Beaches, big branches and bubbles
So checked out of hotel fairly early this morning (which, in the end i was quite glad to as it was all a bit dark & depressingly Victorian in feel) and had an enormous cranberry almond muffin and coffee for breakfast, before driving out to the riding stables for my beach ride. Unfortunately all the private rides were already booked, so i had to go with a group of beginners (so no trotting or cantering) but it was still nice to be on horseback riding through the woods, then on the beach. Got chatting to one of the wranglers and pretty much heard his entire life story(which was very..er.. colourful!) during the ride, but that was fine - meeting new and interesting people is all part of the fun of travelling on your own!

After the ride, was time to drive back to West Sonoma spa. Instead of the coastal road, I chose to drive a more direct, inland route - glad i did, cos it was bloody long way and again took me longer than anticipated. Note to self - next time, check the distances more thoroughly and don't underestimate how long its going to take to get anywhere!! But it was actually a good choice in that it took me through some beautiful redwood forests again, with the road winding through ancient groves of the some of the most majestic trees i've ever seen. With golden shafts of sunlight occasionally piercing through the verdant cover, the light had this amazingly diffuse and soft quality that was quite ethereal and almost spiritual in feel. I parked up for a few moments during my drive so as to just sit for a while to soak up the atmosphere and reflect - it was a very moving experience that left a deep impression.

So, obviously the only way to follow that experience was with a good dollop of alcohol. And fortunately, I happened to be driving through one of the best places in the USA to go sample - Anderson and Sonoma Valley!! Alas, this is where the "travelling on your own is just as rewarding and fun" argument falls down somewhat - as it was just me driving, I was pretty limited in the number of vineyards and tasting houses I could visit. So, ever true to form, I picked the Roederer Estate - the West Coast outpost of the famous Louis Roederer champagne house. Oh my. I think i did well to leave with just a case of Rose champagne and a jereboam of NV house bubbles! Its going to be one enormous party when i crack that little puppy open!

Anyway, am now back in West Sonoma ready for final drive back to San Fran tmrw and flight back to NYC. Has been a good trip - poignant at times because i'm here on my own but, on the whole, a restorative one. Plenty of fresh air, more natural beauty than should be legal plus time and space for reflection. I'm glad I came and i'm also looking forward to going home and seeing what 2008 holds. Bring it on!!!

Mendocino Madness!
Had v weird, work-related dreams last night - very odd, very vivid and linked to the market development activities i'm leading for Fibromyalgia. Crikey. Think these few days off have come not a moment too soon! Woke up reasonably early cos room was roasting, so got up, had a freebie coffee in the lobby bar and agonised over how best to spend the day!! There is just soo much to do here - it would take weeks to do it all justice! Went for brekkie at a little coffee house and bakery, then a wander round town (none of the shops were open til half ten!) and discovered this fantastic gallery right next to the hotel, absolutely stuffed full of amazing stuff. Lots of beautiful wooden treasures plus these amazing cat sculptures made of wire. Ummed and aahed for a bit, but couldnt decide, so figured i'd mull it over and see how i felt by the end of the day! So, back to then planning the rest of my day and after fretting awhile and making several different itineraries in my head, i decided just to jump in the car and see where the day would lead me!
So, firstly led me to the Russian Gulch State Park - according to the guide book, there is a very cool blow hole there - buggered if i could find it!! But was still pretty spectacular with the beach plus this huge roadbridge spanning across the gulch (i remembered the white knuckle drive acroos it the previous day!). Got my feet soggy tramping across the beach in search of the perfect picture but it felt like an adventure all the same!


Then back in the car ready for the next place - ended up driving into Fort Bragg and, after a brief peek at finding myself heading through to Noyo Harbour. Went and had lunch at Captain Flint's overlooking the harbour - very yummy fish sandwich, chips and coleslaw! After lunch, had a quick wander around Fort Bragg and visited the tattoo museum. Was thinking of getting a tattoo, but bottled out (again!). Is only a matter of time, though! :-) Then, decided to visit Glass Beach where - as the name would suggest - is full of multicoloured glass fragments, worn smooth by the sea and time. You're not supposed to collect the glass but, seeing as everyone else was, i thought "bugger it" and ended up collecting some beautiful fragments of green and white glass. I'll figure out what to do with them when i get home!


By this stage, it was 4pm, so time to hightail it back to Mendocino to make it back to the gallery before it closed at 5pm. Kept thinking about my little wire cat, so i figure i probably really wanted it and so should go claim it for my own. Got very very tempted also by this beautiful salad bowl - a snip at a mere $410!! Fortunately a quick phone call to Rachel brought me to my senses, so i ended up just buying the cat and an equivalent wire mouse - a snip at a mere $550!! I did feel guilty about leaving the other wire cat behind - i bought the Dylan one but left Izzie behind!! If i can find somewhere to put him, i'm sure i'll be giving the gallery a call once i get home to ask them to send him along too!

So now sitting in the beautiful lobby bar of the Mendocino hotel writing this, and supping a glass of chilled Handley Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2005. Despite my moods going up and down more than i would like, at the moment, life feels pretty good. And, seeing as i'm only on my first glass of wine, i dont think its the drink talking (although the glasses here are noticeably bigger than the ones you get back in NYC!). Am going to check out another place for dinner tonight (called the MacHouse!) and then i'm off horse riding tomorrow, so am very much looking forward to that!

Day 2: Highway 1 beckons...

Ah.... slept soooo well last night and it was just perfect to wake up with the fireplace still flickering, casting dancing shadows across the room. Was another beautifully clear and sunny day - sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine as i ate my sesame noodles from the airport yesterday for breakfast! Packed up, checked out and set off for the Armstrong Woods Pack Station and a hike through the redwoods. Was advised by the hotelier not to shell out for the horseback ride but really to focus on the hiking instead. Was good advice as it was absolutely beautiful - i was the only person on the trail and it was just so peaceful, hiking through the woods. Is so important to me, to be able to get away and decompress from all the craziness of New York - just helps to set everything back into perspective and to appreciate just how lucky i am, despite all the little annoyances and stresses. At the top of the East Ridge Trail, just before i started back down the hillside, I sat on this little rustic wooden bench, closed my eyes and had a lovely moment of peace and contentment.

Walking back to the Visitor Centre, it was then time to continue my roadtrip along Highway 1 to Mendocino. Grabbed a quick lunch of (bad) Mexican before leaving Guerneville at around 2pm. Oh my God, the scenery was simply amazing. It was just unfortunate at times that i was driving because the temptation to gaze around at the just spectacular scenery was so strong! Needless to say, i did have numerous picture stops - so many so that i had to get tough with myself and say "no more stopping!", otherwise i'dve never have made it! As it was, it was already past sunset when i was driving through some of the areas right next to the beach - a real shame, cos i think they would be stunning, but maybe I'll see them in daylight on the way back down.

Finally got to Mendocino just after 6pm and checked into my hotel. Is right on the cliff front, overlooking the sea, and the waves just CRASH into the rocks and coastline below. It really is quite a spectacular sight. Was quite tired after the long drive, so decided to stay in the hotel for supper - was pretty busy but the food was OK. Is supposed to be a Zagat rated restaurant - had wild mushroom ravioli for starters followed by wild hen - again, was OK but i guess i' ve been spoiled by NYC restaurants! After dinner, decided to have a fairly early night, so in bed by 9pm.

Day 1 in San Fran!
Early start today! 8am flight from JFK so up by 5.30am - ouch! Even more ouch considering had only got back in from the UK just before midnight yesterday! But managed to drag myself out of bed and onto my jetBlue flight for the 6hr coast to coast trek. Landed in San Francisco at half 11, then picked up bags and headed, via Airtrain and shuttle, to the car rental place. The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS - beautifully clear and sunny day and WARM, WARM, WARM!!! 60 degrees! Drove north along Highway 101, through SF and before i knew it, found myself crossing the Golden Gate bridge! Very cool indeed - was singing "Unwritten" at the top of my voice and it felt gooooood!! Felt very happy and content with life - as it should be. Stopped and took a few pics at the lookout point - was v lucky as it was a completely clear day. I remember the last time i was in SF, the bridge was almost completely shrouded in cloud, so this was a real treat.

Then, back in the car to start the Pacific Coast Highway adventure proper as i dropped onto Highway 1. Very windy, twisty road taking me through some of the most stunning scenery anywhere - LOVE IT!! Drove for about half an hour before stopping in Muir Woods National Monument and my first experience of the Redwood forest. Just a short 1hr trail through the woods - very touristy but still stunning to see some of these amazing trees at close hand. Am going on another, less busy trail tomorrow, through the Armstrong Pack woods - according to the front desk guy, a very moving, almost spiritual experience.

After Muir Woods, time to continue drive up to Guerneville. Stopped for coffee and pizza at this fab little restaurant - got chatting to the owner who was telling me about his problems with his starter dough! A rather different work-related problem to the ones i face in the office! The drive - with multiple photo stops, despite Sam not being around any more - took longer than anticipated, so it was well after dark before i reached my hotel. Staying at the West Sonoma Inn and Spa and its excellent! Got an enormous suite, with real working fireplace, kitchen area, massive bed and really nicely done out. Well - after the crappy couple of weeks i've had, i bloody well deserve to treat myself!!

OK - time for bed now - can't wait for tomorrow's adventures!! Goodnight!

Doing what I do best!!

Whoo-hoo! Its travel time again! Off to the UK tomorrow for a 3 day business meeting, so am in the throes of laundry, tidying and packing. It'll be fun to go back to the UK and see some old friends and colleagues again. Staying down in Ashford in Kent, back down in the area where i used to live. Already got an order in from my Mum to buy some Cadbury's Easter eggs whilst i'm there!

Am also very excited about my trip when i get back from the UK. Its President's Day weekend here in the US on Mon 18th, so i'm taking the opportunity for a few well-deserved days off. I get back from the UK on Weds, then fly out to San Francisco first thing on Thurs. Am then renting a car for 4 days and exploring the Pacific Coast Highway, from SF to Mendocino. Its been on my mental travel Rolodex for a while, so i cant wait! Still working out my itinerary, but on the list is horse-riding through the redwoods of Armstrong State Reserve, whale watching in Point Arena and champagne tasting at the Roederer Estate. BRING IT ON!!

Rudolph? Is that you?
Ugh! After a great start to 2008, have been waylaid by an absolute stinker of a cold that arrived from nowhere and wiped me out within a day! Started sneezing on Thurs, was off sick from work wrapped under a duvet on my sofa on Friday, and coughing like a terminal TB patient by Saturday. Goes without saying that my nose looks like one of Santa's quadruped helpers but I think the copious amounts of Airborne, Sudafed, Vicks cough relief syrup and Chloraseptic spray seems to be dong the trick today, as i'm actually feeling much better and less like the living dead. My good friend Rachel came round yesterday on a mercy of mission with the aforementioned vitals plus chicken soup, so obviously a good healthy dose of Jewish penicillin has also done the trick! Just as well am feeling better as i'll actually have to leave the apartment today (havent been out for 2 days!) as i need to pop back to Sam's to de-fur his sofa (!) and remove any residual Dylan and Izzie traces before he gets back from his holiday today...

Hello 2008!!
First day back at work today after the Christmas holidays - it went sooo quickly! I'm looking forward to 2008 - 2007 was quite a challenging year for me, so i'm excited about whatever this year is going to bring! Have started as i mean to go on and am back working with Lacey twice a week and have also managed to get back on track with a healthy eating regime and have cut back on alcohol significantly, so hopefully 2008 will be the year i finally get back to my perfect weight! Bring it on!!

Final thoughts....
So now back in my apartment in Manhattan, finishing writing this, and reflecting on what was an absolutely amazing trip. It was an incredibly varied trip, with mountains, sea, steppe, glaciers and plains and wasn't always an easy one. Several times, i found the sheer physicality of some of the walks and climbs very challenging - both physically and mentally - but i made it and felt a real sense of achievement.

It was a privilege to be able to go away for 3 whole weeks - enough time to really leave the 9 to 5 behind and gain some fresh perspective and clarity. Not sure what i'll do with it, but I'm sure that will work itself out over time. The only question remaining now is ..... will i ever get the walking sock crinkles out of my legs??!!

The Sarah Clumsiness Index
So, dear reader, obviously if you made it through my blog of our Patagonian adventure, you'll have noticed that i have a tendency towards clumsiness. My prediliction for mishaps actually came as quite a surprise to me too, as i never realised i was quite so accident-prone! Anyway, just for Sam's amusement (so much for not laughing at the misfortune of others!), here's the Top Ten list of Patagonian mishaps and missteps:

10: Hitting my head on the overhead bin plus bashing my thigh on the seat armrest on the flight from Bariloche to El Calafate
9: Headbutting the lampshade in the Lizard Cafe in Puerto Madryn
8: Treading on Sam's feet whilst wearing crampons on Glaciar Torre
7: Pulling my leg muscle on the way to Glacier Grey
6: Falling over (and twisting my ankle) during the glacier walk on Glaciar Torre.
5: Walking into Sam's tripod at Punta Norte (even though i still blame Sam for this one!)
4: Twatting my head with my trekking poles as we dumped our stuff onto our bunks at Refugio Las Torres, right in front of the guy who was our host and had showed us to our rooms who then tried (not very successfully) not to wet himself laughing
3: Catching my foot on a branch lying on the ground, and going arse over tit whilst on my way for a last night time visit to the latrine at the Poincenot campsite; slammed into the ground and cut my knee, thus adding to the Triumvirate of Perfect Misery that i was due to suffer later during the Camping Night From Hell.
2: Almost knocking my teeth out with my trekking pole whilst trekking in Fitz Roy; it just got stuck in the step in front of me, which i didnt realise until my face slammed into it at full speed.
AND IN 1st PLACE: A full-on teeth rattling head twat on the ceiling of the catamaran across Lago Pehoe, minutes after having scornfully laughed at someone else who'd done exactly the same thing.

These, of course, were the edited highlights. Ones that didnt make the list include innumerable trippings over rocks, tree roots, branches, pebbles, my own feet, grains of sand, leaves, twigs, molecules of air and absolutely nothing at all. Also not included were the multiple finger burnings acquired during my active duty as camp chef plus injuries sustained during the descent of multiple bunkbeds of various heights. After the latest shin abrasion (resulting from a particularly evil bunkbed in El Calafate), i finally got smart and bagged the bottom bunk, leaving Sam to work out how to get down from the top, with no ladder, without sustaining personal injury.

The Sam Clumsiness Index
Feet slipped into river at Poicenot campsite whilst collecting water.

Strolling in Sunny San Telmo
Boo-hoo! Last day of holiday! Fortunately, was feeling much better this morning, so after a rather leisurely breakfast and check out (i love it - breakfast here in BA doesnt start til 9.30am - much more civilized than in El Calafate!), we headed out for a wander round San Telmo. Its like a cross between Soho and the East Village, i think - full of a gazillion little shops, most of them with enormous dusty chandeliers for sale, hanging in the windows. Sam managed to find the covered market, full of fascinating antique shops selling all manner of weird and wonderful old stuff - we found one stall which seemd to specialise in old telephones, of the type that had the proper round analogue dials and older, from when all calls used to have to be put through an exchange manually. We were both very very tempted as they were beautiful old pieces of engineering (apparently they were all in working order) but, in the end, the logistics of getting one back to New York won out, so we regretfully walked by. Went and had lunch in this fantastically dusty, atmospheric little cafe - Cafe G, right by a The walls were lined with cobwebby bottles and old coffee machines that looked as if they hadnt been touched for decades, and the wooden tables and floors also had this aged patina from years of use. After a "picata" lunch (mixed meats, cheese and bread) and coffee, we wandered around some more, enjoying the crisp sunshine, before reluctantly heading back to our hostel to collect our bags and catching a taxi to the airport.

Sam and I were on same TAM flight to Sao Paulo, before parting company - me on Delta and him on American, for the final leg back to NYC. From the window of the plane, coming in to land, the vastness of the sprawl of Sao Paulo was absolutely staggering - it looked chaotic even from 10,000 ft up!! It was equally chaotic in the airport too - long queues off the plane, through security before we were allowed to go and queue for our onward flight. Sam had bit of a scare cos he didnt get his boarding pass until moments before the flight was due to leave (not sure why) but he made it on board, as did I, for the long flight back to Manhattan and reality....

Phase 4: Complete. Phase 4b:i initiated!
Really sad our Patagonian adventure is drawing to a close but also profoundly grateful to have experienced such a fantastic place and to have seen so many awe-inspiring landscapes and natural beauty. Packed up and left P.Piramides mid-morning and drove back to Puerto Madryn where we stopped for lunch and banana milkshake at the Lizard cafe and had a wander round the shops and along the seafront. Then back in the car for the final leg of the journey back to Trelew airport (via some very straight roads!) where we returned to car to the lady from Budget (who probably wondered if we'd just directly shovelled several sacks of sand straight into it), checked in for our flight (which was on time) and then simply waited, rather despondently, for our flight back to the noise and bustle of Buenos Aires. I think both of us were in a fairly reflective kind of mood - the sheer expanse of nothingness and desolation of the Patagonian steppe allows your mind the freedom to wander and explore, unsnagged by distraction. I think both of us were wondering how jarring we would find it to be back in amongst all the commotion and the throngs of people.

Flight was uneventful and made it to Buenos Aires in plenty of time for Sam to retrieve his back from the Marriott before heading over to the hostel del Granados. Was a great place - right in the centre of San Telmo, where we had our own room (with a balcony) for only 90 pesos! Bargain! After we checked in, Sam took me to Cafe Tortoni, a very famous coffee house and tango place in BA - was fabulous, except unfortunately i wasn't feeling great (extremely bad back and stomach ache) which was a real shame. But am very glad i went - another one to cross off the 1000 Places list!! Despite being in the middle of Party Central in BA, we headed back to the hostel after Cafe Tortoni and had a quick supper in a place just down from the hostel before calling it a night and going to bed. Glad both of us had earplugs as the party carried on, outside our window, well into the morning!!

Fawlty towers, Patagonian style
Got up to discover there was no water in the motel, so Scottish showers for both of us this morning. Went and had breakfast in the roastingly hot glass conservatory dining room which, although very picturesque and looked out straight onto the beach, was absolutely baking and probably ensured both Sam and I smelled even riper than before! Was served breakfast of 3 tiny croissants by this old chap for who it seemed the highlight of his day was pouring the coffee into your cup, followed by the hot milk, French-brasserie stylie. He resisted all directions from Sam for just a touch of milk, as he was not to be denied his cofffee-milk mixing excitement. The other unique feature of the motel were the loos - absolute quality as, when you sat down, the door touched your knees and your feet poked out of the bottom of the door!!

After yesterday's storm, the weather was better than anticipated so we decided to go for it and take a whale-watching tour in the morning, whilst we could and before the weather got any worse. Was a very prescient decision as we ended up being on one of the very last tours to go out that day, and probably the one after too, due to the high winds and unmanageable seas. When the wind gets too high, they actually close the port down - we did feel quite sorry later on in the day for all the other visitors who arrived too late, and could do nothing but sit in their cars or buses, gloomily starily out of the window at the sea in disappointment.

Its Flipper and friends!
So, went out around 10am for our hour long excursion and, within 10mins of being on the water, one of the guides pointed excitedly alongside the boat - looked out over the side to see that we were being escorted by a dusky dolphin! Was my first time ever seeing a dolphin in the wild and i hadnt expected too, so i was absolutely delighted! Dolphin was joined by a few more, so at one point we had about 4 or 5 of them leaping and diving all around the boat! Absolute buggers to take pictures of, though - only managed to take one vaguely non-blurry shot! Boat was also bouncing up and down on the waves, big time, so it was a real challenge to get everything in sync, whilst not crushing your camera against the side of the boat and trying to keep it dry!!
After about another 10mins, we spotted the whale - a Southern Right whale mother and calf with an impressive load of barnacles on her snout! Got fairly close and again, it was a fantastic experience, although i already felt a seasoned whale watcher after our experience in Cape Cod earlier this year. Got one reasonable tail shot and then it was time to chug back into shore (clambered up into the crows nest lookout for some of the ride back - very wobbly indeed!), where we got towed out of the water by this rather nifty tractor. By this time the weather had really deteriorated and all the whale watching companies were packing up shop, so we were extremely lucky!

Flying Gloves and Tripods at Caleta Valdes
Before heading out for the afternoon's explorations, we checked in at Posado Piramides for the night (our room had about 15 beds, a kitchen and bathroom in it!), got Milanese sandwiches to go from Quimey (who had been inundated with a million schoolkids!), filled up the car with petrol, stocked up on anti-Sleepiness Coke and crisps and headed out of town. Sam initially directed me up this road which seemed to be almost entirely made out of sand, which made using the steering wheel a rather academic exercise before we rejoined the glorious ripio road system. We were heading first for Caleta Valdes, 45km south of Punta Norte in the middle of the eastern shore and which was reported to have huge colonies of elephant seals, which could be seen at close quarters. We were certainly hoping to be able to get a bit closer than the birds-eye view from the clifftops at Punta Delgada yesterday! When we got there, it was still very windy and high up on the cliffs, but we were able to see much better all the seals plus a number of Magellenic penguins, some very close indeed! Glad we had our tripods as the wind would have made it completely impossible to take good pics without, although I almost lost mine over the side of the cliff at one stage, as a particularly savage gust of wind sent it careening towards the edge!! Really did almost lose my hat and one glove, though, as we were packing to leave and the wind just whipped them out of the boot and sailing across the reserve. Fortunately they got snagged in a bush, giving Sam enough time to sprint across the penguin sanctuary, dive through the fence and retrieve them before they were lost for good! We were a lot more careful when opening the car doors and boot after that!! Also, saw this ENORMOUS Dutch mega-truck in the carpark - i thought it looked like a huge windowless fridge on wheels. Probably wouldnt have any issues with the ripio roads in that as the wheels were at least 6ft high! Wonder if i can get one from Budget?

Punta Norte and finally a sunset!
So, back in the car for our final drive to Punta Norte, which is at the northern end of the peninsula, about 97km from the park entrance. Not visited quite as often by the big tour companies, it also was said to have colonies of sea lions and Magellenic penguins plus also sightings of orcas, who come here to feed on the sea lion pups at high tide. We timed our day to arrive at around 5pm, high tide (we thought) and - although we did see what looked like a whale a couple hundred metres out from shore, we weren't lucky enough to see any orcas. It would have been an incredible sight, but i dont think it happens very frequently, so we couldnt be too disappointed really. We thawed out at the little P.Norte cafe with a nice cup of tea first before heading back home to P.Piramides. After 3 weeks of absolutely bugger all, we were FINALLY rewarded with a half decent sunset, so we stopped and took lots of pics on the way home. By this stage the wind was really blowing, so we were driving through a dust storm for most of the time - God knows how long its going to take to get the dust and sand out of everything!!! After some great sunset and guanaco pics, finally got back to town around 8.30pm - to find we had no electricity!! Started the day with no water, ended it with no power!! But in true hiker fashion, we simply stuck our headlamps on (set to "flashing mode" for maximum visibility and personal amusement) and headed out to La Estacion for supper instead. Was a great little place that was absolute stuffed full of people, so this nice Brit couple let us share their table. Food was fantastic - i had lemon sole in a lemon sauce whilst Sam had cod, with fries and salad, and washed down with a very nice Chablis! Went back to the hostel via the ATM - lights (and heating!) were still out so just dove quickly into bed to warm up - Sam didnt appreciate my attempts to use him as a hand-warmer!

Phase 4: Off on our Peninsula Valdes Adventure!
Slept pretty well - better than Sam who got bashed on the feet with a pair of shoes by the guy in the bunk opposite who was trying to stop him snoring! Obviously doesnt know the cardinal rule of hostel survival - always travel with earplugs.

So up early and left P.Madryn by 10am for the drive to Peninsula Valdes. We'd changed our itinerary and decided to stay in P.Valdes for the next couple of days, rather than original plan of staying in P.Madryn - good plan, as it happened, because the distances were longer than both of us anticipated!! Took about an hour and a half to get to P.Valdes and were lucky enough to get a room at Motel ACA. So dumped bags and went to get lunch down by the beach - Sam won the lunchtime challenge with an absolutely heroic Milanese sandwich!

Tyring to spot the sealions at Punta Delgado..
Then set off for Punta Delgada and more ripio road excitement. Took a couple of hours - had Turkey Vulture equivalent of Condor Alley, so of course multiple stops for photo-ops. Finally arrived at P.Delgado - and, to be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment. Were really high on the clifftops, looking down at the elephant seal and sea lion colony below, so were so far away it was almost impossible to take any really good pics. Added to the distance, it was incredibly windy (even more so than usual!) so we only stayed for about half an hour. Tried to have a nice cup of tea at Faro Punto Delgado but it was closed, so had to content ourselves with exploding alfajores instead.

Drove back to P.Piramides and chilled out in our lovely green motel room for a bit until this massive thunderstorm with lots of rain, lightening and scary clouds swept through town. So obviously we took this as our cue to fly around town with our tripods, taking HDRs of the glowering sky!! I think the locals (the few there were around in this most ghostlike of towns!) must have thought we were absolutely insane!! Finished off the day with an enormous pizza at La Posta, before waddling back to the motel to bed.

Penguin frenzy!!
Up bright and early to go back to Trelew airport and collect the car. On road heading towards Punto Tombo by 8.45am, so great start to the day! Had about an hour on normal roads, before my first real taste of "ripio" road driving - very basic gravel roads which provide an ..err.. interesting driving experience. More surfing at times, than driving, i think!! Another rather curious side-effect of ripio road driving is its ability to induce an almost instant somnolence in both driver and passenger. Dubbed the Sleepiness Index, it tended to kick in about 5km after setting off, and build to an almost irresistable eye-closing crescendo within minutes. The only known cure we discovered was leaping out of the car at regular intervals for wildlife photo-ops! ("Gaunacos!!")

After about another hour of such excitement, we finally arrived at P.Tombo - the largest colony of breeding Magellanic penguins in the world. It was absolutely amazing - there were penguins absolutely everywhere! There were no fences, only a trail which you were asked to keep to - and you quite literally were stumbling over penguins everywhere! Close?!! Wow. Sam almost got his head bitten off when he was lying down taking pics of this penguin - literally inches away from his face and camera! The highlight of the day (and i think a highlight, full stop) was being lucky enough to see a penguin actually hatch and emerge (very large pink foot first) from its shell, carefully tended by its penguin mum. It was just incredible and was a real privilege to be there and to watch.

Oh boyo! Tea and history in Gaiman
Spent about 3hrs there, taking pics and just enjoying how close we were able to get to these incredible animals, before it was time to head off and drive to Puerto Madryn where we were staying the night. Again, more high SI-driving on the ripio roads, before heading towards Gaiman, where we visited an authentic Welsh tea-shop (Ty Nain) for tea and cakes. Is the oldest surviving building in Gaimain, built in 1870 and still run by the descendants of the original pioneers. Was yummy - 6 or 7 different types of cake (including a very tasty lemon tart!) with bread and cheese plus 2 massive pots of tea! We rolled back in the car, very very full for the final leg to P.Madryn (did not help with the Sleepiness Index!). Were staying in Hostel Gaulicho - very cool place, good value and with free wireless internet. After checking in (unbelievably, in room 8 again!! For about the 5th time in a row!!) , went out for supper along the seafront (was getting flashbacks to Margate!) at a restaurant called Cacceros. After a little help deciphering the menu, Sam had the local specialty of Arroz con Marisco (an Argentinian version of paella) and i had some rather tasty black cod (yes - not steak!) before heading back to the hostel for a spot of photo-uploading, blogging and into our respective bunkbeds! I snagged the bottom one this time as i'd incurred a bunkbed descent injury on our last hostel visit - well, you try getting out of a top bunk with no ladder, first thing in the morning, without skinning your shins!!