Moving On...

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Mon.5th. Dec.
Santiago is quite a big airport, but all the internal flight passengers are herded into 1 queue - absolute chaos. The pilot must have been having a bad day too, because the landing was really rough. Bumped into 2 Canadians from la Paz. It´s great to see familiar faces. We left them at Punta Arenas, the furthest south we´re going, but near enough to see the penguins. We haven´t made many mistakes planning the route, but this is one of them! The pace is utterly miserable. After 2 hours walking around in the bitter wind, looking for a place to stay, we decide that the penguins aren´t worth it , and catch the next bus to Porto Natales. 4 hours later and this place didn´t look much better, that is until a nice lady shows is pictures of her hostel and offers us a lift there - perfect.

Tues.
The view from the breakfast table was really mundane, just spectacular, snow-capped mountains. Are we getting too blase about this? We were picked up at 6.45 to go to the National Park. We saw this area from the plane, so that´s how big it is.
The first stop was "Milodon Cave", a prehistoric site which was awesome. It´s as big as you can imagine, and goes way back into the mountain. As you stroll around you feel an eerie presence, and as you leave the cave, you walk past the beast itself, a life-size statue of "The Milodon"!
On to the park where eventually we catch our first sight of "Torres del Paine" and from there on it captures the attention completly.
No matter where you are in the park it dominates the view, and changes perspective at every turn. No picture could do this mountain justice, it´s so majestic, especially with the snow glistening in the sun. To bring us back down to earth, the coach breaks down - nothing new there - so we walk for an hour or so by the lake side, until a replacement arrives. Our very late lunch break was at a swanky hotel, with panoramic views of the Lake Grey Glacier. This was good, but just like an ice cube compared to our trip tomorrow.
We finally got back to town about 9.30, had a meal and then booked our tickets to El Calefate for the next day. Amazingly the travel agents, even in this small place, stay open until 11.00.

Wed.
Another horrendously early start, and off we go to Argentina. A 5 hour journey made enjoyable by watching hundreds of sheep, being herded by gauchos on horseback. One over-enthusiastic sheep-dog tried to round up a passing white dog at the Argentine immigration and caused chaos - great fun!
Driving through Calefate is very reassuring. It looks quite civilised. After a mild panic, we found a fantastic hotel. The only complaint is that the under-floor heating makes it too hot! Reason enough to catch a bus to see "The Morino Glacier", the biggest in the world. Again, it´s located in a "National Park", so it costs an arm and a leg for admittance, but it was worth every penny. The scenery again is fantastic, and is set off superbly by clearest blue sky imaginable. You see the ice floats on the lake first, then eventually the glacier, 60 metres above the water line blocking off the entire width of the lake. There are walk-ways above, and on a level with the glacier, but not too close, because when the ice breaks off, it can throw chunks a fair distance. In the past more than 30 people have been killed this way. We spent a good few hours walking around, and every so often you hear the ice creak. You stand, willing for it to fall, but it waits until you´re not looking, then an almighty crack signals a mini avalanche. Even when it isn´t breaking up, the glacier mesmerises you with its different colours, from the darkest of blues to the purest white. Again, photographs cannot do it justice. It´s just something that has to be seen. So start saving up - maybe my ex charges will need more pocket money. Note - the water is going the wrong way down now.

Fri.
We met up with 3 nurses from our days on the salt flats, so it was well after midnight getting back to our hotel. It was in darkness, reception closed, and the front doors locked. The keypad was useless without the code, but panic subsided when more residents appeared and cracked the code. Our key was the last to be picked up. So it´s early nights and early mornings around here.

Sat.
We´re back to good breakfasts now so the weight will pile on. As much as you want of corn flakes, croissants, toast, hot chocolate, orange juice, coffee etc. - really nice. The "Hostel Del Glaciar" is thoroughly recommended except that the internet was not working. We´ll go down into town to send this and then amble around until the airport bus picks us up at 4.00. Next stop Bariloche, and it´s getting warmer by the minute, Caio!
P.S.
Mark has posted ALL our photos on website -
www.the-johnstons.net - so only look at the good ones - if you can find any.

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