Buenos Aires, Argentina

I managed to make it through the 40 hour bus ride from El Calafate to Buenos Aires without too difficulty, and arrived early Sunday morning to the 'Paris of South America'. For starters, while not hot, BA is a lot warmer than where I have come from which is a great start. I stayed in the San Telmo district, an old neighbourhood with old buildings, cobblestone streets and lots of broken glass. A short walk to La Boca (home of the Boca Jrs football club) and Puerto Madero (a new upmarket waterfront area) and an easy subway ride to Palermo (home of the rich) it was an ideal location to check out the city.

I spent most of my time wandering the busy streets, going to museums, gardens, planetariums and finally finding some cafe coffee that wasn't Nescafe Instant served in a cup.

There are plenty of parks to be found and most areas have museums and other interesting places so it has been easy to keep busy. I'm making the most of my days, although my fellow travellers stick to a more nocturnal cycle, their 'days' don't end until 7 AM in the morning when they come home from clubs.



And the night life? Anyone who knows me well could tell you that going to hip-hop / RnB / dance clubs etc isn't really my idea of a good night, but there is some fun to be had regardless. If I stayed longer I'm sure I could find something to suit my tastes, but to be honest the night life of Buenos Aires hasn't really captured me. I think with a close group of friends it would be a lot more fun, one of the downsides to travelling solo...

With the days getting cooler I am continuing my journey further north along the west coast of the continent. Next stop Uruguay.

More photos here

Perito Moreno glacier, El Calafate, Argentina

I left Puerto Natales in Chile and made my way to the Argentinian city of El Calafate. A small town with only one real draw-card, but it is a good one. The 34km long, 250 km² glacier Perito Moreno. The next day I set off on the 'Big-Ice' trek. I arrived to overcast dreary skies but the sight of the enormous glacier was astounding! The ice-bridge that occasionally forms when the ice advances to the shores had recently collapsed, the remnants of the natural destruction was still visible.

After spending an hour walking around the boarwalk overlooking the glacier, I took a small boat and crossed Lago Argentino to the far shore. From there it was a one hour walk along the north face of the glacier until we came to a spot where we could access the ice.

Once again it was time to 'crampon up', I wish I could wear those things everywhere! We walked for the next four hours on the glacer while the sun came out from the clouds and brought out the amazing colours of the ice.

We stopped for lunch on the glacier in between navigating watery crevasses and small icy caves. At times it felt like being in a watery desert, the shape of the glacier resembling sand dunes in certain places.

All good things have to come to an end, and late in the afternoon we returned to the shore to catch the boat back to the awaiting bus. Sitting on the open top-deck admiring the last view of the glacier one last surprise was in store. Unknowing to me, a glass of whisky was included in the price! I had spent the day with an Irishman who couldn't drink(!) so I was lucky enough to have a double, chilled with a hefty chunk of glacial ice.... Pretty much a perfect day!

More photos here

Torres del Paine national park

From Puerto Natales I decided to do a five-day, four-night hike (the W-trek) through Torres del Paine national park. Everything we needed for the next five days was carried in on our backs (except for drinking water, that came directly from the many streams). No electronics save a watch and a flashlight, a great chance of pace. I travelled with a swiss guy (Joris) I met on the ferry from Puerto Montt, we decided to share cooking and camping equipment and team up for the trek.

Day 1.
We got a lift with some friends to the national park entrance early morning. We were treated to an amazing sunrise over the steppes and mountain ranges, things were definitely off to a good start. We hiked in overcast skies but it was a warm trek to the first camp site (approx 9 kms). We set up camp only to find the tent we rented was barely long enough for me to lie down in, and only by the smallest margin were we both able to lie side by side.... Nevertheless we then hiked up to the first lookout, the world famous Torres del Paine. Absolutely incredible.... The weather was turning worse but we still got an amazing view to the three towers (with circling Condors) and the aquamarine lake at the base. We met with two travellers from the Navimag ferry at the summit, they shared their wine, cheese and fresh fruit with us(the benefits of paying a lot of money for a guide and a day trip), we were very grateful. We made it back down to the camp site in the afternoon with the skies getting darker.

It was the last time on the hike I would have dry feet.

Day 2.
We awoke in pouring rain to a thouroughly wet camp site. We made the most of breakfast before packing our tent and heading to the next campsite. After an hour of walking in the howling wind and pouring rain through muddy trails and gushing streams I was thouroughly wet. At some point in the 22km trek to the next camp site I lost the use of my fingers due to the cold, it took some hours of massaging and warmth before I could straigthen my little fingers again. Still, even with the bad weather we made good time (mostly keeping on the move to stop from freezing) and we arrived at the camp site with the skies slightly clearing. We set our tent with as much protection as possible and had an early night, hoping for drier days to come.

Day 3.
It rained again overnight and as a result our tent leaked from above and below, now our sleeping bags, backpacks and clothes were damp. Deciding to make to most of it we a hot breakfast and trekked 10kms to the French Valley, a spectacular stretch of trail surrounded by towering mountains, ice fields and through autumnal forrests. An amazing place, we stopped at the final lookout feeling insignificant but in awe. At this stage it started raining again, with occasional sleet so we returned to camp. It was Mark's birthday (one of two North Carolinians we met camping) so we cracked our only bottle of cheap red wine to mark the occasion. Served at room temperature (roughly 9 degrees) it was a nice end to a great day.

Day 4.
Awaking to sunshine but cold weather we began the 24km trip to the next camp site. This section took us through areas of the park devastated by recent bushfires, past gorgeous lakes and through rocky valleys lashed with immense winds. Several times gusts of wind would stop me dead in my tracks, unable to walk onwards. The lakes were whipped into a chop and we spotted the occasional chunk of ice that had broken free from the glacier upstream. After the last grueling 4 km hike through undulating valleys we arrived to our final camp site early in the afternoon. Only a few hundred metres away was the lookout to the Grey Glacier. The sun was shining as we jumped the barrier and walked down the rock face for a closer view. I´m at a loss for words to describe what we saw. Sitting on the rocks in the driving wind but finally with some sun in our faces we sat and watched the glacier, so many shades of blue and patterns, with an amazing mountain range in the background. It was an incredibly vindicating sight after so many hours walking through wind and rain, it was worth every step.

Day 5.
Awoke to more rain, we set off in darkness to the rendevous point to catch the ferry and bus up back to Puerto Natales. The streams were flowing more due to the amount of water recieved in the night, and with the low visibility it made for some interesting crossings, but we made it back with an hour to spare, cold and wet. It was an incredible few days, even with the foul weather I experienced some amazing sights, and wouldn´t hesitate to reccomend it to anyone who is up for a challenge.

The less said about the state of my feet, the smell of my shoes and my clothes in general the better....

A lot more photos here

Navimag Ferry

The day finally arrived in Puerto Montt for me to board the Navimag ferry to Puerto Natales. It was an overcast, miserable day, not the sort of weather I was hoping for on a four day, three night cruise.

It was rainy, overcast and windy at times but we were quite lucky to have decent weather for most of the trip. Even the 12 hour stretch of open water in the Pacific Ocean didn't seem as rough as the 3-5m wave predicitions would warrant. I still took a sea-sickness tablet but felt no ill effects, others weren't so lucky...

It was a pleasant trip with several documentaries shown and lectures given about the native flora and fauna, and even a bingo tournament on the final night!

I was a bit dissapointed by the trip, I expected to sail through valleys of snow and icy fjords. Only once did we spot a glacier, far in the distance, whereas the halls of the ferry were decked with photos of the Navimag sailing through spectacular icy vistas. It was the same with the animals, a few whales were seen in the far distance, even rarer were penguins, dolphins and sea-lions.

Still, I'm now in Patagonia, time to do some hiking....

More photos here

Bariloche, Argentina. Pt 2

Taking things easy in Bariloche. I am staying in a great hostel and have met some nice people. I went out a few nights, did some more trekking and relaxing. Next stop, the Navimag ferry to Patagonia!

More photos here

Barioloche, Argentina. Pt 1

Needing a change of pace I crossed the border into Argentina and stopped at Bariloche. A medium sized town on the banks of lake Nahuel Haupi, it offers plenty of outdoor activies to offset the dozens of chocolate shops in town.

Feeling the need to get outdoors, I set off on a 8 hour trek through Parque Nacioal Nahuel Haupi. Starting at Lago Gutierrez, the first few hours took me through forrests, past lakes, all with the Patagonian Andes in the background. It is hard to tire of views like those...

Gradually the path steepend as I ascended to the site of Refugio Frey. Situated next to a small lake high in the mountains, the view from the huts are breathtaking! One of several refugios in the area, I am definitely regretting not bringing any camping gear with me. Maybe next time.

After lunch with a view, I continued on to the second part of the trek. The path dissapeared as I scrambled up and over rocks and boulders for the next several hours. Eventually the path returned as I came to Cerro Catedral, a ski resort during winter months. Scrambling down the winding dirt roads wasn't the greatest way to end a hike of such beauty but I finally arrived at the bottom very dusty but content.

More photos here