,

Woke in the night, unnerved and had trouble sleeping, I think it was just the magnitude of crossing Drake’s Passage going so far from help. Had to get up to stop the beer rattling in the fridge! Day of naps between briefings, we went and organised our boots and learnt more about how to safely deploy into the zodiacs. Also listened to a good photography lecture, which will hopefully maximise my shots. We have had a pretty flat trip across and have discovered we are making good time, so there is a promise of a excursion to penguin island, which sounds great if we can. Everyone is very friendly and you sit where you like at meals so have already met Dutch, American & Australian on here with relatively few Brits. We will cross both the Polar front tonight (where sea temperature drops 4degrees and also the political line into Antarctica overnight. Other things I learnt today: Krill most plentiful animals in the world and feed the whole food chain. Penguins have long legs (just long bodies cover them).

Ushuaia, Argentina

The hotel is pretty basic and there is very much a transitional feel to it so we decide not to hang round. It has a great location looking out over the Beagle channel but you can’t stroll along the shore due to a uncrossable river, so we took the road for 45mins back to town. We genuinely have nothing to do today prior to 3.30pm when we meet to embark the Ocean Diamond so we visited several coffee shops and made the most of wifi to catch up with friends. My post office credit card is blocked again, so really frustrated that I will have to ring them when I get back to resolve – don’t know what the issue is this time. We buy more wine and head down to the port to begin boarding, we also spot the huge cruise liner Crown Princess in the next berth which makes our ship look tiny in a good way. Cabin is a big size and we are just behind the bridge at the front of the ship, level 6, so good spot. We seem to get a lot of briefings and then a lifeboat drill, get our jackets which are huge yellow parkas…. all while people are taking pictures! Strange to be among so may tourists. We manage a big 4 course dinner, definitely going to be well fed and free wine throughout which was a surprise. Sleep was surprisingly had to come by, I seem to be awake as everything swayed around for most of the night. Finally put headphones in and moved head to other end of the bed which seemed more effective.

Ushuaia, Argentina

Amazing mountains and blue sky from the hotel this morning. Took a walk across the water to view the Beagle Channel and look back across at Ushuaia framed by the mountains. Visited the Museo Maritimo, Ushuaia was first built around this jail. The building still stands after being built by convicts 1902-1920, just incredible that they ferried from the quarry and constructed with their hands in such harsh climate. Several interesting exhibits on ship structures and Antarctica exploration make for a nice couple of hours immersion. Walked up and down town getting supplies for the boat in the form of wine and chocolate. Lunch was too big, forfeited a dinner for snacks in the hotel. Tomorrow we board our boat for Antarctica!

Río Grande, Argentina

I thought I would struggle to write anything for today, as it was a epic 10 hour bus trip from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia. It was actually ok, and fairly eventful. First we set off early, me wheeling my rucksack whilst justin carried his (some of my stuff fitting into his pack nicely) to the bus station. Boarded into our seats, with plenty of snacks to hand of course and we were off. Worth mentioning that this epic trip was driven by one driver and cost equivalent of £40, didn’t think £4 an hour was too bad. We drove onto a ferry about 2 hours in to cruise across Magellan strait, nice to stretch our legs and grab a coffee. The scenery is mainly flat against a blue sky with amazing cloud formations, see lots of guanaco, rhea, foxes and birds. Boarder crossing at San Sebastian was interesting, first the Chilean and then about 1km up the road is the Argentinian. We get off the bus each time and once through both it becomes clear one of the girls has a visa issue. We all go back to the Chilean side so she can access Wifi to download her visa to present to the Argentinian immigration. I knew this girl was trouble when she got on the bus with furry stripped gloves and indexed coloured notebook!!! So, actually crossed the border 3 times before getting everyone through and back on track. About 2 hours in or 1 hour from Ushuaia the scenery changed to become mountains and really stunning lakes, road got a bit winding as we dropped in to Ushuaia and the most southerly city on earth. No problems finding the hotel before a quick bowl of pasta and bed. Prices are way more down here, so need to be careful. Using this post to reflect a little on Chile. Friendly people, speak fast Spanish with slang terms. Never felt unsafe and really easy to travel around. Amused a lot by their obsession with providing a receipt, slow walking pace and pedestrian priority at all times. Food is often sweet with Dulce del leche (caramel) everywhere, even on toast for breakfast! General food is meat or cheese based and is more bland than I was expecting.

Punta Arenas, Chile

Today was a different day, glorious sunshine and blue sky. It was a bit of a ‘filler’ day due to the bus mix up but still enjoyed wandering around. Headed to the cemetery first, great mix of interesting graves from the wealthy marble domes to the apartment style I’d seen in Santiago all decorated with pictures, flowers and momentos. We also walked the whole shoreline, tons of birds flock to the old piers including Cormorants. Justin even spotted a pod of porpoise playing off the far end. Strolled back via a shopping mall (terrible but lots of duty free) and a coffee shop to recharge. Slow, easy day that was finished off with King Crab lasagna at La Cuisine, which was amazing. Earlyish night at our creaky hostel ready for our early bus.

Punta Arenas, Chile

We said goodbye to Suzie at 7am as she set off to catch her bus to El Calafate, Argentina. We then set about breakfasting and loading the car ready for the trip back to Punta Arenas. It was a really dreary day, not bad for a travel day though. Enjoyed the flat landscape and spotting the same animals we had on the way up – Darwin’s rhea (bit like an Ostrich), birds of prey and of course the flamingos which I insisted on photographing despite the cold wind. The were all huddled up with heads tucked in, can’t help but wonder if they just took a wrong turn such a strange place to see them! Found the hostel Bustamante easily and sorted the return of the hired car without issue, and boy was it filthy. Dropped some laundry off for tomorrow pick up, can feel prices starting to rise as we head south (laundry is still done on weight but what was 8000 pesos in Santiago is now 22000 pesos). We strolled around the main town, which is surprisingly nice as it clearly has had wealth with big colonial style buildings framing the main square. One such building is now a museum and we were able to wander through early 20th century living with many furnishings from Europe. Love that the newspaper here is called ‘el penguino’. Dinner was lovely this evening, La marmita, where I enjoyed some fish and veggies, definitely been living too much off meat, bread and cheese based meals.

Puerto Natales, Chile

Today was rainy, more so than expected so we woke late and headed back to Puerto Natales. We managed to sort tickets with Buses Pacheco from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia at the bus station here. It will be a Sunday trip as we couldn’t find a company for the Saturday. Not too much of an issue other than forfeiting a night’s accommodation and I hope Punta Arenas is more interesting than I initially read as we have a full day extra there. Spent the afternoon eating cake whilst catching up on the blog. Dinner was at Cafe Kaiken, roast lamb washed down with Chilean red! Last night with Suzie before she heads to Argentina was a great excuse for a nice meal.

Torres del Paine, Chile

We hoped to be on the trail for 9am today, so woke early to get on the road. They proved bumpier than usual so we made it to the start by 10am, at Las torres hotel. Our epic hike wound its way up a steep incline and into the Ascencio valley which followed a river up into the main massif. First stop about 2 hours in was Chileno lodge, reasonable time and much amusement to be had looking at some of the rucksack sizes of people setting out on the ‘W’- not regretting my decision to do day hikes at all! An hour on and after enjoying lush forest with straight thin trunks and numerous waterfalls we were at Torres ranger station. We took the decision not to do the 1km up boulder scramble to the base of the towers, me because I was not sure I could do 2 hours on top of my 3 hour return and justin because of the cloud. We knew we wouldn’t see anything at the top, Suzie set off though whilst we turned back. We made good time back, where Suzie did an excellent sprint coming in about 30mins after us. On the trip back in drizzly rain we reflected on how lucky we had been on our trip with weather and order of hikes. Light bar meal with a Chilean red put me into another exhausted but happy sleep.

Torres del Paine, Chile

It’s Valentine’s Day and not a card in sight, I do however wake to glorious sunshine, the promise of 20degree heat and more epic views. The accommodation wasn’t so bad, will help if it is cheaper as I seem to be consistently over my daily budget… We scooted around to our nice hotel with the promise of a free breakfast, big buffet style feast to line our stomachs. Today we headed to the north east of the park, hadn’t quite realised how big the park is as we endured 2hrs of bumpy roads to the start point. The scenery is amazing though, with aqua blue lakes reflecting the main central massif in all its glory. The layers of rock are fascinating, and we spotted first one then herds of guanacos (type of llama) dancing around. As we hit the west side we had fabulous views of the famous Towers of Paine, three sheer vertical granite tombstone panels that seem huge. We checked into the rangers station and then started the 6hour hike by skirting round Laguna Azul through forest until we reached Lagos Cebolla before coming back. I loved this walk, with my hired poles I seemed to fly back which was awesome considering how hot it was getting. We bumped our way back with fingers crossed for our night’s accommodation, needn’t have worried as we got our room upgrade, free drink, free chocolates, then free dinner….oh, and no charge for last nights accommodation! Result! This is still the most expensive place we will stay, but as I sank into some nice sheets after a days hike, I didn’t begrudge a penny.

Torres del Paine, Chile

Puerto Natales to the Torres Del Paine National park south entrance is about 2 hours, good road till you hit the park and then it is a gravelly, juddery path throughout. I am slightly worried that the Renault symbol might not make it! We had reviewed the map and reckoned we could get into the park, see some views and do about 3 hours of hiking. The views in the perfect weather were stunning, we kept stopping to take pictures and marvel at how vivid the blue lake waters are. First stop was a waterfall, Salto grande, where the water pounded itself over rocks creating a rainbow in the sun. We had been warned about wind speeds but the 70kph were phenomenal and it was a lot of fun staying upright, thank goodness I had hired walking poles. It was about an hour along the lake to visit Mirador Cuernos, the viewpoint across the immense, turquoise Nordernskjöld lake to the ‘horns’ of Paine. These formations are fascinating, the winds must swirl round creating these more pointed parts. Back down was more wind jostling fun! I had really enjoyed that walk as a start and was ready for a shower, when Suzie suggests another short walk to make the most of the day. Toro lake lookout walk was basically a climb up a rock face, only 45minutes but straight up! Epic vista at the top of the park laid out below. We spotted a huge Condor flying overhead as we came down. Gosh that was tough, I am hoping the following day hikes are more balanced. Totally ready for a shower and rest now, our hotel tonight is expensive due to lack of availability when we booked 5 months ago but should mean a decent bed! We were just on the edge of the park and the shores of the Rio Serrano. On arrival there seemed to have been an IT error and they could not find our reservation, I was pretty worried that as it was high season we wouldn’t find a bed! The hotel were good about resolving as best as they could, we ended up with a free night in the Hotel Tyndell next door and then could have a superior room in the original hotel for 2 nights. The cabana was pretty basic for the night, Justin and I enjoyed spaghetti with grouper fish for dinner. We decided not to do the big hike to the base of the towers tomorrow as we could get an earlier start on Wednesday.