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Published: April 1st 2007
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Beagle Channel Lighthouse
The classic lighthouse shot. Cheesy but it had to be done. I don't think this is actually the southernmost lighthouse, there is one further south, but it is the famous one. STEALING A PENGUIN
Goodness me, where was I! The last you knew I'd gone off to steal a penguin and so much seems to have happened since then. The boat trip was GREAT! But unfortunately there was a slight slip up. We were booked onto the wrong trip. There was a coach trip to penguin island where you could get off and walk but on our boat trip we were just taken very very very close to the island. But, to be honest, I think I prefer our trip as we got to see so much more. The boat took us down Beagle Channel through stunning scenery. This is the channel that most of the trips to Antarctica set out from with the famous lighthouse. We passed the island with this lighthouse and also loads of other islands teaming with wildlife which we would have missed on the coach trip. One islands was covered in comorants that looked very like penguins from a distance (I got prematurely excited!!) Other islands were home to sea lions and fur seals.
The boat got really really close to the islands, without disturbing the animals. So you were able to take great
Drunken debauchery
Emma, Carly, Nomes and Charlie in the cool lakeside bar in Ushuaia. Just trying to add some more faces to names. photos and generally just observe them. The sea lions were forever climbing over each other, especially when they came out of the water. This led to inevitable bickering, especially if two males, with their big manes, ever encountered each other. The males are lucky ones, presiding over harems of up to 20 females or something!! What was great about being in the boat is that we also got to see the sea lions and fur seals swimming and some of the sea lions even came to play in our wake.
We knew that we were getting close to penguin island when we saw penguins in the water!!! This was a hyper moment for Gemma! The boat was a catamaran with a special viewing deck that pull up right next to the beach. So there I was faced by hundreds of Magallanes and Gentou penguins pottering about. The Gentous were definitely my favourites with their stockier frames and lighter plumage. They just seemed to have more character too! Some of my favourite moments included:
Seeing them swimming around the boat at high speed turning amazing corners and playing with each other in the water.
Watching some Gentous potter down
Windswept
Myself, the Argentinian flag and the coast of Ushuaia with the mountains behind. This was from the back of the boat that took us to meet the penguins!! to the water, dip their toes in and take quite a while to decide if they fancied getting wet.
One particular Gentou who sat in one position the whole time we were there - he was just looking over the proceedings.
When a bird of prey landed amongst them and they all started running away - hysterically funny watching them run and then great when some of the penguins stuck up for themselves and turned on the bird.
Two kissing penguins!
One little chap falling down the bank after coming out of his nest.
Oh, and also saw an albatross!
INTRODUCTION TO HIKING
The day after all the penguin excitement some of us headed out for a hike in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. We took a path to Cerro Guanaco that was listed as steep but we had been told by a guy in the hostel that it wasn't that bad. He lied!!! It was uphill, and some more uphill and then scrabbling up scree. My gang of girls (Emma, Carly and Claire) gave up at the peat bog, more because they wanted to do some stuff in town but I soldiered
Pengiun lookalikes
Comorants perched on their nesting rock. These guys can be mistaken for penguins from a distant and so caused a bit of premature excitement for Gemma! on and got to the top with Ray, Liz, Sam, Robyn and Amelia. The views were amazing even if it was VERY cold due to the wind. Yeah, in case anyone thinks I have been sunning myself recently since we reached Puerto Madryn it has been pretty chilly (even though it is the end of summer in Patagonia) although here in El Calafate it is a bit more spring like.
INTERESTING ROUGH CAMP
It was strange having a full truck again on the drive up from Ushuaia up towards Torres del Paine. It meant there was no more spreading out on the truck, which is why I think everyone was a bit ratty by the time we reached the stunning national park that was the aim of our journey. But we did have an interesting rough camp along the way. One of the problems with Patagonia is that the winds here are CRAZY I have never experienced anything like it in my life. We would call it a gale back in the UK but they are pretty much constant. We hence needed to find somewhere vaguely sheltered for our rough camp but there was a sheer lack of
Seal rush hour
We passed several islands such us this one which were heaped with seal lions. Many had to clamber over each other to get in and out of the water, which inevitably led to fights. trees or shrubby in the wilderness. So we stopped at a refugio for other travellers/truck drivers. It basically consisted of a hut with two rooms and a stove and then a separate toiled (whole in the ground with a hut over it). We were glad of this hut toilet though as peeing in those winds is a tricky business!!! So whilst some of the couples camped and a few people slept on the truck about 16 of us stuff ourselves like sardines into the hut with our roll mats and sleeping bags. It was very cosy and I got the best spot - next to the stove. The wind was still eery though as it whistled through the tin roof and the whole hut shook.
TORRES DEL PAINE
After another border crossing back into Chile and another ferry crossing to get off Tierra del Fuego we were in Torres del Paine. This is an area of Chile with a stunning mountain range in the middle of it. I then made the crazy decision to embark on a 4 day hike, some of which involved carrying my clothes, food, sleeping bag and roll mat! We got a ferry across
Snore
What a lazy bunch!! Lago Pehoe to the first refugio (a hostel with camp site where hikers can stay). That day we walked up to and back from Glaciar Grey which involved stunning views and windy passages. So in this first day we did 22km! Carly and I shared a tent at Refugio Paine Grande and managed to sleep despite the wind!
The next day we had to carry our packs over rolling terrain around a lake to get to Campamento Italiano where we dumped the packs before scaling the French Valley. This was a very steep hike but the views of mini glaciars, thundering rivers, waterfalls, avalanches, looking back over Lago Nordenskjold and the bowl of mountains at the top was well worth it. We then had to come back down and carry our packs a further 5.5km to our next refugio. So that was 24km on the second day, about 13km with packs.
The third day was a leisurely 11km (but with packs) to get round to the last refugio where we would commence the Towers walk the next day. The wet weather gear (including waterproof trousers, oh yeah!) was needed as we did get a bit of rain on
A seal lion argument
"Don't step on my flipper again!" the third day, but I quite enjoyed plodding along in it - reminded me of walks on the Yorkshire dales! The towers (hence torres) are large granite slabs towering into the air which provide an amazing backdrop after struggling up the very steep and windy hike. Sadly on our final day the weather properly descended and so we didn't get to go up to the towers as it was a bit dangerous and we wouldn't have been able to seem them anyway. So I haven't completed the W walk properly (the name of this self-enforced trial) but I loved every minute anyway.
WHAT'S NEXT
We only had a half day drive up from Torres del Paine to get to El Calafate, back in Argentina. What with all these border crossings I'm doing at the moment my passport pages are rapidly filling up with colourful stamps. But as with all passport controls they seem to sometimes like to randomly stamp them on a completely empty page in the middle! My stamp from "The End of the World" (Ushuaia) is a bit like that too. El Calafate is a lovely little town that has sprung up mainly to support the
Harem
A male seal lion with his harem of women! tourist industry for the Morreno Glaciar. The houses are all a bit haphazard and of completely different styles, a bit like Ushuaia, which gives it loads of character. Off out all day tomorrow to see the Morreno for myself, brrrrrr. Must go and fill my belly. Apologies for now more photo updates. This computer doesn't recognise my camera so I think I may have to do a big catch up sess once I'm in Santiago. I can't believe how soon that is and that will almost be half way through my trip, ahhhhh! Until next time xxxx
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The intrepid explorer returns
What is that i see coming over the horizon? isit a well worn goat , is it a Penguin with its feathers moulting , is it a ....No it cant be .. they are always tidy and imaculate , but YES, I dont believe it IT IS,.... a Gemster !!!!!!! I've never seen one this far south before Welcome back Gemster