5th April
Hola all and greetings from Argentina! Time is racing by so we are now down to our last month in South America. How can that be?! As I write we are headed down to Patagonia, the southernmost part of Argentina and also the coldest understandably! Can't say we are looking forward to that but that’s the price you pay for seeing glaciers?!We have a way to go though. Another 20 hours to get down to El Chalten, the first national park, along an extremely bumpy road. We have just spent the last 2 days in Bariloche, a pleasant town by a huge lake in Argentina's lake district. The scenery was very similar to that of Scotland, pines, lochs and mountains. Pretty and pleasantly warm. Previous to that we had a few days in Buenos Aires, a nice city, quite French looking we thought. The worst weather so far this trip though. Rain most days. We had to sight see like a couple of very drowned rats! Whilst there we visited Evita´s tomb in the very strange cemetery that is done like a miniature city. Some of the tombs were so large and elaborate that they were better than houses (especially the mud huts of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador!).
24th April
Well hello again, it is now 3 weeks later and the first chance we have had to do blogging again – its hard work this travel lark!! So much to do! :o)
So here we are in Puerto Madryn a pleasantly warm place after the South. Tomorrow we are off on a tour to hopefully spot some sea creatures – sea lions, seals, and Orcas (if we are really lucky). We are hoping luck picks up because so far in this place everything seems to have been jinxed. Or should I say I seem to have been jinxed (much to Marks hilarity!) He has decided that any technology I touch goes wrong. I am surprised this computer is working in fact. Last night 3 cashpoints wouldn´t work so we had to ration dinner (fortunately we found a 28 peso (4.50 GBP) all you can eat restaurant so we just had to go thirsty!)) , our phones would not work and yet we had reception and the real technical disaster was the other day in Ushuaia, where we were viewing our photos on a cd in an internet café. All of a sudden there was an almighty bang as if the cd had snapped. Is that possible? Well, yes, apparently so as when it was finally retrieved (with much difficulty as the door wouldn´t open) it was in lots of pieces. If anyone can tell us how this can happen we would appreciate it?!
Hola all and greetings from Argentina! Time is racing by so we are now down to our last month in South America. How can that be?! As I write we are headed down to Patagonia, the southernmost part of Argentina and also the coldest understandably! Can't say we are looking forward to that but that’s the price you pay for seeing glaciers?!We have a way to go though. Another 20 hours to get down to El Chalten, the first national park, along an extremely bumpy road. We have just spent the last 2 days in Bariloche, a pleasant town by a huge lake in Argentina's lake district. The scenery was very similar to that of Scotland, pines, lochs and mountains. Pretty and pleasantly warm. Previous to that we had a few days in Buenos Aires, a nice city, quite French looking we thought. The worst weather so far this trip though. Rain most days. We had to sight see like a couple of very drowned rats! Whilst there we visited Evita´s tomb in the very strange cemetery that is done like a miniature city. Some of the tombs were so large and elaborate that they were better than houses (especially the mud huts of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador!).
24th April
Well hello again, it is now 3 weeks later and the first chance we have had to do blogging again – its hard work this travel lark!! So much to do! :o)
So here we are in Puerto Madryn a pleasantly warm place after the South. Tomorrow we are off on a tour to hopefully spot some sea creatures – sea lions, seals, and Orcas (if we are really lucky). We are hoping luck picks up because so far in this place everything seems to have been jinxed. Or should I say I seem to have been jinxed (much to Marks hilarity!) He has decided that any technology I touch goes wrong. I am surprised this computer is working in fact. Last night 3 cashpoints wouldn´t work so we had to ration dinner (fortunately we found a 28 peso (4.50 GBP) all you can eat restaurant so we just had to go thirsty!)) , our phones would not work and yet we had reception and the real technical disaster was the other day in Ushuaia, where we were viewing our photos on a cd in an internet café. All of a sudden there was an almighty bang as if the cd had snapped. Is that possible? Well, yes, apparently so as when it was finally retrieved (with much difficulty as the door wouldn´t open) it was in lots of pieces. If anyone can tell us how this can happen we would appreciate it?!
Anyways so what have we been up to:
Well following on from the mail above, 2 weeks ago we survived the mega long bus journey, whereby we saw brown soil, more brown soil and a creamy tuft of grass here and there and more brown soil! And occasionally, just to keep us on our toes, we were very lucky to see a Rhea (a small ostrich), a bird of prey, a Guanaco (like a llama) or a Armadillo (so cute!)
So when they say Patagonia is a HUGE expanse of nothingness, they are most definitely right! We flew back from Ushuaia over it and from the air we were most privileged to see a few empty valleys and craters too.
We have done quite a few mountain walks and were very lucky to have some fantastic clear views over Fitzroy mountain in Argentina composed of a sheer granite wall. We met a couple Dan and Stef who we climbed the mountain (and got lost) with!! They were also brave enough to accompany us out to a funky restaurant where M had a bit too much to drink so was coming out with funny but slightly embarrassing comments! Fortunately they can´t have minded too much as we are hoping to all meet again in Santiago!Also the Perito Moreno glacier was extremely pretty. Very blue and we were lucky enough to see several huge lumps of ice fall off of it too. The sound was like an earthquake which you heard long before you saw it!
Then we headed to Torres del Paine in Chile which is a well known National Park. Originally we had the intention of camping but on stepping off the bus in Puerto Natales the nearest town, that thought quickly disappeared. It was absolutely freezing and we were informed that the previous night they had had snow up in the mountains! So in the end we took the warm option and spent the 3 nights staying in the Refugios which had lovely log fires to warm ourselves on and our wet clothes on. Wimpish we know but most appreciated as it really was cold outside and a hot shower was most needed at the end of the day. On the last night there was 7 inches of snow fell and we woke up to a picture postcard wonderland. It felt like Christmas!
While there I persuaded Mark to do an Ice Trek on Grey Glacier, which he enjoyed. The caves, crevices and falls were so blue. And it was most amusing learning the techniques with our crampons on - the ´toilet´ technique for example. The final challenge was to abseil down and then ice climb out of a crevice. An easy feat for Mark but I didn´t enjoy it too much especially when I got near the top. Did it though!
Then we headed to Ushuaia – the Southernmost city in the world on another 14 hour bus ride, and this was like a Winter wonderland too. Lovely snowy mountains all around. Gorgeous autumn colours on the trees and the Beagle Channel flowing sedately by. Unfortunately we didn´t see it like this however until we were about to board the plane to leave, as the two days we were there and could explore further it was tipping down of rain and we couldn´t see a thing!
Then we headed to Ushuaia – the Southernmost city in the world on another 14 hour bus ride, and this was like a Winter wonderland too. Lovely snowy mountains all around. Gorgeous autumn colours on the trees and the Beagle Channel flowing sedately by. Unfortunately we didn´t see it like this however until we were about to board the plane to leave, as the two days we were there and could explore further it was tipping down of rain and we couldn´t see a thing!
So what else?
Well many moons ago, where our last update ended we were about to embark on our journey to Brazil. A very long and sweaty affair, we have never been so happy to have a shower! The train was not the most luxurious either and there was nowhere to buy food even though the journey was 20 hours long. Instead at each of the stations the Bolivian ladies and children boarded the train selling their homemade food. Some of it smelled quite nice but the fear of HOW it was prepared (and being stuck in a hot train!) was just too much so we decided to play safe and go hungry!
Then we crossed over into Brazil to a town called Corumba and it was sooo hot. Really humid and we were given the worst (and last) room in the hotel (a funny L shaped room with an air con extractor right outside the window). Paying such high prices in Brazil was a bit of a shock to the system too. Especially after Bolivia which was the cheapest country of all, where an average meal costed 1.50GBP each for a drink and nice main dish. The best value meal we had in Bolivia was in Sucre, where we had the most gorgeous, huge salad starters which included rose petals?! And were actually really nice (although I did wonder whether they had hallucinagenic properties as I almost fainted at the end of the meal, perhaps they didn´t combine with the wine well?), a bottle of wine, gorgeous main meals and desserts all for under 10GBP for 2 meals! Bargain?!
Back to the subject of Brazil however I was pleasantly surprised with the scenery of Brazil, the reputation of Brazil not caring for their scenic areas having influenced my expectations, so the sight of gorgeous lush trees and green hills surrounding the town were a most pleasant surprise.
However the town did remind us of America somewhat, having been built so spread out that trying to walk around it was near on impossible. (we gave it a go and all the ´same sort of stuff´was all over the place). They definitely expected people to drive cars.
Mark on the other hand was most upset at being surrounded by advertising again after having 3 months of hardly seeing any at all. (The mastercard cooler around the wine we ordered really topped it!) This trip has meant we are certainly starting to see and understand/question things that we would never have realised. We will share those facts and observations another time however as this update is going to be too long as it is!
Well many moons ago, where our last update ended we were about to embark on our journey to Brazil. A very long and sweaty affair, we have never been so happy to have a shower! The train was not the most luxurious either and there was nowhere to buy food even though the journey was 20 hours long. Instead at each of the stations the Bolivian ladies and children boarded the train selling their homemade food. Some of it smelled quite nice but the fear of HOW it was prepared (and being stuck in a hot train!) was just too much so we decided to play safe and go hungry!
Then we crossed over into Brazil to a town called Corumba and it was sooo hot. Really humid and we were given the worst (and last) room in the hotel (a funny L shaped room with an air con extractor right outside the window). Paying such high prices in Brazil was a bit of a shock to the system too. Especially after Bolivia which was the cheapest country of all, where an average meal costed 1.50GBP each for a drink and nice main dish. The best value meal we had in Bolivia was in Sucre, where we had the most gorgeous, huge salad starters which included rose petals?! And were actually really nice (although I did wonder whether they had hallucinagenic properties as I almost fainted at the end of the meal, perhaps they didn´t combine with the wine well?), a bottle of wine, gorgeous main meals and desserts all for under 10GBP for 2 meals! Bargain?!
Back to the subject of Brazil however I was pleasantly surprised with the scenery of Brazil, the reputation of Brazil not caring for their scenic areas having influenced my expectations, so the sight of gorgeous lush trees and green hills surrounding the town were a most pleasant surprise.
However the town did remind us of America somewhat, having been built so spread out that trying to walk around it was near on impossible. (we gave it a go and all the ´same sort of stuff´was all over the place). They definitely expected people to drive cars.
Mark on the other hand was most upset at being surrounded by advertising again after having 3 months of hardly seeing any at all. (The mastercard cooler around the wine we ordered really topped it!) This trip has meant we are certainly starting to see and understand/question things that we would never have realised. We will share those facts and observations another time however as this update is going to be too long as it is!
So next we headed off to the Pantanal for a four day trip. The weather was very hot and the sky blue but the Pantanal area was very flooded and this limited the activities that we were able to do.
We went mule riding through the water up to your waist. All pretty sedate until you realised that there were Anacondas in the water! Amusing too as the mules looked like horses with HUGE ears and they ran like donkeys too. It looked like everybody was doing a donkey derby! Had a great boat trip and saw River Otters, Toucans and Monkeys.
And went on a fantastic jeep trip and saw so many animals – Macaws, Parrots, Capybaras, Caimans, Birds of Prey, Peccary (a small wild pig), and my the favourite animal and photo of the trip so far a Coatimundi. He was sooo cute. I just wanted to get him down from the tree and give him a massive hug. However I just about managed to restrain myself so that Mark didn´t get jealous! ;o)
We also went tubing (where you sit in a rubber ring and float down the river). Again this was very relaxing until you remembered there were Anacondas, Caiman and Pyrana´s in the river so a nip on the bum was expected (but thankfully didn´t happen!)
The only thing that ruined the trip really was the company selling us the trip, telling us we could do stuff that we couldn´t possibly do at this time of the year, just to make a sale. For example they said we could go to the ´high ground´ and see Anteaters. When we conveyed this to the staff at the lodge they virtually fell over laughing and said only if the Anteater and us had a snorkell!! (I´m glad we gave them a laugh! hmmm)
We went mule riding through the water up to your waist. All pretty sedate until you realised that there were Anacondas in the water! Amusing too as the mules looked like horses with HUGE ears and they ran like donkeys too. It looked like everybody was doing a donkey derby! Had a great boat trip and saw River Otters, Toucans and Monkeys.
And went on a fantastic jeep trip and saw so many animals – Macaws, Parrots, Capybaras, Caimans, Birds of Prey, Peccary (a small wild pig), and my the favourite animal and photo of the trip so far a Coatimundi. He was sooo cute. I just wanted to get him down from the tree and give him a massive hug. However I just about managed to restrain myself so that Mark didn´t get jealous! ;o)
We also went tubing (where you sit in a rubber ring and float down the river). Again this was very relaxing until you remembered there were Anacondas, Caiman and Pyrana´s in the river so a nip on the bum was expected (but thankfully didn´t happen!)
The only thing that ruined the trip really was the company selling us the trip, telling us we could do stuff that we couldn´t possibly do at this time of the year, just to make a sale. For example they said we could go to the ´high ground´ and see Anteaters. When we conveyed this to the staff at the lodge they virtually fell over laughing and said only if the Anteater and us had a snorkell!! (I´m glad we gave them a laugh! hmmm)
Also the food was awful. Every day we had the same meal for lunch and dinner – kidney beans, rice and spaghetti. We were so ready to eat something different. To top it we both got ill at the end of the trip – I´m not sure whether it was a delayed reaction from escaping Bolivian food or whether it was Brazilian food! Of course the Brazilians blamed Bolivia.
On our last day at the Pantanal we were introduced to the baby Capybara that they had found by the roadside. It trotted around after everyone like a dog and rolled over to have its tummy tickled (this time I could tell Mark WAS jealous!! ;o))
Upon leaving the Pantanal and entering ´civilisation´again, we went to a Brazilian town called Campo Grande. This was the spit of America, diners everywhere, overweight people everywhere, concrete everywhere and all the shops were cooled down way too much so they were freezing. (ie. No concept of using only what you need. The attitude ´its there so why not use it and heck with the consequences´ was everywhere.) Another example of this was the HUGE portions of food. At one restaurant I ordered a half portion and yet there were still 4 steaks to this, a huge bowl of chips and rice and some salad. This half meal would have fed both Mark and I AND we´d still have had some left over. The concerning thing about such gluttony however is that not only is everyone overweight but that to obtain all this steak (at least half of which must be wasted), the rainforests and other habitats are being destroyed to provide more land for beef cattle to be raised. This seems to be the case in all the South American countries. An article I read said that 80% of Costa Rica´s rainforest had been felled for beef cattle to supply America with steak. Not surprising of America but certainly frustrating . . . The worrying thing is that the UK is possibly heading the same way . . .?
On our last day at the Pantanal we were introduced to the baby Capybara that they had found by the roadside. It trotted around after everyone like a dog and rolled over to have its tummy tickled (this time I could tell Mark WAS jealous!! ;o))
Upon leaving the Pantanal and entering ´civilisation´again, we went to a Brazilian town called Campo Grande. This was the spit of America, diners everywhere, overweight people everywhere, concrete everywhere and all the shops were cooled down way too much so they were freezing. (ie. No concept of using only what you need. The attitude ´its there so why not use it and heck with the consequences´ was everywhere.) Another example of this was the HUGE portions of food. At one restaurant I ordered a half portion and yet there were still 4 steaks to this, a huge bowl of chips and rice and some salad. This half meal would have fed both Mark and I AND we´d still have had some left over. The concerning thing about such gluttony however is that not only is everyone overweight but that to obtain all this steak (at least half of which must be wasted), the rainforests and other habitats are being destroyed to provide more land for beef cattle to be raised. This seems to be the case in all the South American countries. An article I read said that 80% of Costa Rica´s rainforest had been felled for beef cattle to supply America with steak. Not surprising of America but certainly frustrating . . . The worrying thing is that the UK is possibly heading the same way . . .?
Our final stop in Brazil was Foz de Iguazzi, the closest city to the Iguazzi falls which are amazing. If you haven´t heard of them, they are the widest falls in South America and are four times wider than Niagara. They are so wide in fact that its actually extremely hard to see them all at once! So all the photos only actually show a portion of them. In the most intense part, the Devil´s Throat, the noise is immense. We viewed the falls from the Argentinian side which is much larger than the Brazilian side and cheaper too. At the falls we were also met by our friends the Coati´s (same as Coatimundi´s I think!) who cheekily were trying to steal somebodies camera!
Before leaving Brazil we also visited a Bird Park near the falls where they run a breeding programme to help some of the endangered birds. They had so many different birds. The Grey Parrot from Africa was great. He loved talking to you by m
aking clicking and whistling sounds. Toucans are particularly pretty too. Many of the birds were kept in huge walk through avairies. The photo is of me with a Macaw. There were also Anaconda´s at the park – M´s favourite animal – not!! After this we headed down to Uruguay – Montevideo. M loved the city – the layout, architenture and the European Ambiance. I thought it was pleasant as far as cities go but 3 days was enough for me!
Then we headed to Colonia de Sacrimento in Uruguay– a major tourist town where everybody seemed to have doubled their accommodation prices since our guide was written (and its the 2007 guide!)
We eventually found somewhere to stay, had an expensive dinner and decided we would catch the ferry to Buenos Aires, the next morning and much sooner than planned!
However we decided to go for a quick nose around town first thing in the morning and found ourselves adopted parents for a stray dog! He seemed to love having `owners´, playing on the beach, following us around for over an hour! Lots of other dogs seemed to get jealous too and attempted to join in so at one point we had 3 dogs walking with us! The hard bit however was when we had to go back into the hostel to pack and he looked so sad. However he was sat there patiently waiting for us when we came out, and accompanied us to the bus station, waited patiently, and then walked to the ferry docks with us. We were both feeling terrible that we were going to have to leave him in a moment when thankfully a bus driver called him over. Phew!!! It was a relief but how shallow is that?!! ;o)
So that brings us back to Buenos Aires and hopefully covers everything.
We will try and do a conclusion of South America at some point but may not be until we reach New Zealand now. (A week!)
By the way we have now been on the tour mentioned earlier and saw Sea lions and Elephant Seals as hoped but no Penguins (the last few migrated the day before – shucks!) and no Orcas as the wind was too strong. The Orcas are apparently fantastic to see because they ´strand´themselves on the beach to catch the Seal pups. We saw some video footage and it looked amazing although the way they play catch with the seal afterwards I´m not sure about.
Also we have discovered why our phones weren´t working, the reason being that the phone company has changed their charges without notification so a 5 minute call from my sister the other day cost 72p a minute to me instead of being free! Understandably we are not happy. I´m glad there was only 3.50GBP on the phone at the time! Hence our contact numbers may be changing again shortly. Sorry. Most likely we will get a New Zealand phone soon anyway.
So until next time, take care and have fun . . .
