Puerto Madryn & Bariloche (part 2)

Saturday: We arrived in Puerto Madryn around 1pm after a long bus ride from Rio Gallegos. It's a cute little seaside town and our hostel, HI Patagonia, was located just two blocks from the beach. The hostel staff were really friendly and showed us to our room, a bright airy double with cable TV, kettle and fridge! We spent the rest of the day wondering around the town and planning the week ahead. David had initially planned to do his PADI course here, as there are a number of dive schools offering this at a good price and giving divers the opportunity to dive with sea lions! However, we were told that the weather was likely to change throughout the week so unfortunately he had to put it off to do it elsewhere on our travels.

The owner of the hostel, Gaston, holds regular bbqs in the evenings and so after our long journey we opted to have dinner at the bbq that night, which gave us the chance to meet and chat with the other hostel guests and eat a ridiculous amount of steak, lamb and chicken!

Sunday: We were up reasonably early and so headed off for a run in the morning after some breakie. We took the beach promenade south along the coast for a good run in the refreshing sea breeze. In the afternoon we went to the beach, where the speedos made a long awaited reappearance! It was a beautiful afternoon and we were looking forward a week of great weather...but it wasn't to be!

Monday: We visited the Peninsula Valdes, a vast nature reserve situated north of Puerto Madryn. Our guide was really informative and spoke great English. We saw more Magellanic penguins, sea lions and their pups, elephant seals, foxes, armadillos and many birds. Orcas are also spotted in these waters as they feed off the sea lion pups in February-March and the elephant seal pups in November-December. This is one of only two places in the world where the orcas use the method in 'intentional beach stranding' to catch the pups. However, we were still a little early in the season and didn't manage to spot an orca, not too surprising as there are only 34 orcas in total on the east Argentinian coast line which spans over 40,000km! We found ourselves willing the sea lion pups into the water in the hope they would entice an Orca – initially we felt cruel thinking this but we got over it soon enough. We arrived back at the hostel in early evening and had another chilled evening chatting with the other hostel guests.

Tuesday: We awoke to pouring rain, which was forecast to last until Thursday. We decided to use the time to plan our time in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador and our route home via central America. We then whiled our evening watching Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandra Bullock films on cable!!

Wednesday: Again we awoke to grey skies and rain and spent the morning firing off emails to various travel agencies to check out costs of tours and flights. In the afternoon the rain finally relented and we braved a walk along the coast. However, the rain may have disappeared but the wind still hounded us and we were sandblasted as we walked along the beach – good for exfoliation at least! Along this walk we came across several monuments commemorating the first Welsh settlers – not surprising the most common name was Jones!! We resisted the temptation to deface them in the spirit of the 6 nations rivalry and moved on. Apparently Welsh is still spoken in some areas with Trelew (a town 60km south) being the stronghold; we didn't make it there unfortunately to try out the famous tea houses.

Thursday: The sun was back out for our penultimate day in Puerto Madryn! So we hired some bikes and cycled he 17km along a gravel road to Punta Loma, another sea lion colony.
There is a really good pizza and empanada shop just a couple of blocks from the hostel, so after 5 nights of walking past it and looking in longingly we finally relented to the cravings and got a large pizza to share for dinner...delicious!

Friday: We spent the morning on the beach before headed back to make some lunch and shower in time to catch our bus to San Antonio Oeste, where we would take 'Tren Patagonica' overnight to Bariloche.

We made it to San Antonio Oeste around 7pm and were dropped off at the very quiet and deserted bus station, from there we found our way to the train station with the help of some helpful locals, who seemed fairly surprised to see two backpackers wondering through their town! The train station was no more than an office and platform next to the train line. The train leaves once a week and the platform was already crowded with passengers and 'train spotters'. We had booked to travel in tourist class (the middle class), this was our first mistake! We should maybe have realised that the price ARS 90 was far too cheap for such a long journey and as we boarded the train we both wished we had stuck with the buses! The interior of the train felt like it was from the 1970s, very retro, and I don't think they had replaced anything since then! The seats were pretty worn and some of them didn't recline, we thought we would be sat across from each other but we hadn't realised that the seats rotate and the Chilean lady that David was sat next too had already rotated her seat to face her family by the time we got on which meant that David was also sat facing them, while I was on the seat behind him. It was fairly late by then time we boarded and set off so we both stuck our ipods on and tried to sleep...tried being the operative word...the train stopped at numerous stations throughout the night and passengers got off and on, the constant noise and movement kept us awake most of the night. We were happy to see the sun rise and hoped that the journey would be at an end soon but then, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, the train broke down! We were stationary for almost two hours before a guy with a spanner turned up and appeared to fix the problem in just a few minutes...then we were off again, chugging through the barren wilderness! We finally arrived in Bariloche at 3pm, 17hrs after setting off.

We disembarked with relief and made our way to the hostel, the lovely Hostel 1004, which we had stayed at previously. The chilled out vibe off the hostel washed over us and after a hot shower we had forgotten all about the horrendous train journey. We spent the afternoon at the tourist information checking out the local walking routes and then headed back to the huge kitchen in the hostel were we cooked up a blinding spag bol in the hostel, accompanied by a glass or two of Malbec of course!

Sunday: We caught the 10.10 bus to Cathedral where we planned to spend the day climbing one of the trails to Refugio Fray. It was a beautiful day and the trail started off with a nice winding, fairly flat path, after about 1 ½ hrs walking the path started to become steeper and the last 30mins was a fairly steep ascent to the Refugio. We had a great view from the top and enjoyed our sarnies sat next to the lake which is next to the Refugio before we began the walk back down. The refugio is used as a base camp by rock climbers who tackle the towering rocks around the lake – a few brave souls provided the lunchtime entertainment – we both felt a little queasy looking at them dangling off the overhangs. The walk provided many great views and was a nice way to end our Patagonian trekking experience.

We spent the evening in the hostel, resting our weary legs and chatting with Brian and Mary, another couple we met who have jacked in their jobs in the UK to travel South America!

Monday: After a slightly later start to the day we decide to take the number 10 bus to Colonia Suiza, a village founded by some Swiss pioneers. The bus dumped us at the end of a dusty road with a sign pointing up for Colonia Suiza, we started the walk up, unsure of quite where we were or how long it would take. After about 30 mins we found ourselves in the village, which is really just a few houses, tea rooms and some touristy shops. We ate our picnic then read our books and dozed in the sunshine.

In the evening we once again enjoyed the company of Brian and Mary as we swapped stories of our journeys and experiences so far.

Tuesday: We took the 9am bus to Santiago via Osorno, both of us sad to leave Bariloche, where we have enjoyed some great walks, kayaking and met lots of lovely people in Hostel 1004. This is Lynne's favourite place so far, and we would love a chance to come back at some point, perhaps in the winter to get some skiing in!

Punta Arenas (Chile) & Ushuaia - Fin del Mundo (the end of the world - Argentina)

Wednesday: We left Puerto Natales early morning however the journey to Punta Arenas is only two hours so it was to be a walk in the park for us by now! Upon arrival we swiftly made it to our Hostel – Hostel Costañera where we happy to find we had been upgraded to a private ensuite. The room was definitely one of the nicest we have stayed in yet and we felt right at home there following the very friendly welcome from the owner & her family. With only 2 nights here and the first part of today gone, we set about exploring town and, more importantly, finding a bar where we could watch the Leeds vs Spurs FA Cup replay over a couple of chilled beers. Fortunately we managed to find Lomit's, an American style bar, where they were happy to put the game on for us so we settled ourselves at the bar – unfortunately it wasn't the game we hoped for as Leeds lost!

Thursday: We relaxed in the morning and treated ourselves to more of the local steak before catching a boat from the port to Isla Magdalena - the local Penguin colony. This is an island situated in the Straits of Magellan that for the months of Jan – Apr is inhabited by ~ 50,000 penguins. We also caught up with Tom & Sarah on the boat, a couple we had met in El Calafate and in Torres Del Paine. The trip was really cool, and it was great to get up so close with the wildlife – they are even more hilarious than on TV. The round trip was around 5 hours with 4 hours spent getting there and back and 1 hour on the island. On the way back the crew treated us to a showing of 'March of the Penguins'!

That evening we went to dinner with Tom & Sarah to an all you can eat Chinese buffet – convincing ourselves we all deserved it after the Torres hike! We put away an impressive amount with several of the party clearing 5 plates each! With Tom being Welsh we set about arranging a get together to watch the 6 Nations opening weekend of games as we both set off for Ushuaia the next morning!

Friday: We set off on the dreaded journey to the bottom of the world early morning. The whole journey took about 12 hours and included the a boat crossing and the usual Chilean customs debacle. We arrived in Ushuaia late afternoon and were happy to discover Tom & Sarah had also booked in our hostel. However, on arrival to Casa Alba, we found she had overbooked and Tom & Sarah were carted off to a local 2 star hotel in town – the good thing was that they had cable TV which meant we could watch the games there if we struggled to find a suitable venue in town!

We all went out for dinner at a pizzeria which kind of turned into another all you can eat with empanadas, pizzas and pastas all being devoured. Lynne was delighted to find out that Sarah was a fellow white wine drinker and she was excited to have someone to share a bottle with.

Saturday: We spent the day searching for a suitable pub to watch the rugby and were disappointed to discover that the only option was the Galway Irish pub that was very overpriced and crippling to a traveller's budget!! Therefore, we went for the cheap option of a supermarket sweep for booze and empanadas and watched the games from the comfort of Tom & Sarah's hotel room. As you are all aware, it turned out to be a joyous occasion for the English!! Not so good for Tom and the Welsh nation. We continued the festivities into the evening but were unfortunate to have the worst meal of our lives in a TeleBingo cafe!! It was a truly awful steak sandwich.

Sunday: Having outlived our stay in Alba's and (Lynne) deciding we weren't going to camp in Tierra del Fuego National Park in this cold weather – we booked into the Los Lupinos Hostel and a dorm room trying to be kind to the budget. After the formalities we headed back round to meet up with Tom & Sarah to watch the Scotland game – unfortunately France were too strong. The afternoon was spent doing some local sight seeing, whilst in the evening all 4 of us ate back at our hostel as Tom & Sarah headed off the next day.

Monday: After an easy weekend of rugby and beers we headed off trekking out of the city into the Andes' foothills that surround the city. The easiest option was to walk the winding road up to the start of the ascent to the top. However in true fashion, David convinced Lynne it would be fine to follow some “dubious” forest paths. Soon enough we were lost walking through woodland before picking up a cross country ski path – in the winter when the area is covered in snow, this is a big sport in the region. We wound back & forth on these paths until we eventually heard the noise of a car and re-found the road – what Lynne called lost time, David called an experience! Continuing on the road, we made it to the bottom of a chairlift that took you to the top of a ski run from where you start the steep ascent to the glacier; we opted for walking and within 1.5 hours we had made it to the top. We were both excited to have the opportunity to play about in the snow line – the first time this trip! The walk afforded a great view over the city with thanks to some fantastic weather. By the time we had returned to the hostel we had been walking for 5.5 hours and so spent the remainder of the afternoon / evening relaxing with pots of tea and reading books.

I will also add here that since Uruguay we have taken to salami & cheese sandwiches in a big way. We can't recall many days thus far that we haven't visited a Fiambre where we've purchased a few(!) slices of both, constantly experimenting with the different types on offer. At the top of this hill, we believe we had the best so far. The salami was spiced, the cheese, Camembert in a crusty baguette. From now on we have set the task of discovering how to make the best 'Queso y Salame' sandwich possible!

Tuesday: We headed out on a boat tour on the Beagle Channel. The Beagle Channel is the water that Ushuaia sits on and which connects the Pacific & Atlantic Oceans. This was, of course, named after the boat which Fitzroy & Darwin sailed on in the 1830s when they explored the region. We went with a company called Tango Che, they proved a good choice splitting the 15 of us between two well sized boats.

The guides were good fun and very knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife. The trip took us out to the Eclaireurs Isles where stands a lighthouse built in the early 1900s that is a symbol of Ushuaia and the end of the world. Next the boat swings round to the neigbouring Alicia, Los Pajaros and Los Lobos Isles where we saw a large colony of Imperial & Magellan Cormorants – birds that look like penguins – Fullman & Giant Petrels, Skuas and many other species of marine birds and sea lions of course! The boats allow you to get really close to the wildlife...and the smell! In addition to these you see plenty of birds, and some of these birds are BIG!! Neither of us have ever been bird watchers – but after spending the last few weeks in Patagonia it is difficult not to develop an interest. We have seen numerous vultures, hawks, albatrosses and even eagles amongst the many different species. Seeing these birds, which sometimes span to over 2m in width, fly overhead is amazing to witness.

After visiting the sea lions the guides took us to Bridges Island where we took a brief walk during which the guide explained the way of life of the Yamanas – the indigenous people pf the area – and also the local plants. This was really interesting, especially learning of the Yamana people. They were nomadic and wore no clothes – crazy to think of that in these climates – but this was possible as they had evolved with a body temperature of 37.5 degC – a temperature which is classed as fever to us! They moved from shore to shore and camped with only a tent of sea lion skin to protect them. It is fascinating to think of the first encounter between Europeans and these people and the gulf of difference between them. It is sad to hear that today there is only one pure blood Yamana still alive, an 85 yr old lady. The guide showed us campsites they used, identifiable by large mounds of earth called “concheros” produced by shell deposits of the numerous oyster they ate whose shells they stacked up to give some protection against the wind.

After returning to the boat we headed back for port enjoying a few glasses of the local Beagle pale ale – David made up for fact that no-one on the boat had seconds and enjoyed several extra glasses with the crew!!

After the trip we enjoyed a couple more drinks but unfortunately which sent us to sleep quite easily until........we were awoken by a fellow room mate (a 50yr old Japanese chap) who snored like a train! It was a sleepless night for both of us and we looked forward to checking out and moving onto our private room in our third & final hostel in Ushuaia!

Wednesday: We moved into La Posta and were delighted with the place! A really nice hostel with great rooms, facilities & staff, one we would definitely recommend – and who serve the most amazing sweet croissants we have ever tasted! They even got a fresh delivery for us even though we missed breakfast – we showed how appreciative we were by putting away 10 of them!! A trend that would continue the next few mornings! After letting the food go down we headed to the Museo 'Fin del Mundo' in town. Although it had some interesting items it was fairly small and the layout could be improved but we enjoyed the hit of culture anyhow. With a bit of time to kill we visited a local deli and spent some time trying and choosing the local salami, jamon crudo and cheeses to put together a tapas platter for dinner – so far we are torn between strong smoked or Camembert cheese for the sandwiches!

Thursday: After deciding to avoid the national park – Tierra del Fuego - earlier in the week, we spent today hiking around it. We took the local bus there and were disappointed when we discovered how expensive it was! Nevertheless we opted for one of the longer coastal walks that took us about 3 hours before we added on an extra bit by one of the lagoons. The area was quite beautiful and reminded us both of Parque Tyrona in Colombia but in a much colder climate – especially the deserted beaches. Tierra del Fuego translates as The Land of Fires and relates to the fact that when the first Europeans arrived they saw lots of plumes of smoke rising into the air from the campsites of the Yamana and other tribes. After a satisfying trek, we treated ourselves to more of the Argentinian steak & Malbec for a change.

Friday: The day we have been dreading had arrived! Today we journey to Puerto Madryn which is way north on the east coast of Argentina. To get there we had to be leave on the 05:00 bus to Rio Gallegos that takes 13 hours – mainly due to the fact the bus has to pass through Chile and we've talked about what a pain their border controls are! This was followed by 4 hours waiting in the bus station in Rio Gallegos before catching the 18 hour over night bus to Puerto Madryn.

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. 5 Day Hike: The Marriage Maker or Breaker.

So Friday morning we were up early, packs ready, thermals on awaiting the 7.30am bus. Bill (the hostel owner) sent us off with a hearty breakfast of omelette and homemade bread and we boarded the bus wondering what the next few days would have in store for us.

In true Henderson style we decided to make life a bit harder for ourselves by adding an extra bit to the first day's walk. So we were dropped off by the bus at the Sede Administration CONAF office at the bottom of the park where we would walk (17.5km) round Lake Pehoe to Refugio Grande rather than taking the 30 minute Catamaran journey across the lake, like most of the others on our bus. This was a beautiful walk which starts crossing the flat plains leading up to the mountain ranges and lakes, from afar this allowed us a glimpse of what lay ahead of us and as we neared the lake this built up into an exciting picture of the terrain and scenery we would face.


We reached the first Refugio around 3pm and allowed ourselves a generous 1 hr lunch break before we started the hike to Glacier Grey campsite. The weather had been very kind to us that morning, with beautiful blue skies, however, as we finished our sandwiches and prepared to set off for the afternoon the weather broke and the heavens opened, lashing us with wind and rain. Luckily this didn't last too long and the sun made a welcome return as we continued our climb to the glacier. The paths were well marked but the terrain was mixed, at some points we were walking through muddy woodland paths, while at others we were marching across streams and scaling boulders. The hard work was rewarded with some truly stunning views of Glacier Grey on route. We made it to the campsite about 7.30pm, both tired and hungry. We quickly pitched the tent before succumbing to a hot shower, this was not a great idea - as soon as we were out the shower the cold, icy air hit and we were chilled to the bone. We brewed up on our stove and quickly discovered, tea has never tasted so good as when you are camping next to a glacier and can't feel your fingers and toes from the cold! Then we got on with preparing our pasta and sauce dinner, which disappeared within seconds! We were both shattered after the 7 ½ hrs of walking that day so it wasn't long before we were ensconced in our sleeping bags ready for bed. Unfortunately though, neither of us was to get much sleep that night, camping next to a glacier is pretty chilly and we were both awoke several times throughout the night trying in vain to warm up cold hands, feet, noses, etc!

Finally morning came and we were up and on our way again, after a satisfying bowl of porridge and a cuppa! David wasn't so keen on the porridge, luckily Lynne was ready and waiting to finish of the leftovers! We walked the 3 ½ hrs back down the trail to the Lake where we prepared and ate another exciting lunch of pasta and sauce, then we began the shorter (2hr), and considerably easier, walk to Los Italianos campsite at the foot of the Valle de Francés. The campsite was spread across some woodland and we found a sheltered spot not too far from the river (our water supply for the day). After pitching the tent we got on with cooking up some rice and vegetables before we heading off to bed, hoping for a bit more sleep than the previous night. Unfortunately, once again it was a chilly night, particularly for David, whose 'summer' weather sleeping bag wasn't really up to the job.

We got up early and set off on the climb through the Valle de Francés. The first hour was a steep climb over boulders and through forest trails. We were making good timing until we lost the path at a river crossing, instead of cutting over the river we headed up the bank, we walked about 20 minutes uphill before we agreed that this probably wasn't the correct route. We weren't too sure where we had lost the path but didn't think it could be too far away, so we found a bit of high ground to scan the area from, thinking we could see the path we cut across some shrubbery to find just another stream, it was at this point that David noticed some large, recently made paw prints, the evidence seemed to suggest that this was a watering hole for one of the park's resident pumas, so we quickly scarpered, retracing our steps until we finally found the point where we had lost the path and rejoined it, with hearts racing, not daring to think of what might have happened had we run into Mr Puma!!

The last half of the trail was less steep and we found our way to the Mirador where we could enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the snow capped mountainous landscape.

We then headed back down the trail to the campsite where we took the tent down, cooked a quick lunch then made our way (2hrs) to Los Cuernos campsite, a beautiful walk along the coast of the lake. This was Lynne's favourite campsite as it offered the opportunity to have a hot shower in clean bathrooms and then enjoy numerous cups of tea from continuously topped up thermoses in a cosy common area, with a wood burning stove providing much needed heat! After two fairly sleepless nights we decided to hire and extra sleeping bag from the Refugio (for about £4) which we used to sleep on providing some further insulation from the cold ground. We sat drinking tea for a few hours, chatting to some Californians, who were about twice our age and fairly hardcore walkers, the W was merely a walk in the park for them (although I hasten to add they weren't enduring the hardship of camping!!). We then retired to our tent where we huddled in our sleeping bags, considerably warmer than previous evenings and listened to the winds outside. You could hear the wind as it started out on the lake and built up as it blew inland through the forest, bracing yourself for it to hit your tent. Thanks to David's legendary Duke of Edinburgh skills our tent survived the night and we awoke early to find ourselves bathed in sunshine and beautiful blue skies.

We hit the trail around 8, after some more of that delicious porridge and started the 11km trek which would take us to the foot of the Torres. We stopped off for a short break before beginning the steep 4.9km climb to Torres campsite, pausing for a hour to cook lunch halfway up at Refugio Chileno. The climb up to Chileno is the steepest part of this climb and when we finally reached the peak of our climb we were met with gale force winds which blew us into the mountain face and made moving forwards even more of a challenge. We were glad to have our walking poles to dig into the ground and help us progress along the track to the Refugio. Once again we were afforded outstanding views – this time of the Valle Ascencio. The final part of the day's trek was just an hour's walk to the campsite, this was considerably easier than the first part of the walk as we were sheltered from the winds by woodland and the terrain was far flatter. We reached camp early after approx 5 ¼ hours of tough hiking. We pitched the tent and brewed up before our meal of packet rice and vegetables. We were due to get up before sunrise the next day to trek to the Mirador to watch the sunrise on the Torres so we were in bed by 6pm, fully clothed in all our layers!

We woke at 4am and along with a number of other campers began the 1hr climb to the Mirador. We were behind another walker and followed him for most of the way until we realised that he had veered off the path leading us and another German couple. It was pitch dark and with our limited torchlight we couldn't find our way back to the path. We ended up in some forest and managed to locate a clearing where we had a good view of the Torres, so it was there that we sat and awaited sunrise and the snow started to fall around us! Sadly, the snow meant that the three Torres were shrouded in clouds and there was to be no beautiful sunrise turning them into the red towers seen on so many postcards. Once the sun was up we could easily see the path and were surprised by how far into the forest we had strayed, we quickly found a more direct route back to the path and headed up to the viewing point we had intended to reach a few hours earlier. Despite the clouds the Torres are still are remarkable and imposing view and we enjoyed a few moments taking in the wonder of our surroundings.

On our return to camp we dismantled the tent for the last time and quickly packed and set off on the 50 min walk back to Chileno where we would make breakfast and enjoy some tea and coffee in the warm dining room there. Then it was downhill for most of the way back! We took our time and enjoyed the walk and some victory banter reaching the bottom of the trek by midday. A popular game was to think of classic marching rhymes – David wanted to record some of his favourite in this blog, but with a threat of a divorce he has decided not to.

As the bus wasn't until 2.30 we decided we had time to walk the 7km round to the bus stop instead of waiting for the shuttle bus, however Lynne's legs disputed this decision and her pace slowed to that of a toddler, when a kindly mini bus driver slowed and offered us a lift for a measly 1000 Chilean pesos we leapt at the chance and bundled in. The sun was out by this point so after being dropped off we both slept, basking in the sunlight until the bus arrived ending our siestas.

We stayed at a B&B for our final night in Puerto Natales and we were so pleased to be returning to a private double room, with en suite, heating and cable TV!! After some well earned pizza, empanadas, beer and wine we crashed out, enjoying the luxury of a mattress and central heating system!!

The W walk was undoubtedly a highlight for both of us. The scenic views make the physical challenges worth the effort! Camping and lugging all your stuff round in your packs does make this all the harder but the campsites are beautiful and we felt it added to the experience overall (particularly for Lynne whose pack was only half the size of David's!!).