etwickenham

Really early start today ? - breakfast at 6.15am and I’m up well before worrying about getting the stupid cases shut. Shove everything in and Rodolfo is ready and waiting to take us to the bus station at 6.30am. So nice to see him and say goodbye. He was fun to be around and had great playlists on our drives! We’re on Bus Sur this time. Not the luxury double decker we’re used to, but it’s comfortable, warm (nice!) and has overhead usb chargers which is handy. Unfortunately it also has piped audio linked to a tv screen at the front which is on an endless 5 minute loop of ads and music. David lasts about 30 minutes then goes to the front to ask the conductor to turn it off, which he does - phew. ... read more

Got up to pop to the loo at around midnight. Comment to anyone who’s listening that the sky is full of stars. Am just having a wee when there’s the sound of a bucketful of water hitting the floor! Maia has been violently sick, stumbles into the bathroom and delivers another load into the sink as I’m on the loo. Awesome! Try to put the light on, but there’s no electricity. Try to flush the loo but there’s no water. David is up and puts the mobile phone light on. Maia and I are trapped in the bathroom by a sea of sick. David throws me a pair of socks so I can try to hop over it back into the bedroom. I go downstairs in the hope or finding someone who can give me some ... read more

Superb day hiking our longest ever hike to the Mirador Base de las Torres in Torres del Paine, Patagonia. The hotel have kindly prepared an early breakfast for us so that we’re ready for Andrea and Rodolfo to collect us at 7am to drive to the national park. It’s a pleasant two hour journey, but surprisingly it’s less stunning than other trips where we’ve had where we’ve seen more wildlife and mountains. We’re still approaching the Andes, but it’s just a bit less dramatic from this direction. Hiking poles at the ready, we set off at 9.15am and arrange to see Rodolfo again at 6pm...I think I’ve misheard as I didn’t quite realise how long we’d be walking for and now feel a bit nervous about my ability to complete the walk. After 1km we’re hot ... read more

Exciting day visiting Glaciar Perito Moreno. Bit of a lie in today as our tour pick up wasn’t until 8.15am. We are armed with hats, gloves, boots, ski socks and layers to keep warm. The company that does the tours is called Hielo y Aventura and we have chosen the Mini-Trekking tour. We wanted to do Big Ice, which is longer, but Maia is 15 and you have to be 18+ to do the tour. At the other end of the scale, 50 is the upper limit for Big Ice, so this was my one shot! (Too bad). I am delighted that our tour guide and driver duo are called Dora and Diego - very cool! We have managed to bag the front seats on the bus, with the huge window as our TV screen of ... read more

Up early for 7am breakfast, before taxi arrives at 7.30am to take us to the other Buenos Aires airport. Have enjoyed staying at Los Patios de San Telmo. Much, much cheaper than Chile (US $150 for two double rooms for 2 nights versus US $210 for a family room in Santiago for one night at Casasur Charming Hotel), great location in lively, characterful San Telmo, interesting decor and generally chilled with a nice vibe. Only small niggles would be that the room was a bit too warm with air con not working and fridge not working. Pretty smooth and uneventful trip to El Calafate with LATAM. Spent about half an hour with a helpful LATAM sales lady trying to decipher the various emails I’ve received from LATAM about problems with the refund. All pretty confusing and ... read more