Sometimes when you travel you have to experience lows to appreciate the highs. When you’re on the so called ‘trip of a lifetime’ you unconsciously put yourself under huge pressure to have a fantastic time all of the time but when you travel over a longer period it’s just not possible to be on cloud nine all of the time and sometimes you can hit rock bottom.
The adventure is the road – Carretera Austral
23 May
The Carretera Austral is a Chilean region of snow bound mountains, creeping glaciers, stunning fjords and emerald cut rivers. The area was only linked by road to the rest of Chile in the 1980’s which has meant old traditions have remained untouched for years and fiercely independent locals continue to rely on farming for self-sufficiency. The pace is unhurried with locals keen to stop and talk and offer their hospitality. The Carretera Austral, which is also known as the ‘Southern Highway’, stretches 1,200km from Villa O’Higgins in the South to Chaiten in the North, and can be completed with a combination of boat and road travel. There are plenty of activities lining the road for the adventurous traveller but many will find as we did that the real adventure actually lies in the road itself and the experiences it offers. Frequently described as one of the most beautiful drives in the world, it wasn’t difficult for us to understand why this route is swiftly becoming the Holy Grail for so many independent travellers
A trekker’s paradise – El Chalten
19 May
“The pink and purple sunset was quickly being engulfed by darkness as I raced along the path, my back soaked in sweat and my breathing becoming heavy. I cursed as I tripped over yet another tree root and went flying forward. I was now completely alone on the trail. All of the other day walkers, including Dan, had long gone and were probably tucking into good food and sipping cold beers back in the village of El Chalten. Not having a torch meant that I’d soon find it difficult to see my own hand in front of my face. The full moon would occasionally reveal itself through the trees above, showing me the faint outline of the path, however it would also cast eery shadows through the valley and cause my imagination to run wild, picturing ravenous beasts and mad men around every turn!”
Mind Blowing Perito Moreno Glacier
11 May
At 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high (equivalent to a 15 storey building) – the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina’s Parque National Los Glaciers is a special place guaranteed to give you goose bumps.
Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
10 May
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and magellanic forest. The park which, has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is over 180,000 hectares in size and is considered to be one of the best trekking Mecca’s in the world.
Why didn’t they tell us that!
4 MayWe’ve been travelling for just over 2 months now through Argentina and Chile, and we haven’t done too badly but there’s always room for improvement and there have been a few times where we’ve said “why didn’t anyone tell us that!”
Beagle Channel Cruise
1 May
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified!”
The words uttered by the 70’s icon Gloria Gaynor echoed through our heads when our ‘home’ for the next 26 hours came into view.
Dientes de Navarino
19 Apr
We crossed the Beagle Channel on a zodiac boat from Ushuaia, at the very Southern tip of Argentina, to Puerto Navarino, in Chile. After clearing immigration in a waterside hut, which also sold coffee and cake (if only all government interactions could be so smooth), we travelled on by bus down a gravel track to Puerto Williams, a small settlement, naval base and point of entry for sailing ships bound for the fearsome Cape Horn and onto Antarctica.
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Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and […]
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