Blogs from Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, South America

“BLING BLING”, groan, “BLING BLING”, another groan from Leigh. Yes, a 4:00am alarm to be at the bus station at 5:00am. We taxied down the hill and on the way we passed the French family of four that had stayed in the cabins at the back of our B & B. They were walking in the rain with the girls in tow, five and two and a half years old. Hmmm ... I thought better them than me!! Still very dark but we are underway. Eileen feels the call of nature but she comes scurrying back saying there is no light and when she went to step into the stall her foot landed in a small pond!! Thirty minutes later and still dark the call was sufficiently loud enough for her to venture back to the ... read more

Public transport back to the Santiago airport went well and other than the little kid kicking our seats the entire flight, getting to Punta Arenas was easy. Sky Airlines put all the gringos in the exit row...no idea why they pick us for that comfort seeing as Sarah and I were the only ones who spoke any Spanish. In case of emergency, look to the gringos? We sat next to two New Yorkers who really gave Americans a bad name with their antics. I (Matt) was very excited to arrive in Punta Arenas. To me, it really felt like the beginning of our journey. I am not much of a city person, so this little town is more my cup of tea. The $6 each bus ride to the town from the airport started with some ... read more

Beautiful lakes and views in Argentina.... read more

book I am now reading: Operation Mincemeat. the true story of deception in WW2 that saved countless thousands of allied lives. became a film - The man who never was. Personnes Ingles I have met so far - ZERO. I remember some time ago someone asked me, when I came back from travelling Vietnam, where next dave? I wasn´t sure at the time but I guess, looking back, a small seed was sown by my history teacher, Mr Pratley. A most wondeful man, full of stories and making history come alive. A joint geograhy-history project completed was about the Inca civilisation in Peru, and included in this was geography of the region, the Andes that form the backbone of the continent, how it this huge mountain range affects everyday life to chileans, peruvians etc. I guess ... read more

Beautiful Swiss-style overlooked glacier-covered perfectly shaped volcano (Osorno) which has been dormant for over 100 years unlike a nearby volcano which was belching out white ash, changing our travel plans for later. We had one day trip to Chiloe island which has high unemployment and alcoholism and precious little for tourists. A 12 hour bus ride for little reward. Our first disappointment made better by huge steaks and bottle of Carmenere... read more

12thJanuary When we got back to the ship yesterday we discovered that because of storm forecast in Drakes passage (between Cape Horn and the Antarctic mainland) we were not going to Ushuaia but proceeding directly across the Passage into Antarctica to get ahead of the storm. So here we are at sea 57 degree south in 35 mile an hour winds 683 nautical miles from Antarctica and 143 miles from Cape Horn. Today we saw whales and porpoises so have stopped saying, “come on you whales”. I’m told we will stop being excited about them when we have seen lots and lots. Can’t wait. The decks are being hosed down at the moment so an opportune moment to write the blog as we are not allowed out. I have just been to Tai Chi and have ... read more