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A TRIP TO THE END OF THE WORLD...
After a more comfortable than expected bus ride from Rio to Buenos Aires I was to meet up with Claire again, and travel through Argentina with her for the next two and a half weeks. Our arrival in Buenos Aires was conveniently on a Saturday so with some new made friends we headed out that night to Pacha, unfortunately not on the same scale as the one in Ibiza. A good night nonetheless, followed by the customary hangover. We did though take a stroll through the distric of San Telmo, pretty and peaceful, packed with cafe's and markets. With one of many steaks consumed whilst in Argentina in our bellies, we were ready to see Boca Juniors beat Huracan 3-1 after a very nervy start to the game. The atmosphere was intense, and with the rain pouring down it made for an exciting game, especially the second half. The stands literally shook as the goals were celebrated and the crowd sang. That night, with little persuasion I saw my birthday in with the help of several drinks, and I could lie and tell you all that I had a great night...but to be honest I can't remember! (but I'm sure it wasn't bad) Again, waking with a shocking hangover, I tried the cure of a big, fat steak, but it didn't work. We took a walk down to the president's big pink house (casa Rosada) and then again later that night ate steak again, at BA's most famous restaurant, La Cabrera, where the huge portions sizes do not match the tiny prices! Mark literally ate a steak the size of his head...and he's got a big head, for no more than a tenner! it was definitely time for bed after that meal, with the plan being to catch the boat to Uraguay the next morning. Mark also left the following day to start a tour theough Chile and Argentina, so Claire and i were left to our own devices. unfortunately our own devices did not get us up in time and we missed the boat. having already booked our bus tickets out of BA, we were stuck there for another couple of days. In those days, we did visit Buenos Aires Zoo, visit the Cemeterio de la Recoleta, where Evita, was finally laid to rest, the Evita museum, where we learnt of her rise and fall, the colourful district of la Boca and the posher disctrict of Palermo. We also took a beer in BA's oldest cafe, Cafe Tortino.
having spent longer than intended in BA, and visiting one less country than intended we caught a bus down to Puerto Madryn, where on arrival we hired a car for a couple of days. After trying to get in the car on the wrong side, punching the door when trying to change gear and occasionally driving on thw wrong side of the road, we made it around peninsula valdes where we were able to see Sea Lions, Elephant Seals, and Penguins in their natural habitat. unfortunately, allthough it was Orca (Killer Whale) spotting season, we didn't see any, however, they had been spotted the morning before...so they were defintely around. The next day we drove south to Punto Tombo, to the biggest penguin reserve outside of Antartica. i did accidently drive 50km past the turn off though, but if the navigator falls asleep, what do you expect! (it was nothing to do with the fact that i didn't see two signs for the turnoff!) Anyway, we eventually got there and as you can imagine saw a lot of penguins. We then drove back to the Welsh town of Gaimen, visiting the Museo Regional, and having the most expensive cup of tea in my life at Tea house Caerdydd (Cardiff). Staying in Gaimen that night, we dropped the car off in the nearby city of Trelew the next morning and caught a bus to the end of the World!
The bus from Trelew to Ushuaia, the southern most city in the World took a mere 30 hours and involved crossing through Chile, and back out of it again before reaching the gateway to Antartica. Here we stayed in what I can only describe as our own house, with garden, equipped with our very own BBQ. Needless to say that meant we cooked steak every night on the BBQ, and accompanied it with a few bottles of red wine. We took a boat trip out to Fin del Mundo to see a lighthouse, the place where incoming boats from Antartica know they are on their way to civilisation and on the way saw, yet again, seals, sea lions and a load of birds. The next day, we hired a car and drove to Parque Nacional de Tierra del Fuego followed by a drive to Lago Escondido, where I let claire drive for little more than 5 minutes and she drove into a massive pothole, scratching the complete underside of the bumper. Luckily, this was not seen on return of the car and we got away with it. The next day we climbed up to Glacier Martial, which overlooks the city and offers nice views of the end of the World, but it was an early night before catching another 30 hour bus to El Calafate. Once there, we took a trip to Perito Moreno Glacier located in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, 80km north of El Calafate. The 250 km2 ice formation, 30 km in length is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. We took a boat trip up close to the glacier wall where we were able to appreciate is sheer size, beauty and power as huge pices of ice broke off and crashed into the water below. It advances at a speed of up to 2 metres per day, although it loses mass at approximately the same rate, meaning that aside from small variations, its front wall has not advanced or receded in the past 90 years. At its deepest part, the glacier has a depth of approximately 700 metres.
Spending one final day in El Calafate, it was time to catch a bus north, with my final destination Santiago, Chile where I would meet up again with Mark. It took me close to 60 hours to get there, taking three buses. When i did finally arrive i got scammed in a taxi to the hostel and ended up paying a small fortune, but i didn't let it effect me as we hit the town to celebrate Mark's birthday. The following day, we had a plane to catch, and my South American adventure was to come to an end...for now at least (I will be back). So leaving Santiago on the 19th march, we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on the 21st, completely missing a day of my life.
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