Leaving Latin America

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Howdy all. I've been getting reports that you´re enjoying fine sunny days back home in England. Perhaps this is the point in the trip where my good weather ends and you all head off into the summer. Boo hoo for me. I packed Phil off onto a plane last night so no deputies today - just me.

Deputy blogger Phil did a thoroughly comprehensive job in telling you about our time in Patagonia so there's not much more for me to say. I do, however, feel the need to tell you more about our time in the Torres del Paine National Park.

To start with, it´s hard to emphasise just how remote southern Patagonia is. Being a bit of a geography dumbo, I had no clue that I was at a more southerly latitude than New Zealand. I know I haven´t been keeping the stat fans filled with info recently so here´s one. Southern Patagonia takes up more than one-sixth of Chile´s land mass but contains less than 1% of its population. There is very little there. Some people might say why bother going then. My answer would be that the emptiness and desolation is precisely the reason to go. I've never been anywhere quite like it. Flat plains with very little vegetation because very little can survive the harsh climate down here. Trees grow at almost 45 degree angles because they are constantly fighting against the punishing wind. There was a definite beauty about it as we travelled by bus through the region. The sheer nothingness of it all also made you realise how crowded our little island back home really is.

One of Phil´s chief aims of visiting Patagonia was to visit the Torres del Paine National Park so I thought I´d better do some research in my guide book. I discovered it was one the world´s meccas for "extreme trekking". When I got to that part of the book, I made the same sort of gulping noise that Scooby Do makes when he head just heard the howl of a ghoul he is meant to be hunting. Shaggy would probably have said "zoinks" and dropped a big sandwich. You get the idea. To me, walking is OK. I like walking around places - it's the best way to see stuff. Trekking is a little more than walking. It usually involves some bright waterproof clothing, perhaps something more than a pair or trainers and jeans. So what is extreme trekking? I was about to find out.

I read the safety section of the guide book that promised drastic changes in weather with little warning. The booked advised taking a hat and gloves. So, I found myself leaving the lodge at 8.30am on what was promised to be "one of the easiest treks in the park". And I didn´t have a hat or gloves. Phil was dressed like Chris Bonnington and Edmund Hilary. There´s that gulp again. An hour into the trek, I was beginning to question whether the authors of my guide book had mistranslated "easy trek" because what they should have been saying was "one of the hardest, steepest, slippery hills you´ll ever climb in your life". Probably. The first hour was almost all uphill, at times with a gradient more than one in one and there wasn´t another soul around. By the time we reached the top, I was a slobbering mess of sun cream, sweat and steamed up specs. I thought my lungs were going to explode. Where was my Bond-like cool? (PS - My attempts to try a Daniel Craig hairstyle are not succeeding. I will be visiting the barber again soon). My days of lounging around eating crisps and watching sport on TV had somehow not prepared me for this.

After a short rest, I was pleased to discover the rest of the extreme trek was less tough than the first hour. We sped on to our destination, a wonderful mountain lake. It was set against the park's truly magnificent mountain range and a clear blue sky. The promised extreme weather thankfully never arrived. A couple of times on the way back, we accidentally strayed from the path leading to some interesting detours across mountain streams. It´s always much further on the way back isn´t it? As we bundled down the hill that it had taken me an hour to climb, my body began to argue with me. I had enjoyed the trek but my body hadn´t. As we trooped back to the lodge, I realised we had been walking for 10 and a half hours. I know Phil put that in the blog last time but I don´t think he stressed it enough. That's TEN AND A HALF ENGLISH HOURS OF EXTREME TREKKING. There, that´s better.

After a couple more days lurking about in Patagonia, Phil and I booked ourselves onto a boat trip to see some glaciers. They were located in the Bernardo O´Higgins National Park. I´m still not sure who he is or why he thinks he´s Chilean with a name like that. It was a half day ride to reach the park and then a short walk to the main glacier. You used to be able to touch the glacier itself. Sadly, like all glaciers, it´s now melting at an alarming rate. There were huge chunks of ice floating away. The world was literally melting in front of me. These glaciers are not going to be around for ever and that´s quite a scary thought when you´ve seen one. On the way back, I spotted a polar bear floating around on a mint muttering something about not having worked since those Fox´s adverts in the early 80s. Or perhaps that last bit happened in my head - I was a bit tired by then.

I enjoyed my soujurn to Patagonia. I have no idea how the people who live there survive. Perhaps the answer is best summed up in a book Phil had. The author asked some locals why they continue to live in such a harsh environment. Their answer - "because it´s home".

We had a day back in Santiago before Phil had to leave. It was great to have some company for a couple of weeks and I wish him a good year ahead. For me, I have a couple more days to mooch around before I leave South America. It´s been a blast out here in Latin America. I´ve almost got used to speaking Spanish now. Part of me can´t quite believe that I have visited all these countries. It´s been dangerous at times, I´ve seen some amazing sights and you can never accuse this part of the world of being dull. But it´s also an enormous place and my few weeks here have only given me a taster, I´m sure.

There may not be a blog for a few weeks now. I suppose it´s like the series is taking a mid-season break. I´m heading to New Zealand next where I´ll be spending some time with my little (!) brother and his fiance for a while. I can´t wait to see them both and, if we get up to anything blogworthy, I´ll let you know. He has told me he is busy preparing our very own Playstation Olympics so I may spare you that. I´ll also try and sort out getting some photos onto this site for you to have a look at as some people have expressed an interest in seeing them. Normal blogging service will be resumed when I set off to journey around New Zealand. And there may be another special guest for that part of the trip.

So keep in touch and if anyone has any suggestions about stuff they would like to see me talk about on the blog, let me know.

Adios, amigos. Hasta luego.

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[Daddy K]

Joff spotted of the Cornish Coast
You may be wondering why Joff has been a little elusive in his bloging recently. At first we thought it was his entry into New Zealand, but following a short break in Cornwall I can reveal he is actually running “Hawkins Boatyard” along the Fowey Estuary. Over a pint and a prawn cocktail he gloated over the Tigers opening day victory over the Blue Sox, before setting sail in his 3ft dingy, masterly avoiding his hook on its side and swipeing my camera, so I have no photgraphic evidence.