Puerto Natales - Puerto Montt Following my trekking in Torres Del Paine, i thought it was time to put my feet up and take it easy for a few days. Luckily, there is a very convenient way to do this from Puerto Natales travelling North, by spending 4 days on a ferry. A company called Navimag run the route and it travels through the Fjordes of Western Chile, on its way gradually towards Puerto Montt, 1,460km to the North. The boat is essentially a converted freight ferry, which now takes up to 200, mostly backpackers, on the route each week. In order to make the trip a little more exciting, they arrange talks and show movies through the trip to try and keep peoples interest alive. I have to admit it was the first time this ... read more

After 5 weeks of travelling South, I have reached the most Southerly main town in the world, Ushuaia on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra Del Fuego. And in the famous words of Yazz and the Plastic Population (5 weeks at #1, August ´88), "The only way is up, for You and me now...." (Repeat until bored). For the next 10 weeks i will be travelling North, from this cold desolate place, around 3,850 miles, to finish up on the equator in Equador at the end of March. I have just been in Ushuaia for the last 3 days, after a short flight down from Calafate. The town sits in a really pretty location, sandwiched between snowcovered peaks behind it and the Beagle channel in front of it. This channel separates it from the ... read more

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 the Lake District of Argentina. The town sits right on a lake, with snow covered mountains surrounding the town. The town has a very Swiss feel about it, with chalets everywhere and it produces the ... read more

Since the football game last Saturday, i have had another week in Buenos Aires. As well as continuing my Spanish lessons (To perfect in a very dodgy style my Spanish before heading into the real world), I've been to see a Tango show, went down to look around La Boca area of Buenos Aires and had fairly big Friday and Saturday nights out in Buenos Aires. This coincided with Helen arriving in to the city on Friday (but surely only coincidental!) We had a weekend together around Buenos Aires, before heading on to Mendoza in the West of Argentina on Sunday together for 3 days. Mendoza sits at the base of the Andes and is the centre of the wine growing industry in Argentina. Around the city are hundreds of vineyards and bodegas, with vines stretching ... read more

For those of you who thought (hoped) i might have come down with some nasty disease and have to spend most of my sabbatical in bed recovering, i am sorry to disappoint! I´m in Buenos Aires Baby! One and a bit weeks in and i am adapting to life fairly well i think. Once i got over the smell of urine and sweat everywhere, the constant noise and pollution, and the fact i can´t understand the majority of what anyone says to me in any situation, i was fine. But hey, its still all better than London in the Winter! Overall, despite all of the above, i am liking my time in Buenos Aires a lot. Its actually quite a pleasant place to spend some time with some lovely park areas and squares dotted around the ... read more