Day 192: Chile's answer to Brighton I initially woke up at two this morning, and with my ipod turned up so as to drown out the incredibly loud snoring emanating from the seat behind me, it was another three hours before I finally drifted off again. I didn't manage to sleep for long, since at half-past six, I was haunted by one of Argentina's staple dishes, as a round of ham and cheese sandwiches were served, thankfully with coffee. Thirty minutes later, the bus pulled up in a carpark in the middle of nowhere, and everyone except me and one other [View Full Entry]

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Day 189: Puking to Pucon! 'You live and learn. At any rate, you live'. Douglas Adams I take (almost) full responsibility for the mess I was in for the journey today! I woke up at quarter past eight, with fifteen minutes to pack and get to the bus station. Fortunately, I was still a bit drunk and the full weight of the hangover hadn't kicked in as I threw everything into my backpack and got a taxi to the bus station. Suffice to say, I made it onto the bus in time, and spent much of the day leaning over a [View Full Entry]

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Day 185 cont: Back at base I got back to Bariloche in the early evening and caught a taxi straight back to Perikos, the hostel on the hill where I had stayed the previous week. After popping to the supermarket to stock up on provisions, it was a nutritious pot of pasta and tomatoes (a reliable staple) for dinner, before spending the evening chatting to the other people at the hostel, one or two of whom had been here last week, making me feel right at home! Day 186: Lessons I had another spanish lesson this morning and considering that I [View Full Entry]

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Day 182 cont. Homely Esquel It was getting dark by the time I arrived in Esquel, and rather than walk ten blocks to find somewhere to stay, I took a taxi to the reputable cheap hostel on the other side of town. Nice and homely, and with not many people staying there, it seems like a nice place to be based for a couple of days before I head back up to Bariloche. My only problems seem, as usual, to stem from language difficulties, with the accent in Esquel proving to be slightly difficult to understand. On the bright side, since [View Full Entry]

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Day 180 cont....El Bolson: Far out When I got to the bus station, I saw that there was a bus due to depart one minute later, and so after a very quick decision, I found myself on my way to the nearby town of El Bolson. The trip past lakes and over mountains was really scenic, and it was a beautiful day for it. I arrived in El Bolson two hours later, where it was unseasonably warm and almost t-shirt weather. I wandered the streets looking for accomodation, and having tried one place and taken a wrong turn, I stumbled upon [View Full Entry]

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Day 177: Crossing old borders Having had a lazy morning and then spent seven hours on a bus today, I haven't really had much time to do anything exciting. I left the lovely warm hostel in Puerto Varas at about lunchtime, taking a shuttle bus to Puerto Montt, where after a half hour wait, I boarded the bus to Bariloche. Having had plenty of sleep recently (I can't remember the last time I was in a dorm where I wasn't the only occupant), I wasn't feeling too tired, and so was awake for the whole journey. Border crossings involved the usual [View Full Entry]

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Day 175: Arriving in the Chilean Lake district Although not raining when I got up this morning, the dark grey clouds outside didn't look too promising. I had initially thought that I'd stay a bit longer in Castro and visit the national park of Chiloe, but what with the weather, and the fact that there don't seem to be too many tourists around at this time of year, I've since had second thoughts. I'm all for going walking in some of the less well-known national parks, but to be the only person there who's not a hunter, else living in one [View Full Entry]

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Day 172: Buses, Planes and Boats, and the final destination; well, who knows!? "We've gone on holiday by mistake", Withnail, in 'Withnail and I' So here I am, in a random town called Ancud on the Chiloe islands in the South of Chile. To be honest, I didn't actually mean to come here, but was heading a couple of hours further south. Unfortunately things got a bit delayed earlier in the day, and I didn't fancy arriving too late in Castro (my intended destination further south), since I didn't have a map or lodgings, so I got off the bus in [View Full Entry]

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Day 170:´Sandy Point' (Punta Arenas) is not so sandy So I could have done with not getting up ridiculously early this morning, but then I could have done with a hot shower as well, and so I forced myself out of bed at seven to have breakfast, and then walk into town to try and arrange a bus to Punta Arenas later in the day. Unfortunately all the early buses were full, but I did manage to get a ticket for one at ten o'clock. Soon enough, I was happily dozing on board a bus as I journeyed further south (where [View Full Entry]

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Day 165: Winter came early this year I was a bit sorry to leave the hostel in El Calafate. Although there wasn't too much to do in the town itself, the place I was staying had proved to be very homely, with warm, cozy dorms, a good breakfast and friendly staff. If time hadn't been a factor, I would have definitely stayed there a couple more days, vegetating on one of the sofas with a book. Sadly though, I am aware that I don't have too much time down South (well, just over a month, but there's a lot to see), [View Full Entry]

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