Perito Moreno - 1-3 Dec 2013

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Sunday 1^st December (Odyssey Day 23)



We had to collect six more of the group from in town this morning before leaving Ushuaia, so we had an early start. Ellie and I were up at 0530 to get ready, have breakfast and pack the truck for a long day of travelling. I took a seat right at the very back for the first time today and it was a good choice, as all I really wanted to do was sleep! You can’t recline these seats as they are right against the back wall but there is a lot more leg room than other seats. There is a bit of a draft through the windows, but at least it’s not as cold as being near the door, where Ellie chose to sit. I’m looking forward to when it is warm enough to open the windows whilst driving, something we haven’t been able to do since day 3 or 4 of the trip.



Having collected the remainder of our group from town, we headed up over the mountains again, hoping to do an ambitious two border crossings and a ferry trip all in one day.



We had to cross back into Chile in order to get to Argentina at this point. All a bit bemusing, but that is the way the country borders are set out.



We had a packed lunch today, to be eaten before the border as they were likely to take any fresh food off us. So that made lunch about 1030 today…



We made it to the first border around 1100 and it only took us about an hour to get everyone through, out of Argentina and into Chile (temporarily). Every time we cross an Argentina/Chile border, we have to get stamped out of the country, fill in a form for entrance to the next country, make sure to keep the carbon copy of the form for when we exit that country, and get an entrance stamp as well. Another border crossing and my passport will have three pages full of just Argentina and Chile stamps.



We made it to the Magellan Straits for our ferry crossing. Twenty minutes, just long enough for the whole group to use the toilets before getting back on the truck and on our way. Having used various ferry’s through Europe and Asia I wasn’t expecting much of the facilities, but actually I think these were some of the nicest toilets we have seen yet. Lockable doors, working lights, toilet paper, hand soap, hot water and dryers. Our standards have dropped quite a bit when all of these things are actually surprise luxuries rather than things we expect.



The next border crossing took a bit longer. It was getting on in the afternoon when we arrived at the border. Surprisingly, it was all in one building. Usually the two sides of the border have their own buildings away from each other but here we could exit Chile and Enter Argentina all in the one place. Two separate queue’s though…



While waiting in queue, Triona and I noticed one of the guys sitting in a cubicle desk watching us. He was clearly talking to someone on Skype though we couldn’t understand him. All we saw was him turning the laptop around to show whomever he was talking to a view of us all queuing. He was a little creepy actually. In the 45 minutes or so I was waiting, he steadily got lower and lower in his seat until just one eye was watching us over the desk while still talking on his computer… At least we don’t have to return through this border again.



Customs took any remaining fresh fruit and veg, though there wasn’t much left by this point. Surprisingly they left any remaining sandwiches and weren’t too fussy about our bags. They did make us unload our backpacks and put them through scanners but when I unloaded my day bags as requested, the guy there just asked me if I had any fruit and when I replied no, he just waved me off. Sometimes they have rather relaxed attitudes here. But only sometimes.



We are now in Argentina for a week. Backward and forward all the time can be a little confusing as far as currency is concerned. I have to keep checking that I am using the correct pesos. Chile has plastic money though while Argentina has paper. That makes it somewhat easier, though the coins all look the same.



Our bushcamp tonight is at Laguna Azul, which I take to mean ‘Blue Lagoon’. It is a volcanic crater with a smallish lake in it now. Quite a nice area, and a little sheltered from the wind by a few hills too. A nice place to camp. Arriving at around 1900, we all wandered down to see the view while waiting for the other cars to leave before setting up our tents. After a long day of travelling, our longest yet actually, we all deserved a beer by the water before dinner.



It’s really nice to have a sheltered campsite too. We are heading north now so we expect it to get steadily warmer but we all know we have quite a bit more time in Patagonia – which means wind, wind, wind. Better than rain, rain, rain though, as most of the tents still need drying out after the last campsite, which made them a little wet and muddy. I did have to get rid of a few slugs from the outside of the tent after that.



We used the last of the food here, as customs had taken any remaining fresh food we had. Dinner had been pre-cooked the night before so it was just a matter of reheating the meat and veg and cooking the rice. Shopping will be done in the morning, before another long travel day.





Monday 2^nd December (Odyssey Day 24)



My cook group is on again today, although breakfast is pretty easy since everyone just helps themselves. We packed up quickly this morning and headed into a nearby town where we parked up at the Carrefour, one of the major supermarkets here.



I finally bought a proper blanket here since I have had enough of being cold. Well actually it’s a microfiber duna, and just looking at it makes me feel warmer…



We had a very quick lunch stop. It was in a spot that was a little sheltered from the wind – but really cold! Cook group does the dishes and I can tell you I thought my fingers might fall off! Washing the dishes makes them cold, but waving them around in the wind to dry the dishes is much, much worse. Gloves come straight out once the dishes are done and we are on our way again.



We arrived in camp while there was plenty of daylight left (easily done this far south). Tonight is a bushcamp in the middle of nowhere. There is a lake in the distance and some sort of butte right next to us. Its pretty remote and we don’t expect to see any people anywhere nearby.



We got our tents set up and again we all seem to be in a couple of rows next to each other in an attempt to avoid all traces of wind. On the plus side it is nowhere near as windy tonight as it has been. Still dusty though and sweeping out our tent seems kind of pointless when there is an even thicker layer of sand and dust after you sweep it.



While setting up her tent, and immediately after pointing out to Joanna the sharp spines in the star bushes, Hannah managed to fall right back into a thorny star bush and had to have the spines pulled out of a very tender place…



Camp was set at the base of the unusual hill/butte/whatever you want to call it. Johnny, Hannah and I decided to climb it, so after I finished my duties with the cook group (but while dinner was still on the stove cooking) we headed up. It was really steep and took us a while to climb, especially as we had our drinks with us. The views from the top though were lovely. We stayed up there and watched the sunset before scrambling our way down again before it got too dark.



Our reward at the bottom though was a delicious dinner, as fortunately they had saved us some.



Tonight we were in good spirits and had a bit of a party on the truck. It has been hard work camping every night so far, but the reward is in the chance to get to know the group we are travelling with. In hotels, everyone is more inclined to do their own thing but when camping, especially bushcamping, everyone is thrown together and needs to pitch in.



I think possibly cook group 2 has managed to gain a slight reputation for being a bit boisterous…







Tuesday 3^rd December (Odyssey Day 25)



A few sore heads this morning meant a fairly quiet drive in to the town of Perito Moreno. We did however manage to arrive around lunch time. In fact, we actually had our lunch at the campsite for a change. Then of course there was a free afternoon.



The camp here has a kitchen/common room, which we promptly made ourselves at home in. There are also heated shower rooms which got mixed response. It’s nice to be warm, but not if you can’t turn it down a bit….



It is much warmer today though. There is a lot of wind overnight though still warmer.



I managed a productive afternoon of doing my laundry and cleaning the truck, so tomorrow I can just enjoy the town.

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Photos

Laguna Azul
AJ at the crater lake

Laguna Azul
Hannah being a penguin

Laguna Azul
Setting up the camp

Bushcamp
Lined up in a row

Bushcamp
View of camp from part way up the hill

Bushcamp
Johnny & Hannah at the top of the hill

Bushcamp
View from the top

Bushcamp
Another view from the top

Bushcamp
Steve, Maddie, Emma, Mike, AJ, Simon. The members of cook group 2, slightly blurred

Bushcamp
AJ enjoying a well earned meal