Trekking, camping and interesting food in Fitzroy
Felt rather tired after our marathon hike yesterday - fortunately only had to get up in time to check out at 10am, so had luxury of staying in bed til 8am!! We decided to change our itinerary and go back to El Calafate a day early, with the hope of seeing the Upsala Glacier, so we then spent a very non-productive hour or so in the local internet shop/travel agent trying to find a hostel for the extra night, plus also attempting to book our Glacier cruise in advance. The chap in there was very slow and inefficient, so eventually we gave up and went back to Condor de Los Andes, where Noelia was much more helpful and started calling round to find us a place. Whilst she did that, we went off to the local chocolateria for a well-earned mocha and alfador. It was soooo good - i wanted to bring the whole place back with me to New York!
So by time got back to hostel, everything was all sorted out for hostel, except no-one would take an advance reservation for the glacier cruise (a tad crazy) so still no guarantee we were going to be able to do that. We´ll see when we get to El Calafate. Then off to camping rental shop to hire our tent and sleeping mat (plus trekking poles for me) and finally set off around 2pm after much faffing about!!
Unfortunately weather was much crappier than day before (realised just how lucky we´d been on our ice trek!) - colder and windier with a bit of rain (and snow later!) thrown in for good measure. We took it really easy for the 2.5hr hike up to Camp Poincenot - Sam´s knees were still buggered plus the general exhaustion from the day before meant we were both a bit low on energy. The route wasnt too bad, although it was a steady uphill climb for the first hour, although the path was relatively flat and even, which made it much more manageable. Needless to say, i stil managed to trip and stub my toes on average once every 7 mins. Think must be getting fitter cos even though backpack was heavier with all our stuff in, felt a lot easier to carry. Either that or my body has moulded to the shape of my backpack!
Saw a very cool, ENORMOUS Magellanic woodpecker on way up, as we walked through the woods. Was really going for it and making a complete racket - the poor tree didnt stand a chance and chunks of bark were flying everywhere!
Took us an hour to get to the first marked scenic lookout at Mirador Laguna Capri, then another 1.5hrs to get to the campsite. It was situated in a grove of trees, on a bluff just up from the river which offered some degree of shelter from the biting Patagonian wind. We quickly set up camp (2man tent with a porch!) and rigged up a rathy nifty Camelbak irrigation system in the nearest tree. Saw a couple of enormous eagle-type birds who were making a very tidy living scavenging off scraps of food they´d picked out of peoples´ rubbish bags. Alas Mount Fitzroy was STILL in cloud, so we crossed our fingers and hoped it would clear up before our trek in the morning.

Supper-time and, i think, our most...err... interesting flavour combo yet. Not sure what we were thinking when we picked up bolognese sauce for our spaghetti plus then a couple of tins of tuna. Mixing it all together it completely looked like cat food - as my Spanish is non-existent, i may well have been in the petfood aisle without realising it, but there weren´t any pictures of cats on the tins of tuna, so i think we were probably OK. At least it was hot, though - by this stage it was starting to get rather cold, so Sam did the washing up, we tidied our stuff away and got ready to retire into the tents for the evening. Our washroom facilities at the campsite consisted solely of an absolutely MINGING latrine - i guess all part of the experience, but it was so grim that if i´dve dropped my passport in there, i would rather go queue for days at the embssy to get a replacement than try and retrieve it! Continuing my clumsy theme, I´d actually tripped over a piece of wood (in beautiful slow-motion!) on the way to the latrine and landed full force onto my right knee, grazing it badly. Well done, me. I think i´d probably trip over a grain of sand on a beach.
Managed to make it back to tent without further incident, did a couple of crosswords then hunkered down in sleeping bag to go to sleep.

Ice, Ice Baby… the magnificent 30km roundtrip to Glacier Torre
Condor de los Andes is a great hostel – rooms v plain and simple, but beds comfy & plenty of hot water for showers! Noelia had been very helpful and booked our Ice Trek for us, so it was another early start (are you sure we’re on holiday?!) and up at 6am. Breakfast had been laid out for us downstairs, so after tea and bread and jam, we made our way to Casa de Guias where we were to meet our guide for the day. Our guide was this wiry chap called Andreas who seemed to have the smallest bottom I’d ever seen. How on earth his arse was big enough to adequately connect his legs with his body, it’s a mystery of physiology. Anyway, after signing all the relevant disclaimers promising not to sue if we fell off the glaciers and died, we were given crampons, a harness and lunch. Met up with the rest of our group, 3 guys – 2 Polish tax accountants Thom and Jan, plus an American guy called Darren. They were all great fun so it was a lively group!

We all set off from the Casa at about half seven – didn’t really know what to expect, only that it was a long day and we’d be back around 7pm (should have given us a clue really!) Basically the day’s itinerary was to walk out of El Chalten, along the route to Laguna Torre, via the Mirador Laguna Torres, then along the river bed for a while before reaching the point where we had to cross the river (this took about 3hrs). From here, it wasn’t possible to go any further unless you were either a professional climber or you were with a guide on an organized trek. Here we were instructed to put our harnesses on (wedgy alert!) and Andreas showed us how the river crossing via rope bridge was done. Basically, clip yourself and your harness onto the rope, ease out from the side letting the harness take your weight, and then pull yourself along with your hands, making sure you keep them behind your head, so as not to mash them in the pulley as you go. Obviously Andreas with The Tiny Arse made it look incredibly easy (I think he’d done it once or twice before) and, at first, it didn’t seem so bad – until you got to the saggy middle bit where your arms starting burning and you started wondering how much further it was to have to haul yourself to the other side! An equally prominent thought was in wishing you’d lost that extra 10lbs before coming on holiday! I was the 2nd to go and I made it OK –I don’t think I’d win any prizes for the most elegant rope-crossing style but I only managed to jam the pulley with my gloves twice and didnt lose any fingers, so all in all, it was a successful first for me!

Anyway, took about 10mins for everyone to cross – from here, we were basically at Laguna Torres and it was time to get serious in our approach to the glacier for the main business of ice-trekking. What this entailed was an absolute lung-buster of a climb up over the side of the mountain for about an hour, before an equally precarious and lengthy scramble down the glacial scree on the other side. Got to the bottom and our legs were burning and knees felt like jelly, but we’d made it and were at the leading (ablative) edge of the glacier. Here we were instructed to put our crampons on (yet another personal first) and instructed how to walk in them. If you ever happen to find yourself in an unexpected crampon-wearing situation, here’s all you need to know to look like a pro:

5 Golden Rules for a Successful Crampon Experience:
Rule 1: Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart at all times. This stops you from puncturing your own feet with 2in long metal spikes. Unfortunately, this golden rule doesn’t stop you from being a clumsy arse and inadvertently treading on your boyfriend’s feet when going in for a quick kiss. Not recommended for fostering happy and long-lasting relationships.
Rule 2: Don’t forget you’re wearing crampons (see Rule 1)
Rule 3: Don’t run, jump or attempt to hurdle in crampons. Stumbling and twisting ones' ankle when crossing a rather deep crevasse is also generally considered a fairly bad idea.
Rule 4: Keep all 10 spikes in the ice at all times – even if it means having to bend your ankles somewhat when walking uphill sideways (see Rule 3).
Rule 5: When going downhill, keep your feet facing forwards, bend at the knees a little and head straight down. Trust in your spikes and pray that your ankles hold up.

Time to hit the wall - of ice!
Now we were all black-belt crampon experts, it was time to head out further onto the glacier – we were walking on the bit that’s known as the ablation zone (where it all the chunks fall off) vs the accumulation zone where it forms (it all made me want to go and buy a geography text book to go read up on glaciers!). We were just hoping that the little bit we were clumping around on was relatively stable and not going to collapse on us! After about an hour of exploring, marveling and crapping ourselves at the deep Prussian-blue cracks, crevasses and potholes in equal measure, it was time to stop for lunch. Andreas found us a safe spot where we hunkered down and destroyed our empanadas in record time (Jan earning the nickname of Empanada Monster) whilst he disappeared off for a while at the top of this steep wall of ice. Hmm. After about 20mins, it became clear this was where we were all going to have a go at ice-wall climbing. Wussing-out was not an option and, again, Andreas showed us first how it was done. Easy!! Stick your ice-axes in, your front spikes, keep your bum in and off you go. Yeah, right. Again, I was the second to go – fortunately, we were all clipped into safety ropes and had a bright orange helmet on (Darren looked like a matchstick) so we weren’t in any real danger but even still, I was somewhat nervous. After getting off to a cracking start where I had the thought “Wow – I’m a natural at this ice-climbing malarkey – result!”, it all went a bit pear-shaped for me about halfway up where I started getting tired and finding a suitable foothold for my spikes seemed to get harder and harder. My arse was also being extremely disobedient and sticking out lots, throwing off my centre of gravity, but after much effort and even more swearing, I made it to the top!! Whoo-hooo!!! Getting down was a piece of cake – simply leant back into the harness and abseiled down as Andreas controlled the rope. Sam went after me – he had a shakier start than me but then got into it, except his shoes were rather bendy, so he had trouble with his footspikes and consequently hauled himself up primarily with his hands!! But he also made it to the top and safely got back down again, so well done to the both of us!!

The long, long walk home
After we’d all had a go, we were all pretty knackered so just wandered round the ice a bit more before the absolute bitch of a climb back up the hill from hell. I swear it doubled in length whilst we were on the ice. Then the equally tortuous descent – in some places it was so steep, there were ropes along the side of the “path” to cling to, to stop you falling off the sides of the mountain (I was very glad i'd be telling my Mum about this particular bit of the trip after I'd got safely home!) After about 2hrs and an infinity of this, we eventually got down to the bottom and walked back to the rope bridge for our crossing back over the river. My body mass seemed to have tripled since the morning (I blame those empanadas) as the arms gave out about halfway across and I hauled myself rather pathetically across the river, Sam being the diamond BF and giving me a hand to drag me in on the other side! Fortunately we could all then take off our harnesses (no more comments from the boys about budgie-smuggling) and then start the long, long walk back to El Chalten. I think I must have been sleepwalking in the morning, cos the hike back seemed to take absolutely bloody ages. I think Andreas was eager to get back to town cos we walked at a fairly brisk pace for about 4hrs, with only a couple of very brief stops to take a breather and a drink (plus an insect for Sam). I lost the will to live several times along the way back - the only way I could make it was to keep lying to myself by saying “just another half hour, just another half hour”. But after a staggering 30kms round-trip and 11hrs, we finally made it back into El Chalten, just after 6.30pm. We dropped the kit back off at the Casa and all staggered to the nearest beerhouse, which was conveniently located next door. There the boys demolished several large pints of microbrew whilst I did my bit for Queen and country with some well-deserved Malbec. After a couple of hours, we said our goodbyes, headed back to the hostel for supper before collapsing into bed utterly, utterly exhausted but feeling very pleased (if somewhat incredulous!) with ourselves! A very challenging day, but extremely satisfying and a great accomplishment!

Weds 14th Nov - Transfer-tastic!
Up at 7am for breakfast, finished last bits of packing ready for the off. Found out our Blackberry's had both been going off at 6.30am every morning, since we'd been away, probably waking up the entire hostel! Oops! Walked out to bus station around 8am where we were to catch our bus back to El Calafate. Sam bumped into his mate Jason from Reuters and his wife, so compared itineraries for 10mins whilst i got the bags loaded onto the bus (!). Then basically we spent the whole day on the bus - which, given the collective knackered state of our legs and knees, was probably a very good thing!! The first 5hrs was spent driving back to El Calafate, where then - in a perfect storm of organization skills - we left our backpacks at the bus station, found a laundry service to do our washing for us whilst we sat and ate steaks in Rick's and slowly got toasted in the 3hr interval between buses! As there are no ATMs in El Chalten, we worked out how much cash we'd need and got out sufficient pesos at the nearest bank, before moving on to a coffee shop to wait out the last hour or so before picking up our laundry and hoofing it to the bus station. The lady who'd done our laundry had been rather enthusiastic to say the least with the fabric softener, so we yomped up the hill to the bus station accompanied by voluminous clouds of heavy Lenor-esque perfume!Then plonked our arses back on the bus for another 4hr journey to El Chalten - this bus had a rather interesting collection of cracks on the windscreen which, of course, Sam proceeded to take pictures of and through!
After about 2hrs, we stopped at the Patagonian equivalent of Little Chef - a small huddle of buildings in the middle of nowhere, but which served wicked empanadas and also fantastic fried dough dessert-type pastries. Mmmm!!! So, we finally arrived in El Chalten around 10pm - as per sod's law, our bus initially stopped right near our hostel but - as we had bags - wouldn't let us off until we reached the bus station proper - a full 10min hike away! The hostel was absolutely great - we had our own double room with bathroom (luxury!) and they had also sorted our ice trek for the next day. An early start at 7am, so we decided just to call it a night ready for the off tomorrow!

Saving the best til last at Las Torres

Today was an unbelievably amazing day, one that i will remember for a very long time to come. So, we got up very early, 6am, so that we would have plenty of time for our final walk in TdP without any time pressures (a la Glacier Grey!) - a big hike up to Las Torres lookout. This is one of the highlights of the whole park, so Sam and I were really looking forward to it (although i have to confess i was a little worried in case i wasnt fit enough!). We fired up the burners and made hot milk and cereal for breakfast illicitly on the grass outside the refugio - also tried a little pants cooking too, as my knickers had failed to dry overnight (rendering the claim of "dry almost instantly" absolute bollocks!). Alas, instead of nice, warm, dry undies, my attempt at accelerating the evaporation process merely resulted in melting said knickers. I obviously took a photo so i could send to the makers to complain - I can just imagine the discussions at HQ when they get that in. Perhaps it will lead to a revision of the packaging labelling (a la McDonalds caution "careful - this coffee is HOT!) and it will read "Careful - pants may melt if heated in a pan on top of a burner".

So, with slightly crispier knickers than intended, we set off on our big long hike. I'm actually too completely knackered to really write very much except to say it really was one of the highlights of the trip so far and we were just incredibly lucky with the weather. I'll let the pictures do the talking on this one, but it was simply stunning. A real privilege to have seen such beauty and a huge sense of achievement in actually physically getting there.

Taking it slightly easier today....
So, after yesterday's exertions and stressful hike, we decided to take it slightly easier today with a gentle stroll along the bottom bit of the W. Had a disturbed night's sleep last night as the man in the bunk bed across the room from mine snored unbelievably loudly!! I thought Sam could snore for England, but this bloke was an Olympic champion snorer!! Obviously Sam was completely oblivious to the whole thing and slept right through it, so - what with my leg and limited sleep - i was a bit low on energy, so very glad we weren't attempting anything too strenuous! Also, the weather was really crappy - and we had all sorts of weather too!! During our hike, we had a bit of sun, snow, rain, hail, snow, wind - all in the space of a few minutes. So, we set off fairly early, around 9am, and unfortunately the mountain was shrouded in thick cloud, so Sam was very pissed off cos he wasnt going to be able to take any decent pics. Mood didnt improve much as we didnt see a huge amount of interesting wildlife either - a few little birds, which were very cute flitting from tree to tree, but no sign of the condor from yesterday that we didnt have time to stop and photograph.
Had lunch of steaming hot chicken soup and bread rolls sitting under a tree, which helped shield us from the rain. As it seemed to work yesterday, we made an offering of chocolate to the God of Rain - soon after, it brightened up and stopped raining! Spooky...... The brightening weather lifted our spirits somewhat, so we continued walking along the bottom of the W til about half 12, before deciding to turn around and head back to the refugio. Got back at about 3pm and then spent a fun hour or so stalking this enormous white male goose or cauquen. Managed to get really close, so got some great pictures - at least something to make up for the disappointment of not seeing the condor again. Whilst trying to get a decent pic of a hawk, we ran into some Brit army guys and got chatting to them about their experiences in Torres del Paine. They were doing the whole El Circuito trek - some parts sounded very hairy indeed, especially the bits around Campamento Paso where you had to use rope pulleys and all sorts as the path was so steep and narrow!
After we'd exhausted ourselves chasing wildlife, we then repaired to the bar for a drink whilst we waited for the catamaran. Drinking in the afternoon after strenuous exercise - a winning combination for instant somnolence! Managed to stay awake long enough to stagger to the jetty to catch the catamaran back across Lago Pehoe to Refugio Pudeto, then a minibus transfer to Refugio Las Torres, for our second night's stay. This place was a lot more basic (and a lot more what i originally expected!) but it was still fine. The lights didnt seem to work very well (or at all, really!), so i was very glad i had my headtorch! Came in very handy when going to have a shower later on!
For some bizarre reason, we werent allowed to cook at the refugio, so we had dinner at the posher Hosteria Las Torres, of which our Refugio was a separate annex. Although ridiculously expensive at $17 each (!), dinner was good - lentil soup, followed by turkey & mash, then a creme caramelly type pud (accompanied, of course, by the ever present bottle of Malbec). After dinner, just headed back to the Refugio for a long, hot shower (fortunately there was plenty of water), before collapsing into bed, ready for our early start tomorrow.

Phase 2 Initiated! - We're on our way to Torres del Paine!
So, after a disturbed nights sleep (there was a noisy disco right next door into the wee small hours!), we got up at half 6, scarfed a quick breakfast of tea and plenty of homemade bread & jam, before leaving our extra stuff behind and heading for the bus station for our 7.30am pick-up. Was a bit of a hike, so we saw a bit of Puerto Natales - really a very bleak-looking place. All the buildings are built very low into the ground as if even they are huddling for warmth against the bitterly cold wind blowing in off the waters of Last Hope Sound. God only knows how cold this place gets in the depth of winter!!

Got on our bus and slumbered for the next 3hr ride. Funnily enough, Sam met one of his colleagues from Reuters at the bus stop who was doing an opposite loop round Patagonia! Very small world!! Talking to Sam, he was saying how funny it is in that, after you've been travelling for a while, you start to see some of the same faces, as other folk are working on a similar itinerary and route to yours! Is good, though, to chat to fok and try and pick up some tips for where you're going next. We travelled through some absolutely stunning scenery and the immensity of the place started to dawn on you, as in every direction you looked, nothing but bleak, barren landscape. Miles and miles on end, as far as the eye could see. You really were in the middle of absolutely nowhere, totally away from civilization - and it was fantastic! Puts you in a very reflective mood, just gazing out across the endless horizon.

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine
Our bus entered the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine through the guarderia at Laguna Amarga, where we had to pay an entrance fee and also fill out a form stating where we were going to be in the park. Guess they have to try and keep track of the numbers of hikers doing the W or Circuto Grande somehow. Covering 242,242 ha and 145km northwest of P.Natales, this Chilean national park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Taking its name from the Tehuelche word Paine, meaning "blue" (not pain, as i originally thought!), the park encompasses some spectacular scenery with constantly changing panoramas of peaks, glaciers and icebergs, vividly coloured lakes of turquoise, ultramarine and grey, and quiet green valleys filled with wild flowers. In the centre of the park is one of hte most impressive mountain areas on earth, a granite massif from which rise oddly shaped peaks of over 2,600m, known as the Torres (towers) and Cuernos (horns) of Paine. The highest is Cerro Paine Grande - and this is where we'd decided to start our exploration of this awe-inspiring park.

Laguna Amarga, guanacos and yet another bump on the head
After entering the park (and passing lots of guanacos that Sam couldn't get a decent picture of!), the bus carried on round to Refugio Pudeto, where we got off to transfer to a boat to take us across Lake Pehoe to our accommodation at Refugio Grande Paine. It had just started to rain as we were waiting to get on the catamaran, so we all gratefully piled in. A bloke at the front stacked all our rucksacks into a huge pile of kit and then we had an unexpected bonus of a freebie hot drink - the crew had carted in several big flasks of hot water and proceeded to serve us with our choice of drink once we'd got underway. I had a hot chocolate, which was absolutely delicious whilst Sam went for a mocha. Managed to burn my throat, which was about par for the course, swiftly followed by another classic - absolutely thwacking my head on the ceiling of the boat as i was getting up to leave! Only minutes before, I'd peed myself laughing at some other unfortunate sod who'd done the same thing - oh, how karma comes back to bite you in the arse!! Definitely made the Sarah's Top Ten Clumsiest Moments shortlist...

A Race against time to Glacier Grey!
So after about 45mins, we arrived at Refugio Paine Grande which was to be our home for the evening. As my first refugio, i wasnt sure what to expect but it was actually far nicer than i anticipated!! It had a restaurant, a bar (yey!), a shop as well as the dorm rooms so pretty much like a hotel, except you slept 6 to a room! The bunk beds were pretty comfy - i bagged the top one! Anyway, by the time we got to the refugio, checked in, unpacked and then repacked our bags for our trek, it was about 1.30pm. But eager to start exploring, we set off for our first hike - a 3.5hr trek to Glacier Grey. 3.5hrs?? Yeah - right!!! But more on that later....

Anyway, set off for what was graded as a medium difficulty trek and 11kms distance. We felt confident of being able to complete the trek and back by nightfall, which was around 10.15pm. The first part of the trek was through the valley around the base of C. Paine Grande and Glacier del Frances, so it was a pretty easy walk, before any serious climbing! The views were absolutely stunning but the weather was unbelievably changeable!! One minute it was sun, then rain, then hail, then sun, then snow, then sun again!! Was very grateful for my multiple layers - soon became a dab hand at layering and delayering, as the conditions dictated!! The going was variable - OK in some places, but then INSANE on steep hills or descents. What made it tricky (at least for me!) was the uneveness of the terrain and how rocky some parts were underfoot - and yes, i tripped more times than i can count. I was very very grateful i had my trekking poles! Kept an eye out for condors and interesting wildlife but didnt really see all that much.

After about 2hrs, we decided to stop for lunch - today's gourmet menu was packet rice and mushrooms, followed by a nice cup of tea and chocolate and alfajors. Sam, in his infinite wisdom, picked me a cooking spot based entirely on its great views (rather than any attempt at practicality) - basically halfway up the side of the mountain, exposed to the relentless wind but with a great view of the glacier!! It was probably one of the craziest places i've ever cooked in but it was kinda fun too, in a "I cant believe i'm doing this" way. The wind was so relentless (with sand and dirt getting everywhere!) that we'd tried an offering of dried chicken soup to the God of Wind to mollify what was obviously an angry diety. It actually worked! Well, for a few minutes at least - enough to allow us to finish our rice, pack up and get moving again without getting blown off the side of the mountain.

It's all going pear-shaped....
From here on in, things took a bit of a turn for the worse. Lunch had taken us slightly over an hour, so by the time we got going again, we were rather behind schedule and i was starting to worry about the time. But, to add to my stress, shortly after setting off, i stumbled somehow and managed to badly pull a muscle in my left thigh. It was absolute agony and i was absolutely furious with myself - to hurt myself on the first sodding day of trekking??!!! No frigging way!! So, i just gritted my teeth, leant on my trekking poles a little harder and just carried on. My anger helped carry me through but at one stage i did burst into tears of frustration - Sam was very sympathetic and said that we could turn back if i didnt feel up to it, but by this stage there was NO WAY i was turning back - not after having come so far already. The last part of the walk just seemed to go on forever - by this stage we'd been walking for at least 4hrs, so when we came across some trekkers on their way back and we asked them how much further it was, i could have cried when they replied that it was about another hour! In my head, i kept telling myself that it was only another 15mins, only another 15mins...... until it actually was only another 15mins ... and then we were there! I'm not sure i appreciated the full spectacle as, by this stage, my leg was really really sore and i was incredibly worried about the time, and my ability to be able to manage the trek back. It was 6.45pm and we'd only just arrived!!! So, after all that effort, we only spent about 30mins at the actual glacier before heading back for the mad dash home. We even didnt have time to stop and take pictures of the condor which flew incredibly low over our heads - every minute was critical, as neither of us were carrying torches (lesson learnt there!) and being stuck out there after nightfall was something neither of us wanted to experience. So, by an absolutely mammoth effort, we just stuck our heads down and hiked our hearts out, going as fast as we could, with few breaks, just concentrating on moving forward and trying to ignoring the deepening gloom that was creeping in around us. As an incentive, we'd set ourselves the target of trying to get back in time for the pico sour happy hour - which ended at 10pm. God knows how we did it, but we managed to get back and beat nightfall by 15minutes! We were the last trekkers in for the day and got a round of sympathetic applause from another group of weary hikers who were upstairs in the bar and who spotted us through the window as we trudged wearily in. Never was a free pico sour or subsequent glass of Malbec more well earned than that one. We managed to make the return hike in under 3hrs - a significant achievement! After scoffing as many free bowls of nuts that they would give us and finishing our wine, we dragged our stinking, exhausted bodies off to our respective sleeping bags to collapse into a dead sleep!

Glacier Watch - Part Two: Perito Moreno.
Managed to hire this absolute bucket of a car right at the end of yesterday (Patagonia seems to be where all the little white cars come to die), so we were up early and away to squeeze in a trip to Perito Moreno glacier before our bus journey to Puerto Natales. I think this car was probably the most rickety, wretched thing i'd ever driven - i think the mud was pretty much holding it together, the door lock bits came off in your hands, the wing mirror was smashed and needless to say power-steering was non-existent! It was just so crap, i was actually quite fond of it, in a root-for-the-underdog kind of way.

So pretty easy and straightforward drive to P.Moreno glacier - its situated in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, some 85km from El Calafate. This is the second-largest national park in Argentina, extending along the Chilean border for over 170km; almost half of it is covered by ice fields from which 13 glaciers descend into 2 great lakes: Lago Argentino in the southeast and Lago Viedma to the northeast. After driving through what was to become known as Condor Alley, then along the shoreline of Lago Argentino on the Peninsula Magallanes, we reached the car park (not yet quite stuffed full of tourist buses) where we parked up and began the descent down a series of wooden walkways (pasarelas) to see the glacier slightly from above and then, as we got lower, head-on. It was just a truly unforgettable sight - an immense expanse of ice, with deep crevices and folds shaped by the wind and time. You just stood, open-mouthed, watching in awe, listening to the huge roars of the ice moving and cracking, and waiting with baited breath for the next big chunk to go crashing into the icy waters below. I had the camcorder running, as well as taking pics, but singularly failed to capture anything exciting! Caught one little chunklet falling off - sounded far more impressive than it looked!! After 2hrs of patiently waiting, though, our patience was rewarded when this large hunk of ice along a bottom bit of the glacier fell away with a mighty crash! Huzzah! Unfortunately, by this stage, the camcorder had run out of juice and film, but we managed to get a couple of pics!

Condor Alley - much better than Sesame Street!
Defrosted with a cup of tea in the cafe before heading back out for more condor-spotting in Condor Alley, on Ruta 40 towards El Calafate. Also spotted loads of geese called cauquen and some big eagles called caracara.

Phase 2 initiated! On the road to Torres del Paine!
So, back in town by 3pm where we did some food shopping at La Anonima supermarket for the next stage of our trip, before returning to collect and repack our bags at Glacier Libertador hostel and returned the car. Took a taxi to the bus station as had loads of heavy bags and bought our tickets for the El Chalten leg of our journey, just to be on the safe side and have that sorted in advance. Got on bus at 5.30pm, ready for our 5hr journey down through to Chile (whoo-hoo! I get to tick off another country!) and to Torres del Paine. We'd bought supplies for the bus journey and suddenly realised, as we approached the Argentinian/Chilean border that most of the stuff we'd bought to eat on the bus, we wouldnt be able to take across, as no dairy products or fruit was allowed. Thus commenced a rather heroic effort at rapid cheese sandwich and yoghurt consumption to save it all having to go straight in the bin! The border crossing wasn't too bad - first through Argentinian one, then entry into Chile. Fortunately I'd kept the bit of paper i'd been given at BA airport - a couple of girls ahead of us in the queue didnt have theirs and were stuck for ages!

Casa Cecilia
Finally arrived in Puerto Natales 5hrs later, at 10.30pm and walked from the bus drop off point, across a plaza to our hostel, Casa Cecilia. Was a great place and they had sorted out all our TDP arrangements for us, including the nights at the refugios, plus the bus transfer tickets. We went and got some Chilean pesos and Sam also went to find petrol for our camping stove (almost freezing to death in his flip-flops and shorts on the way to the garage!) before having to repack the bags (again!) to take just the stuff we needed for TdP and stowing the rest in Casa Cecilia. Finally collapsed into bed, knackered, at just gone midnight, ready for yet another early start in the morning!

CATS AND DOGS IN BARILOCHE
Flying down to El Calafate this afternoon, so bit of a hanging about kind of day. Is absolutely peeing down with rain, so we're somewhat limited as to what we can do. I think that a trip to the chocolate museum and factory is absolutely called for, given the weather and all, but Sam has yet to be convinced. Fortunately i have the car keys, so we may amazingly somehow end up there..... :-)

TRULY MINTY GLACIERS

So, Day 2 in Bariloche - Sam woke up with a v sore throat and the inklings of a cold, poor love. Goes to show what nasty things await those who take 3 wks off work to go gallavanting around South America....

After yesterday's adventure of the Circuito Chico, we opted to go off the beaten path a little and head towards the glacier of Mount Tronador instead of the more regular touristy route of driving the Circuito Grande. Picked up the car from the supervised car park at 9am and headed out of Bariloche. Got to the park at around 11am (after numerous photo op stops!) and figured we'd be easily there and back to the glacier in a couple of hours, if that! Hmm. Our little white rental VW Polo wasn't really your classic off-roading touring vehicle, so it took us about 3hrs on unpaved, bumpy and generally liability insurance-defying "roads" to make it to the closest point of the glacier. Was absolutely worth the arduous drive, though, as the glacier was absolutely spectacular. Just after we arrived, a big chunk fell off (which i managed to capture in a sequence of perfectly blurred photos), so then began a game of cat and mouse between us, the glacier and my handheld JVC camcorder as we tried to capture the next big chunkfall on video. After about half an hour of sitting around, mentally willing the glacier to release a few bits just for fun, we gave up and carted our frozen bottoms back to the car, safe in the knowledge that the microsecond we'd drive away, a huge piece would go spectularly crashing to the valley below.

Anyway, drove back with reckless disregard for the car's suspension, taking lots of pics of duck-type things on the way (subsequently learned they were Southern Lapwings - noisy buggers!). Were also loads of condors and other various birds of prey - none of which, unfortunately, conveniently hung about long enough for me to (invariably) change the lens on my camera and take a decent picture! Got back to the hostel in Bariloche around 7.30pm, after a quick shopping stop in Carrefour. Yet another kick-ass steak (got the hang of the griddle thing this time) and some nifty photo-editing before hitting the sack! Tomorrow, we catch our flight to El Calafate for the next part of our Patagonian adventure!!

BARILOCHE - DAY 1

OK - so after a very easy transfer from BA to Bariloche today, day took a major bollocks turn as i found out that ALL MY SODDING MONEY had been stolen from my checked luggage. Bugger, bugger, bugger. $900 down the pan. Tried to console myself with the thought that it could have been much worse - at least they didnt nick the Dairy Milk. Or my green card. Poor old Sam was trying to cheer me up, but it was a bit of a relentless task for an hour or so, so i took out my frustration by swearing profusely at the crap drivers in Bariloche. Felt much better after a while and after some lunch - the scenery was so stunning, it was hard to remain down for very long. So, in the afternoon, we took the Circuito Chico route around Bariloche and Lago Nahuel Huapi. Wow. It was absolutely stunning. The drive was about 40kms round trip and went round the lake via Llao Llao - the Hotel Llao Llao is very famous (another one on the 1000 Places List!) so of course we stopped for plenty of photo-ops and the obligatory hot chocolate! On the way back, we managed to find our way down to the lake's edge for some more pics before heading back to the hostel (via the supermercado) for a supper of steak and frites (plus lots of comforting Dairy Milk for me). Also checked out the local Malbec for $3 a bottle (yes - there's a common theme here!) - yummy! The views from the hostel are absolutely gorgeous - Sam took this photo at sunset and it really does look like that!! (check out his website for more from today!). Anyway, that's all for today - more tomorrow!

ANGELS AND COLONS:

So, after a slow start this morning (think i was suffering the combined after effects of too much cow and Malbec), headed out of the hotel at around midday to continue my exploration of the vibrant and exciting BA! Had no real game plan other than to visit the cemetary (including a visit, of course, to Eva Peron's tomb) and to see Teatro Colon (and try not to snigger at the name). It was another gorgeous day, blue skies and plenty of sunshine - the perfect backdrop for pictures. So the cementerio de la Recoleta was absolutely stunning - if a little spooky, when you peered into the tombs and saw the massive coffins lying in there. Most of them also had stairs leading to further crypts downstairs, which made me wonder about the etiquette of burial. Do you get your stint upstairs first if you're the latest family member to shuffle off this mortal coil before being moved downstairs when a more recent departee arrives? Just a thought i pondered as i wandered round. Evita's tomb was actually pretty modest compared to some of the rest of them, some of which were probably bigger than my Manhattan apartment. Ah well! So, after a very interesting hour or so, made my way out of the cemetary towards Teatro Colon. Unfortunately it was covered in lots of scaffolding, so i couldnt get that close or even take a decent pic. Never mind - at least i can say i saw it and tick it off my "1000 Place to See before You Die" list!!

Random comment of the day - the Argentinians sure know how to queue! Perfectly orderly lines at bus stops and banks. Very heart-warming for a Brit to see and to know we are not the only nation in the world that takes a perverse pride in queueing! Also rather randomly, on my way to the cemetary, i passed this school where the kid's uniforms consisted of white lab coats! V. bizarre - looked like a school full of little Einsteins and scientists in training!!

Anyway, off for dinner now - i'm going to try and underachieve in the cow-eating stakes tonight (no pun intended) - maybe Italian, instead?! Up bright and early for our flight to Bariloche and the official start of Patagonia 2007.

HOW TO EAT YOUR ENTIRE BODY WEIGHT IN COW - Part One
Its easy. Simply proceed to Restaurant Las Lilas down by the docks in downtown BA and innocently order the Club Steak Las Lilas. See your fellow diners eyes widen in amazement and disbelief as this gargantuan behemoth slab of cow is brought to your table and placed with a thud before you. God knows how much it weighed, but it was a full foot and a half long and six inches wide - honestly, the biggest steak i have EVER seen in my life. Fortunately it was also extremely tasty (and, no - i didnt eat it all!) but i really dont think i´ll need to eat again for another day or so!!!

AT LARGE IN BUENOS AIRES!!

Am finally here and this place really rocks!! Journey was uneventful - no delays and my luggage arrived in the same city as i did, on the same day, so that pretty much makes it a success as far as Delta is concerned. Flight between Atlanta and BA was rather bumpy, but fortunately a good Malbec helped ease the anxiety somewhat. Sam had arrived in BA on Sunday afternoon and had sent me all the details of how to take the bus, so i decided to be brave and go for it, rather than just jump in a cab. Was dead easy - only cost $35 pesos (about $15usd) and the coach had v luxurious seats that reclined way back and had me nodding off again v quickly!! Got off in central BA after about half an hour for the transfer point to the hotel. Got a bit random at this stage as people were farmed off to normal, clapped out old cars which looked like they were driven by your Granddad! Anyway, finally got to hotel and its in a fantastic location, right in the centre of town opposite this gorgeous plaza. After a bath and a quick power snooze, headed out to explore. Was an absolutely beautiful afternoon - warm and sunny and perfect for simply strolling around and soaking up the atmosphere. I didnt realise BA was just soooo amazing for shops - honestly, to die for leather and fur jackets! I stopped off at a cafe for late lunch and a coffee which almost took the top of my head off, before continuing my aimless wandering. Had one of those great moments, when came across these tango'ing street performers - my first tango in BA!!! They were great, although i think the bloke was at least 70, but they rocked it!

On Your Marks...Get Set......GO!!!

So after months and months of planning and careful preparation, Patagonia is almost here!! Whoo-hooo!! Sam is already out in Rio, so i'm flying out to join him in Buenos Aires tomorrow courtesy of the finest service that Delta Economy can offer. I've been packed for weeks already (highly unusual for me, as i'm usually still chucking stuff in a case as the car is pulling up to take me to the airport!) and think i've done a stellar job in condensing 3 weeks of gear into just one backpack and a daypack, including all my camera kit and tripod. Unfortunately its so bloody heavy i cant actually lift the thing, let along cart it across the Patagonian wilderness on a 5hr hike, but i'm sure i'll figure something out!!

First stop on our hols is a couple of days in Buenos Aires, whilst Sam is still working (ha ha!) before our first internal flight to Bariloche, supposedly the St Moritz of Argentina. Apparently also reputed to be famous for its hot chocolate and cheesy fondues - sounds an awful place....