DAY 20 Today the schedule included a long gravel road drive towards Mount Tronador in an area known as ‘Pampa Linda’ an integrated national park facility with camping , horse riding, restaurant etc as a starting point for a 16 km day walk through forests and rocky terrain crossing streams and getting amazing views of Mount Tronador and its glaciers with waterfalls. The mtn views did not happen as it was completely out of view with cloud. Regardless the group had determined that the walk was out of the question. Too tired. Instead we took a small walk to a very different glacier, the Cerro Volcanico (the noisy tower). The usual lake was at the base of the glacier and what looked like a wall of black rock right to edge of the water but with ... read more

DAY 18 Today was an early 6 am alarm for a 7 am start with an initial 5 hr drive south from the Paine National Park to Punta Arenas airport via Porta Natales and then a 2 hr flight to Puerto Montt. From Puerto Montt our hotel was located a further 90 min drive to the shores of Todos los Santos, a deep crystaline emerald lake with the stunning backdrop of snowcapped Volcano Osorno. All up a 12 hr day travelling but at least we left behind some nasty weather. Tiring for recovering sick passengers. The hotel itself is like a Swiss chalet and very welcome and an exciting day awaits tomorrow at our doorstep.... read more

DAYS 15 Ruth woke up feeling a little better after hitting the virus hard with drugs & made a late decision to stick to the itinerary instead of travelling with the bags to our next hotel. What a good decision as we have has such a fun day. We left Puerto Natales by ferry travelling up the Esperanza fiord with a 3.5 hr trip passing huge Mt Balmaceda & Serrano hanging glaciers and entering a very fast flowing Serrano River which in turn is fed by the Rio Grey making for a huge amount of crystal water heading down to open waters. The evidence of retreating glaciers is very evident loosing 20-30 mtrs pa. After a brief stop at a Serrano glacier view point we kitted up into wet weather & safety vests for a quick ... read more

Day 12 Another early (8 am) start with a long hike (24 km's) to the base of Mt Fitz Roy. Short drive to the entrance of Los Glaciares National Park along a gravel road running alongside a vast valley of the Rio Blanco river. The trees along the valley cliffs are just starting to turn yellow and in a months time apparently turn a deep red before dropping for winter. The walk is generally flat following the river with a sheltered forest at the start before opening up into more open an exposed areas with great views of another significant glacier (Pridras Blancas). There are over 300 glaciers in the park with only the very large ones named. The end of the trail up was a strenuous 400 mtr rise in altitude over 2 km's along ... read more

Day 10 I know we have some pretty special days coming up but today was quite incredible. Woke up to clear blue skies & just a zephyr of a breeze. Top temp forecast to be 15 but feels much warmer. No need for all those layers of clothes we have with us. Full day involved 1 hr drive each way to Los Glaciares National Park & specifically the Perito Moreno Glacier with 4 hrs exploring the glacier from every angle. Understanding a little of the geology and dynamics of the glacier makes it even more amazing. This glacier is unique amongst other glaciers in that rather than being formed by frozen water it's formed by daily constant snow falling on the higher peaks putting pressure on the snow below until it is unable to be compressed ... read more