Back to Puerto Varas, sun, icecream and a goat

23rd to 26th March
We disembarked from the Navimag at 8am on Friday morning and then had a 45minute bike ride northwards to Puerto Varas where we'd decided to spend a few rest days in a hostel before resuming our biking travels. We'd previously passed through the town just after Xmas on our way southwards and knew it was a nice lakeside town. There is less snow on volcano Osorno on the other side of the lake and it isn't as warm, but still a nice place to chill for few days. We have a few jobs to do, our bikes are desperately in need a clean especially after being tied to the deck of the Navimag for 4 days, still a bit of blog updating, the hostel have invited us to an 'asado' (BBQ) this afternoon, apparently involving a quarter of a goat! So hopefully we will be rested and ready to go again tomorrow.

Yet another boat trip...

19th to 23rd March

Yet again our journey through South America involved a boat trip. This time on the Navimag ferry, the Evangalist, from Puerto Natales northwards to Puerto Montt. We boarded the boat at 10pm on Monday after a meal with our friends from the trek in Torres del Paine, Max, Danielle, Simon and Ange. Max and Danielle were travelling northwards in a few days via El Calafate and El Chalten. Simon and Ange would be joining us on the ferry.

The Navimag ferry leaves once a week in either direction and initially was set up for cargo. They soon realised there is a lot of revenue in passenger transportation as well. At this time of year there was a definite 'odour de cow' as a lorry of cattle were being transported in the hold below, the smell getting stronger each day. The route is a well known journey through the Chilean fjords and channels. Travelling through beautiful scenery with the chance to see whales, seabirds and other wildlife. The journey was nice, but didn't quite live up to our expectations. Perhaps after the amazing scenery of the Antarctic and Torres del Paine we are just 'amazing sceneried out'. We felt that it was relatively expensive for what we got from the trip although it did include 4 nights accommodation and food. We did have a good time chatting to Simon and Ange and fellow Brits Lara and David and Allie as well as many others. We had some well deserved rest and were lucky enough to have a 4 bed cabin to ourselves. If there had been 4 of us in there I think that we'd have had cabin fever very quickly. The fjords were pretty, but for us at this stage of our travels just not amazing. What was amazing was the probable Blue whale sighting. We saw the spouting, the back and then more and more back, it was huge. Not really any other whale it could have been, definitely very very exciting.

Torres del Paine Circuit

11th to 18th March, Torres del Paine National Park

DAY 1

We had an early rise to get the bus to the park and the bus arrived during breakfast, so we quickly shoved our toast in our mouths, downed our coffee and left the comfort of the hostel behind. This journey was to take 2 1/2 hours with a 10 mins toilet stop. The bus was very comfy and I dosed whilst Sarah enjoyed the scenery. On route we spied a couple of cyclists, who at first made us feel just a little guilty, but on hitting the dirt road our regrets vanished. If we had been wearing dentures they would of been rattled out, it was so rough! This roughness finished when we arrived at the park reception, where we had to part with money (they charge you for everything over here). Once we had paid we boarded a shuttle bus (more money) which took us to the beginning of the circuit.

The bus stopped and dumped us at a sign which stated that we where at the start of the Circuit. Here we met Max and Danielle who also where walking the route. As we stood admiring the sign we realised it didn't really tell us which way to go so a small amount of head scratching was done before we headed in the right direction on the first leg of our 8 day jolly.

The weather was over cast and a little wet, but we made the day brighter with conversation and when the scenery obliged we stood and enjoyed the view. At one point Danielle spotted somewhere which looked like a lookout. So we dumped our packs and went to have a look. It gave pretty nice views into a small gorge which had been cut by a river, there where so interesting rock formations on the opposite bank and for a brief moment the sun came out. The removing of the packs gave perfect opportunity for a toilet break and it was whilst I was, doing well you know what, I spied a 4 leafed clover! I emerged from the undergrowth grasping said clover looking very pleased with myself (I had to quickly explain the look so not to cause confusion). What a luck pee!! Unfortunately I'm not entirely convinced this clover is fully operational as 2 minutes down the path a strap broke on my rucksack and it rained thoughout the night, but maybe they need breaking in?

DAY 2

Max and Danielle left before us this morning as we where dragging our feet. Last night when we'd pitched our tent we found that we had packed a small supermarket and really we should have made a sign and put it on the tent, we'd packed enough to feed a small family! The worst thing about it though is that unlike the bike, which it you overload, it's the bike which takes the stain. It was on our backs and it was us taking the stain. However, we decided that the 2kg of porridge, 4 Salamis, 6 packs of crackers, 4 rice meals, 3 bags of pasta, 4 pasta ready meals and lots of other stuff were enough for 2 people for 8 days. We were to eat like kings!

After we had managed to cram all our supplies into our packs and then manage to get them on our backs we started to walk. Again the weather wasn't as good as we would of liked, but as we walked the cloud did lift. We enjoyed the slowly exposing mountains on the other side of the valley as we walked. The path was easy going and we soon found a comfortable walking pace and the day seemed to sail pass. As we got closer to Camp Dixon our intended place to stay, the weather started to look a little more unsettled. We climbed a small moray and there before us was our camp ground and it was a welcome sight. Sarah suggested we have a bit to eat on the ridge we were walking on, which was really nice and as we sat there we watched Max and Danielle walk into camp.

When we had finished our break we wandered in and received a very warm welcome from one of the campsite staff, who informed us that we could pitch our tent and then pay after and there were "HOT SHOWERS!" We pitched close to Max and Danielle and later cooked with them. We also enjoyed a hot shower and the feeling of being clean.

DAY 3

Today was a short walk of only 2 1/2 hours. We left with Max and Danielle and enjoyed the company and also the weather as it had improved. We enjoyed the improvement in the scenery too, the highlight of the walk was one of the many glaciers and just for us the sun beamed down on the upper parts. As we ascended a hill the full extent of the glacier unfolded and eventually we could see it in its entirety, it ended in a ice burg filled lake at its base. This wasn't the last glacier we where going to see today or on this walk.

We carried on chatting and having a good laugh and the short walk was soon getting close to its end and just before we got to it we came to another glacier. It was beautiful and seemed to just be hanging there creaking and groaning. there was a large lake at its base and we sat for awhile enjoying this spectacular view. When we did finally get bored we marched into the campsite and pitched our tent. Sarah went and had a cold shower, much to my dismay and much to the rangers surprise. After she had finished (which wasn't long seeing the water was straight off the glacier)! we cooked a delicious meal in the tent and finally retired.

DAY 4

Now according to the information we had, today was to be our hardest day. So, we got up early and had breakfast and were still almost the last to leave. The path started steep and pretty much stayed that way until we left the tree line. The path was easy except at times it was more of a steam than a path. I soon figured it was better to follow Sarah's line than try and find my own. However, after meeting Max and Danielle, Sarah managed to find a rather tricky spot and ended up almost to her knees in nice sticky mud. Now seeing I had followed her, myself and the others, had to improvise and I soon found myself hugging a tree and praying that the weight of my pack wouldn't lever me off into a sticky end. I survived!

Once we had left the forest, the path was dry and the views where amazing. The mountains around us where a beautiful slate gray with snow and glaciers hanging off them. There was on particular glacier which snaked it's way down the side of one of the peaks which looked amazing. We carried on up towards the top, stopping for awhile for some lunch and to enjoy the view which where behind us. The sun was shining and the mountain air was clean, how could this day get any better?

30 mins later we got our answer. The views from the top of the pass looked across a valley to the mountains opposite, they where covered with glaciers and look very menacing. The true gem though was the huge mass of Glacier Gray which carved its way though the valley below. Nothing had prepared us for this amazing sight, we never even saw anything like this in the Antarctic. Below us was the main flow, but as you followed it back you could see where it originated, it really was amazing!

On the top we met Simon and Ange who we had chatted to briefly last night. We all spent time looking at this leviathan below us and at one point a huge rumble was heard from some massive fall of ice below us. After we came back to earth from marvelling at the glacier we started to descend. As with the up the down was quite steep and we gingerly made our way down. At a couple of points we had to negotiate a couple of gorges. One required us to climb a ladder (this is OK) the other required us to go down a ladder (not so good). If you know me well you'll know I have a fear of heights, if you know me really well you'll know this is especially true on ladders and to quote my nearest and dearest "I see the Oh shit grip was in use". Little did she know, not only had I implemented this grip but I was also humming to myself. At the bottom I was quite relieved. The rest of the walk was OK, but we did get to the point of just wanting to be there and our wish was granted. The campsite was a free one with a long drop toilet and glorious views of the glacier face.

DAY 5

After a good night sleep and a good breakfast (we're working our way though the 2 kg of porridge) we started to the next campsite. Today we left the seclusion of the circuit and joined the "W circuit" this is the main walk that most people do, partly due to the ease of access and also the presence of the refugios which gives alternative accommodation to camping and carrying a tent. The other down side to this area was the fact it had been incinerated by a well meaning guy in January. This guy (I'm not getting into country bashing) decided that it was better to burn his toilet paper after he had used it, rather than carrying it out like everyone else. So well done that man, one of Israels finest!

The first 3 hours we hardly saw too many people, but as we got close to where the ferry dropped people to start the 'W', we started to meet people coming the other way. Now I´m not one for crowds and I started to feel the blood boil as we encountered more and more people. Most where kind enough to give way on the hill as we trudged up them, but some carried on coming. Others who were walking with tiny little day packs felt the need to walk two abreast. It was getting to me!

At about the halfway point we met up with Max and Danielle. Danielle was getting as fed up as I was (Sarah is such a tolerant sole she didn't let it get to her). At one point this large group of tourists came past us and made us stop and not even a thank you was said, Danielle shouted "de narda" I'd picked up on the fact the the groups first language was English. So I shouted something more colourful. We had this most of the day and when we did finally get to the campsite I realised that I had paid little attention to the scenery and more to plans of reeking havoc on those rude people. I did take note of the shortage of places to pitch our tent, but we finally found a pitch and cooked a lovely meal with Max and Danielle joining us.

DAY 6

We woke to drizzle this morning and this was a shame as we intended to do a side trip without our packs up French valley. We did finally decide to walk up as far as we could to see if we could see the glacier that had woken me in the night, by dropping a huge chunk of ice which sounded like thunder and then rumbling as though it was coming down the valley. So, Sarah, Danielle and myself wandered up to the 1st mirador which looked across to said glacier. It was wet! We only stayed long enough to take a few photos before the weather got the better of us and we walk back to the camp ground. It was on the way down we did get to see one of the ice falls and I soon realised why it sounded so loud, it was huge!

Back at the campground things took a turn for the best and the weather started to clear. The result of this was Sarah got an itch to go back up, I wasn't too bothered about retracing my footsteps. Sarah asked if it was OK if she went up again and if you know Sarah if she doesn't do something she regrets it. So, we agreed that she would go up (slowly) and I would walk with the others and sort out camp so everything was ready for her arrival. Max, Danielle and myself headed off and Sarah headed up.

The walk to the next camp was flat and along the banks of a large lake. Views where medioca and the only real spectacular thing to be seen was the effects of the wind. It was blowing up spray off the lake which in turn created amazing rainbows which seemed to travel at great speed down the lake. The other effects of the wind were to picking me up off my feet and plonking me in a large shrub. It was gusty and strong and I started to worry about Sarah as she would be carrying my pack as I had taken hers with the tent in it. My pack was bigger and would of sat higher on her back.

I was relieved to get to the campsite, here I set up the tent, which I found testing as the wind was blowing the thing around and the pitch was small. I got it in place chucked my pack in and went and told the others I was going to met Sarah and would be back later. I actually ran for 45 minutes before I found her happily strolling along. She did say she was pleased to see me and I offered to take the pack for a while and she was happy to rest her back from the poorly fitting rucksack. She told me that she had managed to get right up into the valley and had amazing views down and up, but the weather closed in quickly and hid the views. She had got some nice photos, one of which made the day look so nice.

Getting back to the campsite we reported back to the others and settled into our tent to warm up and have our dinner.

DAY 7

This morning was beautiful, the weather here changes so quickly. A long, but easy walk was ahead of us to day. Was all started off separately, but eventually ended the day together. The scenery was very dramatic and we also saw a large number of condor throughout the day. We finished the day at a free campsite only 45 minute walk from the Torres del Paine lookout. This was both good for seeing the sunset, but also for seeing the sunrise tomorrow.

Once we had pitch tent and organised ourselves a bit we wandered up to see the sunset. Danielle and Max joined us, the scenery was great and the company was fun. We spent far to much time fooling around taking funny photos of each other, but plus to this was we kept very warm. The sunset was pretty cool to.
Sliding into our sleeping bags afterwards was a welcome feeling too as the temperature was dropping quickly.

Day 8 

Alarm went off at 5.30am, supposedly giving us time to boil some water for the thermos, get our sleeping bags and thermarests packed up and then set off for sunrise on the Torres. Thankfully we had more than enough time as Gareth and I then had a 30minute debate as to whether the wind was too strong and whether the climb up would be too dangerous. Eventually with 15mins to get ready it was agreed that I would head up but turn back at the tree line if the wind was too bad, Gareth after packing up my gear returned to the comforts of a sleeping bag.

I found Danielle and Max by the light of my head torch and ascended the 40 to 50 minute path up to the towers with them. The wind through the trees actually sounded a lot worse than it really was, the going was slow but absolutely fine. There was something eerily beautiful about ascending a mountain in the dark with a series of torch lights above and below you. The sun was soon lighting up the sky to a beautiful pink down the valley. We had time to get to the Torres despite the imminent sun down the valley as we were actually waiting for a time past true sunrise when the sun first hits the Torres. We found our way to the Mirador and selected a good rocky vantage point. We timed it perfectly. Only a couple of minutes to wait, just enough time to pull on warm layers of clothing, a cup of coffee and then the beautiful red first light from the sun hit the towers. Lots and lots of photo taking. There were quite a few people up there but it certainly didn't feel crowded especially as we were all spread out on separate rocky outcrops. Eventually the sun on the Torres turned yellow and after a few more minutes of admiring the view I descended back to the campsite. It had been a shame that Gareth hadn't ascended to the view point with us , but we have seen many beautiful views together and I think he is truly getting 'landscaped out' at the moment.

Having packed the tent away and after a good bowlful of porridge we had a really pleasant sunny 3 hour descent down the valley to Hotel de Torres at the valley base. Downhill all the way!

We had a nice 1.5 hour wait in the sun with a lot of the other hikers we'd met on the trail and use of the luxurious hotel toilets (toilet seat, proper soap, hand driers), it did make us realise how much we stank though, 8 days on the trail with only 1 change of T-shirt, not that pleasant!

Then at 2pm we had the reverse of the transport into the park, a short shuttle minibus ride and then a 2 hour coach ride back to Puerto Natales. Back at the 'Singing Lamb' we then prioritised, shower, laundry and then meal out with no pasta or rice involved!

Decision time

10th March Puerto Natales

Decision time. Initial plans of a relaxed few days in Puerto Natales disappeared in the afternoon despite a very relaxed morning to start the day. At 3pm we went to a free talk on walking opportunities in Torres del Paine national park and realised that the walk that we wanted to do actually took less time including transport than we initially realised. Therefore to fit it in with the Navimag ferry that only leaves on a Monday, which we also wanted to get and to avoid sitting around Puerto Natales for a whole week waiting for it, we needed to get a move on. So the evening was spent in a rush of buying Navimag tickets, hiring backpacks and packing 8 days worth of food and camping equipment into them.

El Calafate to Puerto Natales

6th to 9th March, El Calafate to Puerto Natales

6th March (60.15M)

So the inevitable happened and it was good to be back on the bikes, especially today as it was payback time! The road out of El Calafate was the same one we'd come in on against a horrendous head wind. Today the westerly wind was there and although not as strong it still provided a decent tail wind. The 30km that had taken 3.5hours on the way in now took us 1.5hrs on the way out! Happy days and good time for legs that were a bit out of biking practise. Our tail wind continued throughout today as we continued in a easterly direction, back on Ruta 40 for a while. Slowing us down and testing our legs was 10km of continual gradual ascent. Hard work, although Gareth still seemed to have his climbing legs. Looking back at the top of the climb we had lovely views of Lago Argentina (the lake that El Calafate sits on the edge of) and occasional glimpses of Mount Fitz Roy when the clouds cleared a little.

From the top of Cuesta del Miguez (pass of Miguez) we now had about 30km across a windy plateau. A Lesser Rhea decided to race us for a while, easily running along the verge at 15mph for a couple of minutes before deciding against expending more energy and turning around. I'm sure that it could have easily out paced us if it'd really wanted. Despite having seen a few potential camp pitches on the side of the road on the ascent, when it was too early to stop for the day, there were no sheltered spots from the wind on the plateau and nowhere to pitch our tent. We'd been told by other cyclists that you could often ask at puestos (roadside works areas for maintaining the roads in the winter, usually minimally staffed in the summer) for a sheltered place to pitch a tent. At the junction of Ruta 40 and ruta 5 just before we were about to turn southwest into the wind, was such a puesto and with no sign of shelter on the road ahead we stopped to ask for a tent pitch overnight. We were greeted by the friendly Argentinian, Claudio. In high speed Spanish which I had to get him to repeat a few times, we were directed to pitch our tent in the shelter of one of the maintenance barns. Complete shelter from the wind, a place to cook on and later that evening the arrival and company of a couple of Japanese cyclists also taking refuge from the wind.

7th March (41.4M) Average 5.5mph!!!

Woken up to the barn creaking under metallic expansion as the sun settled on it and the continued relentless noise of wind passing over the metal roof, it was with some trepidation that we packed our bags ready to continue on our way. We knew the next section of road was renowned to cyclists travelling in either direction as windy, usually with side winds and rough unsealed roads causing most of the problems. A big thank you and goodbye to Claudio for putting us up. I wished that we'd brought some small thank you gifts with us to give to people like him, unfortunately our food bag was only filled with dried pasta meals, cheap biscuits and porridge, not much of a gift to anyone except a cyclist! Claudio was obviously a strong fan of cyclists and showed me many photos of himself with other tour cyclists that had stopped at the Puesto. I've got and address so we'll post our photo back to him next time we are able.

So from the puesto it was now on rough ripio (gravel) road southwards. Initially the going wasn't too bad and we soon caught up with the Japanese couple, heading our direction, but who had stopped to chat to a Dutch couple of cyclists heading north.

After a while of chatting we all continued on our way, Gareth and I now in front of the Japanese couple. Gradually the road swept round more to the west and the going got a lot harder. We basically had relentless headwinds and any wobble on the bikes from the stony gravel road left us many times heading sideways across the road as the wind caught us sideways on. Then it was a question of wobbling back the other way to try and regain our forward motion or a stop, as the edge of the road approached, to correct the direction of the bike and then set off again. It was a true testament to the strength of the wind as we watched 5 condor soar over us in this none mountainous area, not really the right environment for condor, except for the incredibly strong wind.

The day continued and our average speed slowly continued to drop. We soon realised that we weren't going to complete this section of road and reach any civilisation today, so spent about an hour of our day trekking up to a fresh water spring that we'd seen on the hillside, Gareth building a mini-dam to deepen the pool it made as the water came to the surface and then collecting enough water for the rest of the day and cooking and camping overnight. Continuing on from the spring, feeling rather proud of ourselves that we'd managed to source water (probably would have been easier to have filled our dromedaries at Claudios, but we hadn't been expecting such a slow ride) we cycled ever onwards into the wind and slowly uphill. We checked out a couple of potential tent pitches, nowhere was quite sheltered enough or ideal and so we continued on in the hope of somewhere better around the next corner..... Unfortunately at 5mph the scenery doesn't change that quickly.

Very tired now, Antarctica hadn't prepared us for this, at 7pm we came to a small excavated area with mounds of soil on 3 sides. Perfect we thought, until we got closer and encountered the smell.... a dumping ground for cattle and possible sheep carcasses and other general rubbish. Without hope of anywhere else sheltered to pitch our tent (now we wished we stopped at the other less ideal places instead of checking around the next corner) we did contemplate it for quite a while, trying initially to pitch our tent in a much less sheltered spot away from the wind, no hope of the tent actually lasting the night in one piece. I sent Gareth back to check our the sheltered smelly area again. He was right absolutely no way either of us could put up with that smell fro the night. So tent packed away again we continued onwards. Head torches were now out as it was beginning to get dark and the agreement that we'd stop the next car hoping for a lift. There were no more cars that night. This was the only time that we have misjudged our riding and ended the day cycling in the dark. Despite tired legs the riding  actually got easier. We watched a beautiful sunset over the Torres del Paine mountain range (the national park we were ultimately heading towards to walk around in the next few days).In the dark we lost all sense of distance. There was no traffic to worry about. Soon we could see some lights from a building ahead which is what we were now heading for. There was a full moon and it was eerily beautiful.

Finally at 9.50pm we arrive at a road junction and a single building consisting of a police station and another road works puesto. Apologising for our lateness we asked for and were given a sheltered spot to pitch our tent. A late night pasta meal and then much needed rest.

8th March (37.55M)

Back on the tarmac today to the relief of both of us. Typically the wind had drastically died off, it still helped our progress today as we continued in a southwest direction. Throughout today we had beautiful views of the Torres del Paine ahead and despite tired legs we were both so grateful for smooth roads and very little wind we made good time.

A small amount of dirt track as we turned off Ruta 40 and passed from Argentina to Chile through customs and across 6km of 'unclaimed land' between the two border controls.

Reaching the town of Cerro Castillo on the Chilean side and after passing through customs where we declared and they checked that we weren't carrying fresh fruit, dairy or meat products we enjoyed an expensive but very appreciated coffee and cake each. After a bit of asking around we were directed to a sheltered area where we could pitch our tent, conveniently next to the public toilets.

9th March (40.2M)

Despite pitching our tent in the middle of their town/ village, no one bothered us, we were obviously not the first to do it. The only person to stop was a friendly local called Juan, who asked us in good English how we were, our plans etc. The police, fire service and everyone else just gave a friendly wave as they drove past.

Certainly the first half of today's cycling I really enjoyed, the scenery was good, the road was tarmaced and there wasn't too much head wind. Not much camping potential here, looks like the border was up for dispute with Argentina in the past with warnings of landmines in the fields surrounding the road.

Later in the day we were both getting pretty tired and were very grateful when we finally arrived at our goal, Puerto Natales. A short time later after asking at the tourist office and then checking on the Internet for ourselves, we found our way to the 'Singing Lamb Backpackers'. It came very recommended and with Puerto Natales having a lack of campsites except for hostel gardens, which are never that great. A warm welcome from Susan and then the priority for both of us (and probably everyone else encountering us in the hostel) after securing the bikes was a long hot shower...

Putting off the inevitable

3rd to 5th March

Some rest days in El Calafate. Thankfully our bikes and the belongings we'd left behind were still present and correct. We had time to sort out our bags and gear before heading off on the bikes again. Also time to get our heads back in gear and onto cycling mode. I must admit there was a lot of relaxing and book reading as well.
On Saturday night we managed to meet up with Christopher and Melanie for a meal. They're from the UK and had been on the Antarctic dream with us. It was great to catch up and compare stories from the last week since we'd left the boat. Hopefully we'll meet up again in London for some more reminiscing.

Into and out of Chile again...

2^nd March

We should be used to early rises by now, but today's wasn’t particularly attractive at 4.15am. All so that we could catch the 5am bus to Rio Gallegos and then on to El Calafate. The bus certainly didn't seem up to the usual high standards most Argentine buses have. Perhaps because there is no competition from the different bus companies serving Ushuaia.

Anyway the journey was OK. Unfortunately it was dark and then foggy as we left Ushuaia which was a real shame as this was the mountainous part of the trip and potentially the most scenic. Certainly later in the day we had long hours of just flat pampas to gaze at. A moment of excitement as Gareth spotted some lesser Rhea, a bird species he's been wanting to see in Patagonia. Also a couple of sightings of tour cyclists heading south. This strech looks pretty boring, I did't really envy them. We also had 2 border crossings en route, into Chile and then later back into Argentina. Four more stamps in the passport and a short ferry journey across the Magellan Straits. Good to get some fresh air and spot some Magallenic penguins and commerson's dolphins.

We arrived early into Rio Gallegos and then had a 4 hour wait for our bus to El Calafate. Thankfully I slept most of this next section and Gareth watched an (awful) movie, finally arriving at El Calafate at 1amish. A long long day.

A coastal walk

1st March 2012

Another night in the tent and thankfully it was warmer and we both slept well. We then had a fairly relaxed rise, largely due to aching legs after yesterdays jaunt up the mountain. I’m definitely not feeling as fit as I was before going to Antarctica!

We packed away most of the gear inside the tent, but left it standing and set off to the parks information centre, where they had displays on the formation of the park, glacierisation, wildlife and the original native people that had lived on Tierra del Fuego. It was actually very interesting and informative with most of the displays translated into English. We then continued on to do a coastal walk along a bay. It was pleasant and helped ease off the aching quads, but with a multitude of people walking down the trail in the opposite direction we didn't have much chance of seeing much wildlife. Just the odd inquisitive Caracara (bird of prey, opportunist and generally very cheeky), of which we'd seen many from our days on the bikes. The coast was pretty and it was a nice way to spend the day.

Back at the campsite we packed our tent away and caught the 5pm minibus back to Ushuaia. Typical Argentine style it took ages as we seemed to have random stops and the driver spent time watching a couple of lads playing football.

Cerro Guanaco

29th Feb

It was cold in the tent last night, even with thermals on inside my sleeping bag. I'm definitely out of practise for camping. However, once the sun came up it soon warmed up and after breakfast we set off on another walk up Cerro Guanaco. The brief description on the park leaflet said that it was 4km each way and took 4hrs each way, seemed a tad slow going, either very steep or they allow people plenty of time. Anyway we had all day so we'd see how we got on. At the foot of the trail again there was a sign warning of a hard walk, not to start late in the day and to be of adequate fitness. It didn't take us 4hours and according to the km marker en route it was further than 4km but the trail was certainly very very steep.
The initial path was through woodland and we followed a stream upwards crossing it a few times on the way. At the top of the stream we reached an area of peat bog in formation that we had to make our way across. I almost made it but succumbed to wet feet by the end. The final pull was following the path as it traversed around a ridge across slatey ground, again very very steep, but at least dry underfoot except the odd area of snow. The top of the mountain was rock and snow covered. I took great delight in leaving footsteps in untouched snow on the summit. The view from the top was amazing and worth the effort. We looked down over Ushuaia and the Beagle channel on one side and back across the lakes of the Tierra del Fuego national park on the other side. We put a few layers of clothing on and then enjoyed lunch admiring the amazing view before descending the way that we'd come.
After having navigated our way across the peat bog again we were about to start descending through the woods next to the stream when we were lucky enough to see a beaver swimming across the pool that it had made by building a dam at the top of the stream. It was great to see as it was the kind of animal that I didn't think I'd get to see, but they are not native to Argentina or Chile and cause a lot of damage and destruction to the native trees and landscapes.
Back at the tent, everything was still intact and we enjoyed another dinner cooked over our camp stove. Actually we were both wishing that we were back on the boat with a 3 course meal and someone else doing the washing up!

Tierra del Fuego

 28th February 2012

We left La Posta hostel for a couple of nights to go camping in the Terra Del Fuego Nacional Park. Again this morning Sarah left me in bed to try and catch up on sleep. Yesterday she had mentioned that it was lucky we hadn’t gone to see Abe as I looked really rough, she is such a sweet talker.

Anyway, once up we quickly packed and got a bus to the park at 11am, it dropped us at the campsite which was very helpful, as once again we are lugging our panniers around full of all our camping equipment. We paid our money and then went in search of a pitch, we're not the best at this as we are both so indecisive and we spent a lot of time wandering around. The plus side to this was I spotted 3 Magellenic Woodpeckers, a species I had been looking for for quite awhile now and here they were at a campsite. We did finally decide on a pitch and once the tent was up we relaxed and had a cup of tea and talk about what we wanted to do over the next 3 days. The decision was made to do a walk along a lake shore this evening and we packed our bags with our essentials and headed off past the toilets. It was here we bumped into Bob one of the guides from the ship, we chatted for a while he said that he had also seen the woodpeckers along the lake side.

The walk was really nice and some of the reflections on the lake surface where beautiful. It wasn't a long walk, but it took in some lovely views and there weren't very many people on it. The end of the walk was at the Chilean and Argentine border which we weren't too sure exactly where it was, so we carried on strolling along a beach, until we decided that we were now most probably in Chile and were illegal immigrants. So we retaced our steps and found a log to enjoy the view. Our first day in the park was lovely and the weather seems as though it is going to be kind to us.

Walk to the lake

27th February 2012

I had a terrible night sleep, mainly due to a guy who returned to the dorm at 1:30am and rustled plastic bags and then proceeded to snore for the rest of the night. Sarah left me in bed a bit longer to get a little more sleep which helped a little. Once I did get up Sarah informed me the Abe had mailed and apologies for Not seeing us again and offered to take us out for lunch and do the interview today, but we were organised to go for a walk and we just couldn't make it.

The planned walk was at Lake Esmeralda which was 18km north of Ushuaia. We got a bus there and he dropped us off at the start which was a dog sledge centre, here we had to register and pay $10 each to cross their land, it was money well spent. The guy we paid gave us a map and told us a few thing to look out for and how long it would take. Apparently 1 1/2 hours, I recall it taking only an hour and we weren't even pushing it. The walk was lovely, nice and quiet and nice scenery. It must be said though, that after the last 10 days I am struggling to find anything here to inspiring me, but this little walk was very pretty.

The path was very well marked and was a steady climb, but nothing to hard.We passed beaver dams which is the first time I have ever seen them and I was amazed on how well they were built. These little creatures are true engineers! The dams were perfectly built and in places they had built tiered pools. The rest of the walk took us through forest and then a peat bog. It actually surprised us when we found ourselves on the lake edge. Like all the lakes in this area it was a milky blue colour, this is due to the presence of glacier flour the very fine dust which the glacier produces as it grinds its way through the cliffs. We sat for awhile to enjoy the scenery and have a bite to eat and then headed up and around the lake towards the glacier itself. This part of the walk was a little more climbing and eventually ended in the snow line. This was a nice end as our position gave the impression of being much higher than we actually were.
We returned to the Sledging centre who called for our bus. They picked us up and returned us to Ushuaia. We needed to do some shopping and once done we returned to the hostel for dinner and inevitable bed.

A sad fairwell and The Scarlet Pimpernel

25th & 26th February 2012

We had spent part of the night moored in the shelter of the Beagle channel, but in the early hours of the morning the anchor was lifted for one last time and we sailed to the port in Ushuaia. We arrived at around 8, our breakfast was more subdued than any of the others meals we had had. The boat was soon well attached to the Pier and this was the end of one of the most amazing thing I have ever done.
We said our fond farewells exchanged email and collected our bags. I can honestly say that there wasn't a day aboard this boat that I did not enjoy and if any of the crew who looked after us ever come across this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Seeing we had arrived early it met we had time to burn until we could get into our hostel. so, we wondered around the town for quite awhile bumping into fellow passenger. The final decision was made to find a coffee shop and take the load off our feet. Whilst sat here we saw and spoke to Jean-Charles and Audrey who were also wondering around aimlessly. After they left we also decided to see if we could dump our bags at the hostel, which we were able to do.
The afternoon plan was to met Abe. Abe was making a film about Antarctic Dream, sorry I should say the people on board and their lives. We were meeting him for an interview for the film, but it didn't go to plan and our paths never crossed.

The movie maker Abe

After our first night sleep on terrafirma I was hoping for a sumptuous breakfast. I was disappointed! A couple of sweet media Luna's, a very tiny toasted cheese sandwich and a yoghurt. What a way to get back to civilisation. We left this hostel and returned to La Posta a firm favourite of our. We received a warm welcome and this made up for the poor start to the day.
On checking our emails we found out that Abe had had a couple of problems which meant we where never in the same place at the same time yesterday. So, we re-organised to met later today. Before we did this we had quite a few thing to sort out, washing our cloths was one of them. There were also phone calls to be made home, but later on we wondered back into town to met him. Talk about hard to find! He really is the modern day Scarlet Pimpernel. We waited at his hotel for an hour asked reception if they knew where he maybe, the guy did not. We had a suspicion that he may have been there as there was two bikes outside which we thought may have been the french guys. We couldn't find him. We later found out that Sarah was sat a few feet from the room he was using to interview at one point. If your reading this Abe I'm sorry!

Drake passage day 2 and sighting of Cape Horn.

24th Feb

We had another half day crossing the Drake which continued to be relatively smooth. Again we'd made good time due to the smooth seas so the captain took us on a slightly different course to within 3 miles of the mythical Cape Horn. We were lucky to have seen it as within 30mins of sighting it the clouds had passed across and there was no evidence of it existing at all. No wonder so many ships come to grief around it. Still early as we weren't due into Ushuaia until the morning we headed to the head of the Beagle channel where we set anchor for our final evening and dinner of the cruise. On the way we had the wonderful sightings of Pales (Austral) dolphins, next to the boat and surfing in the boats wake off the bow.

Drake passage, the return

23^rd Feb

Really not a lot to mention about today. We made our way back across the Drake Passage again, the seas although smooth for the Drake were rougher than what we'd been used to and except for a couple of sessions on deck watching albatross and other sea birds, I spent most of the day catching up on sleep and reading. It seemed the best way of coping with the rolling seas. There were also couple of interesting lectures on whales and whaling that were informative and helped pass the time.

Whalers Bay at Deception Island and Hannah point, Wlkers bay, Livingston Island

22nd Feb

Up before sunrise again for our landing this morning at Whalers bay on Deception Island in the South shetlands. We’d passed through ‘Neptunes bellows’ whilst it was still dark to enter the enclosed bay within the volcanic cone that formed Deception island. Zodiacs took us to the shore and we walked up to a small vantage point (Neptunes Window) to watch sunrise. Walking back to the beach, we then walked along it, past fur seals, to an old whaling station previously manned by British and Norwegian whalers. We had time to explore the remaining huts and huge whale oil containers. A lot of the buildings had been destroyed by a mudslide as a result of volcanic activity that eventually lead to closure of the whaling station. Finally we watched as a few mad souls ran in and out of the freezing Antarctic waters from the beach. We were told that on occasion the waters are actually warm from volcanic activity but that certainly was not the case today!

From Deception Island we exited the narrow and potentially dangerous channel of 'neptunes bellows' (there is apparently a hidden rock in the certre of the channel that need to be avoided) and made our way slightly further north to Livingston Island where we had our final landing in Antarctic waters at Hannah point on Walkers bay. Here we saw both chinstrap and gentoo penguins, fur and the very ugly and blubbery elephants seals. There were also plently of skuas and albatross nesting and flying around the island as well. We may have left Antarctica proper but we were still seeing new species on this our final landing.

By midday the captain had set course to leave the South shetlands and we made our way towards the Drake passage for our return trip. We had a few more whale sightings, to round the trip off, one quite close to the boat but they very quickly left us so still unsure about their identity, possibly minke whales, generally the sightings were more distant now. 

Definitely sad to be leaving Antarctica, very tired and needing time to reflect on all that we'd seen.

Melchior Islands and Continental landing at Spigot Point

21st Feb
Again another glorious morning at the white and blue scenery of the Melchior Islands. We divided up and went out in the zodiacs (motorised inflatable boats carrying 10-15 people) to explore the iceburgs, glaciers, interesting geological metamorphic rock formations and wildlife. The depth of the ice and snow on the islands is staggering. We also saw lots of turns and all of our guides on the different zodiacs got very excited to see both Antarctic and Arctic turns together on the same rocky outcrop. Very rare to see both together at the same time of year.
Back on the Antarctic Dream as we made our way eastwards towards the Antarctic continent we had a very close and personal encounter with a mother and calf humpback whales. After being spotted they came right up to the boat, very curious. We had unforgettable sights of the whales against and around the boat. They stayed with us for about 45minutes before drifting away from us. After lunch we then had our next whale sighting of the day. Again the captain stilled the engine and we watched 3 humpbacks approach and interact with the boat, going both under and around the boat. We even had the unforgetable smell of whale breath as the spouted next to the boat, into our faces, not pleasant.

Later in the afternoon we had our continental Antarctica landing at Spigot point. A shortish walk up a hill lead to lovely views of the surrounding bays and the chance to watch a colony of chinstrap penguins nesting high above the sea. It was funny to watch them walk all the way from the sea up a 'penguin highway' to their nests. 6 people from the passengers decided not to walk up the hill and went out on a couple of zodiacs for a cruise around the bays. They had some very close and personal encounters with some humpbacks. One of them was 89 year old Elizabeth from the UK, she certainly deserved it having always dreamed of visiting Antarctica since a child and eventually had manged to come here with her daughter. She was game for most of the excursions and coping very well with the seas and motion of the boat. I think we were all slightly jealous of the zodiac whale spotters, but the scenery from the point of the mainland where we landed was stunning too.
That evening the Anarctic dream made it's way northwards towards the South Shetland islands. Out on deck there were beautiful moments of penguin, seal and whale watching and the passing by of beautiful scenery, it was although Antarctica was saying goodbye and certainly took my breath away.