Day 666 (24.01.09) With our early start we arose at 4.15 and were out of the hostel soon after. As it was sooooo early we were fully expecting to come out into the pitch black, cold and windy night only to be treated to the startings of a vivid sunrise on the horizon - superb. Only managing to stay awake for the first part of the journey, which was stunning in the early morning light, we both drifted off to sleep only to be woken as we arrived at the ferry across to mainland south america once more. As we waited [View Full Entry]

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Day 656 (14.01.09) Today was our opportunity to prepare for our 5 day trek in the Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine, but before we got to work we filled up on the amazing brekkie the guys at the hostel put on. If breakfast is free in South American hostels it's usually bread and jam. In Erratic Rock you get made-to-order omelettes, homemade bread (in sweet or savoury varieties), yoghurt, cereal, juice and real coffee - superb! Every day at 3pm the guys at our hostel, Erratic Rock, hold a free briefing about trekking in the park and we planned to attend [View Full Entry]

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Day 652 (10.01.09) Having arrived late the night before we hadn't really been able to see what El Chalten was like but when we ventured out after a lie-in this morning we were to be impressed with the beautiful surrounding scenery. Set in a valley next to a milky green river and beneath some incredibly imposing jagged mountain peaks the village has the potential to be superb but falls a little short as, even though its a fairly recently purpose built place, it doesn't seem to have had the benefit of town planners. The buildings which make up the village (mostly [View Full Entry]

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Day 649 (7.01.09) After our night on the luxury cama bus we had to change to a semi-cama bus for the next big part of our journey. We passed the day with reading and some terrible films and arrived in Rio Gallegos in the evening not sure whether we'd be able to get a bus over to El Calafate that night or whether we'd have to stay in town and leave the next day. We found a bus with seats that left an hour later and although loathe to spend another 5 or so hours sat on a bus after our [View Full Entry]

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Day 646 (4.01.09) After our relatively short bus ride to El Bolson, we walked around to find a place to stay before dumping our stuff and starting an aimless wander around town to get our bearings. After a bit of a search around we found the local artesan market and strolled through to see what was on offer. With a stop at the famous Heladeria Jauja for a superb ice-cream (we can highly recommend the lemon pie and white chocolate flavours!) we finished the day with a bit of planning and catching up on the very slow internet. Day 647 (5.01.09) [View Full Entry]

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Day 642 (31.12.08) The last day of 2008 and we thought it best to have a relaxed day in preparation for a big night to celebrate the New Year. We set out with Henry and Kate to explore the town of Bariloche and after a quick visit to the info centre found that no celebrations were planned in town for the night. A little disappointed that we wouldn't get to see 2009 in with fireworks we made sure we knew where the local nightclubs were so we could dance the night away instead. We explored the town which sits on the [View Full Entry]

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Day 639 (28.12.08) After a pretty uneventful bus ride of sleeping, reading and a bit of Harry Potter, we pulled into the bus station in Puerto Varas by mid afternoon. As a former German Colony, Puerto Varas has maintained a very different look and feel to other towns in South America. The architecture is the first and most obvious difference with coloured shingle clad buildings lining the streets giving it a very 'German Mountain town' feel. Walking into town with no real decision on accomodation having been made we stumbled upon Hospedaje Ellenhaus, a cheap but comfortable option with a [View Full Entry]

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Day 635 (24.12.08) The weather was gorgeous as we woke on the morning of Christmas eve for our second christmas on the road. As with last year it hadn't really felt much like Christmas was approaching with the sun shining and the days long and warm but we were keen to bring some of our family traditions into play to do the festive period in style! Glad to get up with no aches and pains from the previous days exertions we had a very lazy morning before heading out to the supermarket in town to stock up on plenty of goodies. [View Full Entry]

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Day 632 (21.12.08) Sometime during our night bus from Mendoza to Santiago we stopped for a border crossing and that over we continued on our way. We arrived into Chile's capital at around 5am and with almost 4 hours to wait until our bus to Pucón we looked for a bench to call home as Mark gallantly stayed awake to look after our bags while Chrissie tried to sleep off the heavy cold that had hit her over the last couple of days. Eventually the time rolled around for us to climb aboard another bus which over the next 12 hours [View Full Entry]

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Day 630 (19.12.08) A long but comfy bus journey saw us deposited in Mendoza 20 hours after leaving Salta. After some dodgy advice from the tourist office it took us forever to find our planned hostel and when we arrived it was full. After too many hours we eventually found some beds for the night at the Hostel Damajuana, a very plush place far more snazzy and pricy than we'd normally opt for but we were just glad to have a place to kip after our journey. Mark found out about a free concert happening in the town's main plaza and [View Full Entry]

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