El Chalten, Argentina

We have just arrived back in El Calafate after a few days spent in remote El Chalten known for the spectacular surrounding mountain scenery. For most of our stay though, the inclement weather of low clouds and sustained snow falls prevented us from even a glimpse of the mountain landscape. This morning, the clouds cleared and we trekked out of the valley the little town is located in. The trekking was great and for most of the trail, we were the first walkers after the recent heavy snowfalls. We had some views of the famous Cerro Torre and Mt Fitz Roy, towering granite peaks, before the clouds came in again and we headed back to the town. On our first afternoon, restricted from hiking because of the weather, we watched videos at the national park office in town of climbing expeditions to the mountain peaks. Just incredible scenes of experienced climbers attempting to navigate the shear granite faces of the mountains.

El Calafate and Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina

We are overwhelmed by the continuing incredible sights and experiences of our trip. The main attraction of El Calafate is its proximity to the Los Glaciares National Park, and the most accessible of several glaciers is the Perito Moreno Glacier that we visited today. Like many other sights of our trip, the glacier exceeded our expectations. The size of the ice river is just amazing, made more so by the closeness of a boat trip voyage towards the ice wall, and the positioning of visitor walkways on the nearby peninsula. The glacier is also by no means static, with parts of the glacier front advancing 2 metres per day. There is the occasional loud crack and rumblings as the ice shifts, and some blocks crash into the water below. We all stood staring at the spectacle for hours, trying to predict where the next ice block will fall - far worse than watching and waiting for a kettle to boil. The colours of the ice are beautiful, and again pictures portray a better idea than any words we could string together.

Bariloche to El Calafate, Argentina

We have headed further south and are now based for a couple of days in El Calafate, below the 50th parallel in latitude. In sailing jargon, they talk about the ¨roaring forties¨ and the ¨screaming fifties¨ when sailing through the southern oceans, but at least inland and for now, we are experiencing some remarkably calm weather. We had our longest bus journey yet of 29 hours to reach El Calafate - a very long time. By the end of the trip, the story lines of the movies we had watched started to merge together in our minds. The interior of Patagonia is very sparse, low scrubland for miles and miles, a wild coastline on the east, and spectacular snow covered mountain ranges on the west.

Bariloche - a very beautiful part of Argentina

Just awesome scenery in and around Bariloche. Yesterday we visited Villa de Angostura 80 km further up Lago Nahuel Huapi, and today we travelled to the top of the very large ski resort El Catedral.

St Bernard, San Carlos de Bariloche

Yes ok, we succumbed as well to paying a fee to have our photograph taken !

San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

Argentina is certainly a very diverse country, and we have had a great couple of days exploring the town and its spectacular surroundings - so different from everywhere else we have been so far in the country. Again, we have been very fortunate with the weather with just one day of ongoing rain, and a couple of days of intermittent sunshine and cloud. This morning we travelled to the top of a nearby mountain by cable car with great views of the town and the very large Lago Nahuel Huapi. The snow covered mountains, valleys of dense forests and extensive lake system provide for stunning scenery and hiking terrain. Many of the visitors at this time of the year are here for the skiing but we have opted out of that. Heather is more than proficient, but my skiing abilities, having grown up in southern Africa, would restrict me to the kids training slopes. The town itself is filled with character, with attractive and unusual log and stone architecture, numerous St. Bernard dogs posing for photographs with their owners for a fee, and numerous and some very large chocolate shops.

Bariloche, Argentina

We have travelled again, and arrived yesterday on an overnight bus in Bariloche, in the Lake District of Argentina. Light snow was falling which was a distinct contrast to the coast at Puerto Madryn. The scenery is post card perfect with snow covered mountains, dense forests in the valleys, and large lakes. On our last day in Puerto Madryn, we joined a tour group on to the Peninsula Valdes itself. Disappointing in comparison to our previous experiences with whales and sea lions. The reasons are two fold, one being that our timing of our trip to this part of the world is maybe a month or two before the main concentrations of marine wildlife arrive at the peninsula, and secondly that even though the peninsula is a world heritage site, the peninsula is entirely privately owned and expensive! Access to various parts of the peninsula are limited and our only marine sighting was a few scattered elephant seals. Our disitnct memory though will definitely be the underwater close encounter with the sea lions.

Our Dive with Sea Lions - pictures are worth a thousand words !

Sea Lion Scuba Dive, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Well this morning has definitely been another highlight of our entire trip, scuba diving with sea lions. As we anchored the boat off Punto Loma (the same spot we cycled to yesterday), some of the inquisitive sea lions were already leaving the beach, splashing into the sea and swimming towards the boat, soon surrounding us. We dived for close to 40 minutes at a shallow depth of 7 metres, and the dive was awesome. At times we had up to 30 female sea lions surrounding us, extremely inquisitive but not aggressive at all. They gently bit at our hands and arms and played around us, and at one point Heather had one grab on to the top her hood and pull her gently upwards. When we surfaced to the boat, a group surrounded us leaping out of the water, almost disappointed that the encounter was over. The conditions were extremely cold with a water temperature of 9 Deg C, and towards the end of the dive, both of us were starting to feel chilled. The worst was to come though once we were in the boat and heading back to the dive club - it was COLD! but definitely worth it.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

As a kid, I remember watching a few TV wildlife documentaries on the rich marine life off the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, and specifically around Peninsula Valdes. One of the natural wonders is the unique hunting behaviour of orca whales that voluntary strand themselves on the beach to catch sea lions or young elephant seals, before wriggling back into the sea. Yesterday at midday, we arrived by bus in Puerto Madryn situated in one of the bays next to the famous peninsula. We found a hostel, had a shower, and headed for the beach front. The day was sunny and calm, and we were just in time to watch 6 or 7 southern right whales just off shore and very close to the pier. What a spectacular viewing for almost two hours. This morning the weather was cold and drizzling, but we stuck to our plan and cycled round the bay to Punto Loma, and a reserve for sea lions and a colony of cormorants. The land is certainly very barren with low scrub, but the sea has abundant animal life.

Mar del Plata, Argentina

From Buenos Aires, we have headed further south along the Atlantic coastline to the large coastal resort town of Mar del Plata. Even though the weather is not great - windy and cool but with mostly clear skies, we have had the advantage of being in town away from the summer holiday makers. Yesterday we walked for many kilometres along the coastal promenade to and from the main port. We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the busy port with many deep sea and shore based fishing vessels, and a huge number of south american sea lions basking in almost every spare space along the harbour.

Sunset, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Back to Argentina and Buenos Aires

Our goal had been to watch live a premier league football match in Uruguay´s capital Montevideo or Buenos Aires in Argentina. We managed to book an organised trip to a match on Sunday, and so Saturday consisted of two bus rides and a late night ferry ride to get us back to the capital of Argentina. The match was an incredible experience of fanatical south american football fans between one of the ´big five´ clubs Racing Club and a smaller club Lanus. On the way to the match we were warned by our host to shout loudly and cheer when the host team (Racing Club) scored, but look very sad when the opposition scored. We are told every Argentinian supports a football team, and even an hour before the start, the singing of the standing crowds was awesome. We sat away from the standing room only parts of the stadium. The security was intense with the opposition fans confined to a smaller portion of the stadium and separated by high fences and riot police. The rule after every match is that the home fans have to sit and wait fifteen minutes before their gates are opened, to allow the opposition supporters to leave the stadium without incident. Even the field is surrounded by a concrete trench to limit any access onto the field - no different to an elephants enclosure at the zoo. The football was not that impressive being the first game of the season, but to see the passion of the supporters was something to be remembered.

Penguin Encounter - Communicating on another level !

Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

True to the original theme of this blog, the following entry relates to an encounter with wildlife, in this case penguins on the beaches of Punta del Diablo. Even in this remarkably beautiful coastline, we were starkly reminded of the devastation caused by mankind on the environment worlwide. Daily, guests from the hostel see exhausted penguins, some still alive and some dead, washed up on the beaches. We stayed with one for over two hours today. We were able to approach extremely closely, but with no aggressive response from it, as would be expected by any wild animal. Rightly or wrongly, I picked it up to encourage it back into the water, and found what might be the cause of the penguin losses, a distinct greasy residue, smelling of petroleum. A very sad part of the day.

Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

We are fortunate to have found again another terrific spot, and this time unlike any other on our trip so far - an Atlantic coast seaside resort. We are here in the off season, and the small village only has a population of about 1000 people with many empty holiday cottages. We are told in summer in the peak season, over 20 000 tourists move in and take over. The coastline is beautiful. The average stay at the hostel is 6 days, as travellers "hang out" in this amzing spot. We were up early to watch the sunrise, and in over four hours of walking today we came across only another four people. The following photos say it all !

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

We had not intended to travel to Uruguay at first, but made the decision on reading up a bit more, and when we were so close on the other side of the Rio de la Plata in Argentina. It has proved to be a great decision and we are loving the new sights and culture. The pace of life is very laid back, and even noticeable on the roads where the driving is decidedly un-aggressive compared to some of our other experiences. Colonia del Sacramento is a charming little town with a conserved historic part, similar to the old city in Quebec City, Canada, but on a much smaller scale. For probably the first time in our entire trip we had a day of rain, that kept us indoors playing cards and sampling the local wine and beer. By the following day however, the sky was clear, and we headed up the coast through Montevideo to Punta Del Diablo, close to the Brazilian border.

Tigre, Argentina

On our route through to Uruguay, we spent a day in the port town of Tigre. The port, a suburb of Buenos Aires, is located in the river delta of the Rio Pirana. Extensive water front developments, amusement parks, and a massive artesan market, draw in the crowds of tourists and local holiday makers. We took a short river boat tour. The many waterways are filled with all types of water craft during the day, and many of the waterways close to the town are lined with holiday homes only accessible by boat - a very scenic area. The following morning we caught the ferry across the delta through to the Uruguayan town of Carmelo. Our fourth country on our trip so far. It is a great change to be next to the water again after many weeks up in the mountains of South America. The rivers and delta are large, and in a few days we hope to be in one of the Uruguayan Atlantic seaside resorts.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We spent a total of five nights in the city taking a complete break from bus travel, and getting to know the main areas. We walked for many kilometres over many hours, and the size of some of the main attractions were astonishing and not like anything Heather or I have experienced before. The parks and green areas in the suburb of Palermo, including a Japanese garden, were fantastic; and the ongoing development of the harbour waterfront (Puerto Madero) is extensive and very modern. An unusual outing for us backpackers included a visit to the annual agricultural show which clearly displayed the huge role of agriculture in the Argentinian economy. We could not stay in the city without seeing a tango dancing show, and also taking a 3 hr tango class. This is despite my lack of any dancing skill, and Heathers proficiency at it. We woke the next morning with some stiffness, but altogether a great start, but a long, long way to go !