Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza turned out to be far larger and much more built up than we had expected. Even the main wine tour route in Maipu was far from rural. Even so, on Saturday, we had a very enjoyable day out, renting bikes and visiting some of the smaller boutique wineries and vinyards. The Mendoza region produces over 70% of Argentinas wine, the majority of which is malbec or blends using malbec. This is a grape of poor quality in France, but grows far better in the dry areas of central Argentina. The region also has substantial olive tree plantations. We visited a small winery owned by a french couple who emigrated to Argentina in 2004 and bought a vinyard with little knowledge of wine making. The first years wine was not great, and thereafter for a few years they hired local consultants to work with them and teach them. Last year was their first range of wines produced by themselves. A real good story that dreams can come true!

Puerto Varas to Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina

A full day travelling has brought us to Mendoza, Argentina. We spent little time in Lima, La Paz, Montevideo, or Santiago, and only Buenos Aires of all the capital cities has appealed to us. In Santiago, we spent as much time to change bus terminals and catch the next bus through to Argentina. The road is spectacular through the Andes, winding up to the highest point. The ski runs in places pass over the road. We are back to some of the quirks of travelling in Argentina, with tips requested for unloading your luggage from the bus. This time, the tip was requested by the customs officials at the border crossing to unload/load our backpacks from the minibus to be searched and scanned!

Puerto Varas, Lake District, Chile

We have spent a couple of days in Puerto Varas, close to Puerto Montt, the destination of our ferry trip. We are now in the lake district of Chile - lush green meadows, lakes, snow covered mountains and snow capped volcanoes and definitely some warmer weather. As the crow flies we are just a short distance from Bariloche in Argentina, an area we visited previously. Yesterday we did a good walk close to the base and up the side of the Volcan Orsano, the one pictured in the photograph. The hike was tough almost up to the snowline, and on the typical volcano shape, the higher we went, the steeper the slope ! Today we spent the day further north along Lago Llanquehue at a small quaint and quiet town called Frutilla with a german heritage. We had a great short walk in a native forest area maintained and studied by the Faculty of Forestry from the University of Chile. Another overnight bus trip tonight as we make our way north to the capital of Chile, Santiago.

Navimag Ferry, Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt

Sea ... Sky ... Sea ... Sky ... , that was the view from the side windows of the dining area on the ferry as it pitched and rolled in the Gulf of Penas and the Pacific Ocean on Saturday afternoon and evening. The movement of the large boat was significant causing sea sickness to some passengers. The wind too was very strong gusting up to 50 knots. Unbelievably the rest of the three day trip through the channels and inlets of the rugged southern Chile coastline was very calm, and for most of Sunday we were out on the open deck taking in the views and sun. For the first morning we passed through some very narrow channels. The trip was an excellent way, and probably the only way, to see this part of Chile. We are pleased now though to be on solid ground and stretch our legs after lots of reading and card playing on the boat.

Guanacos, Vicunas, Alpacas and Llamas

Some blurb on the camelids of South America ... Throughout the Andes of South America and the Patagonia region, we have come across all four of the above closely related species that are relatives of the camel, belonging to the same family. They have been interesting to see, partially because there is certainly no animal like them in North America or Southern Africa. They are also integral to the lives, beliefs and traditions of the local people of the entire region. In Potosi, Bolivia at the Cerro Rico silver mine, we saw the blood splattered hut door entrances and mine entrances where alpaca were slaughtered as a protection offering to El Tio, the devil, lord of the undergorund.

All of them seem to thrive in sparse areas with low scrub vegetation that wouldn´t support most other large animals. The relation between all four does not sound at all clear, but at least it was the Inca that domesticated the wild animals (Guanaco and Vicuna), to breed the llama and alpaca over 4000 years ago. Llama were predominantly raised for their meat and as pack animals. Individual llama carry small loads, but the benefit comes with herds of hundreds of animals that the Inca would use for transportation. Alpaca were raised for their wool and meat, the wool being used by the ¨common people¨ for clothing, blankets, etc. It is the vicuna that has the softest and finest wool, and was hunted by the Inca to provide wool for royalty. In fact, it was illegal for anyone but royalty to wear garments of vicuna wool. Vicuna are the most threatened and were almost hunted to extinction in the 1970´s the global population being reduced to 6000 animals.

Wildlife of Torres del Paine National Park

After hiking for five days, we didn´t sight a single mammal, but did see numerous signs and tracks. On our way back to Puerto Natales while waiting for transport at the park entrance, and after our bus shuttle left early without us, we did watch a fox chase and pester an armadillo, eventually giving up.

Torres del Paine, Puerto Natales, Chile

Late yesterday we returned, tired and weary, to Puerto Natales after a terrific, but tough !, five day backpacking trip in Torres del Paine National Park. The landscape in the park is stunning with high snow covered mountains, shear granite cliffs, glaciers and lakes. We hiked with tent, sleeping bags, and all our food over some very challenging terrain, some routes definitely not adhering to any contour paths! Even though it is late winter we had terrific calm weather, with some light rain at night. We hiked along the ¨W¨ route, which at this time of year was very quiet with few other hikers, the full circuit being closed. Annually the park hosts over 200 000 visitors, most of these arriving in summer. An extraordinarily beautiful and wild landscape.

Puerto Natales, Chile

Travelling from Punto Arenas by bus this morning, we have arrived in Puerto Natales. The last four or five days have been a struggle with both of us coming down with colds. That was probably part of the reason for us both finding Punto Arenas quiet and dreary, although at this time of the year (late winter) we discovered that most of the advertised attractions are still closed. Our trip back across the Straits of Magellan on to the mainland had a highlight though with a beautiful but brief view of a few Commerson´s Dolphins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerson's_Dolphin) swimming with ease and speed through the bow waves of the ferry. Puerto Natales is much smaller than Punto Arenas but more touristy due to the nearby hiking and climbing mecca of Torres del Paine. We hope to be 100% fit agin in a day or two, to get into the area for some trekking.

Ushuaia, Argentina

We have had a good full week relaxing in Ushuaia, and experiencing a few more of its attractions including some great cross country skiing and some scenic walks with phenomenal views of the city and the Beagle Channel. The weather as well has been in our favour, and today is almost balmy, with a maximum of 15 Deg C. There is little wind, and the channel surface is like a mirror. Early tomorrow we travel by bus through to Punta Arenas in Chile.

Upland Geese, Ushuaia, Argentina

Flightless Steamer Ducks, Ushuaia, Argentina

Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia and its surroundings are very wild and beautiful, and we experienced a bit more of it yesterday on a tough coastal walk through the Tierra del Fuego National Park. The area is dominated by beech tree forests, one species of which is evergreen, and so even at this time of the year, the forests are green. We have met up with an Argentinian couple who live in Ushuaia, and they have been incredibly helpful in showing us around. We first met them in the private reserve of Serere back in the Bolivian rain forest.

King Cormorant Rookery, Ushuaia, Argentina

Rock Cormorants, Ushuaia, Argentina

Kelp Geese, Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia, Argentina

When we made the decision to travel to Ushuaia, part of the thinking was just to get to the end of the continent as part of our trip. Ushuaia however has proved to be far more than that, and our plan now is to stay here a full week before heading north again through Chile. Ushuaia´s motto is ¨the end of the world, the beginning of everything¨. Two days ago we took a boat trip out into the Beagle Channel on a very calm day. We stopped to explore H island the southern most point of Argentina. We had some great wildlife sightings there and at a couple of small islands on the return trip, including rookeries of both rock and king cormorants. The birdlife is fantastic and unusual. (Note - previous blog entry bird photograph is of Dolphin Gulls).

Ushuaia, Argentina

We have reached the southern most town in the world - Ushuaia, Argentina. Another challenging bus ride from El Calafate starting at 03h00 in the morning, and then four border crossings into and out of Chile. We crossed the Straits of Magellan by ferry with a very strong wind blowing. The scenery around remote Ushuaia is spectacular. The town is located on the Beagle Channel and is surrounded by snow covered mountains. In summer, this is the starting point for most of the tours heading south to Antartica.