Blogs from Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina, South America

We had gotten our Argentinian pesos, our local sim cards and were finally getting used to their strange ways of pronouncing the double 'l' like a "ja" as in "Jamaica". It was time to go get our van. We decided to rent the smallest model available, the Renault Kangoo. In the back the passenger seats were removed. In their place was a couple of handmade wooden benches that could transform into a flat platform in the night. As a mattress were two foldable cushions. We also had a nice cozy comforter, bedding and pillows. To cook we had a small gas camping stove, basic cookware and eating implements. We had a couple of towels but our bathroom would be found in nature and gas stations. Our rental company, Andean Roads, was kind enough to come pick ... read more

Il viaggio verso Puerto Madryn dura all'incirca dieci ore secondo la signorina della biglietteria, sempre quella del post precedente per intenderci. Più le altre dieci per uscire da Buenos Aires, capiamo dopo noi. Il viaggio comincia subito con un cartello il quale ricorda ai signori passeggeri che sul bagno del bus è vietato 'hacer kaka', con la k. Poco male, perché da brave cretine il fatto ci da da ridere per tutte le 10+10 ore del viaggio. Cosicché, la monotonia del paesaggio passa in secondo piano, mentre scorre per ore sotto i nostri occhi. Patagonia. Patagonia è quella cosa che sogni per anni e poi eccola lì, ufficialmente alle 13.30 del 16/12/2015. Patagonia è quella terra sconfinata su cui non cresce niente, se non leggenda ed inspiegabile magia. Patagonia significa grandi piedi, fu chiamata così dai ... read more

We left Buenos Aires at 11am for our first experience of the lowest class on Argentinian buses, semi-cama, with a company called Andesmar. The bus journey was great. There were 4 films in a row in English with Spanish subtitles: The Bookthief, The Internship (which a 70+ year old man enjoyed watching the strip club scene), Now You See Me and Snitch. The seats are similar to Megabus in the UK. They're not as big and plush as the seats in cama and we probably would have slept better in cama, but it was fine and we must have slept 6+ hours. Overall the main difference between cama and semi-cama are the size and comfort of the seats, the food is pretty rubbish and not worth the extra money at all in my opinion. Cama seats ... read more

Monday, December 9th --Tierra del Fuego, Cape of Good Horn 46 degrees out and fairly clear. Valerie and I were up by 6ish to see us sail completely around the “Cabo de Hornos,” which if you look at a map, is the last little island in the Chilean Archipelago—yes, we were back in Chilean waters. The weather started out looking rainy but cleared up quite nicely and the water was very smooth with no wind. The crew was amazed at the good weather, since this is usually one of the most hazardous sailing areas in the world as the strong currents from the Atlantic and the Pacific meet and clash causing large waves. Strong winds usually prevail as there is no land to stop them plus there is a draft off the Andes Mountains. To add ... read more