Since Buenos Aires I have been enjoying time in a coastal town of Patagonia called Puerto Madryn. A town of around 80 thousand ppl, it is a nice quiet change from the craziness of 12 mil in Bs. As. This is the beginning of my adventures in Patagonia. When thinking of Patagonia, most picture rugged mountain ranges with steep glacial peaks kissing the sky with wild rivers flowing like veins down their wind ravaged flanks. This is how I mainly pictures Patagonia, anyway. Well here, along the coast, is a much different picture. Arid steppe (dry and flat), the eye can [View Full Entry]

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Puerto Madryn, nossa parada depois de Buenos Aires, nao eh o lugar mais ermo do mundo. Muito arido, muita terra, muito sol e ainda muita gente, bem menos, eh verdade. Apesar disto, a cidade eh bonita, formos a Peninsula Valdes e vimos leos marinhos, elefantes marinhos e pinguins. Nao, nao vimos orca (para o desespero do Rafa). Mas nem precisava. Agora, depois de uma rapida parada em Rio gallegos, uma cidade feia, diga-se de passagem, estamos a caminho de Puerto Natales. Acabo de ver, pela janela do onibus, uma montanha com neve no topo. Eh minha inpiracao para escrever. Sinto que [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so I have been a bit delinquent in my postings, but I can assure you it has not been without reason,……, and for the most part that reason has been Trout with a capital T. The good news is that I have plenty to write about now. As you may have gathered we spent the better part of the last month in a small town called El Bolson. Aside from having some great waffles, chicken sandwiches, and a decent beer selection, the town had a few quirks that are definitely worth sharing.. For starters, the first quirk I learned about [View Full Entry]

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It feels like i am covering a lot of ground in Argentina in a very short period of time. But thats because i am quickly realising its a massive country to try and get around. The distances to cover are fairly immense. In the last week since leaving Iguazu, i have taken 1 flight and 3 overnight bus trips to stay in 2 different towns. Its a bit crazy and i am forgetting what day is what already as they tend to merge into one a bit. In the last week i stayed in Bariloche firstly. Its a lovely town in [View Full Entry]

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After a short bus South to Puerto Natales we we stayed there for a couple of nights in a small hostel. We baked a Christmas cake and met a couple of Germans (living in Santiago) who showed us the local pub. Then we walked and camped on the 'W' track in Torres del Paine national park. First we walked around Lago Pehoé then to Lago Grey and Glaciar Grey, then to the amazing French Valley. The next day we walked about 25km to Campamento los Torres, the next morning we climbed to the base of the Torres to see the sunrise. [View Full Entry]

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We were picked up by our travel host in Llao Llao (pronounced chow chow or yaow yaow) late Wednesday night. We are staying in a lake viewspa resort with a beautiful view and close to the main part of town - Bariloche. Since we had a rental car, we were able to tour around the banff like area. The town itself is very picturesque with swiss style architecture. Gary was able to have fun driving a standard vehicle, while Dani navigated. The landscape is loaded with a bush called broom which is loaded with bright yellow flowers. Not good for anyone [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Puerto Madryn on the 03/12. Our hostel was fine with a double room consisting of 2 bunk beds and a double bed (we didnt need the extra space but didn’t complain!). Puerto Madryn can be sold as a beach resort with a long stretch of nice beach and a seaside town feel - full of souvenir and outdoor gear shops (very expensive) for tourists but we were there for the wildlife mainly, not the beach. .... PENINSULA VALDES (Coastal Patagonia) is where it all happens for wildlife and PUERTO PIRAMIDE being the main tourist attraction of the Peninsula for [View Full Entry]

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De rit naar het natuurreservaat Peninsula Valdez, duurde ca 1 uur. Toen we in Puerto Piramides aankwamen was er nog plaats op de boot om walvissen te spotten. De walvissen in Golfo Nuevo zijn tot december te zien. Dus was het een risico. We hadden geluk en zagen moeder met jong op ca 30 m afstand, kop en rug goed zichtbaar. De tour om het schiereiland ging verder en we zagen pinquins,zeeleeuwen en zeeolifanten, nandu´s, mara´s (Patagonische haas) en guanaco´s. Al met al een mooie dag. [View Full Entry]

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We had originally planned to drive from Bariloche to El Calafate via the Carretera Austral and Ruta 40 but everywhere we went, when we told people of our plans, everyone looked at us like we were crazy. The rental car people. The border control people. The hosteria people. Finally, we decided to follow everyone's advice and travel from Coyhaique to El Calafate via Rio Mayo and Sarmiento, and along the coastal road Ruta 3 through Comodoro Rivadavia, Caleta Olivia, Tres Cerros, Puerto San Julian, and Rio Gallegos. When I was originally planning this trip, it seems I was unaware of some [View Full Entry]

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Na het ontbijt hebben we mountainbikes gehuurd om naar een natuurreservaat te fietsen, zo´n 17km verderop. Een warme (zeker 30gr) tocht over een stoffige weg met veel klimmen en dalen. Veel zeeleeuwen en aalscholvers gezien. Na terugkomst op het strand gezellig wijn gedronken met een kaasplankje. Uitzicht op de walvisbaai, een graad of 20, geweldige sfeer. Morgen verkennen we het schiereiland "Peninsula Valdez", een groot en een van de meest populaire natuurreservaten van Zuid-Amerika. [View Full Entry]

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