Cordoba

Sunday 9th April 2011
We arrived at around 8:30, booked our tickets to BA and headed for our lovely lodgings, Hotel Garden, right in the middle of the city.

Emma at the door to the art gallery.

We couldn't get into our room until 10:30 so we headed out to get a coffee and juice. We found a nice spot opposite a church and could see the masses heading to and from service. We also managed to skype Emma's mum using the excellent cafe wifi.

A dog chasing a duck.

After checking in we set off to explore the city. Cordoba is the second largest in Argentina with 1.5m inhabitants. First up we visited the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Dr Genaro Perez. This contained interesting if weird pieces by Mariquita Quiroga and Ricardo Geri. Next stop was the Parque Sarmiento, a huge space designed by Charles  Thays who also designed Parque General San Martin in Mendoza. Amongst other things it contains a zoo, a ferris wheel designed by Eiffel, a fair ground and a boating lake. We particularly enjoyed seeing a swimming dog trying to catch ducks. It was never going to get one, but we had to admire its persistence.

Are we in London?

At 6pm we got on the city tour bus, an old London bus and thus obviously right hand drive. The bus ride was a bit of a disappointment: we couldn't hear the guide and what we could hear didn't add much to what we  already knew from our afternoon stroll.

Jumping off the bus early, we had a mooch around the weekend craft and antique fair. For 5 hours every Saturday and Sunday night this closes down several blocks and you can buy a whole array of items. Like most events of this type, women with pushchairs were still the biggest danger with few ankles being left unscathed.

After a bite to eat, we headed back for a well deserved sleep in a proper bed.

Observation: James Blunt is ridiculously popular here. Probably more so than in his own home. Along with Erasure, Rick Astley, the Pet Shop Boys and Coldplay, he adds to the popular if bizarre appreciation of British music.

Monday 10th April 2011
Mondays in Cordoba are much like a lot of others cities in that most museums and galleries are closed so we had to find other ways to enterain ourselves.

The Market.

The north market was a particularly nice way to spend lunch, with empanadas and paella on our menu. All the places were rammed with locals so we were reassured this was the place to be. The man behind the bar serving us was particularly friendly and it was interesting to see the enormous chef turning out plate after plate of food with amazing effortlessness.

Getting into the spirit of the locals we felt it was important that we take a siesta.

Having missed the chance to see the cathedral yesterday, we took a walk around, feeling slightly uneasy as we crossed paths with locals praying and some literally talking to God. One thing we noted was how colourful and hot the cathedral was in contrast to those we'd visited in the north of the continent.

The cathedral.

For dinner we went to a restaurant with a roof terrace. We were able to order two tasty salads and watch the world go by on street below.

Observation:
Smoke and health - it wasn't until we came to Argentina and Chile that we realised how little people smoked in Colombia and Ecuador. It's rife here and bars/restaurants resemble the UK in the 90's. At £1.50 a pack it's affordable here which we imagine isn't in Colombia and Ecuador. We have also noticed many larger stomachs (James's has been here all along) and people in general. Often it's due to pregnancy, but generally it's likely to be down to the large pizzas, the huge ice creams and the enormous servings of meat. It's just as well we're coming home in less than three weeks.

Tuesday 11th April 2011
With museums open and a night bus to catch at 11pm, we set about a day of culture in the near 30 degree heat.

Hundreds of missing people.

Our first stop was the Museo de la Memoria. It's a bit of a grim place if we're honest. Back 30+ years ago the army set up an illegal group (the D2) to capture, interrogate, torture and kill suspected political agitators, many of whom were students. This was one of the torture houses. Along with being able to see the cells, etc. there are also pictures of many of the prisoners, a number of whom are still missing today.

Next we headed to the Cripta Jesuitica. This is situated under a main road and the 300 year old building was only rediscovered in 1989 by some telecoms workers laying lines. The crypt was buried when the one of the main roads was extended at the beginning of the century.

After some time spent updating this blog and sorting UK train tickets, we took a picnic to the park for lunch. It was very pleasant and reminded us of similar times in the Retiro in Madrid.

Cordoba has around 100000 students at its university so it seemed appropriate to visit the museum. Some things of note are:
- the uni church is the oldest in Argentina.
- the original doors of the church were taken by the Franciscans and are now in the cathedral 2 blocks away.
- the library houses the first 'pocket' books, published in Holland and a very interesting bible written in 7 languages (this is not a pocket book!).
- a room of maps showing the changing boundaries of South America from the 1800's. If you visit Cordoba this place is worth a look.

With the day done we headed to the bus station and (probably) our last night bus. This time we went for a suite which basically means the seat reclines to flat. James managed a good night's sleep, but sadly Emma was kept awake by a snoring man. No, it wasn't James.

Dinner time on the bus.

Mendoza

Wednesday 6th April 2011
We caught an early bus  to the capital of the region, Mendoza. Although wine is produced throughout Argentina, this is the centre of the wine industry here so much more tasting was to come.

The size of the cities we're visiting has been increasing gradually as we travel through Argentina and Mendoza is the first that tops a million people. After checking in, we took the afternoon to wander around and get a feel for the place.

The first thing you notice is that most streets are lined on each side with trees that completely shade the road. In the past this was to give the grapes some respite from the sun as they  were transported through the city. Nowadays they provide welcome shade for the city dwellers.

The boating lake with the Andes looming large.

One of the big green spaces in the city is the Parque de General San Martin. It's huge and we only walked around the large boating lake (this is partly due to some areas being quite dangerous for tourists). During siesta time many people were power walking, running or cycling, and in another area of the park we saw a group practicing fly fishing on grass.

Whilst Mendoza is very green, it is all man made. It's effectively built in a desert with snow melt from the Andes used to provide water for the inhabitants and, of course, the grapes. With only an average of 10 day's rainfall a year, the hot days and the cooler nights, the climate provides perfect conditions to grow grapes.

In the evening we went to a lovely little place called Anna's Bistro with a beautiful outdoor dining area. We felt mildly scruffy as we tucked into delicious food and a bottle of red wine.

Thursday 7th April 2011
Today we did an organised full-day tour. Sometimes it's quite nice to do an organised tour as it takes away all the decision making and organising, which is a welcome relief when you do so much of it while travelling.

After picking up our our other companions for the other day, Juan (our guide who all the girls fancied and was likened to Barbie's Ken by the booking girl) talked us through the day. We headed to the Lujan de Cuyo area and vineyard number 1.

Freshly picked grapes.

Mendel: There were a few unique things about this tour. Firstly we got to taste the Malbec grapes straight from the vines. Malbec grapes are very small and sweet with quite a thick skin which is used to make the lovely dark colour of the wine. Next was the guide. She was very 'Mother Earth' and was heard to say, 'Yeast, like love, is all around.' Finally, for the first and only time, we were able to see the grapes being unloaded, put through the crusher, sorted by ladies and then placed into containers to start the fermentation. Most vineyards keep you away from this so we felt privileged to be in the thick of it for a few moments.

Cheers.

In the tasting room we were firstly given two differently aged Malbecs and it was interesting to try to appreciate the differences. There was quite a difference just in the one year between 09 and 10. We were not put off by the American lady opposite (luckily not on our tour) who just seemed to moan about how Malbec is just for blending. We do not agree. Our third tasting was a blend of 70/30 Malbec/Cab Sav. This was one of Emma's favourites.

Not quite ready to harvest.

Dante Robino: By our second stop the tours were starting to become quite similar. A nice point on this tour was being able to taste their sparkling wine (espumante) before the second fermentation had  started. It was rather tasty, if not very bubbly.

Our group and Pablo.

The tasting was the best of the day with 4 on offer and a very knowledgable Pablo offering us loads of information as we drank. We started with the completed bubbly (Extra Brut), moved onto a 2010 Chardonnay, then a 2008 Bonarda before finishing with their Gran Dante and premium wine, a 2006 Malbec (although 2007 is said to be fruitier). The Bonarda grape, we are told, is grown more than the Malbec but it is normally used for blending. Their aim is to make more 100% Bonarda wines and we agreed it was worth doing so purchased a bottle to savour it again later. We also bought a cork screw as screw cap wines are nearly non-existent here.

Vines everywhere.

Tapiz: we stopped here for a five course lunch preceded by an olive oil tasting. The five courses were chicken, ceviche, salad, steak and Malbec poached pairs with ice cream(and a chocolate Malbec leaf!). Each course was matched to the wines. At this point our memory of the actual wines we were drinking started to fade but we know there was red, a white and a red sparkling wine with dessert. The post-dinner coffee was long overdue, especially for one of our number, Stephanie, who'd fallen asleep at the table.

Alta Vista: Our final stop gave us another tour and again more tastings. The interesting point here was trying a Torrentes, a grape only grown in Argentina.

'Ken' with Emma and Stephanie.

Wined out, we were deposited back at our hostel for a well deserved nap. In our opinion this is definitely the way to do wine tasting when in Mendoza

Friday 8th April 2011
After the success in San Rafael, we decided to combine bikes and wine once more. Stephanie from the tour joined us as weheaded to Maipu to find Mr Hugo and rent one of his bikes.

Ready to go.

The bus journey should have been straight forward. However, we were sold a kipper by a bus driver and ended up an hour behind schedule and around 2 miles from the shop. Regaining our composure, we hailed a taxi, told him were he was (it seems that most taxi drivers here don't know any of the streets) and eventually got to the shop.

Mr Hugo greeted us in turn and having spent £4 each for the day's hire, we were on our way. Our first challenge was cycling along a stretch of unsurfaced road, reminiscent of Ruta 40. Luckily the saddles on the bikes were generous and took the majority of the impact.

Our first stop was Viña el Cerno, a small family bodega that produces only 80,000 bottles a year. The wine making was in full swing so no tour was available, but a very thorough and interesting tasting session was. This was the highlight of the day as we were able to try a wide variety of wines and different grapes.

We obviouslt went left.

Our second and last vineyard was Tempus Alto where we had more of the same. By this time we were starting to feel we knew the process and it was now down to personal taste. So going back to our English roots our next stop was 'The Beer Garden' for lunch and a spot of relaxation in the sun.

After a bit more cycling and finding places closed for business, we dropped off our bikes, claimed our complementary glass of wine and got a much quicker bus back to town.
The evening was spent chatting on the roof terrace with a few other guests. We tried Fernet which is a drink of Italian origin but is seen here as their short of choice, generally drunk with coke. It's pretty medicinal in taste, but gets nicer after two or three.

It's worth pointing out how sociable our lodgings here (Hostel Empedrado) were, certainly the most sociable of the trip. It's not a party hostel by any means, but there are events most nights and the multiple social spaces make it a great place share experiences and travel tips.

Saturday 9th April 2011
We decided not to have any wine today. With a night bus at 10pm, we checked out for a day of culture and relaxation in the numerous city parks.

Good quality British manufacturing.

Our first stop was the Museo Fundacional to learn more about the history of the city. It was founded in 1661 but exactly 200 years later an earthquake demolished everything (apart from one church) and the city we've lived in for 4 days was built. The museum holds some of the original ruins and also a 100 year old car built in Wolverhampton.

Risotto in a cauldron.

We had a lovely Italian lunch of ravioli and risotto, with James weakening by having a (huge) glass of house red.

The afternoon was spent admiring Mendocians. There were more crazy dogs, teenage boys hissing at teenage girls and lots of families enjoying the sunshine and the blue skies. Oh, and lots of large bottles of pop shared with friends.

Loads of parks.

We've had the perfect amount enough time in Mendoza and short of skydiving or climbing the highest peak outside the Himalayas, we'd seen everything we wanted to. As we left the hostel, the twice weekly asado was just getting into full swing and it's a shame our timing meant we were not able to experience it.

Fact:Sugar: Apparently there is a 2kg limit on sugar per shop visit. The Argentines can't get enough of it and so the government has set a limit.

Observation:
Pregnancy: Everyone is pregnant. OK,not everyone, but a large proportion of young women are either expecting or dragging a kid along. Birth rates are high and it's not uncommon for four generations of family to be living under the same roof. Imagine it ...

San Rafael

Monday 4th April 2011
Arriving at 6am into San Rafael bus station, we headed for the hotel and were lucky enough to get into our room. In truth, most of the hotel was empty, but we were glad of the bed. For some reason we felt pretty wiped out so we decided to get a couple of hours sleep. This turned into 4 and so it was lunchtime by the time we felt up to anything.

The guidebook paints San Rafeal as a busy modern city, with streets lines with Sycamore trees. It suggests that you should wander around, grab some shade, a cafe and watch the world go by. So we did. We found an old bar filled with elderly gentlemen playing dominoes. James was desperate to join in but felt it rude to abandon Emma on the pavement.

Observations:
Bikes: This place is very bike friendly and there are loads around. A weird sight is seeing someone standing up on the back whilst moving along. It puts 'backies' in the UK to shame and is even valid transport for a mother and young daughter. Obviously there's not a helmet in sight.

San Martin

Gaseosas: Sitting by the plaza San Martin (Bolivar's partner in crime from the south) it seems that after school, kids pile into a kiosk and return to the park with a large bottle of their favourite pop and a few cups. They quickly see this off with their friends. Wired on sugar we assume they head home to do their homework. It strikes us as a very civilised way for 15 year olds to spend their time.

Tuesday 5th April 2011
Bodegas were the reason we stopped in San Rafael. With several bodegas around town, it is a perfect place to hire a bike and get tasting.

The private cellar.

With our bikes firmly beneath us, we cycled 6km out to what would be the most impressive tour and wine tasting of the day. Casa Bianchi is a vineyard started around 100 years ago by an Italian chap and today it's run by his 5th son, who's 85 and visits every day. Their flagship product is a sparkling white (they aren't allowed to call it Champagne but it is) and this won a prize in France in 2008. We were presented with a glass each to taste at the end and it was delicious, better than some champagnes we've had. Or maybe it was the sun, holiday and drinking at 11am that helped the taste. The tasting was preceeded by an excellent tour in English, during which we were able to visit the personal cellar of the family, housing a private collection of over 15000 wines. The 6 legs on the table in the middle of the room represented the 6 children of the founder. The UK is their biggest export market so we hope to track some down on our return.

An early glass.

Just down the road was Murville, a smaller and more traditional vineyard. The interesting thing here was seeing the start of the process up close (with wasps everywhere) and witnessing the fermentation.

James in the olive grove.

With lunchtime looming, and the bodegas closing for two hours, we hit our jackpot of the day. In amongst the vineyards is an olive oil factory, Yancanelo. We had to pay a small amount for the hour tour, but we more than got our money's worth. As well as a very informative tour through the factory and adjoining olive groves, we were presented with a magnificent spread of the company's products. This was in effect lunch. The tastings included the expected oil and bread, as well as balsamic vinegar, two types of olive, olive paste, aubergine, artichoke hearts, asparagus and some cocktail cherries. It was of course accompanied by a glass of the house Malbec and was one of the best lunches of the entire trip, helped by the surrounding olive groves and beautiful blue sky.

Lunch, what a spread!

The afternoon was never going to surpass the morning, but we managed one more tasting before heading back to drop off our bikes. The last 4km was slightly blighted by a puncture in James' tyre. The freshly cut grass here is particularly spiky and mountain bike tyres do not survive.

Bariloche

Thursday 31st March 2011 - James's Birthday
After a small lie in we grabbed lunch and headed on the bus to Lake Gutierrez for a short walk, to see a waterfall and more impressively to get to our first viewpoint of the area. As you'd imagine, it's pretty stunning.

James and the waterfall.

For dinner we went to Tarquino, a steak house that looks like a hobbit's house with a huge door. It also has a tree growing inside and up through a hole in the roof to the outside. James had a rather ridiculously big piece of Bife de Chorizo (sirloin to the rest of us), whilst Emma had trout, all washed down with a lovely Malbec. For dessert Emma managed to get a candle organised and James got to make the customary (in Argentina) three wishes.

Friday 1st April 2011
There's a viewpoint 17km from the centre of Bariloche (Cerro Campanario) that's on National Geographic's top ten in the world. Obviously we felt it deserved a look.

Top 10?

We decided to take a 40 minute hike to the summit rather than the chair lift, mainly as there was no chance of Emma getting on it willingly.

We have to agree that the view is absolutely stunning with lakes everywhere. It looks more like a painting than something real. Whether it's the best of the holiday, we're not exactly sure how you tell! We'll perhaps use National Geographic's criteria.

Safe?

We then made our way to Cerro Otto. This time James convinced Emma onto the cable car and we made our way to the revolving cafe at the top. It takes 20mins to cover 360 degrees and it was a pleasant way to enjoy a drink. We would have liked to have done the short walk around the surrounding area but the paths were closed due to some work that was going on.

Apparently maintenance work such as repainting the roof and railings is done every year. We guessed that this time of year is best as it's the end of the season with fewer crowds but the weather is still good.

Shop opening times in Argentina are slightly random, with the period between 1pm and 5pm often being shut. We'd hoped to buy our bus tickets onwards to San Rafael (another 15 hours) but had to wait so we grabbed a drink. James had a Submarino which is basically a glass of hot milk with a bar of chocolate chucked in. The fun part here was the chocolate bar being in the shape of a submarine!

More meat than you can shake a large stick at.

In the evening we went to a typical Parilla and were able to watch the chefs cook several animals on their big BBQ. We were glad we decided against ordering chips as the plate was enormous. Self control is definitely needed when ordering here!

Saturday 2nd April 2011

More amazing views.

Today we headed out to Llao Llao, 25m from the city. This involved more walking and loads more amazing sights from the viewpoint at the top. The walk continued to a lovely pebble beach. It was so peaceful that people were doing yoga and we decided to have our packed lunch and watch the wind sailors on the lake. As we walked away some locals were setting up a BBQ on one of the permanent stone BBQs provided. It would be lovely if we had these in the UK.

Bariloche is famous for its chocolate so we felt it would be rude not to partake in some. After a home cooked dinner we headed to Mamushka, ignoring the chain shops, and shared their signature cake. Devoured is probably a better word. Definitely one of the best cakes ever and Emma has promised to attempt to recreate it in the UK.

Finally we went to the lovely Malabar, making it in for happy hour. The place really filled up around 11 but we soon retired so can only imagine what it's like at peak time after midnight.

Sunday 3rd April 2011
We packed, paid, grabbed lunch and caught our next big bus. This time the bus trip was around 15 hours to San Rafael where we planned to start some wine tasting. On the map it looks further than our last trip, but it takes half the time so we guess the roads are better.

What is certainly better is the bus. We decided on full cama which means the seat reclines a lot, it's wider and you get a blanket and pillow. We would have gone suite but sadly all these were booked out. The journey felt like a real luxury after all our other bus trips with cooked meals, hot drinks and a game of bingo provided. We did not win the bottle of wine going, but luckily we prepared and brought our own.

Night buses are definitely the way to go here. Unlike Ecuador and Colombia, there's very little to see outside, with long straight roads and flat countryside being the norm. It does make it easy to concentrate on the films. This time we had the old favourite The Wedding Crashers, followed by 300, all about Spartans and similar to Gladiator. Finally we had the film 7 Pounds, with Will Smith. This really isn't the light hearted entertainment one needs on these trips.

Ruta 40

Wednesday 30th March 2011
Still on the bus. We're travelling along the infamous route 40, our journey a little over 1850km! It's pretty unique in that for a major road, large sections are like a farm track and it takes hours to get anywhere. It's being upgraded, but one imagines it will be many years before it's radically improved. Through the journey it's fair to say we've not seen and towns that really deserved a stay so we feel justified in heading straight up to Bariloche.

Our home for 30 hours.

Mid afternoon came and the films started. First we had Flirting with Forty, a romance with a very botoxed Heather Locklear. Next Hunt to Kill, much like Commando with wrestler Steve Austin as the lead (no great acting there). Finally Drive Angry 3D in 2D and no glasses were supplied. Nicholas Cage was in this one. We think they got steadily worse, but they entertained, though not as much as the Jackie Chan ones on the bus in Ecuador.

Slowly working on the road.

Thursday 31st March 2011
We finally arrived at Bariloche bus station at 1:30am, jumped in a cab and headed for our hostel. The 30 hours actually went quite quickly with the films, some comedy podcasts and a few hours sleep all helping to pass the time away.

El Calafate

Saturday 26th March 2011
Getting up at 5:50am is silly at the best of times, but doing it the day after finishing a four-day hike was far from ideal.

Having made it to the bus for 7am we set off with a load of other tourists for the 5hr journey across the border into Argentina. It was a fairly uneventful trip apart from the two occasions we had to get off the bus to go through immigration. One fellow passenger was particularly keen on being well within our personal space in the queue. We'd expected the crossings to be longer but no bag checks were needed (we obviously looked trustworthy) and so it was relatively painless.

The journey along to El Calafate was one of the most unremarkable yet. Long straight roads, flat brown terrain and civilisation barely visible.

Once in our hostel (the lively, relaxed and enjoyable America del Sur) we set about planning our stay. The most pressing job was laundry. After a week moving from place to place we'd got behind and Emma was getting worried!

With clean underwear on its way, we booked our minitrek on the Glacier and our bus trip to Bariloche. They only go every 2 days so a rethink of our schedule was needed. Having sorted everything out we eventually settled down for a beer. River Plate were playing football on the TV and it was nice to see a dad and his young son in the bar watching the match avidly.

The local brew.

Observation:
Dogs are back, reminiscent of the early parts of our trip but looking much healthier. One particular dog followed us for 15 minutes on our walk into town, chased a few cars and then sat outside the restaurant while we ate. Absolutely barking.

Sunday 27th March 2011

The ice.

Today we visited the Glacier Peritio Moreno, THE reason people stay in El Calafate. The first thing to point out is that it's named after a famous explorer here and the man who in the 1800s mapped much of Patagonia. The glacier is impressive for a couple of reasons: it's very accessible and it's stable, unlike many others around. Situated in the southern ice fields, it advances at around 2m a day at its peak, although it's perfectly balanced as small sections fall into the lake each day. This means that the glacier will never grow so much that it will dominate the surrounding land. The most that happens is that a bridge of ice is formed between the glacier and the nearest land and this eventually collapses. This must be a great spectacle to witness. Oddly, there is no consistency as to when the ice bridge forms.

On the glacier.

Our full day trip gave us time to walk the viewing balconies and take hundreds if photos. Then, in the afternoon, we took a boat over to the edge and were able to spend 1.5hrs walking in crampons on the Glacier. The guide, Luis, was great. He made the trip both enjoyable and informative. James mentioned on the walk that some gin, tonic and lemon would go well with the ice. Not quite a G&T, but to round it off they offer you a Jim Bean over glacier (and therefore very old) ice. Neither of us are big whiskey drinkers, but it was a nice way to take it.

Anyone for Jim Beam?

Yes please says Emma!

Monday 28th March 2011
We had our first lie in for what seemed like weeks. We were still up at 8:30 but this seemed like a luxury.

Being nice sunny day, the views from our hilltop hostel were stunning, looking over Lago Argentina (the biggest mass on inland water in the country) and the mountains beyond. It was a lovely place to eat breakfast and somewhat different to Allder Close, Abingdon.

The unimpressive nature reserve.

We thought we'd explore the town a little more today so we headed down toward the nature reserve by the lake. We didn't stop. It was surrounded by building works of a new road so the chance of peace, quiet and bird spotting seemed pretty unlikely. We did, however, see the couple of flamingos in the distance and they didn't seem bothered by all the noise and dust.

Due to the nature of our travelling and the poor state of the Internet in places, we were in need of some time to update the blog. We then went in search for a local brewery 'Shalken'. Again we were disappointed as this turned out to be a restaurant that was closed.

A house.

We finished the day by heading to our first Parrilla in Argentina, La Tablita. Emma had trout whilst James has Bife de Chorizo, supposedly one of the best cuts. It was huge and very tasty, if a little chewy. More sampling needed throughout the trip.The accompanying bottle of Malbec helped wash it all down nicely and gave us a taste of why we're heading to Mendoza in a week or so for wine tasting.

Tuesday 29th March 2011

Horses.

This morning we'd booked to do a bit of horseriding. This was nothing strenuous and our horses Electra and Pajaro barely broke into a canter. It was a great way to see some of the countryside although it got a bit cold towards the end as the snow started. We never realised horses were so windy and wondered whether those in the grand national have the same trouble with gas!

A cold ending.

After getting some supplies in for our journey we headed to the bus station. This was to be a  30hr journey north to Bariloche. We contemplated the plane, but at £130 more each we decided to settle in for our longest journey yet. Podcasts and bottle of red wine helped the time pass quickly on the opening leg.

Torres del Paine

Tuesday 22nd March 2011

Welcome indeed.

Today was the first of four days walking, but first we had to get to the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine on the Chilean side of Patagonia. We got picked up at 7:30 and after some confusion (both with the driver of the car and the two other tourists with us who didn't seem to care about the schedule) we made it to the bus. On the bus we saw a fox looking for breakfast. Probably not easy to find since they moved most of the sheep out a few years ago because they were destroying the landscape. 2hrs or so later we were at the jetty on lake Pehoe and after a frustrating wait for an hour, we set off on the catameran for our first stop.

Our plan is to do the W trek from west to east. We're lucky that Emma's sister did this a few weeks ago so again the route has been scouted and tips welcomed.

The first useful tip was being first off the boat and first to check in. This definitely saved at least 30 minutes of idle time, with people still on the boat some time later.


Due to sunlight hours closing in and our plan to do the trek in 4 days, we had resigned ourselves early to not having enough time to walk to the Grey Refuge and back, but with viewing points on the way of the impressive Grey Glacier, we set off to walk as far as we could.


Having started around 1pm, we walked for around 3hrs before turing round. We were close to the ideal turning point, but conscious of the light and not wanting to kill ourselves on day 1 we took the sensible, if disappointing, option and headed back.


On the walk itself we experienced what seemed like most possible weather conditions.

Parts of the Grey Glacier.

It's near impossible to go wrong on the route, with both markings and tourists in abundance. The highlight of the walk was the glacier. Our first sight was a series of blue chunks of ice floating in the lake. These looked more like washing machine tablets than ice. Perhaps someone can explain the vivid blue colour to us?


Back at our base, mountain lodge Paine Grande, we had a canteen-style dinner and had an early night.

Distance covered ~20km


Wednesday 23rd March 2011
With a hearty breakfast in our stomachs, we set off at 8:15 to cover the middle section of the 'W'. 

The first 2 hours was a really pleasant walk along to Camp Italiano in the middle. This was to be the easy part of the day. Early on we were overtaken at speed by a park ranger who made us feel very slow.

Avalanche!

Once at the camp, the fun part of the day started. The next 4.5hrs was the toughest yet, over rocks, windy ridges and through woodland, all generally up hill. The highlight was without doubt witnessing an avalanche, from a safe distance of course. We had heard several rumbles of avalanches throughout the morning, so we were thrilled to see one in action. It was really spectacular and it was also fun to be suddenly surrounded by some snowflakes. With the avalanches pushing moisture into the air and the sun shining, we saw a fair few rainbows during the day.

Amazing views.

At Camp Britanico we ate our lunch and decided not to carry on to the viewpoint. It was really misty and we'd been told not to bother if this was the case.

On the way back down, we experienced some of the stronger winds yet, nearly blowing us off the ridge as we struggled across.

Back at Bamp Italiano, we headed off along the lake. A lovely pebble beach along the way reminded us of the Galapagos, although it looked a little cold for snorkelling.

Cosy cabin.

About 9hrs after setting off we limped into our stop for the night and into our wonderful cabin. James had a blister on a blister, whilst Emma's leg was hurting. No pain no gain! We'd been told there was a hot tub for the use of the residents of the 7 cabins. When we eventually climbed in after dinner, and in the dark, we found that whilst warmish at the top, it was freezing at the bottom. After about 30 seconds we gave up without Emma having properly making it in. This was the followed by 10 minutes of flip flop hunting in the dark and a shower. Eventually, we settled in for a well deserved sleep, peering through the window in the roof at the stars above as we drifted off.

CENSORED

Distance covered ~24.1km, 15miles

Thursday 24th March 2011

The day's walk.

Today's walk was only around 4hrs, so with breakfast until 9 and checkout at 10, we were able to rest our weary legs a little.

The walk took us between mountains and lakes with the first 2 hrs in glorious sunshine. This was in total contrast to anything we'd exerienced before and to the last 2 hrs, where the normal wind and rain returned. It really is amazing how quickly the weather changes and we were happy to be prepared for all conditions.

We reached our next hostel around 2pm and settled in for a relaxing afternoon, conscious of the big walk awaiting us tomorrow.

The refugio is really nice, well run and set in lovely surroundings with a great view from every window. It felt less chaotic than yesterday's refugio but each place has had its own charm.

Distance covered 11km

Friday 25th March 2011
Today was the big one; the walk up to the mirador Torres to look at the central wonders of this park. Whilst not as long as day 2 in distance, this was certain to be the most uphill waking yet. We just hoped that our previous three day's walking and the altitude training in Ecuador would stand us in good stead.

It would have been ideal to get a good night's sleep in and by heading to bed at 9:30 for a 6:45 getup, we were hopeful. Between the noise of other people, a chap slipping over in the bathroom and some world- beating snoring, possibly by the same man who slipped, an early night was not possible. Luckily earplugs and the  iPod came to the rescue.

We got breakfast at the earliest point and set off up the hill at 7.50. The moon was in the sky and some foxes were still foraging for food. 

According to the map, the walk up to the viewpoint should take 4.5hrs, but we covered it in 3.5hrs taking plenty of breaks. We don't think we were fast and so we put it down to more erratic estimations of time, few of which can be trusted.

Refugio closed for winter.

On the way up we passed through Camp Chileno, now boarded up for winter with only a few tents in the campsite. We imagine it was a vibrant busy place just a few weeks ago. 

The misty Torres.

The walk took us alongside a river, through a valley, through woodland and eventually out onto rocks to the viewpoint. We were lucky to get to the viewpoint when we did. The scenery was amazing and after 10 minutes a huge snow shower set in, blocking all views around us. Definitely not sunbathing weather!

Us at the Torres.

Snow storm.

We took a leisurely stroll back down, the harsh ground taking its toll on our weary limbs. 7hr 10 mins after setting off we were back at the refugio for a shower and a celebratory Austral Patagonia Pale Ale before catching the late bus back to Puerto Natales.

Celebratory drinks.

We've thoroughly enjoyed the trek. For us it been challenging both mentally and physically, but we'd love to do something similar again soon. 

We arrived back in Puerto Natales just before 10 and had a bit of a result. We managed to get the last two seats on the bus to El Calafate the the next day at 7am. We checked in, grabbed our bags and found some accommodation for the next night. We headed off to sleep slightly apprehensive about our early start tomorrow.

Distance covered ~22km 

General thoughts:
Camping vs Refugios: there are definitely pros and cons to both. If you want to do the 'W' trek, camping gives you far cheaper options for accommodation whilst also allowing you to split your days more evenly. On the other hand, you do have to carry your kit around and there's something nice about climbing into a bed at the end of a long day's walk. There's something for everyone here.

For us, lugging the amount of kit we've seen on people's backs would be a distraction from the views and beauty of the park. Car camping is still the way to go!