Blogs from Chubut, Argentina, South America - page 6

As we got off the plane in Trelew, we were greeted by high gusts of hot wind and views of endless pampas. Pampas are dry grasslands, almost SW desert-like, that make up nearly the entirety of Patagonia, save the southern tip of Ushuaia and the Andes mountain range. Riding the hour long shuttle from Trelew to Puerto Madryn, we began to ask ourselves, why are we here? We asked the same question again upon entereing the uncharasmatic, dusty, windswept town of Puerto Madryn. The hostel we stayed at was surprisingly very nice. An open, but protected center courtyard of green grass with a hammock, chairs and tables, and potted flowers surrounding it. All the receptionists were very nice and informative of the various excursions available and where all the essential amentities were in town. Although we ... read more

Hello from Argentina! Finally off the boat after three days at Sea including Christmas and crossing Cape Horn. In Punta Arenas, I managed to go on a tour to Pinguiterria, a penguin colony in the coldest place on earth! Walked into a side street tour agent who had no tours for the day, but called an old boy who came in his own car and drove me the 70km to the colony, giving an overview of everything on the Island on the way. He also drove like a Chilean Colin McCrae which was pretty interesting when he made a full tour bus tilt wildy going past the edge of the road while he held the centre line. Good blood pumping stuff. Scott of the Antarctic has never been to Pinguiterria, otherwise he never would have continued ... read more

Like most self respecting backpackers, I planned as little of my trip to this continent as I possibly could before embarking. Accordingly, The large southern extent of the continent was given a correspondingly large portion of my estimated time - a decision which I am certianly not regretting, having seen the likes of Pucón, Los Alerces, Bariloche etc. Something that I am finding a little unsettling is, as it turns out, the suitable destinations on the 'peninsula' are actually relatively small in number, given the extent of the area. This is something I couldn't quite comprehend until I got on a 24 hour bus between Esquel and El Calafate which, due to paved road restrictions, took me all the way to the East coast before cutting back towards the West for the Andes again. As you ... read more

Rebonjour chers lecteurs ! :oD Étant donné que vous nous lisez, j’en déduis donc que vous êtes prêts pour la dernière partie concernant la Patagonie, n’est-ce pas ? Alors allons-y sans plus tarder… Nous sommes à Ushuaia, il est 4h du matin lorsque nos réveils sonnent ! Pffff dur dur de se lever, surtout que la nuit passée le sommeil a été dur à trouver. Mais bon, pas le choix, le bus n’attendra pas… Nous nous extirpons donc péniblement du lit et, après avoir rangé nos affaires, nous rejoignons Susana et son mari qui se sont levés exprès pour nous ! Nous avons même droit alors à un parfait petit-déjeuner de prince, à cette heure-là du matin ! Magnifique ! C’est Federico, l’époux, qui nous amène à la station de bus, où nous rejoignons alors d’autres ... read more

Puerto Madryn After 20 hours and two buses we made it up to the coastal town of Puerto Madryn. The first 4 hours of the journey saw snow covered landscapes, the next 16 hours the landscape did not change from deserted flat plains. We saw our first Southern Right Whale the same day we arrived and they just kept coming! You could see them from the beach and walk along the pier where a mother and her calf swam beneath us at one point. We spent many hours on whale patrol on the pier! We also woke up for high tide and headed to a beach 20km away where the whales venture as close as 15m to the sand. It is an amazing feeling running along side a whale - a little bit hard due to ... read more