took it even easier this morning - caught up with some internet stuff, than a coffee at McDonalds.

Considered another half day winery tour, but the vineyards they are going to today aren't listed in our Top-20 magazine, so we don't bother and head off to another part of town to buy our bus tickets to Salta.

It's an overnight bus ride, so we've gone for 'cama', which gives us a bed of sorts, though not quite as good as the Premier Class, which gives a proper flat bed. We're travelling with Andesmar, who aren't the cheapest, but the service has been recommended several times.

Next, we head up to San Martin Parque, really enjoy the walk (20 minutes or less) through a fancy part of town, nice houses. The park is huge and we only walk around to the lake, where we see folk rowing.

We're really enjoying Mendoza more and more, it's a really smart place - wide, tree-lined streets, smart bars and restaurants, lots of cafes. Interesting to see people in suits on their mobiles, drinking coffee, and getting their shoes shined. All at the same time.

Anyway, back at the park, we sat on the short bank by the water and enjoyed the afternoon sun. Chris caught up on some diary, Paul had a snooze.

Late afternoon and we return to town via the Plaza. Nice Christine did some clothes washing at the apartment, then we stepped out for some food and to make another collect call to the credit card company. Not sure if I mentioned before, but to make a collect call from Argentina, dial the International Operator with '000' and select from the brief menus - not sure what the options are, but you'll get through to an English speaking operator, who will help with your Cordo Revertido.

Thursday 19th April

Our last day in Mendoza today, and we check out at 10am. Did consider paying 35 Pesos to keep the room until 6pm, but didn't bother in the end. Our bus to Salta is at 8.30pm.

Unfortunately we probably wasted the day today - Paul couldn't be bothered to get the local bus to Maipu and visit some vineyards on our own. On reflection, he's sorry we wasted the day and should have got his ass moving. Christine kicks herself for not going it alone.

Not the best weather today, but we head back to the Park again and enjoy some fresh air by the lake, though it got a little chilly so we walked around the lake watching some afternoon runners.

Thinking ahead, we had picked up some picnic food on the way. Whilst we were joined by a couple of dogs, they didn't seem interested in helping Paul eat his ham sandwiches. Felt very sorry for one little one who had an injury just above his eye, and was also suffering from the suds (a cold). Poor little thing had a crusty eyes and a dry crusty nose - he was sniffing away, but still managing to wag his tail. Hopefully we haven't caught anything from him...

Not a lot else happened today, and we returned to town to pick up our bags and head to the nearby bus station. The bus leaves on time, and we're motoring just after 8.30pm. This is our first ride on a double decker coach, and we're upstairs.

A pretty comfortable ride through the night, and the food we had for dinner was fine, including the wine! Slept okay, though not as good as the ride from Pucon to Mendoza - it seemed a little more noisy this time.

16 hours later, we arrive safely in Salta...but gutted that the route the bus took wasn't the '68', from Cafayate - the scenery would have been better.

to be continued on next thread...

Wednesday 11th April

Santiago, Chile

The journey is fine and the three of us get a fair bit of sleep, before pulling into the central bus station at about 7am. Strangely no movie last night, nor any meal, though we're given some breakfast - cheese and ham rolls, juice etc.

We hang around at the bus station whilst Theresa sorts her onward bus journey to Buenos Aires, another 24 hours away. Gulp. She is convenienty booked on the bus heading out at 10.15 am, so we hang around in the food court nearby and wait until after the bulk of rushhour before making our way into the city.

Goodbyes to Theresa, we've had a nice week with her - once again, we're grateful to be meeting so many good people. Theresa's help with her excellent Spanish has been most appreciated, though the three of us will remember her, on occasion (well, 1), misuse of both mathematics, and English. And she said 'bugger' a lot. Looking forward to meeting up again in London in the summer.....

The metro station is just a couple of minutes away and we're only a few stops from Universitad de Chile station. The metro is still busy, but is fine/cheap, and the journey soon over. A little daunted to be back in a big city and not yet having our bearings.

Went around the houses a bit to find our recommended hostel, though it's actually called Hotel Londres Plaza. A big place, though not sure if it's that busy. We get a double room with TV (not Cable) and view overlooking the cobbled courtyard outside. Breakfast is included and the shared bathroom is fine. A little more expensive than recently at 16,000Pesos (around GBP16).

After checking-in we shower and head out before nodding off. Glad that it's got warmer as we've headed north, though would welcome an extra couple of degrees - either way, it's tshirt weather.

First random observation is the number of blind people we have come across in the first 5 minutes of being out!

Head towards the Plaza de Armas - keeping an eye out for Starbucks, we're sure there's one around and would both enjoy a Frappucino right now.

Also very busy in the city centre - strange for mid morning during the week. We walk on towards the art gallery, Bellas Artes, but don't go in, and instead try and track down the Cerro (Hill) Santa Lucia - a 'rock' in the centre of town, some 70 metres high. Obviously originally a natural feature, though lots of manmade features, and a few buildings. A fortress at the top (that you can't get in), a small church, a huge stone gate, statues and garden features.

The views from the top not particularly impressive, what with the smog all around, blocking the view to the high hills that surround the city, which themselves are the main cause of the smog not escaping the city limits. Whilst the views not that superb, you get a feel for how spread out the city is, and how much of a tiny dent we'll make in it over the next 3 or 4 days.

On the way back to the hostel/hotel, we stop at the San Franciso church, which is actually at the top of our road. It's the oldest church in Santiago, dating from 1618. It's a very simple building, the walls just white-washed. The only really ornate part of the church is the ceiling, which wouldn't look out of place in a stately home.

In one corner of the church is an area that, in one sense, has been vandalised with graffiti, though this must be an accepted way of communicating with God or Jesus - many messages asking Jesus to guard over sons/daughters etc.

Also other messages of 'thanks' to San Francisco and also some curious words of remembrance in respect of deceased dogs. Extraordinary, but we'd be happy to see more of this sort of thing. "our Father, who barks in heaven....Scraps be thy name... ...give us this day our daily chew-stick... ...forgive us our daily poops...etc" I'll leave it there, lest a bolt of lightning strike me down.

For lunch we tried to trackdown Govinda's, an Indian/veggie place. Found it - found it had closed down. Never mind, there's a couple more veggie places in town, and we get a table in one (El Naturalista), though have to wait 10 minutes. Strange to see so many office folks taking lunch way into the middle of the afternoon.

The food is good here, and we're full for 10,000 Pesos, which is a little more than we'd spend for two, especially if no alcohol is involved.

There's a small cinema nearby, and it's 'cheap Wednesday', so pleased to get tickets to watch Spartan gore-epic '300', for GBP1.80 each. Smuggle in some sweets,despite the warning in Spanish that that sort of caper is not allowed.

Enjoy the film, though it's no comedy. Can certainly see the Frank Miller influence - similar use of bloody-ness, as seen in Sin City.

A little tired in the evening, so watch some Chilean telly before an early night. Looking forward to more exploring tomorrow, sooo much to see! Fingers tightly crossed for more blue skies.

Thursday 12th April

Today starts with a 'grande' thank you to my Aunty M who continues to print off our blog and post it through to my ma back at home. Our next cerveza will be 'cheers'd' to you, Aunty Margaret and Uncle John. Of course, we're also pleased that you're still reading about our little diary - sorry there's no pictures!

Whilst on the subject of thanks - cheers Jason for sorting out those muppets at British Gas, and to Piers for emailing the various threatening letters, when British Gas already knew we were out of the country, and ta Neil for letting us know that the Water Company had forced a water meter on you and sneakily fitted it whilst you guys were out. I'm sure a huge leak would have taken days/weeks to see to....

Also, big thanks to Gav for keeping the car ticking over for the last 9 months - I trust that you haven't been doing any wheelspins in my absence!

Of course, closer to home, thanks Ma, for sorting out a whole bunch of stuff, sorry I was blasphemous a little earlier regarding a re-write of the Lord's Prayer. Only three months to go before we're back, and can't wait to see you. Also, Julie, grateful for everything you have done whilst we have been away.

Sorry, that's not an exhaustive list - if you're not mentioned, we do still love you.

Right, back to the trip and, yes, it's a blue sky day.

Breakfast at 8.20am, and after we head straight for the Palacio de la Moneda (built 1805, and restored after the coup in 1973), or 'The Presidential Palace. Watched the ceremonial changing of the guard at 10am (it happens every other day). After the brief change we follow on into the courtyard, though little to see - a couple of old cannons and some stone sculptures. Chris had her picture taken with one of the friendly guards, who, whilst looking quite senior, indicated for Chris to link arms with him.

Thankkfully the guard laughed at Paul's attempt at humour in Spanish - 'Senor, por favor, no tocar...'

On a small mission of our own today - we know there's a few Starbucks in town, though the website doesn't help with directions. No luck trying to find the nearest one, but the walk does lead us to the Palacio Cousino - a large mansion in French Rococo style. Not quite sure what Rococo style actually is, though it's a nice building on the outside.

Dating from 1871, and taking 7 years to build, by Luis and Isadora Cousino (millionaires who made their money from silver mining and wine). The palace amazed Santiago society with it's ultra-modern touches - it has it's own electricity generator and the first lift in the country.

Sadly Luis died from TB at 38, and before the palace was finished. His wife completed the building and lived there, never re-marrying, with her 6 children.

The Palace was bought by the Mayor on the 1940's at a reduced price and it is still used for official receptions. Many dignatories have stayed there, though the only one we can remember is Eisenhower. Sorry!

Queen Elizabeth II was due to stay there in the 60's, but 2 weeks before she was due, a fire destroyed the second floor. Whilst a restoration took place, the municipalidad could only afford to to use pine, rather than mahogany.

The palace is stunning, and the detail amazing. Handmade drapes in each room, tapestries, fantastic artworks. Also chandeliers, including one with 3,000 pieces of crystal, that are individually hand cleaned 3 times a year. All of the furniture was imported from France or Italy, and the main staircase is constructed from 20 different types of marble.

The family monogram can be seen on the curtainsrails, mirrors and doors.

Sweet to see the 'indiscretos' - chairs with three individual seats connected in a circle, designed to accomodate a courting couple and a chaperone.

Well worth waiting the 20 minutes for a tour of the house with an English-speaking guide. It cost 2000Pesos each for entrance, including the tour, and also including some fancy slippers to wear over your outdoor shoes. It felt like we were on a ward.

Later in the aftrnoon we made our way on the metro out to El Golf station, where we think there's a Starbucks. Yep, there is, and we enjoy a Frappucino.

From here we walk out to the nearby (though a 30 minute walk) shopping mall, and did a little light shopping. Managed to find an Apple shop and bought a camera connector, (so to use the Ipod to store photos as a back up). Annoyingly it doesn't work, though it's compatible with both the Ipod and the camera (Canon 350D) - looks lie the Ipod software needs updating. Bugger!

Walked back to the metro, though this time we walk past the Military school. Nothing going on this afternoon, though there's a nice clear view of the mountains that surround Santiago, even though the ever-present smog is there.

Vegetarian dinner, again(!), at El Naturalista - great food again.

After, we pop along, on the offchance, to see if Exodus Kim is at her hotel - conveniently she's in the lobby when we arrive.

Aree to head out to the Bellavista area, just a few minutes away in a taxi, with Kim and Rebecca, who is a leader on another truck.

We find a quiet bar and enjoy some wine and Caiprinha's whilst being entertained by a singer/guitarist. Feel a little awkward that he's not getting our full attention, especially when there's only two others in the whole place. Of course, we clap inbetween numbers - he's actually very good.

Found a second bar where we had some late night nachos. Kim had a steak sandwich, and employed the 3-second rule when she dropped it on the floor.

Back in Kim's hotel room, we try to fix her laptop, and fail.

Walking back to our hostel we are accompanied by a friendly dawg, though we try and shake him to saves his disappointment when he's not allowed into our room. He follows us anyway.

Pleased that there was someone to let us in at 3am, though not the dog.

Friday 13th April

Wake up hungover, and likely to miss breakfast, though luckily there's a few bits and pieces left for us.

Walked out to Parque Metropolitano and climbed up San Cristobal, enjoying views of the spread-out city. A bit of a climb, especially in the heat (though not complaining) - 300 metres up, in total. We would have jumped on the funicular railway, but forgot to get any money out before we left.

Sat at the top under the statue of the Virgin Mary, and enjoyed the slightly smoggy view for a while, before making our way back down to Bellavista.

Both got a bit grumpy walking around, not sure where to eat, but eventually found a place, and ate well, and cheaply.

Took a few photos around town - there's a lot of murals/graffiti on the houses - some actually looks quite good.

Walking back towards town we pass the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (a fine-arts gallery), and decide to go in this afternoon. Not the best selection of exhibits, though the building itself is interesting, with it's 'neo-classical architecture. Was cheap anyway, at 600 Pesos.

Not much happening in the evening - Chris still hungover. Watched CSI in Spanish.

Saturday 14th April

Up late this morning - seem to be sleeping to much, but always good to make the most of it.

Made a couple of calls home today, nice to catch up, but always a pain to find out that there's another problem with an old bill. This time, and now 9 months after we told them we were leaving the country, Harrow Council suggest that we owe them.

Next, went on to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino - where there's impressive objects from the pre-colombian cultures of Central America and the Andean region. Most of the objects were in excellent condition - few cracks, bright colours and clear designs. The age of the objects went back to over 500BC, or 500AC as they say here (Antes Christo). A lot of the objects were buried with the dead, so perhaps this explains the reason for their preservation.

Interesting to learn that some of the cultures skinned their dead and placed the bones in urns.

Also, learnt about 'vomit sticks' - sticks that shamen would put down their throats to cleanse their stomachs.

Paul left Christine to go around the museum a second time, at her pace, and sneaked off for a crafty (but tasty) Burger King.

We're heading out of town tomorrow, so organise our bus ticket back at the central station. Not sure if we paid slightly over the odds - 10,000Pesos (initially quoted 15000Pesos) each for the 6/7 hours to Mendoza, across the border in Argentina. We seem to have paid a small commission to a couple of guys that lead us to one of the many companies selling tickets.

A little wary as we hand over the money...

Back on the metro we go along to another fancy part of town, Providencia, though seems like it's not that busy at the weekend - perhaps just busy in the week with the office workers. Pleased to come across another Starbucks - we'll probably not find another until we get to Peru....

The area doesn't seem that great, so we don't hang around and walk back towards home, via Parque Balmaceda, which is a narrow park area, but straddled by busy roads.

Walked to a grotty part of town to get to Iglesia (church) de Los Sacramentinos. The guidebook describes it as a 'gothic church, loosely designed in imitation of the Sacre Coeur in Paris. Hmm. don't know about that, but the inside is impressive - large dome, balconies, and pretty stained-glass windows. Strange that the outside makes it look quite derelict.

After a food court dinner, we went to the cinema to watch disappointing Ghost Rider. Walked back through the pedestrian area to see lots of folk selling all manner of crap at the side of the pavement, and various street performers. Felt just a tiny bit uneasy walking back through the crowds, but got back perfectly safely to our room.

Sunday 15th April

Travelling across the border to Mendoza, Argentina, today, so up quite early to pack and make our way to the bus station for 10am.

continues on next thread...

Thursday 5th April

Puerto Montt

Didn't plan for Puerto Montt to have much of an entry on this blog, but on arriving at the bus terminal a few minutes walk from the ferry harbour, we find out that the buses from here to Pucon are all full today. There's only one company that goes from here to Pucon - JAC Buses.

Whilst we buy our tickets for the 10am bus for tomorrow, we hang around for todays 10am to see if there's any spare seats. No such luck!

On the way to the (hostel) information stand at the bus station, we are stopped by Heidi who convinces us to check out her hospedaje just a few minutes away.

Yep, it's fine and we pay 5000 Pesos for a double, that has cable TV - always a crowd pleaser.

After dropping off our stuff, we head into town for a coffee and sniff around. Shame it's quite a grotty day, though not raining at least.

Stopped at a small art exhibition, before Paul sat for a couple of hours to get the blog more up to date, while Chris and Theresa took off in a 'collectivo' (a shared taxi) to the small port of Angelmo.

They met a very talkative lady in an artesenal 'aperitif' shop. Theresa speaks good Spanish so could converse with her - chatting about our 'ugly - except Prince William' Royal family and her perception of European girls. She thought Chris and Teresa were German, as they looked quite 'solid'.

She went on to describe Argentinian girls as the ones with fake boobs, big bums and false eyelashes, also that English girls are 'unemotional' and wear little makeup, whereas Italians are nicely dressed. It was hilarious, talking to her and occasionally tasting her fruit/nut aperitifs. The girls bought a bottle of the 'burnt cherry' one.

Walked around the fish market and saw 2 huge seals in the harbour - though the water had a distinct fuel-film on the top and was surely not helping the eye infection that you could clearly see on one of them.

Got a collectivo back to Puerto Montt and collected Paul from the internet shop - a massive 4 hours of blog done today.

Unsure of whether we could use the kitchen at our accomodation, decided to eat out and had a Pizza Hut pizza in the small shopping mall - made the most of their 2 for 1 deal and sat in the food court until two large ones were finished.

Back in the room, and the three of us sit on the bed and watch The Man in the Iron Mask, eating chocolate and drinking 'Burnt Cherry' liquor.

Friday 6th April

to Pucon

Had to wait ages to use the shower - always annoying when someone is pissing around for 20 minutes in there, especially when you are in fact desperate for a piss yourself.

Enjoyed some home made bread for breakfast, then made our way to the bus station to get our 10 o'clock bus.

Left on time, and Paul managed to grab two seats to himself for the first part of the journey - not a lot of leg room on these JAC buses.

'Okay' scenery on the way up towards the lake District,and pleased to arrive in Pucon, where we're planning to stay for a few days. Always nice to have a base for a bit.

Staying here at 'La Casita', just behind the main street, our double room just 5000 Pesos a night. Got use of the kitchen and there's free internet. There's a communal Cable tv, but it's not working, and who knows what might get fixed over the Easter weekend. Looks like we'll need to make polite conversation over the next couple of days. Tch!

We'll be doing some walking from here, so the girls have a look at the forecast, which shows Saturday and Sunday as 'good', but Monday/Tuesday look like rain/clouds etc.

With that in mind, we book up for the volcano climb for tomorrow, though not the 4am start, but the 7am one. Theresa took aaaagggeeeesss sorting out her equipment It's left that she'll choose from three pairs of boots in the morning, depending on her mood, or whether her feet swell overnight. The trip costs 45,000 Pesos, but we get a discount through the hostel, and pay 40,000.

After, we stop at Mamas &Tapas for some '50% off Mexican food', and 2 for 1 cocktails, though it's not a late nor drunken one ahead of a days walking tomorrow.

Saturday 7th April

Ugh, it's too early to hear the alarm. Faces drop further when we realise there's no hot water for a shower.

Arrive at the Politur shop for 6.45am, to find no other bugger around, except some dogs, and we don't think they have paid for the trip.

No problem, as one of the guides soon arrives, and most others a few minutes later. It's confirmed, the dogs aren't on the trip.

Also, Chris feeling a little anxious of the climb ahead of us - the volcano of just under 3000 metres, and, of course, we'll be going 'up', rather than 'along'.

So, we get our equipment on and the minibus takes us to the park. Thankfully the ski lift is working today (wasn't yesterday), so we skip the first 400 metres, and save an hour and a bit.

Initially, when in town, we thought that the weather might go against us, but a little way up the volcano in the minibus and we're above the low cloud, and a clear view of the volcano (Villarrica) is ahead of us.

At the carpark, with about a million others (perhaps 150-200), we are issued with icepicks (a fair bit of the climb will be over ice, though not literally climbing it), before jumping onto the chairlift over the first part of the volcano base.

Thankfully survive the chairlift, despite it stopping briefly about halfway up. Also survive getting off the chairlift, and avoid one of those 'You've Been Framed' moments.

The whole group walked up the first bit together, taking the pace nice and slow along the narrow ledges. No getting out of breath just here then, but it looks a bit more challenging further up.....

First rest-stop was at a derelict skilift that was damaged during an eruption in the early 1970's - great views from here.

As we approached the snow/ice line, we stopped to put on some crampons, to make our walk a little safer, though we are walking up a fairly steep bank, and it'd be easy to lose your footing and tumble straight to hell. Seemed odd (if not dangerous) that some of the other climbing groups didn't have crampons - we'd recommend Politur on that alone.

The views get better as we climb up, though a bank of cloud seems to be following us up the volcano-side. The walk isn't too tough, and the pace steady and safe.

At the top of the snowline and closer to the summit, we remove the crampons for the last 30 minutes, before getting to the summit at about 1pm ) less than 4 hours walking. Whilst it's been quite hard, it has been easier than we worried about.

Shame so many people at the top, and the gases rising from inside the active volcano aren't too pleasant.

We take some photos of the surrounding country, and after some lunch, we are guided to the other side of the crater where we get a decent view inside. There's not a huge amount of lava to be seen from here, but it's stunning to see (and hear) it gurgle below.

I guess it's quite dangerous up here - no rails or anything, and it's very easy to want to crane yourself just that little bit more over the edge. No casualties today, expect one fashion victim. Theresa is caught wearing her green-lens sunglasses over her bi-focals.

Had plenty of time at the top, before gearing up again for the ascent. First a little walk back down to the ice, and from there we get to slide down the toboggan runs. Not perfect sliding, some of us a little to wide to fit the channel properly, so actually quite hard work in places, chugging yourself along. Equally though, some spots quite steep and you desperately needed to use your icepick to slow you down. Really good fun, if not a little tiring.

Some of the slides separated by a short walk/stumble over the ice. Very glad to use the icepick to steady yourself before tumbling.

Took longer than we thought to reach the rock again, and very pleased to take off the waterproofs and cool down a little.

The final stretch was pretty easy going, but again, seemed longer than you'd think. It probably didn't take much less time going down than up, though of course, we didn't take the skilift down the last 400 metres.

Back at the carpark at about 5pm, and ready for the drive back to Pucon - everyone pleased with a great day.

As we said, the climb seemed quite dangerous in parts, but the (3) guides were very attentive and always keeping an eye out. Another reason to recommend Politur.

Back at the shop to drop off our equipment, we're treated to some drinks and we have a little chat before heading back for a shower. Unfortunately, the showers at La Cassita are not particularly hot.

Dinner at Trewan restaurant in town - really tasty set menu - tomato soup, veggie lasagne and fruit salad. Bargain at 3200 Pesos - really good food.

Picked up some food on the way back (for brekky and another planned walk), and treated ourselves to an early night and some rest for the feet.

Great day, and pleased that the weather stayed so good.

Sunday 8th April

Easter Sunday, not a Cadbury's Buttons egg in sight.

Off to the National Park (Huerquehue) today, for a walk around the lakes. The girls head out to sort our transport plans, and we find that the local bus leaves at 8.30 - it's now 9.30.

Instead, we hire a taxi to take us the hour or so to the park - 3000 Pesos, rather than the 1600 on the bus.

Got to the park for 11ish and did the 3 lakes walk - beautiful, especially on another sunny and warm day. The 3 lakes, Chico, Verde and Toro all pretty and the track easy to navigate, though the first hour was uphill, but easy thereafter, especially after sitting down to scoff some mini easter eggs we got from the supermarket yesterday. Nice, but not Cadbury's

Saw lots of Monkey Puzzle Trees (ie Araucaria Araucana - Chile's National Tree).

No big rush today as the suggested walking time would get us back to the park office for the bus well before 5.30. So, took our time to enjoy the scenery and good weather. Stopped at a few spots - Lago Toro the fave of the day - glad to have no one else around and enjoy the silence, save for a few fish splashing in the lake.

On the JAC Bus at 5.30 for the ride back to Pucon - glad to get seats as we pick up a few locals along the way. In Pucon for 7pm, and the girls find local church to attend Easter Mass. Paul doesn't believe in God, instead he sits outside and does some good deeds of his own - strokes a dog and helps a boy put his bike on a trolley he is trying to push.

Theresa heads back to the hostel and Paul and Chris go back for some tasty food at Trewan - today, veggie risotto for the lady and Paul has some chicken he's been craving for days.

Chatted with some folks back at the hostel, did some internet and went to bed - the feet really feeling it after today. The cracked heels not wanting to sort themselves out.

Monday 9th April

Weather forecast spot on - it starts raining in the middle of the night and literally doesn't stop all day.

Theresa doesn't bother with a trip to Villarrica, and we meet up mid-morning to try and formulate a plan, though it is cosy sitting around the wood-burner.

Needed to get hold of some cash, and overlooked the holiday weekend and that the ATM's would perhaps run out of cash. Tried 6 and failed, before Paul clicked that there might be an ATM (and one that takes Visa) at the casino. AAhhh, that 'counting sound' - we love it.

With a pocket of cash, we can now buy our bus ticket for tomorrow, to Santiago. It'll be an overnight bus, and our first Full-Cama experience - we'll have a bed on the bus!

Thankfully we're staying another night in town as the company double the ticket prices over the weekend. When we first asked yesterday, full cama was 34000 Pesos, however, Tuesday's bus will cost half that. Tuesday it is, and we don't even bother trying to save a few pounds on semi-cama.

Back for late lunch at Trewan and the set menu again, this time, lentil soup, veggie quiche and fruit salad. The quiche is, truly, the best we have had ever.

Had no plans for later that afternoon, and agreed to head back to the hostel with some snacks and enjoy the wood-burner and chit-chat. Picked up some dog biscuits to feed some our 3.5 legged friends (limping = half a leg) - they seem pleased, but then we can't shake them off and they follow us around. So we shoot them. Not really!!!! Or did we......

The rain didn't stop all day, but it was nice just hanging around the hostel, by the wood-burner.

Tuesday 10th April

Didn't bother getting up too early, no big plans for today, though we hope to see some of Pucon itself. Teresa went off to Tumuco, a couple of hours away by coach/car - we made our way into town. Weather not great today, especially compared with teh first 2 days in Pucon.

Yesterday we saw an internet cafe that does camera pictures to DVD - we need to get some transferred across, but Paul always dreads this deed, it always seems to take hours. At least it's quite cheap here, and the guy suggests it'll take an hour...

Kim (the tour leader from our overland trip) just happens to be at the internet place, and it saves us sending an email to ask 'are you here yet?....'. Pleased to see her and we have a little catch up before getting on with some blog, whilst the memory cards are done.

Plan tomeet Kim in a short while for some lunch. Just for a change, we suggest Trewan... Only four days running!

SOunds like Kim has had some trouble on the last sector, her truck broke down just a couple of hours into the trip. Sounds a nightmare, though all is in hand.

We were thinking about joining up on the trip that goes from Santiago to La Paz (Bolivia), but maybe glad we didn't - the truck is not yet running! Also, we've done some sums, and we worked out that the cost of the Ushuaia-Santiago leg was cheaper doing it all by ourselves. It's convenient being on the truck, but it's been easy getting around so far, and we've not had to camp either, so we'll stick to doing things ourselves in the meantime.

After lunch and a chit-chat, we head off for a walk down to the lake and are joined by a friendly and pregnant dog. Whilst it's dry, it's pretty miserable and the lake doesn't look too welcoming, so not more than a couple of minutes hanging round here.

Picked up some more dog biscuits back at the supermarket, and went back online to catch up further with the blog - we're NEARLY up to date.! Chris sat outside the cafe and was smothered in dogs, who in turn are probably smothered in fleas and ticks. Unfortunately the dogs started to fight over Chris's attentions, so she retreats inside - they in turn sit on the door step and slowly but surely edge their way in.

So, we're now up to date on the blog and we're heading back to the hostel, feeding the little dogs along the way.

Lazed around at the hostel for the rest of the afternoon before making our way, with Theresa, to the bus station nearby, for our overnight (11 hrs more or less) trip to the capital, Santiago. Excited about our full-cama (chair/bed thing) experience - hope we're not disappointed.

We're on the road on time, and yep, it's pretty comfy, though of course not quite the same as a nice bed. Paul's feet/shoes are stinking, so the shoes go in a bag, and the blanket is wrapped around the feet. For the record, Paul's feet are washed everyday. Honest.

See you in Santiago...

continued on next thread...

Saturday 31st March

to Puyuhuapi

Whilst the woman who sold us our bus tickets for todays trip was very friendly, we're still keeping our fingers crossed that we actually depart today.

Thankfully we do, and get away on time at 8am. We were accompanied to the bus station by a group of dogs, in varying states of health, but all had wagging tails, and some had a limp.

Whilst we do get away, there's uncertainty about whe the next bus will come through and pick us up for the onward journey from Puyuhuapi to Chaiten. It might be Wednesday, it might not be - either way, we're only looking to spend a day or so in Puyuhuapi.

The journey along the Carreterra Austral, which was constructed during the late 1970's by the Pinochet Government, was nice, with the early morning blue sky. Although the road has opened up this area, it remains the most sparsely populated areas of Chile - mainly fishing and forestry go on here.

It's good to be on the road, surrounded by mountains, and passing rocky streams. If it was more downhill, I reckon we'd sign up to do this by bike. Maybe...

For the first couple of hours (into this 5 hour trip) the road is paved, but soon after the forest closes in on us and we're on a narrow gravel track. As we get closer to Puyuhuapi we see a couple of hanging glaciers, one of which we can do a return trip to see from Puyuhuapi.

Beautiful, warm, sunshine when we arrive in the small town (though that seems to big a term to describe the place) and we meet Meg (Irish, but living in Spain) who gives us a tip for a good place to stay - Hosteria Carretera Austral (next door to the Police Station). Recommended, very friendly, nive eating/living room area, though no kitchen. The Senora can provide lunch and dinner for a reasonable extra charge. Breakfast is included.

To be on the safe side, we try to sort out our exit bus ticket, and hear that there's a bus leaving tomorrow. A little sooner that what we wanted, but we'd rather that, than be stuck here for 4 days, where we still are unsure about buses as we get closer to Easter. So, we're booked up for the lunchtime bus tomorrow, which probably means we'll not get back into the National Park for a walk to the hanging glacier.

After a spot of lunch at the hostel, we agree to pay a visit to the Termas (thermal springs) a few kilometres back along the track. Meg organsises some transport for us (there's no local bus service of taxis here, though it seems that most hostel owners provide transport, though it's not cheap. We'll pay 3000 Pesos each for the return journey to the springs.

Looking forward to a hot soak - Paul's feet still giving him some trouble after the recent trekking.

These springs are an alternative to the 'resort' that is across the fjord, that also has hot pools. Much too expensive, plus you have to pay for the boat trip across.

These 'new' springs, on the shore of the fjord, are 8000 Pesos per person and are currently open from 9am to 6pm.

We really enjoy ourselves, and get the place just to us. The view is superb, looking out over the lake and the skies remain blue.

Saw several hummingbirds zipping around the Fuschia's.

We leave the springs feeling really relaxed - just what we needed. Enjoyed chatting with Meg.

Snacked our way through dinner, and played some cards Meg also spent some time with us helping with our Spanish. We can now say some things in the past tense, though we can't say them very well.

Sunday 1st April

After a nice breakfast we stroll along the waters edge and around the quiet town - weather good again today, warm and sunny.

Also, a couple of birthday's today, Christine's Mum, and it would have been my dad's 70th as well as my folks 44th wedding anniversary.

We get back to the hostel in time to get our bags to find Meg coming back to the hostel with hers. Eek - it seems that there'll be no bus today, though we are promised (seguro, seguro, seguro!) that we'll have one tomorrow...

Oh well, there's worse places we could be stuck for another night.

With the sun still shining, we find a grassy spot by the water and Chris catches up with the diary and Paul listens to some tunes on the Ipod. We're accompanied by a few different, but friendly, dogs throughout the afternoon.

Puyuhuapi was founded by 4 German immigrants/pioneers back in 1935, so there's a little German touch around the town - street names, restaurants and a hostel run by the daughter of one of the pioneers. They were given land by the government, though had to build from scratch, including clearing the land of trees.

We returned to the hostel late afternoon, only to find that Meg had hitched a ride out of town with a group of guys competing in some kind of around the world race. Glad for Meg, but kicking ourselves that we didn't hang around for the same opportunity!

The evening drags a bit, as we try to understand a trashy Chilean soap on the telly. Played Uno for a bit, Paul won some, but lost most.

In bed, things get a little weird (not like that). Paul wakes up at some point, needing the loo, but also wondering whether he has just been dreaming of shaking, or whether there was some sort of tremor. Didn't think too much about it until the next morning...

Monday 2nd April

First things first, what happened last night??

Chris also felt something during sleep and we later find out that there was an earthquake over in Chiloe, a little way away. Nothing seems to be damaged here, just a slight tremor, though our first ever.

Less exciting is that we've also woken to lots of rain and crap surrounding conditions!

Despite the above, we're agreed that we really like it here, both in Puyuhaupi, and this accomodation, though we are keeping fingers tightly crossed that our transport does leave at lunchtime.

We try and get some info from the tourist information, but find out that the office is now shut for the season, and the place where we bought our bus tickets is also closed.

So, we're just hanging around town, and chatting to a couple of guys hitchig their way north - one of them has been waiting since 7.30am, it's now just before midday. Both of them complain that the friendly dogs hanging around them make them less an attractive passenger option. Anyway, they don't have to wait too much longer and they're on the road to....wherever they get dropped off.

We make our way around to where our bus should show, the rain still coming down. 1 o'clock comes and goes, and we get excited as we see vehicles in the distance, but they turn out to be other transports.

However, at about 1.30, our bus arrives, though our second need for luck is that it isn't full already. Thankfully, there's 3 spaces, so we just scrape on.

Meet Aaron coming off the bus and give her an accomodation recommendation, and also a warning about the bus situation in and out of town.

Also, meet Brit Theresa who helps us explain to the driver that we should have been on yesterday's bus, but it didn't arrive. Chris and Theresa sit together on the bus and appear to not stop talking all the way to Chaiten. The journey is about 6 hours, and the scenery a little blocked from the steamy windows in the minibus, but the outside cloud and rain doesn't help either.

Arrived in Chaiten just after 7pm and Thesesa joins us in the hunt for Casa Hexagon - accomodation that Meg had recommended - in fact, we were booked in there last night, but of course the bus let us down.

Thankfully, Theresa has great Spanish and this helps us track down the accommodation quickly. It's a great place, run by a friendly German guy. The house is, unsurprisingly, hexagon shaped and very 'cool' looking. It's also warm and cosy, and there's some friendly faces there - Meg, and Ian and Claire, who we met on the minibus up to Puyuhuapi.

The room is lovely (7000 Pesos per person) and the kitchen is the best we have come across in a while. So good, that we bother to go back into town and get some veggies to accompany our pasta and sauce. We even splash out on some wine, and within the hour, wish we had bought another one. Or two.

Meg shared her lovely home made lentil soup too, so we actually ended up with a three course meal, including some Vienetta-style icecream.

The atmosphere really friendly thru the evening and we go to bed very relaxed, and looking forward to the next day, and some more trekking in the nearby national park.

Tuesday 3rd April

Made scrambled eggs for breakfast - really appreciate the nice facilities here - clean, and plenty utensils.

Our trip into the National Park is with Nicholas, who seems to be something of a local celebrity, at least in the tourist world. So many people had mentioned him as a good source of info, and he turned out to be a really friendly guy, and particularly knowledgable about the local area.

The plan was to meet at his 'shop' around 9.30 and some of the other folks at Casa Hexagon were taking a trip with him too. We were joined on the trip by Lobo, one of the guys we met who was hitchhiking out of Puyuhuapi.

So, we're off the Parque Pumalin, which was created by a US billionaire, Douglas Tompkins. This is seen as one of the most important conservation projectsin the world (it has nature sanctuary status). It is 320,000 hectares of temperate rainforest.

The journey into the parks takes about an hour and we're travelling along a narrow gravel road, inbetween inpenetrable rainforest. Surprised to find out that the 'rhubarb' looking plants, Fuschia bushes and bamboo are native to Chile.

We did a short walk 'Sendero Los Alerces', passing by the huge and ancient Alerce trees. One inparticular is said to be over 3000 years old. Apparently they grow incredibly slowly and are one of the oldest trees in the world. The Monkey Puzzle Tree is also found here, and is the oldest of the tree species - it's pre-Jurassic.

It's a beautiful sunny day today, and we're lucky bearing in mind stats for this area receives over 4 metres of rain a year.

Further into the park we stop at Lago Rio Blanco - a beautiful lake, where we see more green Hummingbirds. There's wonderful glacial rivers, trees covered in moss, bamboo groves, ferns etc.

There's another short walk up to a waterfall, though not a big flow today.

After a spot of lunch, we all do a longer hike - 'Sendero Cascadas' - to an impressive waterfall that has several viewpoints as you make your way up to the top.

Ended the day at the beach area at Santa Barbara - a lovely black sand beach. Unfortunately we didn't see dolphins as hoped, but the sunrise was pretty, despite the cold wind getting up. Back in the minibus, and Nicholas entertained us with a South American '10-string-guitar-thing' (about the size of a violin) - oops, we've forgotten the name of the instrument, but his playing was enchanting.

Really enjoyed our day out, and we invite Lobo back to our accomodation to join us for dinner - there's no one else staying at his hostel.

Got the numbers right on bottles of wine - 3 bottles of red, all turned out to be very good, and only a couple of quid each.

Again, another pleasant evening at the house, and we sleep well.

Wednesday 4th April

Realised this morning that Casa Hexagon is in a beautiful spot overlooking the river, and hills behind. The early morning mist looks pretty as it sits above the water flowing below.

We have arranged for Nicholas to take us to some nearby thermal pools, so get some chores done in the morning, like dropping the laundry off at the power-tool emporium(?).

At the pools (Termas de Amarillo), about 40 minutes drive from town (and passing a clear view of the volcano), we find we have the place to ourselves again. Not quite as nice as the pools in Puyuhuapi, but very relaxing anyway and a great place to unwind, surrounded by green hills.

Apparently you can buy apple empanadas here, but they're sadly sold out today.

Back in town, we're working against the clock to prepare dinner, before we leave to catch our ferry from here up to Puerto Montt, also to do a bit of last minute packing.

Underestimated where the ferry port was, which is a little walk around the corner from the waterfront of the town, but got there in plenty of time.

Onboard (with Theresa), we grab ourselves two bench seats facing each other and spread our gear to secure the area. Thankfully it's not too busy tonight, so manage to keep our space for the overnight trip.

Not the most comfortable of nights, and some other travellers making a bit of noise is annoying. Actually, more embarassing than annoying, when one of the locals (it's mainly locals on board) asks them, on behalf of everyone else, to keep it down when people are trying to sleep.

Curiously, the girls end up mostly stretched out on the benches, Paul gets to sleep sitting upright.

We cruise smoothly through the night towards Puerto Montt...

to be continued on next thread...

Wednesday 28th March

Chile Chico, Chile

Next morning, the twattery continues from the ******* girls - their alarm goes off, which they don't bother to switch off. One of them is whisper/shouting across to her big arse friend to get up, and they do nothing to keep the noise down whilst they get ready. *****!

Anyway, it's a lovely day and we have some chores to do, so we crack on. Relieved that there's an ATM (that accepts Visa) in town, then we grab some food.

One of the chores is to try and sort out British Gas, who, 8 months after we left our house/overcharge us/refund us, tell us that we owe them more money, but after three weeks of trying to get them to explain what it is for, they have since called in the debt collectors. *****! (sorry for the bad language) - it's soooo annoying trying to sort these tiny things out - 02, Morgan Stanley, British Gas - you're all crap and need to get your house in order, and you can start by replying to emails that your customers send you. Though, to be fair, at least 02 replied when I had problems being overcharged numerous times when I sent a text message, they just didn't do anything to fix the problem.

There's a minibus that'll take us across the border to into Chile, to Chile Chico, at 11.30am, so all plans are set,and British Gas should now be off my back.

Meet a friendly Russian couple whilst we wait for the minibus at our hostel.

The border crossings were fine, though the Russian passports generated a little interest! and we arrive in Chile Chico, on the shores of Lago General Carrera, which isn't actually that far from the border.

No real plans for doing anything here, just a transit route.

Sort out some local currency, boat tickets (to Puerto Ibanez for tomorrow),and a small room in a local hospedaje, though held up whilst trying to do these things during siesta.

The accomodation is fine, but basic - we're staying at La Casona and it'll be great for the one night stay. Breakfast is included.

Changing money was a bit of a chore - the bank wouldn`t directly change Argentine pesos for Chilean ones - we had to get a guy in the supermarket to write a personal cheque, which we then cashed. Odd, but successful. There is an ATM here, but it doesn't accept Visa, just the Mastercard derivatives.

Didn't do much for the rest of the day - spent some time by the lake in the sunshine, climbed a lookout point at the edge of town (followed by a friendly dog) and tried to use the slooooow internet.

Read the guidebook and listened to some Spanish in the evening - Chris did a great job of getting the diary up to date - we're miles behind, which means the blog is also behind...

Thursday 29th March

Coyhaique

More chores ahead of our ferry trip to Puerto Ibanez mid-afternoon.

Our crossing is at 3pm - we're told to be there an hour before - why?? Not necessary! Anyway, the crossing is fine, though the passenger area is a little crowded, but we have seats.

A couple of hours later, we're in Puerto Ibanez and our minibus to Coyhaique is waiting for us.

Paul snags a legroom seat and is happy to enjoy the drive with his headphones on.

The scenery, especially as the sun goes down is pretty - the local peaks making amazing silhouettes.

It's about 2 hours drive to Coyhaique, though we were planning to travel with Aaron (a nice Canadian girl who we met on the minibus from Los Antiguos) into town and find some accomodation together - unfortunately, she was booked on a different minibus to Coyhaique.

In turn, we don't get dropped off at the same place in town, and also find out that the Youth Hostel (which we planned to go to together, 2kms out of town) was full - glad we had to phone ahead for their address.

Pleased to find an ATM and load up with cash - our favourite sound lately has been the whir of the ATM as it counts up the money before dispensing.

Found a nearby Hostel, recommended by the guide book - Hospedaje Lautauro. Quite close to the centre of town but seems like the place has changed hands. I wouldn't recommend this place to a dog, unless he already had mange.

It's quite late and we're hungry, but a lot of places in town are closing, so we opt for a bag of goodies from the big supermarket.

As we drift off to sleep, we hope to survive the night in the arctic shithole.

Friday 30th March

Back in to town in the morning (yes we survived, and surprisingly didn't wake up to a frosty coating on our faces).

First chore was to sort out a bus away from here, though the schedules for all the bus companies seem to be up in the air and erratic, and we're also unsure of how things will be affected by the upcoming Easter holidays. The helpful tourist info by the main plaza point us in the direction of Daniela buses, though as we arrive at their office, things aren't looking too good - the bus has no back wheels.

Annoyingly we missed the bus to Puyuhuapi that went at 8.30 this morning, so stuck here another night. We eventually track down a bus company leaving town tomorrow, and get booked up.

Meet Aaron by chance in town - she had a nightmare arrival in town, though thankfully got a cheap hotel room for the night. We meet for lunch, though the 'nice looking' place we go to seems to have run out of the first few choices of dish.

The blog continues to be out of date, so a lot of the afternoon is spent typing, and desperately trying to be humourous. Well, at least I got the facts in there.

Nothing else interesting done today and neither of us looking forward to a night in the grotty hostel, though we do spend some time in the uninviting, but warm, lounge - watching Los Simpsons, in Spanish.

Heading to Puyuhuapi tomorrow...

to be continued on next thread...

Thursday 22nd March

El Calafate

Another early start for a travelling day - back across the border from Chile to Argentina, and the small tourist town of El Calafate. Mike along for the ride - he's flying out of Calafate to Buenos Aires this evening.

The journey not too bad, though another bus with small legroom and seats that recline too far.

Crossed the border into Argentina with no fuss, and arrived in El Calafate by lunchtime. We're booked into the I Keu Ken hostel, which was recommended to us. We're already pleased that we were able to change from a dorm bed to a double room (quite pricey at Pesos120 (about GBP20 a night)).

Very friendly welcome at the hostel, which is a few minutes walk away from town, up a dusty road, though that shouldn't put you off. It's really nice, and we feel very welcome after 2 minutes of being here - the room is nice too, looking back over the town and across the water of Lago Argentino.

We head into town for some food, stopping for slightly expensive, but nice, sandwiches at El bar, before going on to the chocolate factory.

Bumped into Melody and Marcus on the way - they cut their Torres del Paine trek short cos of the weather.

Nice chocolate freebies at the factory, and we get to see some chocolates being made. We then have some more free chocolate.

Bit of shopping in town with Mike, who is looking for a Mate (equivalent of our tea) cup/straw, also some Mate itself. Had a farewell drink with Mike at the hostel before his taxi came for the airport run. Really pleased we met Mike and Susanne - hopefully we'll see them later this year, in either Norway, Germany or London. or all three.

Chris got some information for the various glacier trips, before we went to the big nearby supermarket for some dinner bits.

Friday 23rd March

We were booked onto a trip for this morning, taking a boat out to get close to some of the glaciers in the nearby national park.

Whilst we'd remembered to change the time on the watch as we crossed back into Argentina, we (Paul) forgot to change the time on the phone, which is being used as a backup until the watch battery finally dies.

Of course, the watch finally gave up during the night, and our alarm call was a knock on the door, 5 minutes before our bus was picking us up! Very lucky that we didn't have a more important date to get up for, and we're also very grateful to the guys at the hostel who gave us a call - we wouldn't expect this to happen elsewhere.

So, into the National Park Los Glaciares (entry, 30 Pesos) and on the boat onto Lago Argentino - the largest in Argentina. Annoyingly, we're the last on the boat (there's over 100 people on board) and miss out on window seats. Too many people on board - irritating.

Our first stop was at the magnificent Glacier Speggazzini - impressive, fantastic blue colour. It's one of the highest glaciers - between 80-135 metres high, and 15+ miles long and a mile wide. It's also unique as it continues to show no signs of receeding. The boat feels tiny as we get close to the huge walls of ice.

Moving on, we pass Glacier Seco, a hanging glacier, and then onto Glacier Upsala.

Again, we pass through the water with huge icebergs floating by - all a brilliant blue.

Glacier Upsala is the largest in the National park, and the longest in South America - 37 miles long, with a height of 60-80 metres and 5-7 kms wide. We're told that it is receeding at a fast rate - 5kms in just 20 years. Really stunning - HUGE!

The boat then droppped us off at Bahia Onelli and we took a short trail through the forest to Onelli Lake, from where a further 3 glaciers can be seen - Onelli, Bolado and Agassiz.

The lake was littered with small, grey, icebergs.

After lunch by the lake, we head back to the boat for the return to the port.

Really enjoyed the trip, though the number of passengers was a problem for us - bit of a squeeze.

Success later that afternoon - manage to change the watch battery, though not sure if I've sealed it back up properly, so will keep it out of the water in the meantime.

Grabbed more food from the supermarket for dinner (it's quite pricey to eat out in town), and chatted with some other travellers before bed.

Saturday 24th March

Another trip set for today, more glaciers.

Managed to get ourselves up on time, but the transfer bus arrived early, so a little rush to get out of the door. Paul leaves without brushing his teeth ;(

Our trip takes us back into the National park, but another area. Also, another 30 Pesos each for entry.

This time we're visiting Glacier Perito Moreno, and our first view is from the wooden viewing platforms opposite the glacier face. Wow - we're so close, and as well as a great view, we can now also hear lots of cracking and crashing as the glacier inches it's way forward. Literally, it is constantly moving - 2 metres per day.

Felt very privileged to see this sight, especially to catch some parts of the front of the glacier plunge into the lake in front of it. The scale is HUGE!

Occasionally, the front of the glacier meets with the peninsula, forming an ice dam that obstructs the flow of the water around it. the force of the water eventually produces a tunnel, which ultimately collapses, in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately, we only get to see photographic evidence of the last rupture.

After the view from the front, we drive down to a small port where we catch a boat to the other side and where we'll start our trek on the glacier. At the port we meet up with Tony, who is travelling on the Dragoman truck, and it's very likely we saw him back in Rio a few weeks ago.

Our guide for the ice trek gives us some information about the glacier, before we put on a pait of crampons that will enable safe walking up and over the glacier.

It's quite slow going with the crampons - your feet are kept flat, so walking seems a little odd, but safe with the crampons really digging into the ice. Also, our group is a fair size, 20 or so, and we need to keep quite close together as we ascend the ice.

Lots of beautiful blue cravasses that we walk over, though quite safe - maybe too safe, we thought this might be a bit more of an adventure. Nevertheless, still really cool to be walking across the ice, and the view changes from blue sky and sun, to quite dark grey storm clouds - both giving great contrast when looking ahead.

Whilst the storm clouds were around us, it only spits a little rain and we're treated to a nice 'Famous Grouse' on the rocks ('rocks' courtesy of the glacier) before we make our way back off the glacier. Had less than 2 hours on the ice, but it was a great trip.

Back on the boat, then the coach trip back to town, where we desperately needed some cash to settle our bill before we leave town in the morning...

Sunday 25th March

El Chalten

ZZZzzzz - another early one, 6.30am and we're up to get ready for the bus trip to El Chalten - about 5 hours on the coach. Basic coach, no toilet, but the best legroom yet in South America.

Certainly reminded that we're in Patagonia - the landscape as we drive through is very barren, though huge mountain ranges appear in the distance every now and then.

Just before we arrive in the small town of El Chalten, we stop at the National park office for a short presentation of the various activities/trails in th area.

Checked in at the Albergue Patagonia, with Duron from South Africa, who we met up with in El Calafate, but also at the last Refugio in Torres del Paine. Went out for some lunch (not a lot of choice in El Chalten - very quiet place) and then set out for a couple of short walks from town.

The first took us towards the National Park office, where we stopped to watch a short documentary film of the first climb of Mount Fitzroy, from 1968. The walk was then just behind and up the hill, giving a nice view of the whole town, and some occasianal glimpses of the snow covered peaks in the distance.

Not a great view of Mont Fitzroy from here, a little too cloudy.

Chris didn't join Duron and I for the second walk - choosing to do some research instead for tomorrow and for the Carreterra Austral - she's still struggling to shake a cough and cold from our wet trek in Torres del Paine.

Our short walk takes just a couple of hours and to a pleasant waterfall.

Cook some pasta for dinner, then chat with the folks in the hostel, including a couple who are sharing our room who live less than a mile from us at home!

The wind gets up a little this evening and the creaking carries on through the hostel, through the night. Despite the distraction, we all sleep well, ahead of a lengthy walk tomorrow...

Monday 26th March

So, big walk today and we set off at 10am for the Mount Fitz Roy walk, 'Laguna de Los Tres'.

Chris not feeling on top form but we make good progress, and the beautiful clear sky keeps the spirits up and we look forward to great views.

The first part of the walk is a little uphill, but it's not too bad and we soon get to the first lookout for the Fitz Roy mountain - wow, what a view, it's incredible and we feel so lucky to have the conditions just right - really couldn't be better. Just to the right of the peak, there's also a small (well, it's probably quite big, but compared to the peak it looks small) hanging glacier.

Another nice touch is that today we can see the first signs of Autumn coming and there's a red hint to lots of the greenery around us.

Walking on towards the main viewpoint, another couple of hours away (it's a 4 hour one-way walk to our goal), the trail gets steep and quite tricky, but we all eventually get there for pant-wetting-ly good views of Fitz Roy, and the Laguna de Los Tres. The sun is shining bright, keeping the chill away, just.

Whilst the mount is only 3805 metres, it's an awesome sight and we also spot a glider circling high above.

We made good time on the way up, so decide on an extended route back to El Chalten, which gives more of a loop, than a simple return walk.

This route takes a triangular loop, past two lakes and to a trail giving a great view of the other big mountain here, Cerro Torre. Unfortunately the great weather changed for the last couple of hours,and some low cloud came in, preventing good views of the peak.

Effectively we've completed two walks today, though we could have walked further up the valley to Cerro Torre, but 9 hours was quite enough, thanks.

Finished a great day with a meal a the restaurant next to the hostel - quite fancy, though it seems slightly out of place - too civilised. Really enjoyed the food - first class. Our first beer in a couple of weeks too.

Back in the hostel we chatted with two Aussie girls and an Argentine girl, and learnt some (more) Spanish.

Yep, an amazing day - hard work, but very rewarding.

Tuesday 27th March

Los Antiguos

Were booked on the 9.00 bus to Los Antiguos and said goodbye to chum Doron, who is staying on here a couple more days.

Completely freaked out when we realised we had not paid our second night's accomodation in El Chalten.... eek!

The bus journey was long, didn't arrive until after 10pm, though pleased that the room (Hostel Padilla) was nice - it even had a bath.

The journey was pretty uneventful - mile after mile of gravel road, but comfortable and enjoyed the scenery.

By the way, it's also not a cheap trip - 180 Pesos each - 30 Quid! - again, not even a toilet, though top marks for the legroom.

Stopped at an estancia on the way, saw a family of Guanaco's in the garden attached to the food stop.

Back in the room, we had to share with a couple of ******* (nationality witheld) girls - complete *****!. After we had all spent the day on a bus, we just wanted to get to bed - they were happy to chat with their friends and come back to the room at 12.30 - switch the light on, chat at normal volume, then one of them decides to have a shower, and generally piss around and disturb us. Yep, always difficult when sharing a room, but these twats were the limit.

continues on next thread...