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Published: November 24th 2006
Tuesday 7th November, Tandil, somewhere in Argentina!
We take the night sleeper bus (another 7 hours!!) to from Buenos Aries to Tandil. Arriving at 5.45am! Luckily there is a café open at the bus station and we have a "media luna" (half moon, which is the Spanish for a croissant!) and a coffee.
Take a taxi to our hostel, Albergue Casa Chango, and arrive at a large converted former mansion house. It appears deserted and it appears we’re the only people staying there. Bit of a haunted feel to the place, smells of mothballs, creaky floors and old cobweb covered chandeliers! Reminds me of the hotel in the film the shining!
Have a very quick shower and head out into the town.
Modern town with not a lot of character but good coffees and gets us out of the hostel!
We decide that one night in the town is enough and book into a cabana a few miles out of the town for tomorrow night.
In the evening we go to a tenor libre (eat all you can!!!) restaurant where a litre of house wine costs less than 1 pound! Try to stay there as
late as possible so we don’t have to go back to the scary hostel!
Wednesday 8th November
Quickly pack our bags and take a taxi to El Molino Cabanas just outside Tandil. (Cabanas are wooden chalet type buildings). The site is in a fantastic position with great views over the local countryside. There is satellite TV, which the owner of the site spends some considerable amount of time showing us (obviously another football fan!), a spa bath, minibar, verandah and swimming pool (which is unfortunately only partly filled with water!) All this for 20 quid!!
We arrange to hire bikes and the owner of the cabanas takes us to a local restaurant where the bikes will be dropped off in a couple of hours. Great place and have a huge local piccada or a plate of meats and cheeses with homemade breads, washed down with some surprisingly tasty homebrew, lovely!
Bikes arrive and we spend the afternoon cycling round the local lake before making our way to the local swimming pool complex. Arrive there to find none of the pools have water in them! Crazy as the temperature must be almost 30 degrees! We make our
Southern Right Whale, Peninsula Valdes
Whale! We were so close we got a face full of fishy spray when she came up for air!way into town stopping off for some well earned refreshments along the way, including the biggest bottle of stella!
Quick visit to the local supermarket before we head back to our cabana to enjoy the view (of the international football highlights on the TV!)
Thursday 9th November
Breakfast arrives to our door, delivered on a massive tray and includes coffee, tea, fresh bread, cheese, jam, fresh orange juice and whole cake in a box!! Now that’s my kind of breakfast!!
We spend the morning sitting round the pool, eating cake and generally being as inactive as possible!
Taxi arrives just after midday and we head back to Tandil to take another bus to Bahia Blanca where we have a quick dinner and then catch another night bus at midnight to Puerto Madyrn, another 10 hours away, arrrgh!!!
Friday 10th November, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
We arrive into Puerto Madyrn late morning and make our way to our hostel, Hostel Chepatagonia. Nice place close to the seafront with a view of the sea from our room (well, if you lean out the window a bit!)
Have a walk along the seafront and check out
the prices of trips to Peninsula Valdes, a large conservation area just to the north of the town from where you can see elephant seals, orcas (which swim up onto the beach to try to eat the elephant seals) and southern right whales (which I think the Japanese like to eat!). We book onto a trip leaving in the morning then hire some bikes and cycle along the seafront to the Eco Centre.
The Eco centre is an oceanic information center where they have the skeleton of a southern Right whale on display (much bigger than expected!) films on sea life, displays, photos, a sound room of whales making lots of noise (ummm!) and a great café serving chocolate brownies!! Spend a couple of hours here before cycling back to the town, dropping the bikes off and going back to the hostel to watch the film Leon on TV!
Saturday 11th November
Get up early and go for a run on the beach. Yes, thats right a run! Not sure what we were thinking of but feel much fresher but knackered afterwards. May have been the rabid dogs chasing us over the sand which helped!
Head
Cerro Campanario, Barriloche
View of the National Geographic, 9th best view in the World!! Oh, and a lake and some hills behind! wearily back to the hotel to watch the England V Argentina rugby test match. Wish we´d stayed running on the beach as it would have been much less painful than watching the dire game! Plus to rub salt in, we´re in Argentina and the hostel owner knows were English and watched the game!
In the afternoon we catch two local buses to a small town called Trelew then onto an even smaller settlement called Gaiman. These two towns were set up by Welsh immigrants from Festignog and Swansea during the 1880´s. Many people still speak Welsh in the town and there are several traditional Welsh tea rooms. We head to one of the most quant looking and have a Welsh tea which has loads of old antiques. The tea itself coinsists of lots of different pieces of cake (not many of which I recognised as being Welsh but plenty of cream so I wasnt complaining!) and a huge pot of tea, (hurrah! Dee cries, tastes just like back home!). Perfect after our run this morning!
Head back to Puerto Madyrn for a carton of red wine from the supermarket (45p) and watch the replay of the France V
The Lake District, near Bariloche
Arty shot looking towards Bariloche! New Zealand game, which the French lost 45 - 3 so good end to the sporting day!
Arrange to go on a trip to the local Nature Reserve, Peninsula Valdes tomorrow for seal and whale watching.
Couple of drinks at the local Iguana bar then to another bar reccomended by some locals, "Margarita". Only seems to play English music so have a good sing along, bit of a boogie and head to bed late!
Sunday 12th November
Up early for the minibus pick up for our tour of Peninsula Valdes. Have to take the back row as th bus is almost full and get a bit of a shaking about on the bumpy roads over to the peninsula plus the hangovers dont really help matters!
First stop we head own to the seafront on wooden boards to watch the male elephant seals and their harems sunbathing and making lots of noise on the beach! Cant get that close to them, unlike the sealions on the Galapagos, but close enough to see they are massive animals and possibly wouldnt appreciate us asking them to pose for a few photos!
The beach is where film crews
Fish Market, Puerto Montt
Lots of Fishes and one grining Cheshire Cat! ofter come to film the orcas (killer whales) swimming up onto the shingle to grab young seals. Unfortunately we dont see any orcas today despite me trying to tempt them with a rather squashed dolfin friendly tuna sandwich!
Next the miunibus drops us off at a local penguin colony where we can see them some way below. The sea is really clear and we stand watching them darting though the water for some time. Then one pops himself out from a hole just below where we are standing! He has a look round, spots about 50 tourist cameras flashing away only a few feet away and decides to make his way back into his hole for some peace and quiet!
However, we do see several whales splashing about off the coast, and this amazingly was from standing on the beach! Wished we´d bought some binnoculars! We then make our way hurriedly back to the bus to head to the north of Peninsula Valdes to Puerto Piramide and the whale watching boat.
After only a few minutes at sea, about 100m from the beach we spot our first of many whales of the trip! The females Right whales
Main Square, Bariloche
Haz looking ready for action in the chocolate shops in the town! come close into the peninsula for protection from the wind and waves whilst their calves are young. The whales come right up to the boat, even spraying us with the fishy water from their blow holes! There are many females and calves in the area and luckily, as its not the main tourist season, there isnt an armada of tourist boats around.
We get back to Puerto Madryn late afternoon and have a quick fish dinner on the sea front before catching the night bus to Bariloche in the Argentinian lake district
Monday 13th November, Bariloche
Arrive at 10.30am, after only 13 hours on the bus, two less than expected, great!
Fantastic views out of the the window of the lakes and snow capped mountains which surround the town and make up the majority of the lake district.
We arrive at hostel 41 below (as Bariloche is located 41 degrees longitude below the equator). Guide book says its run by a “friendly and chatty Kiwi”. Turns out its run by a kiwi but not sure if he was dumped by his girlfriend the day before we arrived as appears more of a “miserable, cant be
For all you physios out there!
Maitland mobilisations anyone? arsed” Kiwi!! Nice girl who also works there though and she gives us some good tips on where to go in our short stay in the town.
We take a local bus along the lake shore and take a ski lift upto Cerro Campanario (1,405m for those interested!) where there is a magnificent 360 degree view of the lake district, the mountains and the various islands and headlands. It was voted one of the top ten views in the world in National Geographic magazine (we´re told it was number 9, just after Pride Park, home of Derby County Football Club, well maybe!) Take far too many photos then head to the cafe where we treat ourselves to some large pieces of cake and coffee whilst appreciating the views!
Head back down and take another bus to the hotel Llaollao which is apparently the most famous in Argentina! It has some great views from the grounds (dont go inside as I dont think the security staff would appreciate two scruffy English tourists trapcing through the hotel with muddy boots and South American handbook in hand!) We have a nice walk along a forest path, passing some very expensive looking
First view of the Torres Del Paine towers
Haz at the start raring to go (back to bed!)
chalets on the way (its a very big skiing area in the Winter).
Back to the town early evening for a steak dinner at a local restaurant in Bariloche then to a bar showing all sorts of music videos on a big screen.
Bus to Puerto Montt in Chile tomorrow so bed early (ish)!
Tuesday 14th Novmber
Morning spent in Bariloche looking round the many chocolate shops, we resist though (oh, for a bigger rucksak with built in cool box!) then to the bus station for the 2pm Puerto Montt bus.
Good views of the Andes as we cross over them but the bus seems to take ages, especially at the Chilian border crossing. We eventually arrive in Puerto Montt where its raining, very windy and dark!
Take a taxi to our hostel, Casa Perla, which is a scary wooden house perched on a hill above the town. Everything creaks, including the owner! And we head straight for bed.
Wednesday 15th November, Puerto Montt, Chile
The morning brings with it some brighter weather and good breakfast of warm bread and cheeses, yum!
From the guide book there isnt a great deal
On route to the first campsite, Chileno, Torres Del Paine National Park
Just after this photo was taken he collapsed from exhaustion and rolled into the lake behind! to see in the fishing port town. The fish market appears to the the best option and we head over. On the way we pass some stalls selling woolen hats, gloves an socks. We stock up as the weather in our next port of call, Punta Natales in Chilean Patagonia looks to be a decidedly nippy! The fish market is good and strangely not too pongy with loads of large fresh salmon and other monsters from the deep hanging up everywhere.
Time soon comes for us to make our way to the airport for our flight down south.
We fly at 1-30pm and it takes two hours to reach Puerto Arenas. Take a local bus from the airport to the Punta Natales, about an hour and a half away, and arrive at our hostel, Patagonia Adventure.
Really warm welcome from the staff (needs to be as its billy bob baltic outside!) and they tell us about the various treking options in the Torres del Paine national park. The park is a huge wilderness full of glaciers, lakes, wildlife, scenery and great treking opportunities. The main treking routes take in the Torres Del Paine themselves which are three
needle like granite peaks and are the main reason people visit the area (its not the kind of place to come to top up your tan!).
We decide to take on the ´W´ walk which takes between 3 and 4 days to complete and stupidly agree to rent a tent, sleeping mats, camping stove and cooking bits from the hostel! Quick visit to the local supermarket to stock up on the most edible looking, least dog food like camping food and other essentials (incluing the essential Nesquick strawbery milkshakes and pot noodle type products!)
We head back to the hostel to pack our bags and prepare ourselves mentally for the expedition (as in looking on the map for easier treking routes if we get too knackered on the way round!)
Bed early, bags packed and ready to go!
Thursday 16th November, Torres del Paine, National Park,
Chile 1 1/2 hours walking 5.5km
We take a bus from the hostel to the park which takes about two hours
The park is 150km north of Puerto Natales. It rises from the flat brown pampa and is a range of mountains topped by weird twisted peaks and
unfeasably smooth towers. This is the Paine Massif, centrepiece of the park and it one of the worlds most stunning geographical features. Now geography lesson over(!) -
On the way to the park our views of the Paine Massif (not to be mistaken for the Staines massif street gang!) get better and better and we have to hold outselves back from taking too many photos (well, actually we left the camera in the rucksack in the boot of the bus!)
We arrive at the park entrance mid afternoon. Pay our entry fee and take a minibus up to Hosteria Las Torres where we begin the trek.
It doesnt take too long for me to realise that I may have overpacked and brought a little bit too much stuff! Perhaps the electric footspa and silver candelabras were a trifle unnecessery!
It takes an hour and a half of uphill of hard slogging to reach our first campsite, Chileno, located on the banks of the Rio Ascencio, a glacial river which bellows down the mountain side.
When you enter the park you are given a map which shows the various paths, campsites, landmarks and it also gives
Cuernos del Paine (Rams Horns)
Our first view of the rams horns.
Not what I expected when Dee said we can go and see the mighty rams! you estimated walking times between various points to help you plan your route and to check on progress. There are also are regular signs along the paths to tell you how far you have come and sometimes unfortunately, how far you still have to go!
We´re pleased to note that we made the first very short leg in half an hour less than the estimated two hours (much have been our extensive fitness regime over the last few weeks!)
We have a good view of the very top of the torres peaks from the side and they look very much in the cloud, fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow!
We find that all but one of the camping pitches (muddy patches of earth, punctuated with large roots and rocks in a windswept woodland to the side of the river!) We eventually erect the tent after some carefully selected language and unpack.
Once sorted out we light the stove and prepare our dinner, the gastronomical delights of dehydrated soup and bread with a pint of tea!
The campsite is located next to the Chileano Albergue. Albergues are similar to camping barns where you can pay about
Lago Sarmiento
Would have had a swim but we didn´t fancy hypothermia as well as sleeping in a tent! 25 pounds to sleep in a large dormatory. You can get breakfast for about 7 pounds and dinner for 9. At this moment in time, all looked like great bargains and the tent about as appealing as a hole in a boat!
Resisting these temptations, we headed to the tent for what we hoped would be a great night sleep!
As it doesnt get dark until well after 10pm this far south of the Equator, we had a few hours to think about the rest of our trek and to mentally prepare (I wonder if Pizza Hut do deliveries to this campsite...............!)
Absolutely freezing would be a slight understatement for that night in the tent! The howling wind seemed to just drive straight through the tent walls, bringing the biting cold with it. To make matters worse, we soon understood why this was the last remaining tent pitch! There seemed to be roots digging into us from every direction and if you stayed still for more than a few seconds, we´d end up with a dead leg, arm or head! Oh dear an only three nights to go!
Friday 17th November
10 ½ hours walking, 24km
View of Lago Nordenskjold
"I unfortunataly can´t see the pub from here!" Open our bleary eyes and prepare to open the tent onto what we hope will be a bright, sunny day.
Turns out to be misty, raining and generally miserable! Great!
We slowly scrape ourslevs off the muddy hard earth and make a big flask of tea. Have some porridge made with hot tea and dried fruit (actually very tasty!) and watch to see if the cloud clears.
By 10am it does seem to be getting better so we take the one of the rucksacks, several fleeces, coats, gloves, hats, stove, a nesquick or two and some pot noodles and start the climb up the valley to the Towers!
The first hour is a lovley walk through native woodland along the river. The wind has dropped and only the sound of the water and birdsong acompany us.
The second hour is a different story though! We have to climb up a wall of glacial boulder deposits, crossing over streams and avoiding the occasional American tourist with eight foot camera lense in tow! After plenty of sweating we pull ourselves up onto the top of the screee rock ridge looking out onto the Torres peaks and
the lake in front. Whilst still partially covered in a thin cloud its a truly breathtaking view of the granite towers! Although we have seen hundreds of photos of the towers in magazines, beer labels (maybe one too many of there!) and fliers throughout the country, nothing had quite prepared us for the sight. The peaks had a magical aura, something akin to a scene from Lord of the Rings (but without the orks) and after we had heated the water for our pot noodles we spent some time sitting there appreciating the view.
Eventually a large group of American tourists appeared and, having forgotten to pack my two handed battle axe (which I could have used to send them to the firey flames of mordor) we decided to head back down.
A couple of hours later we arrived back at the campsite. We take the tent down, pack our bags, have a quick cuppa and start the long trek to campsite Albergue, some 5 hours and 11km away. At this point it was 4pm!
It turned out that this was a little too ambitious a walk after the 5 hours of walking we had done in
the morning! A couple of hours into the walk and we were both extremaly tired and were missing our steak dinners! I even began to halucinate thinking that some of the pebbles on the path were waggonwheel chocolate bars! However, we eventually came over the brow of yet another hill to be treated to a spectacular view of Lago Sarmiento, Lake Sarmiento. With the late afternoon sun over the hills in front of us, it was a magnificent site. Spurred on and able to enjoy the view all the way we carried on for another couple of hours.
Coming over the brow of another hill we spotted what looked like a very large eagle, circling in the sky some way in front of us. There was a Swiss couple who had literally abandoned their rucksacks, grabbed their (massively oversized) cameras and tripods and were racing off up the path in hot persuit of the bird! When we caught them up they told us that it wasnt an eagle but one of a pair of condors.
We spent some minutes watching the bird, watching us before heading off down the path for another hour!
We eventually reach the
campsite, exhausted but exhillerated, at about 9.30pm and quickly erected the tent before darkness set in. Whilst not the last tent pitch available, it smells of horse wee but we cant be bothered to move it by the time we realise, too tired to care!
Dee prepares a veritable banquet of rice and tuna, a quick hot shower (!) before we collapse in the tent!
Saturday 18th Novmber
13km, 5.5hours walking
Much better nights sleep and a good breakfast of porridge, dried fruit and tea (pattern developing here isnt there!).
The weather isnt great though so we pack the tent away and head to the next point on the map, Campamento Italiano, according to the map, two hours walk away. Nearly three hours later we arrive at Italiano. The weather has really taken a turn for the worse and we decide against treking up the Frances valley, the middle part of the ´W´trek, an extra 5 hours, neither of us can be bothered.
Instead, we continue along the path, at the side of another amazingly coloured glacial lake, Lago Nordenskjold, to our final campsite, Pehoe. This should have been the easy part of the walk
Lunch at Lago Grey
"Well, I´ve got my ice but where the Gin and Tonic?!" but by this point were both tired and after nearly three more hours of walking only the fantastic views keep us going!
Arrive at Pehoe campsite early evening and the wind is howling down onto the campsite. We just manage to get the tent up before the rain starts as well!
This is the best of the campsites in the park and has its own kitchen area where those people stupid enough to camp can come and use their simple gas cookers. We have dinner of noodles and noodles!
We collapse into the tent, which has very carefully been pitched on a nice piece of soft grass and fall straight to sleep!
Sunday 19th November
22km, 7 hours and last day!
Much better sleep and even lie in until the rains stops battering the side of the tent!
After a good breakfast of scrambled eggs on bread (eggs brought from the shop at the adjacent Refugio along with a carton of wine for if we make it back later in the day!) and we eventually set off mid morning.
The final days walking is to Glacier Grey on a path alongside the glacial
Haz the explorer!
"I think there should be a lake near here!" lake into which the glacier flows, Lago Grey. From the map and signs on the path it should be a fairly difficult walk up to the glacier of some 11km.
Not sure if a good breakfast helped or the fact that we can go back to civilisation tomorrow but the walk is actually fairly easy!
As we look out onto Lago Grey on the way up the path we see huge brilliant blue chunks of ice floating on the lake. These have obviously broken off from the main glacier as it flows endlessly into the lake.
It takes us about 3 ½ hours to reach the glacier and its another fantastic sight! The glacier is about 10km wide with an island of rock splitting it into two parts. The colour of the ice is the first thing which strikes you and then the actual scale! The ice seems to disapear into the far distance where we can just about see snowcapped mountains rising out of the horizon.
Again we take some time to appreciate the view, put the stove on and have a lunch of pasta pots and dried fruit!
It takes another 3 ½
hours to get back to the campsite for a delightful supper of noodles, dried fruit but importantly, washed down with some cheap Chillian plonk!
Spend some time lying on our backs with our heads out of the tent looking up to the amazing Patagonian night sky before bed.
Monday 20th Novmber
Fantastic weather!
Dee lies dazing out of the tent from 6am, looking out of the majestic peaks of the Torres Massif in the sunshine.
We eventually get up late morning, quick shower, lots more photos, pack the tent away an wait for the 12pm ferry across Lago Pehoe top the waiting bus which takes us back to Puerto Natales.
First stop when we get back is to take the washing to the launderette then to the waterfront at the edge of the town.
Nice dinner at a local restaurant before a couple of celebratory beers at a locals bar (great fun!) then to bed!
Tuesday 21st November
Fantastic to actually sleep back in a proper bed! What were we thinking!!
Feel a great sense of achievement to have completed the hike and head downstairs for a breakfast of homemade
wholemeal bread and jams! And not a noodle or peice of dried fruit in sight!!
Most of the day is spent in and about the town, pottering, emailing and completing this pain in the bottom blog from the last few weeks! Hope you all appreciate it and dont just look at the photos!!
Pick up washing, which is thankfully much fresher now and isnt scaring off the local strays, I have pizza and Dee has soup for lunch. Rest of the afternoon is basically spent having some chill out time, me stroking my beard and Dee stroking her blisters!
We head to a great local grill restaurant for dinner where I have the lamb, huge chunks calved from a whole roasting lamb on a massive metal scewer and Dee half of cow with salad and potatoes!
Bed late!
Wednesday 22nd November
Scrape ourselves out of bed at half seven, and get ready to take the 9am bus to Puerto Arenas airport!
Quick but tasty breakfast in the hostel and we head off.
Journey to the airport ends up taking an hour longer than expected and we rush into the terminal to be
met by a large queue for check in, arrrrgh!
We eventually reach the front to be told that the plane is full but we have seats?! Very strange!
It Seems they have overbooked the flight and more people than expected have turned up and theyre offering $70 (US) if we´ll take the four hour later flight. No internet, no cafe or bar and a bookshop all in Spanish, no thanks and were off!
We arrive into Santiago mid afternoon and take a couple of buses to reach our destination, Valpariso on the Chilean coast early evening.
First impressions of the city arent great (about three people telling us to be very careful of thiefs!) but we arrive at the hostel La Nona to find it very homely an in a rather trendy, bohemian part of the city (reminds us a bit of Hockley, for all you Nottingham folk)
We head to a local restaurant for the set menu, a local beer and take some time to read.
Bed early ish!
Thursday 24th Novmber
Both turn our alarms off when they go off and eventually rise at 9am to a fantastic breakfast prepared
View of our tent at Campsite Pehoe, last day
Some intrepid explorer planning their next adventure, dinner and beers back in Puerto Natales! by the owner of the hostel of fruit salad, fresh coffee, bread, meats and cheese, yummy!
The owner gives us some good hints about where to go and we head out into the city.
We had thought about a trip to the beach at Vina Del Mar up the coast but the weather is grey and cloudy so we take a trip on a few of the cities ascensores which are similar to cablecars or funicular raiways.
The city was built as a port surrounded by som 43 hills. Some of these hills are very steep and during the 19th Century, when the aristocrats began buiding their homes above the city, 15 ascensores were built to give access btween the upper and lower parts of the city.
Whilst a little gittery, the oldest ascensor was built in 1883, we safely make it on all the rides we take! Not exactly the black hole at Alton Towers but good views from each one!
Rest of the day is spent walking round the city. Me visiting the good Naval Museum, Dee a local craftmarket then a quick ice cream before ending up back at an internet cafe
to do more of the dreaded blog! Were off horseriding and then a BBQ on a nearby beach tommorow for our last day in South America!!
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