Falling Rapidly

I have never White Water rafted before and with a bit of peer pressure i was off doing a Grade 3-4 on a river in Bariloche - Argentina after making sure my travel insurance covered this activity. Blue skies, warmish weather and cold glacier waters was what was ahead of us as we travelled to the starting point where we all got kitted up and briefed on what to do. Excitment and adrenalin was pumping as we went through the first couple of grade 3 rapids unscathed and having a lot of fun. There were different names for each of the 10 or so we went through and some of them included, "Devils Stomoch", "Devils Tongue", "Vascelene" and the only Grade 4 rapid... "The Devils Throat" (pics). This is where things got a bit out of control for 3 of us in the raft. The path we took made the raft bump into one of the rocks tilting the raft onto its side immediately flipping me in the air and sliding/falling into the water. After holding my breath and coming up for air, i was then dunked a few more times as it was a lengthy rapid on the way downstream. The rescue canoe was there straight away to resue the 3 of us but as we all desperately lunged for the same handle on the back of his canoe, he ended up tipping upside down and so now there are 4 of us in the water uncontrollably. With more dunkings and movements which felt like a washing machine i was able to once again grab hold of the rescue canoe (when he flipped himself back up) and got back into the raft. The 3 of us looked liked drowned rats by the end of it, but WOW i had a fantastic time. No-one on the trip got badly injured, just a few lost shoes and earings. Everyone at the end of the day had a story to tell as we ate a massive meaty lunch that replaced all the energy used up in the water. (If you would like to see any of my photos larger, just click on them)

More Glaciers and Fitz Roy

Mount Fitz Roy is absolutely spectacular. I didn't actually climb this mountain in Pategonia - Argentina but to a lookout that ended up being quite strenuous to get to the top. Professional rock climbers are the ones that tackle this challenge as its full of ice, snow and vertical rock. It took me around 3 hours to get to this point (pic) where the first 2 hours were spent walking through a forest in the valley and 1 hour climbing a steep rocky path that was just as hard to get back down as it was quite dusty and slippery. An aqua blue lake, a retreating glacier and icy clouds whisping off the top made a few fantastic photos and a view that i will never forget. We got to this point earlir than expected and so 2 of us decided to continue on around the lake to see if we could make it to the glacier. There is no path and nothing on the map telling us which way to go. Obviously you arn't meant to go there but hey, we went anyway. From the photo we went around to the right as you couldn't from the left and although it doesnt look that far, it took us another hour to get there. Loose boulders and gravel, steep rock sections and icy water waiting for us to fall in as we scrambled slowly making sure every planted foot was secure. And when we did arrive, WOW, there was a huge ice sheet with caves and waterfalls where you could hear it cracking and moving/melting slower than a snails pace down the mountain (pic). We spent a bit of time here admiring this awesome spectical with no other noisy tourists or people around. Getting back had its moments of peril, but we were back at the hostel safe and sound just as it was getting dark getting the most out of the day.

Glacier Perito Moreno is to me the most spectacular glacier out of all the ones that i have seen. Not much effort to get here as we took a bus to a lookout point for this one. But upon arrival it was jaw dropping. A mass of compacted ice as far as you could see right in front of you. The face of it is 60 metres high where usually once every 2 years a huge chunk breaks off and comes crashing into the water making an exploding sound. We certainly saw many small bits and pieces break off and fall but the next predicted huge crash is meant for winter next year. We also got to hop on a boat that takes you pretty close to it to view it from a different angle and all throughout the day you could hear it moving as it scratches and carves its way dow from the mountains. Love it!

It´s Chilly in Chile

The "W" walk.
I have never completed a trek this difficult and strenuous before but it was one of the best i have ever finished as well. 3 days, 75km (46 miles) of up and down mountains. Its called the "W" walk as this is the shape of the treks from a birds eye view on the map. There are many different ways you can tackle this challenge in which way you go, what camps you stay at and what you want to see. Basically i did an arm of the walk up and down each day back to back. Throughout i saw Glacier Grey which is such an amazing site (pic), as well as iceburg beaches (pic), enormouse mountains with smaller glaciers cracking and screaching all throughout the walk, forests and rivers with "Indiana Jones" style wooden bridges as the only way to cross them. Blisters, aching muscles, falling over twice and a freshly 7 hour cooked spit roast lamb to come back to eating it in front of the Torres del Paine mountains with a half moon popping out from behind it and a starry sky.

Day 1 was a rainy day where climbing to the top overlooking a mountain lake was spectacular but also hard to see as we were in a cloud (pic). To get here was quite dangerous and tough on the knees and ankels as the rock bolders you needed to climb were slippery and some were unstable. However with ankels moving in every direction and knees copping the full impact as all you could do was jump down from rock to rock, i was back safe and sound stretching as much as possible so i could walk tomorrow.

Day 2 we decided to see Glacier Grey while i was still able to walk. This walk was a lot easier but twice as long. 90% of it was through the forest that was nowhere near as strenuous as yesterday. We spent a while scrambling down the rocks to get to the closest front position looking at the Glacier (pic). A 30km day today and we got back during the dark.

Day 3 was a fantastic day with moments of peril. Not a cloud in the sky and another 30km day. Aqua blue lakes, green trees, snow/glacier capped mountains as i walked through the middle valley. Slightly tired from the last couple of days i pushed on once again climbing boulder rocks to get to a lookout that was absolutely breathtaking. I fell twice today hurting myself but was ok. Tired, swearing at myself, hungry, thirsty, in need of suger and the annoying pain of my falls quickly evaporated when i had that spit roast lamb in front of spectacular scenery and a hot shower. My clothes absolutly stink, and there is nowhere to wash them for a few days, he he he.
This is great practice to the climbs that are coming up, epecially Machu Pitchu in 8 weeks or so. More glaciers, mountains and volcanoes to come!

Patagonia in Argentina

Wow! I would have to say that this place of endless mountains to climb and walk is another of my favourite places that i have seen. Starting off in the Southermost city in the world Ushuaia (Argentina) and criss-crossing our way north on Route 40 exploring Chile. Its cool during the day and freezing at night.

My first climb began in Ushuaia (after getting a novelty stamp in my passport) to a small Glacier overlooking the town. It was a little difficult getting to the end of the trail through mud and little rain however if you wanted to see the glacier you had to make your own way up through loose rocks and very steep inclines following the river. This took a while as i had to stop every 15 metres just to catch my breath. Entering a cloud i eventually hurried my way to the start of the glacier where you could only see 10 metres in front of you as it was getting late and it would be impossible to go back down in the dark. However i made it to the ice (pic) and back down safely in 7 hours absolutely stuffed only to find that i had done a schoolboy error in pitching our tent in what now i could see as a creek bed and yes it was raining. All i wanted was some hot food and a hot shower, where i spent that time frantically moving stuff out of the tent as it was flooding and leaking fast. What a day!

From here we zig-zagged our way north through Argentina and Chile spending a lot of time at border crossings, getting our passports stamped, truck checked for fruit and vegitables and filling out forms as well as more countless hours travelling between abandoned, creepy sheep station bush camps and civilized towns with amazing sun sets and sunrises and weather that changes so quickly.

BA and heading south

In a cramped bumpy bus/truck, we all travelled from Montevideo down to the port 3 hours away and took a 4 hour ferry to Buenos Aires in Argentina where we were staying for 4 days. There is so much to do here and once again so little time. Tango shows in the middle of streets, dogs and dog poop everywhere, the hustle and bustle like all other cities, querky suburbs like La Boca with colourful painted houses (pic), cheap healthy food in all the restaurants, helpful friendly people and areas you do not enter after dark. Tango and football are the two most popular things in north Argentina. I did a lot of walking around the main areas to see as well as having a tango lesson, dancing with professional tango dancers (pic) and seeing a tango show, eating the local cuisines as well as resting after hours of overland travel and getting ready for more as we head south to Patagonia.

"Get your kicks on Route..." 3

Route 3 is the long highway that goes from Buenos Aires all the way south to Ushuaia (the southernest city in the world). Travelling on our full Kumuka bus/truck we travelled countless hours over a week to get to the end of the world, stopping off at some filthy campsites and bush camps (and a few good ones as well). This trip is a story in itself where travelling 12 hour days puts me to sleep as well as wakes me up with all the bumps and crazy Argentinian drivers overtaking on blind corners. Chess, listening to music and eating icecreams at every trucker stop was my usual daily routine and probably will continue to be until the end of the trip. We stopped for 2 nights in Puerto Madryn where we did a day trip on a bus and boat and saw sea lions, different bird species, penguins and awesome views of the bay area which was fantasic. As we are camping for the next few weeks, we have cooking and cleaning duties as there are 24 of us. Cooking food for 24 people can turn out to be an absolute disater and the rice i tried to make one night did turn out that way... oops. The views out the window are very picturesque heading into Pategonia however they havn´t changed much in the week heading south. Flat, grass, shrubs, sky and clouds, thats it. No trees, no mountains, no water... yet.

I cant wait to hit Pategonia and start doing some fun activities. Glaciers, volcanos, mountains, wildlife, multiple day treks and differnt towns to explore. (i can finally work off the icecreams!)