New Blog Address

I have been having major computer problems for the past few weeks,  and as a result I have just splashed out and bought a new computer. I went with an Apple Mac because I thought if I was going to learn 2 new systems in Windows 8 and then Windows 10 in a couple of months time, I might as well see how I got on learning a Mac !!  Anyway, the result is that my Blog here is now presently unable to be worked on from my new computer (until I can find someone to help me) so I am starting a new blog called "And on to Europe....", and the address for it is https://explorineurope.blogspot.co.uk

So if you want to bookmark that, that is where I will be posting from now on.
However I will finish putting the Best of the Best into this current blog, so this is then a complete record of this recent trip to South America.

Thanks for your patience, and look forward to having you join me in Europe. Next week I am off to France, and then up to Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle for the summer ! 

See you there,

Giles

0260 On a Narrow Boat on the UK canals

UPDATE 8th July 2015.   I have reentered this post and photos into my new blog from Europe, so please look there for details of my adventures -  https://explorineurope.blogspot.co.uk





The body of this blog will be written shortly, but I just wanted to get the photos up.

Photos are here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0260NarrowBoatOnCanals?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXXloSBzt3KGQ

0255 Best of the Best Part 3 - Cartagena to Santiago

South America - Cartagena to Santiago.

10^th October – 19^th December 2014.  71 days, 5 countries, and 11,006 kilometres.

We flew to Cartagena Columbia on a Friday, the ship carrying our car arrived that evening, and not only did the port not work at weekends, but Monday was a National Day holiday, so it was Tuesday 14^th before we could even start our paperwork trail to release our car. Due to inefficiencies by our agent, idiocy in the port, and delays in customs, it was 3 frustrating days before we finally drove our cars out of the docks on the evening of Thursday 16^th.  We even had a Spanish speaking Peruvian with us, so it was not a lack of Spanish language that delayed us ! The up side was that Cartagena is a GREAT city, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, in a great little hotel, good restaurants, and so much history to explore – And Francis Drake the infamous English pirate (?) plundered here too ! 

0254 Best of the Best Part 2 - Mexico and Central America

Mexico and Central America.

29^th July – 9^th October 2014.  73 days, 6 countries, and 9,808 kilometres.

After getting some pesos from a cambio man, a pleasant early morning border crossing into Mexico at Mexicali saw me headed south on the quiet Hwy 5 by noon, with the heat building steadily, and headed towards Mike’s Sky Rancho up in the mountains that I had been told about by some bikers. After experiencing my first Military checkpoint and inspection without too much hassle, I headed into the mountains.  A big stop for competitors in the Baja 1000, the Rancho was now deserted, but cool, and a good place to let the ambience of Mexico soak in for a couple of days. The 20 km dirt road in is best done on a bike or a good 4WD, but only adds to the experience. 

0252 Best of the Best Part 1 - Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48

Best of the Best Part 1.  Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48.

BEFORE I START :-

Where do you begin when you’re trying to condense one of the most incredible years of your life into a few short paragraphs, when you try to condense some 5000 photos of that year  into just 300 of the best ones  ? – And those are the numbers just for part one of this Best of the Best !!  And to make it more difficult, virtually every single one of those 365 days contained a highlight, and on every single one of those days you were actively doing something amazing ?  Consequently, in a summary like this, a lot has to get glossed over, or worse still, left out completely – And that just detracts from the whole memory and experience.  But this summary, and indeed this whole blog over the past year, has not been intended solely for our family and friends, enabling them to keep up with our travels, and to vicariously share and enjoy them with us, but more importantly (and selfishly !) it has been for my own benefit.  If I did not write down the many adventures, and sort out the photos on a daily basis, then I would have quickly forgotten the details due to my increasing senility. This blog, and this “Best of the Best” summary, will also enable us to relive every moment of the journey whenever we want, remembering the great times, the wonderful people we met along the way, and that means that the journey need never end................

0251 The end of this part of the adventure

I will start a new blog for Europe.  I will finalise it shortly and post the new address link.

At the end of my 13 month Americas Adventure, I have tried to summarize my trip. I am longwinded, so it would take a very long time for anyone to try to read my whole original blog from start to finish.  So, as I did with my Alaska 2012 blog, I have tried to summarize the trip into smaller, more easily digestible pieces, giving a rough outline of the trip, and trying to get just the best photos.  Unfortunately it is still quite long - Well, it was a long trip, and to trim it down to just 2 pages of writing and 20 or 30 photos is absolutely impossible.  Well, it is for me !  So I have done four last posts - A Best of the Best Parts 1-4.  One for USA and Canada, one for Central America (Mexico to Panama), one for South America down to Santiago, and one for South America from Santiago to the end in Uruguay.

I hope you enjoy it.  I have certainly enjoyed doing it, despite daily wifi and computer battles !   I use the blog a lot to remind me of what we have done and seen - Without the blog and all the photos, much of the Adventure would be forgotten - Especially as my mind finds it harder and harder to remember everything !  And that would be a shame. 

We now look forward to the next Adventure - Europe 2015 !!  I hope you can share it with us. 

0250 Sea Voyage across the Atlantic

2nd May - 2nd June 2015  Sea Voyage across the Atlantic

3.5.15    S35.04.13.5   W55.04.58.21

2.30 pm    Off Punta del Este, Uruguay

Hardly any sleep.  Breakfast of bread, cheese and coffee, then up on deck to watch for departure.  Car loading ramp pulled up slowly at about 9 am.  Depart Montevideo at 10 am.  2 tugs to pull us off the jetty in high, cold winds.  Chinese fishing vessel unloading frozen tuna beside us straight into a refrigerated 40ft container.  Bulk tanker loading with wheat.  Head out of harbour. Lunch at 11 am, then siesta in cabin as we sail up the coast, past the campsite of the past 3 weeks, and past the mountain we climbed outside Piriapolis 2 weeks ago.  Heading up the coast to Paranagua, south of Sao Paulo.  Quite a lot of movement due to high winds whipping seas up.  No stabilisers on commercial vessels !!

0249 Paraiso Suizo to Grande Amburgo, Montevideo

2^nd May Paraiso Suizo to Grande Amburgo, Montevideo

We finally depart Uruguay and get on board our ship to Europe

Thank goodness I had packed up my rear awning and tent in the sunshine yesterday, because tonight it rained and everything  would have got wet just before I had to leave it packed up on the ship for 4 weeks !  As we didn’t have to be at the port till 2.30 pm, we had a leisurely pack up, and after saying goodbye to everyone who was on a different ship over the next few days, Franz & Ingrid in the Unimog, and I eventually set off at about noon, with a plan to stop at the supermercado in Aventida en route to buy some wine.  We had heard a rumour that there was limited or no alcohol available on the ship, so we decided to stock up a little in case, and if the rumour turned out to be false, we could always take it with us into Europe and drink in later !

0248 Waiting, waiting, waiting.....

17th April - 1st May 

It is now beginning to be a bit frustrating, waiting on the Grande Amburgo to arrive.  The car has been cleaned, and trying to make the food last until the ship comes is proving a little tiresome.  I went back into Piriapolis on the 22^nd April for hopefully one last shop.  It was nice to just get out of the camp site for a while, and I went into town past the old church I had photographed previously.  When I had mentioned this church to Heinz (the camp site owner) previously, he had explained to me that it is actually “being built”, not an old ruin !  But when I say “being built”, it is actually not being currently worked on – An interesting tale…….

0247 Around Paraiso Suizo

16^th April 2015
I climb a mountain and find a Jaguar "at it" !

While it is peaceful sitting around the campsite, chatting to like-minded people, and generally relaxing, there comes a time when something needs to be done.  First of all, one needs to go to a supermarket to buy some more beer and wine to enable one to keep on relaxing.  (And also some more food supplies, of course).  Additionally, one feels a need for some exercise for other parts of your body than your drinking arm !  With this in mind, Swiss friends Simone and Michael and myself agreed to combine a trip to the shops in Piriapolis (about 15 kms down the road) with a climb of Cerro Pan de Azucar, Uruguay’s third highest mountain.  So I dusted off my crampons and oxygen tanks, and we set off for an adventure.

0246 Punta del Diablo to Jaureguiberry

10th April 2015
Almost the end of an amazing journey……..

Well the morning certainly didn’t go as expected !  The Army soldier from last night didn’t come back before I was ready to leave with any stickers or patches as he had promised, and then when I set off out of the park I went out on a totally different road from that on which I had entered last night, and not only found a very impressive fort, but shortly afterwards got pulled up by soldier at a guard house who requested paperwork I didn’t have before he would let me out of the park !   This looked like being an interesting day !!

0245 Rio Grande Brazil ro Punta del Diablo, Uruguay

9^TH April 2015
Into Uruguay for another day full of surprises.

Today I crossed in to my sixteenth different country since I started this adventure almost exactly a year ago.  But it was actually my 32^nd border crossing – Not counting going back to Australia at Christmas.  It will be my last border crossing – Until I get to Europe, anyway ! .    And I have to say it was one of the easiest and most pleasant, although maybe not the quickest.

0244 Gramado to Rio Grande

8^TH April 2015 

From the mountains to the sea

After breakfast and packing up, and a quick visit into the rabbit infested hotel lobby to get my blog up to date and do the banking from home (yes, some things never change !), I hit the road out of Gramado.  The first couple of hours down towards Porto Alegre were winding and slow, through little country villages – Many of which were seemingly of German origin, as well as a number of German style breweries advertising their brews. 

0243 Canela and Gramado

7th April 2015
A crazy day in Toy Town

After getting myself sorted at the camp site, I headed in to town to find out what all the Easter Bunnies and Chocolate are about.  And having spent most of the day in there, I have to admit that “I don’t know” !!

 

 

 

 

0242 Florianopolis to Canela

6^th April
From the tropical coast to the freezing mountains

I ended up spending Saturday and Sunday on Florianopolis.  Saturday I just lazed around and read my Kindle and walked on the beach, and then on Sunday I went to explore the northern part of the island, and alternative possible camp sites.  When I woke up it was trying to rain, and by the time I got going, it was raining quite hard, so it was just as good to be driving around in it as sitting in a camp site !

0241 Registro to Florianopolis

3^rd April 2015  

Mountains, jungles, and beachside resorts !

Last night had to be one of the noisiest nights ever in a roadside gas station !  I got a couple of hours sleep to start with but was woken up around midnight, and when I pulled back the curtains I looked out at about 100 big tourist coaches all parked up nearby, and disgorging 1000’s of tourists !  They must have all been heading somewhere for the Easter weekend, and have stopped for a midnight break, because by 2 am they were all gone again and it was back to peace and quiet ! But I haven’t seen so many big coaches all in one place ever before, I don’t think.  I got back to sleep again once they were all gone, and woke up later to have my breakfast, and a great shower in the services centre, before hitting the road.  Some of these freeway fuel stops in Brasil are superb, with shops, restaurants, wifi, and really great and clean shoers and facilities.  Some other countries could take lessons from these.

0240 Ubatuba to Registro

2^nd  April 2015
Miles of gorgeous coastline in Brazil

I got up slightly earlier than usual and went with Giovanna in the car when she took Pedro to school. After dropping him off, we made a quick stop at the local panaderia for bread, some for breakfast and some for me to take with me, and then headed back to the house. After the usual filling breakfast and great coffee that Giovanna makes each morning,  I said my goodbyes and set off down the road at about 9 am. I had enjoyed 8 wonderful days with Mauro, Giovanna, Leticia and Pedro – They could not have made me more welcome in their home. And it has enabled me to get a real feel for southern Brazil – a place not unlike Queensland in so many ways.  But it was time to start heading back to Montevideo to catch my ship to Europe, and while I have plenty of time to get there, I want to leave some spare time up my sleeve in case I find somewhere nice to stop for a few days – Or even in case something untoward delays me !!

0239 In the jungles of Ubatuba

1^st AprIl 2015
Into the Brazilian jungle with The Medicine Man !

Some days ago Mauro had said we should go for a walk up a local mountain – but he had not told me what was involved.  Then yesterday, while we were shopping in Ubatuba, we had met Washington, a friend of Mauro’s, in a shop, and we arranged to go up and see him the next morning.  So I presumed this was instead of the mountain walk.  So after our usual hearty breakfast, Mauro and I head off in his 4x4 – But at the bottom of his lane we do a V turn, and head up a dirt track right behind Mauro’s house !  Within 2 minutes the dirt track had deteriorated and Mauro was in low ratio 4 WD as we chugged up steep muddy inclines, through fords, and with the jungle encroaching all around us more and more as we headed up the hill.  Where on earth were we going ???

0238 Ubatuba

28^th – 31^st March 

Presents, surfing, and birthday lunches

After breakfast, Leticia gave  me a present – A lovely little plate with “Ubatuba” written on it, and a picture of two  little fishes making eyes at each other – And signed by Leticia !  Gorgeous.  It my take me a while to get it home, but I know I will find a great place to display it when I get there ! Thank you, Leticia !

Soon afterwards we set off up the road, back to Itamambuca Beach for another

surf.  This time Giovanna came with us as well – Not because she wanted to go surfing, but because she wanted to just sit on the beach !  She settled down with a fresh coconut drink while Mauro and Leticia went surfing !

It was lovely to see Mauro and Leticia going into the surf together, and even catching a first way in together – And I was lucky to get a photo of it ! 

0237 Off to the beach in Brasil

27^th March 2015
We go surfing at  Itamambuca Beach

Mauro and Leticia were going surfing this morning, so I went with them to see how it is done in Brasil !  We went to Itamambuca beach about 15 minutes north out of Ubatuba, and this is a private beach which is part of a gated housing community.

I wasn’t in the mood to hit the surf myself (I hadn't brought my special

board wax), but it was a lovely beach, and I spent most of the first hour splashing around at the water’s edge, trying to get photos of Mauro ad Letitia surfing.  The problem is that with my (increasingly poor) eyesight, bright sunshine, and not exactly the most ideal camera, it was hard to see who I was taking photos of !  But I got a few really good ones (not all of Mauro and Letitia, as you can see from the pics !) before my camera battery went flat………

0236 A trip to Paraty and Trindade

26^th March
Snakes in the jungle, and a hippy surfing haven.

After Pedro had gone off to school, Mauro and I set off in my car to go and explore the amazing coastline around Ubatuba.  We were going to drive north to Paraty, about 60 kms up the road in Rio de Janeiro state – As against Sao Paulo state in which Ubatuba is located.  The coast line here is quite amazing – a kind of cross between parts of Vietnam, that place in China with all those islands, and Coffs Harbour ! The mountains to the west are thick jungle, and then you get glimpses of the sea and islands through the trees to the east, as the road winds though the foothills.

0235 Ubatuba Brasil

25 March 2015  
Giles gets a Brazilian, and other fun things !

The first morning in Ubatuba was spent getting a few of my chores done.  A haircut first, with Nil the barber.  Not being able to communicate with him other than by sign language meant I wasn’t sure what I was going to get style-wise (my first Brazilian Ha ha !), but it all went well (the bits I can see from the front, anyway !), and should see me through until I get to Europe !

0234 Iguazu Argentina to Ubatuba Brasil

22/23/24^th March
Don’t cry for me, Argentina…………..

After 50 nights in Argentina overall, (in and out of Chile repeatedly since 8^th December when we crossed from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to Purmamarca in Argentina) today was time to leave it for the last time.  In the past 12 months, this is the longest time in a single country apart from Alaska / USA.  What comes to mind when I think of Argentina ?  Fascinating.  Amazing scenery. Problems getting money.  Maté. Wind. Barbecues. Never ending (and somewhat boring) pampas. Maté (yes I wrote it twice on purpose !) Penguins and Orcas.   Argentina is enormous, and therefore extremely diverse. I preferred the western and southern parts, with the mountains of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, but the eastern coastline certainly had some amazing places and wildlife.  Yes, I have enjoyed Argentina, but it is time to move on……….

0233 QuiraOga Rescued Animal Refuge

21^st March
Lots of amazing animals being saved.

Like many other countries, Argentina has a problem with animals injured not only by vehicles on the increasingly busy roads, but also from predators (some human) who kill their parents, and other unfortunate situations. And the problems are increasing due to loss of habitat for the animals as us humans take over their land.  But occasionally we are fortunate enough to find wonderful places like QuiraOga here in Iguazu – A

private business that is focussed on rescuing injured animals, helping them recover, and then (hopefully) returning them to the wild.  We had found an amazing sanctuary in Honduras that was very similar, and was also extremely active in breeding and then setting free native macaws, so they could fly amongst the Inca ruins just as they did hundreds of years ago.  Here the macaws are not so lucky – Destruction of their native habitat means that the ones here can never be returned to the wild in Argentina – There are no trees suitable for them remaining in the wild !  But for other injured animals, the outlook is more rosy.

0232 Iguazu Falls

0232 20^th March  Iguazu  F

                                               A

                                                   L

                                                      L

                                                         S !!!!!

Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow.

Definitely a 5 Wow day today !  Not only were the Falls themselves just amazing, but the whole thing was laid out really well, all the basic things you needed to see were free, and they had lots of restaurants with all sorts of different empanadas – Yup, I did Iguazu Falls powered by empanadas !  And it was GREAT !!!

 

0231 El Palmar NP to Iguazu

18^th & 19^th March
From the open pampas to forested jungles !

As I drove out of El Palmar NP, I realised how lucky I had been to have driven into the park at dusk last night, when all the capybaras and other animals were out and running (or laying) around.  This morning ?  Nothing….Nada….rien.  They were obviously all snuggled up in their holes or wherever, and trying to keep out of the heat of the day ! On the way out of the park, I went down several side trails to see what they had in store – And was surprised to find ruins of a town started by the Jesuits in the 18^th century – I was to find out over the next few days that the Jesuits had a major impact and presence in this part of Argentina.

0230 Lobos to El Palmar NP

17^th March 2015
Pampas, bridges, rivers, and a major brush with the Law !

Well, today was certainly a mixed bag. I started off from the lovely lakeside campsite in Lobos, and to start with it was more of the flat and exciting  pampas. I was headed NW towards a town called San Antonio de Giles – I mean, after all this time of people not being able to pronounce my name, I was determined to go there and find out how they DID pronounce it !!  So after a couple of hours driving I was there,

pulledinto the gas station and asked – And the answer is “Heeless”, just as I had thought, and just like I have been saying for the past 6 months or more !!   Really, how difficult can it be ??

 

 

0229 Villa Ventana to Azul and on to Laguna de Lobes

14^th & 15^th March 2015
Not an awful lot to write home about !

It was a beautiful sunny day when I woke up beside the now sedate river, and I knew I had to do something instead of my hike up a mountain.  I checked and found the park was still closed (they obviously have a lot of cleaning up to do after the rain, even though it is clear blue skies now), so I decided to go and explore Villa Ventana. 
 

0228 El Condor to Villa Ventana

13^th March
Parrots, straight roads, and floods !!

Nice sunny morning – But the wind was blowing hard again, which made it quite cool.  Thought there was a familiar sound in the trees – Not only do we have parrots round here, but the entire camp site was full of gum trees !!  It was also Friday the 13^th – For the second time in two months !  Let’s hope I get through this one unscathed like I got through the one last month ! When I left I went for a drive up to the end of the road, along the beach, and the wind was blowing so much sand off the beach that I couldn’t even open my window without getting an eye full.  And the big Rio Negro empties out into the sea here – I couldn’t work out why the sea was brown – I was to find out later !

0227 Puerto Madryn to El Condor

12^th March
Long straight roads through the pampa !

I spent two nights in Puerto Madryn because I just needed some time to do things.  I had tried to get Toyota to give me an oil change but for the first time on this entire trip, they were too busy to help me.  I was quite surprised, because all the others have fitted me in despite being busy – Interesting !  So I ended up at a little “Lubricentre” where all they do is change oil and fluids.  Funny little place, with just a pit to drive over rather than a hoist, but they know their business – It’s all they do !  Within an hour they had changed the oil, checked all the other fluids, greased all the nipples on the prop shaft and steering, and blown all the dust out of the air filter.  $100 for labour and 10 litres of oil – Not bad !  After that I went back to the camp site and just had a day doing things……More laundry (Man, that never stops !!), trying to clean some of the dust out of the inside of the car, getting the blog up to date, and of course chatting to several people who came over.  One very nice Brazilian, Daniel, in a Land Rover – When you meet some of these people you just wish you had more time to just get to know them better – Some great people out there.  Have a great trip, Daniel, especially next Saturday with the Land Rover guys !

0226 Playa Punta Pardelas to Puerto Madryn

10^th March
A bit of a wild goose (elephant seal ?) chase !

Lovely quiet night on the beach and woke up and had a very leisurely breakfast and fiddle about before setting off to the last unvisited point on the Peninsula Valdes – Punta Delgarda, over on the far south eastern corner.  Supposedly a colony of elephant seals over there……  I thought it would take most of the afternoon so I was planning to return to the camp site in Puerto Piramides for the night.  But first I drove the short distance back to P Piramides to go to the panaderia for some fresh bread, and some insect spray for the mosquitoes and bush flies (just like the little aussie ones !) that are becoming more prevalent as it gets warmer. 

0225 Around Peninsula Valdes

9^th March
ORCAS, ORCAS, ORCAS !!

Yes, Today I again got a whole packet of black wine gums when I got to see Orcas up on the beach chasing sea lions for lunch – Wow, wow, wow.   But more of that later !



 

0224 Puerto Madryn to Peninsula Valdes

7-8^th March
Lazing around, vultures, whales, and sea lions.

I decided to have a day off, so yesterday I went nowhere – I stayed in the Puerto Madryn camp site, did laundry, fixed some things up on the car (like the lights and charging the batteries !), tried to clean some of the dust out from the inside of the car

and the shelves etc (the books were becoming so dusty it was hard to pick them up !), and generally just lazed around. It was quite a hot sunny day, so I was in shorts all day, but the camp site shade was excellent and I was only in the full sun for a couple of hours.  And it was really pleasant just do “do nothing” – Driving from place to place every day is actually quite exhausting, even if it is fun, so I enjoyed the day immensely.  Finished it off with a walk over a nearby hill before supper, catching a lovely sunset of Puerto Madryn Bay.

0223 Camerones to Puerto Madryn

6^th March 2015
Penguins, wrecks, pumas, missiles, cuises, and no lights !

Woke up in Camerones to a beautiful morning, just a light breeze, and the smell of fresh toast wafting through my window – Brigitte and Joel were making toast from a (relatively) fresh baguette for their petit dejeuner !  That got me moving quite quickly !! There was even some wifi down outside the office, but it was so s-l-o-w that in the end I gave up, and we hit the road to go and find Xavier and Elena who must have spent the night somewhere up the coast.

0222 Pico Truncado to Camerones

5^th March 2015
Wind, dust, wind, dust – Did I mention the wind and dust yet ?

Yes, I found out this morning that I was about 40 kms south of a place called Pico Truncado, and I am very glad I was that far short of it when I stopped !  Now, I am not sure, but I think of Pico as meaning a Stick, and Truncado as being Shortened, so I reckon in English it was called Shortened Stick.  And when I saw it, I think that is a very generous name for such a terrible place (Mucho apologies to any residents of Pico Truncado who may be reading this !!). But the streets were both gravel and filthy, the houses were not quite “designer” homes, the wind was blowing dust everywhere, and right beside the main road was the local tip with a digger pushing a car body into the pile of all the other refuse, scavenging dogs everywhere, and all the paper from the tip was blowing everywhere for miles in the high winds.  Sorry, but I just cannot recommend it as  somewhere where one would choose to stop to buy an empanada, let alone send a vacation there !!

0221 Puerto San Julian to God Knows Where !

4th March 2015
Flamingos, a Petrified Forest, and incredible scenery.

Some pics of sunset over the camp site last night, and then Brian came over with some hot water for my cup of tea this morning, saving me the trouble of boiling my kettle, but wearing a T shirt that said “Alaska to Tierra del Fuego” along with a map just like the one on my doors !  Hey, that’s my logo !!  I knew I should have patented it !  We got a few pics of his bike and T shirt in front of Troopie with my “Australia to Tierra del Fuego,…..via Alaska” writing on the front, as we are probably the only two who have done the trip all the way like this !! Then Brian set off to BA – He is flying back to the US with his bike in about 2 weeks so needs to keep moving north.  I left shortly afterwards. 

0220 Around Puerto San Julian

3^rd March 2015
Wifi, Sea lions, deserted beaches and Patagonian grouse

The wonderful thing about doing a trip like this in your own car is that you can do and go what you want when you want.  And today was just one of those days.  In the camp site office they had told me I could drive up a coastal track and see sea lions – So that’s what I did !  But I had a leisurely morning,  reading a rather good detective novel I had found on my kindle (how would I ever live without that wonderful invention !) until I just had to get moving.  I then found that the wifi in the office was really strong, probably the best and fastest I have seen in weeks, or even months, so I parked outside the office and caught up with posting my blog.  And only when I had finished did I eventually set off to see if I could find some sea lions  - I think it was about noon !!

0219 Monte Leon NP to Puerto San Julian

2^nd March 2015
Penguins. Pumas, and Sea Lions

 

Surprisingly we all woke up reasonably early.  Robbie reckons a puma took a chicken bone he had carefully put on the tire of his car, but as he has no photographic evidence, we reckon it was only a fox !

0218 San Sebastian to Monte Leon NP

1^st March 2015
Leaving Tierra del Fuego and too much wine !

 

Woke up at a reasonable hour, only to find Gary and Joan already almost packed up and ready to hit the road.  So they set off south while I had a leisurely breakfast before heading on up the road to the north.

Today was really a day of animals – Hundreds of them.  Fortunately many of them were still alive and grazing or running beside the road, but there were also unbelievable numbers of dead ones too.   As I headed towards the ferry to (sadly) leave Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, not only were there guanaco and rhea, but I also had a fox cross the road right in front of me, who then proceeded to trot along the fence line beside me for a while – There was a flock of sheep in that paddock, so I am not sure if he was headed towards them……

0217 Ushuaia to San Sebastian

28^th Feb 2015

Heading north again.

Yesterday I spent the whole day catching up on things that had backed up while I was out in the bush on all the dirt road for the past few weeks.  As well as banking and other internet stuff, I also managed to clean the car a bit, change the fuel filter, grease the prop shaft and suspension, and put all the stuff that hangs outside on the spare wheels back in place.  By the end of the day I was ready to hit the road again.

This morning Sergio (the camp site owner) was obviously more ready to leave on a couple of days vacation than I was – When I got up the showers were locked, and even the door into the nice warm lounge area was locked !  When I went round the front of the building to find him, Sergio was packing his car and was ready to go ! I got him to unlock the showers, and then the lounge area so I could dry my towel by the stove, and as soon as I started my engine, Sergio was out of there in front of me !  So if anyone arrives at the camp site in the next couple of days I guess they will find it closed !!

0216 Ushuaia 2

26^th Feb 2015

Wind, sun, and a glacier !

Today I had a few chores to do, but at a leisurely pace.  So after breakfast and a chat with a few of the other campers around the warm stove, I set off into town to collect my spare wheel, hopefully now with the puncture fixed.   All done – It had been about a 2 inch nail that had gone straight in through them main part of the tyre, so it could be plugged no problem.  These two spare tyres still have some tread on them, but they have really been chopped up by all the dirt roads, so are really only good as spares.  But the tyres on the car now are good, and will be fine for the rest of the trip.  I might need to check on the price of these tyres in UK, and compare them with Argentine prices – Might be better to get some here before I ship the car !

0215 Ushuaia 1

23/24/25 Feb 2015

Punctures, computer problems, and penguins !

I have enjoyed a very relaxing break in Ushuaia.  It is quite a fun little town, and if only the weather would behave itself, it could be a lot more enjoyable !  After the initial high winds, we then got a day of sunshine, then a day of rain, then a bit of everything ! But since the camp site has this warm room with a pot belly stove that Sergio the owner keeps burning 24 hours a day, as well as his big kitchen where we are invited to cook out food if  it is too cold / windy / wet outside, it makes it VERY bearable.  Plus we have had a great mix of Overlanders passing through – French, German, Canadian, American, Swiss, which makes for lots of chats round the fire at night. 

0214 Rio Grande to Ushuaia

22^nd Feb 2015

The stars had disappeared by the time I woke up, and it was grey, overcast, and raining !  The joys of Tierra del Fuego – 4 seasons in one day – Every day !!  So I hit the road pretty quickly, and headed south towards Ushuaia. Heading toward south towards a little ton of Tolhuin, I saw a couple of signs for a Panaderia in the town some 30 kms before the town.  This is unheard of down here – They don’t usually advertise at all, let alone 30 kms before the town !  Definitely needed investigation, so when I got to the town, I turned off, and after a little exploring, found this store with big “PANADERIA” lettering above it – And cars everywhere, and even a big coach stopped outside !  So in I went !

0213 Laguna Blanco to Rio Grande

21st Feb 2015

A lovely sunny morning beside the lake, if somewhat chilly.  I packed up as I ate my breakfast, and when I set off, I hadn’t gone 50 yards when I saw the Swiss couple from the big truck walking across, so ended up talking to them for quite a while. Mark and Barbara.  They have been on the road a while, and like many people I have met, really want to go to Australia.  So I promised to put them in touch with a shipping agent I have used in the past, because one of the big concerns of the big trucks wanting to spend time in Aus is the fumigation requirements for their vehicles.  Mark also has a little kayak he can use for fishing, and apparently he caught 4 big trout in the lake last night !  Wish I had met them earlier before they ate all the trout !

0212 San Sebastian to Laguna Blanco

20^th Feb 2015

It was cold and windy when I woke up – No shelter at all meant that a quick breakfast and pack up was called for !  I went and had a chat to Joshua and Shannon and it looked like we were headed in the same direction today – Off to see the King Penguins on the shores of the Bahia Inlet – Actually joined to both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, but more directly to the Atlantic.  I believe this place is the only one where you can see the King Penguins from land (ie without having to go out by boat to an island somewhere) – All the other penguins down here are the smaller Magellenic (?) penguins. But Joshua and Shannon are having a few suspension alignment problems with their car after all the rough roads, and after the penguins want to try to stay on black top roads as much as possible as they head north to ship their car home to the USA. 

0211 Punta Arenas to San Sebastian, Tierra del Fuego !

19^th Feb 2015 

I’M HERE !!  The title of my Adventure was “Australia to Tierra del Fuego….via Alaska”, and today I landed off a ferry onto the Grande Isle de Tierra del Fuego at 3.11 pm local time – So having left Anacortes on the 6^th May 2014, it has taken 9 months and 13 days to get here !   I am just so pleased and proud to have made it – But it is not over yet !!

0210 Puerto Natales down to Punta Arenas

18^th Feb 2015

Well the journey today was not really too exciting, but I guess in a 50,000 km journey, you are bound to get a few days like that – And to be honest, there haven’t been that many !

While packing up I was chatting to the Dutch couple next door in a rental van, Henk and  Antje.  They have 3 more weeks to go of their holiday, then they fly home from Santiago. They had to be rescued and given a replacement van a couple of weeks ago because the gearbox collapsed on them !  Also chatting to Ramon and Sylvia from Spain in their Toyota – He is still working so they leave their car here and fly home quite regularly.  They also had a German Tom’s conversion done on their 4 WD, and while the work and quality is exceptional, I still like the layout of Troopie better – There is so much more room inside.  But I am slowly getting small ideas for some minor improvements !!

0209 Las Torres back to Puerto Natales

17^th Feb 2015

Woke up to find that today was a good day to be leaving Nacional Parque Torres del Paine. It was very overcast, low cloud, was raining a little, and it was cold.  Looking up at the little bit of the mountains that were visible, there was a good dusting of fresh snow quite low down.  I have seen what I needed to see, walked more than I thought I could, and thoroughly enjoyed my visit.  Even the winds, although very annoying, are just part and parcel of the Pategonian experience.  And I have left enough undone that should I ever have the luck to be able to visit here again, I ould not have to do the same things again.  So a quick pack up and breakfast, (no bananas for breakfast today – Supplies are running low after 6 days !) and I headed out of the park – I WILL be glad to see the back of these very corrugated dirt roads !!

0208 Pehoe back to Las Torres

16^th Feb 2015 

Last night I was sitting over at the camp office with several other people using the wifi, and a fox trots up, not 20 metres from us, does a No 2 right in front of us on the grass, then sits down and looks at us for about 5 minutes as if to say “What are you lot looking at ?”, before wandering off nonchalantly into the scrub behind us.  Naturally I had no camera, so you will just have to take my word for it, but none of us could believe it.

When I got up at 7.30 am the sun was just appearing over the hills to the east, and slowly lighting up the Cuernos del Paine and the big Cerro Paine Grande to the west – Just a beautiful start to the day.

0207 Lago Grey to Pehoe

15^th Feb 2015

Well that was like being at sea last night – I have never rocked and rolled so much in a car before.  I was awake most of the night because is seemed the car would tip over, it was rocking that much.  I should have parked more head on into the wind, but the car park was limited, and I had thought that nestled up beside Steve and Gilly’s big truck I was better off.  Not so !  And talking to Steve this morning, they hadn’t fared much better !  Ho hum, the joys of Patagonia.  So I was up, dressed, ablated, breakfasted and on my way by about 8.30 am – The wind was still so strong that I could hardly stand at the back of the van to make my breakfast – The cornflakes were blowing away !  And when I got up in the morning, not only had my little plastic footstool blown about 100 yards into the scrub, but even the toilet, which is not that light, had blown about 10 metres from the car and was resting against a bush !!  So as soon as I could I headed round to Hotel Lago Grey, only about 500 metres down the road, to try and get some shelter from the howling and non stop wind blowing off the Grey Glacier and down the valley. 

0206 Torres del Paine to Lago Grey

14^th Feb 2015 

What a dramatic change in the weather  from yesterday – Patagonia strikes again ! Grey, overcast – You couldn’t even see the Torres behind the camp site - See photo on left.  Photo below is from yesterday.  Soooo lucky to have done the hike up to Torres yesterday.  But that was OK – I had other plans for today, and after eggs for breakfast (no (recognisable) bacon in this part of the world unfortunately -  And giving some of my old tourist info to the Dutch girls, I set off up the road to head to the end of the park at Lago Grey. On the way out of the camp site I saw the French lady I had met briefly yesterday on the way up the mountain – She was standing by the road so I pulled over to say Hi.  Turned out she was waiting for a bus to take her up through the park, so I said I would give her a lift – As long as she could wait 10 minutes because I had just realised that, along with the old tourist info,  I had given the Dutch girls my current map of the park, so I had to go back to get it.  When I got back to the camp site, I collected my park map, and then Dwayne and Jerry came over (the NSW guys on bikes) and we had a bit of a yarn, so by the time I got going again it was half an hour later.  But the French lady was still there, so I picked her up, her name is Eva, I found out, and we headed off up the dirt road through the park.

0205 Hiking to Torres del Paine

13^th Feb 2015 

I GOT A WHOLE PACKET OF BLACK WINE GUMS !!!

It was a lovely morning when I woke up – Light cloud and no wind at all.  By just after 8 am I was heading towards the start of the walk to Mirador Las Torres de Paine, right at the base of the towers, and about as close as you can get without crampons and all that stuff !!  I passed a gaucho and his mate getting the horses sorted for the day, wearing their Patagonian berets pulled down to a peak at the front.  Then it was off towards the Hotel Las Torres where I bought another bottle of water from the little store, just in case – After all, it is written as a 4 ½ hour hike one way, so I was kind of planning about 10 hours total for me. 

0204 Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine NP

12^th Feb 2015

Odd little camp site – Only room for 3 cars, so everyone very squished in –Mostly back packers though.  Apart from a Chilean family next to me from Santiago who were towing a small caravan Dad Julio had made himself.  Had a chat to them, and Julio very kindly gave me a bottle of my favourite local merlot – Gato Negro ! Very nice of them.  They have driven down, but are going to take a ferry back up through the islands from Punto Arenas to Puerto Montt – 3 days on the ferry – Should be fun, and rather like the Alaskan Marine Highway, I would think, travelling up through all the islands in SW Chile. 

0203 Perito Moreno Glacier Argentina to Puerto Natales Chile

11^th Feb 2015

Interesting day – A bit of everything really – Except warmth !!  I must still be recovering from all my hiking over the last few days, because it was 9 am before my eyes even opened !!  And it was raining – And blowing, of course. Rain wasn’t too heavy, but it did mean I had to jiggle my normal pack up to make sure I got everything in without either my stuff or me getting too wet ! After 9 months on the road, practice makes perfect, and it all got done, and by just before 10 am I was back on that dirt road, headed back towards El Calafate.  Boy, am I get sick of dirt roads, and the bad corrugations they always seem to have !  Last night I had to spend an hour or so replacing screws that had fallen out of various places, vibrated loose over the recent pounding over the dirt roads.  There are still a few more that I cannot reach easily – They will have to wait till I have some time in one place, and some fine (and wind-less) weather. 

0202 El Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier

10^th Feb 2015

Well, I was sitting there doing my blog outside the “Recepcion”, sitting wrapped in all manner of furry things to keep me warm on a freezing night as I tried to get my blog uploaded, and in drive two Troopies !!  Couldn’t believe my eyes – Going to have to sell mine soon if they keep getting this common !!  Anyway, it was two German guys, Bruno and Roman, who shipped over to Montevideo on Grimaldi and are just starting on their trip north to Alaska.  After they had checked in and got set up, they came over for a chat about what lay ahead for them as they headed north.  As for me, I eventually got all my blog and photos uploaded  by 1 am, (sorry, did not annotate the photos or do the maps – Too tired), and went off to bed.

0201 El Chalten to El Calafate

9^th Feb 2015

I went to sleep last night before 10 pm – And woke up this morning at 9.30 am !!   To a clear blue sky !!  Oh no – Fitzroy will be clear – I must go back !!  Then I tried to stand up, and quickly realized there would be no walking anywhere today !!  Never mind – I was still more than happy I got up there yesterday.   So it was a quick breakfast and pack up, and I wandered slowly back up the dirt road into Chalten to get some fresh bread and some empanadas from my favourite bakery, a new gas cylinder for my camping stove – And then on the way out of town I saw a caravan with a couple of girls in selling cherries - $2 for half a kilo !  So I got some.  A German called Tomas came over for a chat at the road side, and the girl in the camping shop is about to set off to Australia for a `12 month working holiday, so she was keen to know more about the place !    Eventually I set off out of town, leaving behind  a clear Fitz Roy !!