In Patagonia: Trekking and Drinking

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Hey gang


sorry its been so long we´ve just been incredibly busy in the last month and more.

Firstly we got a boat from some random place in Uruguay down soem winding tributuries (thats my 5th attempt atspelling that word and i nkowits still along way of) witha few wooden shacks dotted around, then got near argentina and shacks were replaced by fishing lodges and rich kids on speed boats then we actually got into argentina to soem horrible resorty place but got a non underground tube to central Buenos Aires. Where we found a hostel which you walk into and you´re at a bar so inevitably you buy a drink and then you hear smooth familiar voice to turn round and see Tony, the guy from Salta, greeting us in his sensual manner and so we knew we were in for a good. A few hours later with a bunch of possibly only englsih people we were out in downtown BA, pretending to be trendy porteñosand then we went to some noghtclub solely tickest were dirt cheap, at first we thought it a grave mistake as they kicked of with a dazzling amount of bad RnB and then broke into some sick inducing cheese but eventually the djs changed or got some common sense and blasted out some belting electroy stuff for about 7 hours. So we left when it was light and as some nutters were queing to go in the club, and went and tried to sleep but somehow they had closed the 24lane road that happens to pass right through the middle of BA and past our hotel and were ahving a pro governement demonstration, its good they are passionate andall but im not sure why you need to have parades for the peopel in power. Anyway so we went for walk to see what was going on and they whipped out some slasa but the drumming was bit much so we went to the Casa Rosa where Evita hung out and lingered behind a private tour of some rich americans to listen on iall the history. i thinkthe enxt few days passed fairly unremarkebly as wehad to replace stolen cameras, rucksacks, trousers jumpers you name we´ve lost it. But there was always the hostels 24hr bar complete with raving racist kiwis to keep us entertained. So then one night we went for the most incredible steak you can imagine it was rougly the dimensoins of your stantard orange brick but was a hell of a lot softer, could carve through it like air and there was a nice juicy red centre and slight crisp on the endge and about 20little sides of olives and potato salad and alsorts definately didnt need it but i wwas a damn good touch.
And then we actually got on the touristy stuff, not that that restaurant wasnt touristy in fact we had to queue there were so many there but you get champagne and chorizo while you wait so whos moaning really and we had a restaurnt manager with us so ali got to have a chat about proper cocktalis not just explaing the difference between dry and dirty martinis for the umpteenth time, still cant remember except one has an olive. So we went to the most amazing graveyard, sounds a bit odd but i could happily live in some of those things when im alvie let alone dead, becuase there rich and religious they build little houses and then stick shrines and stuff inside and but massive statues on the outside, everyone crowds round evitas but its one of the most uninspiring. We also went to some japanese gardens but they were really boring and not very japanese looking, us being experts, expcept for the cool multi coloured carp liek fish mincing about. And thenw e spent another day at a museum whcih was a mixed bag but a hell of alot better than anything in Rio, and saw some painted bears which are meant to be about world peace but some countries i think uganda was the main culprit just sued some as adverts for the country britain´s no suprise to say was incredibly unispiring, so much so that its more likely to inspire violence than peace.
So after all the cities and traffic and such we got a really nice bus complete with aeroplane style food to Puerto Madryn. From here we hired a car picked up a couple of straglers, a guatemalan, our first, and a swiss, our 600th, and drove off to peninsula valdes where we saw a sea lion colony, where we hoped to see some Orca sail in and eat some but apparently the weather wasnt right for them, some people in UShuaia should video footage of Orcas they had seen most upsetting but ohwell then there were penguins which were standing on a beach not doing alot except looking funny, and then we found some elphant seal s which are absolutely massive and a guy with a lense about the size of their trunks, it was painful and beautiful all at the same time. then the next day we rinsed it to Punta Tombo where there were loads and loads of Maggallenic Penguins all mingling about right next to the path and standing on the beaches and jumping in the water and generally doing funny penguin stuff. We didnt have enough petrol to get the next station though sowe had to buy some off the park warden and almost cost a 1pound a litre but that morning we took the wrong road but got to see the red sunrise over the sea with a full moon shrouded in purple clouds on the other side. we then carried on south and got to somewhere where they told us where we wanted to go was awful so we went to another place because we thought it had a petrified forest but that was miles away so we just did lots of walking and rock climbing and neat spirirts drinking. From there we went all the way to Rio Gallegos and wanted to carry straight on to Ushuaia but the last bus of the day was just leaving, at 8.30 in the morningwhats that all about, so we had to spend a day in aplace whose name pretty much sums it up, i think the highlight was getting to go to a massive carfour but even that was dissapointing because the only french thing they have is dannette, obviously that was a good find however. Sow e managed to get out of there for Ushuaia, a 12hour bus journey which involved going into chile, getting a boat to Tierra Del Fuego driving through more really flat, grassy windy places going back into Argentina, finding a toucan in a motorway service station; i´d liek to take a few moments to point out the problems with this. . 1. wellit was in a cage. 2. indoors 3. it had a window to the mens bathrooms. 4. We were about 20degrees south of the tropics, surely its natural habitat, so not only did it live in a cage in a service station it had been trasnported the length of a very long country to be put there. 5. you can´t set it free becuase of 4, cunning birdcatchers.
So once we got over this trees and mountains actually started appearning which was a relief because it kind of what you expect from patagonia and after a week or so of flatness and 30degress was getting somewhat disillushioned. So any in Ushuaia we got a taxi to the national park really early to bunk the entrance fee, went for a lot of walks along a beautiful lake and through a steep forest and then hitched back to our tent. We went on a hike up to a glaciar which involved some climbing and some climbing through trees and sliding down wet slopes, well our route did the path just involved walking. and we found some woodpeckers with funny red heads and sounded like sweep from Sooty. And we made a three day trek up a really steep canyon which involved some more ridiculous takes on your standard walking and almost didnt go forward for half an hour because of the wind. But at the end of itwas the most incredible lake with snow capped mountains behindand clear bluewater and really mental twisted trees, so we camped there and it started to snow. The following day was a bit more a gentle woodland santeer, the tress in this place are incredible by the way there normally all the same type as far as you can see but in these autumnal times they encompass every colour and shade from light greeen to dark red. So we camped by an incredible lake with snow capped mountains behind and clear bluewater and really mental twisted trees and then climbed up to apeak and could see dow loads of valleys and ushuaia, basically just look at the photos it will take too many words to describe it. And we did some other walks and got a reputation at the campsite for always drinking beer and mate, not together that would be awful, and adopted a cat because it lived on a small windowsill but when we got back Darwin was gone, i hope not frozen somewhere. We spent a night playing bingo and drinking rum in a sailors bar and lots of time searching fro passage to chile on a boat but a Soth Africana t our campiste gave us a 30minute rundown of why no one would be going there so why gave up on that idea found an American guy who kindly offered to take us out for a meal because we told him we were having scrambled egg (with three eggs between 2) so we went to an all you can bbq and ate laods of the amazing patagonian lamb and drank fruity mendozan reds so on the morrow we took a bus out of there and had to stuff down our bagguettes filled with all the egg we had left over at about 11 in the morning because chile are militant about anything living crossing there borders, probably good they dont do clothes samples, and had to flog some bananas on the bus, all the gringos bowed theres heads and looked away like it was madness but some local kid was more thanhappy to have em. and so we passed through immgration and drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.

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Photos

Recoletta Cemetario
Where the Dead Rich live

Sea Lions
Life in Puerto Madryn

Brave or Stupid
A Sea Lions quest for entertainment

Canadon de Oveja
The start of a phenominal walk in Tierra del Fuego

Picture Perfect
Our reward after 6 hours walking

End of the World
The result of a nights snow in Tierra del Fuego

Comments

[Dj Bob Hoskins Going Mental In a Dustbin]

Fanfuckingtabulous.