It’s been some time since the last update as the internet has either been very expensive or really slow. I’m now in Buenos Aires which hosts internet cafes on every corner at rock bottom prices for half decent speed.
Well the trekking is over after covering some 480km in 6 weeks. The last two treks were the famous Torres Del Paine and Mount Fitzroy. I’ve uploaded the photos from both treks; I’ve put captions at the start of each set to help identify where they are although I have noticed the photos aren’t all in order as I must have messed up when deleting some and uploading. It’s a shame because I had a series of photos showing a large block of ice falling off Perito Moreno Glacier and crashing into the water but they’re all over the place and out of sequence.
The Torres Del Paine trek was the longest of all and was supposed to take 8 days and cover 104.5km however we covered the ground quicker than expected and finished in 6 days. The scenery was spectacular again and we experienced varying weather so some photos are better than others. The most amazing part was crossing the pass and seeing Glacier Grey coming into view, this is the set of photos with a rainbow across one end of the lake as it was raining down there. The wind was so strong at the top that we needed to head down pretty rapidly and there are more photos from the path leading down to the glacier. It is difficult to judge when to take photos as you’re not sure where the path is heading so you take a few then find there’s a better shot further down, and you take more and more; hence a few of the photos are similar.
We had an early start to catch the sunrise on the Torres however it was somewhat cloudy and the photos not quite as good as expected, but still good nonetheless. It was then a rapid decent all the way back to catch a bus back to El Calafate.
The final trek headed to Mount Fitzroy, near El Chalten, which was much shorter than all the others and gave us lots of spare time as we only walked for about 3 hrs per day. Again we arose early to catch the sunrise and this time it was very spectacular, especially with some outstanding cloud formations looking back to the horizon. The mountain was lit up a golden colour, see photos, and made the 6:00 wake up worth it. We even had a cuppa and an oatmeal breakfast at the top whilst we waited for the sun. It was definately the coldest night/morning experienced in the tent with a hard frost and frozen puddles and streams all the way up to the peak which made it fairly treacherous. The minus 5 degrees sleeping bag came into its own!
After all the strenuous activity it was time to draw the trekking to a close and head back on the road to do some sightseeing. The trip from El Calafate to Buenos Aires was going to be a long slog on the bus. First we had to head south (!) to Rio Gallegos, a transport hub around 5 hrs from El Calafate in order to get a direct bus up to Buenos Aires. The bus journey to Buenos Aires was 37 hrs and involved having two nights on the bus which is actually pretty good as you can sleep for around 14 hrs of the trip. The semi-cama seats were also fairly comfortable although I had a large lady next to me who wanted to use half my seat too! I slyly put down the armrest between us and managed to get some space back. I worked out that if I had my seat slightly forward or backward from hers I had the full seat to myself as she overflowed elsewhere!
I’m now in Buenos Aires catching a bus up to Iguazu Falls tonight, another 16hr bus ride I think. I’ve not done very much since being here although got a few sight seeing shots the other day. It has been very bad weather here with thunder storms on three of the five days. Today is a scorcher though and I’m sweating buckets in this internet cafe with no air con or fans. It’s a case of getting this blog update completed and escaping for air. There’s plenty to do here and a really big clubbing scene however I’ve not fancied shaking my thang as I’ve just been so tired (everyone heads out at around 1am and gets in at 6am). There’s also loads of football matches to see but none that took my fancy; the big Boca Juniors vs Riverplate is in two weeks time and the tickets are $200 USD each … ouch. Talking of football, Reading FC have not fared too well in recent weeks, most recently with the defeat to Spurs. I’m hoping for a revival in form over the coming months.
One last thing to mention … big congratulations to my sister Nicola and her boyfriend Paul who have just announced their engagement and have also moved into their new house.
Bye for now.
