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hey,
sorry it´s been such a long time. since the last post in Florianopolis, emma and I have covered so many miles (both in vehicules and on foot!) and so i thought it was about time that i filled you in on what we´ve been up to.
Where am I now? from the photo, you can probably guess that we have (albeit extremely reluctantly) left the sunny beaches of Brazil and Uruguay (more about those in a bit) behind us and have headed towards the icy regions of Patagonia. Our trip towarsd the end of the world was not something that either Emma or I had been looking forward to much and as our days on the beach perfecting our tans became increasingly numbered, the thought of getting out the walking boots seemed less and less appealing. so with trepidation we boarded our flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate last sunday in order to see what would await us.
we were pleasantly surprised. our first few nights were spent in el calafate, whose only real attraction is the huge glacier, perito moreno nearby. The sun shone and as well as admiring this incredible ice shelf where we were lucky enough to see parts fall off into the water, emma and i amused ourselves, for far too long, sliding down the surprisingly steep bannisters of the viewing platforms! after a boat trip over to the glacier itself, next was the opportunity to ice trek on teh glacier itself. putting on my crampons i felt like i was in touching the void, though thankfully, it was nowhere near as intrepid.
in terms of evening entertainment, emma and i did not have high hopes for "Party-gonia" as one american guy we met at our hostel put it. emma and i had trawled hostel bookers in the search for a lively hostel and appeared to have found the only one in Patagonia. here we met,a mong others, meg, an australian girl, also on her gap year who was travelling by herself and looking for someone to head to el chalten with. 3 days later, the three of us headed back off the mountain after 2 days camping, d of e style, having shared a three man tent. cosy. the trip was good but, any of you who have seen or heard my views on d of e might wonder why i signed up for it at all. im still not entirely sure, and though it was so much better than the breacon beacons, i think ive learnt once and for all that trekking is not my style.
partygonia however proved itself to have extended to el chalten. there might not be phone signal, or good internet cionnection, but they do know how to party, trekking style. yesterday we attended the twelfth "fiesta nacional del trekking" and dressed in our best waterproof trousers, we partied with the locals to the sounds of local argentinian music.
next stop, bariloche, home of argentian skiing before heading up to mendoza (wine region) and then back to BA where emma and i spent a great couple of days before heading here. its a very european city, though with a very spanish attitude. i cant wait to soend more time there, particularly as it will give me the perfect opportunity to head back into uruguay as one week was not nearly enough. it is an incredible country, with such a laid back attitude. the people are so friendly and emma and i between us couldnt really find anything bad to say about it. its less tourist orientated and we spent a few days in punta del este, where the argentinians go for the summer, a night in cabo polonio (a hippy town that you can only get to over sand dunes) in a house with no water or electrcity and the last few days in punta del diablo, a pretty little fishing village. we did nothing on our itinary and could have happily spent longer in all those places. definitely reasons to return.
anyway, ive rambled enough. love to you all at home
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- comments
Mum Your stars won't colour in! You are supposed to have 5! Top blog. You sound glad to have Dof E platinum behind you and to be heading back to civilisation where ATMs and phone reception can be found - probably decent showers and bars too. XXX
humphrey & brill Enjoy the sunshine.We miss you,but expect to see you looking very FIT when you return. Keep the messages comming. Much love from us all...Beryl & Humphrey
Jan and John Hi Weeze, great blog. We posted a comment a couple of weeks ago, but appears not to have materialised? And I thought we were living on the edge in a motor home... Tent!!! Long story, but we're headed your way, Costa Rica middle of May for a week. Long shot, but where will you be? Carry on having a blast xx
Louisa aaah it would be so good to see you but ill still be in BA sadly. if you fancy a cheeky trip down south for a few days, it would so good to see you. hope your round the world adventure is still fabulous. about to post another blog xxxxx