Page 5 of hkwoody Travel Blog Posts


South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island October 30th 2009

At last it's stopped raining and snowing !!!!! Esquel, Futaleufu, Bariloche and the first day on Chiloe were all washed or snowed out - I guess it comes with the territory and explains why it's so green. Chiloe is the island we were trying to get to when we had to turn back from Futaleufu, glad to say the road journey from Bariloche is easier and still includes a short ferry crossing. Chiloe reminds me of Devon or Ireland, rolling green hills, bays and inlets, grazing cows and sheep. It became really beautiful when the sun eventually came out - and not before time. Getting to and from the Parque Nacional Chiloe was a typically South American affair - the bus that was supposed to leave Castro at 9 didn't show up, so we had to ... read more
Palafitos
Castro
Beach


Bariloche is beautiful, like Switzerland - lakes, snow capped mountains, chalets. And as an added bonus we found the best value hostel we've come across so far, less than US$9 per night including breakfast and dinner !!! The only downside was our roommates who had some annoyingly dirty habits, particularly in the bathroom. The crappy weather continued with strong winds, snow and rain - merde but hey ho nothing we can do about it. Most of the time we chilled - having hot chocolate in cafes, reading and generally lazing around. During one of the rain breaks we managed to get out and hike up the Cerro Campanario, it's a good climb not too tough but a good workout. The view from the top, when you can see it, is spectacular. That afternoon we carried on ... read more
View From Cerro Campanario
View From Cerro Campanario
On Yer Bike

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Futaleufu October 24th 2009

Public transport in much of Patagonia is difficult but once off the beaten track it can become almost impossible. We tried to get from Esquel in Argentina to Chaiten in Chile and then by ferry to the island of Chiloe, it's doable but not practical - at least for us. It all started well, at Esquel we thought we were in luck, the bus to the border runs only on Monday and Friday, it was Friday - result :-) Crossing the border was simple and straightforward (it's not always like that between Argentina and Chile), only when we got to Futaleufu in Chile did things start to go pear shaped. There are bed and breakfast places but none are listed online so it's difficult to make a reservation in advance, as it's still early in the ... read more

South America » Argentina » Chubut » Esquel October 23rd 2009

For the second time in the last few days we've found ourselves experiencing unseasonal snow and cold. First we had blizzard conditions the day we left El Calafate and now the same in Esquel, putain. Maybe Clarkson is right :-) !!!... read more
View From The Cafe In Esquel Bus Station
View from The Irish Bar In Esquel
Esquel Town Centre In A Blizzard

South America » Argentina » Chubut » Puerto Madryn October 22nd 2009

OK so not actually Wales but most of the towns in Chubut province were established by Welsh settlers in the 19th century, so close enough. We hadn't planned to travel north up the east coast but Ruta 40 is still closed until the end of the month when the snow will be cleared. As luck would have it we hit one of the best months of the year for wildlife on and around Peninsula Valdes :-) The roll call included southern wright whales, sea lions, guanaco, elephant seals, penguins, mara (Patagonian hares), lizards, and tons of different birds. We also had a great sunset on the way back to Pueto Madryn. All in all another great day to add to our growing list of great days. ... read more
Head Of Whale
Whale Tail
Posing Penguin

South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Calafate October 18th 2009

Another fantastic Patagonian experience - this place is absolutley awesome !!! The Perito Moreno glacier is massive - in area its the same size as Buenos Aires (250km2), the front face is ~8km long and between 150m and 180m high (40m - 60m above the water). Its also one of the few glaciers in the world to be still adding ice. It advances quite a lot (~2m per day) so is noisy and calves quite a few icebergs. Just looking at it is impressive but you can also ice hike up it - we had to do this. Its a bit expensive but worth every cent. The surface is lumpy, bumpy and jagged so its pretty hard going, particularly as the crampons are quite heavy. There are crevasses, pools, streams, holes and waterfalls all over the ... read more
The South Face
The Middle Face
Up The Valley

South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine October 15th 2009

Just back from 5 days hiking the W Trail in the Torres del Paine. My words and pictures can't tell or show how fantastic this place is, its a real wonderland. We were lucky enough to experience the whole range of Patagonian weather - it started sunny, then we had gale force winds (strong enough to blow you off your feet !!!) and a blizzard, then overcast, then 15cm of snow, then complete calm with blue sunny skies and finally clear blue skies and more gale force winds. At times we were in T shirts at others we were in thermals, fleeces and waterproof trousers and jackets. This was just what we wanted, it wouldn have been as good had the weather been good the whole time. The first three nights we stayed in refugios which ... read more
Mirador Las Torres
Sendero Mirador de Las Torres
Las Torres To Los Cuernos

South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia October 9th 2009

An unedited upload / dump of photos.... read more
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6

South America » Argentina October 8th 2009

Stunning is the only word to describe Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego. To make sure we had enough time here and in the rest of Patagonia we flew for the first time (Buenos Aires to Ushuaia), we're really glad we made that decision. Yesterday we spent the day in the Parque National Tierra del Fuego walking about 15km through some stunning, unspoilt scenery of mountains, lakes, rivers and sea. Most of the time we had the place to ourselves, awesome. This morning we took a boat trip into the Beagle Channel stopping on a couple of islands to look at the birds and sealions. This afternoon we went up to the glacier where we had some fantastic views. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to get all the way up and back to / from the ... read more
Atsuko At The End Of The Road
The End Of The Road
Martin At The End Of The Road

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires October 4th 2009

Today we fulfilled one of the top items on our to do list. We managed to be in BA at the right time and to get tickets to watch Boca Juniors play in the Bombonera, and what a fantastic experience it was !!! The away team was Velez Sarsfield, the current champions, and from the western suburbs of BA - not the “classico” versus River Plate but a good match anyway. The tickets were for seats in the top tier of the north stand and only cost A$60 (~US16 or ~10 quid), I hate to say it but it makes paying 25 quid or more to watch Forest play in Division 2 seem mightily bloody expensive - I won't bother commenting on the comparison of paying to watch the sheepshaggers from down the road :-))))) Before ... read more
Matchday
Matchday
Halftime.




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