For the first time we decided to skip the bus and opt for a flight, but to be fair the coach would have taken 2 days whereas the plane only took 5 hours to go from Buenos Aires to the south of Argentina to El Calafate. I thought it had been a good trip until I collected my rucksack from the conveyor belt to find my bag had been rifled through, with zips half un-done and my possessions hanging out. It was a horrible thought thinking someone had been through my things. I wasn't sure what they were looking for because strangely enough the only thing they had taken was my underarm deodorant...weirdoes!!! But it did give me a wake up call and remind me where I was; realising that in a country like this I need to be much more careful and less trusting of people... unfortunately! Luckily they didn't find the compartment where I was storing my I-pod, mobile phone and wallet.

After gathering ourselves together we exited the airport to see nothing but baron waste land, of just dried out mountains and rough terrain - the land was not lush and green but rather a brownie/ yellow. There seemed to be nothing for miles so walking was out of the question, therefore, we got a taxi to take us to our hostel, although we were a little worried how much it was going to cost because there was no sign of accommodation anywhere.

Our hostel was another nice find, actually since Brazil our accommodation has all been really nice, and the staff were very friendly, helping us to plan our excursions and even give us some ideas of what to do in the Chilean part of our trip. We had planned to stay in El Calafate for 3 nights but it turned out that the "Big Ice Trek" was not running until after we would have checked out, so we frantically had to book the trip and then try to find alternative accommodation because after the 3 nights our present hostel was all booked up, but thankfully we found a nice place in town.

Once we had sorted our trips to Torre de Paine in Chile and the Big Ice Trek to the Perito Moreno Glacier we decided to explore the town. For the first time in our entire journey it became apparent that the flip-flops were going to have to be demoted back to the rucksack for this cold and gravely location, instead the warm socks and the trekking boots made an appearance and I'm sure the gloves and scarf would swiftly follow. The town was neither cheap nor attractive but then again we were told that they only reason people come to El Calafate are for the glaciers.

Our first big trip was upon us, which was to Torre de Paine. This trip couldn't have fallen on a worse day really because we had to check out today and also check into our new hostel in town. So that meant a 4.30am rise to pack, check out and get the coach for our long day to the National Park in Chile. It was a long coach journey and the constant stopping to go through the borders and get our passports stamped was a real hassle, plus we were told you could pay the entry fee into the National Park in dollars but when we arrived there they would accept nothing but Chilean currency, thankfully our grumpy tour guide managed to do us a deal for our dollars. However, once we were in the park the scenery made you forget all the hassles - it was vast and completely breath-taking. Nothing prepares you for the enormous glacier-topped granite towers and the melt water lakes that are a radiant aquamarine. And because of the micro-climate the park displays an abundance of plant and wildlife, such as, condors, flamingos, guanacos, foxes, pumas and skunks to name but a few. The park is also world renowned for its challenging treks, which have sadly taken several travellers lives, so we were cautious to stay with the group. Our trek consisted of a small circuit that took us past an amazing waterfall, and some of the stunning towers, but the winds were so powerful that we were blown off the trial numerous times, so we were quite glad to get back on the bus. After a long and tiring day we returned to our first hostel to collect our bags at midnight, only to face having to travel to our new hostel and check in.

The next morning was another early start (6.30am) to get ready for the long awaited Big Ice Trek. I was nervous about walking upon a moving glacier - would it be really cold? Would the ice give way beneath me? Would I fall in the icy water? Would I be able to hack 6 hours of trekking? However, everything didn't go to plan.It turned out the bus had gone to the wrong hostel to collect us and rather than checking where we were they just decided to go without us, so after waiting some time for the bus we called the company who realised their mistake and sent a taxi to pick us up and rush us to the port to meet our coach. It was extremely cold as we boarded the ferry to take us over to the glacier camp, but as we sailed across the Lago Argentino, you could see there in the distance the mammoth, spiky white glacier that was Perito Moreno, just there floating on the icy blue lake with snow capped mountains that appeared to touch the clouds as the back drop - I was lost for words…wow!!!

When we reached the camp we quickly got harnessed up (so they could winch us out if we fell into a crevass) and fitted with our crampons (special ice shoes) and given instructions on how to walk in the crampons and on the ice. Some of the moves for walking in the shoes were quite amusing, you looked like John Wayne but apparently it's so you don't step on your own feet with the spikes and to also help you keep your grip when climbing the steep parts of the ice, but I think they made you walk like that for their own amusement really!! At this point we were just keen to get on the ice but before we could get there we had a challenging hour walk through the mountains - wasn't looking forward to this trek on the way back.

Once on there it was indescribable. We came across deep crevasses that went some 40 metres down and had filled with icy cold water, which you could drink from. There were streams, caves, tunnels, waterfalls and even lagoons on the glacier. Well you can see from the pictures how incredible it was. Whilst we walked upon the glacier the guides told us some useful facts, such as, how much the ice moves and is depleting each month. And would you believe that although it was cold the reflection of the sun off the ice was so intense you couldn't remove your sunglasses and we even had to load up on the suntan lotion 3 times. But I think Matt would say the best part of the trip was on the ferry ride back to the port when the guides supplied everyone with a glass of whiskey with fresh ice from the glacier to commemorate our accomplishment.

El Calafate had been a real adventure, where we had done our most spectacular excursions yet, but it had also been our most tiring location to date so we were in need for a rest and the 24 hour coach journey we were about to endure would certainly do that, taking us to our next stop - Puerto Madryn…